Man, that first paragraph hit me like a truck. I’m not quite sure what is going on. Suzette is in France, dreaming of love, but there for another reason. She’s there to find the truth and being in the US is too close to the problem. The problem with her cousin? The problem that chased her cousin away?

Well your piece hit me and then took me on a journey that had me asking questions. My only criticism is about the second to last line of the fourth paragraph. It sounded off to me every time I read it. It helped when I mentally added ‘Suzette knew her’ before it. But I’m not sure. It could just be me.

I’m definitely interested in Suzette and her journey though, should you ever return to France.

Ok, I threw it in for clarity. It’s sort of formal speech to refer to one’s mother as Mother. I wanted the separation to begin there. As a college student, she would be tearing away from her mother and finding her own wings anyway. “Mother could smell a lie, even over the phone.” kind of snubs her by giving her the formal title instead of “Mom” or in your case, RQ, “Mum”. :)

Oh, and, I am not sure where I was going, but hormones and love are all mixed together at this age as well. I want her to have her own secrets about love. That journal could play a part in this. Since I’ve never been to Paris, or a tourist, um, anywhere, this thread will be hard for me continue accurately.

Ending with more questions than answers, I like it!

I love the opening. Many cities are defined as some imaginary symbols by people, but you should go there once. Seeing is believing.