Здравствуйте, знакомый незнакомец! Не имею чести знать Вас, так как Вы скрылись от меня подобно горному ветру, но если Вам заблагорассудится ещё раз оказаться здесь, надеюсь, что моё послание попадёт Вам в руки. Мне показалось, будто Вы ждали здесь чего-то. Чего?.. Искренне Ваш, хозяин сего поместья герцог де Нуар

The  speed  at  which  cherry
blossoms  fall  is  5  centimeters  per  second.
M. Shinkai

Je  t’ecris.
G. Lemarchal

Good time of day, dear Little Prince!

What to begin with?.. Sure you had this feeling in your life – as if you know someone for ages (no matter that you firstly saw him/her 5 minutes ago), and the only thing you can say is something like “…ouhh, so, how are you? I’m fine, and what new things happened to you since our last meeting?”. I’ve never thought the Little Prince returned, but I always knew you are somewhere at this planet, and it turned out to be the truth. :)
So, maybe at first I should apologize for such familiarity, but it seems to be the only one possible way to be noticed. It was a long conversation with my alter-ego before writing this letter. In fact, why should one Russian girl write to the French artist?.. No, that’s better: why should one Russian phylologist write to the Italian magister of arts? Maybe because in your large letter to your fans (about 18 007 etoiles) I saw the words about the code of communication? It was great in fact and worth saying special thanks to you for it.

Well… let’s walk along the broad street which is so beautiful at this time of day when the normal people are all at work or at home. Which is your favourite highway in Paris? One of my beloved ones in Moscow is Frunzenskaya levee: it’s so vibrant, and placid, and inaccessible. There’s a lot of snow there now, which makes the levee look like there’s Christmas.

You wrote about the semiotic thing – the code of communication. Do you mean the cross-cultural code including the whole world culture in its widest sense – including Wilde, Balzac, Raphael, Umberto Eco (by the way, how did you find “The Name Of The Rose”?..), Mozart, Michelangelo, Vrubel, Lorka, Schopin, Bach, Remarque, Vermeer, etc., including the traditions of different nations, including the modern artists like you personally and all of those who creates from the heart itself… Including every personality, every artistic mind, isn’t it?.. Sometimes I regret that not every talented person in the world is able to teach the others something. It seems to be a piece of a problem of talent. What do we call “talent” and who do we call “genius”?.. A lot of gifted people in the world die obscurely, without recognition – the people sometimes much more talented than the famous ones. So what should be called “talent” then?.. I think the people often mistake when refer their achievements to their strivings: in fact many people strive but quite a few of them grant their wishes. Thus, maybe they’d rather think not “I worked hard and succeeded” but “I was blessed to succeed”… And, of course, keep doubting – that’s the only thing which can help you balance on the cable of the oeuvre, to my mind. (Maybe you remember the girl who told you in October: “Keep doubting”? :) ) Yes, the cable of the oeuvre, the cable of life – because all of us are just like cable-walkers… Aren’t we?

By the way, why the Little Prince, you may ask? It’s not easy to explain, but I often unconsciously associate people with different personages and only later understand why there is exactly this association. You call yourself Peter Pan; but Peter (at least Disney’s Peter!) was rather careless and selfish except being forever young… So it’s impossible not to remember another all-time boy – but much more tender and strange, a guest from the planet of eternal childhood, the asteroid B-612… Maybe “The Little Prince” is one of the most beloved and strong fairytales in the world, you know. You have ever-young smile and pensive eyes, just like this hero. And, like the Little Prince, you’re unwilling to explain the obvious things to the others – but you want to be understood very much…
And, of course, you came from the stars, too – that’s why you feel you’re so extraordinary among the amounts of people. :)

You know, chaos is easier to orientate in, because there are new stars arising here from time to time. No logical device can substitute the stars!.. Humanity has invented the alphabet and numerical symbols to put the knowledge in order but still can’t understand the primary thing – the Universe orients itself on the stars.
I think it’s a great idea about the personal code of communication. It looks like a canvas of life made of chances and essences – just like a starry sky. And all of us really can contact each other expressly or implicitly. The whole world is connected with each other – great, isn’t it?

Well, it’s high time to finish the letter. :) Hope I could say some vital, necessary words to you. May it be that the voices in our heads are just the voices of those who tries to communicate us, who is cut from the same cloth as we?..

Sincerely yours,

Marie Belitskaya