Inseparable

by Simone de Beauvoir

wanted to know why, with so much emotion in her heart, so many things to do, so many gifts, she often looked distant and seemed sad to me.

What would I have dreamed about? I loved Andrée more than anything, and she was here with me.

she had no idea how much I needed to share everything with her. That was what saddened me the most: I had just realized that she had absolutely no idea of my feelings for her.

She hesitated. “I’m tired of being a child,” she suddenly said. “Don’t you find it endless?”

Andrée had much more freedom than I did; and even though things weren’t much fun at home, I had no desire to get older. The idea that I was already thirteen frightened me.

“No,” I said. “The life that adults lead seems so monotonous to me; all their days are the same, the...

In books, I thought with sadness, people declare their love or hatred for each other, they dare admit to everything they feel in their hearts; why is that impossible in life? I would walk for two days and two nights without eating or drinking to see Andrée for an hour, to spare her any pain: and she had no idea!

“I’ve been told that my little Sylvie is no longer the same as in the past,” said the voice. “It seems she has become distracted, disobedient, insolent.”