In Absentia

Overview

A woman occupies a solitary chair in a dimly lit room of an asylum's upper floor, where bright spotlights intermittently illuminate her window. As she sharpens pencils, the tension of her grip causes the points to snap, which she neatly sets outside on the sill. Nearby, a sinister, animated figure made of straw or clay looms. After completing her writing, she tears the page from her pad, folds it, and discreetly slides it into an envelope to send through a slot. Her message echoes hope and longing: "Sweetheart, come."