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The Midnight Swim (2014)
(woman humming lullaby)
(woman singing) (woman 1) You don't think it was an accident? (woman 2) It just doesn't... something about it doesn't sit right, you know? I mean, she knew diving. She knew that lake so well. And she knew no one would be able to find her in it. She was dumb to go diving by herself. (woman 1) Do you guys think Mom was reincarnated? (woman 3) I don't know. Maybe. (woman 2) She told me this story of, um, the river of forgetting. Do you guys... Have you heard that? (woman 1) No. (woman 2) She said before you're born, your soul travels across the river of forgetting, and it just wipes your memory clean, so that you can go be born again, into a new life. You just keep doing this over and over again, lifetime over lifetime, you know, just the... the cycle of reincarnation. And finally once you... Your soul has learned everything that it's supposed to learn, then you get to travel back over the river of remembering. And all your previous selves come together, being one with everything that has come before, and is, and will come. (woman 1) It's weird to think that Mom's still down there. (woman 2) I think it's fitting. She loved the lake so much. It's where she'd want to be. (woman 1) When was the last time you were home? (woman 3) Not since before I got married. (woman 1) Didn't you miss the lake? (woman 3) Nope. (woman 1) Are you okay? Yeah. Should we go down? You go ahead. Seriously, go ahead. (waves crashing) It's cold. (woman 2) Are you still afraid of swimming? (woman 1) Mmm... I think I probably am. Is that Josh? Do you remember Josh Jasper? No. No? Annie was, like, obsessed with him. Like, sick obsessed. Hey, Josh? Are you Josh Jasper? Yeah, who's that? Uh, we're Annie's sisters, Isa and June. Annie here? Yeah, she is. You should come over for dinner tonight. Uh, thanks, I got... I got stuff I gotta do, but thanks. No, you have to, she's gonna be so excited. (Isa) Yes. (Josh) So, the home ec teachers... We were making chocolate freshman year. Yeah. For a parfait... We had to make parfaits, right? And Annie, she had to make chocolate mousse, and she messed up 'cause she got the yogurt. And she poured, like, cinnamon on top, but the top fell off and all the cinnamon was like... (Isa laughing) And she got so upset. (muffled conversation continues) Dinner's ready! Okay, here we go. (Isa laughing) Sorry it's just pasta. I didn't realize we would be entertaining tonight. It looks beautiful. Big camera. (June laughing) Is it digital, is it...? (June) Mm-hmm. So, we're in your documentary? (all laughing) (June) Right now you are. (Josh) Aren't you gonna eat? (June) No. June only eats alone. Mmm, I mean, you gotta be hungry. (June) I said no. She has since she was little. It's not really like a big deal. Do you want some more pasta? I eat alone a lot too, so... Parmesan? Yeah, please. Yeah. Okay. So, you see how the lines of your palm are shallow? Mmm. Um, it just means that you're a young soul. Is that good? Um, well, it's neither good or bad. It's just... It just means that you have to come back for more lifetimes... Oh. To continue learning. (Isa) Two kids. That's true too. Who'd you have two kids with? Remember Molly from high school? Yeah. Well done, she was a babe. Yeah, she was. We're not together anymore. Um, sorry to hear that. Yeah. Yeah, it's been a rough summer. That it has. For all of us. Mm-hmm. I wanted to tell you guys how sorry I am about your mom. (Annie and Isa) Thanks. Yeah, there's a bunch of us who tried to help, and, um... you know, by the time they got some divers, I think it's... you know, it was just too deep. How'd you hear about it? Through the Sheriff's Department. Like... five days after the fact. Guess they had a hard time finding us. So, are you... you guys here for a memorial, or what? No. No, no. She was clear she didn't want that kind of thing. We're just here to, you know, figure out the next step and take care of some affairs. Mmm. (Isa) The, like, coming back home is... is the part that makes you feel, like, so strange. It's... it's like this lake has a power. I can't explain it, it's like a draw. (Josh) You know, no one's ever found the bottom. It's pretty strange. (June) Remember that story that Mom used to tell us? The one about the seven sisters? (Isa) Yeah. Do you remember? I do, I do, I do. So, like, what... So, the first sister jumps in, and... Mm-hmm? She never resurfaces. So, then the second sister jumps in to try and save her, but she gets pulled down. Then the third sister jumps in, tries to save that sister, same thing happens. And one by one, they all jump in trying to save each other, and drown. The legend of the story is that you can... go out at midnight and summon up the spirit of the seventh sister. There have been people who have seen her but, if you go swimming... there has been talk that it may be the last time you swim. Oh, God, it's so crazy. Ooh. What time is it? (Isa laughing) (Annie) Okay, so what do we have to do to conjure the seventh sister? First of all you have... You have to be very quiet. No, no, you have to speak from the heart. Speak from the heart. From the heart. And be sincere. In order for the seventh sister to arise and show herself, you have to say "seventh sister" seven... seven times. Seventh sister, seventh Sister... No, no, no. Not now! (girls laughing) Shh, shh. You can't do it now. Sorry. Because she's going to hear it and nothing is going to happen. (whispering) Guys, guys, wait, wait. What? What? Wait. Wait. I think we need candles. Yes. (June) Yeah, definitely. Yeah. I think Mom would have some. She has a whole bunch of them in the basement. Okay, okay, I'll be right back. Okay. Do you want me to come with you? Hurry. (June) Is everybody ready? (Annie) Yes. Okay, Is, tell it to the camera. With the permission of fire and the permission of matter, we now begin. (women chanting) Seventh sister, seventh sister, seventh sister, seventh sister, seventh sister, seventh sister, seventh sister. (Annie) Did you hear that? (June) What? I heard something. (loud splash) (laughing) (June) Why'd you do that? It's not... It was him! (laughing) Well, that was a disappointment. Oh, well. (Annie laughing) Oh, well. (Josh) I'll have to tell you the story about the seven brothers next. Oh, God. (all laughing) (June) Spirit of the seventh sister... (whispering) I invoke thee. Did you hear that? (June) Yeah. What was that? I don't know. (stair creaks) Shh. (laughing) (bang, gasping) Should we go upstairs? No. Do you see anything? No. Get the door. (wind blowing) (Isa) What kind of bird do you think it is? (June) I don't know. It's got that orange belly. And a pointy nose. Maybe it's a woodpecker. (Annie) Guys, what are you doing? It's the middle of the night. What is that? It flew into the window. Do birds even fly at night? What is he doing in the kitchen? How did you get him in here? It's a wild animal. They have diseases, guys. It's unsanitary. Isa, don't touch it! Isa, don't touch it. Okay, okay. I want to give it a proper burial. Honey, let's just take him outside, okay? Please don't put it in the trash. We're not keeping him inside right now. It's the middle of the night, okay? Annie hates funerals. (waves crashing) Here we go. (Isa) Yeah. I don't know if I wanna see this. Yeah! This is so embarrassing. (singing) Join me, in standing up to greed, (both singing) and diving into blue. (music playing) (woman) Though inland far we be, our souls have sight of that immortal sea which brought us hither. That was William Wordsworth. Hello, I am Dr. Amelia Brooks and I am the founder and president of the Blue Water Conservation Society. If you love our beautiful blue lake as much as I do, please, vote yes on measure "F". Join me in standing up to greed and diving into blue. (chuckles) (dialing phone number) Hi, may I please speak to Dr. Amelia Brooks? Oh, well, do you know when she might be back? Oh, no, I didn't. Oh. Oh, I'm so sorry. I'm very sorry for your loss. No, thank you. Bye. (woman) These are the comparables that are in your neighborhood that the appraiser was working off of. You might wanna take a peek at those. Okay. And then um... oh! Will we do a... Who's this? Oh, this is our sister June. Oh! Are you a photographer? (June) Mm-hmm. (Annie) She's our family archivist. That's neat. Um, will we have to do photographs for our own comp card or is that something that your agency does? Oh, um... definitely have a phenomenal photographer that will come out and, uh, take... I have a question, though. How is this like a comparable if it's not on the water, and...? Well, because this is actually... You know, it's a newer home, but because it's not on the water, it's not gonna have the same price. And due to the fact that this is an older home and it has a lot of issues... So they kinda of equal each other out. Yeah. Okay. Are you recording that right now? Um, sorry. It's not gonna be... She's just doing a documentary. A documentary? Okay. Um, okay, now my other question is, um, do we have to fix the roofing and the electrical problems that the appraisers found, or can we just do a faster, as-is sale? You know I think it's really gonna be up to you. Okay. I have to be honest... You know, if you wanna make that investment, but I don't think you do. Right. And I'm gonna tell you right now, they're probably just gonna bust the house down anyways. They're really buying this house for the property itself. Does this have to be on? If we have the open house... Yeah. And someone is interested in buying it, Sure. But then as we talk we decide we don't wanna sell, like, that's fine, right? Because... Well, we do want to sell. Well... (sighs) No, I think that... It's too much of a financial responsibility to put... you know, having to fix the roof and pay the property taxes and bring the electrical up to code. Well, what if there was a way to turn it into some sort of rental unit or... But then who's gonna run the rental property? That's a lot of responsibility and I know that I cannot take that on. You wouldn't wanna take that on. No, and I think... I guess what I'm hearing is that you've already decided, and this is only one-third yours. I don't think I should be here. I think that you need to have this conversation... I'm sorry, I don't mean to make it uncomfortable for you. It's okay. We'll discuss. I think you need to get on the same page because... Yes. You don't want anyone walking in this door and you're not ready to sell. Right. I'll walk you out. All right, sounds good. Difficult decision for her. I understand, but I gotta tell you right now... If my dad were to give me a loan, then... I could fix the roof and... the other things, and then... (Annie) And then what? Well, that's the thing... I was talking to June before, and it was like, we could, um... like, rent it out for different things. You know, like there's, like, so many yoga schools that rent out places to do retreats, and, like, art programs and just... I mean, what do you think, June? Do you...? What do you wanna do, Junie? (June) I don't really feel like it's my decision. I mean, it's Mom's house. (humming) (laughing) Aah! (laughing) Uhh! Annie, come in! No way. It's too cold. No, it warms up... once you're in it for like a few seconds. Once you're in there, for a few seconds... (laughing) No! Come on, grab her feet. No! No! Let's go! Wait, we're gonna make her drink first. (laughing) (singing) Miss Spirit Lake! Welcome back, ladies and gentleman to the Little Miss Spirit Lake competition. We've now moved on to the swimsuit portion of the evening. Now, you may be confused, you may think that this is a swimsuit, but it's not. However... it doesn't really matter, 'cause guess who's gonna be nice and warm and dry and cozy on the way home, unlike... these two right here. You should be drunk every day. I am. Wait, I felt something. What? Come on. Seriously, I felt something touch my foot. (mocking) Seriously, I felt something touch my foot. It was so scary. It was so scary. (Isa and Josh scream) Is? (June) Isa? Isa? Isa! (June) Oh, my God! (panicked breathing) (laughing) I'm sorry! It was... (Annie) Screw you. No, no. It's not funny! Annie, it was a joke. Whatever. Oh, come on, Annie! Geez. Annie, I'm sorry, it was just a joke. (Josh) Annie, come on! Annie! My leg! (chuckles) It's not funny. (June) That wasn't too funny, you guys. (Josh) Huh? That wasn't very funny. Oh, come on. You coming in? No. Come on. (June) You okay, Annie? I'm fine. I can't do the camera right now, June. Sorry. (humming) (humming continues) (Isa) He's a good person, you know? He's kind of different than... the normal kind of guy I'm attracted to usually. (June) I think he really likes you. Yeah, I think that he... the way that he likes people... would be really good for me. (sighs) (Isa) Okay, now I'm ready. So, tell me from the beginning. Um, okay, so, uh, there were seven sisters, and they were walking in a field with their mother, and Orion saw them walking through the field, and he fell madly in love with them, and he pursued them. He chased them everywhere for years and years. And finally, after seven years, Zeus answered their... Their prayers, and he turned them into birds so they could fly away. And they flew up into the sky, and then they became stars. They became the Pleiades. Okay, but tell me... Tell me the weird part. Okay, the weird part is that... there... there are seven sisters, but there are actually only six stars that are visible to the naked eye. And in spite of that, in almost every culture, the constellation is called the seven sisters. So, there's this seventh star that everybody seems to know is there and it is there, but it's completely invisible. And I just think that's really interesting. Shh. (Annie) June? (Isa) June? (Annie) June! (June) I'm over here! (Annie) Oh, God, oh... Jesus Christ, June, you really scared me. Why? What'd I do? Well, I heard a noise and woke up but you weren't there. What are you even doing out here? I wanted to go swimming. In the middle of the night? Please don't do this to me again. We found another bird. (Isa) Don't you think it's a little strange that this is the second night in a row that it's happened? (Annie) Maybe it's the change in weather. They just got confused. Yeah, but birds fly south. They just don't fall out of the sky. (June) You don't think that Josh would be doing this, do you? No. No. I'm sorry I scared you guys. Josh, you didn't leave the birds, did you? No. Are you sure? Yeah, I'm sure. I thought you might be trying to scare us 'cause of the whole seven sisters thing? No. (Isa) It's just totally disrespectful, Annie just put them in the trash. (Josh) Certain time of the day that my dad calls the change over. It's right when the sun is about to set. Everything goes silent. All the waves in the lake just kind of stop. It only happens on this lake, and I've been to a lot... Really? I've never noticed that. Wait, you got one! Okay, what do I do? What do I do? Adjust the drag. Right here, right here. Yeah, okay. June, you gotta back up, June... Ow! Back up June! All right, get up, get it up. (laughs) Stand up. Reel it in. Okay, okay. It feels... ah! You got it, you got it! Feels really heavy. It's coming. Oh! What? Wow. What is that? It's definitely not a fish. No, that is... it's a red fish. Yeah right, yeah, you do it. I got it, I got it. This is your first... First catch? (laughing) Yeah. And it's... Here, June. I like this way better than a fish. (Josh) You guys wanna get going? Um, kinda wanna ride the roller coaster. The roller coaster's been closed since Labor Day. I know. (Josh) Come on. You can do it. I'll catch you. Here, take that. Put it over there. You're so bossy. (laughing) I'm not bossy. "Put it over there!" "Here, take this. Put it over there!" (laughing) All right, you ready to catch me? Yeah, I'll catch you. Good. (Isa humming) (laughing) (continues humming) I feel like the lake gave this to me. (June) I want one. Well... you chose not to fish. You have to throw your line in to catch something. Annie? (Josh) Is she here? Look. Oh, here she is. Wow. How are you? Hey, Annie! You guys were fishing? (Josh) Yeah, we didn't catch anything. (Isa) Yeah, we didn't really catch anything. We were just trying to... (Isa and Josh laugh) Well, I didn't realize that you guys had a fishing trip planned, so I was, um, just gonna do like a sisters' breakfast, because we haven't really had a chance to talk. But if you'd like to stay, I can set a place for you. No I got... I got stuff to do. That's fine. You sure? Yeah. (Isa) Yeah. Yeah. See you later. Bye, June. Um, I was actually thinking that maybe we could do like a full sisters' day today. Take a break from... Like a half-sisters' day. What? Like a half-sisters' day. It was just a joke, 'cause you said like a full sisters' day. Go on. Um, I don't know. I was thinking I could maybe take you guys shopping and we could get some manicures and pedicures. We could go out for lunch. (sighs) I mean, that's a big part of this trip for me, is spending time with you guys. So, I just thought that it would be fun. I mean, we don't have to. We can stay here. Or you can... you know, hang out with Josh or whatever. (scoffs) No, it... No, it's not like I wanna hang out with Josh over you guys. I just think it's funny that all of a sudden, you're, like, all, like, about family, and... spending time... All of a sudden, like all about family? Yeah, all of a sudden. I mean... This is like the first time you've been home in... In like over ten years... You said it yourself. So, it's just funny that... That doesn't mean that I don't care about you, and that I haven't made a lot of efforts. I've invited you to Chicago so many times. No, I know, it's... And you've each come once. One time. It's more like... I don't think you're, like, aware of how hard... (sighs) I just... I don't think you're aware of hard it was for Mom... (scoffs) to not have, like, reconciled with you. Well... that is... Mom's cross to bear. Well, but it's yours too. She wanted so badly to just have everything be okay with you, (laughs) to the point where, like... Go look in that bedroom. She brought the crib up and, like, put toys in it. She was so excited that you were gonna have a baby... That has nothing to do with me. Yeah it does, it does. The crib had nothing to do with me. It was like a chance to reconnect with you, for you to be a mother and, like, know what it's like. When I called her to tell her that I was pregnant, she barely acknowledged that. She immediately started talking about something to do with the lake, and, like, it was like, "Oh, that's nice honey." She didn't care. No, she... she did care. I mean, she set the crib up herself, and she brought out... Out all of our toys, and, you know... Well, I'm sorry that my miscarriage was so selfish, so inconvenient for her. (Annie) God, I don't know what I was thinking. (Isa) Annie, that's not what I'm talking about. She made it about her just like she made everything about her. (boat motor running) (Isa) And um, well, it's basically the idea of before you're born, your soul has to cross over the river of forgetting. And that sort of wipes its memory clean of the life it had just lived, so you can go into the next one. (Josh) Hmm. And it just keeps happening, you know, at the end of life, just over and over again, different cycles of reincarnation. There's something very comforting about knowing you've already learned things and had just forgotten them. Huh. Like, you just don't know how to see them. Yeah, I know what you mean. I think if we could remember our past lives when we were first babies, we might not want to live. (wind blowing) Haven't been to Mom's lab since I was little. (June) Me neither. We should go. These are Amelia's daughters... they're here to look at some of their mother's things. Hey, welcome, come on in. And this was her desk. I'll be in the other room if you need anything. (June) Oh, my God. Isa! It's the seven sisters. (Isa) That's so weird. Do you remember how Mom used to say when she was going deep water diving, that she was going for a space walk? Did she really used to say that? Yeah. Hmm. This is the lake. Hmm. "August 18th, 170 feet. Fear, sadness." "August 25th, 190 feet. Sadness, nostalgia." "August 31st, 200 feet." She wrote "Fear subsides." "Deep samples resemble... amniotic fluid?" (Josh) What's in the fridge? Oh, that's where we keep our samples. (Isa) I wonder if they still have some of Mom's samples in there. (June chuckling) (baby mobile playing) (Annie) I don't think she was excited. (baby mobile continues playing) I think she was just trying to prove a point. (June) What point was she trying to prove? Same point she was trying to prove every time she had a baby. This was just another baby. There's a land that I see Where the children are free And I say it ain't far To this land from where we are Take my hand come with me Where the children are free Come with me take my hand And we'll live In a land where the river runs free In a land through the green country In a land to a shining sea And you and me are free to be You and me Every boy in this land Grows to be his own man In this land every girl Grows to be her own woman Take my hand come with me Where the children are free Come with me take my hand And we'll run To a land where the river runs free To a land through the green country To a land to a shining sea To a land where the horses run free To a land where the children are free And you and me are free to be And you and me are free to be And you and me are free to be You and me. (Isa singing) (singing continues) That's pretty. Where'd you learn that song? Mmm, I just keep dreaming about it. (June) You dreamt that? What language is it? I don't know. I just woke up knowing those words. I just keep thinking about Mom. If she's still down there somewhere. I know that they did everything that they could, but... I can't help feeling that if we went down there, we would be able to find her. Josh and I were talking today about, um, the plans for the house, and he's really been helping me, like, solidify them. And, I spoke to my dad. Um... I think he's really on board. He just mentioned that I need a business proposal just to make it really official, and like... just like the structure. Right. I thought you might be really good at that. I am really good at that. I had a feeling. Um, yes, I can absolutely help you with that. Thank you. If you kind of draft out all of your ideas, all of the thoughts that you've been having for this commune thing, then I will help put it into some structure and we can do a formal business plan. Thank you. I wouldn't say a commune around here. I wouldn't use that word, 'cause I think that you might get into a little bit of hot water. But it's more like a... Like a... Like a school, or uh... Or like a place for people to practice what they do. Like, I think that's missing from so many people's life. It's just like space. You know, just like a space. (laughs) Shut up! I'm serious though. (laughing) Sorry. No, but I'm super serious. I love... You're so sweet. But it's true. No, but it's true. Into the unknown, but this might be amazing for you, is that we'd turn our bedroom into like a video editing facility. (June) Yeah, that would be great. And you could come during the summer. Mm-hmm. And it's yours. Yeah. You know? And, um, well, but I also thought, like, make the sunroom like a painter's studio. Mm-hmm. You know, you have the light. You have the view... Why is that funny? (laughing) I don't know. It's a great idea. We really could. Like, we have a little bit of land. We could even grow things. It's just, like, it's just... (laughing) A compost. We could be totally self-sufficient. Oh, my God, she's dying. (laughing) It could be completely self-sufficient. Wait, are you, like, into this or not? I can't tell. I think she's... I love that she's so into it. See, I knew you would win. I love it. (laughing) (June) It's great. Let's do it. Let's do it. Why not? You should name it after your mom. That's a really beautiful... The Amelia Brooks Art Institute. (all) Institute. (June) Cheers. (chuckles) Look. What do you think, June? (June) Looks good. Oh, God. (Annie) Isa! Isa! Isa! Isa! Isa! Isa! Isa! (cheering, laughing) (June) Those shorts. Those shorts. Do you remember? She wore them all the time. Come on, every day. Oh, Mom? Justice for our lake. Justice for our lake. Justice for our lake. Justice for our lake. (all) No, no, we won't go! No, no, we won't go! No, no... (laughter) Please. Please. Please. Please. (Isa) You can do it. (sighs deeply) You look just like Mom. You know that? (Isa and June) Annie! Annie! Annie! Annie! Annie! (singing) The... moon is shining. (other girls singing along) The stars are sparkling. The lake fairies are here to bring you to bed. Where are my babies? My sweet little babies? Mama is here... (all girls) to bring you to bed. Who's ready for bed? Are all my little girls ready for bed? Mama's here to tuck you in. Annie? Why aren't the girls ready for bed? I asked you over a half an hour ago to get them into their pajamas and to brush their teeth, and nothing has happened. Why aren't they ready for bed? You never listen to me. Do you have no respect for your mother? You're such a little daddy's girl. That's the only person that you'll listen to. I asked you to help with your sisters. Must I do it all on my own? I have to do everything all on my own. The only person who loves me in this whole house is the dog. Do you want me to just sleep with the dog? Is that what I should do? I should just go and sleep with the dog. You're a selfish little brat. You're a selfish little brat! All I wanted was a little bit of help. All I wanted was a little bit of help. Is that too much to ask? I have to get up early in the morning. (laughing) Let me go again. Let me go again. I'm gonna go again and I'm just gonna do the song. Okay, I'm just gonna do the song. (girls crying, sniffling) Okay? (laughs) (singing) The moon is shining. The stars are sparkling. The lake fairies are here to bring you to bed. Where are my babies? My sweet little babies? 'Cause Mama is here to bring you to bed. Don't forget to breathe, Junebug. (inhales deeply) (exhaling) There, that's better. (June whispering) Hey. Get up. I have to show you something. (Annie) That's beautiful, June. (June) Yeah, it is very beautiful, but I didn't take it. That's what I wanted to ask you guys about. I mean, we didn't take it. You think we took it? Well, I didn't take it. So, somebody else did. I woke up this morning and this footage was on my camera and I didn't take it. You sure you didn't take it a couple days ago and you just didn't check the footage? Yes. I'm sure. You guys were sleeping on the couch and I left my camera down here. I really actually don't care if you did, I just want to know. Yeah, but first of all, I wouldn't touch your camera, and I didn't do this. Yeah, I wouldn't touch your camera either. Just, it's not funny anymore, I'm getting really freaked out. But I'm not trying to play a joke on you, I just didn't touch your camera. (Annie) All right, this is getting really weird. What? I found another bird this morning. (Josh) I told you already about the birds, it's just the time of the year, it's not... (Annie) I would be able to believe that if it was just one, but every single day. I know, but it's this time of year... Isa, do you promise me? June, I swear, I didn't touch your camera. I wouldn't do anything like that to you. I really, really, don't care if you did, but I... But I didn't, you just have to believe that I didn't. I don't like getting blamed for it. (Annie) I think we should call the police. Me too. What are you gonna tell the police? We need to report that somebody broke into the house and stole her camera. Okay, somebody broke into the house, they stole the camera, they went out to the dock, and then they filmed some stuff... Something really weird is going on... and then they came back in, and then they just decided to leave the camera, and put it back. Yeah, that's a crime isn't it? I mean, do you think Mom could be doing this? Mom had nothing to do with this. Jesus, come on. Why are you laughing at me? It's not funny. Okay, June your mom came back from the dead, and she knows how to use the camera. Okay, that's enough. She went down to the lake, she did a time lapse just for fun. That's enough. And then she put it back for you just to kinda find. Hey! I mean, you guys gotta... Really. (Annie) Let's just leave it. All right. I just have this really bad feeling that... that night that we went out and we summoned the seventh sister, that we, like, opened some kind of door that we shouldn't have. (Annie) No. (Josh) No, it's a tale. That's all it is, okay? Hey, you know what? Let's go see Maggie Holmes. She's lived here forever. She knows all about the folklore. You can ask her about the seven sisters, okay? If that'll make you feel better. (Maggie) In the olden days, the period costumes were so heavy and so layered, pantaloons and petticoats on top of one another. And this particular family was very conservative and they didn't want their seven girls to disrobe and swim. And this one night it was so sweltering hot that they snuck out at midnight, took off their clothes and went for a swim. The first sister went in and didn't emerge. And the second one followed, and didn't emerge. And the third and fourth. All seven went in. Do you think that if you summon the seventh sister, then she'll pull you under next time you swim? You know, I don't know about that. I know that I had a very odd experience many years ago. I went into the water off the dock, and I dove down. And suddenly, I saw this tiny light... A very bright light. It was simply beautiful, and I felt this pull toward it, 'til, all of a sudden, it wasn't a comfortable pull. I felt that I had no power to stop from going down. So, I fought to turn myself around as... It was if I was fighting a current... And with all my strength, I rose to the top of the water. And I remember gasping for breath. And as I approached the ladder, this overwhelming sense came to me that I should go back or look back. But it was a very great sense of loss that I have even to this day, that... I left something down there. So, you girls... you dear girls, you take good care, please. Just use wisdom. (Josh) If you want, you can stay with me, if it'll make it easier. Make you feel better. Yeah, I don't know. Are you guys actually... Are you still thinking about selling the house? Mm-hmm. I thought you said you wanted to stay. I don't know. June, can you just back off? You know what? Let's go somewhere and talk. (breathes deeply) (splash) (breathing through mask) (faint singing) (echoing scream) (panicked breathing) (panicked breathing intensifies) (panicked breathing subsides) (June humming) (humming continues) (Isa) Yeah. That's the same one from my dream. I thought so. Do you still dream it? No, it stopped. And... I'm kind of relieved 'cause... there was always something that felt like it was calling me... to somewhere... something dangerous. June, don't go swimming in the lake. Why not? (knocking) Yeah? Hi. Hi. Can I sleep with you guys tonight? I don't wanna be alone. Yeah, of course. You okay? Yeah. I felt like such a little kid. You know, just every little noise that I heard was making me feel so freaked out, and I started holding my breath in bed, and I swear I heard a baby crying. Is it my mind playing tricks on me? (Isa) I think something is telling us to go. (June) It's really weird... it's almost exactly the same as the other one, but it's a little bit closer this time, I think. What is that? Do you see that? Yeah. What? I don't know. I saw something flash by the... right here. Oh! Whoa. I totally missed that. (Isa) Oh, my God, it's the seventh sister. Isn't that you? That's you, June. That's impossible, I didn't take this. Something really, really weird is going on. Okay, I need you to put down the camera for a little while. Why? Let's just talk about this, okay? We should talk. We can talk about it with the camera. Put it down, June. You guys, I didn't take that. She's not asking, June. Put the camera down. I'm not gonna put the camera down. (sniffling) Take a deep breath, June. (scoffs) Take a deep breath. It's okay. We're so proud of you for... for... how far you've come and how well you've been doing, and we just don't wanna see you revert back. And I think that being home is just... It's too hard. It's too hard for you. It's... it's too hard for all of us. But I'm doing really well. (Isa) I went into your closet and I noticed that you have the shawl. And I went to pick it up, and inside of it I found a dead bird. We know that you've been sneaking out at night, and you've been leaving the birds... and the time lapses. (June sighs, sniffles) I think that we should all go out onto the dock and say our goodbyes to Mom and then we should go. But the camera's not invited. (June continues crying, sniffling) (door closing) (June) You guys? You guys? (Annie) What? I'm sorry. You guys were right. I... I didn't mean to do any of this stuff. I didn't... I don't think I even knew I was doing it, but I was just so sad about Mom, and just so upset, and I just... (sniffling) I'm sorry, I just got confused, and I was just dealing with it in the wrong way. But I promise I'll... I promise I won't do it anymore, and I... (Annie) We're not gonna do this again. We've been down this road before, and we're not gonna do it again. (Isa) We see that you're starting to spiral out of control. I'm not spiraling out of control. And the doctors have always told us that when we are with you, we enable you. Oh, my God, I am not out of control. The doctors are idiots. They don't know anything. I'm sorry if you're too scared to deal with it. I'm sorry if you're cowards, but I'm your sister. You listen to my words right now. I'm not doing this with you again. We're leaving in three hours, and you can get in that car and go home with us... How can you talk to me like that? Or you stay. It's your decision. Look at me! It's your decision. What is wrong with you? What the hell is wrong with you guys? I hate you so much! Ah, I hate you guys! (breathing deeply) (sniffling) (sighing) (whispering) Mom. Mom, do you believe me? Do you believe me? (sniffling) (splash) (record playing) I see a land bright and clear And the time's coming near, when... (song skips, starts over) I see a land bright and clear And the time's coming near... (door creaking) (rain falling, wind blowing) (humming) (singing) I'll just read my favorite passages. (man) Which one? "Though inland far we be," "our souls have sight of that immortal sea" "which brought us hither." "Our birth is but a sleep and a forgetting." "The soul that rises with us, our life's Star," "hath had elsewhere its setting and cometh from afar." "Not in entire forgetfulness, "and not in utter nakedness, but in trailing clouds we come." (door opening) (bubbling) (breathing with mask) (faint singing) (singing becomes louder) (singing stops abruptly) (humming) (baby cooing) (people speaking in native language throughout) |
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