In August 1999, Charles Lucas, a carpenter, was hired in a small French village in Hautes-Alpes to renovate a castle’s floor.
A former lawyer who had loved wood since childhood, Charles turned to carpentry in order to return to his first aspirations.
He couldn’t imagine that when he undertook this project the surprise that awaited him; a discovery that would change his life forever.
As he dismantled the floorboards, numerous scraps of wood, scattered here and there, caught his eye. As he dusted them off, he deciphered a strange message:

                                                           « My story is short, sincere and frank because no one but you can see my writing. »

Words written in pencil, a kind of diary. So many words seem to be addressed to him, like a bottle thrown into the sea…

                                                                                          « Happy mortal, when you read me, I will be no more .»

Alone, in the middle of the dust, he goes back in time to find the author of these messages:

                                                                                    « Joachim Martin, Village craftsman - 38 years old - 1880 »



By entering Charles's imagination, we enter Joachim Martin's daily life, and with him, an entire village is rediscovered.
Men, women, children, the squire and the clergy come alive before our very eyes.
A change of era, a change of atmosphere, but always the same setting.
Because he knew he will not be read until after his death, Joachim confided his darkest secrets in his writing.

He wrote about the injustice he deplored and described society's woes. He denounced infanticide and blamed the weight of religion.

Writing became an outlet, a way of coping with everyday life, and it’s on the banks of the Durance, where he liked to recharge his batteries, that the two carpenters ‘discover’ each other.
Like a poetic image, water, a transient element, will form the link between Charles Lucas and Joachim Martin.
Between two worlds, their presence is enough. The past whispers to the present, and the present is strengthened by the past. A sense of vastness springs from their solitude.
After more than a century under the floorboards, Joachim's voice is finally heard. Charles feels richer for understanding this heritage...

By renovating the castle’s floor, he also writes its history…