Original subtitles

♪♪

[Ominous music plays]

♪♪

-Life is rhythm.

The heart...

a drum.

But death knows only silence.

To woo death...

one must love it...

lie with it...

for three days,

give your beating bloody heart to it...

...till death grows ears...

...till death grows warm...

...till an ember sparks...

...the dead drum thumps...

and the blood of light...

floods in.

-Hey, Mickey. You coming to the house party tonight?

-I'm actually starting summer early, so I'm out today.

-What? You don't have finals?

-Um, yeah, a couple, but, uh,

my teachers let me do them early.

-Are you okay?

-Yeah.

-Is it back?

No.

I'm all good.

Uh, yeah. I'm good.

-Good.

Well, all right.

I guess I'll see you in September.

-Yeah, I'll see you in September.

Hey, Dad.

Okay, I'll be right down.

Love you, too.

-How did the last couple weeks of school go?

-It was good. Yeah.

-So I just got a note.

Did you talk to your friends about this?

What do they have to say about what we're doing?

-Not much.

-You don't talk to them about this?

-Not really. No.

-Why not?

-It's not really a college kid conversation.

-Understood.

Boy, your hair grew out quick.

I'm gonna miss the Kojak look, though.

-Who's Kojak?

-He was a bald guy that sucked on lollipops.

-How about you? What's new with you?

-I finished the storehouse renovation.

A year and a half of purgatory is over.

-Well, you finally got the stone up the hill.

Good job.

-Well, you know better than anyone.

No fucking stopping.

-No fucking stopping.

where the beetles hum and the crawlers worm.

A song of rot.

A rhyme to which they work.

Apostles of ruin.

Tiny gods of birth.

Memories haunt these barren bones

when moons ago, the shadow rolled.

A wicked, now forgotten flesh.

Remember quick that life is death.

-Hey, can I get a hug?

-I'm sorry some of that insurance stuff fell on you.

My school insurance was supposed to cover everything...

-Kid... -but...

-...I should have been able to do all that crap for you.

I'm just so bad with bureaucracy.

-I tried to battle a bunch of those co-pays

'cause we're not supposed to... -Hey. Please.

-Well, thanks for covering it all.

-Mickey.

-And thanks for trusting me on this.

-I'm curious -- How'd you find this lady?

-Uh, well, she actually reached out to me.

-What do you mean? How? -Hi. What can I get you guys?

-Cheeseburger deluxe. -Cheeseburger deluxe, please.

-Okay. You're here fishing? Camping?

-No, we're just here for the Lyme's disease.

-Oh, well, you're in the right neck of the woods for that.

-So, how -- What? Did she e-mail you?

-You know, this place really reminds me of all the diners

that we used to go to before my soccer games.

You remember? That was so fun.

-It does.

Does that mean you're gonna take a pre-game shit

in the ladies' room? -Yep. Jackson Pollock, baby.

-That cheeseburger not sitting so hot?

No.

-If you're gonna puke, I could get the ice bucket.

-Mm...it's all good.

I remember I once...

puked all over Mom.

Do you remember that tire swing that we used to have?

-I do.

-Well, I asked her to spin me around and around

and around on it, and she did.

And guess what.

I literally spewed all over her.

-Sounds like something she would have loved.

Yeah. She did.

She said it was funny and that she loved my puke.

-Yeah, that was her.

-All right, well, um...

the lady says that she wants us to be there at,

like, a really specific time tomorrow.

So let's get up early.

-It's your show, kid.

You just kick me in the pants, and I'll be there.

All right? -All right.

Good night.

-Good night.

Are you watching me sleep?

-No.

Yeah, maybe. I don't -- You ready to go?

♪ I saw your face, I saw you shine ♪

♪ I heard you laugh, I watched you cry♪

♪ Fade, baby, don't fade, baby, come home♪

♪ Don't you fade, baby, don't fade, baby, come home♪

♪ I closed my eyes and watched you fly♪

♪ I held my breath and hoped time was just a lie♪

♪ I hear you whisper on the line♪

-Mickey, are you sure you know where you're going?

You haven't even looked at a map this whole trip.

-Yeah, I do.

-Does she know I'm coming with you?

-Uh...

-Great. -Dad, I want to do this.

I know it sounds like a scam.

I doubt it will even work.

But I gotta try.

-All right.

I know you said to not pry or anything,

but how are we gonna pay for this?

Does she take our insurance?

-Don't need it. -How's that?

-'Cause she's doing it for free.

Don't worry.

-Holy mind-blown. Are you serious?

Nothing is for free.

Ever.

-Well, this is.

Take a right and go up this dirt hill.

♪ This love is murder ♪

♪ Ooh, this love is murder ♪

♪ Ooh, this love is murder ♪

♪ Ooh, this love is murder

♪ Ooh, this love is murder ♪

-Wow.

-Mickey: It's a pretty fucking awesome.

-Some pile of rocks.

And that house.

-I-I just --

Dad, this is amazing.

This is real.

This is real. Holy shit.

It -- it's giving me like --

insane déjà vu.

-You're sure this is it, right?

-Yeah.

I can't believe I'm here right now.

-All right, well -- are you ready to roll?

-Okay. Let's go.

-Right on time.

Welcome.

-Solveig, it's such a pleasure to meet you

in the flesh.

Uh, this is my dad, Jake.

Jake: Super nice to meet you.

-Please.

-Wow. This is incredible.

-What a beautiful butterfly.

Is it alive?

-No. -Mm.

That's too bad.

-It's as beautiful dead as it was alive.

Please let me show you to your rooms.

-This is a lot cooler than my dorm room.

-I'll show your father his room.

-Rustic.

I didn't notice a bathroom upstairs.

Is it downstairs?

So a bear shits in the woods?

-Where else would a bear shit?

You do know this won't be easy?

-Well, it never has been.

But she's a tough kid.

-I'm speaking of you.

-Look --

I'm here because this is important to Mickey.

So for three days, you and I just need to --

pretend.

-That's not true.

Death grows within her,

but miraculously, it's delivered her the meaning of life.

But for you, it's delivered the fear of loss

and stripped you of faith.

They came begging, bent in shame.

Trampling their faith on the path to my thorns.

How easily the brittle limbs of the rootless tree bend

and snap in the honest wind.

Barely a woman, her light near dim.

And a still baby, cold in the womb.

A lonely anchor afraid of the dark.

Dragging its mother into the deep.

Shunned.

Maligned for years.

I gave what they begged of me.

The knowledge they hated.

The magic they feared.

To grease the palms of death,

so I might steal from its fingers a life.

Sharp as the needle that sews.

Stitch by stitch.

Vale to vale.

Threading the cloth of flesh to soul.

A prick to cut. The sap to weep.

The tears to fall and gorge the deep.

The hands of time are wound by tricks.

But the spells of blood. They must be clean.

To fool the still and save the quick.

The gaze of the veil has no love.

No hate.

No love.

No hate.

I gave what they asked of me.

And she was saved.

-When did you first learn you had the canker?

-Oh, the cancer?

Um, when I was 15.

My chances were 50/50, which is...

And then it -- came back.

and they said, uh --

less than six months left to live, so...

-It? -The tumor.

-Ah. The canker. Yes.

The crab, so called by the great healer Hippocrates,

who likened the shape to the sea creature.

Hard body, legs growing askew.

I've never seen the sea.

-Ah. I love the ocean.

I've seen the Atlantic, the Pacific.

I'd love to go to the Mediterranean

or the Red Sea someday.

But, um...

My mom took me to the Caribbean.

That was fun.

-Tell me. -Oh --

It's the bluest blue that you could imagine.

And when you're swimming in it, it feels like a wet, warm hug.

-Thank you.

-So beautiful.

-Trees bind the heavens to Earth.

Roots clenching down in the dirt.

Leaves grasping high in the sky.

There's no separation.

And so we begin.

May I?

-Barren. -Yeah. Not my favorite term.

Everything was removed.

It would have been great birth control if I'd ever had sex.

-Fruitless.

But a tree, no less.

Give me your hand.

This ring is a symbol of a union.

Two circles, one soul

bound at the threshold of life and death,

where one ends, the other begins.

After the death, the blood of life.

-Well. That was fucking -- weird.

-Mickey: Yeah. -Jake: I think we should bail.

-Dad --

She's right. I'm basically dead.

Science tells me I'm dead.

And she's telling me I don't have to be.

I don't want to be dead yet.

-We could find a different doctor.

We could do a different...

-We tried that. We tried that.

and it didn't work.

-We just maybe didn't try hard enough.

I mean, how long are we gonna be here at witch camp?

-She says she can do this in three days.

-That's fucking ridiculous.

How come she talks so fucking weird?

It's a -- it's a bullshit. Fucking bullshit.

-Is it?

So what if we have to dance naked

under the fucking moonlight with some, like, crazy bitch?

I don't know, it's fine. It's --

I'm willing to do it.

-Doubt and do, my friends.

-Mick -- I'm here for you, okay?

I want to do this with you.

I'm sorry about that.

-Would either of you like to say a blessing?

-No, thanks.

-No, thanks.

-May I? -Sure.

-In darkness, hungry shadows creep.

Lusting for a soul to reap.

Dark kills day. But light is quick.

Come to trick and fool the sick.

Stay the bones of grief and hurt.

Eat the worms in blackest dirt.

Bless the serpent nestled there,

coiled betwixt the roots and air.

Though it suffer in the sun,

breath of night is soon to come.

-Amen. -No!

Undo it! No hollow idolatry at the table.

Undo it. Undo it, please!

-I'm sorry. -Spit on the word.

Spit on the word while it lingers.

-Where? -On the floor where it belongs.

Spit on the floor.

Hurry!

-This meal looks beautiful.

What is it?

Solveig: Gifts from the forest.

-You know, if you'd like, I could boogie into town

and grab some groceries.

I'm not really much of a vegetarian.

Mickey: Aren't yougonna eat?

-I eat the air as I speak.

Jake: Well, that's some trick.

-Oh. Do you believe in magic?

-I don't. -Oh, your child has died.

-What? -Solveig: In magic lives the child eternal.

Even death has no greater foe.

Close your eyes.

And you.

Please, eat.

One day to die.

Three days to rise.

-Hey.

-Oh, my fucking God! Dad!

You scared the living shit out of me.

-Sorry.

You mind if I come in for a second?

Mickey: Yeah.

-You okay?

-Yeah, I'm okay.

It's just -- a little weird.

I can't sleep. I'm on an old canvas.

At least you got this nice moss.

-Well -- I can't sleep either.

-What are you thinking about?

-Do you remember --

a woman from the chemo clinic named Cindy Duke?

-I do.

She was a sweetheart.

And she had that great little girl.

-Well --

one day when we were shooting our chemicals together,

she turned to me and said,

"I pray for you.

Will you pray for me?"

But, Dad, I --

I don't believe in prayer.

I have always believed in faith.

And when people pray,

it's because they have a lack of faith.

A lack of faith that...

life will give what it's supposed to give.

And death will bring what it's supposed to bring.

Cindy Duke died, and I didn't.

-It's not 'cause you didn't pray, kid.

-Maybe it is.

Maybe she believed in prayer so much that it worked.

I'm not afraid of what death will be.

Life has been such an amazing gift.

I'm sure death will be, too.

But I'm gonna fight like a motherfucker

to make this life last as long as possible,

because death can wait.

So --

I'm gonna take a page out of Cindy Duke's book and believe.

Believe in this moss and this fucking tree bed.

And Solveig.

And her flies.

I'm just gonna believe in it all.

-I admire you so much.

I just keep learning from you.

I love you.

-Solveig: The truth won't hide in dreams.

It lies still...

Seeing.

The whore...

Majestic.

Like echoes of the banshees bouncing in a canyon...

Just below the light...

Disappearing in the river below...

Drifting away, unheard...

In dreams, guilt is pure, unseen love.

Creeping through the shadows, until the veil breaks open.

Reflections glimmer and death dies again.

I gave what they asked.

Death gave, too.

The blunt of time.

The burden of memory smothered by the kindness of stone.

The balance due.

A simple debt of silence.

While I make music in the dirt.

Like the beetle and the worm.

The gift of their blindness while I make mischief in the dark.

Ignorance while I trick the grave and solicit the night.

The balance due.

A life for a life.

-Good morning. I thought I was the first one up.

-Are you hungry?

-Well, I'd love some black coffee if you have it.

-How about a nice strong tea?

-Does it got as much zip as coffee?

-Solveig: Zip? Yes. It does.

Let's give it a go.

I need a little kick-start.

-It's hemlock root.

-Isn't that poisonous?

-Oh, the hemlock plant, yes.

This is from the hemlock tree.

It can be poisonous as well, if one doesn't know the proper alchemy for a sweet brew.

-Great.

-The difference between a poison and a cure

is the dose, my friend.

-You know, honestly, I was just kinda poking for a black coffee.

Not really a cure for anything.

-Well, maybe you've been worrying so long for your daughter,

you've failed to realize you, too, are in need of a cure.

-A cure for what?

-Sadness, loneliness, anger, fear.

-And that's gonna cure all those?

It might.

-Hey, kid, come on down here.

She's making us a super poisonous potion

that cures all bad emotions and got more zip than black coffee.

-You should have a cup with us. -Solveig: No.

Oof! It's got some kick.

Must be healthy 'cause it tastes terrible.

-You'll eat in the woods.

Mickey: Did you dose my dad?

Solveig: I helped him.

-How? -Here.

That tea lubricates the spirit.

It reopens the mind's closed eyes.

-Mickey: Well, I don't think he's gonna like that.

Solveig: Sometimes the medicine is bitter,

but the cure is sweet.

-Oh, fuck.

Oh, fuck!

Ah! God damn it!

Oh, fuck...

Oh...

-Close your eyes.

Show me your crab.

-They say that there's a tumor in here

about the size of an apple.

-An apple sweet enough to eat.

-That's bullshit.

-Oh, but to make the wicked swoon,

one must love it just a little.

-What's that? -Holy water.

That's the last thing I would have expected from you, Solveig.

-It's not to treat. It's to test.

-Is something supposed to happen?

-What do you think?

-Yeah, I guess so.

-Then pay attention to your belly.

-Is it supposed to burn? -Is it?

-Uh, I have no clue.

-Then why did you mention burning?

-I don't know, because of, like..."The Exorcist."

-Maybe because you believe it's possible.

-Well, I guess.

Yeah, I do.

-That's what's supposed to happen.

-What? -You believe in ritual.

-That's it? -No.

Now I put away this pitiful flask of rainwater,

and we perform a true ritual.

-Sing to the crab. -What?

-Sing to the crab so it sleeps.

-Sing what?

-What did your mother sing to you when you were a babe?

-I don't remember. But my dad sang to me.

-The crab cares not who sang.

-♪ The Sandman is coming with his bag of dreams ♪

♪ So take care ♪

♪ He'll blow you a kiss

♪ Blow dreams in your hair ♪

♪ Oh, oh, oh ♪

♪ Don't let him know you're awake till he's there ♪

Oh. Oh, my God. What was that?

-A hungry crab awakes. Keep singing.

♪ You got to ride the spell, if you dare ♪

♪ You're gonna ride, ride, ride like a bird in the air ♪

♪ The sandman is coming with his bag of dreams ♪

♪ So take care ♪

♪ He'll blow you a kiss ♪

Oh! Ow!

Holy fucking ow! What is that?!

-A treat to trick a crab.

-Ohh! It hurts, it hurts!

-As it should.

-Owww!

-The serpent's spawn is lost to the ground,

but all that's loved will soon be found.

-Owwww!

Fuck!

-Good.

-Hey.

What was in that tea?

-Zip.

-Zip.

Did she give you any of that zip?

-Are you okay?

-No, I'm not okay.

I've been puking my guts out all morning.

But it's not like you're not used to that,

so I shouldn't complain.

How about you? What have you been up to?

-Progress.

Show him.

-Fuck.

-It's good. It's a good thing.

-It doesn't look like a good thing.

It looks like a bad thing.

-It is a bad thing -- inside of her.

The reaction is a good thing.

-How so? -The crab is wounded.

-Looks like Mickey's wounded to me.

-Did you not fill your daughter with poisons?

-Chemo? Yeah, yeah, we did.

-And did you not burn her from the insides?

-You mean radiation? That's so cruel of you to say.

How could you say something like that?

It was our only choice.

-Mychoice. But...

Yeah, it was my only choice.

-And I don't doubt it.

And you accepted that pain without hesitation.

You accepted a vicious cure, and it failed.

Well, my cure is painful, too.

Death is no fool.

It does not trick it with kindness.

Do you understand?

-I do.

-This will help.

-You ever noticed how, whenever she's around,

there's flies everywhere?

It's 'cause she's full of shit.

-They came caked in lime, a powerful bane.

How they flaunted their hypocrisy, cloaked in it,

shielding themselves from the spells of the dead.

No!

No! N-o-o-o!

No, no, no, no!

No-o-o-o! No!

My baby, no!

-Can I ask you something?

-Yeah.

-It's gonna work,

but what are you gonna do if this doesn't work?

-I might chase you.

I would've chased your mom if you weren't around.

There's no way I could let you drift off

into that darkness alone, I just...

I'd have to chase you and make sure you're okay.

Well, I guess I'll be dead,

so I can't stop you, but if you did have to kill yourself,

how would you do it?

-I know exactly how I'd kill myself.

I would want to make sure

that the coroner had a really fucking hard time.

So I would stand on the edge of a really high bridge,

I'd put a noose around my neck,

I'd eat a ton of sleeping pills,

I'd cut my wrists, and then drink a lot of alcohol,

and then I would shoot myself in the head

so that I flew off the bridge and the noose yanked on me,

hopefully break, and then I'd fall all that way

so that when the coroner tried to figure out how I died,

they'd have to come up with seven causes of death.

-Oh, my God, that's so fucked up.

-I think I could make it into

"The Guinness Book of World Records" finally.

-Well, let's hope that you don't have to do a septa-suicide.

-Air, breath -- which comes first?

I bend circles in my verse.

Earth weds air. They make a fire.

Ash, death's petals on the pyre.

Blood, flesh, bone equates.

Wind gulps ash, it rests, separates.

Life, death -- which comes first?

I bend birth in reverse.

-This smells really good.

-Well, it looks like meat, so thank you.

What kind of meat is it?

-Venison.

-Mm. Cool. I've never had venison.

-Please enjoy yourselves while I prepare for tomorrow's labor.

-Hey, don't you think it's a little funny?

-What? -Well, she never eats.

And no matter how much I eat, I'm always starving.

-Well...

I gotta admit, I don't feel too well,

so it doesn't really bother me.

-Well, maybe you don't feel well

'cause of all this Voodoo bullshit.

-Dad, you know that's not why.

-All right, that's fair.

But there's no stove.

There's no running water.

I mean...

how did she even cook this meat?

I mean, I'm so hungry, I didn't even want to ask.

-I have bigger things to worry about than my stomach or yours.

Do you know how we even got here?

-Nope.

-She came to me through a dream.

Through a fucking dream.

-Tongue of fire in mouth of moon,

blood and seed and cunt and bone.

River flowing, sapling growing,

stink of rabid vulture knowing.

When the veil of night has flown,

hide in quiet, still as stone.

-Okay, okay, okay.

-Hey.

What are you guys doing?

-None of your fucking business.

-Actually, it is my business.

-I'm too high for this right now.

Let's get out of here.

-I don't want to get out of here.

I still have a full drink.

-This seems kind of disrespectful.

-To who?

-To Solveig.

-Let's get out of here.

-♪ Burn it down, baby, burn it down ♪

♪ Burn it down, burn it to the ground, yeah ♪

-Eat shit, fruitcake!

-Isn't my dad coming? -No.

He needs a moment alone.

-So, today is day three.

-And it will be a long one.

-Can I ask, is it working?

I feel like absolute shit,

but that means it's working, right?

I...

Just, how will I know that it's gone?

-You'll live, you'll love,

you'll grow old, and then you'll die.

And all you lived and all you loved

will make a home in your bones.

And they'll know.

-What is it?

-A good sign.

The blood is quickening.

-Solveig...

Why are you doing this for me?

-Because you asked.

-So out of the kindness of your heart?

-No.

-Then why?

-I heard you, and you heard me.

-I don't understand.

-Your curse is my gift.

Close your eyes.

Put your head back.

Think of nothing.

Open wide the legs of light.

Swallow deep the seed of night.

-Thorn wound, spell unbound.

Wake in half light.

Time confound.

-This has to stop.

You look terrible.

What did she do to you?

Okay.

I've been supportive of this...

fantasy of yours for long enough.

There's no such thing as magic.

She's not gonna cure you.

I know you wanted to believe this could work,

but the truth is, she's a fraud,

and she's been making you look like a fool.

And, kid, I've tried to play along,

but it's always been obvious that this is bullshit.

-All you've been doing is making jokes this entire time,

not taking any of this seriously.

And I don't want to die because of you.

So I want you to go.

Go get a fucking hamburger.

-Oh, what the fuck do you want me to do?

What the fuck do you want me to fucking do?

You want me to just cry all the time?

I've done plenty of that.

I know this was important to you.

But I'm your dad. We're a team.

We're not a team.

I'm in this alone, and you're in this alone.

So, go.

Leave! Go!

-♪ When the wind blows cold ♪

♪ And the sun grows old ♪

♪ You can hear the song of the barren ♪

♪ Through the night we fly ♪

♪ Till the new bird cries

♪ Are you loved? ♪

♪ Are you barren? ♪

♪ Fall so slowly ♪

♪ Will you hold me? ♪

♪ In your arms

♪ When I'm barren ♪

♪ Fall so slowly

♪ Will you hold me ♪

♪ In your arms ♪

♪ When I'm barren ♪

-Hello?

Hello?

-Sorry. Couldn't hear you over the music.

How can I help you?

-Can I get a room for the night, please?

-Sure.

Just need your ID and your credit card.

You here for fishing? -No.

I came up here to... see a healer with my kid.

-You're in the right neck of the woods for that kind of shit.

-Apparently.

You ever heard of a lady named Solveig?

-Solveig the witch?

Yeah, everybody around here knows her.

-Well, I didn't call her a witch,

but probably talking about the same Solveig.

-She's a witch, all right. Necromancer.

You know what that is? -No, I don't.

-She can trick death. -Trick death.

-Yeah, even her own.

People have been putting stones on her grave for years.

-What grave? -Hergrave.

-But she's alive. -Oh, yeah.

That's why we keep throwing stones on her grave.

Keep that angry bitch down.

Yeah, it's a great party spot.

You know, you go drink some beers,

you chuck some rocks on top.

It's called the Witch's Tit.

-Okay.

What? What?

-You know the witch's name, but you don't know the story?

-I guess not. What's the story?

-Okay. A couple hundred years ago,

Solveig brought a stillborn back from the dead

and kept it as her own.

Then the townspeople found out,

took her zombie baby, and burned it.

-And what happened to this witch lady?

-They buried her alive so she could dig her own way to Hell.

But she just stayed there in the dirt, screaming for her baby.

And that's why people keep throwing stones

on top of the grave.

To keep that crazy mama down.

-Is the Solveig that you're talking about,

is she related to the Solveig that lives in the house

up on that hill? -House?

No, there's no house around there.

Do you want a double or a single?

-♪ Nowhere to run to ♪

♪ Nowhere to hide ♪

♪ Nowhere to run to ♪

♪ Nowhere to hide ♪

♪ Nowhere to run to ♪

♪ Nowhere to hide ♪

♪ Nowhere to run to

♪ Nowhere to hide ♪

♪ Sharpen your knife ♪

♪ Bring down the castles on high ♪

♪ Cut through the ties ♪

♪ Cut through the moments that bind you ♪

♪ Ooooooh ♪

♪ Can you see the time? ♪

♪ Can you feel the schism? ♪

♪ Can you see the rhyme? ♪

♪ Bouncing in the rhythm ♪

For centuries, I screamed and screamed

and suffered in the dirt,

alone, empty-armed.

Loveless.

-For centuries, my screams were answered with mockery,

piss and stones to keep me down.

-And when finally my screams were warmed to a whisper...

-...you heard, you so -- so young in your bones

and yet so old, slumped in the lap of death.

-You let me...

You let me rise.

-I take you a shadow. You give me life.

You gave me... You gave me...

You gave me...

Aaaaaaaah!

-Mickey!

Mickey!

Mick...

Mick. Oh, Mick.

Mick.

Oh, she took it!

She took it.

-Life. Life is wondrous.

It is fire in all its wild spirit,

licking the air like a drunken snake.

Color, and the eyes to behold it.

Fingers to feel the cold roughness of stone.

Cold, innocent stone.

The call of distant birds.

The hum of flies.

The anticipation of a thrill.

The small joy that brings a smile to a borrowed face.

The flutter of an eye.

The blink of a life.

The comfort of love.

Hands to raise to an empty, endless sky,

against the pool of the earth,

the weight of bones,

the roar of wind and the smell of dirt,

the taste of metal and fresh blood,

the tapestry of color on an autumn day,

the rich smell of fallen leaves,

the pressure of tiny grains of sand wedged in a fingernail.

How good to rest in solace,

bones entwined, wrapped in worms,

a crown of dirt, a bed of nothing.

Well...

We're baffled.

There's no sign of cancer.

There is no sign of radiation damage.

There is no sign of chemical burns.

There's no sign of anything.

We've ordered up a whole new round of tests

because, honestly, um, with these results, we --

we just can't believe it.

-No, I don't think that we need to schedule any more tests.

We believe it.

-♪ There's a song in the river ♪

♪ Row away ♪

♪ Make a sound in the river

♪ Row away ♪