""Dear Mr. Inman." ""I began by counting the days," ""then the months." ""I don't count on anything anymore except the hope that you will return," ""and the silent fear that in the years since we saw each other, this war, this awful war, will have changed us both beyond all reckoning."" "This poor boy's from Alabama." " He's a long way from home." " Thank you." "Why don't them Yanks just attack?" "Got any shirts, son?" "¤ Mm-hm-hm-hm" "It's Mo Oakley's boy." "Can't be old enough to fight, can he?" " Good morning." " Morning, son." "Got some boots and jackets." "You want one?" " Here." "You want that?" " Thanks." "I hope these boots can hold up for 400 miles, 'cause they're taking me back to Cold Mountain." ""I think now on the fleeting moments between us" ""and wish I could repair them." "My awkward nature, the things left unsaid."" "All right, that's it." "Enough powder here to blow a hole in the sky." "Yeah, a real Yankee good mornin'." "¤ Mm-hm-hm-hm" "That old book of yours is in shreds." "Same as us." "Seen too much war." "Hey, Oakley." "Don't worry, son." "Them Yankee boys keep store hours." "They ain't open yet." "Close it up." " Hey, where'd you come from?" " Hey, that's fresh breakfast." " He's mine, Butcher." " Hey!" "Hey!" "Get away!" " Hey, I saw him first." " Come on!" " I saw it first!" " That's my rabbit!" "That's my rabbit!" "Get your paws off my rabbit!" "Get your paws off my rabbit!" ""When I came with my father to the town of Cold Mountain," ""I was so shy of how I looked," ""so out of place." ""But did you know how happy I was to escape from Charleston, from a world of slaves and corsets and cotton?"" "What do you fools think you'll be fightin' for?" " The South?" " I call this nail Northern Aggression." " Damn right." " I call this nail the Yankee Skulls." "Last time I checked, the South was a direction." "Never figured you for a Lincoln lover, JT." "I tell you, as soon as I finish this chapel," "I'm gonna go off and kill me some Yankees." "Piss and vinegar." "Fightin' for a rich man's slave, that's what." "Whoa, here comes the minister." "Ben, thank you." "Will you assist my daughter?" "Lord have mercy, look at that bonnet." "Look what's in it." "Oakley, hand me the hammer, boy." "That's a true Southern belle." " Mr. Swanger!" "Good morning to you." " Morning, Reverend." "Esco, you remember my daughter, Ada." " Miss Monroe." " Good morning." " Morning." " Morning." " Excellent progress." " Morning." " Mrs. Swanger, Mrs. Castlereagh." " Morning, Reverend." "Now, if y'all will excuse me." "In Charleston, my congregation would still be disputing the size of the windows." "It's a chapel." "Miss Monroe, I was just thinkin' about you." "Cold Mountain must feel like the end of the world." "Not at all." " It's very beautiful." " Well, you put us all to shame." "Men up here had a bearing on what they thought a woman was," " and then you showed up." " Oh..." " No, I doubt that." " Oh, believe me." "If you was to say a word to one of these fools, I could get my top field cleared." " Any one?" " No, um..." "Him in particular." "Up in the rafters." "Won't normally say boo to a goose." "He's been pressing' me since the day you arrived here." " Your top field cleared?" " That's right." "Good morning, I'm Ada Monroe." "Inman." "Inman." "WP Inman." "WP Inman." "Repeatin' a thing doesn't improve it." "People call me Inman." "How 'bout that?" "Inman speaks." "If you were to take a glass of cider, your friends might stop staring." "Inman." "You're just jealous." "I'm gonna take her for a walk at Bishop's Creek." " Billy, is this frame flush?" " Thank you." "Yeah, yeah, yeah." "Thank you, yeah, right." "Richie, I seen your house." "There ain't a square angle anywhere near it." "And what do you do?" "I workwood." "Hunt." "Mostly work wood." "Clear fields?" "I can clear a field." "Was there something in particular you wished to say to me?" "Not that comes to me." "I'll say thank you... for the cider." "Move back!" "Go back!" "Move back!" "Go back!" "Go back!" "They're trapped in the wrong damn crater." "Whole plan backfired on 'em." "Send them Yanks straight to hell." " Hold it, hold it." " Let's go." "Turn it around." "Damn fools dug their own grave." "We've got 'em now, boys." " It's a turkey shoot." " What?" "It's a turkey shoot." "They've run themselves into a hole." "Hell's busted." "Oakley!" "Oakley!" "Oakley!" " Inman!" "Inman!" " Oakley!" "Oakley!" " Inman!" " Come on." "Inman." " I've got you." "I got a few." " You saw?" " I saw." "Am I gonna die?" "Your folks can be real proud of you." "Son, this fellow says he'll play whatever you want." "What about "Bonaparte's Retreat"?" "That's one I play." "No." "Play me somethin' sweet." "Like a girl's waiting for me." " You heard him." " I only know a couple of tunes." "Like when you're at Bishop's Creek... and you're thirsty... and the water's so cool." "I don't knowwhat music that is." "I'm reachin' Cold Mountain before you." "Good morning, Sally." " Well, that's a fine-sounding thing." " Oh..." "My piano." "Oh, I've been missing it." "Thank you, by the way, Inman's in my top field clearing his debt." "Oh, dear." "And then he had nothing to say." "He was happy." "Really?" "Are men so different in Charleston?" "Men?" "I don't know." "If you're sayin' you might like him, why not go over and say good mornin'?" "I should be gettin' along." "Walk on, quickly." "Come on, Walk on." "Slowly." "Walk on." "Whoa, whoa, whoa, whoa, whoa, whoa." "My dear daughter, Ada, who's given up so much for so long to help me in my ministry, and upon whom I rely." "Friends, we are both very happy to have this opportunity tonight... to thank you from our hearts... for your kind welcome and, most of all, such a fine chapel." "So thank you, and God bless you." "Our house is always open to any of you at any time." "Welcome." "Esco?" "That gentleman - he help build the chapel?" "Him?" "No, that's Teague." "At one time the Teague family owned the whole of Cold Mountain." "My farm, your farm, it all belonged to his grandpappy." "Teague wanted this place bad, and you got it." "And he's here sniffing' out an advantage." "There's no advantage here, except to celebrate a job well done." "And that is a good thing in these troubled times." " Miss Monroe." " Thank you." " Were you never planning to come inside?" " I'm wetter than a fish." " There's a good fire going." " I'm all right." "You're always carrying a tray." "I was going to take some root beer over to the Negroes." "Somebody said you were enlisting." " Are you?" " If there is a war, we'll all fight." " Did you get a picture made?" " Say again?" "A tintype, with your musket and your courage on display." "You're laughin' at me." "I don't know you." "This doesn't come out right." "If it were enough just to stand, without the words..." "It is." "It is." "You..." "Look." "Look." "Look at the sky now." "What color is it?" "Or the way... a hawk flies?" "Or you wake up... and your ribs are bruised thinking so hard on somebody." "What do you call that?" "I'll do that." "I can't get much wetter." ""What if you are killed, and I'll never see you again?" ""You said after a few years I would barely remember your name." ""Oh, Inman." "It is more than three years, and I remember your name."" "Soldiers." "Don't get up." "You are mentioned tonight in my report." "You men from Cold Mountain have once again been heroes for the cause." "There are Yankees in that stand of trees between us, stuck there from the retreat." "If they stay there, tomorrow mornin' they can shoot us down for sport." "Go around." "It's a Reb!" "How many of them are there?" "I think there's five." "Under the trees." " We got 'em." " Let's go, let's go." "Butcher's down." "Leave him, leave him." "He's gone." "Let's go." "Go, go!" "Go!" "Run!" " Go!" "Go!" "Go!" " Hold your fire!" "What's over by them trees?" "It's us!" "It's us!" "I said hold your fire!" "Hold your fire." "Leave him." "Leave him." "Agh!" "Inman'll get it." "Supposed to bring good luck, a bird caught in a room." "I'm so sorry to have kept you waiting." "She'll just be a few seconds." " Mr. Inman." " Reverend." " What can I do for you?" " I have some sheet music." "It belonged to my father." "No use to me." "Thank you." " You must come in." " I should probably get along." "Mr. Inman is more comfortable outdoors." "Perhaps we might..." "perhaps we might take a walk." "A splendid idea." "Let me just get your hat." "I dragged my poor daughter 400 miles from Charleston to Cold Mountain because my doctors, they've been sayin' my chest is weak." "So the air's supposed to do me good." "But it's the view I think heals." "It's what people say we're fightin' for." "To keep it that way." "I have no plans to preach war in my church, Mr. Inman." "I imagine God is weary of being called down on both sides of an argument." "I imagine God is." "Thank you." "Now, your father played the piano, did he?" "That's right." "He was a teacher." "And is your father living, Mr. Inman?" " He is not." " And your mother?" "No, sir." "She died when I was born." " Secession." " North Carolina left the Union." "Whoo!" " We got our war!" " Whoo-hoo!" "We got our war!" "We got it!" "We got it!" "It's about time." "Whoo!" " All right!" " Inman!" "Inman!" "Ready to fight, son, ready to fight." "Whoo!" "We got our war, man." "Well, you have your war." "Ada." "Ada." "It's a great day for North Carolina." "Those who follow Lincoln or preach abolition... you best keep one eye open when you're sleepin'." "Ol' boogeyman might get you." "Are you the law all of a sudden, Mr. Teague?" "That's right, son." "Home Guard for Haywood County." "And I'm the law from today." "Y'all go fight now." "We'll watch over your sweethearts." "Hey, Teague." "Why ain't you fightin'?" "'Cause he's too old." "Yeah!" "Whoo!" "You might be safer back in Charleston." " But then who'll be waiting for you?" " Three cheers for North Carolina!" " All right." " Three cheers for the South!" "Hip hip hurrah!" "Hip hip hurrah!" "Hip hip hurrah!" "Inman." "It belongs to Inman." "I got it." "He's here." "They found that book you been worryin' about, soldier." "Wait." "I found you this book to take with you." "William Bartram." "They tell me it's good." "I think he writes about these parts, the author, so..." "Thank you." "And this." "I'm not smiling in it." "I don't know how to do that, hold a smile." " Ada." " What?" " Whoa!" " He'll be back in a month." "Kiss her for me." "Come on, let's go." "I'll be waiting for you." "Lookin' good, Butcher." "Bring home some Yankee scalps, Swimmer." "Yee-haw!" "Look out the window, ladies." "See what these poor fools are dyin' for." "How many would still lose a leg for the rich man's slave?" "Most of these soldiers'll be dead by morning, or if they're stubborn, by nightfall." "I've other men outside in the courtyard waitin' for beds, so any kind word will be a blessin'." "It's the heat." "I'm sorry." "They rot." "Pigeon River..." "How are you, son?" "Cold..." "Mountain..." "I-I'm sorry." " You want water?" " Cold..." "Mountain." "Cold Mountain?" "Cold Mountain." "Do you worry when there's no word from him?" "From Mr. Inman?" "Yes." "But then I've tried countin' the number of words which have passed between Mr. Inman and me - not very many." "But I think about him, Daddy, all the time." "I lost your mother after 22 months of marriage." "It was enough to fill a life." "That was the last of the ham." " It was delicious." " I have to learn how to cook." "I was thinking of saying something in chapel." "Perhaps some of the womenfolk will volunteer." "I can't have people coming here and cooking for me." "I so..." "I so regret..." "I should have raised you less like a companion and more like a young woman." "I'm sorry, Ada." "And for dragging you here." "I'm not sorry." "I would have followed you anywhere." " To Mongolia." " Mongolia." "But with no one left to work this place, nothing to buy, nothing left to buy it with..." "I just don't know how we're gonna get through another winter." "Will you play me somethin'?" "Somethin' peaceful while I look over my sermon." "It's too damp out here." "You should come inside." "No." "I like it." "Daddy, bring the tablecloth in." "Come inside before you drown." "You have a letter." "North Carolina." "It's come a long way." "It's not too recent." "It's written this past winter." "I'm afraid I can't read who it's from." ""Dear Mr. Inman..."" ""Since you've left, time has been measured out in bitter chapters." ""Last fall, my poor father died." ""Our farm at Black Cove is abandoned." ""Every house in these mountains touched by tragedy." ""Each day the dread..." "of learning who has fallen... who will not return from this terrible war." ""And no word from you." ""Are you alive?" ""I pray to God you are." ""This war is lost on the battlefield and is being lost twice over by those who stayed behind."" "He ain't comin' back, you know that." "You must know that in your heart." "Look at me." "Look at me." "I'm not nothin'." ""I'm still waiting, as I promised I would." ""But I find myself alone and at the end of my wits... too embarrassed to keep taking from those who can least afford to give."" "Ada!" "It's Sally!" "Ada!" "Look at the state of this place." "Well, set it on the porch." "She let them slaves go free, and now..." "Poor soul, she's got nobody and nothin', and waitin' on a ghost." "Shoo!" "Go away." "Devil!" ""My last thread of courage now is to put my faith in you..." ""and to believe I will see you again." ""So now I say to you, plain as I can..." ""if you are fighting, stop fighting." ""If you are marching, stop marching." ""Come back to me." "Come back to me is my request."" ""Come back to me." "Come back to me is my request."" "Wounded men, don't stray from the hospital grounds." "Hey!" "If they send us back to fight..." "Hey, get your peanuts now, from the blind man," " Hey, your hot goobers here." " It's a sad day." "Gettin' better, soldier?" "Seems that way." "I wouldn't hurry." "The war's almost done." "Don't need your help to lose it." "You got ten minutes now, boys." "Ten minutes to get your haircuts and shaves." "I've been meanin' to ask you." "Where'd you take your wound?" "Oh, before I was born." "Never set eyes on a thing in this world." "Not a tree, a gun or a woman." "Put my hand on all three, though." " What would you give for that?" " Hm?" " To have your eyeballs for ten minutes." " Ten minutes?" "I wouldn't give an Indian head cent." " Might turn me hateful." " That's sure what seeing's done to me." "No, that's not the way I meant it." "You said ten minutes." "It's havin' a thing and then the loss of it I'm talking about." "Then we don't agree." "There's not much I wouldn't give for ten minutes of someplace." "Yeah, someplace... or someone." "You watch yourself, now." "They're shootin' men who take themselves a walk." "By order of Zebulon Vance, governor of this great state of North Carolina, any soldier turned deserter is guilty of treason, and should be hunted down like a dog." "Any man who takes in a deserter is likewise guilty of treason." "The Home Guard is powered to enter any place it sees fit without notice or constraint." "Captain Teague needs more volunteers." "Any man whose age or infirmity prevents him from fightin' shall join us to protect this county from Yankee raiders and traitors to the cause." " Is there a letter for me?" " Nothin'." "We've been gettin' no post through at all." "The sooner we lose this war the better." "They say not one boy in ten is comin' home to these mountains." "Teague and his rabble throwing' their weight around." "They're worse than the Yankees." "Might I speak with you, please?" "This was the Reverend Monroe's." "I don't know who would want a watch." "Who can bear to look at the time?" "I've got a little salt pork you can have." "Keep your daddy's watch." "Thank you." "I was talkin' to some of the other womenfolk about maybe lookin' in on you at Black Cove." "It's hard right now, but..." "Oh, no, I manage very well." "Whatever the talk is." "I'm very grateful for the pork." "Which I intend to pay for, of course." "Is everything all right?" "Mm-hmm." "Ada." "Ada." "Why, Ada, you are skinny as a whippet, girl." " You are comin' indoors with me." " No, I can't." "I don't..." "I can't keep counting' on your kindness." "Now, come on." "I'm makin' a stew." "We'd be proud to have you." "Esco's gonna be wantin' his dinner." "I just wanna stop, I tell you." "Yeah." "Sit on the porch with Sal, watch my boys in the fields, holler "Good job" every hour or so." "That'll be a good day, when our boys get home." "What about your people in Charleston?" "There are no people." "And there's no money." "My father had some bonds and investments." "They're worthless now, of course." "The war..." "They're not worth anything." "I don't have anywhere else to go." "I don't wanna go." " You're waiting on a feller." " Oh!" " Look down our well..." " Esco..." "She should." "If you look down our well with a mirror, you'll see the future." "It's what they say." "You do it." "She does it." "What kind of mirror?" " We'll hold on to you, Esco, you hold on." " I got her." " We got you." " Mm." "See anything?" "Uh..." "Uh..." " I don't know." " I tried many a time." "Lookin' for a sign my boys were comin' home." "I never saw a dickey bird." " Oh!" " Are you all right?" "Ada?" "What?" "What happened?" "What'd you see?" "What'd you see?" ""Yesterday, I saw you walkin' back to me..." ""or thought I did." ""I found myself crouching over Sally Swanger's well..." ""..." "like a madwoman staring into its secrets." ""Was it you I saw walking home to me, or was it your ghost?" ""After so long, I know I must learn to survive on my own" ""and accept you will not return." "And yet I cannot." "I cannot."" "Them cows wants milking'." "If that letter ain't urgent, them cows is is what I'm sayin'." "I don't know you." "Old lady Swanger says you need help." "Here I am." "I..." "I need help but..." "I need..." "I do need help, but I need a laborer." "There's... there's plowing and rough work." "I think there's been a misunderstanding." "What's that rake for?" " The rake?" " Well, it ain't for gardening', that's for sure." "Number one, you got a horse?" "I can plow all day." "I'm a worker." "Number two, ain't no man better'n me, 'cause there ain't no man around who ain't old or full of mischief." " I know your plight." " My plight?" "Am I hard to hear?" "'Cause you keep repeatin' everything." "I ain't lookin' for money." "I never cared for it and now it ain't worth nothin'." "I expect to board and eat, at the same table." " I ain't a servant, if you get my meanin'." " You're not a servant." "People's gonna have to empty their own night jars is my point." "And I don't expect to work whilst you sit around and watch, neither." "Right." "Right." "Is that a yes or a no?" "There's a rooster." "He's the devil, I'm sure of it." "I go near him and he is at me with his spurs." "He's Lucifer himself." "I despise a floggin' rooster." "Oh, no." "I wouldn't..." "My name's Ruby Thewes." "I know your name." "Let's put him in a pot." "Urgh!" "You're my angel, my butterfly." "Come fly away." "My love..." "God forgive me for doin' this." "I'm so sorry." "I'm sendin' you to a better place." "You go fly away." "Hey!" " Don't do that." " Don't pull that trigger, I'm a man of God." " I killed several of them." " I mean I'm God's minister." "What part of God's business is throwin' a woman down a gorge?" "A slave woman." "Can you see that in this light?" "Black as a bucket of tar." " Is she dead?" " No, I drugged her." "Like you would a butterfly." "And I care for her." "That's the heartbreak of it." "She's got my bastard in her belly." "Come on." "Back up." " I'm beggin' you." " Git." "It's better you blow out my brains than return me to this place." "You're gonna put her back where she sleeps." "I do that, the members will lynch me for siring' a bastard while serving' as their preacher." "We're a strict congregation." "We've churched men for pickin' up a fiddle on the Sabbath." "So you reckon to kill her?" "What, because she's a slave?" "I... um..." "There's a back door." "Have pity." "Thank you." "I was gonna do a grievous wrong." "I think I should go back up to my wife." "She wakes at the slightest noise." "Agh!" "Ohh..." "Where's some paper and a pencil?" "Hey, Ada!" "You up?" "Yes." "Wha...?" "It's still dark." "Tell that to the cows." "It's late." "You all set?" "Oh, I-I just have to eat somethin'." "Well, then, you got to get up earlier." "What's that?" "A novel." "You wanna carry a book, carry one you can write in." "We got our own story." "It's called "Black Cove Farm:" "Catastrophe"." "I can spell it, too." "Learned it the same place you did, in the schoolhouse." "One of the first words they taught me." ""Ruby Thewes, you are a c-a-t-a-s-t-r-o-p-h-e."" "Three years I was in school, before my daddy..." "Sayin' God rest his soul is like wishing' him what he had in life." "He lived to rest." "He was born tired." "He decided... better use for me than havin' me sat all day in front of a chalkboard." "Number one, lay out a winter garden for cool-season crops." "Turnips right there, onions, cabbage." "Collards." "Number two, patch the shingles on the barn roof." "Have we got a maul and frow?" " Maul?" " Maul." "M-a-u-l." "Number three, clear and turn this field." "No harm done letting' it go." "Now we'll do well." "Number 1 5... 1 6." " Number 1 6..." " Number 1 6..." "Put up some gourds for a martin colony." "Keep away these crows." "One thing in abundance on this farm, and that's crows." "Shut the gate." "I'd pay a dollar for an egg." "I've got no quarrel with you." "Hey!" "Am I near the Cape Fear River?" "Home Guard!" "Get back there!" "Runaways!" "Come on, boys!" "Let's get 'em!" "They're spreadin' out in the field!" " Come back here!" " They're in the field." "They're in the field!" "I can get you outta here." "I daresay that's Home Guard following' you." "They're out on the road, hunting' down deserters." "And I don't recommend that way." "You'll meet half the town comin' after me with a noose, thanks to you." "I should have shot you when I had the chance." "I know where there's a ferry crossing'." "Or you can stubborn yourself to death." " If this is a trap..." " Please yourself." "I'm just bein' a Christian." " You got any money?" " $5." "For $5 I wouldn't give a parched man a dipper of this river water." "The sign says "Ferry $5."" "Nobody crosses these waters unless they're runnin' from someplace." "You wanna wait for your friends?" "I can give you $30 Confederate." "Well, all right, let's go." "Whatever that's worth." "They cut off my hair." "That was hard." "I was vain about my hair." "I had curls." "But I deserved it." "I'm the Reverend Veasey." "Have I seen you in church?" "No." "Not likely to, neither." "I'd say these days, the devil rules the roost." "30 more dollars." "we can go over to that cabin and I can pull this dress over my head." "Have we got $30?" " Get down!" " I got one." " Is there any other way to cross?" " Barge or boat." "The water's full of gators." "What's this wood?" " I don't know." " In." " I don't know." " Pine." " Locust?" " Pine." "Where's north?" "North?" "Uh..." "Name me three herbs that grow wild on this farm." "I can't." "I can't, all right?" "I can talk about farming in Latin." "I can..." "I can read French." "I know how to lace up a corset." "God knows." "I can name the principal rivers in Europe." "Just don't ask me to name one stream in this county!" "I can..." "I can embroider but I can't darn!" "I can arrange cut flowers but I can't grow them!" "If a thing has a function, if I might do something with it, then it wasn't considered suitable!" "Why?" "Ruby, you can ask why about pretty much everything to do with me." "This fence is about the first thing that I've ever done that might produce an actual result." "So you never wrapped your legs around this Inman?" "Oh!" "Come on." "Fine piano." "If we're careful, now we'll get through winter." "I got old man Roy to give me ten of them sheep, on account of I said they's so small, put together they weren't no bigger than six proper sheep." "My father always wanted sheep on this farm." "I cut off my hair once for money." "My daddy got $2 for it." "Made a wig for some rich feller in Raleigh." "I'm just sayin' I'm real sorry you had to lose your piano." "Ruby, it was my idea." "Stobrod liked to call himself a musician." "My daddy." "He could play six tunes on a fiddle." "Got hisself shot dead at Petersburg." "I was like his goat." "Or some critter tethered to a post." "He left me once." "Up in them mountains." "I was eight." "He was gone over two and a half weeks." "He left you?" "Uh-huh." "I was all right." "My daddy, he'd walk 40 miles for liquor and not 40 inches for kindness." "I'm so plugged up." "Used to be as regular as morning prayers." "Matter of fact, I could set my watch by my bowels." "Open my gut now, they'd find turds stacked up like little black twigs." "Home Guard!" " Hey." " Shh." " Look at this." " Keep your voice down." "Look at this!" " It's a good saw!" " And it's not yours." "You're a Christian." "Don't you know your Commandments?" "You'll find the good Lord very flexible on the subject of property." "We could do a lot with this saw." "Cut down a tree." "Play music with it." "You're gonna thank me for this saw." "I'll say thank you when I've lost you and I've found some food." "You'll see." "You'll thank me." "Shh." "Good day to you." "My old bull... wandered off..." "and died in this here creek." "Poisonin' up our water is how I found him." "Thank you." "You are a true Christian." " That's a rank odor from that animal." " Been dead a good while, I reckon." "This is a tricky one." "You fellers help me out, my woman'll cook you up a good dinner." "I'm gettin' an idea." "My saw's the remedy." "I believe you need two people, one on either end." "Yeah." "Give me that saw." "Let's do this in chapters." " That's right." " Yeah." "Start at the neck." "Aw...!" "Oh, well..." "That is unpleasant." "There's my place." "Hope you can stomach a yard chock full of female." "Oh, God." "Oh, my God." "Hallelujah." "Hallelujah!" "Oh, hallelujah!" "The Israelites!" "What happened?" "He's got a shit comin'." "It's overdue." "The tribes of Israel are about to flee from the banks of Egypt!" "Good God." "These boys are stopping' for supper!" "Brought my woman home, she showed up with her three sisters, so-called, and their brats." "That's Mae, Dolly, Shyla, and the pretty one in blue is my wife, Lila." "Those are fine examples of the female." "Oh, I'm about to pass out." "My home brew sneaks up on you." "It curdles your durdles." "Oh." "Oh, look." "He's gone now." "Look." "He's gone now." "His eyes, they've gone." " His eyes are gone." " What?" "Gone, gone, gone, gone!" "I'm leavin' soon as I'm full." "Y'all havin' too much fun for me." "Really?" "Goodbye." "Well, yeah." "I got a bunch of traps need visiting', but I'll be back before..." "before dark tomorrow." " Y'all still be here?" " That's my fervent prayer." "I'll say my goodbyes." "I gotta go." "I got miles and miles and miles and miles ahead of me before I reach the Blue Ridge." "Blue Ridge?" "What's the hurry?" " Maybe I will just lie down a moment." " Yeah." " This house is on a bit of a tilt." " Yeah, it is a bit crooked." "Lie down." "What about you, Reverend?" "I'm headin' for that smokehouse." "And I'm ready to be washed clean of my dirt." " Yeah, Mae, you go tend to him." " Mm-hm." "All right." "Y'all get to bed." "Everybody else got their job." " Come on, get to bed." " Now?" "Everybody to bed." "Lila, you stay with them kids." "Get on up those stairs." "I'll be seein' you." "Look..." "He's mine." "You go rub yourself off on the preacher." "I'm gonna make him hug me till I grunt." "He's purty, ain't he?" "Git." "She ain't even supposed to get a man." "Hey." "I know." "I know." "I..." "How about that?" " What does that favor?" " I..." "...gotta go." " Get on." "And ride me all the way to China." "You shy?" " Do you need a hand?" " No." "Uh..." "Let's have a look and see what we can muster." "Oh, no." "Look what you made me do." "Slut!" "Home Guard!" "Cover yourself up!" "I told you, you don't touch the money!" "I had a special prayer you'd come visit." " Get up." " Evenin', Hank." "Evenin', Hank." " You took your time." " I said get up!" "Get in line." "You fools fall for it every time." "God will judge you, you Judas." " Thanks." " God will judge you!" " Move out!" " Our lives are on your rotten soul." " Mister?" " Your rotten soul!" "Shut your mouth!" " Pleasure doin' business with you, boys." " Judas!" "Save your breath." "You got a long walk back to the fightin'." "Ada Monroe and Ruby Thewes, look at you both." "Look at us both what?" "Like a couple of scarecrows after a thunderstorm." "We need a scarecrow." "Birds done ate up half our winter garden." "For all your kindness, coffee... and a pie." "Yeah, and that's real coffee." "It ain't chicory and dirt." "Found a sack hid in the larder." "Mmm." "Thank you both." "Ruby, I look forward to this." "We all do." "Esco and me." " She made it." " I made it." "Good God in heaven." "I'm still livin'." "Well, I know Esco's gonna be real sorry he missed you." "Yep." " Strike you as odd?" " What?" " Stood at her front door." " I know." "Number one, I knowed that woman all my life, I never stood outside her house." "She'd let a wolf in if it knocked at the door." "Perhaps..." "I don't know." "Perhaps she was busy." "Number two, old man Swanger's inside that house." "I could smell his pipe burning'." " Number three, look at them fields." " What about them?" "We come by here a week ago and they was waist-high in hay." "You tellin' me that's work for one old man and his dog?" "Yankees!" "Yankees!" "Cavalry!" "Federal raiders!" "Just over that hill." " Get those sacks of shit up that hill." " Come on!" "Get those horses under cover." "If they see us, we're dead." "Make a move, make a noise..." "I'm gettin' out of this." "I'm not gettin' shot again for some cause I don't believe in." "Come on, let's go." "Come on." "They can't shoot." "Come on." "Keep goin'!" "Come on!" "Bayonets." "Come on!" "Grab their boots and rifles!" "Let's move on!" "Let's go!" "That scarecrow ain't gonna frighten off no Yankee." "Or are you tryin' to make a man for yourself?" "No." "I come by... a few days." "I don't pass by." " Lookin' out for you." " I know." "I see you." " And I don't like it." " Where's your little servant girl?" "Ruby." "She trading' off more of your daddy's silver?" " Stop it!" " Her nose is in the butter." "Her nose is right in your butter!" "This farm's got my name on it!" "You listenin', woman?" "You're gonna need more than a scarecrow!" "Sal." "Afternoon." "Don't spread out." "Why are they spreading' out?" "I never seen a man work a field with a shotgun before." "There's a war on." "Get off my land." " Your boys come home?" " Ain't seen my boys in four years." "They're out fighting' other boys, not old men and women." "So you won't mind if we look around?" "'Cause we think they're here." "We think you've got 'em hid up somewhere." "What I gotta give you?" "Chicken?" "Lamb?" "Sure." "The thing is, you've only got one barrel." "And there's five of us." "That's not a fair fight." "King of kings!" "Hey!" "What was that?" "Aargh!" "You're harboring deserters." "I could confiscate this farm and everything on it." "Every plate, every sheep, every little pellet of chickenshit." "I could confiscate your old lady's asshole." "So don't you offer me no bird." "Come on, boys!" "Mama's callin'!" "Mama!" "No!" "Mama!" "Mama!" "No!" "Buggery and shit!" "If I'da known you were this heavy, I'da left you in those chains." "Sally!" "No!" "No!" "Oh, God." "Sally?" "Ada!" "All right, all right!" "Darlin', what?" "She's sayin' "Don't bother"!" "Go!" "Get her neck!" " Sally!" " Get her neck." "This world won't stand long." "God won't let it... stand this way long." " How long have I been sleepin'?" " Two days, three days." "Not long enough." " I can't stop here." " Sit down before you fall down." "I'm a deserter." "If they find me here, things could be bad for you." "What are they gonna do?" "Cut short my young life?" "I've learned a person can pretty much survive off of a goat." "A goat gives you company, and milk, and cheese, and, when you need it, good meat." "That's my beauty." "There's my beauty." "So you been fightin'." "I could be at killing'... for days, my feet against the feet of my enemy." "And I always killed him." "He never killed me." "I don't know why." "Gave it a try, to look at ya." "Yeah, I guess he did." "See, I think there's a plan." "There's a design for each and every one of us." "You look at nature." "Bird flies somewhere, picks up a seed, shits the seed out, plant grows." "Bird's got a job, shit's got a job, seed's got a job." "And you've got a job." "You done good, goat." "You were a real beauty." "Sometimes I think I'm crazy when I'm just hungry." "Now drink this." "It eases the pain, and you'll sleep." "Is she waiting' for ya, this Ada Monroe?" "She was." "I don't know." "Or even if she knows me." "Lie down." "I'm like the boy who goes for wood in winter and comes back in spring with a whistle." "Like every fool sent off to fight with a flag and a lie." "That's the laudanum gettin' to ya." "That's good." "Say somethin' more." "She got me a book." "Ada Monroe." "A man by the name of Bartram." "He wrote about his travels." "Sometimes... just readin' the name of a place... near home..." "Sorell Cove." "Bishop's Creek." "Those places belonged to people before us." "To the Cherokee." "What did he call Cold Mountain?" "How could a name..." "not even a real name... break your heart?" "It's her." "She's the place I'm headin'." "And I hardly know her." "I hardly know her!" "And I just can't seem to get back to her." ""To have traveled so far, from east to west, a thousand terrible miles."" "I have to close my eyes." ""My feet treading' all God's surface " ""his ocean, his swamps, his slopes and ridges " ""to find myself, at last, a mark in the aching snow," ""from whence I beheld through a blue haze a world of mountains piled upon mountains."" "Ada!" "Ada!" " It's a man!" " What is?" "Raidin' our corncrib!" "Got him in the trap!" "That's him yelping'!" " Help!" " Here." "Help!" "Damn." "Listen up!" "You got..." "Aim!" "You got a barrel trained on your rear end!" " Get me outta this dang thing!" " You got a weapon?" "No, ma'am, I'm..." "My fists are about to drop off." "Unbelievable." " Stobrod Thewes!" " Ruby?" "Agh!" "That's my daddy." "Just so's you know, I can eat while she's doin' this." "Just so's you know, you ain't eating' inside." "Number one, they hang people round here for takin' in deserters." "Number two, even if they was givin' out prizes, you'd still eat outside." " You're scarred." " I'm what?" "Your heart." "Scarred." "I did wrong to ya." "You'd be scarred." "You'd be real scarred if I hadn't wrapped them trap teeth in sacking'." " Which was my idea." " Which was her idea." " I hurt you." " Good God." "I made up 50 tunes with you in mind." "Ruby this." "Ruby that." "Ruby with the eyes that sparkle." "Hey!" "Let's agree." "You beat me, you abandoned me, you ignored me, then you beat me some more." "And all of that is better'n "Ruby with the eyes that sparkle."" "I'm changed." "People change." "War changes people somethin' terrible." "Ruby's told you, I've no doubt, I wasn't always the best." "You were an asshole!" "I can't disagree with that, I was." " Would you get him outta here?" " Music's changed me." "I'm full of music, Ruby." "I wish I'd brung my fiddle." "Hey, Ruby." "I got a new fiddle." "Oh, it's a beautiful fiddle." "It's full of tunes." "Ruby, I didn't know I had it in me." " You're all set." " I..." "Bless you both." "All right, then." "Ain't you got a proper coat?" "Aw, darlin', I'm fine, you know." "And you just say the word, I won't come back neither." "Don't wanna put you or your mistress here in any bother." "I'm not Ruby's employer." "Oh." "Beg pardon." "Nobody is." "Oh." "You know who really needs a coat, darlin'?" "My partner." "Fat boy name of Pangle." "We're hidin' up in a cave with a singer from Georgia, and Pangle, he feels the cold like a thin man, but there ain't no coat'll fit him." "I love you, Ruby." "In case the sky falls on our head." "You always were a good girl." "Ooh!" "He's so full of manure, that man." "We could lay him in the dirt and..." "grow another one just like him." "That's medicine, that's goat meat." "And you're sick of both." "I have a deal to thank you for." "That's just for show." "Get on back where you came from!" " Thank you for my coat!" " Thanks for the food!" "Git!" "I love my coat!" ""My love for Linton is like the foliage in the woods." ""Time will change it, I'm well aware, as winter changes the trees." ""My love for Heathcliff resembles the eternal rocks beneath." ""A source of little visible delight," ""but necessary." ""He's always... always in my mind."" "She ain't gonna marry Linton, is she?" "You can't say that about Heathcliff and then marry Linton." "Hmm." "We'll find out." "Tomorrow." "I'm not waitin' till tomorrow!" "Ruby..." ""A source of..." "little visible delight, but... necessary."" "I like that." "I'm a Confederate soldier..." "on furlough." "I need shelter... and food." "I've got a rifle!" "Fair enough." "I have some beans and corn pone." "All I got." " Thank you." " I'm alone here." "as you can see, with my baby." "I need to believe you mean no harm." "No." "I don't want it." "If I had my way, they'd take metal altogether out of this world." "Every blade, every gun." "It's all right." "You're burnin' up, little man." "Is your baby sick?" "My man's dead." "Took his wound at Gettysburg and never saw his boy." "I'm sorry." "It's pretty much what you'll get if you knock on any door of this war." "Man dead, woman left." "It's mean food, but it's hot." "There's been no hunting' on the road, just cress and roots." "I need to try and feed this man." "Shh." "You gotta eat somethin', baby." "He won't feed." "I'm Inhan, by the way." "That's my name." "I'm Sara." "My baby's Ethan." "Glad to know you both." "You look about his size." "He was another man straight up and down." "Thank you." "Everything fit?" "These boots are good boots." "Well, I'll say good night, then." "Good night." " She don't speak?" " Can't speak!" "I told you." "Well, is she feeble, then?" "No!" "Never mind him." "Will you come inside?" "Would you do somethin' for me?" "Do you... think you could..." "Lie here next to me and not..." "need to go further?" " I'll go, I'll go, shall I?" " No." "I don't want you to." "Thing is..." "I love someone." "I love someone very much." "Try and sleep." " Merry Christmas, Pangle." " Night, ma'am." "Merry Christmas, Georgia." "Nice to meet you." " Merry Christmas, Miss Ada." " Merry Christmas." " Merry Christmas, darlin'." " Don't sleep here." " We won't." " It's dangerous." "Don't sleep here." "Oh, it's bitter." "They could stop one night." "They stop one night, they're gonna wanna stop two." "I'll be all right." "This coat's warm." "What about next Sunday?" "It'll be New Year." " Maybe." " Gonna be a better one than 1864." " This war's over in a month." " That's what he said a month ago." "It started off bein' over in a month." "Night, Miss Sally." "Merry Christmas." " Night, Miss Ruby." " Night." " Night, ma'am." " Night." "You're stayin' with us tonight, Sally." " That's my Ruby." " She's an original." " What kind of name's Georgia?" " It's where he's from." "It's not his name." "Well, I know it's meant to be the ugliest state under the heavens." "Why do you care what his name is?" "Hey, what do you call that cluster of stars right there?" "Right there." "Uh..." "There?" "That's Orion." "And that's Gemini, and that is Orion's big dog." "Canis Major." "Listen to her, Sal." "She's turned into a regular highland girl." "Nah, I could always name the stars, Ruby." "That was never my problem." "I love you, darlin', in case that big old sky falls on our heads." "Aw..." "And I love you too, Sally." "I do." "Get up!" "Get up!" "Get out of here, quick!" "The Yankees are coming!" "The Yankees, they're here." "If they find you here, things'll go bad on all of us." " I can try and fight 'em." " No." "My baby." "Please, no." "Just..." "Please, just git!" "We're Union army!" "We're lookin' for food!" "Come on, open up!" "We're hungry!" " I got nothin'!" "I got nothin'!" " We'll see about that." " There's a baby inside." "Get it." " Please, he's sick." "Don't hurt him, please." "Please, I got nothin'!" "That's right." "Take the chickens." "Take the chickens." "They're all I got." "Says she's only got chickens." "You lyin' Southern trash." "We're hungry." "We got all day." "See, those birds won't get you through the winter." "Please cover up my boy." "Just tell us where the food is, we'll pick him up." "Please, my baby's sick." "Please, just cover him up." "Please, I'm beggin' you!" "Please!" "Have mercy!" "I got a hog!" "I got a hog!" " He's hid out behind the house!" " Take a look." "Please!" "Please, sir." "Please." "He's just a baby!" "He's shaking!" "Please, just cover him up." "What's wrong with you?" "What's wrong with you?" "I ain't got nothin' else, I swear." " That ain't necessarily so." " Yes." "Take me inside." "We'll do whatever you want." "Take my baby inside." "Let's all go inside!" "Please!" "Please!" "Please!" "You take that hog!" "I'm as good as dead!" "Take that hog 'cause I'm as good as dead!" "Shut up!" "No!" "Agh!" " You know, he's gettin' ready to take a fit." " What do you care?" "Shh..." "Shh..." "That's better." "Shh." "That's better." "Hey, come on." "Leave some for the rest of us." "Move away from the baby!" "Towards me!" "Don't shoot." "We just wanted food." "Take off your boots." "Take off your pants." "Take off your shirt." "Don't shoot me, please." "We're starvin'." "We haven't eaten in days." " Come on." " We're starving." "We haven't eaten in days." "Come on!" "Thanks." "Thank you." " Now you get runnin'." " I will." " And keep runnin'." " Thank you." " I love the snow." " I hate the snow, I hate the cold." " Come on!" " Fellas, what's the rush?" "If Ruby finds out we've spent the night, there'll be hell to pay." ""My love, where are you?" ""With no hope of reaching you, I write to you," ""as I always do, as I have always done."" "You reckon we could eat this?" "Hey." "Well, you know, you cook somethin' long enough, you can eat anything." "It's froze." "How long it been there for?" " You hungry?" " Yeah." "Not very long." "Good evenin'." "Hope we didn't disturb you." "D'you mind if I warm myself by your fire?" "Name's Teague." " Do I know you?" " Stobrod Thewes." " That your wife?" " That's a "he."" "Is "he" your wife?" "We're musicians." "He picks a banjo, I got a fiddle." "Your sweetheart's got a nice piece of flesh on him." " He looks pretty romantic by the fire." " It's a picture of love." "You gonna play that fiddle?" "Sure." "Sure." "Hey, wake up." "Evenin', missis." " Where's Georgia?" " "Where's Georgia"?" " Captain Teague wants us to play now." " Love to." "We heard there were some deserters up in these parts hidden out in a big cave." " Not come to my ears." " So you don't know where this big cave is?" " No, sir." " You do, Stobs." "He means..." "No, right." "No, no." "There is a cave right up near Bearpen Branch." "We played some music up there." " Never occurred to me they were outliers." " It ain't nowhere near Bearpen Branch." "He's always gettin' lost." "That cave - we live there." "I used to freeze up in that cave till I got gived this new coat." "Ruby made me this coat." "I like my coat." "This part belonged to a reverend and this part belonged to a horse." "Ruby said - what is it?" " I should pray or neigh, depending'." "He don't..." "he don't know what he's sayin'." "He got a mind no bigger than a pickled walnut." "It's a good coat." "Broke my young heart." "We gonna be here all night?" "Stand over there." "Ruby, she don't know one end of the war from the other." "You don't have to worry yourself about her, is what I'm sayin'." "Or Ada, neither." "You know what I'm sayin'?" "You too." "You stand over there." "We gonna get our tintype made?" "Don't smile." " What?" " Quit smiling'." "He always smiles." "He don't mean nothin' by it." "I told him, there ain't nothin' in this world worth a smile!" "Put your hat over your face." "Cover your face with your hat." " Ruby!" " What?" " Ruby!" " What's wrong?" " Teague..." "The Home Guard..." " What?" "They shot your daddy!" "They shot your daddy, and Pangle too!" "I told Georgia he can stop here." "I told him he can sleep in the barn." "He's got nothin' inside him." "He'll walk out of here and die in the snow." "He can milk the cows." "I was worried about that." "It's five hours' climb from here." "He drew a map." "I'm ready." "You know them fools stayed the night in the mill?" "That's Stobrod Thewes." "Can't do one good thing without adding' the bad." "Left tracks in the snow all the way up for the Home Guard to follow." " Sign that says "Shoot me."" " Ruby..." "Ruby." "I'm sorry." "Every piece of this is man's bullshit." "They call this war a cloud over the land, but they made the weather, and then they stand in the rain and say "Shit, it's rainin'!"" "If I cry one tear for my daddy, I stole it off a crocodile." "All right, then." "All right, then." "Dear God." "Oh, dear God." "He ain't here." "Agh!" "Teague's probably took him." "They did that with the Swanger boys, didn't they?" "Strung 'em up, as a warnin'." "They took his coat." "Why would they take his coat?" "Daddy?" "Daddy!" "Daddy!" "Daddy?" "He's still breathin'!" "It's Ruby!" "Don't you die on me again!" " We gotta get him home." " He won't make it." "He'll die first." "He's got hardly no blood left in him." "There it is." "I feel it." " You got it?" " Yep." "There's a place close." "Old Cherokee, it used to be." "It's got shelter, water." "I used to hide up there when he'd get a temper goin'." "God!" " I'll go look for some food." " Take the shotgun." "Goddamn." "Turn around!" "Go back where you came from!" "Go back!" "Ada?" "Ada Monroe?" "Turn around or I'll shoot!" "Inman?" "Inman?" "Inhan." "You better come with me." "Ruby." "This is Inhan." "Oh!" "Congratulations!" "Oughta send you out with a shotgun a lot more!" "Looks if he's about to topple over." " I may need to." " You shot or somethin'?" "Not lately." " He's asleep." " I ain't surprised." " Your man looked tuckered out." " I saw him." "In Sally Swanger's well." "A man like a black smudge in the snow." " Well, there you go." " It wasn't the same, what I saw." "In the well it was as if he were falling." " You probably just don't remember it right." " I remember it exactly." "There were crows - black crows." "They were flyin' towards me." "Ruby, I thought I was seein' him fall." "Instead, I was seein' him come back to me." "I got big plans for that farm." "I know." "I know you have." "I got a vision in my mind of how Black Cove oughta be." "I don't know, Ruby." "All this while I've been packin' ice around my heart." "How do I make it melt?" "Hey!" "You about done with my knife?" "We got a bird to cook." "Just about." "You're makin' a pig's ear of that job." "Give it to me." "Oh, I ain't gonna cut you." "Can't see that it'd make a bit of difference if I did." "You got the right feelings for her?" "Don't turn your head!" "Tsk." "I do." "I'm sorry." "I was tryin' to be quiet." "Did you get my letters?" "I got three letters." "I carried them, I carried them in the book you gave me." "The Bartram." "I probably sent 103." "Did you write to me?" "Whenever I could." "If you never got them, I can summarize." " No." "No, no." " "I pray you are well." ""I pray I am in your thoughts." "You are all that keeps me from sliding' into some dark place."" "How did I keep you?" "We barely knew each other." "It was a few moments." "A thousand moments." "They're like a bag..." "of tiny diamonds." "Don't matter if they're real or things I made up." "The shape of your neck." "That's real." "The way you felt under my hands when I pulled you to me." "You were plowing a field." "You were carrying a tray." " You wouldn't come in." " No, I wouldn't go in." "So that's why I had to carry a tray." "So I could come out to see you." "That kiss." "Which I kissed every day of my walking." "Every day I was waiting." "Longing." "Longing to see your face." "If you could see my inside..." "Now, whatever you wanna name it - my spirit?" "That's what I fear." "I think I'm ruined." "They kept tryin' to put me in the ground." " But I wasn't ready." " Inhan..." "But if I had... if I had goodness, I lost it." "If I had anything tender in me, I shot it dead." "How could I write to you after what I done." "what I seen?" "Number one, shut this door." "It's freezin'." "Number two, shut that door." "It's freezin'." "Layin' on my back, my fingers poked in my ears, tryin' to shut out who's got a bag of diamonds, who's carrying a tray..." "If you wanna get three feet up a bull's ass, just listen to what sweethearts whisper to one another." "In fact, if y'all gonna wimble-wimble all night, I'm gonna sleep in with him." " I'll say good night." " No." "Please... don't say good night." "Wars make some things pointless." "It's hard to imagine a wedding." "I think even my father would recognize that." "Ada, I wanna marry you." "If you'll have me." "Isn't there some religion where you just have to say "I marry you" three times, and you're man and wife?" "I marry you." "I marry you, I marry you." "Why is that funny?" "I think it's "l divorce you" three times and you're not married anymore." "I can wait for you." "Oh, Inhan." "I marry you, I marry you, I marry you." "I marry you, I marry you." "I have so..." "I have so many buttons." "Sorry." "Will you turn your back?" "No." "No, I will not." "I'll lead the horse at a pace your daddy can tolerate." " You two go ahead now." " No, I don't wanna do that." " No." "We can all go together." " It's safer this way." "We're deserters." "No one has a quarrel with you." "He's right." "I gather I..." "I need permission from you, Ruby." "if I reckon on livin' at Black Cove." "All right, then." "You stay on that horse." "And don't lose it." "Or sell it." "Gonna need it back on the farm." "All right, Daddy." "I don't wanna let you go." "I'll be with you by nightfall." "Ugh." "All right, then." "Hope that Georgia boy's been tending' to the animals." " I knew you were thinkin' on him." " I was not!" " I was thinkin' on swollen udders." " Oh...!" " And before you say "same difference"..." " I'm sayin' nothin'!" "Miss Lovey-Dovey!" "Miss Lovey-Dovey!" "Hey!" " That was a long funeral for your daddy." " That was a wake." "That was Irish." "Now, your friend Georgia here..." "We went down to visit you when we heard you were harboring' deserters, and he told us - after some persuasion - you were up here." "We were up and down this mountain." "Up and down." "There will be a reckoning." "When this war is over, there will be a reckoning." "Did you make this coat?" "Helpin' a deserter - that's treason." "Now, I know it's half horse and half reverend." "A reckoning'?" "The reckoning's for your world." "It's not mine." "I'll be damned." "He's a hard bastard to kill." " No!" " Ruby!" "Inhan!" "Captain Teague!" " Come down from there!" " No, sir." "Here is fine." "I'll just shoot the horse out from under you." " You ridin' Captain Teague's animal?" " I am." " He dead?" " I hope so." "Look, give me your gun and ride on home." "I'm done fighting', I'm sick of it!" "I give you my gun, you're gonna shoot me dead." "I will not shoot you, but nor am I goin' down this mountain lookin' over my shoulder for you." "That's what they call a conundrum." " I'll tell you what I got on my side." " What you got on your side?" "The confidence of youth." "Inman!" "No!" "I... came... back." "I love you." "Baby." "What we have lost will never be returned to us." "The land will not heal." "Too much blood." "The heart will not heal." "All we can do is make peace with the past and try to learn from it." " What are you doing?" " He died in the night, love." "Bring him here." " Don't kill him." " I'm not gonna kill him." "We have to try somethin' or else he's gonna die too." "It's all right." "We're gonna try a little trick." "Shh." "There are days now when I manage not to think of you." "When the needs of the farm call with more urgency than my heart." "This time of year there's so much life everywhere." "I find you in all of it." "As if you were still walking home to me." "If you could see us now this Easter day at Black Cove, you would know every step of your journey was worth it." "Grace Inhan, nobody said "Eat."" "For good friends, good food, good family, all our blessings, O Lord, we thank thee." " Amen." " Amen." " Amen." " Amen." "Amen!" " Sweetheart, there's no cider." " That's for you." "Right, I'd best..." "I'd best fetch it, I got my orders." "I looked once more down Sally's well, and this time there was nothin' there to haunt me." "Just clouds." "Clouds, and then... sun."