The water is so blue, such a deep, delicious, clear blue, and so full of light, I can’t stop looking at it. We’re on the upper deck of the ferry in the Vieux Port of Marseille, headed out of the harbor, past le Château d’If, toward the chain of islands to the right. Les Iles de Frioul is where Illusion is going to play tonight at a music festival. It’s also the island where Jean-Claude and his family used to go to the beach, where he and Amandine had their picnic with his mother a few weeks ago. His mother and stepfather are sitting beside him and Amandine, talking and pointing at the islands in the distance. Every once in a while, his mother leans over to kiss his cheek or touch his hair, as if to convince herself he’s really there.
Amandine and I have formed a tentative friendship, although we’re still far from being sisterly. Next to her sit Sabina and Julien, nuzzling each other, as usual. And beside them are Layla and Ahmed, who’ve been spending more and more time together lately. He’s brought his guitar, since Illusion invited him to be their guest soloist for a few songs. His stubble is even longer and more scrappy-looking now, just the way Layla likes it.
When I told Layla the news about Tortue, she promised that if he hasn’t contacted us by the time her teaching contract is up at the end of the year, we’ll go find him. Near Layla, over by the railing, stand Madame Chevalier and Vincent, his arm around her shoulder. Three weeks ago, her nurse made a home visit to her apartment and noticed she was looking significantly better. She brought her to the hospital for tests, which revealed not a single cancer cell. “ ‘Spontaneous remission’ is what the doctor said,” Madame Chevalier told me with a girlish laugh.
I lean my head against Wendell’s as we peer over the opposite railing. “Don’t you wish we could dive right in?”
He smiles his half-smile, which I will never, ever get tired of. “We will. Next summer.”
My eyes widen. “You see us?”
“We’re underwater, Z. Swimming together. It’s the bluest, greenest water I’ve ever seen. And there are thousands of silvery fish around us.”
My gaze moves back to the water below us, here and now—a liquid green gemstone, impossibly bright and dark at the same time, sunlight dancing on the surface, while deep blue shadows stretch far below. Our ferry hums through the waves, swirling together the darkness and light, making its way toward the open sea.
GLOSSARY AND PRONUNCIATION GUIDE
* The r in French is a raspy h sound formed in the throat with the back of the tongue.
* The n sound at the end of a word is very nasal, made with vibration in your nose, not with your tongue. (But if the n is followed by an e, it’s a regular n sound.)
* For French vowel sounds that don’t exist in English, I gave a rough approximation. For accurate pronunciation, listen to an online dictionary (or find some French-speaking friends!).
2eme (deuxième) étage DUH-zee-em ay-TAZH second floor (for Americans, third floor)
à la claire fontaine ah lah CLAYR fohn-TEN at the clear fountain
Ah bon? ah BOHN Oh really?
Aidez-nous! EH-day-NOO Help us!
Aix-en-Provence EX-ahn-proh-VOHNS city in southern France
allez-y ah-lay-ZEE go ahead
alors ah-LOHR well/so
Amandine ah-mahn-DEEN female name
Amant ah-MAHN lover
attendez ah-tahn-DAY wait
au clair de la lune oh CLAYR duh lah LEWN in the light of the moon
au revoir oh ruh-VWAHR goodbye
Au secours! oh suh-COOR Help!
Bac BAHC an important French
exam
Béarnaise bay-ahr-NEZ type of butter sauce
Béchamel bay-chah-MEL creamy white sauce
bien sûr bee-EN SYUR of course
Bizarre bee-ZAHR weird
bon anniversaire BOHN ah-nee-vayr-SAYR happy birthday
bon courage bohn coo-RAHZH good luck
bon voyage bohn vwah-YAZH happy travels
bonjour bohn-JOOR hello
bonne chance bun SHAHNS good luck
bonsoir bohn-SWAH good evening
Boulangerie boo-lahn-ZHREE bakery
ça craint sah CRAHN that/this sucks
Ça va? sah VAH How’s it going? or It’s going (fine).
café au lait cah-FAY oh LAY coffee with milk
Café Cerise cah-FAY suh-REEZ Cherry Café
Cave CAHV basement
centimes sohn-TEEM cents
c’est ça say SAH that’s it
C’est chouette! say shoo-ET That’s great!
c’est la vie say lah VEE that’s life
C’est lui pour moi. say loo-EE poor MWAH. He’s for me. I’m for
Moi pour lui. MWAH poor loo-EE. him.
c’est magnifique say MAHN-ee-feek that’s wonderful
Charcuterie shahr-kew-TREE butcher’s shop
Château d’If shah-TOH DEEF Castle of If
chère, chérie SHAYR (shayr-EE) dear
Chez Gilles SHAY ZHEEL restaurant name
Comme elle est belle! COHM el ay BEL How beautiful she/it is!
crème brûlée CREM brew-LAY creamy, sweet dessert
crêperie crep-REE crepe shop
Crêpes crep crepes (thin pancakes)
curiosités CEW-ree-ah-see-TAY curiosities
cybercafé SEE-behr-cah-FAY Internet café
de rien duh ree-EN it’s nothing/you’re
welcome
Désolé(e) day-soh-LAY sorry
Écoute ay-COOT listen
eh bien ay bee-EN well then
Eh bien, dis donc! ay bee-EN dee DOHN Well then, how about that!
enchanté(e) ahn-shahn-TAY enchanted/nice to
meet you
Entremont ahn-truh-MOHN an ancient Celtic-Ligurian settlement near Aix
Entrez ahn-TRAY come in/enter
épicerie ay-pees-REE small grocery store
éternité ay-ter-nee-TAY eternity
excellent ex-uh-LAHN awesome, great
excuse-moi ex-CEWZ-MWAH excuse me
Extraordinaire x-TROHR-dee-nayr extraordinary
fantôme fohn-TOHM ghost/phantom
Fête FET party
Flics FLEEK cops
Fou FOO crazy
française frahn-SEZ French
Garcon gahr-SOHN boy/young man
Genial zhay-nee-AHL cool/nice
Glace GLAHS ice cream
herbes de Provence AYRB duh proh-VAHNS herb blend of Southern France (rosemary, thyme, basil, marjoram, savory)
hyper cool EEP-ayr KEWL really cool
illusion ee-lew-zee-OHN illusion
Imagine! ee-mah-ZHEEN Imagine!
Incroyable ehn-cwah-YAH-bluh incredible
Insupportable en-soo-por-TAHB-luh too much, unbearable
je ne sais quoi zhuh nuh say KWAH a special, indescribable something (literally “I don’t know what”)
je suis désolé(e) zhuh swee day-soh-LAY I’m sorry
je t’aime zhuh TEM I love you
Jean-Claude ZHON-CLOHD male name
la femme de ma vie lah FAHM duh mah VEE the (female) love of my life
la vie en rose lah VEE ohn ROHZ life in rose/pink (colored glasses), a song recorded by Edith Piaf
le centre-ville SAHN-truh-VEEL downtown
le grand amour luh GRAHND a-MOOR true love
les eaux magiques layz OH mah-ZHEEK magic waters
les eaux sacrées layz OH sah-CRAY sacred waters
Les Iles de Frioul layz EEL duh free-OOL Islands of Frioul
Les Secrets de Maude lay suh-CRAY duh MOHD Maude’s Secrets
l’homme de ta vie LOM duh tah VEE the (male) love of your life
Liberté absolue lee-bayr-TAY ahb-so-LEW complete freedom
Lycée lee-SAY high school
ma petite mah puh-TEET my little (one)
madame mah-DAHM ma’am, Mrs., Ms.
Madame Chevalier mah-DAHMshuh-vah-lee-AY Ms. Chevalier
Mademoiselle mahd-
mwa-ZEL miss, young lady
Mais MAY but
Mais non! may NOHN But no!
Marseille mahr-SAY big city on the Mediterranean coast of southern France
Maude MOHD female name
Merci mayr-SEE thank you
merci en tout cas mayr-SEE ahn TOO CAH thanks anyway
Merde MAYRD shit
mes enfants mayz ahn-FAHN my children
mille-feuilles MEEL-FUH-yuh type of pastry (literally “a thousand leaves/papers”)
mon amour mohn ah-MOOR my love
Mon Dieu! mohn DYUH My God!
mon oeil mohn UH-yuh yeah, right (with sarcasm) (literally, “my eye”)
mon père mohn PAYR my father
monsieur muh-SYUH sir, Mr.
Montez! MOHN-tay Get in!
navettes nah-VET shuttle buses
Non NOHN no
On y va! ohn ee VAH Let’s go!
Ouais oo-AY yeah
Ouf! OOF Phew!
Oui WEE yes
Parfait pahr-FAY perfect
pas de problème PAH duh prohb-LEHM no problem
Pâté pah-TAY ground liver or meat spread
pâtisserie pah-tees-REE cake/pastry shop
Pistou pees-TOO French pesto (ground garlic, basil, olive oil, Parmesan cheese)
Place de la Mairie PLAHS duh lah may-REE Town Hall Square
Place des Trois Ormeaux PLAHS day TWAHZohr-MOH Three Oaks Square
Qu’est-ce qui se passe? kes KEE suh PAHS What’s going on? What’s wrong?
regardez ruh-gahr-DAY watch (a command, formal/plural form)
Rouge ROOZH red
Rue REW road/street
Salut sah-LEW hi
s’il te plait SEE tuh PLAY please
super cool SEWP-ayr KEWL really cool
tarte au citron TAHRT oh see-TROHN lemon tart
tarte aux fruits TAHRT oh frew-EE fruit tart
Tortue tor-TEW turtle
tout à fait TOOT ah FAY exactly
très amusant TREHZ ah-mew-ZAHN very fun
très intéressant TREHZ ahn-tay-reh-SAHN very interesting
trompe l’oeil TROHMP-LUH-yuh painting that creates the illusion of depth
Trop top TROH TOHP great, awesome(slang)
un moment un moh-MAHN one moment
vâchement cool VASH-mahn KEWL really cool
Venez! vuh-NAY Come (here)! (formal/plural form)
Viens (ici)! vee-EN ee-SEE Come (here)! (informal, singular form)
Vieux Port VYUH POR Old Port
Vincent vahn-SAHN male name
voilà vwah-LAH there you go
LAURA RESAU lived in the Mixtec region of Oaxaca, Mexico, for two years as an English teacher and anthropologist. She now lives with her husband, her dog, and her son, Bran, in Colorado, where she teaches cultural anthropology and ESL (English as a Second Language). She is also the author of What the Moon Saw, available from Yearling, and Red Glass, The Indigo Notebook, and Star in the Forest, all available from Delacorte Press.