[Single violin, slow, folk melody, sparse, cold] [Abigail’s theme plays, five bars, unresolved, slightly wrong, fading] [Violin shifts to new melody, slower, colder, minimal] [ELIZABETH — female, soprano, controlled, careful, every word chosen, a woman holding herself very still]: The fire is low, I’ll set another log, the supper’s keeping warm, I kept it warm for you [JOHN — male, baritone, heavy, guilty, trying to sound normal, not quite succeeding]: It smells of good things, thank you, it’s cold out, colder than yesterday [Violin continues beneath, slow, cold, single melody] ELIZABETH: She was here again today, I told her you weren’t home, she smiled like she knew better, she smiled like— [Violin stops. Silence.] ELIZABETH: The Putnams were by, their girl is still unwell, people are saying things, I don’t know what to think [Silence. Single violin note, held.] [JOHN — spoken, bare, no melody, the closest he can come to confession]: I have gone where I should not have gone, I have touched what was not mine to touch, I have come back to you, and I am asking— [ELIZABETH — spoken, cutting across him, not cruel, just unable]: The fire is low. [Violin returns, same cold folk melody, slightly slower than before] ELIZABETH: I’ll set another log, the supper’s keeping warm, I kept it warm JOHN: Yes, it’s cold, yes [Two melodies beneath the strings, reaching toward each other, almost harmonizing, not quite] ELIZABETH: The fire is low, the supper is warm, the night is cold, and we are inside JOHN: The fire is low, the supper is warm, the night is cold, and we are inside JOHN: I came back. ELIZABETH: She smiled like she knew better. [Violin thins to single note, repeating, slow] JOHN: I came back to you. ELIZABETH: I kept it warm for you. [The two melodies reach toward each other one final time, almost harmonize, don’t] ELIZABETH: The fire is low, the fire is low, the fire is— JOHN: The fire is low, the fire is low, the fire is— [Violin holds one note] [Silence] [Abigail’s theme returns, distant, unresolved, slightly wrong] [Silence]
