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In early January Franklin left his place and his village and was not heard of for a while. I eventually met up with him and asked him what happened.
Here's our conversation:
SHERLOQUE: - Why did you leave so quickly?
FRANKLIN: - I could not bear it any longer. I had to tell someone and get help. For a while I had been thinking of going to the police station to report my story but who would believe me? You know I surf on the net and on facebook a lot!
- Yes, I know that!
- Well, just after christmas some time I found out the police had a website and was keeping a facebook page. On their page I read that a new on-line system was being experimented to lodge a complaint. I jumped on that opportunity.
- And then?
- It was really great. I filled a detailed form on my screen with very detailed identity information and the address of the nearest police station to me... and I clicked 'enter' and that was it.
- You mean you told your story on that form?
- No, no. They ask you what kind of complaint is yours. I don't really remember. But I was full of hope. At last someone serious was going to listen to me. A few days later I got a phone call from my local police.
- And? Did you have to go and report your story there?
- No, they gave me an appointment to come and see me the next day. I remember 'before 5pm' because someone is coming to visit at 5:OO, I said... They quickly replied they would be at my place before that. I was so happy, you have no idea. At last I was going to be able to tell...
- Yes, but didn't you think your story was too far-fetched for the local police to hear it?
- Not for one minute. I was sure that because I had filed on internet I was going to be dealing with modern policemen.
- Ah yes, modern policemen who would believe that you get virtually hit by remote control and that a virtual voice wakes you up in the morning!!!
- Yes, I did think so. I know it sounds silly but look, I was educated in America and in my university you dealt with and studied all sorts of crazy stories. In a scientific way nothing is too weird to study.
- So they came to your place?
- Yes. Now this is the hard part. I opened the door eargerly to two young police officers, a man and a woman, both very young, in their twenties perhaps. They rushed in gingerly keeping a very stern face. They shook my hand. That was a nice handshake. And I said "sit down"...
- So far so good.
- Sherloque, I hope and trust you will believe what I am going to tell you now. I will do my best to say what happened exactly as I remember it.
- Go on then!
- First of all the young policeman went and stood straight near the window and aggressively declared he didn't want to sit down. I sat down anyway and the young policewoman did too next to me. "Tell us what's your problem"... I said I wrote everything down in a blog as mentioned on the form on-line. But he wanted me to explain further. I must have been hesitant, I don't remember. The young policewoman said she had printed a few pages of it and had just spent an hour on it. She could not make head or tail from it. I tried to explain I had written the blog as if it was a novel in order to be able to write as a witness because I guessed nobody would believe me otherwise. She gestured that the pages she had in front of her did not make sense. I said that on a blog the order is in fact reversed from the chronological order...
- Are you talking about the novel where I feature as a detective?
- That's it, yes. Have you read it? It is written in French and on line at: http://sherloque.wordpress.com
- Yes, but go on.
- He said point blank: I don't believe anything you say. You should see a doctor and get treated. You are mentally ill... I felt then as if I had fallen from the 10th floor of a building. No, he was not going to believe anything I said. I tried to defend my case, mentioned that it once happened to me at a hospital when they did not want to believe I was in danger, sent me home. I nearly lost my life for it. Luckily a doctor saw the truth in it and sent me in emergency to be operated from gallbludder... You know, Sherloque, even that, I don't think the young policeman believed!
- What about the policewoman? Did she believe you?
- No, she was simply nodding to whatever the guy said. Only at one stage when I mentioned that in the news a young man who had killed his whole family had said he was hearing 'voices'... I shrugged my shoulders. The policewoman turned towards me sharply. But I have no idea what they really thought then. In any case I quickly realised I was in real danger with these two repeating I was mentally ill.
- My god, Franklin, what a story!
- When I realised I was in real danger from them I changed my strategy. I started saying they might be right, I shall go and see my doctor, yes, I'll make an appointment right now, to see a psychiatrist, yes, you are right. That is a technique I learned from aikido, you lean on the side of your aggressor until he is ready to fall and you swiftly disengage yourself. You know, Sherloque, when I think of it now, this policeman had come with the idea of taking me away right there. Maybe the presence of the policewoman stopped him from 'arresting' me. I regret that there was nobody else in the house. There was no third party to witness what I am saying now.
- You mean, they had come with the idea to 'arrest' you! But why?
- That's what I'd like to know.
- Go on...
- It is very painful, Sherloque, to relive this moment. He... I mean the young policeman, asked if I had anyone to look after me. I said I had a son. He seemed very surprised at that. Thinking of it now, this piece of information saved me. He threatened again to take me to a psychiatric hospital right away. But he backed a bit. He would come and fetch me in 3 days time. Meanwhile I had to see my local doctor. I said, yes, yes, of course. Then he asked if I owned the house... and also who was coming to see me at 5:00
- None of his business!
- I said I was helping someone from England with their house renovation problems and as I was bilingual I was used as a go-between... Just for a laugh, Sherloque, I think he didn't even believe that!!!
++++ ++++ ++++ ++++
After this 'interview' Franklin packed his bags, left his place and drove his car out of France. He does not know when he will come back.
END OF STORY
In early January Franklin left his place and his village and was not heard of for a while. I eventually met up with him and asked him what happened.
Here's our conversation:
SHERLOQUE: - Why did you leave so quickly?
FRANKLIN: - I could not bear it any longer. I had to tell someone and get help. For a while I had been thinking of going to the police station to report my story but who would believe me? You know I surf on the net and on facebook a lot!
- Yes, I know that!
- Well, just after christmas some time I found out the police had a website and was keeping a facebook page. On their page I read that a new on-line system was being experimented to lodge a complaint. I jumped on that opportunity.
- And then?
- It was really great. I filled a detailed form on my screen with very detailed identity information and the address of the nearest police station to me... and I clicked 'enter' and that was it.
- You mean you told your story on that form?
- No, no. They ask you what kind of complaint is yours. I don't really remember. But I was full of hope. At last someone serious was going to listen to me. A few days later I got a phone call from my local police.
- And? Did you have to go and report your story there?
- No, they gave me an appointment to come and see me the next day. I remember 'before 5pm' because someone is coming to visit at 5:OO, I said... They quickly replied they would be at my place before that. I was so happy, you have no idea. At last I was going to be able to tell...
- Yes, but didn't you think your story was too far-fetched for the local police to hear it?
- Not for one minute. I was sure that because I had filed on internet I was going to be dealing with modern policemen.
- Ah yes, modern policemen who would believe that you get virtually hit by remote control and that a virtual voice wakes you up in the morning!!!
- Yes, I did think so. I know it sounds silly but look, I was educated in America and in my university you dealt with and studied all sorts of crazy stories. In a scientific way nothing is too weird to study.
- So they came to your place?
- Yes. Now this is the hard part. I opened the door eargerly to two young police officers, a man and a woman, both very young, in their twenties perhaps. They rushed in gingerly keeping a very stern face. They shook my hand. That was a nice handshake. And I said "sit down"...
- So far so good.
- Sherloque, I hope and trust you will believe what I am going to tell you now. I will do my best to say what happened exactly as I remember it.
- Go on then!
- First of all the young policeman went and stood straight near the window and aggressively declared he didn't want to sit down. I sat down anyway and the young policewoman did too next to me. "Tell us what's your problem"... I said I wrote everything down in a blog as mentioned on the form on-line. But he wanted me to explain further. I must have been hesitant, I don't remember. The young policewoman said she had printed a few pages of it and had just spent an hour on it. She could not make head or tail from it. I tried to explain I had written the blog as if it was a novel in order to be able to write as a witness because I guessed nobody would believe me otherwise. She gestured that the pages she had in front of her did not make sense. I said that on a blog the order is in fact reversed from the chronological order...
- Are you talking about the novel where I feature as a detective?
- That's it, yes. Have you read it? It is written in French and on line at: http://sherloque.wordpress.com
- Yes, but go on.
- He said point blank: I don't believe anything you say. You should see a doctor and get treated. You are mentally ill... I felt then as if I had fallen from the 10th floor of a building. No, he was not going to believe anything I said. I tried to defend my case, mentioned that it once happened to me at a hospital when they did not want to believe I was in danger, sent me home. I nearly lost my life for it. Luckily a doctor saw the truth in it and sent me in emergency to be operated from gallbludder... You know, Sherloque, even that, I don't think the young policeman believed!
- What about the policewoman? Did she believe you?
- No, she was simply nodding to whatever the guy said. Only at one stage when I mentioned that in the news a young man who had killed his whole family had said he was hearing 'voices'... I shrugged my shoulders. The policewoman turned towards me sharply. But I have no idea what they really thought then. In any case I quickly realised I was in real danger with these two repeating I was mentally ill.
- My god, Franklin, what a story!
- When I realised I was in real danger from them I changed my strategy. I started saying they might be right, I shall go and see my doctor, yes, I'll make an appointment right now, to see a psychiatrist, yes, you are right. That is a technique I learned from aikido, you lean on the side of your aggressor until he is ready to fall and you swiftly disengage yourself. You know, Sherloque, when I think of it now, this policeman had come with the idea of taking me away right there. Maybe the presence of the policewoman stopped him from 'arresting' me. I regret that there was nobody else in the house. There was no third party to witness what I am saying now.
- You mean, they had come with the idea to 'arrest' you! But why?
- That's what I'd like to know.
- Go on...
- It is very painful, Sherloque, to relive this moment. He... I mean the young policeman, asked if I had anyone to look after me. I said I had a son. He seemed very surprised at that. Thinking of it now, this piece of information saved me. He threatened again to take me to a psychiatric hospital right away. But he backed a bit. He would come and fetch me in 3 days time. Meanwhile I had to see my local doctor. I said, yes, yes, of course. Then he asked if I owned the house... and also who was coming to see me at 5:00
- None of his business!
- I said I was helping someone from England with their house renovation problems and as I was bilingual I was used as a go-between... Just for a laugh, Sherloque, I think he didn't even believe that!!!
++++ ++++ ++++ ++++
After this 'interview' Franklin packed his bags, left his place and drove his car out of France. He does not know when he will come back.
END OF STORY
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