Fresh Water for Flowers

Although Violette takes over the role of cemetery keeper from Sasha, maintaining her set of burial registers is a practice unique to her alone. They represent her taking the opportunity given to her to begin a new life and leaving her own mark on it, approaching it in her own way. Violette was psychologically unable to attend the burial of her own daughter, and, at that time, there were no social media or recording devices to capture the event. Although she does not regret staying away from the service, she does wish that she had been able to have some record of it.

This leads her to begin recording the seemingly pedestrian details of the funerals she witnesses in her cemetery: weather, decorations, religious or secular practices that preside over the burials, as well as the stories that were shared. She believes this will create a memory cache for anyone who was unable to attend the burials of loved ones, just as she was unable to attend Léonine’s.

This practice is notable because no loved one ever reaches out to view the record of a previous burial. While it is not overtly stated, the reader may assume that these records, intended for the peace of mind of others, are only ever seen by Violette alone.