Japanese to English translation: “Candy Candy Final Story” – Chapter 1, Part 1

I had previously written a review of the Japanese novel  “Candy Candy Final Story” (キャンディ･キャンディ Final Story) written by Nagita Keiko, and later posted a translation I did of the prologue. Generally, when I do translations of small fragments of novels, I don’t intend to follow up with translations of any future chapters.

However, in this case I received such great feedback that I decided to translate a bit more of the story. It’s just a few more pages, but I hope it satisfies the fans, at least for a short time. As before, I am not sure if I will continue translating any more of this work, but if I receive a lot of good feedback as before, there is a chance I will translate some more.

Even though I enjoyed this novel (both reading and translating portions of it), I am not that familiar with the Candy Candy fan community. So if you would like to advertise the existence of this translation feel free to post a link to this article on any related message board. However, I request that you please do not post any of the translated text, as I may change it any time.

Also, as always I would like to state that this work is owned by the author and/or publisher, and I am only doing an unofficial fan translation. If you are interested in this, please consider buying the original work, or some of the other works from the author and/or publisher. You can see links to some of those here in my original review.

Update: You can see Chapter 1, Part 2 translated here.

Candy Candy Final Story (first book): Chapter 1, Part 1   (by Nagita Keiko)

– Unofficial translation –

 

“Annie! Annie… Where are you?”

Candy felt as if her lungs were being squeezed tightly as she ran down Pony’s hill, nearly bumping into Ms. Reine in front of a pile of firewood at it’s bottom.

“Oh, it’s you Candy. What happened to Annie?”

“I can’t find her anywhere… not even on Pony’s hill.”

“What shall we do? It’s almost time for her to leave… Where on God’s earth did that girl go?”

With an expression of utter bewilderment, Miss Reine looked around the vicinity.

“Ma’am, don’t worry! I’ll definitely find her! Have you ever known someone to outwit me in hide and seek?” said Candy energetically, as if to cheer up Ms. Reine, and then took off running again.

They hadn’t checked the chicken coop yet.

If they didn’t find her soon, the Brighton couple might think that Annie had changed her mind. It would so terrible if they decided not to adopt Annie and went home without her.

(Your wish have finally come true, Annie… You’re going to get a wonderful mother and father….)

About an hour earlier, when the Brighton couple came to adopt Annie, she looked so happy wearing the dress they had bought her, colored light blue like the morning sky. Who would guess that when the time came to go home with them, she would suddenly disappear…

(Annie, did you decide you don’t want to be adopted anymore?)

As Candy headed to the chicken coop, she felt a new hope stirring within herself.

Being separated from Annie–for Candy, that would be as painful as half of her body being torn off.

From as long as she could remember until now, at age 6, Candy and Annie were always together. Annie, liable to cry at the smallest thing, was always trailing close behind Candy.

(If they aren’t able to find Annie, then she can’t be adopted by the Brighton family, and she will be able to stay with me forever…)

Candy quickly pushed away these thoughts that came into her mind.

(No! No! Candy, the reason Annie is hiding is just because she is being her usual cowardly self. Of all people, you are one who should understand best how much Annie has longed for a real mother and father of her own!)

“Yes, I know that!”

Candy gave an exaggerated nod to the group of chickens who had gathered around her, clucking as their heads shaked furiously, and left the coop.

There was no sign of Annie in neither the chicken coop nor the old shed.

Where could she have gone? The only other place I can think of is the forest. But would scaredy-cat Annie really go into the forest all by herself?

(But she might be in the forest after all… I’ll search there next.)

Candy took off running towards the dense forest which expanded behind Pony’s Home.

Weaving her way through the trees in the dim forest, she ran as fast as she could, cutting through patches of sunlight which had managed to make it through the leaves above.

If I don’t find Annie soon…

“Annie! Can you hear me? Annie!”

A group of birds were frightened by Candy’s strained voice and took flight to escape, the sound of their wings making a great clamour.

A dead branch snapped below Candy’s feet as she sped through the forest.

At that moment, she stopped abruptly. Candy had caught sight of something light blue flashing from within the shadow of a grove of trees up ahead.

Candy took a deep breath and ran towards the mossy grove.

It was Annie.

She was crouched down, sobbing at the base of a large tree, illuminated by beams of sunlight filtering down on her from above.

“Annie… I found you!”

When Candy took another deep breath and called out cheerfully to her friend, Annie raised her face, eyes glistening with tears.

“Candy…”

“I was so worried about you! Oh Annie, what has gotten into you!”

Candy tried her best to keep her tone friendly, but tears continued to overflow from Annie’s eyes.

“Candy… I don’t want to go anywhere… I just want to stay with you!”

“Annie, there you go saying crazy things again, even though you have such a wonderful mother and father coming to get you!”

“But… Candy, I’m so afraid…”

Annie’s long, dark brown hair shined brightly in the sunlight.

It’s hard to believe that Annie, who was so scared of this forest, had come all the way here by herself.

She was probably so worried about her new life that she take it any longer. But I’m sure she had just as much hope about the great future that awaited her.

Candy smiled and moved in closer to Annie.

“You’re really scared? That’s strange, considering that the Brightons don’t look anything like Dracula.” Candy joked as she crossed her eyes and bared her teeth to imitate a vampire.

“Oh Candy…”

Annie wiped her tears as she giggled.

“That’s right Annie, there is nothing to be sad about! Today is the day you’re dreams are finally coming true.”

Candy grabbed Annie’s hand and helped her stand up, brushing off a few leaves which had stuck to her friend’s light blue dress.

“You know, if you don’t get adopted by the Brighton family, I’m going to pretty upset with you! You promised that you’d invite me to your giant mansion with so many bedrooms and feed me a magnificent meal! I’m really looking forward to that, Madam Annie!”

“That’s true… I am going to be the lady of a giant mansion!”

The tears had mostly dried from Annie’s eyes, leaving a new glimmer of hope.

“Alright, let’s go Annie! Your new parents are waiting for you!”

Annie smiled and nodded.

As they ran through the forest, hand in hand, Candy did her best to hold back the tears that welled up from within. The warm of Annie’s hand in hers… This would be the last time they would ever run together like this…

But now was not the time for tears. She had to see off Annie with a smile, as her friend left to begin a new happy life.

 

A little while latter, the children watched Annie from a distance with glum faces as she sat in the Brighton family’s two-horse carriage. Every single child was wordless with downcast eyes.

Candy ran up to meet Annie in the carriage. There were still tears in Annie’s eyes.

“Oh Annie, you have to stop crying already!”

Candy did her famous eyebrow twitch, which made Annie crack a smile.

After exchanging goodbyes with Miss Pony and the other teachers, Mr. and Mrs. Brighton boarded the carriage. The driver pulled the reins and they began moving. Ms. Reine hurried to keep up with the carriage.

“Annie, make sure you eat…”

Ms. Reine’s voice started to choke up.

“Annie… We’ll always be praying for you…”

Behind Ms. Reine, Ms. Pony nodded as she smiled warmly. Unable to endure it any longer, Annie broke out into tears again.

“Ms. Pony… Candy… All of you…”

Annie’s words trailed off. Mrs. Brighton put her arm gently around Annie’s shoulder as she sobbed quietly.

“Goodbye Annie!”

“Take care of yourself!”

Annie raised her tear-stained face and looked behind her to see the children chasing after the carriage and calling out to her.

Annie seemed to mumble something, could it have been Candy’s name? Candy was frozen helpless, unable to even say goodbye to her friend, and could only watch as the carriage gradually receded into the distance.

Once the carriage was no longer visible, Candy suddenly darted off towards tallest tree near Pony’s Home–a giant oak which had recently sprouted new leaves. When she reached it, she began furiously climbing the tree.

“Candy, that’s dangerous! Come down immediately!”

Ms. Reine yelled out to Candy as she wiped the tears from her face.

“But Ms. Reine, I can see Annie’s carriage from up here!”

Ms. Reine could hear Candy’s voice coming from the top of the tall oak tree.

“Annie! You going to have such a wonderful life! I’ll be waiting for my invitation to come see you!”

“C…Candy, If you wave from there…”

Just as Ms. Reine started to raise her voice, she felt a hand softly placed on her shoulder. It was Ms. Pony.

“Ms. Reine, let’s leave her be. Of all of us today, I think Candy is having the hardest time with Annie’s departure.”

“Yes, Ms. Pony. You’re right…”

Ms. Reine wiped her tears again and looked up at Candy in the tree.

She was perched quietly on one of the oak tree’s larger branches, staring off into the distance.

“I’m really so proud of that girl, Ms. Reine. She hasn’t complained about being sad or lonely even a single time since hearing that Annie was going to be adopted,” Ms. Pony mumbled as if speaking to herself while looking up at Candy together with Ms. Reine.

“How very true, Ms. Pony. After all, Candy was abandoned here by her parents on the same day that Annie was… I just wish that Candy could be as fortunate as Annie has been…”

 

Ms. Reine thought back six years ago to that lovely sunny day in May.

A gentle breeze blew, and white petals from the blooming hawthorn trees lining the streets scattered in the direction of the wind.

In front of Pony’s Home, a small child cried her eyes out while kicking the old battered basket she lay within. The force of her cries was nearly enough to blow away the petals which drifted around her.

“Pony’s Home” was an orphanage that was managed day-to-day by two sisters of the ministry.

Babies were frequently left on the front steps of this house, which was built as an extension to a simple, wooden church.

“Oh heavens! It looks as if today is a day destined for little baby girls.”

Ms. Pony exchanged glances with Ms. Reine and extended both hands to remove the crying baby wrapped in old rags from the basket and embrace it tenderly.

”Dear me! Ms. Reine, this girl has already stopped crying. She’s actually smiling!”

Ms. Pony, who had carried the baby inside the house, peeped outside to see another child sleeping soundly in a worn-out basket.

“Well, well. You two girls were abandoned on the same day. It’s almost as if you were sisters… What names shall we give you?”

The child who had been abandoned in front of Pony’s Home a mere two hours earlier was Annie.

“One well-behaved child, and the other… well she is certainly filled with energy! Ms. Reine, I think we’ll have our hands full with these two.”

Ms. Reine, upon seeing one of the babies grin at her, couldn’t help but smile back in response with her plump cheeks.

“It’s hard to be believe they’re already six years old. Thankfully, they’ve both grown up healthy.”

“Yes, although I think Candy still has a little bit too much energy at times.”

Ms. Pony stood alongside Ms. Reine as they continued to watch Candy high up in the tree.

“Yes indeed, Ms. Pony. It’s funny that we gave her the name ‘Candice White’ because her skin as a baby was as white as snow, and now her skin has been so tanned by the sun…”

After they had made sure Candy climbed down the tree safely, they began walking back to Pony’s Home.

“Ms. Pony! Ms. Reine!”

They were surprised by the loud voice of tattle-tale Mike who ran up to them.

“What’s wrong Mike?”

“Ms. Reine, Candy is ignoring her turn to clean the chicken coop and is going to the hill. See? She’s over there!”

Looking in the direction Mike was pointing, they saw Candy running headlong towards Pony’s hill.

The sisters exchanged glances. They both knew the other was thinking the same thing.

“Hey, aren’t you mad at all?”

Mike gave a disapproving frown as the two remained silent.

Saying goodbye to Annie was just another farewell, something very common at Pony’s Home. It was practically a yearly event.

The children could recover from this type of thing surprisingly quickly.

Except for Candy…

The sisters just couldn’t get upset at her because they knew she hadn’t shed even a single tear today. They couldn’t imagine how terribly painful it must be for such a young girl to bear such sadness.
Even now, Candy appeared to be skipping happily across the top of the hill.