Epilogue
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Noah gets out of the car, follows Opal into the woods.
They walk through the trees, both unhurried, as if in slow motion: she is ahead of him, with a graceful, elegant gait (like a butterfly, like a ballerina) sometimes turning to look at him.
She arrives at the foot of a black river. Hundreds of bodies float on the surface; they are not corpses.
Opal, without a moment's doubt, enters the river with her bare feet and walks confidently further and further out.
Noah stops at the threshold and watches helplessly as she plunges deeper and deeper.
She is now submerged up to her torso and she turns towards him for the last time. She is totally at peace, and with the sweetest smile raises her hand in greeting.
He does not even try to stop her. He lets her go. He also reciprocates with a wistful but grateful smile watching her dive and then float to the surface of the water carried by the current of the black river.
It begins to rain. Raindrops patter on the dark road lined with huge trees.
They walk through the trees, both unhurried, as if in slow motion: she is ahead of him, with a graceful, elegant gait (like a butterfly, like a ballerina) sometimes turning to look at him.
She arrives at the foot of a black river. Hundreds of bodies float on the surface; they are not corpses.
Opal, without a moment's doubt, enters the river with her bare feet and walks confidently further and further out.
Noah stops at the threshold and watches helplessly as she plunges deeper and deeper.
She is now submerged up to her torso and she turns towards him for the last time. She is totally at peace, and with the sweetest smile raises her hand in greeting.
He does not even try to stop her. He lets her go. He also reciprocates with a wistful but grateful smile watching her dive and then float to the surface of the water carried by the current of the black river.
It begins to rain. Raindrops patter on the dark road lined with huge trees.
In the distance, the continuous sound of a car horn is faintly heard.