"The Buttes Chaumont park i was created in 1867 and opened on April 1st for the World Fairi" "The infertile site had been used for a gallows in the 13th century until the fall of Louis xvii" "The site was then a gypsum quarr from the Revolution until 1860" "The gardens were a major part of Napoleon 's redevelopment of Paris" "It was decided to buy the land and transform the hill" "Napoleon Ill had Baron Haussmann build the Buttes Chaumont park" "The 247-hectare park welcomes 3 million visitors ever year" "It boasts an artificial lake the "suicide bridge"" "a hanging bridge a waterfall" "a grotto and the Temple of Sybil" "A multitude of birds share the area" "Here lurks a tawny owl" "The main entrance is on Place Armand-Carrely site of the 19th district's town hall" "The perimeter follows Rue Manin part of the Rue de Crimée" "then Rue Botarisy across A venue Simon Bolivar and finally back to Rue Manin and Place Armand-Carreli" "Finally a word about the most mysterious part of the park" "A s a Mecca for esotericism in 19th centur Parisy the park's Temple of Sybil was said to be at the center of a mystical pentacle" "Rumor had it that the old quarry's network of tunnels now closed was said by initiates to lead to a secret room of magical powers" "NIGHTS WITH THEODORE" "So what now?" "What do you want?" "I want to end the night with you" "Come on, follow me" "Wait, are you sure?" "Yes" "Put your foot here" "I'll catch you" "I hope so!" "Wait" "Go on" "See that building?" "The lit-up one?" "No, the other" "I live behind it" "Alone?" "No" "I share with my best friend" "You're a student?" "Yeah" "History of art" "Are you a student?" "No" "You work?" "A drug dealer?" "No" "So what do you do?" "Corrections" "Correcting what?" "I work for publishers for magazines" "And I do a little music" "Like everyone else" "Theodore" "Theodore" "Theo" "The sun is up" "We've been in the park all night" "I can't breathe!" "It'll be okay" " Thanks" " You're welcome" "Okay?" "Yeah you?" "How's your headache?" "It's gone" "What are you up to?" "Nothing" "I'm at homey drinking teay thinking of you" "Still there?" "Yes" "I want to see you" "Me too" "Anna?" "I was thinking" "why don't we go back tonight?" "Can you help me?" "We can't see a thing" "You even brought a flashlight" "Her name is Annai" "And this is Theoi" "Far from everyone, they hid away" "They turn up in a cave" "It's dark And there's no heating" "And the decor leaves a lot to be desired" "You reckon someone sleeps here?" "Probably" "Must be a pavilion" "How come they left all this?" "Don't know" "Would you care to?" "How kind" "My dear Count, your salon is so refined" "'Tis is as nothing beside your beauty, Countess" "This is a dream place" "I am glad it pleases you" "My dear Count, we should not stay here" "Why not, Countess?" "'Tis late and I have classes tomorrow" "As you wish, Ma'am" "What time is it?" "Ten to one" "Then it's my birthday" "Really?" "Happy birthday" " How old are you?" " 28" "Like my sister" "You have a sister?" "I thought you were an only child" "We must celebrate" "Tomorrow" "So what do you fancy doing?" "We could go back to the pavilion" "And spend the night there" "All right" " Here's to your birthday" " Thanks" "Good" "Not bad" "Here" "Thanks" "The nex night we went back" "And the next" "The park was our place" "I followed him unquestioningly although it might seem weird" "I was happy to spend nights there with him" "That 's all" "The daytime was for sleeping off the night" "We soon gave up our daily existence the better to enjoy nights in the park" "Pierre Nowak lived in Place Armand-Carrel in Paris's 19th district" "He worked for an insurance company in Rue Simon Bolivar, just across the Buttes Chaumont" "So every morning and evening he walked through the park on his way to and from work" "Then in 2002, the agency closed" "He was offered a job in Nantes" "He took it and moved there with his wife" "After a month his wife noticed a change" "He became distant and silent" "She had always regarded her husband as well adjusted and cheerful" "After three months, he began to show signs of severe depression:" "loss of appetite, fatigue, excessive anxiety, complete disinterest" "He was put on sick leave, prescribed antidepressants" "To no avail" "So much so that six months later he had lost 30 pounds and was unable to walk" "At the time I was a young psychiatrist and had just completed a thesis in environmental psychology" "So the Nowak case fascinated me" "After a week of observation," "I suggested that the medical team try an experiment" "One afternoon, I took Nowak in a wheelchair with his wife to the Buttes Chaumont park" "As soon as we went through the gate," "Nowak dissolved into tears" "The experiment was repeated a second time, then a third" "Nowak went back regularly with his wife for walks in the Buttes Chaumont park" "His condition began to improve noticeably" "He began eating again, began to speak, and began to enjoy life" "His wife got back the man she had lived with for almost 30 yearsi" "I saw someone" "Where?" "Outside the pavilion" "A strange man" "What was he doing?" "I don't know" "We exchanged glances and he ran off" "We are not alone" "ONE MONTH LATER" "So how are you?" "Fine" "You look pale" "really?" "Mom said you never visit anymore" "She's worried" "She's got nothing to worry about" "Suzanne, you won't tell Mom this" "Course not" "I've met someone" "What's his name?" "Theodore" "How did you meet him?" "At a party" "The dessert menu?" "No, thanks" "We do some weird stuff together" "Like what?" " You won't tell?" " Promise" "We spend most nights at Buttes Chaumont park" "You're kidding" "No" "What do you do there?" "Nothing speciaIl" "We wander about, sometimes we sleep" "sleep there?" "Yeah" "In an abandoned pavilion" "It started out as a game" "We climbed the fence, had fun" "Now we're hooked" "It's great" "Anna, you have to stop!" " Why?" " It's not allowed" "Anyway it's just not normal to spend nights in a park" "hello?" "Where are you i?" "Why are you whispering?" "I'm there" "You went alone?" "So did it go well?" "No" "I'm going home" "What's wrong?" "We meet up five or six times a year, around the summer and winter solstices, just before or after, depending on the stars" "Can you tell us what you do exactly?" "We meditate" "We sit on the grass" "By meditating, we pick up on the park's energy" "Meaning?" "We stock up" "Where does the energy come from?" "The park" "The secret room, to be precise" "What secret room?" "The one beneath the park" "tell us more about this secret room" "It was hewn out of the rock in the late 19th century by the "six mystics"" "The six mystics?" "The secret society we model ourselves on" "Have you ever been in the room?" "impossible, it's inaccessible" "Why is it inaccessible?" "It's been sealed off" "Why?" "Too dangerous" "Too much energy" "But by sitting down and meditating, you pick up on this energy?" "Correct" "What does it bring you?" "spiritual strength, so we can face the world" "I remember the park seemed different that night" "By the temple, the owl had gone" "Someone was in the grotto" "I was born in chile lived in israel, in jerusalem lived in Manhattan" "I also lived in Moscow" "I moved to this cave i like it here" "But I'm a wanted man" "Because of my books" "It'II be a big book" "I w speak the truth" "The truth!" "That nighty for the first time Théo told me he loved me" "He said he needed me only me" "I started to get frightened" "Parachutist Grandveaujumps from Buttes Chaumont bridge (27 meters)" "What are you doing here?" "I wanted to see you see where you live" "Can I come in?" "I've needed it for a while" " Did a doctor?" " No, it was my decision" "Why didn't you tell me?" "Because it's nothing" "I need it during the day but at night, in the park, I feel fine" "Theo, I think we need to take a break" "A break?" "shall we go away for a few days?" "My parents have a house at the seaside, I can get the keysi" "How about it?" "I don't know" "please" "The first dayy we walked on the beach for two hours" "The wind was strong" "The second dayy we lay on the beach" "The weather was lovely almost hot lt was a carefree day" "The third dayy The´o became gloomy" "As if he knew the care free days couldn 't last" "Three days" "The respite lasted but three days" "Breathe, breathe!" "I'II call a doctor No, stay here!" "Why not?" "Because there's no point" "I won't go to the hospital" "I have to get back to the park" "I want you to leave" "We have to be left alone in the park, okay?" "What are you doing?" "Leave him alone" "Don't touch my book!" "I never saw Théodore again" "I never went back to the park"