Participants:
| Scene Title | Les Cadeaux |
|---|---|
| Synopsis | Remi delivers a belated Christmas gift. |
| Date | January 5, 2019 |
The Ark - A-Ring
Tous les garçons et les filles de mon âge
Se promènent dans la rue deux par deux
Tous les garçons et les filles de mon âge
Savent bien ce que c'est qu'être heureux
Et les yeux dans les yeux, et la main dans la main
It’s been a little over a week since Remi was released from the brig, and nearly two weeks since she was cut off from her ability. For the first few days, aside from working, she wandered about like some poor lost creature, examining her surroundings and the people within. After that, she suddenly busied herself, working as frequently as possible.
When not working, to keep herself from being too alone with her thoughts, Remi has taken to creating things. Gathering and cutting old worn out bedsheets together, she cut them into strips and fashioned them into a pair of scarves; using vegetable scraps and garden leftovers., she dyed one a bluish-purple (and it smells vaguely of blueberries), and another a pale green (which smells of mint and herbs).
When that was finished, she snatched up a notepad, and did her best at creating a small basic guide to ASL, complete with crude drawings. For such an accomplished actress, Soleil Davignon certainly can’t draw to save her life. Still, it gets the point across, and a note in the back pointedly states that she will help if any of it is unclear.
Ils s'en vont amoureux sans peur du lendemain
Oui mais moi, je vais seule par les rues, l'âme en peine
Oui mais moi, je vais seule, car personne ne m'aime
All of this has been done with one person in mind: Norton Trask. While a good part of the reasoning behind it has been for ulterior motives of the potential escape variety, there’s also the simple fact that she feels bad for the man — she can’t imagine living like he does, with little to no option for communication with others. It must be incredibly lonely, to be the silently overlooked one. Being without her ability, without that constant connection to those around her that she has grown accustomed to over the years, is lonely enough.
The best acting is based at least partially on reality; it is for that reason that it has been easier for Remi to be kind to Trask whenever she encounters him, whether it’s offering a smile or, if she gets the chance to talk to him (which the tries to do frequently). She’s taken to signing out her words slowly in the hopes that he can pick some of it up. She would appreciate such a gesture if the roles were reversed — though for all she knows, he could find her obnoxious.
All the same, she keeps trying. When the time comes, she hopes that she can convince him to work with her, rather than fight against her and her fellow travelers. All she can really do is cling to the one thing that Liz asked her to do — something that isn’t so difficult in light of the mute man’s circumstances.
Mes jours comme mes nuits
Sont en tous points pareils
Sans joies et pleins d'ennuis
Quand donc pour moi brillera le soleil?
She’s taken care to wrap up her gift to Trask. An old wooden cigar box was scrounged up, just big enough for the notebook and the two folded scarves. In the notebook, she left a note for the man, to both explain her gift and to give him a bit of insight into her kindness.
To Norton,
I know that you do not feel that you can trust me, and that is fine — after all, I am a prisoner here, locked away for the crime of seeking something better than this awful dying world that we live in. Locked away for the crime of wanting something better than this for the people I loved.
I think about that and feel anger, but then I have to stop myself. After all, aren’t we all prisoners in here? Just as surely as I am locked in here, I have to remember that you are locked in here, too. The only real difference is that you and your people have guns and your abilities, and we do not.
But that is neither here nor there.
I told you when I first met you that I am a telepath. For over half of my life, I have been constantly connected to everyone around me, one way or another. So when I imagine you, with no way to communicate save writing it out, I feel…lonely. I’m sure it must be very lonely, not having a voice of your own. It must also be very frustrating, not having a means to speak.
I met you the day after Christmas, and every day since then, I have been working on the contents of this box. I made the scarves for you so you could, perhaps, have a bit of choice as to what color you will wear to hide your scars. And the book…well. I hope that it will help you open your world up a little more. I’m sorry for the horrible drawings — I spent my youth working on my acting skills because I was never good at creating physical art.
I hope that you find some joy in these gifts, and if you would ever like to talk, I will always be here, happy to help. I know it is a week and a half late, but Merry Christmas, and Happy New Year.
Sincerely,
Soleil Remi Davignon
The box is closed, and a bit of bluish-purple ribbon, made from the scraps of the scarves, is carefully tied around it to keep it securely closed — and to give it the illusion of being a nicely wrapped gift. Then, lifting her precious cargo, Remi slips out of her room, making her way through the corridors to the quarters of the gift’s recipient.
Comme les garçons et les filles de mon âge
Connaîtrais-je bientôt ce qu'est l'amour?
Comme les garçons et les filles de mon âge
Je me demande quand viendra le jour
She pauses outside of the door, staring at it in silence. Part of her wants to burst through that door, put the knife she stole from the kitchens a few days ago to his neck, and demand her ability back. Part of her wants to demand that he return everyone’s powers or face death. But that…that wouldn’t work. That wouldn’t help any of them. And the man behind this door…he probably doesn’t have anything left to lose, so pointless violence isn’t the answer.
This is the answer.
Glancing down the empty corridor, one way and then the other, Remi gently sets the ribbon-laden cigar box on the floor, right up against Norton Trask’s door. After a moment of hesitation, she raps her knuckles against the door three times. Then, she turns, hurriedly making her way back toward her room, not turning back to see if he will get her gifts.
Où les yeux dans ses yeux et la main dans sa main
J'aurai le coeur heureux sans peur du lendemain
Le jour où je n'aurai plus du tout l'âme en peine
Le jour où moi aussi j'aurai quelqu'un qui m'aime.