snow

I have two brothers, with one of whom, I am very close, the other, I haven't seen or spoken to for 32 years. He is the eldest. Four years ago, we heard that he had had a fall1 and was in a coma. They were ready to pull the plug after three weeks explaining that he was a vegetable. My younger brother and I were on the other side of the world when all this was happening and we followed the events with strange emotion. Not having been in touch with him for so long we were suddenly alive with old feelings. Meanwhile2, his wife had decided to pull the plug and we prepared for his death, but remarkably, he breathed on his own. He has since come back from the brink3, as it were, and seems to be functioning somewhat well. For us, it was a surreal time. We had, for so long been estranged, it seemed suddenly that we were grabbed from behind, as if by God, reminding us both of where we had come from, and to where we will eventually go.

I spoke to my younger brother yesterday and he told me that our elder brother has had seizure. It had been preceded by several days of his not "thinking straight" and confusion. Apparently, he was checked out at the hospital and is home again. Its probably a bad sign but who knows? How much time do any of have? Again, I found myself under the ephemeral memories of childhood4. They appear uncontrollably, like a gentle snowfall against a black night. I had no idea that the sky was so full.

1 une chute

2 cependant

3 le bord

4 l'enfance