Paris, Texas

Can I tell you something?

-Sure, anything you like.

It's kind of long.

-I got plenty of time.

I knew these people ...

-What people?

These two people.

They were in love with each other.

The girl was ... very young, about seventeen
or eighteen, I guess.

And the guy was ...
quite a bit older.

He was kind of ragged in, wild.

She was very beautiful, you know.



-Yeah.





And together they turned

everything into a kind of an adventure,


and she liked that.



Just an ordinary trip

down the grocery store was ...

full of adventure.

They were always laughing at stupid things.



He liked to make her laugh.




And ...

they didn't much care for anything else,

Because all they wanted to do was

be with each other.

They were always together.





-Sounds like they were

very happy.



Yes, they were.

They were real happy.

And he, he loved her more than

he ever felt possible.





He couldn't stand

being away from her,

uh ... during the day when he went to work.

So, he quit.



Just to be home with her.


Then he got another job

when the money ran out,


then he quit again.



But pretty soon, she started to worry.



-About what?



Money, I guess.

Not having enough.

Not knowing when the next check was coming in.



-Yep.
I know that feeling.



So he started to get kind of ...
torn inside.



-How do you mean?



Well he knew he had to work

to support her,
but he couldn't stand

being away from her, either.





-I see.



And the more he was away from her,
the crazier he got.

Except now,

he got really crazy.

He started imagining all kinds of things.



-Like what?




He started thinking that she was seeing other men on the sly.

He'd come home from work and accuse her of

spending the day with somebody else.

He'd yell at her, break things in the trailer.



-The trailer?




Yes.



They lived in a trailer home.



-Excuse me, sir.

But were you in to visit me the other day?

I don't mean pry.



No.



-Oh.

I thought I recognized your voice for a minute.



No.

Wasn't me.



-Mm-hmm.



-Please go on.



Anyway, he started to drink

real bad.

And he'd stay out late
to test her.



-What do you mean

"test her"?




To see if she'd get jealous.



-Ha.

Mm-hmm.



He wanted her to get jealous,
but she didn't.

She just worried about him,

but that got him even madder.



-Why?



Because ...



he thought if she never got jealous of him,
she didn't really care about him.

Jealousy was a sign of her love for him.



And then one night,

one night, she told him
she was pregnant.

She was about three or fourth month pregnant,

and he didn't even know.



And then suddenly everything changed.

He stopped drinking,he got a steady job.

He was convinced

that she love him now,







because she was carrying his child.







And he was going to dedicated

himself to making a home for her.







But funny thing started to happen.







-What?







He didn't even notice at first.







She started to change.







On the day the baby was born,

she began to get irritated with everything around her.







She got mad at everything.







Even the baby

seemed to be an injustice to her.







He kept trying

to make everything all right for her.







Buy her things.







Take her out to dinner

once a week.







But nothing seemed

to satisfy her.







For two years,







He struggled to put them back together like

they were when they first met.







Finally, he knew

that it was never gonna work out.







So, he hit the bottle again.







But this time,

it got mean.







This time when he came home late at night,







she wasn't worried about him,

or jealous,







she was just enraged.







She accused him of holding her captive,







by making her have a baby.







She told him

that she dreamed about escaping.







That was all she dreamed about:

escape.







She saw herself at night,

running naked down a highway.







Running across fields,







running down river beds,







always running.







And always,

just as she was about to get away,







he'd be there.







He would stop her somehow.







He would just appeare and stop her.







And when she told him these dreams,

he believed them.







He knew she had to be stopped,







or she'd leave him forever.







So he tied a cowbell to her ankle,







so he could hear it at night

if she tried to get out bed.







But she learned how to muffle

the bell by stucking a sock into it







and inched her away out bed







and into the night.







He caught her one night,

when the sock fell out







and he heard her trying to

run out to the highway.







He caught her, dragged her back to the trailer and tied her to the stove







with his belt.







He just left her there,







he went back to bed







and lay there and listening to her scream.







And he listened to his son scream.







He was surprised at himself because

he didn't feel anything anymore.







All he wanted to do was sleep.







And for the first time,

he wished he were far away.







Lost in a deep, vast country







where nobody knew him.







Somewhere without language







or streets.







And he dreamed about this place

without knowing its name.







And when he woke up,







he was on fire.







There were blue flames

burning the sheets of his bed.







He ran through the flames







towards the only two people he loved.







But they were gone.







His arms were burning.







And he threw himself outside,







and rolled on the wet ground.







Then he ran.







He never looked back at the fire.







He just ran.







He ran until the sun came up,







ten he couldn't run any further.







And when the sun went down,







he ran again.







For five days

he ran like this ...







until every sign of man ...







had disappeared.







-Travis.







If you turn the light off in there,







will you be able to see me?







-I don't know.







I never tried.







Can you see me?

- Yeah.







Do you recognize me?







-Oh, Travis.







I brought Hunter with me.







Don't you want to see him?







-Yeah.







I wanted to see him so bad

that I didn't even dare imagine him anymore.







Anne kept sending me

pictures of him,







until I asked her to stop.







I couldn't stand the ...







pain of seeing him

grow up and missing it.







Why didn't you keep him with you, Jane?







-I couldn't, Travis.







I didn't have

what I knew he needed.







I didn't want to use him







to fill all my emptiness.







Well, he needs you now, Jane.







And he wants to see you.







-He does?







Yes.







He's ... he's waiting for you.







-Where?







Downtown.







In a hotel.







The Meridian.







Room 15 20.







15 20.







-You are not going, are you?







I can't see you, Jane.







-Don't go yet.







Don't go yet.







I ...







I used to make up long speeches

to you after you left.







I used to talk to you all the time,







even though I was alone.







I walked around for months talking to you.







Now, I don't know what to say.







It was easier

when I just imagined you.







I even imagined

you talking back to me.







We'd have long conversations,







the two of us.







It was almost like

you were there.







I could hear you,







I could see you, smell you.







I could hear your voice.







Sometimes your voice would wake me up.







It would wake me up

in the middle of the night,







just like you were there

in the room with me.







Then ...







it slowly faded.







I couldn't picture you anymore.







I tried to talk out aloud

to you like I used to,







but there was nothing there.







I couldn't hear you.







Then ...







I just gave up.







Everything stopped.







You ...







just disappeared.







Now I'm working here.







I hear your voice all the time.







Every man ...







has your voice.







I'll tell Hunter







that you're coming.







- Travis,



What?







-I will be there.