I was finding it more and more difficult to swallow my saliva, as if my mouth was filled with all the dust in the square.

“Yesterday, at the running track…”

“Yes, that’s what it was. But I can sense that before long I’ll be in darkness all the time.”

I couldn’t think of anything to say, and the more I tried to think of something, the harder it was.

“You’re the only person I can tell,” she said.

“Why? Your parents must be aware of it.”

“They know about the disease of course. But it’s still quite rare and no one has any idea – except me – when night will fall. Everyone thinks I’ve still got years to go.”

“Surely something can be done… In Johann Sebastian’s time, people went blind for no good reason … but it’s different now… There must be some solution, there must be specialists. For all I know, there are even different specialists for the right and left eyes.” Like for chicken breasts, I wanted to add.

“No. Believe me, I’ve studied the subject. I’ve even been to conferences about it. Nothing can be done, nothing at all… The thing is … I can’t say anything to my parents … because if I do I’ll have to leave school before the end of the school year… I’ll be sent to a specialist college and I won’t be able to go to the music school…”

I didn’t really understand, probably because, as she’d just told me, I lacked emotional detachment, which allows you to see and understand things clearly and objectively.

“Why would your parents stop you going to your music school? Don’t they know that you’re preparing for this audition?”

“Of course they do. They still hope I’ll keep my sight, at least for many years yet. If they discover I’m blind they’ll want to put me in this exclusive college that was created on purpose, after lots of research, to give disabled people like me the same chances as everyone else. Oh, of course they’ll let me play on special occasions, but I heard them talking about it: if I lose my sight they’ll put me where I’ll be safe and they’ll stop me from pinning all my hopes on a future in music.”

“This situation is totally incendiary!” I murmured, scratching the back of my head.

“It’s my only hope, you see. Getting to the month of June and passing the audition, whatever it takes. And once I’ve passed and the music school’s given me a place, my parents won’t be able to stop me… Don’t you think?”

“Yes, definitely.”

I don’t know why, but I thought of Lucky Luke and his obsession with cycling.

“So basically we’ve broken away from the pack and we need to keep the lead until the end of the stage?” I said.

“That’s it exactly.”

“Well, it’s going to be an exceptionally tricky mountain stage, we’ll have to be prepared for that!”