"Vincent:" "This is where the wealthy and the powerful rule." "It is her world," "A world apart from mine." "Her name..." "Is catherine." "From the moment I saw her, she captured my heart" "With her beauty," "Her warmth and her courage." "I knew then, as I know now," "She would change my life..." "Forever." "Catherine:" "He comes from a secret place, far below the city streets," "Hiding his face from strangers," "Safe from hate and harm." "He brought me there to save my life." "And now, wherever I go, he is with me in spirit." "For we have a bond stronger than friendship or love." "And although we cannot be together," "We will never, ever be apart." "Young woman (over phone):" "I don't know what's happening to me." "I'm on the street, I keep moving," "But it's like I'm invisible, you know?" "Believe me, no one's even gonna notice." "I just can't..." "Catherine:" "I'm listening." "What's your name?" "Lena." "Lena." "Are you alone right now?" "I'm always alone." "Look, just forget it." "It doesn't matter." "It does matter." "No, you're wrong." "I just want it to be over." "Lena, think, there must be someplace you can go," "Someone you can talk to, a friend?" "God, I'm scared." "My shift is over in..." "About 15 minutes." "Can you meet me for a cup of coffee?" "How does that sound?" "I don't know." "Where are you calling from?" "Broadway..." "Down by 12th." "We can just talk if you want, that's all." "Okay?" "Yeah, okay." "Good." "I know a diner two blocks from where you are." "I'm glad you came." "("jingle bells" playing)" "Free cup of soup, right?" "Sure." "Why not?" "(sighs):" "I know it's hard," "Opening up to a stranger." "I have a tough time with that myself." "But you sounded... (sighs)" "I'm not exactly sure why I'm here" "Or what I can do." "You could just tell me what's on your mind." "Or if you want, we can just sit." "("jingle bells" continues)" "You never told me your name." "Catherine." "("the first noel" playing quietly)" "Lena:" "I..." "Did what I had to do." "You don't know who the father is?" "No." "That's okay." "Then how come it feels so bad?" "Lena..." "It's gonna" "Grow up to be just like me." "When I think of that..." "Your baby..." "Is about what can be," "Not about what is." "If you don't believe that, then nobody will." "I'm not saying it is easy, because it isn't." "But it is possible." "Don't tell me that." "'cause you don't know." "Things don't change, not on the street." "You..." "Look into the houses," "And..." "You can see what it's like inside." "You see the lights," "The christmas tree," "People..." "Talking and laughing," "And..." "You get this cold feeling" "On the outside, like..." "You're never gonna be the one" "Who's in there." "Catherine:" "There was something in her voice." "I don't know, a calling out" "To be a part of something," "To belong." "(sighs)" "She's really just a girl," "Alone in a dangerous city." "(sighs):" "And it's christmas." "So many come into your life," "Catherine." "This girl must have truly touched you." "She's dying, vincent." "The streets are killing her." "And she's fighting to hold on to her spirit." "And she's carrying a child." "She told me that she would rather see the baby die" "Than bring another life" "Into this world." "How can it be that this world could have no more to offer her?" "I've talked to a dozen social workers" "At a dozen shelters," "But I don't think..." "I know..." "She won't respond." "She doesn't have the strength anymore," "Or the hope." "Then she has lost her way." "I am afraid to think of what might happen to her, vincent," "If she's left alone." "She's so far away from herself." "I broke every rule by going to see her." "Perhaps father can break a few rules of his own." "Father:" "You were a prostitute?" "Was there nothing else for you to do?" "What has catherine told you about where we live?" "She told me..." "It's a secret place" "Where people live together and take care of each other." "I thought she was making it up." "No," "She wasn't making it up." "We have made a life together down here." "We've built a home, and yes," "We really do try to take care of each other." "And each of us is also responsible" "For keeping this place safe" "From those who wouldn't understand." "I can keep a secret." "Whatever may happen?" "Whatever happens." "Good." "Now, I'm going to ask you a difficult question." "Ordinarily, there's a process" "By which people come to live with us." "It's a slow and gradual process." "Our friends above," "Like catherine, act as our eyes and ears," "Judging need..." "Trustworthiness." "Sometimes, as with you," "We are forced to make exceptions." "But we must ask ourselves:" "Why should we risk everything we've worked so hard to create?" "Why should we trust you?" "It's all right." "Just..." "Tell him what you're feeling." "What I'm feeling?" "I'm feeling you've got no reason to trust me," "And I should just save you the trouble" "And walk out of here myself." "But I can't." "I got someone else to think about now." "And it's not fair" "That this baby should have to suffer..." "Just 'cause it's unlucky enough" "To get stuck inside of me" "Instead of someone else." "(crying):" "You give my baby a chance for something better" "And I won't mess it up." "Don't be frightened." "You spoke your heart." "I want to welcome you." "(laughs)" "(exhales)" "Good luck, lena." "Father:" "Come." "I'll come to see you soon." "(distant, rhythmic tapping)" "What's that sound?" "Oh, that's how we communicate" "With each other, tapping upon the pipes." "(laughs):" "Come on, really?" "Yes, really." "(groaning in pain)" "It's all right." "Now, don't worry." "Sit-sit down." "(groans)" "Okay, breathe." "Breathe deeply." "(inhales)" "Breathe into the pain." "It's a false alarm." "And rest assured," "Your baby's heart is strong and regular." "Come..." "I'll take you to your chamber." "It's a stone's throw from mine," "So I'll be close when you're ready." "And don't worry, I've delivered a hundred babies." "Father, father!" "Look what I made for vincent." "Oh, it's beautiful!" "What is it?" "It's a pen holder." "Why, of course." "What else?" "And I happen to know that's exactly what he needed." "I'm giving it to him right now." "Uh, samantha." "This is lena." "She's our new friend." "Hi." "Bye." "Who's vincent?" "He's, uh, one of us." "Go now, child, and rest." "(children singing):" "¶ it came upon a midnight clear ¶" "¶ that glorious song of old ¶" "¶ from angels bending near the earth ¶" "¶ to touch their harps of gold ¶" "¶ peace on the earth, goodwill to men ¶" "¶ from heaven's all gracious king ¶" "¶ the world in solemn stillness lay ¶" "¶ to hear the angels sing ¶" "¶ o ye beneath life's crushing load ¶" "¶ whose forms are bending low ¶" "¶ who toil along the climbing way ¶" "¶ with painful steps and slow... ¶" "Please, father, you promised." "Tell us a story about vincent." "Aren't you at all tired of that?" "No, father, please." "No." "It's great, it's christmas." "Very well, very well." "It was the 12th of January..." "The coldest day in the year." "You're the one who found him, right, father?" "Near st." "Vincent's hospital?" "Not exactly, samantha, no." "He was found" "And then he was brought to me." "And he was wrapped in rags," "Rather like a present," "But nobody wanted him" "Because of the way he looked." ""throw him out," they said." ""he's not our problem."" ""we don't want him." "Leave him to the topsiders."" "Father:" "Yes, vincent was different," "And you see, people are terribly afraid of what they don't know." "But soon, very soon afterward," "The people-- and they were mainly your parents" "And grandparents-- they accepted vincent" "And they grew to love the very differences" "That at first made them so afraid." "You left out the part about his being sick." "I'm so sorry." "You're quite right, I did, samantha." "When vincent first came to us, he was very tiny and very sick." "And he cried for three straight days." "And he cried for three straight days." "And no one thought he would survive." "Samantha:" "But you knew, didn't you, father?" "Father:" "Yes, I felt a strength in him." "But then there came a time of terrible darkness" "In our world..." "A time we must never forget." "Then when I brought a friend..." "Are you all right?" "I was just listening." "A man on whom I built..." "Well, it's father's time to be with the children." "It's time for you to be in bed." "Are you worried about the delivery?" "I just wish it'd be over already." "That's what everyone says." "Yeah?" "Yes." "Good night now." "Good night." "Mary?" "Hmm?" "Can I ask you something?" "Of course." "I heard father talking back there." "About vincent." "What did you hear?" "Not much." "Just that he's different from everybody." "Vincent is very special to us." "Here you go." "In some ways it's his fate." "It's his life that holds us all together." "He protects us..." "And we protect him." "Will I ever get to meet him?" "You'll meet him." "You sleep now." "You're vincent." "Yes." "Mary said this was the best water." "Want some?" "No, thank you." "Don't turn away." "What's wrong?" "You don't understand." "I've been hearing about you." "It's almost like you don't exist." "You're never around." "There are reasons." "What reasons?" "We didn't want to frighten you." "I want to see you." "Lena..." "Don't be afraid." "I'm not afraid." "Don't punish yourself for feeling alone, lena." "I'm trying not to feel that way anymore." "Good." "It's hard." "It's all I'm used to." "But I never..." "Would have dreamed" "That there was a place like this." "Or anyone like you." "Sometimes if you let your mind go," "You can accept things you wouldn't believe possible." "Yeah, I got real good at letting my mind go." "Where has it taken you?" "Promise you won't laugh?" "The mountains." "Every day I used to pass this travel agent." "I could see a poster through the window." "Deep green mountains." "That's where I went." "Don't you sometimes feel" "Like your whole life could be different?" "It can be." "Vincent, have you ever been to the mountains?" "No." "Me either." "(groans)" "God." "(gasps)" "How do you feel?" "Like I'm about to explode." "Is your back hurting you?" "It's killing me." "Come here, vincent." "Now I want you to bend over just a little." "Now, lena, I want you to wrap your arms" "Around his neck." "Go on, it's all right." "Take the pressure off the spine." "Now, vincent, very slowly I want you to lift her up." "Just a little." "(sighs)" "How's that feel?" "Better." "You let her down now." "If it hurts, it's all right to cry out." "If you can, try not to raise your legs yet." "That's it." "Keep them straight." "Well, you're doing fine." "Remember, breathe in when you feel the muscles contract," "Breathe out when they release." "That's good." "Breathe with the contraction." "You're very close now." "It won't be much longer." "Be brave." "I'm trying." "Mary:" "That's good." "You're almost there." "(gasping)" "Don't bear down yet, don't bear down." "Short breaths." "(panting)" "That's right." "That's good, lena." "Let the baby do the work." "Go ahead, cry out if it hurts." "It helps." "(screaming)" "(sobbing)" "It's time now, lena." "Bear down." "(groaning)" "(baby crying)" "There we go." "There's a good girl." "It's a little girl." "A girl?" "Father:" "Yes, a daughter." "(laughing)" "Lena:" "I'd almost forgotten how much it hurt." "Let me tell you something" "It hurts." "When I look at her, I forget." "She's amazing." "Isn't she?" "I mean, yesterday she wasn't even here." "Now suddenly there's this new life." "You have a lot to be proud of." "You're very lucky." "I guess I was due for some good luck, huh?" "You deserve it, lena." "And no one can take it away from you." "I didn't..." "Think it was possible." "So much has happened so fast." "And it feels incredible, cathy." "Like I filled up a part of me" "I didn't even know was there." "Hello." "Hello." "Father:" "How about rosalind?" "No..." "Imogen." "Please, father, imogen?" "What's wrong with imogen?" "Well, for one thing it's difficult to pronounce." "Father:" "It was good enough for shakespeare." "Well, if it's shakespeare you're set on, then why not juliet" "Or maria?" "What's going on?" "Oh, we were discussing possible names" "For the child." "After every birth, the child is welcomed" "Into the community with a naming ceremony." "Don't you think lena should have a say in it?" "Of course." "Yes, by all means." "We were just, uh..." "Speculating." "I see." "(baby fussing)" "Here, vincent." "It's okay." "Hold her." "Go on." "(baby fussing)" "(crying)" "Our time together is always so short." "Tell me something, vincent," "Before I have to go." "What should I tell you?" "Tell me how it felt to hold a baby in your arms." "There are no words." "Hello, vincent." "Come in." "(baby gurgles)" "Byron." "You've already finished?" "No, not yet..." "But I'm liking it." "Especially the letters." "Then you should keep the book." "(baby fussing)" "Thank you." "Vincent..." "When we met..." "Do you remember we talked about feeling alone?" "I remember." "Well I've been thinking..." "It doesn't have to be that way." "Not anymore." "All these things keep coming back into my head" "Everything we've talked about." "Things I never talked to anybody about before." "And I keep thinking about when the baby came..." "How you were there, close to me..." "Close to her." "Let me love you, vincent." "(sighs)" "Lena." "I can feel your heart." "I will always cherish the moment we first met" "How you saw me..." "How you accepted me." "You did the same for me." "I know." "But..." "What you ask now..." "Is impossible." "Why?" "Because..." "My heart is bound to another." "Catherine?" "Yes." "Do you love her?" "With all that I am." "With all..." "That I can ever become." "But she's not here." "Why isn't she with you?" "She is where she needs to be." "I-I can't expect..." "But if she's not here," "How can she love you?" "Lena, you don't understand." "Her love opened the world for me." "What..." "Do you think you've done for me?" "Don't you see?" "I've never loved anybody before." "So clearly, she has misplaced her feelings," "Projecting them onto you." "It's more than that, father." "There is something true between us." "Then you believe her love for you is real?" "It is what lena believes." "To deny that would be unfair." "Perhaps catherine could speak with her," "Help her understand." "No, father." "Not now, not yet." "Lena is still too fragile." "Vincent, you must be very careful." "Allow time to come between yourself and lena," "And hope in the meanwhile she will gain some perspective." "All her life, she has known nothing but rejection." "And now, just when she's come so far..." "You cannot encourage her, vincent." "I know." "Lena will not be alone in this, that I promise you." "I'll have a word with mary." "And I'll be there for lena myself." "Father." "When lena came to me, there was a moment." "A pull, beyond thought..." "When I felt what it might be like" "To be someone else's possibility." "But it was just a moment." "(lena humming, baby crying)" "Lena:" "Shh..." "Don't cry." "Go to sleep." "Don't you know, I never had a momma to sing to me?" "(crying stops)" "Don't you worry." "Nothing like that is ever gonna happen to you." "You're not gonna be anything like me." "You're gonna have a different life." "You're gonna have a real family." "And they're never gonna do anything to you you don't want," "Except teach you things you need to know," "And take care of you when you need taking care of." "So don't you worry." "Hmm?" "Vincent." "I didn't mean to wake you." "I couldn't sleep." "Please, cover yourself." "Lena." "Don't be afraid." "I want to stay with you tonight." "Please, vincent." "For the first time, it means something to me." "Don't send me away again." "(sighs)" "Lena, you must go." "She's gone." "She fled in the night." "Her child..." "She left her child behind." "Mary is watching over her." "(sighs)" "You couldn't have done anything, vincent." "Lena wasn't ready." "It's my fault for not seeing that." "No, catherine." "It was I who didn't see or didn't want to see." "That she would leave?" "(sighing):" "That she would fall in love." "(frustrated sigh)" "She was so vulnerable and so frightened..." "And yet I saw a part of myself in her." "And I thought if I'd just reach out to her," "She would accept my friendship." "Her need was too great." "Perhaps I should have come to you sooner." "I understand why you didn't." "There was no gentle way..." "To refuse her love." "I'm sorry, vincent." "I'm sorry for what's happened." "(sighs)" "I fear for what is still happening," "For lena." "I know." "I'll try to find her." "Happy christmas." "I'm looking for a girl." "She's about 20, blonde, her name is lena." "Hey..." "What she can, I can do better." "I'm sure you can, but it's her I'm looking for." "What's her name again?" "Lena." "Yo." "Anybody know a lena?" "Lena who?" "Nah." "No luck, lady." "What you want her for, anyway?" "She's in trouble." "Who isn't?" "(siren wails in distance)" "(dog barking in distance)" "Try maurice, at the penthouse." "989 avenue c." "(siren wailing in distance)" "(baby crying in distance)" "Hello?" "Hello?" "(door creaks)" "Maurice?" "Maurice?" "Hey!" "Are you maurice?" "Some people call me maurice." "Would you mind putting down the flashlight?" "Not if you don't mind putting down that purse." "I'm looking for a girl." "Lena, right?" "Word travels fast on the street." "Faster than light." "Street speed." "Then you know where she is." "I'm an information broker." "Does that mean yes?" "It means I got to get my commission." "Twenty-five dollars?" "Woman, I don't sell" "The time of day for that kind of chump change." "Uh, then I'll have to owe you." "What you think, I'm running a credit store?" "Don't think I'm gonna forget the debt." "1157 39th street." "Apartment 202." "(knocking)" "(siren wailing in distance)" "What do you want?" "I came to see how you were." "Nothing you say is gonna make me go back there." "You're your own person, lena." "I can't force you." "But your baby's down there." "She belongs there." "So do you." "I hate it there." "It doesn't matter-- it's not a real place to me anymore." "This is real?" "This is what I know." "This is what I do." "I do anything." "Anything you want, I'll do it." "And you're okay with that now?" "Damn right." "It keeps you alive." "Keeps me alive." "A week ago, you said it was killing you." "So that was then." "Things change." "What things?" "Things." "Like your voice?" "You don't even sound the same." "Don't you see what you're doing?" "Painting your face, putting on this costume." "You're trying to make yourself into someone else." "Don't..." "You give me that." "It hurts me to see you like this." "I can't..." "(sighs)" "You remember what you told me that first night?" "About being outside?" "That cold feeling." "Well, you can hide there if you want," "But you've got a place on the inside now," "With friends, people that care about you." "It's your choice." "If you want me to leave, just say so." "Leave." "If you ever want to talk to someone..." "I'm there." "Please..." "(crying):" "...Don't leave." "(crying)" "It's vincent?" "I love him." "I know." "(sighs):" "So do I." "(baby crying softly)" "Welcome home, lena." "Thank you." "It has been said that" "The child is the meaning of this life." "Today we celebrate the child," "This new life that has been brought into our world." "We welcome the child..." "With love," "That she may be able to love." "We welcome the child with gifts," "That she may learn generosity." "And we welcome the child with a name," "Upon which, I believe, lena has decided." "Catherine." "Her name's catherine." "(people talking, laughing quietly)" "Isn't it time for the presents now?" "(others chuckling) yes, samantha, it's time." "Children's choir:" "¶ it came upon the midnight clear ¶" "¶ that glorious song of old ¶" "¶ from angels bending near the earth ¶" "¶ to touch their harps of gold ¶" "¶ peace on the earth ¶" "¶ goodwill to men ¶" "¶ from heaven's all gracious king ¶" "¶ the world in solemn stillness lay ¶" "¶ to hear the angels sing. ¶"