Hans Ickman Remembers

Hans Ickman’s forgotten childhood memory returns through the crisis, helping him choose action and bringing a lost name back to him.

increasingBearing stren­gth in each eventdecreasing

A Childhood River

A Childhood River An impossible leap As a boy, Hans watches a small white dog leap across a river too wide for him and his brothers. The dog twists in midair with effortless joy. A memory recedes Hans grows older and forgets both the dog’s wonder and, eventually, her name. The memory remains dormant until the elephant’s arrival stirs it again.

Repetition in Prison

Repetition in Prison The same words again Hans accompanies Bettine LaVaughn to the prison as she repeats her account of being crippled by the elephant. The magician repeats that he intended lilies. Time becomes urgent Remembering the river dog, Hans interrupts them and insists that they speak words that matter. His intervention ends the ritual of repeated accusation and excuse.

The Dog's Name Returns

The Dog's Name Returns A boy at the door Leo Matienne arrives with Peter and asks to see Bettine LaVaughn. Hans looks at Peter and recalls himself as a boy watching the dog in mid-leap. Memory completed The forgotten name returns: Rose. Recovering it gives Hans a sense that the impossible may happen again, and he admits the visitors into the house.

A Snowy Decision

A Snowy Decision A changed direction Hans pushes Bettine LaVaughn’s wheelchair toward the countess’s home instead of directly to the prison. He trusts that the group must first retrieve the elephant. Accepting the absurd When Bettine protests, Hans says that everyone may have gone a little mad. His willingness to proceed makes room for a plan that has no ordinary precedent.

The Impossible in Company

The Impossible in Company Facing the elephant door Hans joins Peter and Leo Matienne in knocking at the countess’s large door. Their request risks consequences for everyone involved, including the attendant who opens it. A memory made useful Hans’s remembered dog has already taught him that impossible movement can be real. He helps carry that recovered openness into the effort to bring the elephant home.

In Hans Ickman's memories of childhood

During the visits to the imprisoned magician

At Bettine LaVaughn's door on the snowy night

As the group crosses Baltese

Outside the Countess's Residence during the snowfall