Suite nouvelle Désirées baby

As the flames burned what was left of Désirée’s cradle and dresses, Armand found
among her letters, a letter from her mother written a few years ago to her father. In
this one, she told him that she was relieved that Armand never learned his Afro-origins
American. As soon as he read the letter, Armand looked out the window the flames carried the
cradle of his child, this child whom he had just hunted with his mother. He runs down the stairs and
rushed to the stumble to try to save what was left of his child’s bed. The fire out
he collapsed into tears. The next day, he decided to search  them. Not knowing
which road Désirée had taken, he decided to follow a road that ran along the water. The vegetation was dense and mosquitoes were pounding on his wet, sweaty skin. It was so hot… He was thinking of Désirée and his child who had to face these marshy areas the day before because of him. Where were they? He had not the slightest idea, but the only thought that something might happen to them, he redoubled his efforts and, despite the tiredness, accelerated the pace. After three days of walking, he finally approached the Valmondé residence. He walked feverishly to the door and rang the bell. He waited a few minutes before seeing the door open. Madame Valmondé stood there, in the crevice of the door. When she saw Armand , she blushed. «something happened to my Desiree» she questioned him. Armand : «Désirée is not at home . ». As she shook her head to tell him that no, she let him come inside. She gave him a meal because he hadn’t eaten since his departure except for the two loaves of bread which he had quickly taken away. He then told Madame Valmondé what had happened. As soon as he had finished his account, the doorbell rang again. An unknown young man stood in front of the gate with a child in his arms. Armand saw the baby’s arm protruding from the swaddling around him and recognized his baby’s arm.  He rushed to hug the child. Tears ran down his cheeks and the child cried. Madame Valmondé immediately questioned the unknown: “where did you find this child”. He explained to her that the day before, while he was in the bayou, he had heard a woman call for help. He then rushed to where the screams were coming from. The young woman in question had fallen into the water and was trapped between the branches. With all her might, she held her child above her so that he would not be carried away by the water. He rescued the baby first and then returned to save her mother... although out of danger, she was very weak and had been visibly bitten by a beast... The wound had become infected and had a high fever, the mother had not survived. Before dying, Désirée had asked the man to take his child back to his mother, Madame Valmondé. She had dictated to him a letter for the latter. Madame Valmondé took the mail and read it to Armand. In the letter, she told him that Armand had thrown out because of the skin color of their child and that she knew that she could raise the child like hers, as she had once raised him. Armand collapsed and apologized for the trouble he did . It was all her fault…

...