03x08 - The Book of Nora

Episode transcripts for the TV show "The Leftovers". Aired: June 2014 to June 2017.*
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Revolves around mysterious disappearances, world-wide, and specifically follows a group of people who are left behind in the suburban community of Mapleton. They must begin to rebuild their lives after the loss of more than 100 people.
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03x08 - The Book of Nora

Post by bunniefuu »

Every one of us was touched
by the events of October 14th,

but no one more than
our honored speaker,

Nora Durst.

It's Kevin, right?

- Nora.
- Mm-hmm. Nice to meet you.

Nice to meet you, too.

If that's a traffic ticket,
I can get you out of it.

- Divorce.
- Me too.

Maybe we should do dinner,
or something...

I would love that.

You should know, though,
I'm a f*cking mess.

My name is
Maria Carmen Rodriguez.

- Marilyn K. Oshima.

And I give my full consent
for the journey

- I'm about to take.
- To go wherever they went.

- They made these testimonials.
- They gave their names.

So I looked them up just
to see if any of them

were still around after they
supposedly got into this thing.

This thing that
zaps them with the radiation.

Every single one of them
is unaccounted for.

And what if they ask
why I came down here with you?

I'll say... we're in a toxic,
co-dependent relationship,

and we've both come to realize
that we're better off apart

than together.

You can't have a kid,
because then you'd have

no excuse.
You'd have to be okay.

No one would feel sorry for you.

I do not want people
to feel sorry for me.

Whoppin' hell now, Nora.

How long before you move
past it?

- Move past what?
- You lost your kids.

My kids are not dead!
They are just gone.

Then you should go
and be with them.

Okay.

Begin.

My name is Nora Elizabeth
Jamison Durst.

11/18/1979.

This is a copy of today's paper.

I hereby indemnify all individuals for
the procedure that's about to occur.

I'm of sound mind and body, and
I'm acting of my own free will.

- That's it.
- Stop.

Something wrong?

Nothing, it... it's fine.

What did she say?

She wants you to do it again.

Why do you want me
to do it again?

Because I do not believe you.

Excuse me?

Excuse me, but you're lying.

You're just...

You're just saying
what we want to hear.

You invited me here,

and then you rejected me.

But I sat outside your house all
night and I followed you here,

so you'd have no choice but to
let me get into your machine.

So, I don't give a sh*t
what you want to hear.

And I don't lie.

Can you say
your children's names?

- What?
- Your children.

Do you think you can say
their names?

Erin and Jeremy.

I meant in your statement.

Would you like to try again?

Okay.

My name is Nora Elizabeth
Jamison Durst.

I was born
on November 18th, 1979.

This is a copy of today's paper,

because today is the day
I'm leaving to be with them.

I'm leaving
to be with my children,

Erin and Jeremy.

I'm ready to go now.

We prefer to give
a more thorough orientation,

but since we were in the
process of moving on,

you'll just have
to bear with us.

Was that a person?

It's a fossil.

The person is gone.

Maybe they'll let you keep mine.

As soon as we've administered
your saline drip,

you will disrobe
outside the truck.

Once you are inside,
you will see

the event chamber at
the far end.

You just walk to it.

You may experience
nausea or discomfort

as you pass by
the undulating laser array

while it cycles up.

Do not touch the array.

Step inside the event chamber,

close the exit port behind you,

and turn the latch to the left.

Hard to the left.
It'll stick.

Then pull your knees
towards your chest

and hold them there.

- Okay?
- Okay.

We will be monitoring you
from inside there.

Once inside the event chamber,

you will be able to hear us

and we will be able to hear you.

When you're ready, we will
start the ignition sequence.

You will hear three tones.

After the third tone, the chamber
will fill up with fluid.

The fluid will have the
same consistency as water,

but it is not water.

It contains metals
that will be irradiated.

Once this occurs,
the fluid will solidify.

Do not ingest or breathe in
any of the fluid

as your lungs would also
solidify upon transport.

Can you hold your breath
for 30 seconds?

Yes.

Well...

then that's it.

Activity.

Pole dancing.

Um, noun.

Gecko.

Gecko.
Excellent.

Okay, last one.

Man's name.

Antonio.

Antonio.
Perfect.

Okay, here we go.

"Nora Elizabeth Jamison Durst,

age 417..."

"was vaporized by a consortium
of international physicists"

last Tuesday
outside Never Never Land.

"Miss Durst was born
and raised in Cairo, Egypt..."

- Mmm.
- "...where she returned after college"

to squeeze a family..."

"her spiffy husband,
Doug Durst,"

and her beloved geese,
Jeremy and Erin.

Admired by her coworkers,

she was a longtime employee

"at the Department
of the Sudden Diarrhea."

That's disgusting.

"In her spare time,"

Miss Durst enjoyed crosswords,

exposing frauds,
and pole dancing.

She is survived,
at least temporarily,

"by her terminally ill gecko,
Matthew Jamison."

"As she lives on
in our memories,

and in the Great Antonio
in the sky."

Mm.

"There will be no funeral
or memorial service."

Mm.

Oh, God bless Matt Libs.

I couldn't ask
for a better obituary.

Happy to oblige.

You sending me those things
is what got me through

Hellfire and Damnation.

The horrible Bible camp
that Grandma and Pop-Pop

used to send me off to
in the Adirondacks?

It wasn't Hellfire
and Damnation,

it was Camp Holy Spirit.

Potato, pah-ta-toe.

You were so young
with the pigtails.

- What were you, eight years old?
- Seven.

Do you remember what you said to
me when you put me on the bus?

"Brush your teeth"?

You said...

You said that I was
the bravest girl on Earth.

And every time
you sent me a letter

with a new Matt Lib in it,

that's who
it was addressed to...

"The Bravest Girl
on Earth."

I forgot about that.

You drive me f*cking nuts.

But you've always been
a great gecko, Matt.

If I was a great gecko, I'd be
trying to talk you out of this.

You're great because
you're not trying.

I'm scared.

I'll be fine.

Of course you will.
You always are.

I'm scared of what'll happen
when I go back to Mary.

And I'm scared of the chemicals

they're going to put in my body
to try and make me better, and...

I'm scared it won't work.

I'm scared of dying, Nora.

I'm scared my son
will grow up without me,

forget my face,

forget the sound of my voice.

But most of all, I'm
scared that I'll survive.

Because if I do...

how can I ever stand in front
of a room full of people

and convince them
that I have the answers

when I have no idea what the
f*ck I'm talking about.

Do you want to come
with me instead?

I think, dear sister,

that defeats the purpose.

What are you going
to tell people about me?

About what happened here?

Whatever you want me to.

Are you ready?

Of course she's ready.

She's the bravest girl on Earth.

- Give it to me!
- No!

It's mine! You don't
need it anymore!

Give her the blanket.

Two hands like a big girl.
Good deal.

I'm hungry, Mom.
I'm hungry!

I'm hungry, too! No
phones at the table.

- Yours is out, too.
- I'm waiting to hear about the job.

- This is important, too.
- I want food!

I want food!
I want food!

- It's coming, buddy.
- I want food!

- Jeremy. Hey.
- I want food!

- I want food!
- Cut it out.

God damn it, I said two hands!

Nora, can you hear me?

Yes.

Your brother is here with us.

Hello, Nora.

Hi, Matt.

I love you.

I love you, too.

We're going to begin, Nora.

I was worried you'd forgotten.

Don't usually get
so many so close together.

Love is in the air.

A little extra for your trouble.

Sarah, does the name Kevin
mean anything to you?

No.

Are you sure?

Because a man calling himself
that came by yesterday.

He had a photo.
A photo of you.

Did you tell him anything?

No, of course not.

But I think he knew I was lying.

Nora?

Kevin.

Kevin Garvey.

I don't know if you remember me.

I was the chief of police
in Mapleton.

We don't know each other
really well.

We only talked
a couple times, really.

There was this dance,

a Christmas dance
at the high school.

We just had a really
nice conversation.

Yeah.

In the hallway.

I don't expect you to remember.

It was a long time ago.

What are you doing?

Well, um, I've been
kind of wandering

around Australia on vacation.

I... just kind of getting
off the grid.

You know, trying to avoid
the touristy stuff.

I like to get a little
lost, you know?

Anyway, I was...
I'm in that little town

down the road, and I saw
you riding your bike.

And I thought to myself, "Holy
sh*t, I think that's Nora Durst."

And, so, I found out
where you lived.

And here you are.

- That's not what happened.
- Sorry?

You showed a picture of me
to the nun at the convent.

That's how you found out
where I lived.

- Why would I have a picture of you?
- I just came from there.

- She told me that you asked if I...
- Are you married?

- What?
- Are you married or are you seeing somebody?

I noticed you weren't
wearing a wedding ring.

And I saw that
they were having a dance

in town tonight.

And when I saw you
riding your bike,

it reminded me...

how I had always wished
I had asked you

to dance.

Anyway, I know it sounds crazy,
but I felt a connection.

So, you know, here we are
in the middle of nowhere

bumping into each other, and
I'm only here for the night,

and I figured, uh, you know,

if I didn't ask you
to dance tonight...

I'll never forgive myself.

You need to leave now.

Okay.

I get it.

A guy you barely remember
shows up on your doorstep,

asks you to go
on a date with him, but...

I had to try.

Please just go.

I'll be there
if you change your mind.

They shut down
all of Main Street,

so you're not gonna
be able to miss it.

It's good to see you, Nora.

- Hello?
- Did you tell him?

- Nora?
- Did you tell him?

I... I don't understand
what you're asking me.

Kevin, f*cking Kevin.
He's here.

- He found me.
- What? He's... he's there in Australia?

Did you tell him
where I was, Laurie?

No.
No, I didn't.

- Because if you did, just say so, and I...
- I didn't.

We established boundaries
the first time you called me.

Clear boundaries.

I don't tell you
about the people here,

and I don't tell
the people here about you.

I would never betray that, Nora.

Then how did he find me?

How did he say he found you?

He said that he was here
on vacation

and he spotted me.

And then he came to my house,
and he knocked on my door,

and he acted like we were
just casual acquaintances

from Mapleton years back,

like... like we were
never together.

Like... like none of it
happened.

Huh.

"Huh?"
What's that mean? "Huh?"

Well, I'm just surprised,
that's all.

It's a very un-Kevin-like
thing to do.

Is he crazy?

Does he seem crazy?

No.
He seemed happy.

Huh.

Would you please
stop f*cking saying that?

Okay.

Why... why is he doing this?

I don't know.

Did he say anything else?

- He asked me to a dance.
- A... a dance?

I guess there's a dance
in town tonight,

and he asked me to go.

And you don't want to?

- No.
- What do you want?

Well, I want him
to leave me alone.

- Then why are you calling me?
- What?

Well, I can't make him
leave you alone.

I'm half a world away,
so why did you call me?

I called you because I thought
you told him where I was.

Come on, you know
I didn't tell him that.

You called me because
you wanted me to say

it's okay to go to the dance.

I do not want to go
to the f*cking dance!

Gotcha.

But if you did, it's okay.

Jesus Christ, Laurie.

Same time next week?

Where are your beads?

- Excuse me?
- Your beads. You need beads.

- Here, take one of mine.
- No, thank you.

You came.

It's a wedding.

I know.

You told me it was a dance.

People are dancing.

- Were you even invited?
- Yeah, of course I was.

Um... that's Eddie.

He can take a tractor apart,

put it back together
blindfolded.

Allegedly.

And that's Aggie.

She was in the Army.

She left.
Too many rules.

I bumped into them
at the hotel bar.

They told me if I didn't come,
they'd be angry with me.

How did you find me, Kevin?

I'm on vacation in Australia.

I saw you ride by on your bike.

This is the middle of nowhere.

Why would you come here
on vacation?

My father came Down Under
a while back

and told me
it was an amazing place,

so I just wanted
to see for myself.

So, you're saying you've
never been here before.

This is your first time
in Australia.

Uh-huh.

You're really
gonna keep this up?

Keep what up?

So, you and me,
we only talked that one time

at that Christmas dance
in Mapleton.

- Yeah.
- Mm-hmm.

What about the courthouse?

We got our divorces on the same
day and ran into each other.

I asked you to go to Miami.

- You asked me to go to Miami?
- Miami.

Yes.

But we were strangers?

Yes.

And you're giving me a hard time
about inviting you to a dance?

It's a wedding.

You must have me confused
with someone else.

Because if you asked me
to go to Miami with you,

I definitely would've gone.

I love Miami.

So... so,
you never left?

You've been a cop
in Mapleton all this time?

Uh-huh.

Then you knew my brother,
Matt Jamison.

I was hoping you were
gonna come to the funeral.

We said our goodbyes in person.

It was a beautiful service.

Over 400 people came.

Mary gave the eulogy.

She really loved him.

There was a lot to love.

How are Jill and Tom?

You remember my kids' names?

Yeah.

I remember.

It's a little creepy,
but I am impressed.

Jill's great.

She married a great guy.

They have a daughter together.

Penelope.
About a year old now.

And I'm a f*cking grandpa.

Tommy's marriage
didn't work out so great.

But he landed on his feet,
like he always does.

- What about you?
- Me?

Did you ever get married again?

No.

Why not?

Because I'm still holding
a candle for you.

I find that hard to believe.

My mom d*ed when I was nine.

My dad never remarried, so...

People hold candles, Nora.

- How is your dad?
- He's fantastic.

Jesus!

- He's 91 and he's still kicking.
- He must be immortal.

Oh, runs in the family, right?

- I'm not immortal.
- Oh?

Says who?

My cardiologist.

I had a condition.

It was undiagnosed
my whole life.

A couple years back,
I had a heart att*ck.

A pretty...
Pretty bad one.

But if they hadn't
diagnosed the condition,

then I wouldn't
have known I had had it,

and blah, blah, blah, so...

They just cut me open,
put in a pacemaker.

- Really?
- Yeah, really.

Wanna see my scar?

She came!

You said she wouldn't come.

Oh, I'm just as surprised
as you are.

- Oops.
- Aggie, this is Nora.

- Nora, this is Aggie.
- Congratulations.

- He didn't think you were coming.
- Yeah, you mentioned that.

Nice of you to get all
dressed up for my wedding.

I'm sorry, I didn't know
it was a wedding.

I'm just f*cking with you.

She's very serious.

Yeah.

Wouldn't have it any other way.

All right,
that's enough chitchat.

Did you write your messages?

I gave mine to the nun.

Hi.

What about you, sweetheart?

Want to write a message of
love to send out to the world?

No, thank you.

And she's a romantic, too.

All right,
let's get these over with!

Where the f*ck's Eddie?

What did you tell her about us?

I told her I had
a crush on a girl

and I wanted to chase after her,

but I didn't know what to say.

All right,
everyone, settle down.

I'm talking now!

Oi! Listen up,
fuckwits!

All right, dearest
family, beloved friends,

and Russell.

Oi!

Eddie and I just
wanna thank you all

for being here
on our special day

to drink our alcohol
free of charge.

Sweetheart, I am so happy

that we're gonna spend the
rest of our lives together.

And now that you've married
me, I have a confession.

I think I might be pregnant.

- No!
- Not to worry, love.

- It's yours, probably.
- Oh!

All right, let's get
to the ooey-gooey.

We have gathered your notes

and attached them
to these beautiful birds.

And now we are
going to set them free

so they can fly off
to every corner of the world,

spreading those messages of
love to people everywhere.

Aw!

All right, Sister.

Release the birds!


What did you write?

That's for me to know and some
lonely Eskimo to find out.

Isn't that romantic, eh?

Yeah, let's hear it
for the love birds!

Whoo!

See, if only life
was just about love.

But it's about temptation.

It's about failure.

It's about weakness.

You know what I'm talking
about, don't you, Sister?

It's about sin, yeah.

And everybody here knows I've
made my fair share of mistakes,

but there is a very big difference
between a sin and a mistake.

Because a mistake
is just f*cking up, hmm?

But a sin...
Hoo-hoo.

A sin is when you know
something is wrong

and you do it anyway.

So, Aggie,

my darling wife,

my sun and my stars,

I look forward to a lifetime
of f*cking up with you.

But I hereby swear
I will never sin again.

Aw!

Now bring out that f*cking goat!

Yeah!

Hello!
In biblical times,

a goat was designated
to be driven into the desert

with the sins
of the community upon it.

So...

let these beads
represent our sins.

Unburden yourselves, friends.

Then Russell will
drive the scapegoat

deep into the bush,
far from here,

so we can start over

untainted by our past mistakes.

At least they didn't
sacrifice it.

Have you ever seen somebody
sacrifice a goat?

No.

That'd be weird.

Three, four.

One, two, three, four. Al,
don't count, don't say four,

'cause I'm gonna be on you.

Will you dance with me?

How did you find me, Kevin?

I'm on vacation in Australia.

- I saw you
ride by on your bike.

I can't do this.

Why not?

Because it's not true.

Evening.

- Sarah.
- What did you do with my birds?

I let them go
just like I always do.

- What's wrong?
- What's wrong is that they didn't come back.

- Did you give them the seed that I gave you?
- Yes, of course.

And... and you didn't feed them right
before you let them go, did you?

No, of course not.
I did everything the same.

- Then where are they?
- I don't know.

Those birds are trained
to do one thing,

just one thing,
and that's to come home,

so you must've done
something different.

Maybe they're delivering
the messages of love.

It's great that
your newlyweds believe

that a bird
with a range of 50 miles

is gonna carry their
stupid poetry to Timbuktu,

but don't sell
that bullshit to me.

I'm not trying
to sell you anything.

It's just a nicer story.

Who was that man?

What man?

The man I just saw leaving.

You mean Father Brian.

He's the only man
permitted in the convent.

Does Father Brian
ride a motorcycle?

- No.
- Well, this man did.

And he was climbing a ladder down
from that room right up there.

Oh, well, that's strange.

Is that your room?

It might be.

But I certainly haven't seen
any men on ladders.

You just had sex with him.

- Oh, no, I didn't.
- You did.

- Did not.
- Then swear to God.

All right.

I swear to God.

You're a f*cking liar!

I saw you dancing with that man.

That man you said
you didn't know.

I'll pray for the safe
return of your birds.

Don't waste your breath.

Oh, God.

Oh, God.

Ah!

Oh, shh, shh, shh...

I know.
Okay.

Shh.

Hey, you hungry?

Hey!

Eat this, you idiot.

Here.

Come on.

You wanna know
how I found you, Nora?

You want the truth?

When Matt told me you were
gone, I didn't believe him.

Or I couldn't.

I just... I had this feeling
that you were still alive...

and that I would see you again.

And then...
Then Matt d*ed

and you weren't even
at the funeral.

And that should've convinced me,

but I couldn't believe the last
time I saw you or talked to you

was in that f*cking hotel room

that night I b*rned
his f*cking book.

I was so sure
you were still alive,

even though everyone else in the world
said that you were f*cking dead.

God, I...

I had to do something about it.

So I decided that
I was gonna look for you.

I was gonna start
right where I lost you.

Every year, I have
two weeks of vacation,

and every year,
I come to f*cking Australia

and I show your picture
to everybody I meet.

"Do you know this woman?

Have you ever
seen her before?"

And they all just look at me and
they shake their heads and they say,

"Oh, I'm sorry."

Everybody's so f*cking sorry.

But I couldn't stop.

Every year,
I would say to myself,

"I can't do this."

I'm not doing this.

"Never again."

But every year,
I would come back.

Because...

Because I couldn't stop.

And a couple days ago...

I showed your picture
to that nun...

and I saw it in her eyes.

She recognized you.

She knew you.

And when I saw you...

I couldn't believe it.

There you were.

And I was so...

Oh, but I didn't know
what to say...

or where to start,

and so I just thought,
"Oh, f*ck it. I'll erase it.

Just erase it all and maybe that
would give us another chance."

But you were right.

It's not true.

That's how I found you, Nora.

I...

I refused to believe
you were gone.

You want some tea?

What?

I was gonna make a cup of tea.
You want some?

Okay.

You want one?

No. I quit.

Heart.

So, that part is true?

Mm-hmm.

That part is true.

What else is true?

Everything I said
about Matt's funeral.

Everything I told you
about Jill and Tommy...

my father.

Did you move back to Mapleton?

No.

Still in Jarden.

In our house.

Anyone still call it Miracle?

Not so much.

How are the Murphys?

Uh, Michael's pretty much
running the church now.

I see Erika there
every once in a while.

She's great.

And John and Laurie
still live next door.

I talk to Laurie sometimes.

- What?
- Every once in a while.

Just when I need to.

- She knows you're here?
- Don't be mad at her.

She's my therapist.
She wasn't allowed to tell you.

Why didn't you tell me?

Because you were right, Kevin.

What you said in the hotel,

the last time we saw each other.

I needed to be with my kids.

Oh, no, I didn't mean that...

You meant it,
and you were right, Kevin.

There were always gonna be
bulletproof vests,

hugs from holy men...

tattoos to cover up.

But those were just ways
to deal with what I lost.

I needed a way to get them back.

I knew there was a chance
it would k*ll me,

but I made my peace with that.

And I said goodbye
to my brother...

and I climbed right in.

And then you changed your mind.

No.

I didn't change my mind.

I went through.

I was in the parking lot,

naked...

curled up like a baby.

It was the same parking lot
I'd just been in,

except there were no trucks...

no people, no nothing.

It was cold,
so I started to walk.

I walked by empty houses...

abandoned buildings.

And I found a store,

so I went in and there
were clothes there...

Clothes hanging on racks...

So I got dressed
and I got back to walking.

I walked long enough
to convince myself

that I was the only thing
alive in that place.

And then night came,

and I saw lights,
so I went to them.

It was a house,

and there was a man
and a women there.

They were kind

and they told me...

the man told me
that seven years earlier,

he was in a supermarket and every single
person disappeared except for him.

And the women told me
that she lost her husband,

her three daughters,

and all eight
of her grandchildren.

And that's when I understood.

Over here, we lost some of them.

But over there,
they lost all of us.

So, I went and did
what I came there to do.

I went to find my kids.

Planes don't really fly
over there.

They have enough resources,
just not enough pilots.

So, I found a boat
that would take me.

No boats go directly
from Australia to New York,

so it took me
a long time to get there.

A long time.

But I finally did.

And I walked through Mapleton.

I walked through
the town where I grew up...

where my parents d*ed,

and Matt.

Where you and I met.

Most of the houses
were overgrown with weeds,

but the streetlights
still turned on at night,

and that made me
feel less stupid

about expecting them
to still be there.

Still there in the very same
house where I lost them.

When I got there, I stood
behind a tree across the street

and I waited because I was too
scared to go up and knock.

And then, after a while,

the door opened.

At first,
I didn't recognize them.

A tall teenage boy...

with curly hair...

and a girl,

maybe 11.

They were my children.

And then my husband came out,
and he was with a woman.

She was pretty.

She was pretty,
and they were all smiling.

They were...

happy.

And I understood
that here in this place,

they were the lucky ones.

In a world full of orphans,

they still had each other.

And I was a ghost.

I was a ghost
who had no place there.

And that, Kevin,
is when I changed my mind.

The physicists
who sent me through

told me the first person
to use the machine

was the guy who invented it.

His name was
Dr. Van Eeghen.

I'm pretty sure
they were making fun of me,

but they said when I went over

that I should look
him up, so I did.

That took a long time, too.

But I found him

and I asked him
to make another machine

because he already knew how.

And he asked me
if I had come all that way,

why in God's name
did I wanna go back?

And I told him it's because
I didn't belong there.

So, he built it.

And I came back through.

I came back here.

Did I...

think about you?

Did I wanna call you?

Did I wanna be with you, Kevin?

Of course I did.

But so much time had passed.

It was too late.

And I knew that
if I told you what happened...

that you would never believe me.

I believe you.

You do?

Why wouldn't I believe you?

You're here.

I'm here.
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