Champagne, white wine, red wine, rosé wine.
I drank too much. My face is bright red and my heart is pounding. I can't believe I'm running a fever on January 1st.
New Year's fireplace
From the moment the year turned, I was warming myself by the fireplace. Dominique and Elena's mother were talking non-stop.
Elena came downstairs after taking a shower. Her usual perfume after a shower, Les eaux's ROUGEGORGE. A sweet scent wafted over — it smelled so good it made my heart skip a beat.
I hugged Vigor, who had been left behind, and waited with him while Elena took a shower. Vigor's eyebrows are really cute. Elena told me, "You should buy it," and "I'll give it to you," but it's Elena's, and it's already named Vigor. Still, to be honest, I want it. It's such a cute thing (lol).
Elena fell asleep on the sofa holding Vigor. Her sleeping face was cute and innocent.
I sent New Year's greetings to my family over a video call. I talked with my grandma and showed Elena, her mother, and Dominique; Dominique was high-energy. Grandma didn't know what to say. For now, I told them 'thank you.'
I relayed a message from my grandma: 'Kota, thank you for taking care of her. Thank you very much.' Elena's mother said, 'Please come visit France. You're welcome at our home anytime.' My grandma and Elena's mother would definitely get along. Their vibes and tastes are almost the same — jazz, wine, intuition. There's no way they wouldn't.
Unexpected fever
In the middle of the night I woke up sweating several times. Even at 9 a.m. my heartbeat was abnormally fast. I'm definitely running a fever.
I took a shower and staggered downstairs a bit dizzy. Luckily I had brought a fever reducer, so I took ibuprofen. Dominique prepared hot water. Elena's mother was worried and said, "Elena is going to the doctor tomorrow, so if you're feeling unwell you can go with her." Apparently the French initial consultation fee is 25 euros. Citizens get reimbursed later, but as a foreigner I won't. That's worth going for.
Breakfast was butter and baguette. French butter is incredibly delicious. I also had the customary coffee.
Elena and Dominique went to the supermarket, but I wasn't feeling well so I stayed behind, brought a chair outside, and wrote in my journal and thought about this year's goals while looking out over the vast land. I thought how wonderful it would be if I could come to a place like this every year.
After Elena and the others returned, I continued writing in my journal inside. Apparently Elena hadn't slept much the previous night because her mother turned on the lights at 3 a.m. She hugged Vigor and fell asleep on the sofa again. I thought her sleeping face was so beautiful that I couldn't help but take a photo.
My first raclette
At the end of the year you'd normally gather with many more family members, but Elena's household is four people. With me it was five. It was the perfect number for me — not too many, not too few. Very calming.
While Dominique and the others prepared the raclette, I talked about various things with Elena. We said how fast a year passes. Life is just a blink. I'm turning 23, but Elena is still 20 — she'll be 21 this year. When I said, "How young you are!" she replied, "Kota, you're still young too! So what about my mother then?" I was totally defeated.
I also heard about Elena's university experience. When the pandemic began in 2020 she was still a high school senior, so she didn't have to take biology tests — which she said was great. After entering university, most classes were remote, and she had no friends at all.
She went to school for the first time in March 2021, and the person sitting next to her was her friend Manon. That's how they met. I thought it's amazing that she continued classes for seven months without friends; if it were me I'd be desperately troubled, but she just handled it normally. Truly impressive.
The raclette was supposed to be done at the table, but using the outlet would trip the breaker, so they plugged the machine into the kitchen outlet and shuttled the melted cheese back and forth to the table. Dominique and Elena did it over and over.
My first real raclette. You pour melted cheese over a whole potato and eat it. It was unbelievably delicious. I fell in love with raclette cheese. I ended up eating two potatoes.
They said I was feeling unwell probably because I drank too much wine yesterday, so wine was banned today. Sad but it can't be helped (lol).
Beynac Castle
In the afternoon we decided to go to the castle. I was sleepy in the car and slept the whole time. When Elena tapped my shoulder and woke me, a beautiful townscape spread out before us, and beyond it stood a large castle.
Beynac Castle. A medieval castle from around the 1600s. There was a castle town where soldiers once came and went — everything felt otherworldly.
There was a Japanese audio guide, but I declined. I prefer to see and absorb things with my own eyes rather than listen to the story.
Elena took lots of photos of me. She was cold, so I lent her my scarf. The scenery was like a scene from Pride and Prejudice. The dining hall, the fortress, the bedrooms — everything was recreated beautifully.
We took a photo together at the very top. Dominique took candid shots of us. We took photos with everyone.
Spending more than a week with Elena, we'd gradually gotten used to each other and I was talking more, so it was really fun. We played with swords, put on shields and helmets. Our mental ages are very low, so we get along.
On the drive home, Elena must have been really sleepy — she rested her head on my shoulder and fell asleep. My shoulder got stiff (lol), but I also rested my head on top of her warm head and fell into a deep sleep.
Elena's strength
After we arrived home, during the time before dinner, Elena was drawing. She likes to sketch in pencil first and then trace with pen, but this time she only had pens, so she was struggling.
We talked about Elena's future. She seems interested in international law. I get a sense she might work for an international organization in the future. Most of her friends and acquaintances come from wealthy families and use connections to get internships. But Elena can't do that — it would jeopardize her scholarship.
That's precisely why. She's taking the long route, experimenting from nothing. Because of that, she accumulates experience, and surely in the future she'll become an even more remarkable person than anyone else. She understands hardship.
She lives honestly to herself, has a strong sense of self, and is influential. Shy yet independent. That gap is interesting.
Elena put on the little crown that came with the cake, hugged Vigor, and fell asleep again.
As night came, my fever rose further. I felt chills even while showering. I took ibuprofen but it didn't help. I warmed myself by the fireplace the whole time, sweating occasionally.
Elena drew Dominique's face. It looked a lot like him, and she even priced it at 50 euros. She was going to draw my face next, so I held the same pose like a statue the whole time. Elena kept smiling while she drew. The finished piece was pretty good, but I couldn't call it a portrait of me (lol). I was surprised when Dominique valued it at 500 euros.
