The Arborist

Shh!

Shh!

Please.

Shh! Please don't cry.

Please, please, please, please.

Shh, shh, please be quiet.

Please be quiet.

Please don't cry!

Please, please!

Please, please!

Shh!

Just don't look at it.

Shh, shh, shh.

Shh!

Shh!

Please!

Please don't look!

Wyatt?

Rachel?

Rachel?

No.

No!

No!

Picea abies.

Quercus alba.

Fraxinus americana.

Norway spruce.

White oak.

American ash.

Good.

And that one there?

Betula papyrifera.

Not quite.

European white birch.

You can tell by the bark.

Peels less.

Leaves are triangular.

The double serration is more pronounced.

How did it start?

Don't know.

The caretaker said 11:30.

Maybe there's another door we can try.

Hi, Ellie.

This is Nicky Gallagher from the bereavement group at Windsor.

I haven't seen you in a while.

I hope you're doing OK.

I just wanted to see if you got the package I sent you.

It's for the photography project I was telling you about.

I know it sounds weird, but a lot of people

say it's very healing.

Anyway, I sent you a link about it, and--

Mr. Randolph?

Sorry, I-- I tried the front door.

Ellie Grumman.

And the boy?

Excuse me?

- Your son assists with the tree work.

Isn't that what my caretaker told me?

Yeah.

Wyatt's in the truck.

He got a bloody nose.

Was there an accident?

No, no.

Just a bloody nose.

Hm.

- That's a beautiful property you got.

Been here a long time?

All my life.

Plus whatever's left of it.

- Well, if you want to brief me on the job,

we can start right away.

Caretaker said it would take about three days?

Somewhat more, I should think.

Murray's away for the month.

He lives in town, anyway, so the cottage is empty.

There's plenty of space for you there.

See the footbridge?

Sure.

- Beyond that, there's a carriage road.

The trees are all marked.

Everything that's marked gets destroyed.

Destroyed?

Felled and split for firewood.

15 inches for the downstairs fireplace.

9 inches for the stove in my bedroom.

Stack it in the basement.

It's just firewood you need?

- Can't be any longer than 9 inches,

otherwise it won't fit in the stove.

There's a tractor and a splitter in the garage.

Grind the stumps up.

We don't have that equipment.

Then just let it rot.

Is there a problem?

No.

No problem.

Whoa, you OK?

Let's go settle in at the cottage.

Is there something else?

- I was wondering if I could get a, um--

an advance, a-- a deposit.

I can do the full amount.

Check OK?

Check's fine.

- We should've brought sleeping bags.

I'm not sleeping under this.

Well, you won't have to.

It won't get that cold.

- That pillow smells like cat piss.

- Why couldn't we just sleep at home?

- Because that's a couple hundred bucks in gas.

And I'm not driving two hours back and forth each day.

Besides, I thought being away from home

might do us some good this time of year.

- Place is in the middle of nowhere.

Don't even get a signal.

It belonged to my grandfather.

Cut from star magnolia.

Don't find that species anymore.

Anyone who says arboreal extinction isn't real

hasn't gone looking for Magnolia stellata.

Hey, it's your tattoo.

How come you never talked about him before?

Your grandfather.

I barely remember him.

How many people live in that mansion, you think?

Just him.

Just the old guy by himself?

I guess so.

- Bet our whole apartment building could fit in there.

Hm.

- Should take over, become squatters.

Think there's any fish in that pond?

I don't know.

Why?

Maybe I'll try to catch one.

Fry it up for dinner.

Yeah, I don't think so.

- You don't think there's any fish?

- No, I don't think you're going fishing.

We didn't come here for that.

What?

- Mix it with water so I won't notice?

Is that about right?

Put it in a shot glass or something.

Don't try to hide it in a water bottle

that you wrap with duct tape so you know which one it is.

Yeah, I thought so.

- And what's that supposed to mean?

What's the secret?

What's the secret?

What are you doing?

Just watching old videos.

- Why don't you go get ready for bed?

Why are you doing this to me?

You got a 9-to-5

So I'll take the night shift

And I'll never see you again

If I can help it

Why are we scared?

How do we heal?

I asked these women to hold the mirror as though they

were holding their child again.

Feel the weight.

Feel the longing.

When we share stories of our loss,

we come to terms with our grief.

We realize we're not alone.

Children are not supposed to die before their parents.

The world moves on.

But for us, life stops.

Time is frozen in its tracks.

A piece of ourselves is forever missing now.

The mirror is a reflection of that emptiness.

We hold it not to heal, not to let go,

but to realize the hole that will forever be a part of us

now.

"Portraits of Grief."

This project was created to support each other,

share our stories, and know that our journey is--

Careful.

You'll fall through.

What are those things?

Lanterns.

Lights.

This must have been some kind of theater.

Off!

Turn that off!

What are you doing?

What does it look like?

Not like that!

How many times have I told you?

You start the saw on the ground, one foot in the handle,

with the chain brake on.

You do it standing up like that, it'll kick back.

That's how you do it.

It doesn't matter how I do it.

I have had years of practice.

You haven't.

Whatever.