"A Simple Story" "Henry." "Henry,getup !" "Henry!" "A womanhasspentthenight  out there in the vacant lot with a kid." "That's how the firewoman invited me to stay with her." "She came downstairs in her night gown." "She came toward me." "Whyhaveyou spentthenight outhere?" "She asked me why I'd spent the night out there." "I didn't answer her." "Youspentnightouthere, didn'tyou?" "Shesaidto me :youspentnightouthere,didn'tyou?" "I nodded my head." "You'regoingtocome back with meto my house  Shesaidto me :" "You'regoingtocomebackwithmetomyhouse" "Fine." "Hurryup." "Comeon." "Let's go." "Isaid,no ." "Let'sgo ." "Comeon." "Shepickedup my suitcase." "She took me by the arm." "I couldn't resist." "I followed her in." "Her husband was finishing his coffee." "He had nothing to say." "He just left." "Waitformehere ." "I'll beback." "The firewoman brought me some coffee." "Takeit ." "Drink." "It will make you feel better." "It was hot." "I had to to start crying." "Comenow." "Don 'tdothat !" "Youmusttellmeyourstorytonight ." "Thefirewomancomfortedme." "She said to me:" "Tell me your story, tonight." "Youmust!" "Inshock,Ihad saidno." "I 'mrunninglate,Imust getgoing ." "Shekepttalking." "She added that if I was running late for work, I would need to go." "I will show you the room." "Here,you'llfindagas stove ." "Here'sacupboard." "Sheshowedme aroundthe kitchen." "It'swellstockedwith staples." "Staples." "Anythingyouwant." "Ifyoufindit , Cook it up as your own." "Seeyoutonight." "Goodbye." "Seeyoutonight" "Goodbye" "Goodbye,Madam." "She left." "I wanted to hug her." "I was there alone with Sylvie." "I looked around." "Over a cupboard, there were two photos." "I could not stay here." "I had to go." "I put my raincoat back on." "I opened the door." "There were two women chatting on the stairs." "They hadn't seen me." "I would simply wait." "I sat back down." "Sylvie was in her corner," "on a chair." "I was tired and I fell asleep." "When I woke up, Sylvie was crying." "Someone knocked on the door." "Goodmorning,madam." "Thefirehousemistressaskedme tobringyousomebread." "Itwasthehousekeeperwhobroughtmesome bread." "Takesomebread." "Don'tyouneedanythingelse?" "Thefirewomanhadaskedhertolookin onme ." "Good." "I'llcomeback latertocheckinonyou ." "Seeyoulater,madam ." "Sheaskedif Ineededanything." "Itold herno." "She told me she'd be come back anyway." "I came to know the house by heart." "The phone rang." "Nooneishere ,sir." "Yes." "I 'mhere." "Anyway,thepersonyou'relookingforisnothere." "Itwasawrongnumber." "The phone rang a second time." "Hello." "Yes." "It 'sme ." "It was the firewoman checking in to make sure I was still there." "ah,hello,madam." "Yes,everything'sfine." "Thankyou." "Sheaskedme if everythingwas okay." "She said she would be back in an hour." "Goodbye,madam." "I returned to my seat." "I thought back over everything that had happened to me since I'd come to Paris." "I arrived at the train station in the afternoon." "But I didn't want to go to my friend Solange's place right away." "Because I did not tell her that I would come" "I do not remember how to get to her house" "In the suburbs, I would go the next day" "I went to hotel, but there is no room" "All said they could not shelter a woman with children" "I found a room very late." "After a long walk." "I was tired." "I didn't have the energy to eat." "Neighbors were banging on the walls." "Solange was happy to see us." "She was a seamstress." "I had known her brother in Lille." "I had already spent ten days in her home two years ago." "Solange just laughed when I told her that I only had 9,300 francs." "9300francs?" "Whatcanyoudo withthat?" "I 'lltellyouwhereyoucanfindwork." "She offered to take care of Sylvie while I looked for work." "Lookhere." "I'llshow you." "Okay?" "Youcan golook forworkwhileI takecareofSylvie." "Shetriedto tellmewhereIcouldfindwork." "Thankyou." "I'llstarttomorrow." "That night, in bed, she told she had a boyfriend." "I haveaboyfriend." "His name was George." "He'd gone on a trip." "HisnameisGeorge." "Whatdoeshedo?" "Iaskedherwhathedid." "She didn't answer me." "The next day, I went where Solange had told me to look." "There was no more work." "Someone even told me that there had been layoffs." "A man was following me down the street." "He was trying to talk to me." "Wecouldwalktogether." "Itoldhimhewaswastinghistime." "Leaveme alone." "I'm lookingfora job  Iwaslookingfor ajob." "Howaboutacupofcoffee ?" "Heaskedme to go foracoffee." "Comeon now." "Don 'tget angry." "Isaidyes." "Okay." "I don'thaveagirlfriend......andIlivealone." "Hetoldme he didn'thaveagirlfirend and if I wanted, we could go back to his place." "I left without drinking the coffee." "I got on the subway, then and there." "Youknowwhat?" "Sylviebroke avase ." "IlearnedwhenIreturnedthatSylvie hadbrokena vase." "And it had been a gift from George." "I 'mespeciallyupsetbecauseitwasagiftfromGeorge." "It must have been a picture of George on the cupboard." "A neighbor came by." "Solange and she went together into the kitchen." "I stayed behind with Sylvie." "The next day, I left very early." "It was essential that I find something." "But... that night," "I came back with nothing." "A man was there." "He was reading his newspaper." "Sylvie was sitting on the floor in the midst of his discarded pages." "I picked her up." "Solange called me into the kitchen." "Guesswhat?" "Georgehascomeback." "Shetoldme thatGeorgehadcomeback." "and she couldn't put us up any more." "There'shardlyenoughroom here ." "No." "Of coursenot ." "She didn't want to be paid for the three days we'd stayed." "Youdon'tneedtopayme for thetimeyou 'vestayed." "You'reverykind." "Should I needed any money later on, then I should come back to see her." "Ifyouneedmoney,youcancomebacktoseeme." "Thankyou." "When I left, it was almost nightfall." "That night, I don't know how I found a hotel... so only for the following day." "The next day, I would need to find a room for several days." "Then find someone to take care of Sylvie so that I would be able to look for work." "I had 7000 francs left." "I went, first thing, to get a coffee." "The waitress was so nice." "She also brought back a large hot chocolate for Sylvie." "She asked me where I lived." "Wheredo youlive?" "I told her I was looking for a room." "I 'mlookingforaroom ." "She suggested a place where I might be able to rent one." "I went to look right away." "You'vecometoo late." "She said she wished she could help me, but she had no rooms left." "She'spretty,yourlittleone." "The patroness found Sylvie pretty." "Yes." "WhatwillSylviedoonthestreet." "Shetoldme it wasashametosee people thatwayonthestreet ." "I walked." "I walked for a long time." "I couldn't find anything." "I was told everywhere, there aren't any rooms here." "No." "Anything?" "I was always told the same thing:" "they couldn't take me in with my kid." "I was always asked what I was doing, whether I was married, where I came from... whether I knew anyone in Paris." "I passed by a factory." "I stopped." "I went in." "I left Sylvie on the sidewalk." "I wanted to ask then for work." "Whatareyou doinghere ,little?" "WhileI wasgone,awomancameandasked Sylvie what she was doing there." "Whathavewehere ?" "ButI'mlookingafterher,madam." "Well,Iguessso." "Thewomanshruggedher shoulders." "She took me for a whore." "I took Sylvie away from there quickly." "I stopped a little further on." "I sat down on a bench." "I rested there for a long time." "Then I remembered that I hadn't found a room yet." "I knew I could only stay in that room for three days." "I asked the patroness if she knew anyone who could take care of Sylve for me." "She suggested a housekeeper down the street." "If I left my daughter there, it would cost me 250 francs a day." "I went out to find work." "For two days, I ran aound and found nothing." "At one place, I was told to come back the next day." "But... the next day," "I was told it was a mistake." "On the third day, I asked the patroness to take me in for more time." "She said that I could stay for two days." "If I paid in advance." "I had 3,450 francs left." "I thought about going back to Lille." "That was impossible." "My father might take me in." "But not my stepmother, she'd have nothing to do with me." "I thought about going to see Solange." "To ask her for some money, just until I find something." "But she'd been quite unhappy with me." "The next day," "I went to her place anyway." "She wasn't there." "Her neighbors told me that she'd gone out a while ago with George." "Wherefor?" "She'dgoneto herparentshouse." "Tohersister'swedding." "Gone away to her sister's wedding." "She'llbe awayfor atleasteight days." "She wouldn't be back for at least eight days." "Shehadalotofbaggage." "Mmmhmm." "It'sno usewaitinghere forher." "Yes." "I watched the neighbor walk away." "I left there, unable to think of anything." "I spent nine more days in Paris." "I'd spent 6,300 francs." "I had exactly 3,000 francs left." "I added things up... and I was sure I had lost some money." "I had stayed at Solange's place for three days." "And I'd only eaten cheap stuff." "I was sure I had lost some money." "Sylvie shouldn't know anything about all of this." "I'd have to give up the room the next day... before noon." "Madam,mayIleavemysuitcasewithyou ,until..." "Iaskedthepatronesstokeepmysuitcase...." "Noproblem." "Thankyou." "...untilI foundsomethingelse." "Listen." "Letmeexplain." "She seemed like she was apologizing." "A fewdaysago ..." "She told me that a few days ago, she'd refused a room to a couple with a baby." "I refusedaroomtoacouple withababy." "The husband was enraged and wanted to call the police." "Thehusbandwantedtocallthepolice." "But she replied to him that that'd come to nothing." "I toldhimthatthat 'dcome tonothing." "That she was in the right." "I wasin theright." "I wanted to leave Sylvie with the housekeeper." "Just before getting there, I met her husband." "Goodday,sir ." "Goodday,madam." "He told me that his wife was sick." "Sheis ill." "She'd had an asthma attack and the doctor had given her a shot." "Shehadanasthmaattack." "Shecan 'tlookafterchildren." "I went back to the hotel." "A couple had just been there to pick up the keys my room." "The patroness wasn't happy to see me back." "I walked aimlessly." "I gazed into the pastry cases." "I bought a croissant for Sylvie." "She didn't want it and threw it on the ground." "I gave it to a tramp who passed by." "He was surprised and said, God bless you, good lady." "That was funny." "It made me laugh." "I saw he wasn't walking right." "He was drunk." "I got on a subway." "I get off." "It didn't matter where." "I went into a cafe." "I asked for a hot chocolate." "I made Sylvie drink it." "A man said to me, You don't live around here, do you?" "You'renotfromaroundhere." "I said no." "No." "I couldtell." "Hetoldme he couldtell." "Whereareyou from?" "Heaskedme whereIwasborn." "Lille." "I knowLille." "I 'ma truckdriver." "Hetoldme he knewLille" "He was a truck driver." "He had travelled around most of France." "I 'vebeenalloverFrance." "Iknow mostof France." "I don'tknowthisarea ." "Wheremight Ifind a room ?" "IaskedhimwhereImight finda room inthearea ." "Yeah..." "IthinkIknow...attheExpectantMother." "Hetoldme ,IthinkIknow...attheExpectantMother." "Okay." "Let'sgo." "Yes." "He took me there." "Isit overthere?" "Oh,yeah..." "Iwastellingyou..." "Ontheway,hetold meabout atwistoffate." "He'd almost won a 100,000 francs in the lottery, except that, on the same day, his wife broke her arm cleaning up the kitchen." "He told me that he'd dumped his boss who wouldn't let him have the day off for that." "Wouldyoubekind enoughtosee if thereareanyrooms available ?" "Thehotel'spatronesswouldn'tanswerhim." "But he persisted." "He was kind." "She said, well... ." "Since it's you, Jean." "Well...." "Sinceit's you, Jean ." "She told me it would be 600 francs per day." "Itwillbe600francsperday ." "Makesureyou lockthedoor." "Tobesuretolock thedoor." "and never take the key away." "600francsper day ." "I told her I'd go and get my things." "Youdon'thavealot ?" "Sheaskedme if Ihad alotofthings ." "No,no ." "Onesuitcaseonly." "ItoldherIhadonlyonesuitcase." "That'sall?" "Shesaidto me ,that'sall ?" "Yes." "Goodbye,madam." "Goodbye,sir." "Thankyou Jeanleft." "Well,seeyou later." "I'll gogetmy things ." "Yes." "I went to get my things." "When I came back it was late." "I washed up." "The room has a hot pot." "I bought a tin of canned fish." "I had 2057 francs left." "I had just enough to pay for a day at the hotel." "I could not get to sleep." "I kept thinking, how would I find money?" "How would I find work?" "How would I find someone to watch Sylvie?" "First, I'd find someone to watch Sylvie." "Next find a job." "And then try to get an advance." "Someone was at the door, trying to get into my room." "There were noises all night long." "In the morning, it was a big truck that woke me up." "It was very early." "I went down and got out some milk." "Sylvie was still asleep." "I boiled the milk." "I simply had to find someone to watch her." "As I was going out, the patroness asked me to be back before noon." "Or to pay for the room if I wasn't going to be back until that night." "I asked her if she knew anyone who could look after Sylvie." "She answered me that she didn't know anybody." "But, in any case, she couldn't do it." "I went back to the cafe where I might meet Jean again." "He wasn't there." "The patron recognized me." "He told me he hadn't seen Mr. Jean that morning." "ItseemstherenoMr.Jean,thismorning." "He added:" "I don't know why." "You know, he's a good guy," "Youknow,he'sagoodguy." "Butsometimeshe'salittlestrange." "Butsometimes,he 'salittlestrange." "I wouldn't ask him if he knew anyone to look after Sylvie." "I decided to look after her myself." "I would look for work and afterwards I'd look for someone to look after her." "I bought a newspaper to go through the job listings." "I found one that interested me." "I looked for the place on the subway map." "Excuseme ,sir." "Can you tellme how to get to Porte d'Ivry?" "One man wasn't able to help me find it." "Sorry." "Idon 'tknow." "Thankyou." "Another man told me he knew the place." "Excuseme ,sir." "Doyouknowtherouteto Porte d'Ivry?" "Look." "We 'rerighthere." "Now...." "you go toward the Nation." "Youchangeatthis transferstation and then get off at Porte d'Ivry." "Thankyou,sir ." "It was far off." "It was necessary to transfer." "Looking for a long time, I finally found the road." "I found the factory." "Going into a cafe, I wondered to myself how I would watch Sylvie." "This position was for the early morning shift." "It appeared that the listing had been published in the newspaper days ago." "Withcream,please." "Iaskedforacoffee." "Sylvie didn't notice when I left." "It was the waitress, who noticed and called after me." "I had forgotten before leaving." "Heylady!" "Lady." "Youforgottopay." "It 's35 francs." "35." "After I had paid, I saw her in the glass for a moment." "The waitress made a gesture as if to say that I was a madwoman." "I bought some pain du chocolate for Sylvie." "For myself, I bought a tin of sardines." "I asked for it to be opened." "I went into a park." "There were some old women and children there." "I was hoping for some peace and quiet." "Sylvie was happy." "She went off to play." "She took a shovel and threw sand at me." "A boy started crying." "Sylvie had taken his toy." "His mother came over, shouting." "She said that children shouldn't be allowed to play without supervision." "I didn't reply to her." "I waited a while and then I left." "Sylvie wanted to stay there." "Whatis it ?" "Youmuststop beingchildish." "Can'tyousee?" "A man stopped." "He asked me, what are you doing to this little one?" "I told him that it was none of his business." "He didn't persist and left." "I went back to the hotel" "Backso soon?" "Thepatronesswassurprisedtoseeme backso early." "As she was speaking to me, a man came through the hallway." "Wait." "Sir!" "She was angry." "She told him not to take the keys out in the future." "Youknowyou are not totake thekeysoutwithyou ." "His room was in arrears." "He was three days late." "Yourroomchargesarethree dayslate." "She said that had to pay her before the end of the week." "Youmustpay mebeforetheendoftheweek." "He did not answer her." "He looked at me." "He had the air of a foreigner." "He was young." "I went out to buy some food." "I bought potatoes for Sylvie." "I made her mashed potatoes." "I went to lay down." "I got back up." "I passed out." "This was the first time this had happened to me." "I rushed to the sink to wash face." "I paced around the room." "Like a madwoman." "Sylvie was asleep." "I decided to go out." "I left without making a sound." "I had to pay for the room by tomorrow at noon." "And I had 500 francs left." "I went into a cafe." "It was too busy." "So I left." "I wanted to go back." "I couldn't find the way." "I was lost." "I got back to the hotel at least." "Ah,you'reback!" "Thepatronesswasclosingup." "Goodthingyou cameback ." "Shesaidit wasagood thingI'dcomeback," "Youforgottogive methekeysforyour door." "sinceI 'dforgottento giveher mykeys onmy wayout." "Youwouldhaveneededtowakeme up." "ThatI wouldhaveneededtowakeherbackup." "She asked me also whether I intended to stay at the hotel for a long time." "Justhowlongdoyouplanto keep staying here?" "Itriedto tellher thatIdidn'tknow." "I dunno." "Good." "Sylvie woke up." "She sat up." "She didn't cry." "I laid down completely dressed." "I fell asleep without bothering." "I woke up, suddenly." "I was looking out the window." "I was cold." "I undressed." "And I went to bed." "I couldn't sleep." "I got back up." "I looked under the bed." "I went to look in the dresser." "I opened its drawers." "I found a women's magazine, which had a photo feature." "I went back to bed." "In these stories, there were men and women all of them beautiful, without trades," "nothing to be do all day long." "They drank whiskey." "They had cars." "It was late when I woke up." "The sunlight became too strong and awoke me." "I got dressed very quickly." "Sylvie was still sleeping." "I bought a small bottle of milk." "I mixed a lot of water into it." "Then I threw in a piece of chocolate I'd kept." "When I went downstairs, the patroness wasn't there." "Goodmorning,madam." "I waited for her." "Morning." "I waswaitingfor you soI couldpayyoufor the day ." "I paid her for the day through noon." "She said nothing." "I told her I was going out to find something that day." "I 'msureI'llfindsomethingtoday .." "She didn't answer." "I left without knowing where I was going." "I didn't know what to do." "I had 478 francs left." "I bought a newspaper." "I found 10 francs on the ground." "I went into a park on a Plaza." "There was a pond in the middle of it." "A man sat down next to me to read his newspaper." "When I wasn't paying attention, Sylvie tore his newspaper." "But the man wasn't angry." "He pulled a toy out of his bag." "He gave it to Sylvie." "Watch." "I'dshowyouhowit works." "Youpullhere..." "andjustlikethat ...away itspins ." "I still don't know why I didn't bother to offer to pay him or why he'd given that toy to Sylvie." "I said thank you to him and I left." "I wanted to go back to the hotel." "Sylvie was tired." "I asked directions from a man who was getting into his car." "He told me:" "Get in." "I'm heading that way." "He brought me right up to the street." "When we got there, the hotel patroness, who saw everything, spotted us." "She stopped cold, completely surprised." "Oh,ladies!" "Iwascomingin... as I went by the office, the mistress called me." "I 'verentedyourroomstartingtomorrow..." "Shetoldme she'drentedoutmyroom," "...sinceyoutoldmeyouwereleaving ." "I 'dhaveto leavethe nextday,  since I had told her I was leaving." "I did not answer" "I didn't bother to ask her about the following day." "I couldn't even pay for that day's room." "I only had 473 francs left." "I bought some bread and a little ham." "I walked around all afternoon." "I scarcely stopped at all." "When I got back," "Sylvie was very tired and grouchy." "I had bought some bread and pate earlier." "I wasn't hungry... even though I hadn't eaten." "I didn't bother to undress." "I counted my money." "There were 303 francs left." "My feet were starting to ache." "I let them soak in soapy water." "I got dressed to be ready to check out." "And while I was doing it, in the street, two men were fighting." "A woman tried to separate them, but the men kept at it." "The fight continued until the woman settled it." "She simply took off her shoes and struck them with her heels." "The next day was Sunday." "I woke up early." "The singer on the radio was accompanied by the accordion." "I ate the bread, that was all." "I began to collect our things." "And then I waited." "I bought some cocoa powder, two croissants, and a little a surprise for Sylvie." "Inside there was a top." "Ohgross!" "Sylvie threw it away." "She ate a croissant." "I had wanted to wait until noon." "But... at ten past eleven," "I left." "Listen..." "Itoldthewomanthat Ididn'tthinkI could payher." "I haveno moneylefttopayyou." "becauseI hadno moneyleft." "She didn't get angry." "She shrugged her shoulders." "Youhaven'tleftanythingbehind?" "Sheaskedme if I'dleftanythingbehind." "insideyournightstand,forexample." "BeforeI couldanswer,she added, inside your nightstand, for example?" "I had nothing to say." "I didn't need to." "There was a pocket watch that I happened to have on me that day." "Out of habit, I'd put it in my pocketbook." "I passed through a market." "People stared at me with my suitcase." "There were people coming out of church." "I didn't know where to go." "I had 77 francs left." "I found an unused Metro ticket, but I they were of no use for me." "I passed by hotels, but I didn't go in." "I saw a courtyard in a building." "I went in." "I listened for a moment." "There was some music coming down a staircase." "A caretaker came over." "She asked me what I was doing there." "I didn't answer to her and I left." "She called for her husband." "They watched me go through the gate." "And they went back in." "I have stopped at the place where the tracks end." "These tracks follow me in my dreams." "I leave again." "I passed by a tunnel where cars go in" "And come back out further off." "After that, I don't remember anything else." "I found myself in a vacant lot." "I wrapped Sylvie up in my raincoat." "She'd long since fallen asleep." "I had, too." "I woke up, all of a sudden." "I was afraid." "I was cold." "There were lights on still in the windows." "This was" "A SIMPLE STORY" "subtitles: depositio"