1
Who is Margaret?
A 95-year-old lonely old lady with silver hair, graceful posture and gentle and kind eyes.
She wears pearl earrings and loves to wear pink sweaters and floral dresses.
Her small room in the nursing home is full of books, and she likes to use a pencil to mark favorite passages on the books.
She goes for a walk in the park every day, and she likes to sit on a bench and read a book or count cute pigeons.
Charlman said she "was as wrinkled as Ponceau, but she had a bookshelf in her head and she knew everything".
In his heart, "She lives in the words in the name of flowers, in the entangled adjectives, in the verbs with long grass, some people break free with rigidity, but she wins with softness, penetrating me until I Heart."
2
Who is Charlman?
Well, he's an "old man" in his fifties, "younger" as Margaret calls him.
He has a fat and clumsy body. While working part-time, he grows vegetables, and his income is meager.
He has a group of friends who are just as sloppy and humble as he is, and who love to drink and talk nonsense. He said 13 out of 15 words were foul language.
He was raised by a violent and resentful mother. He didn't know who his father was. He was dyslexic and was often humiliated by teachers and classmates at school. Deep in his heart was a low self-esteem that he didn't know how to redeem.
He also has a girlfriend who loves him dearly. He worked hard to preserve the dignity of his old, mad mother. He was always so eager to help friends.
He also went to the park to count the pigeons, and he named each of them.
3
Yes, because of the pigeons, Charlemagne met Margaret in the park one afternoon.
She asked him: Why are you counting pigeons?
He said: see more or less?
She said: "Look at the little one, with white wings, new here, it wasn't there yet on Saturday.
He said: Yeah, I noticed that too, I call it White Feather.
Ha, they are clearly two children, and there is a light in their eyes that often disappears once they are adults.
4
When we met again, Margaret said she remembered a quote from the book: "It's hard to imagine a city without pigeons."
Then, she took out the book and began to read aloud naturally: "It is hard to imagine a city without pigeons, without trees and gardens, without flapping wings, without rustling leaves..."
She read: "Rieux listened to the roar of joy in the city, but thought in his mind that there was always something that threatened the joy, because he knew at a glance what these jubilant crowds could not see."
As if there was a piece of music that slowly sounded in Charman's heart.
There are also pictures, lifelike, in his mind.
What else, seems to be hit, deep inside.
He asked her to slow down and read again.
She readily agreed, and offered to read a few more paragraphs. She said she enjoyed reading aloud.
From then on, they counted the pigeons together on a park bench every afternoon. Then, he listened attentively, and she read happily.
5
Since then, something has happened quietly.
As if one cloud awakened another.
It was as if a gust of wind blew a forest.
Charlman's world began to take on a color that had never been there before.
He began to look forward eagerly to the afternoon with Margaret, to hear her read.
He obsessed over the words in the book. He and his cat said the meaning of those words.
He suddenly had more confidence in life and love.
He even finally had the courage to become a father.
6
She said, Charlman, you are a very good reader and you have an amazing auditory memory.
We're just passing through this world, Charlman, she said.
With a dictionary, she says, we can read between the lines, get lost in the intricacies, stop, and dream.
She asked: Do you like this kind of exploration, Charlman?
He replied: I am looking forward to it.
7
She said, Charlman, you are such a good man.
She said that if a person is not loved enough in childhood, everything is still waiting to be discovered by him.
8
He discovered that Margaret meant a flower.
He discovered that his girlfriend Annette's name meant anise.
And he finally discovered that deep mother's love, almost at the same time as he lost his mother forever.
It turns out that love is always there, but, just, I don't know how to express it.
9
However, Margaret's life is also quietly changing.
Aging is ruthlessly depriving her of her light.
She said, Charlman, I will never be able to read for you again.
Soon, she said, my dear Charlemagne will disappear into the shadows, and I will no longer be able to count pigeons.
She burst into tears at that moment. That was the only time she showed vulnerability. She always looks alive. Although she is actually as fragile as a small animal made of glass in a shop window, it seems that it will shatter when pinched.
And he couldn't imagine how she could not read books anyway, it was as essential to her as breathing.
He worked hard to learn independent reading, inspired by Annette, and practiced reading aloud like Margaret.
One day, he even read to Margaret. At that moment, she was surprised and happy, with a child-like smile on her face.
10
Another day, Margaret suddenly disappeared. It is said that she went to a far, far away place.
She is said to have lost financial support and was sent to a poor orphanage by relatives.
Charlman drove his broken car all the way to find it.
He finally found her, who was struggling and intently reading a book in a dark corner.
He said, are you so polite, and left without saying a word.
She said, Charlman, what a great surprise.
He said, let's go.
11
The way back was filled with sunshine and laughter.
She said it was kidnapping, Charlman, with no administrative documents, no family consent, no permission to go out, it was a mess.
He said, what seven, eight, when I looked up the word from the dictionary, we were already home.
She said, Charlman, your sandwich is so tempting.
He said, you come too.
She said, good.
Can't get any warmer.
12
Margaret, beautiful little flower, don't wilt so fast, there's still time.
Charman, thank you for always having a good seed in your heart. Otherwise, even with the mighty spring breeze, nothing can sprout.
Let us love each other like relatives, let us stay away from loneliness, let us forget our sorrows.
We are lost and wandering between the lines.
We named the pigeon White Feather.
We have heaven within us.
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