"THE STORY OF MARIE AND JULIEN" "Marie'?" "Julien." "You're here'?" "Do you recognize me'?" "I think of you often- for a year now." "Me too." "All the time, since that night." "A long time ago." "A year ago." " A bit more." " A bit more, maybe." "I saw you, going against the crowd." "You looked mean." "I was looking for a drink, and then I saw you." "I couldn't move." "We talked..." "I remember one word." "Me too..." "deliverance." "She left me." "I'm free now." "He left me." "I'm alone." "Can we Walk together?" " I need you." " Need me'?" "Just like this." "I was thinking of you..." "dreaming of you, 10 minutes ago." "Me too." "I was thinking of you." "We have to see each other and talk." "Now I can't." "I'm late." " Me too." "There's my bus." " Tomorrow, are you free'?" "Tomorrow, yes, tomorrow." "You know the cafe on Croix-Rouge place." "It's not far." "NO, but I'll find it." "What time?" "As soon as possible." "I work in the morning, but I can free myself." " No, let's say three o'clock." " Three o'clock." "Yes, don't forget." "I'm late." "I know." "I was about to leave." "You're Julien'?" "And you, Madame X." "Madame X who'?" "Madame X. That's it." "I've been here thirteen minutes I'm cold." "Julien who'?" "Julien." "That's it." "Next time, I'll be on time." "In the cold again?" "We'll never meet at each other's place." "And I set the rules." "I didn't imagine you this way." "These are my conditions." "Do you accept them'?" "I don't know." " I'm waiting for proof." " What proof?" "That we speak the same language... that you have the documents." "Documents that can harm me..." "apparently." "You believe it..." "you're here." "If you came empty-handed, it's over." "Why are you doing this'?" "You don't need it for a living." "Go ahead, give me a sermon." "You must hate yourself." "My life is my concern." "I'd have liked another, but I have just this one." "Your Chinese silk business..." "That must do well." "Why make fakes'?" "Fakes?" "You know those certificates are fake." "You make fake ancient cloths." "I don't make them." "Someone makes them." "Here or there, it's the same." "You sell them as real." "You traffic them." "It's a crime and costs dearly." "Very dearly." "Thursday." "Same place, same time, with the money." "You don't look like a blackmailer." "Good evening." "Good evening." "Good evening!" "Nosing around upstairs again?" "Don't lie to me." "I can see it in your whiskers." " What can I get you'?" " A cup of coffee please." "What are you doing here'?" "You're not very friendly." "Neither is your cat." "I have my way with animals." "Yours is cordially condescending." "Don't pout like that." "I've got the money." "I thought I was clear." "Not my place, nor yours." "Again, what are you doing here'?" "You owe me an explanation" "Me'?" "You fell upon them by chance." "I don't want to know how." "It's only the documents that concern me." "Fine." "You want to profit from it." "I can understand." "So?" "You know something is missing." "I don't see what you're talking about." "You don't see, really?" "I have three objects that concern you:" "The fake certificates, the photo and the doll, that's all." "There's something else, which I care about above all, which has been missing since this morning." "Don't tell me you have nothing to do with it." " Believe it or not, I know nothing." " Stop it!" "I'm tired." "You have no idea what I've endured, for months now." "No one has the slightest idea." "Say what you want." "Get it over with." "I don't know what you're talking about, and I hate being taken." "You broke our agreement." "The fee is raised." "I want ten times the sum." "What?" "Ten times." "Ten!" "You can't be serious." "You must be joking." "I never joke." "You're mad." "Playing with fire." "I refuse." "Madame..." "X." "See you on Thursday." "Don't wait for me" "Muller, yes, it's me." "Provans?" "Yes, I know where it is." "Tower clocks- I don't do them any more." "I don't move." "Provans or Timbuktu, it's the same." "I don't travel." "You'll find someone." "I'm not the only one in the business." "Good-bye." "Nevermore'?" "You're never here when I need you." "Look at me." "Look me in the eyes!" "A bit early for dinner." "Let me work." "What are you looking for up there?" "I told you there's nothing left." "Nothing at all!" "I was afraid of not seeing you again." "You have a collection?" "I repair them, if possible." "Sometimes it's impossible?" "It's a matter of patience." "This one...it's a Wagner." "It's a bit off." "They're like instruments of torture." "It's like the inside of a Watch... only bigger." "The biggest are the oldest." "We started big... and then smaller and smaller... more and more... flat." "I too, dreamt of you." "What was I doing'?" "Nothing." "You were there, standing... arms crossed." "It was...on a ship or on a train." "The ground was moving." "I was afraid of falling." "You were looking at me." "You looked mean." "I can't stay." "Come to my place tomorrow." "Can you'?" "Of course." "It's a furnished residence." "I live there...while waiting" "While waiting What?" "While Waiting." "Be there at eight." "I'll cook dinner." "Come, or don't come!" "TO MY SISTER" "You again?" "The street belongs to everyone." "And you're here by chance." "Relax." "I have no intention of entering." "So?" "Yesterday I was mistaken." "I thought you would agree." "Agree on What?" "On the money." "Right away, without delay." "I couldn't imagine...reprisals." "Sorry." "So it goes." "Sorry, I'm in a hurry." "Wait!" "I can't give you what you demand." "You'll make an effort." "Twice the sum, I can understand." "I accept." "But ten times..." "Admit it, it's madness." "Maybe...that's the way it goes." "I'm mad." "It's ten times." "Don't look at me like that." "I won't change." "At least give me my letter." "Your letter?" "An intimate letter, personal, which has nothing to do with us." "You don't know what it means to me." "I have no letter." "Really?" "No letter which concerns you in any way." "I'd like to believe you." "What prevents you'?" "One never knows what to expect from you." "If only I could trust you." "If you could trust me." "I'd have liked that." " We could have gotten along." " You're a dreamer." "I'm late." "Good-bye." "You're a monster!" "Good day." "Good evening, rather." "Yes, good evening." "Come in." "Can I help?" "It's ready." "You can open the wine." "I can't." "I don't have the strength." "Excuse me." "Sit down." "May I serve you'?" "That evening..." "That evening we met, a year ago..." "A bit more." "A bit more maybe..." "It was at your boss', right'?" "Vincent, yes." "A publisher." "That's it." "Art publisher." "I don't remember who invited me." "A friend of Estelle's." "Estelle, your friend." "My ex." "She no longer is'?" "I thought I had told you." "Maybe in your dreams." " Want some more?" " No thanks." "She was from Montauban." "She went back there." "Why do I tell you this silly detail'?" "Montauban." "For me to believe, maybe." "Maybe." "You were with that very handsome boy... a bit sad." "Very handsome and sad It describes him well." "His name is Simon." "Was." "He died six months ago in a car crash, like an ass." "He Wasn't an ass." "You loved him very much'?" "I didn't make dessert." "Would you like fruit'?" "Miss Marie Delambre is gone?" " Yes, sir." " When did she leave?" "Miss Delambre left early this morning." "At what time?" "Around seven ten..." "That's when I relieve the night watchman." "She paid her bill." "I called a taxi." "A lot of luggage." "She didn't say where she was going'?" "No, sir." "She didn't say where she was going" "She didn't leave anything, not for you, nor for anyone." "Look at this mess!" "What is happening?" "I think I was drawn outside so someone could search here." "I was manipulated." "Manipulated." "By... whom'?" "By a woman." "Women." "I'd like to speak to Vincent Lehman." "It's personal." "Yes 7" " Mr. Lehmann'?" " Yes, it's me." "What is it?" "I am Julien Muller." "My name doesn't mean anything to you." "We met..." "Yes, two weeks ago, at the bookstore." "That place..." "No, over a year ago, an evening at your place." "I'm a friend of Marie Delambre, your ex-collaborator." "Pardon me." "What's become of her?" "I want to get a hold of her." "I was hoping you could help." "She's no longer with us." "Left over a year ago." "I've had no news since." "No number, nor address?" "I'm sorry." "I have a meeting." "Is that all you wanted to know?" "Forgive me for disturbing you." "I'd like to speak to Julien." "Yes, it's me." "If you wish to see Marie, she's at the hotel Villa Pantheon." "Where'?" "Hotel Villa Pantheon, rue des Ecoles." "That's where she is at the moment." "How do you know I'm looking for her?" "Who are you'?" "If I were you, I'd go right away." "Hello." "Could you tell me which is Marie Delambre's room?" "Room 115, on the inside courtyard." "Did you just arrive or are you about to leave?" "I don't know." "I know." "You are coming with me." " With you'?" " Yes, with me." "I want you to live with me." "In my house." "It's impossible." "I need you." "It's true?" "Yes, it's true." "Well, all right." "You want to'?" "I want only that." "Hello." "Are you hungry'?" "I'm hungry." "Aren't you cold?" "Whose is this'?" "Where did you find it'?" "In the bathroom." "Whose is it'?" " Tea, coffee, chocolate?" " Coffee." "I asked you whose it is." "Estelle's, probably." "How so, probably?" "It means certainly." "Who is this Estelle, so that I may take care of her?" "I told you about her...the other night." "The girl from Montpellier." "Montauban." "The girl from Montauban." "There's also a girl from Montpellier'?" "There's no girl from Montpellier." "You think I'm Blue Beard'?" "The girl from Montauban who returned to Montauban, period." "Orange or currant'?" "I can help myself." "And this girl from Montauban... this Estelle from Montauban..." "who returned to Montauban..." "Yes'?" "Why did she leave her things?" " She's coming back from Montauban'?" " Never." "She'll never come back from Montauban." "She left without turning back." "And you know What?" "Go ahead." "As soon as she turned her back," "I forgot her." "Liar." "Forgotten." "Completely, totally, absolutely." "You would." "Bastard." "Bastard, perhaps... even more than you think." "How so?" "I don't understand." "You'll see soon enough." "No, please." "But you can't see." "I don't need to see, don't want to see." "It's all in the ear." "Listen." "It's limping." "It must come... from there." "Certainly, doctor." "Is it serious?" "Serious, no." "It's tricky." "You hear the difference?" "You want to listen?" "There, it's isochrone's." "And now..." "Now it limps." "There, it's right." "Isochrone's'?" "You think I'm funny?" "No, it's your crazy air..." "attentive and passionate." "Passionate?" "No." "Yes, your work is not a craft." "It's a vocation." "I wanted to be an architect." "Or one wanted me to be." "I Wasn't gifted for it, or anything else." "Look at my hands." "They're the hands of a butcher, not a clock smith." "Did you know it was a noble craft in the past'?" "Butcher?" "Clock smith." "A craft of kings, of aristocrats." "A craft for you." "You don't know me." "It's you who doesn't know you." "I don't want to know myself." "I want to know you." "Careful." "I know." "You know nothing." "I know..." "I must be careful." "Very careful." "I know you can hurt me, even if I don't know how." "But I don't care." "I'm happy you're here." "Me too, I'm happy to be here." "Where are you going'?" "I haven't finished my visit." "There's nothing up there." "Nothing...that's just what I like." "Yes'?" "Why should I have changed my mind'?" "You didn't look well enough." "I'm flattered, but it doesn't change anything." "I have nothing against Provans." "I just don't go to Provans." "It's not a question of money." "Think about What?" "Stop spying on me, Nevermore." "Mind your own business." "Can I do something?" "Nothing." "Sit." "I hate this robe." "I'll buy you another one." "A beautiful one." " Tomorrow, I'll be rich." " Really?" "You can Wear this while Waiting." "I prefer this." "It smells of you." "Now I am yours." "You are mine." "Where I must go, you will accompany me." "For what I must do, you will help me." "Don't fail me, or you will lose the very memory of me." "What are you saying?" "Pardon me'?" "What are you saying?" "I don't know." "You don't know." "You don't know what you just said'?" " Are you making fun of me'?" " I've never been more serious." "Julien?" "Madame X." "It's you." " May I speak to you?" " Yes, with pleasure." "I thought it over." "I accept your conditions." "Well," "I prefer you like this." "How can we proceed?" "If We're agreed, no problem." "Call me tomorrow, same time." "And then?" "I'll tell you how to proceed." "Until tomorrow." "Who was it'?" "To each his little secrets." "I'm asking who is this person to whom you were charming, and who must call tomorrow." "Answer me." "A woman." "Very beautiful." "Very elegant." "I'm fed up with all these Women!" "I love you, Marie." "I love your neck, your arms, shoulders, mouth, tummy, eyes." "I love everything." "I love you." "Since you've been here, it's a new beginning." "What's Wrong?" "What's Wrong?" "It's nothing." "It's nothing." "I love you." "I want you here all the time." "Say it again." "I couldn't stand you disappearing again." "Me too." "I need you." "Where are you going'?" "Where are you'?" "Where did you go?" "What are you looking at'?" "Come on." "You'll explain it to me." "So...you found them'?" "I Wasn't looking." "What is it'?" "You can see." "I see... some kind of certificate and some fabrics." "They are very beautiful." "They look old." "Fake." "Nothing but fakes." "Really...a pity." "And a Japanese doll." "Chinese. with a hole in the head." " There was something inside." " Really?" "What?" "I don't know." "And the photo?" "It's a photo." "It's her?" "Her, who'?" "The girl from Montauban'?" "No" "The girl to whom you give secret dates on the phone?" "Yes, this one." "And that one... the other one..." "I don't know." "One is dead, and the other is alive." "The one who is alive killed the one who is dead." "I don't think so." "Tell me about the forest again." "You were lost in the forest... in that big forest..." "Walking in circles for hours." "My dress is torn." "I've lost my shoes." "My feet are Wounded." "They bleed." "After all the walking, you reach a path." "And there you see a man." "A man, filthy," "with blue eyes... and the hands..." "The hands of a butcher." "I'm not afraid." "I ask him to save me." "He says he'll lead you to the road." "Instead, he goes deep into the forest with you." "In the bramble and thorns, it hurts, I'm torn." "One sees my skin through the tears in my dress." "I follow him without a word." "He takes you to a wooden hut, a ruin deep in the forest." "He tells you it's his home." "He tells me to take off my dress." "I obey." "I am naked." "He looks at your scratched breasts, your stomach, your SEX." "I see he has a hard-on." "He lays me on the bed." "An iron bed with a beat-up box spring." "A bed with nettles for sheets..." "He ties your wrists... your ankles," "stretched to the four corners." "He ties the knots so tight, he makes me yell." "I'm hot, I'm cold, I'm ashamed." "And yet I am wet so much that it runs down my legs." "He tells you to take his tongue in your mouth." "I do everything he says." "He crushes me on the bed, on the nettles, on the brambles." "He stays still a long time." "He breathes hard... harder and harder." "And then?" "Something is going to happen." "I don't know what it is." "I don't know what to do." "You are my only recourse." "It is I who chose you." "I don't know what else to do." "I love you, Julien." "And I know you love me." "I don't want to lose you." "I have only you." "Something is approaching..." "Something awful." "And I don't know what it is." "I know it will tear me away from you, and I don't want that." "It's unbearable." "I'd like to cry, but I can't." "I can't." "I had something to do, and I can't do it any more." "I love you," "I love you so." "I shouldn't have loved you." "What to do now'?" "How to end what I began, what I must do..." "You tear me apart." "I am split in two." "Split from top to bottom." "Forgive me." "I love you." "I am Adrienne." "Open your eyes, Marie." "You haven't much time left." "Yes, I know." "I'm afraid." "Marie, open your eyes." "What should I do?" "You know the forbidden sign'?" "Don't do it." "It's our last recourse... if all else fails." "Don't do it." "It's almost three." "Which means?" "Which means Madame X is late." "Or rather, will be late." "Want to bet she'll call right on time?" "I bet she will make me wait" "Hello, Julien?" "Who is calling?" "Madame X." "Yes'?" "Can we speak?" "Absolutely." "Is it in-discrete to ask who the other person is?" "The other person, as you say, is as discrete as me." "She is like myself." " Do you have the money'?" " Only part of it." "A pity." "Hello Madame X, this is "the other person."" "Meaning?" "For you, I'm the "other person." This is what We've decided... you have part of the money, you get part of the documents." "I'll have the rest soon." "Very well." "The rest of the documents when we get the rest of the money." "I agree." "When and where?" "Rue DE Charenton, 193." "Five o'clock." "Yes, it doesn't bleed." "I know." "Don't tell Julien." "I am "the other person."" "It's you?" "What is it'?" "Nothing." "I never expected you." "Who did you expect?" "I don't know." "You remind me of someone." "You don't look like her." "It's in your look... or the way you move." "We're not here to chitchat." "Do you have the money?" " Do you have the documents?" " The money first." "It's all here'?" "A third." "It was agreed upon." "Very well." "This is for you." "And the rest'?" "The rest another time." "You just saw my sister." "Take this letter." "It concerns her." " She came'?" " Yes." "You have the money'?" "Here." "How did it go?" "She only had a third." "The photo and the doll we keep hostage." "I have something for you." "It's beautiful." "I want to see it on your skin." " You hurt yourself?" " It's nothing." " Show me." " No, I told you it's nothing." "How do I look'?" "You are beautiful." "You are sweet." "Answer me." "Did I do this to you'?" "It's my fault?" "Did I do something?" "Answer me, it's unbearable, your distancing, like this." "Where are you'?" "Right now, where are you'?" "I beg of you, answer me." "I love you so much, Julien... it hurts." "Hurt, why'?" "Tell me why'?" "I can't." "I don't know What's happening to me." "I love you." "I'm lost." "That's all I know." "You see this weather?" "I hope you won't spend the day cooped up there." "The day, no, but I'm not through." "When do you show me'?" "Coffee." "And your wound?" "I told you, it's nothing." "Read this." ""My dear sister,"" "Who is this addressed to'?" "To Madame X." "The one who gave me this is the girl in the photo." "She's Madame X's sister?" "Read." ""My dear sister, you will be tempted, I know, to crumple this letter and throw it in the basket as you did with so many others, and as, in a sense, you did with me." "But this one, read to the end."" "She underlined "this one."" ""I am not crazy." "The truth is, you always dominated me." "We never dealt equal to equal." "You were sure of everything." "I always doubted." "You ordered me." "I had to obey."" ""I was like anyone, for life, pleasure and freedom." "With bare hands, you twisted and broke my very being so that I am the mere shadow of who I was, incapable of seeing myself in the mirror without Wanting to vomit."" ""Today I did the irreparable." "I borrowed a lot of money from you to try to do something on my own." "I failed." "My shop went bankrupt." "I can never repay you." "I know you'll never talk about it." "That is what I can't stand." "I know that sooner or later you will punish me."" ""I am lucid, in this horrible clarity of the worst." "I address you, my sister, my murderess." "Even dead," "I shan't disappear and I'll follow you forever." "Yours, eternally."" "Well'?" "Well, What?" "This girl is quite a novelist, or..." "Yes'?" "She's in a reprieve." "Reprieve?" "It's funny?" "There's an abyss between you and me, and I don't know how to cross over." "It's torture." "It's starting to come together." "The second third." "There was something in there?" "Where'?" "In the head." "Bizarre ideas, like in mine." "Why do you look at me so?" "I told you, you remind me of someone." "You've known Julien for long'?" "You call him Julien'?" "You won't answer me'?" "For long, no." "Do you live with him'?" "Yes." "Does it bother you'?" "Where were you before'?" "Before when?" "Six months ago, or so." "Mind bringing the rest next time, or else..." "Or else'?" "Or else no photo." "I didn't expect you tonight." "Am I disturbing you'?" "Another secret date?" "No, no one." "You come less and less often." "We shouldn't get used to it." "It will be harder when I leave." "Before, we couldn't see each other." "Now, we don't want to leave each other." "Life's funny." "Death's funny." "Yes." "You remember the first time you saw me'?" "I was terrified." "I thought I was going mad." "Now I feel I can see in a world of the blind." "I may be mad after all, and you don't exist." "You're not mad, and I do exist." "I know." "I met your blackmailer." "It's not her." "She's only his accomplice." "No, not only." "She is like me." "I knew it" "I sensed it." "I guessed it." "You know everything." "Free me." "How?" "You have to find out how." "I can't." "I can't tell you." "Let me pass." " I want to know what you're up to." " You went and looked'?" "I don't spend my time spying on you." "I have work." "But you go too far." "You rush in, don't say hello, you stay up there." "You're jealous?" "Jealous of a room?" " No." " Then let me pass." "I want to know what you're doing." "I beg of you, open up." "Now." "Open." "Why'?" "You're angry with me'?" "But I don't understand." "And what I don't understand scares me." "So, it's you." "Yes, today it's me." "Here." "It's all there." "And the letter?" "No letter." "I held my end." "You hold yours." "The letter isn't part of the transaction." "What will you do with it'?" "You'll keep it'?" " Use it against me'?" " No." "And don't try to harm the one who Wrote it." "Harm?" "How?" "Very simple." "She's in the way." "You kill her." " Just like that?" " Just like that." "But, how could I kill her, Julien, if she's already dead?" "Pardon me'?" "She's dead." "Six months ago." "She drowned." "A suicide." "Then, who gave us this letter?" "She did." "You think I'm crazy?" "I don't know." "What should I think?" "Ask your friend," ""the other person."" "What's it to do with her?" "Ask her." "What do you know?" " About your friend?" " Yes." "She does things you don't understand." "At times she freezes, without reason." "She can't say why, and then it passes." "And if she hurts herself, she doesn't bleed." "You're anxious to join her, no?" "You love her, she loves you, and yet you know nothing of her." "There's an abyss between you." "How do you know What's between us'?" "I only know what she is." "You speak of her as if she was an animal or a thing." "She's like my sister." "Meaning..." "Dead." "I guarantee the opposite." "Yes, she's alive, but not like us." "Reliving, if you wish" "Look at my sister." "Don't you think we really resemble one another?" "You resemble each other...a bit." "She was jealous of me, madly." "She ended up killing herself... tried to make me pass for her murderess." "That's the meaning of the letter... that letter she placed in your hands... as a Weapon against me." "Just like that." "Yes." "Since her suicide, she returns, she visits me." "We are reconciling with each other." "We're almost there." "I think that when we finally sort things out, she will disappear." "It's like that." "They need our consent... to leave, definitely." "You are definitely mad." "She gave you the rest'?" "Yes." "It's all here." "What is it'?" "What's Wrong?" "You look strange." "It's her, Madame X, who is strange." "Why'?" "I don't know." "No reason." "Some people appear as models of stability, and then you scratch, and you realize they are mad." "Stark, raving mad." "Drop the envelope." "Come." "Do you like it'?" "I don't know." "You must like it." "Yes, I like it." "But What's it for'?" "I don't know." "I'm a warrior." " An Amazon?" " No." "I keep my breasts for you, my friend." "We're in the middle of a plain, a desert." "Around us, a horde." "It's our first battle." "I take over, come on top of you." "I hunger for you." "I eat you till I'm sick." "You tear me apart with your teeth, your nails." "You eat my sex." "It smells like Wet soil." "I stick my tongue and fingers in." "Smell." "It's true." "It smells like Wet soil." "You faint." "I take you in my arms." "I take you." "Far... far from the battleground." "You wake up..." "You cry... scream" "You will deliver me." " Hello." " Hello, I'd like to have a room." "For how long'?" "For the night." "After, I don't know." "The smallest one." "A shower and a bed." "I'd like to speak to Mr. Vincent Lehman." "It's Julien Muller." "I was very disappointed by her departure." "I didn't expect it at all." "In fact, I didn't replace her." "You must have her last address." "But not her last place of residence." "She moved." "Went and lived with someone." "Simon...is that it'?" "I think so, yes." "A charming fellow, whom I cordially detested." "Must have met him twice- Absolutely not made for each other" "I know he killed himself in a car crash." "I learned that, yes." "It didn't bring back Marie, alas." "Delphine." "Delphine Ducourre." "Yes, she's a researcher." "She collaborated on the notebooks of..." "What's his name..." "Oh, yes..." "They were very close very good friends." "It's been years." "I lost track of her." "It's crazy how time flies." "It was our beginning." "May I see her, on your behalf?" "I agreed to see you, but actually, I have nothing to say." "You were very close." "Yes, it's true." "Did you see her recently?" "Why'?" "What is she really to you'?" "I'll tell you..." "I'll try to..." "if you accept to speak of her." "Why is it so difficult?" "What happened?" "What happened is, she went mad." "Mad'?" "To some, love brings joy and..." "You mean mad... madly in love, for that Simon?" "You know his name." "I'd forgotten it." "Yes, Simon." "When we saw them together, we said how beautiful they Were." ""The" couple." "You see'?" "But no, it Wasn't love." "It was an attachment, an absurd attachment." "They were prisoners." "Prisoners?" "Of the image they cast for others." "There was nothing between them." "Nothing." "They couldn't bear each other, but couldn't bear to know it." "Do you want another drink?" "No, thanks." "You see, I speak..." "Well, I try to." "And you'?" "I don't know who she is." "All I know is that I need her, in a way which is... vital." "I want to know everything." "Who broke up?" "It's you'?" "It was unbearable, hellish." "They made scenes all the time, for nothing, to exist." "The last straw was the day he insulted her, in front of me." "I told him to leave." "And then she came to his defense, in an odious way, calling me all sorts of names." "She had become someone else." "I told her I didn't want to see or hear about her any more." "And I stood fast." "People who are too miserable- one has to flee them." "It's a matter of survival." "I only hope she'll free herself from his spell." "He's dead." "All the better." "Forgive me, I'm frank." "So, after this split, no news'?" "Once she Wrote to me, but I never replied." "We didn't renovate, nothing." "They're hesitant to rent it again, after what happened." "The tenants had been fed up for a long time." "Every night, yelling, fights." "He threw her down the stairs, yelling he wouldn't see her again." "He left not long after that." "Come in, please." "When he returned ten days later, he didn't have his keys." "So I opened it for him." "This is where it happened" "We didn't touch anything." "Took the seals off, that's all." "Yes, this is where she hanged herself" "As soon as I came in, I felt something was not normal." "There was a funny smell." "And then, there was that noise." "It was like..." "It was an old record, the stylus had reached the end, so it did..." "And then I saw her." " Hanging." " Yes." "Her hands were tied, tied in the back, with... tape." "She had a turtleneck pulled up to her hair." "And underneath, her face was slashed with a knife." "That's why, at first, they thought it was a crime." "Him..." "They harassed him for a While." "And finally, it was her." "Just her." "How she did it, I don't know." "She must really have had it against him." "I remember the effect it had on me when I entered and saw her turning, slowly, like this," "like a sack hanging from the ceiling." "L...have...to...do...it." "L...have...to." "Who are you'?" "I am..." "Marie." "Yes." "The one I love." "Let's stay like this." "Just like this." "Eat, sleep, love." "Yes." "Living day by day..." "Every time I fall asleep, I have a dream, and that dream is like an order which I must obey." "Or else'?" "Or else..." "Don't let me sleep." "Don't let me sleep." "Don't let me sleep." "Look at me." "You must look at me." "You don't want to die any more." "I see it in your eyes." "What will happen?" "You know very well." "The worst." "And if I continue living?" "Living'?" "Living with him." "We're here for a time." "If you don't act, no one can do anything for you." "Give me the strength, Adrienne." "I too, am alone." "I know." "I am bound by this letter." "Only one person can free me." "Me, I don't want to be freed." "Why do you want to die'?" "Don't you understand it's the only solution?" "I must do it." "I want to be with you." "Like you." "But you can't be like me." "I don't know the rules." "No one knows them." "We obey laws which are beyond us" "If you die, you will not return." "What do I care'?" "What do I care about coming back, if you disappear forever'?" "You are destroying everything." "Go away!" "Julien, I told you, don't fail me, or you'll lose the very memory of me." "I don't give a damn about memory." "It's you I want." "Present, not absent." "Whole." "Then I have no choice." "What an ass!" "Using a knife for..." "For what, in fact'?" "I'm going mad!" "What's Wrong with me'?" "What's Wrong with me'?" "What an ass!" "Using a knife for..." "For what, in fact'?" "I'm going mad." "What's Wrong with me'?" "What's Wrong with me'?" "I want my letter." "What letter?" "I need it, and you know why." "You have no more reason to refuse it to me." "Ah, yes, the letter." "Come in." "I'll get it." "What's Wrong?" "Nothing." "I thought it would be... more difficult." "Your house is cold." "The other person isn't here'?" "What other person?" "The "other person"... the one I can't name otherwise." "I don't know what you're talking about." "The one who is like my sister." "I live alone with my cat." "There never was another person." "Something happened here." "Nothing happens here, nothing ever happened here, nothing will ever happen." "Fine." "It doesn't concern me, after all." "Where is the envelope'?" "Yes, the envelope." "Thank you." "See you'?" "No reason to see each other again, I believe." "That's true." "Then, farewell." "You too, farewell." "Farewell, Adrienne." "My darling." "What time is it'?" "Pretty early." "I mean... what are you doing here'?" "Who are you'?" "How did you enter?" "A lot of questions, Julien." "You know my name?" "I'm Marie." "Marie, the one you loved." "I doubt it, miss." "You're not at all my type." "That's what you think?" "Give me a little time."