Hector and the Secrets of Love. Francois Lelord

at young Chizourou, who did have a very sad expression on her pale face. She had almost married a young man whom she loved very much, but he had decided it wasn’t a good idea. Why? Because the two of them had done the things people in love do, and afterwards the fiancé thought that if Chizourou was able to do that before she got married she wasn’t a responsible girl and he couldn’t possibly marry her. And now Chizourou was thinking about him all the time, and this Hector understood.

      He tried to find something comforting to say to Chizourou. The first thing he thought of was that a boy who had ideas like that wasn’t right for a girl like Chizourou, who was visiting a temple recently cleared of mines in a region that wasn’t safe. So she wouldn’t have been happy with him anyway. Miko translated for Chizourou, who listened attentively and finally gave a little smile. In the end, her story made Hector think about his opinions on love: why do we go on being in love with someone who makes us suffer? And why do we fall out of love with someone who cares about us? Apparently, even Japanese women suffered from this problem. Thinking that reminded Hector of Professor Cormorant’s message about ‘silly cultural prejudices’.

      Miko and Chizourou started talking to each other, and then Miko told Hector they had found a strange sculpture – very different from the row of dancers with their mysterious smiles – in a hidden recess of the temple.

      Just then, Jean-Marcel came back, and he was also very interested in the strange sculpture. Miko and Chizourou showed them the way. They followed the two Japanese women through a series of passageways, where the sun filtered through huge sculpted windows, and suddenly they came out into the forest. Miko explained that they only needed to walk along the outer wall of the temple and they would come to the sculpture.

      ‘Hmm,’ said Jean-Marcel. ‘That will take us outside the temple.’

      ‘There are some little red stakes,’ said Hector.

      ‘I’m not sure that means much.’

      ‘Well, they’ve already been that way.’

      ‘Those girls don’t weigh much and the ground is soft,’ Jean-Marcel said, as though thinking out loud.

      They carried on walking. Jean-Marcel took the lead, followed by Hector, Miko and Chizourou. Hector was glad Chizourou hadn’t taken the lead, because he thought she might not mind stepping on a mine and wouldn’t have been careful enough.

      ‘Is everything all right?’ Hector asked Jean-Marcel.

      ‘Yes, yes, everything’s okay.’

      Even so, Hector noticed Jean-Marcel was looking down at his feet as he walked, and he said to himself that everything wasn’t as okay as all that, and maybe it was stupid to be blown up by a mine while sightseeing or even on a mission for a big pharmaceutical company.

      But Jean-Marcel began singing, which showed he wasn’t too worried. Hector could make out the words:

       ‘If you believe in your destiny

      Take your parachute and jump …’

      And he thought to himself that it wasn’t surprising Jean-Marcel had a military appearance.

      They reached a small opening in the temple wall and went through it. They came out into a tiny square courtyard, its walls sculpted with the same type of dancer, but one bas-relief was very different from the others.

      What amused Hector was that it looked like a very early psychoanalysis session – a woman patient was lying on a couch and the analyst, also a woman, was sitting next to her. Of course, she was sitting on the couch and not in an armchair, and she was also massaging the patient’s legs, but as this was the tenth century naturally the technique hadn’t yet had time to evolve. The couch resembled a dragon, which might symbolise the patient’s neurosis, which she would learn to control thanks to psychoanalysis. Underneath it were numerous fish, turtles and other aquatic animals clearly representing the impulses originating in the depths of the unconscious. On the far left you could see the secretary making appointments.

      Hector told himself that if the professor had seen this sculpture he must have found it very interesting.

      ‘Well, there’s more,’ said Jean-Marcel, ‘the tour isn’t over yet.’

      Hector said he’d prefer to continue contemplating the little courtyard and the early psychoanalysis session. Miko had a word with Chizourou and it was decided that Jean-Marcel and Miko would carry on exploring the temple while Hector and Chizourou sat quietly in the shade.

      They heard Jean-Marcel and Miko’s footsteps fade into the distance and then there was silence. Chizourou didn’t speak any English and Hector spoke no Japanese, and so they just exchanged occasional little smiles to show they appreciated each other’s company. Beneath the little white hat, Chizourou’s face had an unassuming, innocent beauty suggesting a pleasant nature, and Hector hoped her fiancé would have time to come to his senses, realise his mistake and go back to Chizourou before she in turn stopped loving him. He wondered what Chizourou thought about him, and also whether it was obvious he had taken a shine to her.

      Just then, Chizourou puckered her lips and went ‘Ooooooh’ quite loudly, which made Hector jump. She pointed to a crack in the stone above the early psychoanalysis session. You could see a little piece of bamboo, like the tip of a cane, sticking out. Chizourou had only seen it thanks to a ray of sunlight which suddenly made it stand out against the stone.

      Hector wasn’t very good at climbing, but scrambling up the sculpted walls wasn’t very difficult. He grasped the little piece of bamboo and went back to Chizourou.

      She went ‘Ooooooh’ again when she saw Hector pull a roll of paper out of the bamboo. Hector immediately recognised Professor Cormorant’s handwriting.

       Dear friend,

      This note is a gamble, but then so is conducting a scientific experiment. I knew they would send you in search of me, and that you would learn of my visit to the temple. So I counted on your curiosity to lead you to this sculpture, and if you are reading this note then I was right. I received your message, but you are touchingly naïve if you believe you are the only one who knows that email address. They know everything there is to know about you, and probably a bit more besides.

      I am on the brink of making several important discoveries, along with my charming assistant, whom you already know about, and those rotten bastards want to come and spoil everything. To keep them at bay, I