CCFS: Candy's Unsent Letter to Terry
This is the translation of Candy’s unsent letter to Terry , written by her after their separation. It contains her emotional feelings for her even years after their fateful break-up in New York. (CCFS Vol. 2, Part III, p. 274-277, Japanese edition).
The translation was made by Ms. Hanabi Ito, a professional translator retained by the Terry’s Angels. She is a native Japanese speaker who studied at university in the United States, and currently resides in the USA. We chose her because she is from a younger generation. She has never watched the CC anime, read the CC manga or previously published CC novels. Her translations therefore contains no bias.
Translation based on Japanese Edition of CCFS
Vol. 2, Part III, p. 274-277
Dear Mr. Terius Graham,
Terry . . .
Whenever I face my feelings towards you in my heart, my heart turns into a ripe, bittersweet apricot fruit. Even when the softest winds blow, I feel like I’m going to fall to the ground, and I cannot even breathe.
Congratulations on your great success in “Hamlet”!
A long running show to follow a long running show! I keep seeing special featured articles everywhere with words of praise.
— It’s the “Hamlet” that everyone imagined! No, it’s more than that!
— Terius’ “Hamlet” will be performed in England as well!
Grand-uncle William also talks about you subtly in conversations. In the beginning, he would very obviously avoid it, even to the point where he would hide magazines, so it was rather painful to be home(around him),but now he’s acting more normal, and I am relieved by that too.
Oh, and yes Terry.
Grand-uncle William was — actually Mr. Albert! Can you believe that!? There’s nothing worse than this, don’t you think?
I even had met upwith Mr. Albert in London!
Plus, I had even given Grand-uncle William my diary where I wrote all of my feelings downwithout hiding anything before I left St. Paul’s school —.
So, Mr. Albert knows how much I . . . Terry, as much as I do. How Terry and I met and how quickly that . . . everything. I don’t even know how Mr. Albert felt when he read that diary. Neither one of us can still bring it up in conversation yet . . .
I’m glad that Mr. Albert didn’t pursue the path of theater, he has an amazing poker face! It’s possible that he would have been your biggest competition. Mr. Albert didn’t tell me right away when his memory started to come back either . . . so there’s a lot of mystery surrounding it still. But still, I was saved truly because of Mr. Albert. Because Mr. Albert stayed by me, I think I was able to get back on my feet.
Terry, I always wanted to tell you the story of my adventure when I came back from England chasing you, but alas, that never happened. I can’t believe that most of the letters I sent to Terry didn’t arrive to you —.
But Terry, you wrote me so many letters . . . even though you were so busy. You always addressed it to Tarzan – Freckles —. You would always make fun of me, and I always wanted a more romantic letter but… But, I think I understood what your heart wanted to tell me.
You made fun of me, but your letters were filled with kindness and compassion — .
Thank you, Terry . . .
I still have those letters saved carefully. But I’m still unable to re-read those letters.
Terry, you had even visited Pony’s house.
Around that time, I was on a secret passage. I felt so regretful later, when the teachers told me . . . If I had come back a little sooner . . . If you had visited a little later . . .
It was the same case in Chicago . . . We kept missing each other —. But back then I believed that I’d be able to get back the time where we missed each other and that I could spend a lot of time with Terry. The nights in New York were very cold but the snow storms were very warm. Maybe because I could feel the leftover warmth of your heart on my back . . .
— I don’t predict being unhappy . . . (I don’t think that you will ever be unhappy)
Terry, do you remember saying that?
I’m happy.
And Terry, I want you to be happier too!
— Suzanna’s love that supported Terius’ return!
I read an article like that too.
Terry, Suzanna is a beautiful person. More than anything, it’s beautiful that she continues to love you. And you, Terry, who chose Suzanna too.
Of course, there’s no way I can send out a letter like this . . . I know. But I’m just so happy about Terry’s success that even if I didn’t send this letter out, I just had to write it.
Terry . . .
Don’t forget that you have a huge fan in the remote areas of the United States. Please don’t forget that I will be clapping as hard as I can when you are on stage.
P.S. Terry . . . I loved you.
Tarzan-Freckles
Translator's Comments and Insights
For this translation, we asked Ms. Hanabi the following questions. Here are her answers:
Q: In the first paragraph, is she saying she feels like “she is going to fall like an apricot, or “her heart” is going to fall like an apricot?
A: There’s no subject in this particular sentence to make that clear, but I think that she’s personifying her heart to being the apricot, so the latter would be more accurate, that her heart is going to fall like an apricot.
Q: As to the sentence “Grand-uncle William also talks about you subtly in conversations, the Italian edition says, “Even Grand-uncle William now speaks about you with ease”. Do “subtly” and “at ease” mean the same thing in Japanese?
A: The word that got translated like that actually means like “casually” or “nonchalantly” but it’s in the sense where it’s like gentle if that makes sense? That’s why I translated it as “subtly” since he brings it up in conversation nonchalantly in a subtle manner.
Q: Regarding this sentence where Candy talked about finding out Mr. Albert was Grand Uncle William:
“Can you believe that!? There’s nothing worse than this, don’t you think?”
What did she mean by “There’s nothing worse than this”?
A: This sentence in the original has the same emotions as the previous sentence of “Isn’t that the craziest story you’ve heard?”
Q: When Candy talked about her return to American from London, she said she was on a “secret passage”. By “secret passage”, do you mean a secret sea voyage?
A: Doesn’t necessarily say sea voyage. This word just means like secretly smuggling into a country.
Q: Regarding this sentence in the letter:
—- I don’t predict being unhappy…. (I don’t think that you will ever be unhappy).
In the original manga, Terry said, “Be happy or else I won’t forgive you.” The Italian version says, “I want you to be happy, right?” Can you tell us if there are any implications in the CCFS Japanese text that would lead to the way this was translated in the manga and in Italian?
A: They use the word “predict” and it’s not really a word that someone uses when speaking. There’s nothing in the sentence that gives off a “or else I won’t forgive you” sense, and for the Italian translation, this sentence is more a prediction and not a question.
Q: In the letter, Candy wrote:
And you, Terry, who chose Suzanna too.
Is Candy making a statement that Terry chose Suzanna? Or that he did a good thing choosing Suzanna?
A: She’s saying that Terry who chose Suzanna is also a beautiful person.
Q: Candy signed the letter with the words, “I loved you.”
Did she say here “I loved you,” or “I was in live with you”? We’re not sure if in Japanese there are different ways of saying these, but to us they can mean two different things. “I loved you” could be a love that was not reciprocated. “I was in love with you” means both people were in love.
A: There’s no different in the Japanese sentence so I can’t say for sure. It could mean either.
Share with Terry Fans:
*All guest comments and replies will be posted upon Admin approval.