Original subtitles

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oh

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[Applause]

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foreign

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she's sticking fingers in my mouth

cuz she bet you talking all day when she

can't hear nothing

if she can't hear then how she no talk

coming out of my mouth

[Music]

i think she trying to talk now she going

crazy

eating herself you stop that

helen stop it helen tell it

stop it

to kill us ugh

[Music]

helen stop yelling stop it stop it

okay okay give him over the scissors

helen

helen give mother the scissors helen

okay okay

there now okay

it's my pretty girl huh well baba

i hope you got your story ready what

story is that the one you're gonna tell

when the little savage kills somebody

your honor i had no idea that poor duff

and dumb child could be so violent

your sister is none of your concern

james

uh don't you have some occasion you need

to dress for

why don't i ever meet any of your young

friends james

how can i invite people here but surely

your friends don't think that

helen has any reflection on you well

helen is the real head of this house

she's probably just pretending she can't

speak up here

so she don't have to answer to anyone

your jealousy of that helpless child is

intolerable

auntie

oh well here we are here's our father

and aunt have

i saw james i hope stu you went calling

again

no no okay we all

love helen but surely you must see what

an effect she is having on your

household

why james and arthur can barely speak a

civil word

and all your time has given over to the

girl

you hardly ever have time for your new

baby

james is right you and arthur must do

something and soon what can we do evelyn

the only thing left to do is to take

helen to an asylum

and kate would never stand for it have

you tried we have taken her to every

hospital in two states

no one holds out any hope what about

that doctor chisholm up in baltimore

i read an article in your very own

newspaper arthur

they say he has cured many cases of

blindness

that other doctors have given up on now

why not

write to him and have kate's heart

broken again

i'm prepared for my heart to break any

number of times captain

i'll write to him myself if you like

katie there isn't going to be

any cure and the sooner we accept that

fact

the better off we'll all be i will never

accept it

captain i can't

i'm going to the apprentice

i'm not looking i can't turn my back for

a moment arthur helen knows a lot more

than you think about what goes on in

this house

nothing is solved by running all over

the country every time some quack

doctor gets his name nothing is solved

by running to the office either

hmm kid darling

what can anyone do the kindest thing we

could do would be to find a sanitarium

in a beautiful spot where she would be

taken care of

no never oh she tore

off my buttons

its eyes she wants the dog

she wants the doll to have eyes i'm

sorry evelyn just tell me what it'll

cost to have the buttons replaced and i

know she does

oh don't mind about that what are a

couple of buttons if it makes

helen happy i'll sew them on if you're

lying is that what you're trying to do

make helen happy nothing makes her happy

everything you give only makes a worse

she can have these little things that

make her happy

oh helen

so you cannot do things like that okay

why

she can have the little things that make

her happy if you won't send her away

and we must find some way of confinement

you want to walk away an attic like some

sort of mad woman

all right i'll write to dr i know

dr chism could do nothing for the girl

and refer them to

dr legendary graham bell as the girl is

young and the parents are not willing to

send her to us

i have put you up for the role of

governess

governess or nursemaid

we both knew you'd get rid of me one of

these days

you've accomplished so much here but

when you first came to us you couldn't

even spell your name

are your eyes still so painful no it's

my ear sir

tell me about the child is she bright

or dull

can she be todd she's given to tantrums

they say

so am i maybe you should warn the

calories about me

i've told them nothing of your history

except your qualifications for the job

here is the money for your train ticket

and here is a gift from all of us with

our love

we're going to miss you

this is my last chance to counsel you

annie

you lack tact and the talent to bend to

others

you're hard to fool and hollow to please

but all the same we are proud of you

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well we'll have to meet the train again

that's why i hope the girl is on this

one

oh she will be oh well we'll see you

what's up then

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[Music]

your mother's not here child

i'm here though i'm your father

i'm your father

i used to swing you through the air you

weren't even two years of age yet

i wonder if you remember any of that

oh any of us here you are

there's a piece of candy for you

so

mm-hmm you want your mama don't you miss

it

captain keller wouldn't like this if he

saw it but what's one little candy going

to hurt

[Music]

ms sullivan yes i'm james keller

i had a brother jimmy are you helens

half brother do you have a trunk yes

henry

passive come over let's celebrate

i'm so relieved we were beginning to get

a little bit worried about you the man

who sold me that ticket ought to be tied

to the tracks

i'm uh catherine keller i'm helen's

mother you didn't bring helen

i was hoping you would well her father

wanted to spend the afternoon with her

actually

they so enjoy their time together okay

you should be ashamed ms sullivan you'll

find it in the south we make up these

little stories just to amuse each other

i hope you won't mind

how much can a blind and deaf child

learn miss sullivan

i don't know does she communicate with

you at all

oh well i always know what she wants if

that's what you mean

no you don't only anybody knows that if

you give helen a piece of candy she'll

be quiet for a while

can you teach her to sit still in the

sutton i'd have to teach her language

first language

if she doesn't know words how could you

know why you want her to sit still

miss sullivan perhaps you were misled as

to helen's condition

she can neither see nor hear but if it

is her senses that are impaired and not

her mind

she must have language language is more

important to the mind than light is to

the eye

but how will you teach her if you can't

talk to her

any way i can we are going to do

everything that we can to help you

i don't want you to think of us as

strange as messianic strangers aren't so

strange to me

i've been around all my life

welcome to ivy green miss sullivan i

trust you had a good journey

i had several thank you where's helen oh

miss annie

we've put you in the upstairs corner

room now if there's any breeze at all

this summer you're going to feel it

i'll take my suitcase there oh i have it

miss solomon no please let me

i wouldn't think of it i have something

in it for helen

i needn't be treated like a guest

now when may i see helen well there she

is

that's helen

[Music]

hmm

[Music]

um

she seems very rough kate why didn't she

take her glasses off

well the institute said that the light

hurts her eyes apparently she was nearly

blind as a child

blind well she's had nine operations on

her eyes

and they expect one blind person to

teach another one

how long was she employed at that school

well she she wasn't employed there

she was one of their best students

students

now you have two blind girls to take

care of father you stay out of this

james why do you have to be so mean

about helen

what to confirm my father's view of me

of course

[Music]

those are mine

[Music]

[Music]

yes yes

all right then helen doll will be your

first word it's as good as any

d

o l

it has a name d

o l

thank you henry thank you plus

so what was that some sort of game it's

an alphabet

for the deaf each letter has a sign

d o l

l doll

first she will learn to imitate d

oh

oh she can imitate things all right like

a regular little monkey

a bright little

[Music]

i monkey she wants her doll back she can

have it back when she spells it

she has no idea what word's even off how

can she spell them if her fingers learn

the letters now

then maybe someday her brain will learn

that they have a meaning

did you make up this applebee me no

spanish monks under a vow of silence

which mr james i wish you would take

uh

c a

k e

cake

c a

k e

very good cake

d o

l l

oh

[Music]

very good good first lesson

very well done very well done

[Music]

um

[Music]

um

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i wondered if she was bright

she's the brightest one in this house

where's miss annie she's in a room

didn't anyone call it a supper james go

upstairs and bring her down

suddenly i'll get the ladder what

i'll need a light it won't take long

what are you talking about

well helen locked her in the room and

run off with a key

and i suppose you were gonna sit there

and say nothing you told me it was none

of my business father

i was just trying to respect your wishes

miss sullivan are you in there yes sir

i'm in here

isn't there a key on your side

no sir there's no key sir

[Music]

put that light away jimmy whatever you

say father

captain that we can't keep miss sandy

locked up till we find the key

james bring the ladder back

whatever you say father

[Music]

i had heard solve problems not create

them

jimmy thank you person

mrs sullivan

yes captain kenner i hope this is not a

sample of what we can expect of you

come out and sit on my shoulder

i'm perfectly capable of going down a

ladder by myself do as i say ms sullivan

very chivalrous of you oh this is not

chevrolet this is

practicality you know good news trapped

in a room

[Applause]

not in the house 10 minutes honestly i

don't see how you managed it

i'll look for the key sir i think you

just don't look in any rooms that can be

locked

all right everyone excitement's over

i better leave the ladder

[Music]

[Music]

oh you little devil

if you think you can get rid of me that

easily you're wrong

[Music]

i have nothing better to do and nowhere

else to go

to the best of my knowledge no one in

this house

has ever tried to control the girl

but how can i

discipline her without breaking her

spirit

but if she won't obey me

oh

ink it has a name

[Music]

pen

no hello

oh bad girl

no never you mind me it's it's not the

first

the captain thinks that your spelling

everything that helen does is

like spelling to a fence post you talk

to the baby don't you

does she understand what you mean not

yet but she will

someday if she hears enough words i'm

letting helen hear the words

how long will it take a million words

maybe

hen

did you see that i spelled pen

she spelled cake

she wants to see if i can tell the

difference

there is nothing impaired in that head

mrs keller helen is smart

and angry i can use that can you teach

me those letters

i'll start tomorrow if both of us are

spelling to her

that makes only about half a million

words each

why did she get a reward for stabbing me

i i don't know i'm sorry

sullivan breakfast is ready

shall i get the ladder that's enough

jimmy

oh good morning miss annie good morning

ah morning

i hope you've settled in comfortably

miss sullivan

thank you captain i have

please help yourself miss annie

if there is ever anything that you need

please let us know

the biker price is up father we should

earn a nice profit this year for a

change

you used to be a man who'll make a good

living running a farm hmm

well perhaps if you'll leave your pet

newspaper and come show me my business

we can make some real money not in front

of miss solomon

why not in front of miss sullivan

miss annie uh helen is used to helping

herself from our plates

i'm afraid i'm not used to it no of

course not oh

viney please bring this sullivan another

plate there's nothing wrong with my

plate captain only that helen's hands

don't belong in it

one plate is hardly worth sporting our

breakfast over you see she's just gonna

keep trying until she gets away hmm

i must insist that you let the girl go

thank you

oh

look now she's hurt herself no she

hasn't i know a tantrum when i see one

and a badly spoiled child sullivan

please show some pity for this kind of

behavior petty's the one thing she

doesn't

the whole house waits on her hand and

foot yeah yeah you stay out of this

letting helen have her own way it's

really such a small thing

small it seems you've all decided it's

easier to feel sorry for helen than to

teach her how to behave well i've not

seen that you've taught her anything yet

miss sullivan

quite right captain well observed i'll

start right now if you leave the room

leave the room yes please captain right

now

if you leave the room miss sullivan if

you're not willing to stand up to one

tantrum i cannot teach her anything

mrs kevin you asked if there was

anything i needed yes

but i i need to be alone with helen

right now miss sullivan oh captain

james captain may i speak with you

outside

[Music]

give us a moment please

[Applause]

this is absurd arthur i am sure that she

is only trying to do what is best

i will not have my house turned into a

circus

[Music]

unless there's a change in attitude ms

sullivan is dismissed

arthur and then what hope do we have for

helen

no less than we had before and then

perhaps we can regain some quiet

[Music]

[Music]

oh

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um

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oh

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[Music]

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hmm

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ugh

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uh

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ugh

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uh

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hmm

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um

[Music]

[Music]

[Applause]

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ugh

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um

[Music]

um

[Music]

what you want me to do miss kate it's

noon time and the breakfast dishes ain't

been cleared

[Music]

[Music]

[Music]

helen ate from her own plate

with a spoon all by herself

and she folded her napkin the rooms are

wrecked

but she folded her napkin

i'd be in my room mrs keller

don't be long now miss annie lunch gonna

be ready right away

what are you reading a dr howe's account

of his patient laura bridgman

she was deaf-blind and mute from the age

of two

did he succeed with her he did

and it is possible with patience

i suppose something they did not give me

a certificate for at perkins

after this morning's lesson

the captain wants me to dismiss you but

i am going to insist that you remain

thank you where is your family miss

annie

my brother jimmy was the last i had he

died 12 years ago

i'm sorry i tried to protect him

i failed it's no use trying to protect

or speak for other people

not really the only hope

is to teach them to do it for themselves

that's what i'm trying to do with helen

what you demand of her now

is all she'll ever be

step

hmm

captain

[Applause]

[Music]

[Music]

and if what happened this morning wasn't

enough helen can't stand to be near

things have gotten worse and i want you

to give her notice

no

well if you won't i must

good evening captain mrs keller

miss sullivan i find that i am not

satisfied with this

that is this arrangement uh

will you please take off your glasses i

find it very difficult to speak to you

with them on

ah of course

uh if you must keep them on now miss

sullivan

please tell me captain is the little

house in the grove of trees being used

for anything

the garden house this is just what i am

talking about

miss alban if you expect to stay on here

there must be a change in your manner

and

you must convince me that there's a

slightest hope of teaching a child who

flees from you like the plague

you could show some sympathy you're

absolutely right captain

there is not the slightest possibility

of teaching a child who runs away from

me

it is hopeless here and the sooner we

realize that

the sooner we can get to a solution it

is not hopeless

helen could talk by the time she was 10

months old

before this illness she was such a good

child yes she was an extraordinary child

i believe that but she's not that child

anymore

i've seen pets behave better than she

does and it's your petty that's the

cause of it

i beg your pardon i'm afraid

your love for helen is a greater

handicap to her than her blindness or

her deafness

annie before you came we spoke of

putting helen in an asylum

please don't give up obviously ms

sullivan thinks it's hopeless

here it's hopeless here i'm only just

beginning

please let me show you please follow me

i believe i can only make progress with

helen if i have complete

charge of her but you already have that

no i mean day and night she must

depend on me for what for everything

her food her clothes her playtime her

sweets

all of these things are tools that i can

use to reach her

and how do you propose to do that when

she runs away from you

if she can run to you i have no hope

which is why i must live with her

somewhere else

you can bring helen here after a long

carriage ride she won't know where she

is

and you can still see her every day

provided she does not know you're here

how long would you keep her as long as

it takes

i know this is the way and captain

i cannot be rude to you if you're not

around to interfere with me

you might understand that if i say no to

this

you will abandon your charge to an

asylum an asylum is no place for helen

captain

believe me i know

i grew up in an asylum

in the state poor house my brother and i

until it took his life

our play room was the dead house where

they kept the bodies until they could

dig the graves

which made me strong but

helen is strong enough already

please give me this chance

give her this chance to save herself ms

sullivan

do you like this child

do you

captain with your permission

i'll give you two weeks you have two

weeks to get the child to tolerate you

percy could stay here he could run

errands for you

two weeks is not enough two weeks is

what i am offering

i'll take it

[Music]

where would you like your suitcase

masala oh anywhere is fine

[Music]

how do you expect a winner over in this

place you plan to tie to the chair

[Music]

how is it you have no pity for hella to

have pity for someone is a waste of

energy

[Music]

feeling sorry for ourselves is even

worse

well i hope you win miss solo

[Music]

so

well we rode in the country for two

hours oh she knows she could be in

another town

bring her inside please

hmm

uh

oh she wants me she can have you back in

two weeks

miss annie please take good care of her

i will

[Music]

[Music]

hmm

[Music]

hmm

[Music]

[Music]

ugh

[Music]

[Music]

wake up

try again

[Music]

let me go she gonna pinch me

i think she's trying to talk she can

talk

but she's got to use her hands here let

me show you

she's mad at me now so she doesn't want

to play but she knows a lot of letters

c a

okay e

cake c

a k

e

she spends cake she gets cake

she doesn't know what the word means yet

but she will

is he

we don't need her how would you like to

learn one she doesn't know

m is easy i is even easier just to pinky

up

okay m why should i talk to you

i'm teaching percy

no i'm teaching percy

oh you're jealous

m i n

k

at least i'm back to where i can touch

you

you can go back to bed percy thank you

hmm

i never thought that life could be so

quiet

i miss her too

[Music]

[Music]

there are rats in my room can't we live

somewhere else

i don't have anywhere else jimmy please

can i sleep with you

just for tonight

little baby don't say a word

[Music]

is

[Music]

foreign

[Music]

flower

[Music]

leaf

water

[Music]

no

[Music]

why is it so hard to understand

we were just about to have lunch how is

she miss annie

fine i told her that stitch yesterday

now i can't get her to stop

it's so quiet in the house without her

well when the captain and james on

bickering that is

i noticed they don't get along oh well

they used to when

james's mother was alive but then helen

came along and

well she takes up so much of our

attention

soup

oh such a lady she'd rather starve than

eat without a spoon

you have taught her so much in a week

and a half

it's not enough obedience is not enough

she knows so many words

if only she knew what they meant and how

will she learn

where bird learns to use its wings it

has to come

but how miss annie i

need more

time alone with her yes

why not because i can't

spell it if she ever learns you're the

first person she's going to want to talk

to

she

needs

me she needs me too

no you have three days annie

that's all you have

[Music]

e g g egg

the word is the thing it has a name

[Music]

bird

[Music]

the bird is coming out of its shell

helen

you you come out too

[Music]

well francis i believe we're on

something here

hello francis james

[Music]

thought i'd come take a look around

we had an idea last year and tried

something

and it looks like 22 inches between the

plants gives us about twice a year

twice the yield we had that blue mold

pretty bad last year sir

well we think it's carrying over the

winter and the roots so we're gonna try

to get all the roots and stalks

out of the ground after the hover well

if the root's gone if we get a bad rain

we stand to lose a whole layer of

topsoil

well i was thinking of that too

let's plant some low grass for the

winter

look for something would you francis

did you need something father i think i

have it jimmy

sorry to interrupt

course

horse

[Music]

eats

[Music]

how i have waited for this day

i only hope we won't be disappointed

helen doesn't ever disappoint you father

why are you jealous james i'm not

jealous

i'm envious

it's not only helen who needs to learn

how to talk

things will be very different here if

helen is better

i know

who will i blame them for my unhappiness

if only there is someone to help me

i feel i need a teacher as much as helen

does

[Music]

captain uh miss sullivan i've brought

hell on the playmate

kind of graduation present please wait

outside captain

dog

well ms sullivan two weeks up

not until five o'clock oh what

difference can half a day make

you don't know how eager we are to have

her back i do know

it's my main concern oh you've done

wonders for her

and you've done us a great service i've

actually missed her

i owe that debt to you pay it to helen

captain

give her another week well look what

you've done for her already

she's well behaved seems quite contented

certainly cleaner

she's cleaner is that what you care

about

she's learning to talk captain the words

are in her fingers already

i can't risk her i'm learning it when

she goes back to her old life in the

house

oh look what is she spelling

water ms sullivan

that dog doesn't know what words are any

more than she does

the dog's happy enough though god may

not have meant for helen to speak miss

sullivan

i mean her two captain give her half a

week

you have until five o'clock

kate cannot bear to be separated from

her for another night

where is she y'all miss sullivan

insisted on keeping her until five

o'clock

no not water

dog

dog

this this

this is water

how do i make her understand

[Music]

how do i tell you

i don't know anything

they're satisfied i'll give them back

their child

and their dog both house broken

everyone's satisfied

everyone but me and you

reach

reach

oh what i wanted to give you helen

everything in the earth everything that

we are what we dream of

what we leave behind what you think

and feel and know and share it's all

in words

or if i could give you one word

one word i could give you everything

it means this

chair

dress

[Music]

face

[Music]

ugh

[Music]

tears

[Music]

let's bring it home

[Music]

[Music]

let's put your things away

[Music]

you going home

helen he's going home

that's right put your things away

how is she please please give me more

time

i can't helen

[Music]

oh

[Music]

[Music]

i have to go to him he's got no one on

the earth with me

do you think i want an epidemic on my

hands

[Music]

me ugh

uh

i'm not very good company right now

well i didn't come to keep you company i

came to keep you from getting lost in

the dock

maybe that's just what i was looking to

do are you feeling sorry for yourself

and sullivan

just this once yes

my father has great respect for you

that's not easily on he fought a vick's

bug

yet it's newspaper and he's always

daring you to measure up

if you have any advice for me i wouldn't

mind hearing it

i never really had a father so i'm the

last person to ask

but you've got to stand up to the world

that's all i know

what if he's the world then you can just

look around james and see how much

bigger it really is

he's a man james that's all so are you

[Music]

and evelyn well come in come in

it is so good to see you you have to

come and see our helen now

the sweet child miss

sullivan must be a wonder miss sullivan

i've brought you your first month's

salary

you've done quite a job you've taken a

wild thing

and given us back a child i taught helen

one thing

no don't do this don't do that

i wanted to teach her yes

well you'll have all the time you need

now will you help me captain

yes how don't undo what i've done

the world is not an easy place for

anyone to give helen her way in

everything

is a lie to her you've got to stand

between her and that lie

don't give in we're certainly going to

try

i used to wonder how i would earn a

living

now the question is can i survive it

i'll see you at supper

oh we glad to have you back missy

what helen what oh yes

keys yes i will keep the keys

i think we've had enough doors around

you

yeah that's right and jacob was left

alone

for the breaking of day and he wrestled

with an angel

[Music]

an angel said let me go before the day

breaks

jacob said i will not let you go until

you bless me

amen amen amen amen

that's a very strange grace james i

thought it was a very fitting grace

considering the circumstances so you're

an expert now on the bible and tobacco

is that right james

pickle santa f i should say so

you know my opinion of your pickles well

this is the last thing i'm afraid i

didn't put up nearly enough last summer

but

this year i intend to reverend thompson

stopped by the office today to complain

about his weevils

i told him did you tell him to

i told him to talk to you about his

weevils james i think

it's marvelous what a successful farmer

you have turned out to be

james

no please i have hardly had an hour with

her

captain katie

we uh we had a little talk ms sullivan

feels that if we indulge helen in here

but what's the child done

she's learned not to throw things on the

floor and kick it's only a napkin it's

not as if it was something

breakable either give helen to me or you

keep her from kicking

please what do you want me to do let me

take her from the table

but this is her first evening bed once

hurt so much i have made all of helen's

favorite food

she's testing her she's testing you i

know

well she's not kicking now this is what

i was worried about

is this what you promised me less than

an hour ago

[Music]

give in to her then she's the one who'll

pay for it

please pass me more of helen's favorite

foods

take a miss annie

i don't see that we need to send her

from the table let me hold helen to what

she's learned and she will go on

learning

take her out of my hands and it all

comes apart

she is the guest of honor

bring her plate back if she would have

seen child you would not stand for this

well she's not

i think some allowances are called for

bring her plate back

[Music]

thank you

there

now let's start all over

um

[Music]

what are you doing i treat helen like a

singing child because i ask her to see

i expect her to see where are you taking

her

to make her refill this picture

you let her speak to you like that

author

no i don't let her go

what let her go

she's right she's riding kate's right

if you drive miss sullivan away from

here then we're lost

no helen is lost

captain please

jimmy

thank you

[Music]

here we are you recognize this place

[Applause]

pump

no your mother's

not here

[Music]

pump

[Music]

[Music]

so

sure yes water

it has a name

yes yes

water yes

[Music]

pump

ground

[Music]

yes

flower

[Music]

captain come quickly

she knows mrs keller

she knows she knows

[Music]

mother

[Music]

yes captain

[Music]

papaya

[Music]

[Music]

hmm

[Music]

teacher

[Music]

yes teacher

[Music]

she wants the keys

[Music]

okay okay

e y key

[Music]

teacher

[Music]

teacher

[Music]

okay

[Music]

so

[Music]

i love

helen

so much

[Music]

so much

[Music]

you