Bouddha

The story opens on a warm August night on a balcony overlooking the bustling heart of Paris. Two comrades, both decorated with the Legion of Honour, sip coffee and a cigar while the city’s electric lights glow over the Opéra and the Comédie‑Française. Their conversation drifts from fierce campaigns in Tonkin and Algeria to the simple pleasure of hearing the distant hum of omnibus and the clatter of footfalls on the Avenue de l’Opéra.

Through vivid, almost tactile descriptions, the narrator captures the intoxicating mix of triumph, loss, and longing that follows soldiers returning from distant fronts. The officers compare the grandeur of the capital to the harsh landscapes they left behind, finding in the illuminated theatres and lively cafés a kind of homecoming that feels both exhilarating and fragile. Their bond, laced with humor and reverence, invites listeners to wander the same streets and taste the bittersweet nostalgia of a bygone Paris.