It was a blessing that when the words ran out, Billy still had time to act, and now a long recording lay ahead of him, just as the legend of the Headless Horseman began to take on a deeper life.--We may have to do some work with all those effects. —Tim replied from a distance. Billy heard him with keen attention, without pausing over the simple details of his own life, wondering instead what truly moved people at such moments.
Billy remained standing, watching all the movement while trying to steady his mare. He was not the finest rider, but of course he knew how to ride; he had learned long ago in Texas. In truth, he did a respectable job.
Scene 20, Take 4. -
Ichabod and Katrina, riding together, arrive at the ruins of a cabin. Almost nothing remains except the hearth and part of a chimney.
Ichabod dismounts and helps Katrina down from the horse, taking her by the hand.
Before releasing him, she notices the small scars in his palm. She takes his hands and studies them.
KATRINA
They’re strange... What are they...?
ICHABOD
I wish I knew. I’ve had them for as long as I can remember.
Katrina holds his hands a moment longer; their eyes meet. Then she releases them and steps into the ruins.
A red cardinal perched on a branch—the same kind of bird he had in New York—draws Ichabod’s attention.
He reflects for a moment and then turns to see Katrina crouched beside the hearth. She has placed a flower in her hair.
KATRINA
I used to play beside this hearth. It was my first drawing school, and my mother was my teacher.
Without realizing it, Katrina imitates the dream Ichabod once had. She takes a small twig and begins to draw on the stone of the chimney—just as Ichabod’s mother did in his dream.
Ichabod’s blood runs cold, though she does not see it. Then she notices that small wildflowers grow from the old chimney. Ichabod feels short of breath and steadies himself against the stones.
KATRINA (CONTINUED)
Oh, look! I had forgotten! —look— carved into the back of the chimney... the Archer!
With her fingers she brushes away the dirt around a simple carving of a man holding a bow and arrow.
KATRINA (CONTINUED)
This was here long before we ever lived here.
She turns to show it to Ichabod and notices that he looks strange.
KATRINA (CONTINUED)
Are you well?
Ichabod nods, recovering, saying nothing.
Katrina relaxes. Suddenly her attention—like Ichabod’s—is drawn to the cardinal.
KATRINA (CONTINUED)
(pointing)
Oh, look! A Cardinal! My favorite! I would love to have one tamed, but I would never dare to cage it.
Ichabod opens his satchel.
ICHABOD
Then I have something for you.
He produces a PAPER DISC with a BIRD on one side and an EMPTY CAGE on the other, threaded through with a twisted string that allows the disc to spin. He demonstrates it like a magician. It is the same toy his mother once gave him.
ICHABOD (CONTINUED)
A Cardinal on one side and an empty cage.
Katrina watches attentively. Ichabod spins the disc.
ICHABOD (CONTINUED)
And now...
The bird appears to be inside the cage.
Katrina is astonished and delighted.
KATRINA
You can perform magic! Teach me!
ICHABOD
It is not magic. It is optics.
Ichabod gives her the toy and shows her how to spin it.
ICHABOD (CONTINUED)
Separate images that become a single image when they spin... much like the truth I must turn here...
Katrina spins the disc, the bird appearing within the cage.
-cut.-
Both of them take their time to do a substantial job, and what remains between them is the quiet, postponed sense of continuing to perform their work. Billy sighs and stands there drinking a glass of water, pausing only a few steps away.
--I’m afraid you’ll have to ride a horse even more. —Cristina replied.
It was true. He handled it poorly at times, but it carried a strange nostalgia. Whenever he rode he remembered the wind rushing past him, his grandfather plainly beside him perhaps ten years ago, and his cousins doing their part of the work that remained in their favor. It felt oddly new again.
Scene 21, Take 2. -
EXT. PHILIPSE HOUSE — NIGHT
-cut.-
Billy managed to strike his hand a little as he fell; it was simply part of the work, painful in its own small way.
...
Chapter 782: A great script.
4 min read