Landmarks at the Bigonville mill
Melusine woke up on Sunday morning when an early snowfall had covered the mill, the pearl of Bigonville, with its white coat. The building had been enthroned on the Sauer since the 13th century, but Melusine came from an even more remote era.
She was as frightened as she was excited, imagining what had changed over the centuries: the evolution of thought, languages and science, the greatest successes, but also the greatest misfortunes that befell the Man…
Her senses were still asleep, still troubled by her vision, she did not realize that a man was approaching the shelter where she had taken refuge. Suddenly, she heard the door open, bringing some light into the still dark place. In a panic, the beauty curled up behind a piece of furniture so that she was hidden, and she watched the miller moving around, holding a kerosene lamp in his hand.
Fascinated by this flame, enclosed in such transparent blown glass, Melusine was burning with curiosity, which finally got the better of her. She stood up slowly, cautious but interested, while the man was busy with an intriguing installation. She stared at the device topped with a cylinder connected by strange wires to a wooden box on one side and to a curious wavy object on the other. Suddenly, a dazzling blue light flashed like a trapped lightning bolt in this curious glass object composed of interconnected spheres. It was like a strange snake, endowed with the same luminous powers as the fairy...
Startled, she couldn't help but jump back.
She stumbled and fell with a loud crash, startling the peasant who had been concentrating on his electric battery and his precious coil. Convinced that the cause of the fuss was a small animal, the miller cautiously approached Melusine, motionless on the ground... Unable to restrain her curiosity anymore, Melusine stood up abruptly and, looking at the man, shouted in Franconian:
“What is this machine? What have you trapped inside the balls?” pointing to the now extinguished tube.
It took several seconds for the poor guy to come to his senses and respond nervously to the one who kept yelling the same sentence in a strange language.
"Electricity! Electricity! Like lightning!” he reacted, bewildered.
Melusine, understanding that magic had nothing to do with this phenomenon, marveled suddenly at the harnessing of this formidable energy and contemplated the device without saying a word.
In the light of the flame, the miller gazed stunned at the incredible beauty of this stranger dressed in fresh animal skins, and noticed in passing the key around her neck. Interrupting his thoughts, the young woman suddenly exclaimed:
“I want to work for you for a week in exchange for room and board!”
The man did not understand the half and replied in Luxembourgish:
“Your dialect seems both familiar and old-fashioned to me. Who the hell are you?”
"My name doesn't matter," the redhead replied simply, not seeming to make an effort to understand.
Better not reveal her true identity; the miller could know the story and throw her out without further ado.
“Let's…,” he conceded before continuing: “Let's talk with my wife over breakfast, come on. »
Promptly introduced to the taken aback miller’s wife, Melusine sat down at the family table, not really knowing what to expect from this “breakfast”.
“Dear miss, would you like some coffee, some chocolate?” suggested the hostess.
"Pardon? What are these drinks?” replied the beauty.
“Okay… Er, maybe just a cup of tea with sugar? ".
" Tea? Sugar? I don't know these beverages. Choose for me as you see fit. “
The whole family then looked puzzled at this stranger who seemed to suffer from amnesia.
"You are really strange, and I don't know why, I have sympathy for a madwoman who lies down dressed in deerskin with some gold jewel around her neck, but if you work for me at the mill, you can stay.” the miller said then.
This is how Melusine obtained asylum for a week in exchange for a few jobs, the time to take her bearings in this unknown era.
If her smelly rags earned her a green dress made of dense woolen fabric offered by her sympathetic host, the beautiful redhead insisted nevertheless on remaining barefoot, as the custom in her Pictish tribe was. With lightning speed confusing the host and his family, the fairy began to learn all the native languages of the clients. Drawing on her knowledge of the Langues d’Oïl and of Frankish languages, she soon communicated perfectly in Walloon, Lorraine, French, Luxembourgish and German if necessary.
She was also able to get used to the new flavors and habits of the time very quickly.
During the evenings by the fireside, she listened to the stories of the family patriarch: for example, the chronicle of the great patron Jérôme de Busleyden, a native of the eponymous village from where Melusine had embarked on her journey. Jérôme, a 15th century humanist who traveled all over Europe, had founded a College of Languages at the University of Louvain. Or it was the story of Wolfram de Bigonville, the cursed dark knight, who killed his brother Ulrich and later returned in secret to atone for his sins. He had set up his hermitage at Wolwener Klaus.
The week passed in an instant, so Friday evening arrived soon.
Ever since she woke up, Melusine remained intrigued by one point, and finally the question burned her lips. Therefore, she put it to her hosts, well placed to discuss this subject:
“Please tell me about grain production in the region. How do you make the land cultivable? »
At these words, the miller's wife rose with a sneer:
“And here we go, you started him on his favorite topic, I’m going to bed. »
The man smiled, and then, his gaze shining, spent a long moment on his preferred subject.
He ends up saying:
“Since the potato disease and the subsequent food crisis 20 years ago, the regions of Luxembourg have been focusing on increasing cereal production with the support of politicians. Peasants have the right to clear land and receive low-cost lime to remove acidity from the soil. We are living through thrilling times: multiplication of fodder plants and cereals, improvement in the quality of cattle, major technical progress on agricultural machinery. But a bad harvest would be catastrophic for all of us: without food, our economy would collapse and our independence would end! Our powerful neighbors would fight to take control of our lands soon, it would be a powder keg that could even ignite all of Europe. »
“I understand,” replied the redhead laconically, fully appreciating the extent of what was going on in the evil mind of certain gods.
However, she continued: “Our contract is coming to an end. I must take leave of you and continue my journey. But I will remember you and your hospitality. »
Taken aback, the miller replied, “What? It's almost midnight. Stay, you will leave tomorrow morning. My wife wanted to say goodbye to you as it should. She was curious about your plans. »
Melusine went out, visibly in a hurry, and dived into the darkness on the side of the mill, waving her hand to the miller, who was shouting with wild eyes: "Miss, there's nothing good for you outside, at this hour and in this cold. If you don't die before, you will be killed for your witch eyes and to steal your golden key! »
Midnight…
Melusine leaped behind a wall, laid down on the ground, and began her rapid process of transformation away from sight. Both of her legs softened and bound, causing her to moan loudly, thus puzzling the miller. As the man advanced in her direction, she rose on her snake tail and headed towards the Sauer in total darkness.
Then, she turned to the man, who could only make out her vaguely, and suddenly lit up her fairy eyes in his direction.
The poor guy jumped in fright.
“Maybe I really am a witch,” she smiled at him, before diving into the river fully clothed.
The miller, dumbfounded, refused to believe what he saw in the darkness: the green dress, now dispossessed of its owner, was swimming upstream at full speed.
His wife, worried not to see him in bed, found him later facing the water, gesticulating quickly to convince himself of the direction of the current.