This page by Hecate
Petite Melancholie is a take on the classic story of The Nutcracker. It is about a sickly little girl named Marie and her mad scientist godfather, Dr. Drosslemeir. It is also about Dr. Drosslemeir's assistant, a young man named Wilhlm. Wilhelm and Drosselmeir have made Marie a special doll named Alice who can act out the stories that Wilhelm reads to her. (Its usually The Nutcracker)She also serves to watch over Marie when the others can't be with her. Because Drosslemeier and Wilhelm have a plan to save Marie from her illness by traveling through time. So one night they freeze time and fetch Marie and Alice, and set off in Drosselmeir's time jalopy. (Scary, but true) Along the way they lose Wilhelm, who seems to get stuck on a snowy night in the future. there he meets a young woman who seems to know him - and who has Alice, albeit broken. It turns out, as you might guess, that she is Marie, who has in fact been cured, but never got over the sadness of losing Wilhelm as a little girl. Wilhelm is surprised, to say the least, but he fixes Alice for the young woman. This seems to trigger something, for Drosselmeir and young Marie appear in the time jalopy to take him back. Before they do, older Marie asks her younger self if she loves Wilhelm. When Marie says yes, her older self smiles and says to always stay with him. The time jalopy leaves. The story ends with young Marie playing with Alice in the grass.
This story has the most of the Tsuruta mystical feeling of any in the collection. It is dreamy and surreal, with some heartbreakingly sweet bits. It has the quality of a summer daydream.
