98d50a7f-7868-40d7-b093-7f586869b56c

Low angle looking up at both of them from below the steps. She is upper- left, looking down at her hands. He is upper-right, looking across at her. The sky between their heads. Camera holds low with gentle drift. Seconds 1-3: silence. She won't look at him. She said too much and she knows it. Her fingers grip her knees tighter. He watches her from the right. Then he speaks — not pushing, not prying, just steady and honest. His voice from below has a warmer resonance. Seconds 4-7: she reacts to what he says but still won't look up. Her jaw tightens. He keeps talking — simple, direct. Not trying to fix her. Just telling her something true. Camera stays low, the sky vast above them both. Seconds 8-10: she finally lifts her eyes from her hands and looks across at him. From this low angle her head turning is a slow reveal — jaw, cheek, then her eyes finding his. She says one short line. He almost smiles. The gap between their silhouettes against the sky holds. THE MAN (looking at her from the right, steady, gentle): "You just told me you've had too many lives. Most people would run from that." Pause. She grips her knees. THE MAN: "I'm still sitting here." Pause. She looks at her hands. THE WOMAN (not looking up): "You don't understand what I'm telling you." THE MAN: "Then help me understand." Long pause. She lifts her eyes to his. THE WOMAN (looking at him, quiet): "What if understanding changes how you see me?" THE MAN (without hesitation): "What if it doesn't?" AUDIO: both voices from below with natural chest resonance. Wind above. Waves. The mugs cooling in the foreground. Her fingers tightening on her knees — fabric pulling. His steady breathing. The pauses between lines filled only with wind. No music. Diegetic only.