Emotional Arithmetic Page #5

to remember, Jakob. I did it for you.

I remember.

I can't believe that... I don't know...

I don't know how

you've held on to it all this time.

My memory...

Since the electroshocks,

many, many things are lost, you know.

I... I'm sorry.

Melanie, he doesn't remember.

Or else, perhaps he just wants to forget.

- Forget?

- Yes. Forget. Put it behind him. Move on.

Forgetting isn't such a bad thing, you know.

No, you must remember and

fight for the living...

Or else it won't count for anything,

all of this, and it will happen

again and again, and again. That's what you

taught us, Jakob, don't you remember?

I mean, I'm right, am I not? Christopher?

I mean, if not, then, well then why?

Why are we alive? Why us?

I'm not really hungry.

Can I go to bed now?

Yes, sweetheart, I'll take you up. Come on.

Sweet dreams. Take good care of him,

and I'll see you in the morning.

And we'll have asparagus for breakfast.

Okay.

You have no idea what it is to be with her.

She's... She's...

Obsessed.

Everything that happens, happens to her.

Melanie feels the pain of the world

as if it were her very own.

- Dad.

- Jesus Christ, we have...

six million Jews living upstairs in the attic.

Along with the victims of Pol Pot,

the killing fields.

They're all there in the attic.

Next to her, suffering from a migraine

becomes an act of treason.

And it's true.

How can anyone pretend to be in

pain after all you went through?

I guess that's my story. The story of a man

who never had the right to suffer

because the pain his wife endured

was so much greater than any other.

You are an indirect victim

of the atrocities of war.

Yes, maybe. But what about us?

Your husband, your son? Your family?

Do we have to be tortured

or dead first before we matter?

Ben, that looks beautiful.

Thank you.

- Look, I'll help you bring stuff down, okay?

- It's okay.

Look, honey, I'm sorry.

Your father and I, it's okay.

It's just, it's our life. It's not yours.

What do you mean?

It's always been my life.

I'm sorry. It's not the time for this.

- Where are you going?

- Just down to the hotel.

I need to be with some strangers.

Don't wait too long, it's gonna get cold.

- It's okay, Mom.

- Okay.

I love you.

Too many numbers, too many details.

Too many smiles, too many eyes,

too many words.

I was wrong.

You were a child.

I should not have said, " Remember."

I should have said, " Live."

Melanie?

Melanie?

Melanie, I just want you to know that...

That I'm there too.

Walking through the gates of Drancy.

That was the day my life stopped.

Could you believe it?

I still miss it.

Not the... Not the inhumanity

or the barbarity or the brutality, but...

Just the sheer joy of being alive.

With you.

I never got a chance to say it.

I should never have let you go.

I was a kid.

Do you still remember us sometimes?

Always.

I'm afraid. Are we going to die?

Don't be afraid. We'll die together.

I can't sleep.

Sit.

I'm afraid

if I close my eyes,

I'm afraid I won't wake up.

Well, eat.

If you don't want to die, you have to eat.

It's the only solution.

Better? No?

Ah.

A beer.

Oh, uh...

You twist it.

It's good. Some kind of spice?

- Yeah, I think it's nutmeg.

- Nutmeg? Brilliant.

I saw you that day, you know.

The day you bribed the guards.

What did it take?

A pack of Lucky Strikes?

To take our names off the list

and put yours on?

I never got the chance

to say thank you, Jakob.

Two packs of Lucky Strikes.

And you're welcome.

It was a good bargain.

I was happy, you know. I am happy.

- You sacrificed your life for ours.

- It was a gift.

Thank you, Jakob.

Morning.

- Good morning.

Tell them your theory about Don Quixote.

- Which one?

- You know, the one about him being Jewish.

Oh, good God, nobody wants to hear that.

Oh, yes, we do, it's fabulous.

I love when you say that.

Yeah, tell us your theory.

- Oh, right.

Yeah, come on,

tell us your theory.

Yeah, tell us your theory.

Well, it's not just my theory,

it's scholars' as well.

Cervantes calls his hero Don Quixote

the " Man of La Mancha."

Well, La Mancha is a region in Spain,

but mancha also means stain,

and the theory is

that the Spanish Inquisition were convinced

that the Neo-Christians were marked

by the blood of their Jewish ancestors.

And if you look very closely,

you'll see that the book is full of little clues

and codes and secret messages

that indicate that something

very mysterious is going on.

I mean, it's fascinating! Really!

- Good morning.

- Morning.

Good morning.

- Coffee?

Well, you just missed David's theory

on Don Quixote...

Goodbye, Melanie.

Goodbye, Christopher.

Can we go see the frogs now?

Oh! Ah!

Magic.

No, I'll keep it till the next time.

Come,

let's go.

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