1. A FILM BY STÉPHANIE CLÉMENT
Copy !req
2. WRITTEN BY MARC RIUS
Copy !req
3. INTERPRETED BY CHRISTA THERET
Copy !req
4. PACHYDERM
Copy !req
5. We arrived before lunch.
Copy !req
6. My parents left
after the strawberry tart
Copy !req
7. and the pear brandy Grandpa served.
Copy !req
8. I'm nine and have my own suitcase.
Copy !req
9. I don't like it
when my parents leave me.
Copy !req
10. I'm spending ten days
at Grandma and Grandpa's.
Copy !req
11. Everything is neatly organized there,
Copy !req
12. logs by size, books alphabetically,
Copy !req
13. the thimble collection
in the display case.
Copy !req
14. The car sleeps under its cover.
Copy !req
15. Gravel in front of the house
to avoid mud.
Copy !req
16. The living room smells like wax,
the kitchen like bleach.
Copy !req
17. Tomorrow, we're going to the lake.
Copy !req
18. But for now, it's already night.
Copy !req
19. To go to bed,
I have to pass by the big horn.
Copy !req
20. Grandpa said it belonged
to a wild animal.
Copy !req
21. A kind of pachyderm.
Copy !req
22. On the ceiling,
I see animal eyes staring at me.
Copy !req
23. And when I turn off the light,
they still watch me.
Copy !req
24. To fall asleep, I don't count sheep,
Copy !req
25. I slay monsters.
Copy !req
26. At night, the floor always creaks
outside my room.
Copy !req
27. "What could happen to you?"
Grandma says.
Copy !req
28. "Nothing can happen to you here."
Copy !req
29. "Grandpa is fixing
the old floor outside. Sleep."
Copy !req
30. So I hide in the wallpaper.
Copy !req
31. I lie down in the flowers
and close my eyes.
Copy !req
32. "What could happen? Sleep, sleep,"
Copy !req
33. Grandma repeats.
Copy !req
34. Grandpa's big hands move
like strawberries
Copy !req
35. as he makes his bait.
Copy !req
36. One day, the hook got stuck
in my finger.
Copy !req
37. Grandpa joked.
Copy !req
38. He'd never caught such a fine fish.
Copy !req
39. Then he gave the kiss
that heals everything.
Copy !req
40. It didn't hurt anymore,
but the smell of his saliva
Copy !req
41. stayed on my finger all day.
Copy !req
42. This morning, Grandpa took off
the training wheels.
Copy !req
43. He said, "See, you're big now."
Copy !req
44. Usually, he's always
the first to arrive.
Copy !req
45. Today, he let me win
to make me happy.
Copy !req
46. By the lake,
there are always children shouting.
Copy !req
47. And on the road, squashed toads,
Copy !req
48. flat and dry
like prince charming's gum.
Copy !req
49. After snack time,
if the fish don't bite, I can swim.
Copy !req
50. When I forget my swimsuit,
I wear my underwear.
Copy !req
51. Even if Grandpa says
that no one will mind,
Copy !req
52. I don't really like it.
Copy !req
53. Grandpa never takes his eyes off me.
Copy !req
54. One day, a lady drowned in the lake.
Copy !req
55. Her hair was like seaweed
Copy !req
56. and her body all white.
Copy !req
57. Sometimes after dinner,
Copy !req
58. he takes me to the forest
to hear the animals.
Copy !req
59. Grandpa whispers not to move.
Copy !req
60. He tells me to stay quiet.
Copy !req
61. That time, Grandma was worried.
Copy !req
62. She thought it was cold
for a summer night.
Copy !req
63. The crackling wood sounds like
the forest.
Copy !req
64. It sounds like Grandpa's bones
cracking,
Copy !req
65. and his skeleton will warm us.
Copy !req
66. "What could happen to you?"
Copy !req
67. "Nothing can happen
to you here. Sleep"
Copy !req
68. Last night, it snowed
and Grandpa died.
Copy !req
69. I asked Grandma
Copy !req
70. why Grandpa always cut the rosebuds.
Copy !req
71. She said he didn't like
wilted flowers.
Copy !req
72. I haven't been back
to see Grandma much.
Copy !req
73. Last time I saw her,
she'd fixed the big horn.
Copy !req
74. It was long after Grandma's death
Copy !req
75. that I managed to drown
the pachyderm.
Copy !req
76. But the lake
will never be deep enough.
Copy !req
77. PRODUCED BY
Copy !req
78. Pat Anderson
TransPerfect Media
Copy !req