topaz

"...and would begin to run; and she would arrive breathless, rosy-cheeked, everything about her smelling of sap and verdure and fresh air... She was like a spring morning entering his room."

"Emma would grope her way, squinting, dewdrops clinging to her hair like a halo of topazes around her face."

LISTEN to my petite soeur's lovely song here.

"As for Emma, she never tried to find out whether she was in love with him. Love, to her, was something that comes suddenly, like a blinding flash of lightning- a heaven sent storm hurled into life, uprooting it, sweeping every will before it like a leaf, engulfing all feelings. It never occurred to her that if the drainpipes of a house are clogged, the rain may collect in pools on the roof; and she suspected no danger until suddenly she discovered a crack in the wall."