Maia

Book 1:The Seven Sisters – Maia’s story. Summary, thoughts and more questions!

SPOILER ALERT!

Who is Maia?

Maia is the oldest of the six adopted sisters we meet in the series. 33 years old, and referred to as “The Strong One”.

She is practical, supportive and very beautiful: with dark brown hair and honey brown skin. She has a gift for languages, work as a translator and live alone in the Pavillon at Atlantis.

The nickname “Pa Salt” was made up by her.

Her heritage brings us on a journey from the aristocratic families and coffee farmers in Rio, Brazil, to the roaring twenties and the bohemian circles in Montparnasse, Paris.

Pa Salt told Maia that her family and story touched his life. Did he meet Izabela and Laurent in Paris?

2007 – Atlantis, Geneva, Switzerland

We visit Atlantis for the first time in 2007. After Maia learns that her adoptive father “Pa Salt” has passed away whilst she was away visiting a friend for a few days. It turns out that in addition to suddenly passing away whilst she happened to be out – all arrangements had already been handled and he was already buried somewhere in the Greek seas by the time she gets home..

After gathering all the sisters back home, they are each given a letter, a quote and some coordinates that should help them kick off the search of their origins – Maia’s coordinates pointing her to a specific address in Brazil.

The content of her letter

• Her letter
• a soapstone triangle
• the quote he had left for her was: Never let your fear decide your destiny

Interesting quotes from her letter:

“it was YOU who inspired me to continue to adopt your beautiful younger sisters”

“You have never asked me to tell you about your true heritage. I would have told you if you had, like one of your sisters did a few years ago”

I too have suffered from the same affliction and it blighted my life at times”

Which raises a few questions:

1. How did Pa Salt end up adopting Maia in Rio within a week, and why did that inspire him to continue doing so?
2. Which sister asked Pa Salt about her heritage a few years ago?
3. Did Pa Salt know about Maia’s secret son and adoption? How and what does that mean?!

After some consideration, a sudden telephone call from a ghost from her past – aka Zed Eszu – aka the father of her (secretly) adopted 13 year old son – she decides to flee Atlantis and heads towards the location of her coordinates.

1920’s – Brazil and France. Izabela, Gustavo and Laurent Brouilly.

We meet Izabela in Rio, after her Italian father and her mother moved there from Sao Paolo in 1927 when she is about to turn 18. She lived at the bottom of the mountain which later would be the home of the famous statue: Christ the Redeemer. Her Italian father had gotten rich on coffee production, and wants to further climb the social ladder by marrying Izabela off to an aristocratic family: the Aires Cabral family.

On her 18th birthday, she got an emerald necklace and earrings from her father. She gets engaged to Gustavo Aires Cabral in 1928, but gets the opportunity to go to Paris with her friend Maria Elisa da Silva Costa from February to October the same year. The wedding is set to happen in January 1929.

In Paris, Izabela soon meets the sculptor Laurent Brouilly, Landowski’s assistant, who ask Izabela “have we met before?” as he think she looks familiar. Together, they spend hours in Landowski’s studio.

Laurent is French, born in a chateau near Versailles and the first son of a family from a noble lineage. But he gave up his inheritance for art. Laurent and Izabela fall in love

He has chestnut hair, an aquiline nose, strong features – gallic looking – full lips and green eyes. He mentions that his father kept a telescope in one of the attic rooms on the top of their chateau – just like Pa Salt later has at Atlantis.

With Maria, Izabela visits “La Closerie Des Lilas” in Montparnasse, where a lot of bohemians hang out during the roaring 20s.

The 7/8 year old boy in Paris – is this our first meeting with Pa Salt?

Izabela finds a small boy in Landowski’s garden. He was exhausted and scared. Very thin. Laurent said “many come illegally from Poland or Russia. Landowski thought he was from Poland.

The little boy spoke perfect French to Izabela “I will never forget what you have done for me tonight”. He then slept peacefully in the atelier for the first time in months.

He carried a leather pouch around his body and refused anyone to take this. He looked at the stars and Laurent told him about the seven sisters – Orion, Pleonie and Atlas. Mr Landowski and his wife Amelie took him in and Landowski explained what he was doing whilst creating the Cristo. Later, we learn that Pa Salt had a mini statue from the Cristo in his office at Atlantis. It was original and signed by Landowski. Does this prove that he is the little boy in Paris?

In 1929 he played the violin: the dying swan, which was created in 1905 for Anna Pavlova – a Russian ballerina  who toured the world in the late 19^th and early 20^th century. She lived from 1881 until 23 january 1931. Could this be a link to Pa Salt and his original family? Was his mother a Russian ballerina? Or was he Russian?

Izabela returns to Rio, and marries Gustavo in 1929. She leaves a note for the boy with her parents name and address in Rio.

1929 – Rio

In February the same year, Laurent shows up in Rio, to accompany the statue he worked on with Landowski in Paris and they start an affair. He spends 9 months in Rio. Gustavo finds out about the affair, and Laurent leaves Rio without knowing that Izabela is married with his child. Before he returns to Paris, Izabela gives Laurent the soap stone with their names on it to Laurent via Loen (her maid).

Beatriz (Maia’s grandmother) is born in April 1930, and grow up thinking Gustavo is her father. Izabela dies when Beatriz is only 18 months old, and leaves the moonstone necklace with her. Beatriz goes off to study in Paris, and Laurent ends up being her professor. She does not know that he is actually her biological father.

In 1956, Maia’s mother Cristina is born. The moonstone is transferred on to Cristina. Maia got this necklace from Pa Salt in 1990. He told her it was more than 80 years old, and that he might tell her what it is one day. In 1973, when aged 17, she is completely out of control, and Beatriz asked her to leave their house, never to be seen again.

1974 – Maia’s adoption

Maia was born and brought to an orphanage in Rio, with the moonstone in 1974. Within a week, she is adopted by a man and a woman. Was the man Pa Salt? Who was the woman?

Georg Hofmann later mentions that the first time he spoke to Pa Salt was to register Maia’s adoption in Switzerland.

2007 – Maia in Rio

Maia meets Beatriz in Rio, which is how she learns the full details of her story and heritage. Beatriz also told Maia the following: “every child that are either adopted or loses a parent young is able to place their biological creator on a pedestal”. Is this a link to Pa Salt’s history? Did he lose his parents young, maybe in Paris when he was around 7/8 years old? Or maybe he himself was adopted?

What are your thoughts on the above? Do add anything in the comments!