The wink of the stars

My husband Alain adored music. When we met, in the mid -1970s, we were only adolescents, but he happened to go to London to buy records that were not found in France. And, among the 900 vinyls he owned, his favorites were those of the English singer David Bowie of which he was a fan.

Alain died of cancer on April 27, 2019, at 62 years old. Before leaving, he told us that the song Starmanfrom Bowie, be broadcast during his funeral. I do not know precisely what this song tells, but its title – “the star man” – now symbolizes Alain, who left for heaven. In the times that followed his death, I used to sign my greeting cards by drawing a small star next to my first name, to signify his presence.

At the end of the summer of 2021, I started Chemin de Saint-Jacques de Compostela with friends. I take with me the wooden hiking stick of Olivier that Alain had found during our honeymoon in Greece, and on which he had engraved his initials. A way of having it a little close to me.

On September 9, the day of party of Blessed Alain, upon waking, I am addressing him: “It’s your party today. It would be good if you could send me a little sign. And here we are, early, left on the roads of Aveyron, towards Nasbinals. After a few kilometers, we arrive at the Maison de l’Aubrac, where we decide to take a break.

It is the opening. We are alone. We settle in the little coffee corner and suddenly the sound system starts… Starman ! Alain’s song!

Amazed, I go back to tears and rush to the young woman from the welcome to ask her who decides on the choice of music. “It’s me. Usually, I only put traditional tunes of the country, but this morning I wanted something else, she replied with an embarrassed air. If you don’t like it, I can change … “” Especially not, on the contrary! ” And I tell him the story of my husband. She then confides in me having experienced the same thing with hers, who was also a fan of Bowie. We were both emotional, and at the same time, joyful.

If, one day, my grandchildren wonder about their grandfather or eternal life, I will tell them this wink that Alain addressed to me from heaven that morning.