Vertrude's Voice
You have chosen your descent.
My name is Vetrude, and I am, was, Allen's sister. I always feared he would do something stupid like this. Mama and Papa doted on him everyday of his life, and that's what ruined him I think. It didn't do Lucien and me much good either. I remember reading about a "favorite son" in civics class, and I thought then, I'm not sure what it means in politics, but I know what it means in a family. It means the other siblings are always left to pick up the pieces.
Papa couldn't bring himself to rein Allen in even when he took off on his crazy trip around the world. The only thing he ever had to show for it was a book of "souvenirs," and half of the pictures looked like he cut them out of a travel journal. He always said he was going to write a book about "his quest," but then Allen was always saying he was going to do something. Mama said he was a dreamer. I wonder what's he dreaming about now?
I know I should sound a lot sadder than I do. And I do feel sorry for Naomi and Genevieve. They didn't deserve this. But Allen never thought about anybody but himself. Never.
The Cards Are Laid Before You
Vertrude has spoken, and her voice is bitter. Allen chose the quest—the restless pursuit of significance that took him around the world and away from everyone who depended on him. He chose himself over Naomi and Genevieve, over Vertrude and Lucien, over the family he left to pick up the pieces. He followed the Purple Knight's path to its end.
But Vertrude's bitterness is its own kind of blindness. Was Allen's quest entirely selfish, or was there something in it that his sister could never understand? The dreamer and the one left behind see the same life from irreconcilable distances. Neither possesses the whole truth.
Now the choice passes to you. You must decide the shape of Allen's legacy—not as judge, but as participant. You will choose for a man you have only glimpsed through his sister's grievance, with no more certainty than Vertrude herself had when she watched him walk out the door.
