Candide

My middle name is Candide. My great grandmother’s name was Candide, and so is my aunt’s. My mother and my aunt Candide are close, so it comes as no surprise when she makes the mistake, and calls me Candide every now and again. There’s always a slight moment of pause after she does this, first apologetic, and then… well, we agree that it is my middle name.
And what is this Candide, that can body swap? I don’t think its mere habit, that has my mother saying Candide. I think its something else, the role I’m playing, the beat playing in her head as she sorts through what she’s saying. For a moment, Candide and I are the same, much like in other moments, I am Mé and share that name with a sixteen year old my mother ate dinner with every night all those years ago.