the misfortune that haunted emma sainsbury was not unbeknownst to her. she cannot recall a single instance in which she had been lucky. she lived always dodging a catastrophe by an inch, or not dodging it at all. so when she got a strange letter, an invitation to a mansion in the south of france was the last thing she'd expected.

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may 25th, 1979 - dunkirk, france

emma was waiting for her coffee at café robin while failing to beckon the pigeons with the crust from her toast. since her house was a whirlwind of laundry and vacuums, she escaped and went on a walk around the town. unfortunately, the sole of her flats unstuck and started dragging, so she found herself at the café.

"et voila madame." the waitress clarissa swiftly places her coffee down, spilling a bit over the edge.

"merci." emma murmured as she rushed to catch the drip on the coffee cup, taking a sip.

it was a cloudy day and normally would've been pleasant, except for the deliberate wind that swept through the streets. she pulls her hair back with a tie, since it's getting tangled. she doesn't feel particularly awful, but she is definitely frustrated as she walks back home cold, with chapped lips and a broken flat. along with that, she drank her coffee too quickly on an empty stomach so now she's shaking a bit.

summer in dunkirk was mild. everything about dunkirk seemed mild to emma. there wasn't the spark of normandy, or the romance of paris, or the beauty of nice. it was known for only the battle and she was tired of the people in the city.

"maman, I'm home!" she calls, pushing open the front door of their quaint blue house.

a muffled reply from upstairs: "who?" before her mother's head peeped over the banister. "oh emma my darling! I hadn't noticed you leave."

emma takes off her broken flat and lifts it up to show her. "it happened again but with the other shoe."

her mother huffs in exasperation and shuffles down the stairs. "give it here, I'll fix it." she goes to turn into her office but pauses. "oh and you got a letter, a fancy one." she points to the little red table by the front door before disappearing into the room.

it was a very fancy letter. she felt bad for tearing the paper and wax seal. she's silent in focused reading before a surprised look comes over her face.

"southern france? a will? and when the hell did I have an uncle?"

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