[Intro — tap running; low cello] [Cole — spoken] I wipe the steam away. Same face. [Tap stops] I straighten the collar. Different man. [Piano enters] [Verse 1 — Cole] Both hands resting on the basin. Water slipping from my chin. I hold the mirror with my eyes. Let the old expression settle in. I take the family watch off. Set it by the folded towel. Open up a drawer beneath it. Lift a photograph face down. Another name across the border. Another life beneath the date. I put it back without unfolding All the years I put away. [Heartbeat enters] I button up the coat I buried At the back of ordinary clothes. Used to wear it like a second name. She has never seen it close. She knows the man who fixes shelves. Who leaves her dinner in the fridge. Never met the other version. Never asked what came before this. I pass her sleeping on the sofa. Put the blanket round her feet. She turns toward the hallway light. I leave it burning. Take my keys. [Silence; door closes] [Chorus — Elara sings] One face in the mirror. One name left at home. The life I buried opens Like a door I used to know. She knows who holds the light. He thinks the dark is safe. Neither knows the man Who steps out wearing my face. No shelter after dark. No shelter after dark. [Instrumental — 8 bars] [Verse 2 — Cole] He puts the hearing in a drawer. Puts another record on. Calls somebody, says, “It’s finished.” Lets the conversation run. Now I stand across his living room. Rain along my jacket seam. He asks if somebody has sent me. I set a picture where he’ll see. He doesn’t recognize my face. He checks the picture once again. I turn it so it faces him. He puts his drink down. Misses it. [Music thins] “That’s my sister.” [Silence] His hand stops on the glass. [Beat returns] He says he didn’t know she had— I stop him. “Now you do.” He offers money. I don’t touch it. Let the numbers lose their sound. I take my coat off. Lay it neatly. Leave the chair between us out. [Flow tightens] Clean record. Dirty business. Different meanings of a hit. I put that trade behind me. He keeps bargaining with it. One page says the case is over. One face says what that left out. I place the letter by the picture. Let him read them both aloud. [Pause] “Say her name.” [Chorus — Elara] One face in the mirror. One name left at home. The life I buried opens Like a door I used to know. She knows who holds the light. He thinks the dark is safe. Neither knows the man Who steps out wearing my face. No shelter after dark. No shelter after dark. [Instrumental — 16 bars] [Clock meets hi-hats; cello rises] [Drums stop] [Verse 3 — Cole, clipped] He stands. I stand. His chair falls back. The record skips. A lamp goes over by the wall. His portrait follows after it. He stops beside the broken frame. His next words never seem to fit. He calls me stranger. Calls me brother. Calls her name. I let it finish. I lift her picture from the table. Leave his offers where he put them. [Full musical silence] [Muffled suppressed gunshots] [Room decay; clock resumes] [Cole — low] The record turns without the music. I stand beside the fallen chair. [Low piano] One corner bends beneath my thumb. I press her picture flat again. The crease stays in the photograph. The clock moves past the end. [Bridge — Elara; exposed] A name beneath the surface. A face nobody sees. The room goes quiet around him. The clock refuses peace. At home, a light is burning. A blanket holds its shape. She sleeps beside a photograph Of the brother she calls safe. [Instrumental — 8 bars] [Piano carries into morning ambience] [Verse 4 — Cole, quiet] I stand before the mirror. Turn the tap. Unbutton the coat. Set my watch against my wrist. Leave the other photograph closed. I put her tea beside the blanket. Set her picture back in place. She takes a look and moves it closer. Smooths the corner with her nail. She shifts to leave a little room. I sit beside her by the window. She rests her head against my shoulder. I let the morning fill the room. She knows the man who holds the cup. Who fixes things around the house. I pass her half the folded blanket. She closes her eyes without a doubt. [Final Chorus — Elara] One face in the mirror. One name left at home. The life I buried opens Like a door I used to know. She knows who holds the light. He thought the dark was safe. Neither knew the man Who stepped out wearing my face. No shelter after dark. No shelter after dark. [Outro — Cole] She falls asleep. I look toward the hallway mirror. Then turn it toward the wall. [Instrumental Outro — 24 bars] [Piano hook; cello and violin answer] [Drill percussion fades] [Final harmony resolves; natural decay] [End]
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