~ Related to A Vacation ~
I've heard there was a secret chord
That David played, and it pleased the Lord
But you don't really care for music, do you?
Waves can be heard by those who listen. The Leonard Cohen song blends in with the gentle breeze that plays with the curls on Sebastian’s head. The four-year old boy eats ice cream with all of his face. He does not do anything halfway. His dad is deeply involved with his art; a painting he does from the sidewalk of a small street. He cares for his son, of course, but does not interfere when Sebastian walks to the other side of the street.
Your faith was strong but you needed proof
You saw her bathing on the roof
Her beauty in the moonlight overthrew you
He offers to share his ice cream with a young woman leaning against the fence.
“Pistachio,” she says. She licks it, smiles, and hands the cone back to the boy.
“My favorite!” Sebastian says, “I am with my dad,” he continues, “Who are you with?”
“Someone will come pick me up,” she says, casually.
“Who?” he asks.
“A man,” she says.
“Does he love you?”
“What do you know about love?”
She sees a sparkle in his eyes.
“I think I have given up on it,” she admits, shyly.
“Why?”
“All people want is use you,” she says. Then, noticing a car coming from behind the boy: “Here comes my ride!”
“I hope he loves you,” the boy says, walking back to the other side before the car arrives.
I've seen your flag on the marble arch
Love is not a victory march
It's a cold and it's a broken Hallelujah
Sebastian walks down the street in opposite direction from the Mercedes Benz with the license plate reading Hank Jr. He goes to the corner, crosses that street, crosses another and enters a French restaurant. Inside, he finds a woman sitting alone at a table. He tugs at her jacket.
“You look sad,” he tells her.
“Where do you come from?” she asks him, looking around for an adult responsible for him.
“My dad is outside doing a painting. Do you paint?”
Startled, she looks at him for a second as if searching for where the question comes from. “You must be sent from Heaven!” she says.
“Isn’t everybody?”
Sebastian walks away. She stops him: “You did not wait for my answer!”
“Your dad always criticized your work, didn’t he? Then, you gave up painting.”
“How do you know this?”
“It’s all over your face! Don’t you see?”
A businessman opens the front door to come in and Sebastian slips out.
And remember when I moved in you
The holy dove was moving too
And every breath we drew was Hallelujah
The college isn’t too far, and somehow Sebastian finds his way there. He meets a student who is sitting on the grass, resting. Sebastian sits beside him.
“I want to play with you,” says the boy.
“Play what?”
“You tell me something you love, and then I tell you something I love.”
“Ok. I love the family I left behind, a wife and two teenage boys.”
“What do you love about them?”
“Well, they are far away and I miss them. It makes me see how much I love them.”
“What I love is surprising people.”
“Is that why you sat beside me when we don’t know each other?”
“You saw me earlier where my dad is painting.”
“You noticed?”
Sebastian nods. Then he says: “People don’t love very well here. I have to run away into the woods to find my connection.”
“Your connection?”
“To love. Without love, we’re lost.”
“You don’t speak like a little boy.”
“People forget.”
“So, I think of the family I left behind to reconnect with love?”
“What do you think?” Sebastian replies. “And, if you think too much about them, you may not recognize when new friends appear in your life.”
“How do you know this?”
“It is all over your face.”
“Like your ice cream?”
“That’s to look normal. People look like clowns; they wear so much on their faces.”
Maybe there’s a God above
But all I’ve ever learned from love
Was how to shoot at someone who outdrew you
Sebastian heads back to his father. As he passes by a police car parked hurriedly halfway on the sidewalk, an emergency call comes from it with a music overlay. It is unclear if the music is from the 9-1-1 office where the operator forgot to turn it off, or if the whole thing is the ad trailer for a movie. A man says matter-of-fact: “The suspect should be considered armed and dangerous.” A child screams: “HELP!” A female operator says: “9-1-1, what’s the nature of your emergency?” Another man screams: “HURRY UP!” The audio continues with the same voices: Man: “The suspect … The suspect …” Child: “HELP!” Operator: “9-1-1, what’s the nature of your emergency?” The other man: “OVER THERE!” Operator: “She’s gotta knife?” …
There is no one in the police car to hear this. Sebastian looks up at the sky with tears in his eyes. “Oh! God! Earth is lost in so much drama and pain. Please, help me keep my sanity. Help me help people back to what’s real!”
It’s not a cry you can hear at night
It’s not somebody who has seen the light
It’s a cold and it’s a broken Hallelujah
Sebastian finds his dad putting final touches to his canvas. “I love you, Dad!” he says, placing his hand on his dad’s.
Their eyes meet. “I’m glad you’re back! I love you, Son!”
I did my best, it wasn't much
I couldn't feel, so I tried to touch
I've told the truth, I didn't come to fool you
And even though it all went wrong
I'll stand before the Lord of Song
With nothing on my tongue but Hallelujah