Midsommar

Dani:
[on the phone] It’s just in his tone - you can hear it. It’s like he’s trying to work up the nerve to say something and I just keep staving it off.

Girlfriend:
So don’t stave him off. Be direct! Confront him!

Dani:
Well - what if I scared him? I’m always roping him into my family crap...I’m always leaning on him! I tell him everything! I even called him today in tears because my sister sent me another scary email. What if I’m scaring him off?

Girlfriend:
Oh - how do you rope him in?That’s what he’s there for! What did your sister write?

Dani:
Oh - just some ominous bullshit! She does it all the time! It’s torture, and I’ve been completely leaning on him for support! What if I overwhelmed him and now he thinks I have too much baggage?

Girlfriend:
Well, if that’s the case, then good riddance! Right?

Dani:
No! Not if I went too far! What if I leaned too heavily?

Girlfriend:
You didn’t! He should be there when you need him.

Dani:
But what if I need him too often? If it becomes a chore?

Girlfriend:
Then he's not the right guy. Because it shouldn't ever be a chore. Would it be a chore if he leaned on you?

Dani:
But he never asks for anything from me! I've never even seen him cry! So I'm the only one leaning!

Girlfriend:
Or the only one opening up! The only one making yourself vulnerable. That's intimacy.

Mark:
Dude: you need to stop sitting on the fence with this.

Christian:
But what if I end up regretting it a week later, and then I can’t get her back?

Mark:
You don’t want her back!

Christian:
I might!

Mark:
So then you can b*tch to us for that week about how much you regret it, and we'll be like “Dude: you’ve been wanting out of this absurd relationship for the last year,”and you’ll be like “oh sh*t, that’s right” and then you can find some new chick who actually likes sex and who doesn’t drag you through a million hoops a day.

Josh:
Do you think a masochistic part of you is playing this drama out to distract you from the work you actually need to be doing?

Christian:
And what work do I actually need to do, Josh?

Josh:
Uhhh - your prospectus maybe? I dunno. Your PhD...?

[Waitress brings the check]

Waitress:
Whenever you guys are ready.

Pelle:
Thank you.

Waitress:
[She smiles at Christian] Thank you.

Mark:
Dude. You could be getting that girl pregnant right now.

Pelle:
And don’t forget all the Swedish women you can impregnate in June.

Mark:
Yeah, dude - don’t forget all the Swedish milkmaids.

Dani:
[having a bad trip] I got lost.

Christian:
Let’s go back to the group.

Dani:
Christian. Nothing means anything.

Christian:
What?

Dani:
Nothing means anything! We’re just alone. [tearing up] And I felt this presence - like God but not God - and it was telling me this and it was laughing at me.

Christian:
You heard laughing?

Dani:
I felt it laughing! I figured it out, that nothing means anything and we’re born alone and we die alone, and it was getting pleasure from that.

Christian:
Okay: no. We’re going back to the friends. You’re having a bad trip, and you’re thinking you’re alone because you went off and you made yourself alone. You just got scared. You have me. Everything’s connected. We’re all one. Those are the good things you’re supposed to think about when you trip. We’re all unified. F***.

Mark:
[as they pass a bear in a cage] So we just gonna ignore the bear then?

Pelle:
[shrugs] That's a bear.

Christian:
Who all sleeps in here?

Pelle:
All the younger ones. Until we turn thirty-two. Then we move to the houses.

Josh:
Why thirty-two?

Pelle:
We think of life like the seasons. You are a child until you’re 16, and that is the Spring. At some point we all do our Pilgrimage, and that’s between 17 and 32. That’s Summer. Then, from 33 to 52, you’re of working age: Fall. And finally from 53 to 72, you become a mentor.

Josh:
Winter.

Dani:
What happens when you turn 72, then?

[Pelle makes a throat slashing gesture. Dani laughs]

Pelle:
All right - beauty rest! Tomorrow’s a big day.

Josh:
And what’s tomorrow?

Pelle:
First of the big ceremonies.

Josh:
So you’re just gonna be weird and cryptic?

[Pelle pauses, then takes Josh’s notepad. He writes “Ättestupan” and hands it back.]

Josh:
[eyes widening] Are you serious?

[Pelle smiles mischievously.]

Christian:
What’s that? What’s Ättestupan? [pulls out his phone and types “Atestupan” into a search engine. But there’s no internet connection.] F***. What’s Ättestupan?

Dani:
Is it scary?

Josh:
You'll see.

Christian:
[in hushed tones] How long do they typically stand?

Pelle:
Uh we're gonna stand until it's - right to sit.

Pelle:
I need to warn you before we go down...because you might not want to.

Dani:
Is this gonna be something weird?

Pelle:
Uhhh - it might seem very weird, but it’s a great honor for them.

Dani:
Is this the thing you mentioned last night?

Josh:
Ättestupan.

Pelle:
We’re about to perform a centuries-old rite that is very important to us and very beautiful, but also - very far from anything you have in America.

Dani:
[suddenly nervous] Do I not want to do this?

Pelle:
Well - that’s what I’m saying. You’re invited to. I just... [pauses] You remember I explained the winter stage of a man’s life goes from 53 to 72? Well, this is what happens when 72 is reached.

Dani:
Okay. And what is “this”? What is Ättestupan?

Dani:
I’m really sorry, Pelle. Thank you for inviting me, but I really need to go. Can someone maybe drive me?

Pelle:
I did warn you this time. I know it looks extreme, but we only do this once every ninety years. It’s - what’s the word...?

Dani:
I understand that it’s momentous.

Pelle:
Right! Exactly!

Dani:
I don’t know why we’re here, Pelle! I don’t know why you invited us!

Pelle:
Okay: Here: Sit down. Please. I invited my friends because this is a once-in-a-lifetime thing and I wanted to share it. Especially with my friends who I knew would appreciate it, because I am proud of this place.

Dani:
But I’m not an anthropologist. I don’t have the foundation to understand this.

Pelle:
And yet I was the most excited for you to come. Here: smell this.

Dani:
What is it?

Pelle:
It calms you down. Go on. Inhale. I will, too. Isn’t that nice?... I know what you’re going through, Dani.

Dani:
What am I going through? I’m scared. I can’t breathe.

Pelle:
You’re going through a lot. I know you are, and I’m gonna say something now, because my birth parents are both gone, too--

Dani:
What?! [crying] That’s not what I’m talking about!

Pelle:
I know, and that’s fine, but please... My birth-parents both died when I was a little boy. They burned up in a fire, and I became - technically - an orphan. So believe me when I say I know what that is, because I do. Yet my difference is: I didn’t get a chance to feel lost. Because I had a family - here - where everyone embraced me and swept me up and I was raised by a community that doesn’t distinguish between what is theirs and what is not theirs. That’s what you were sacrificed to. But I - have always felt...held. By a family. A real family. Which everyone deserves. And you deserve.

Dani:
[looks down at Pelle’s hands holding hers] Christian could walk in.

Pelle:
He’s what I’m talking about. And he’s my good friend and I like him... But do you feel held by him, Dani? Does he feel like a home to you? My pilgrimage has been fun. New York is fun... But I also find it terrifying how people live. As if it’s necessary and even good to be lost and drifting...and I haven’t spent one night over there that I haven’t longed to be back here...in the lap of the Hårgas. Stay, Dani. Please. It will be good... And I swear we’re all finished sacrificing animals.

Sven:
We describe it like “emotional sheet music.”

Josh:
What does it say?

Sven:
Well...each runic letter represents one of the 16 affects, which are graded from most holy to most unholy. This here is about Grief. You can see at the end, however, we have blank pages? This is because the Rubi Radr is a constant work in progress. Always evolving.

Josh:
And who decides what’s added?

Sven:
Well - this iteration is being written by Ruben.

Josh:
Wait. The...disabled?

Sven:
Since birth. Ruben is unclouded by normal cognition. It makes him open for the source.

Josh:
So...what happens when Ruben dies? Do you just wait until a new baby isn't “clouded”?

Sven:
Ruben was a product of inbreeding. All of our Oracles have been deliberate products of inbreeding.

Dani:
Has anyone seen Connie?

Christian:
I think Mark saw her earlier.

Mark:
I'm sure I saw her trying out for the sprinting Olympics earlier.

Dani:
What, where?

Jarl:
Sorry, but I can say what happened. Her boyfriend called our landline from the train station and calmed Connie down. She begged our pardon and I drove her to meet him.

[pause]

Christian:
OK. That's really...

Dani:
Why would Simon leave without her?

Christian:
I'm sure it was just a miscommunication.

Sven:
[after one of the sacred books goes missing] Where is your friend? Yosh?

Christian:
I know, ah... We have no idea.

Sven:
He, and your other friend - They both disappear the same day. You see how it looks?

Siv:
On this, the day of our deity of reciprocity, we gather to give special thanks for the precious Sun. As an offering for our Father, we will today surrender nine human lives. As Hårga takes, so Hårga also gives. Thus, for every newblood sacrificed, we will dedicate one of our own. That is: four newbloods, four from Hårga, and one to be chosen by the Queen. Nine in all, to die, and be reborn, in the great Cycle.

Sten:
The four newbloods, have already been supplied. As for our end, we have two already dedicated... And two who have volunteered. Ingemar and Ulf.

[they step forward]

Sten:
You have brought outside offerings, thus volunteering your own bodies. You will today be joined in harmony with Everything. And to Pelle, who has brought new blood, and our new May Queen, you will today be honored for your unclouded intuition. And so, for our ninth offering. It is traditional that our fair Queen shall choose, between a preselected newblood, and a specially ordained Hårgan...These are your candidates for the ninth and final offering. We patiently await your verdict.

[Dani's eyes go back and forth before settling on Christian]

Sten:
The honor has been bestowed on Christian Hughes, our ninth and most sacred offering!

Siv:
Now it's traditional for the May Queen to bless our crops and livestock. And after the luck - you just inherited from that salt herring, we should all be doubly encouraged! [laughter; pause]

Dani:
Can Christian come with me?

Siv:
Nej. The Queen must ride alone.

Pelle:
Nature just knows instinctually how to stay in harmony! It’s mechanical. Everything doing its part.

Pelle:
My parents died in a fire.

Siv:
And now, in keeping with tradition: Hjalmar and Josef will make three trips. If they make it back with the flame intact, our vintage will be abundant this year! On the other hand, if it burns out – that will be an omen of bad luck and we will know to prepare.

Siv:
[in Swedish] This high my fire. No higher. No hotter!

Siv:
Oh, mercy – please: You should have been warned better. What you just saw is a long, long, long observed custom. Those two men has just reached end of the Hårga life-cycle. It is a great joy for them, you must realize. And when I do so, it will be a great joy for me. We view life as a circle. Okay? A re-cycle. One thing falls and another rises. The first man who jumped: his name was Olof. Yes? That baby, who is not yet born, will inherit this name. He will be Olof. And if it is a girl, she will take the name of our last fallen lady, which was Dagmar. But instead of growing old and getting sick and dying in pain and shame and fear, we’ll give our life – as a gesture. Yes? A gift. And we will leave this chapter with dignity and gratitude. Before it can spoil. It does no good to die kicking and screaming and lashing back at the inevitable. It corrupts the soul.

Sven:
Well. We, um - have something regretful to announce. This morning, the nineteenth book of Rubi Radr was found missin', from the temple. We don't want to - point fingers, and yet we kindly ask that whoever took it return it, to its original place. You can leave it in the temple, which will be left unguarded, unwatched. Nobody need to know, it was you.

Ulf:
[shouting in Swedish to Mark] You're pissing on my people! [to Pelle] Your little f***ing American friend! He's pissed on the Rotvälta!

Ulla:
Christian? [snaps fingers twice] Christian... Hi. Hello! There you are! Listen: You can't speak. You can't move. [smiles] All right? [smiles] Good.

Maja:
[in Swedish after being impregnated by Christian during the mating ritual] I feel it! I can feel the baby!