After completing a brief profile, I went outside to search for more details in the field. The simplest way to find out more was to see the girl sometime after her working hours and at the same time to see what place where she is employed looks like. I didn’t want to encounter her at her apartment’s door, because I believe that the people, when they meet you for the first time, are more collaborative in public places, but less in their private place or near it. So, this way there could be more chances to fix a possible interview. I am involved in quite a strange matter now. And so, I need to know her side of the story as she is one of the principals in it.
As I arrived at the place, I encountered another tower of power. It was a tall glass-and-stone building, where another mighty faceless corporation nested. And somewhere in between a tenth and a fifteenth floor, a blonde girl with a pretty face was executing her primitive tasks as one of the thousands of office employees, who were placed on an almost lowest grade of career pyramid and who spend usual 38 hours a week for the sake of the firm’s existence. My first idea was to go the easiest way. At the reception desk, I gave a name and occupation of the person I was searching for. I simply asked whether I could talk to her. To my surprise, I did not get what I wanted. A girl at reception was not able to find anyone with this name. She told me, in case I had no appointment, I better had to go off.
It was almost the end of a working day, and five minutes after a reception desk proved to be useless, I stood outside, thinking how I would try to find her next time. Then suddenly, I recognized something with the corner of my eye, and that was something that seemed subconsciously important. It was a girl. It was the girl, and she was walking toward me. I saw a face which was now so much familiar to me. She walked past me, and I turned, watching her back for an instant. Then I hurriedly cast a name Susan from behind her, but a girl did not turn around and kept going away. I was almost disappointed and almost ready to run for her. After an instant more, I almost screamed Sue in one desperate syllable. She turned back and looked at me without big puzzlement. I made a step forward, and she suddenly smiled her childish smile.
I think I would like to talk to you. I told her. Then I explained that I am a journalist and I make some film and if she doesn’t see any problem with it, I would like to interview her. She agreed almost immediately, and we fixed when and where we would meet. When I was going to bed this day, I didn’t think about problems concerning current documentary filmmaking, but mostly about how the girl, who wasn’t exactly perfect and maybe didn’t look entirely like a superwoman from the Hollywood blockbuster, was indeed very pretty. She was indeed nicely pretty when even all of her clothes were on.
Nov, 2. Morning and Day. Private Audio Diary of Elise. by Elise
That was the day when I did not want to go somewhere and to do something. Maybe I just felt melancholic, and so, it was a feeling that all I could do today was to be lazy or to be sleepy. Actually, it was supposed to be vacant. But a day before, Martin asked me to appear at the studio to provide some help. He said there was something he would like me to watch with him together. He said he was not quite sure about what it was on the video record he had.
When I arrived at the studio, Martin did not wait until I would prepare another cup of coffee for myself. He asked me to come closer to his monitor. What he had shown to me was some security kind of footage. Black-and-white video with a viewpoint a little from above. You can’t see faces in general, and you don’t hear any sound because actually, there is no any sound. As it looked, a location was some office. That was a usual office. And footage represented some very long – as I could judge by the timeline of player – combination of some episodes of a usual office life featuring mostly two girls. As it was evident by their clothing and figures, that were the same two girls almost in every part of the footage. Their faces were not clear, but after some time they started to seem recognizable. I still was not sure that I could identify any of them if I would meet any of the two on the street, but at least in this security footage, it seems I could identify them from the others. The one was blonde, and another had a darker hair and was taller. A taller one looked to be a little more of a leader in their couple. At least, it subconsciously seemed to be so from their body language. What I thought about was whether they always use hidden cameras to watch how employees work at the office. It is one thing to watch for thieves in the supermarkets and another – to control every manager in the corporate building. And my second thought was about what the girls were doing.
And what Martin actually asked me was – What do you think they are doing? Do you see something except usual things? What I saw was that they were talking, passing to each other some papers. Sometimes the one could cast a short glance at the other. I didn’t see anything except usual things. That is probably what any two do to each other when they are familiar, and they share working space. I am not telepathic or something. So, I hardly can declare something sure looking at some people exchanging glances as part of some plot-free silent BW movie. In a silent movie with Chaplin, they at least show the words on a black screen to make a viewer know what the hell is going on. And at least in a typical silent movie, there are some jokes like someone falling after stepping on a banana skin. I saw nothing exceptional or specific, and I was puzzled about where Martin took this footage from. And what purpose he followed with this I didn’t know. Can it help to make some documentary film? Maybe that will be the first ever black-and-white silent documentary. And then it may make a revolution on the next Cannes film festival. I suppose critics will piss with the boiled liquid out of pure excitement.
And finally, after a couple of hours in which we tried to see something in this footage, Martin informed me that he made an appointment for an interview and if I don’t mind, he would like me to be present on the spot at the day. I did not mind, and so I will meet the interviewee too, in a couple of days from now.
And now I am going to sleep, so – end of a line.
Nov, 5. Susan’s Interview One. from Dictaphone Record. by Martin and Elise
Martin: What we are going to talk about is an extraordinary case. We talked about it with you on the phone yesterday. And as you remarked yourself, it is not easy to believe that all of this is quite true. And now as you agreed to talk to me not concealing any facts, I’m going to ask you once more the same question as yesterday. Are you really ready to talk about all of this?
Susan: Yes. I’m ready… Absolutely.
M.: As I told you before, if there are any reasons for it, for example, if you are afraid that someone may use this information against you somehow or if there is any personal threat to you or to someone who has a relation to you, you may decide to tell not everything. But in this case, we just need to set the limits of our talks.
S.: Well… No. I don’t think there is something… threatening. I don’t think there is something to hide from people. Absolutely so. And I didn’t commit any sort of crime in my life. I suppose… I think that if anybody on any TV show would ask me, I am ready to tell the entire story. All the true. I mean I would tell it to any open media source without any problems.
M.: Sure?
S.: It’s OK. You may just ask.
M.: And one more thing. I asked my friend to support me in this interview. Her name is Elise. What I mean, she may add some additional focus for things. Don’t you mind this?
Elise: So? Can I stay, Susan?
