Never Let Me Go Page #5

---

Please, sit down.

So...

We're in love.

And it's true love.

It's verifiable.

Verifiable. I see.

Go on.

Well,

we'd heard about

the deferrals.

And we'd worked out

the purpose

of The Gallery.

Tell me the purpose.

To use our art

from Hailsham

to look into

our souls,

which would verify

that we deserved

a deferral.

But the problem is

I was a little bit

mixed up back then

and I didn't

really do any art,

so you never took

anything of mine.

I know, I know that

that is my fault

and it is probably

much too late,

but I brought

some stuff

with me today.

This is a book

of stuff and...

Other stuff here.

Some of them I've done

quite recently,

and others

were done

several years ago,

so there's a real spread.

You already have

a load of stuff

from Kath already.

She got loads of stuff

into The Gallery over

the years, didn't...

I'm sorry.

I never know

what to do.

I'll take it

from here.

Thank you, George.

Kathy H and Tommy D.

I remember you both.

Kathy, a bright girl,

and so creative.

And Tommy, a big heart

and terrible rages.

You have to understand,

Hailsham was

the last place to consider

the ethics of donation.

We used your art to show

what you were capable of.

To show that donor children

are all but human.

But we were providing

an answer to a question

no one was asking.

If you ask people

to return to darkness,

the days of lung cancer,

breast cancer,

motor neurone disease,

they'll simply say no.

We used to get

two or three couples

like you a year.

Not so much these days.

You're the first

for quite a while.

To apply

for a deferral?

There are

no deferrals, Tommy.

There are no deferrals.

And there never have been.

We didn't have

The Gallery in order

to look into your souls.

We had The Gallery

to see if you had

souls at all.

Do you understand?

Yes.

Your drawings

are very good.

If you want,

I'll keep them.

Thank you

for talking to us.

You poor creatures.

I wish I could help you.

Sorry, can we stop

for a second?

I need to get out.

It's been two weeks

since I lost him.

I've been given my notice now.

My first donation

is in a month's time.

I come here and imagine

that this is the spot

where

everything I've lost since

my childhood has washed up.

I tell myself

if that were true,

and I waited long enough,

then a tiny figure

would appear on the horizon

across the field

and gradually get larger

until I'd see it was Tommy.

He'd wave

and maybe call.

I don't let the fantasy

go beyond that.

I can't let it.

I remind myself

I was lucky to have had

any time with him at all.

What I'm not sure about

is if our lives have been

so different from the lives

of the people we save.

We all complete.

Maybe none of us

really understand

what we've lived through

or feel we've had

enough time.

When we are scattered

afar and asunder

Parted are those

who are singing today

When we look back

and forgetfully wonder

What we were like

in our learning and play

Oh, the great days

will bring distance enchanted

Days of fresh air

in the rain and the sun

How we rejoiced

as we struggled and panted

Echoes of dreamland,

Hailsham lives on

---GMJL correction dans ta face!---

Rate this script:5.0 / 3 votes