Dear Benny,

Bonjour my good sir. How have you been? It has been a while since we have last come in contact. I do believe that it is a year to the day that I left that wretched place that we called home and ventured off to the illustrious Paris, le centre des arts. Before I begin to describe to you the beauty that is France, I would like to know about home. How is mother (yours and mine)? How about Paige? I hope you’re keeping those fiendish boys away from my stunning younger sister. Now that is settled, here comes the good stuff.

Paris is incroyable. A bustling city filled with beauty, culture, and especially romance. Of course the first few days I did all that of a tourist, visiting the Eiffel Tower, the Arc de Triumph, etc. But you know as well as I that is not my reason for moving. For the arts, that is why. And the moment I stepped off the boat I was immediately greeted by a string ensemble, welcoming us right on the docks with Tchaikovsky’s String Quartet No. 1 in D Major. It was wonderful.

I have attended many operas (such as Mozart’s The Magic Flute), and visited many museums (the infamous Louvre to name one).  But as for my accomplishments here, events hadn’t originally unfolded as I might have hoped. None of these “hot shots” payed any mind to me or my compositions. I’ve been laughed out of buildings by the dozen now, each time feeling worse than the last. It looked to me that my dream of being a composer would stay as that, just a dream. But then, while shuffling my way along la Rue de Deux Ponts, I ran into the man who changed that attitude – Claude Debussy. Some of my score flew out of my hands, and as he aided me in gathering my things, he took interest in my work. Since then, he has been training me as an apprentice, helping me perfect my piano along with my first sonata. I hope that by the time you receive this, I will have performed on stage with the Philharmonie de Paris. I must get back to my work now Benny, time is of the essence. A tout a l’heure, mon frere! Write me back soon (but not too soon if we’d like my previous statement to come true).

Yours truly,

Alexandre