Heart to Heart

HENRY:
And what about you? Your father?

WILLIAM:
My father. [pause] I did not know him very well.

[A short pause, WILLIAM peers into his glass, and then out, looking at nothing. Suddenly, he starts again]

WILLIAM:
My father went off to fight when I was a child. I remember my mother begging him to stay. She couldn't do it. He was too strong. [pause] He died face down in the mud with a bullet in his head. A hero's death; he gave his life for his country. And he left my mother and I behind.

[WILLIAM pauses, then turns to face HENRY]

WILLIAM:
Life is the most precious thing, Henry. It's the one thing we can't control.

[HENRY meets WILLIAM'S eyes; his gaze is comforting and knowing. He turns his view towards CHARLOTTE below]

HENRY:
Only God can.

[WILLIAM gazes once more into the glass, looking deeply into the red liquid]

WILLIAM:
Only God.