[INTRO — SLOW OUTLAW BALLAD | 6/8 ~72 BPM | LOW PIANO | DREADNOUGHT | CELLO-LIKE BASS] [MALE BARITONE — third-person narrator throughout] Verse 1 Sarah found him after sunrise With a bottle and a chair, Curtains drawn against the morning, Half a night's smoke in the air. One glass empty. Bottle nearly. Silas working on the rest. Sarah took it from his fingers. “Snap out of it.” He looked up. “Give that back.” “No.” “Sarah—” “You invented this crackpot plan. We need a prisoner. We need Crown Junction. We need you.” Silas laughed without amusement. Then she saw his face. He'd been crying. Verse 2 [PIANO ALONE] Silas stared down at the floor. “She was the only one who came back.” Sarah stopped. “What?” “Nell.” His voice was barely steady. “Yes, she was a whore. Yes, I paid her. Handsomely.” He swallowed. “But she came back. Every time.” [PAUSE] “Didn't have to. There were richer men. Better-looking men. Men who didn't look like me.” Sarah slowly set the bottle down. Silas laughed again. “She always came back.” Verse 3 [DREADNOUGHT ENTERS] “I thought she'd finally found The one thing worth leaving me for. My father's money. My father's name. Maybe just— my father.” He rubbed both hands across his face. “I didn't ask. Didn't let her speak. I saw her there and knew.” Sarah answered quietly: “No. You thought you knew.” Silas looked at her. That one hurt. Verse 4 Sarah had entered ready for war. Now there wasn't one to fight. Just a broken man before her Who'd been wrong one awful night. “You killed her.” “I know.” “You can't change that.” “I know.” “She saved my life.” His eyes closed. “I know.” Sarah sat across from him. For a long time neither spoke. Then Silas reached toward the bottle. Sarah moved it farther away. “Don't.” “Why?” “Because unfortunately— we still need that brain of yours.” Chorus [WARM 6/8 | VERY RESTRAINED] She came back. Every time. Through the money and the whiskey, Through the jokes and uglier nights. He'd remembered what he'd witnessed. He'd mistaken what it meant. Now the only woman who came back Was the one he couldn't get back again. Verse 5 — Time Morning became afternoon. Sarah stayed. Sometimes Silas talked. Sometimes nothing. Sometimes anger. Sometimes Nell. Once he asked Sarah, “Did she say anything about me?” Sarah thought. “She said you'd helped me.” “That's all?” “No.” Silas waited. “She said you were better than the name you carried.” He looked away. “Apparently she was wrong.” Sarah shook her head. “Don't make her wrong twice.” [PAUSE] That reached him. Not enough. But somewhere. Verse 6 — Della [NYLON GUITAR ENTERS: 1–♭3–4–5–6] Late that afternoon came Della. She saw Sarah. Saw the bottle. Saw Silas. Pulled another chair beside him. “Remember our road?” Silas gave no answer. Della continued. “We talked about memory. How sometimes what we remember isn't everything that happened.” Silas stared into the room. “I remember her in his bed.” Della nodded. “Yes.” “I remember killing her.” “Yes.” “I was wrong.” “Yes.” No comfort in the answer. Only truth. Verse 7 — What We Remember [DELLA MOTIF: ♭5→5→6] Della leaned toward him. “You once told me memories can become stories if we hold them long enough.” Silas finally looked at her. “So what?” “So Nell deserves the whole story.” Sarah watched him listening. Not forgiveness. Not redemption. Nothing that easy. Just another piece of truth. Della said: “She came back.” Silas closed his eyes. Della continued: “Remember why.” Outro [PIANO + NYLON GUITAR + DREADNOUGHT] Evening filled the Winter Ranch. The bottle stayed untouched. Silas finally pushed it farther From the hand that wanted much. Sarah stood. “We still need an undead man.” Silas breathed. Almost a laugh. “Your bedside manner is appalling.” Sarah smiled despite herself. “You got a better plan?” Long silence. Then Silas straightened slightly. Wiped his face. Looked toward the northern map. [PAUSE] “Actually…” Sarah closed her eyes. “God help us.” Silas reached for the map. “I might.” [CUT]
