Twelve long years have passed since I embarked on an online experiment I named "Le Jardin Sauvage". To mark the anniversary, I have decided to go back to the very first page where I typed my greetings to the world wide web. I am a romantic at heart. I like to pretend I have good intentions, and I did, didn't I? To speak with you, cher mortal, to share my innermost desires and perhaps faults, to immerse myself into your mind, to play. I created a dazzling stage where I acted with all the energy of a child on a playground and I am not going to lie, I enjoyed myself tremendously. I presented you with the better part of me. I listened to your daily woes, laughed with you, or more often at you within sight of my ever perpetually annoyed companion who would rather read a book -or a Kindle lately- without having to be constantly interrupted by my rather boastful ways. Yet he read in my presence every night. I suppose he could not bear the thought of loosing me again. I don't need to tell you of his name. So, what did I do? The playground became too crowded too soon. What I had created by curiosity ended a bore, and an emotionally dangerous one for some. This garden brought out the worst in its residents. I tired of it. I found I did not fully grasp the deeper implications associated with offering an illusion of friendship with you, the outside world. Not much good came out of it, but who am I kidding? They warned me and I did not listen. I had to come to my own conclusions, and I did. I retired, all the while witnessing budding groups of fans emulating my virtual garden in their own way. The gates closed in 2003, or was it 2004? By then I was long gone. I spent the following years resting, content in the sights and sounds of my fellow New Orleanians and tourists coming and going about their daily activities below the open french doors of my home. My city had fallen into a deep stupor followed by lengthy recovery, and I was to watch from afar, yet from within as well. At last, sometimes I wonder. Do you miss me? Are you content with the copies of me floating about the internet? Has Edward Cullen captured your hearts? (Do you see me laughing again?) I confess fondness for the HBO series True Blood. I have yet to read the books but if the character of Lafayette were to be real, ah yes, with his wits and pulse, I would have sucked him dry.* Well, I said enough and I bid you goodnight. Lestat de Lioncourt - 2009. * Come on now...