002a. Sophia's Hands

Sophia tracks down the police officer who had ticketed her.

Sophia makes her way to Mont Royal metro station, near where Officer Beaubien lives, and begins busking. However, the beauty of her music attracts such a large crowd that foot traffic is impeded, and two police officers arrive to suggest she move or stop.

Instead, she convinces them to let her keep playing, and they set up parade barriers, to little avail. As Sophia resumes playing, she mentions that she was hoping to run into Pierre-Luc Beaubien, prompting the officers to question why she would want to get involved with him, as he keeps to himself.

Soon Sophia spots him across the street, and she packs up, turning her harp back into a lizard. After catching up and asking if she can join him, she introduces herself. He offers his name, but questions her motives for accompanying him. Sophia confesses that his poor mood had saddened her the previous day, and he admits that giving tickets is a miserable job, as it brings no joy to those on the receiving end.

Sophia asks what he would rather be doing, and Pierre-Luc confides his desire to be a sculptor, though he cannot afford to the time or studio to maintain the hobby. She pries again, asking what he would sculpt right now, to which he blushes. She says she thinks he should sculpt something, and he says that he should go to work. To this she promises to busk somewhere on his route to and from work every day, and won't let this go. After a series of flatteries from him, she offers to model for him. He is near-speechless, but agrees.

Sophia returns the next day, and the weather is miserable. Despite this she plays, and he stops to listen, sitting on a bench some distance from her. When she is done, he admits that he is surprised she came back. When she finds out that he doesn't have plans after work, she encourages him to get started on the sculpture. They arrange to meet after he is done work.

That evening, he arrives with two coffees, and they go to his apartment, where he has cleared his dining room furniture into his kitchen, so as to make room for a studio. There she sits, and they talk as he prepares the clay with which to make a mould. He pauses, and shows her the photos he took of her after giving her the tickets, ashamed. He admits to worrying she will go away, and she says she will, eventually.

She stands, and he begins to sculpt. Sophia notices that he has begun to develop a crush on her. When he has finished, she sees that he has created something that looks like her left hand. He asks her to leave, as he now knows what he wants the sculpture to look like, but is being distracted by her presence. They agree to meet again on Friday.

Sophia arrives on Friday with a tea for herself and a coffee for him. He dressed in a clean button-down shirt, and shows her to the sculpture. It is the same hand gently pulling at woven wires, by which the whole sculpture is suspended. He is unsure what to do with it, Sophia tries to encourage him to show it to others. He asks her to leave, "before I do something stupid."

Pierre-Luc says the sculpture can't be finished yet, as he doesn't know how her hand feels, and he wants the sculpture to show everything. She presses her hand against his - palm to palm, his breath catches, and he says people must fall in love with her all the time. He asks her to come back again next week, and she leaves.

A chisel is heard hitting a wall before he calls her back in to ask what she gets out of this arrangement. She says Beauty, to which he quips all she would need is a mirror. She explains that she feels a need for other people to create beauty.

He repeats that the sculpture is not ready, asks to see her hand again, and asks what she plays. If she plays people.

They part, repeating "One more week."