Original Short Stories — Volume 12

Lemonnier, a modest cloth merchant, has spent his life in quiet devotion to a beloved wife, their marriage marked by simple honesty and endless affection. After years of childless longing, a gentle neighbor enters his world, and their love blossoms into a tender partnership that seems to fulfill his every hope. Their happiness is suddenly shaken when, after years of waiting, his wife announces a forthcoming child, and Lemonnier is swept up in a rush of joy that colors every moment.

The birth brings both blessing and tragedy: the mother dies in childbirth, leaving Lemonnier clutching a fragile infant who becomes the living echo of his lost love. Overwhelmed by grief, he dotes on the boy with a fierce, almost consuming tenderness, indulging his whims as a way to stave off the emptiness. The household’s long‑serving nurse watches with growing unease, questioning the relentless pampering while the father clings to his only source of hope.