Longing

Ariel meets his ex-partner Ronit at a restaurant, twenty years after they broke up. Ronit reveals that when they separated, she was pregnant with his child and that their son Adam died in a car accident two weeks earlier. The shocking news unsettles Ariel and initiates his journey to learn more about Adam's life.

Ronit tells Ariel that Adam died two weeks before the reunion. The revelation reframes Ariel's understanding of his past and his family. He decides to travel to Acre to gather details from people who knew Adam.

Following the reunion, Ariel travels to Acre to meet the people who knew Adam. The trip becomes a pursuit to piece together Adam's life and the relationships he built. He hopes these memories will help him understand his son better.

In Acre, Ariel meets Miki, a friend of Adam. Miki explains that Adam and he had once bought a kilogram of hashish to earn a living, and that the hashish was lost in the car accident that killed Adam. The exchange broadens the scope of Adam's life beyond the family circle.

Miki tells Ariel where Adam's school was, guiding him to the place where Adam spent part of his life. The school becomes a focal point for learning about Adam's adolescence and the events surrounding it. This step brings Ariel closer to the daily world Adam inhabited.

At the school, Ariel meets Principal Amnon, who explains that Adam was expelled after writing an obscene poem about the French teacher on the wall outside the building. The incident hints at Adam's rebellious streak and the tensions of school life. It's a key piece in understanding the complexities of Adam's youth.

In the schoolyard, Lilia, Adam's 15-year-old girlfriend, tells Ariel that Adam had been living with her because of a conflict with his stepfather. This detail adds depth to Adam's personal life and the family dynamics around him. It also shows that Adam sought shelter with friends during upheaval.

Ariel learns that Adam's true love was Yael, the French teacher. Yael explains that Adam was in love with her, but she refrained from pursuing a relationship because he was her student. This confession adds a poignant dimension to Adam's relationships and the limits of teacher-student boundaries.

At the end of the school day, Ariel waits by the school gate and spots Yael leaving. He approaches her, and they begin to talk, initiating a direct conversation about Adam and his life. The exchange provides Ariel with Yael's perspective on Adam's feelings and experiences.

Ariel visits Adam's grave, seeking a tangible connection to the son he never fully knew. The cemetery becomes a quiet setting for memory, reflection, and perhaps reconciliation with the past. The visit marks a turning point in his journey toward understanding Adam.

At the cemetery, Ariel befriends Gideon, the father of Abigail, a person who suffered from depression and died by suicide at eighteen. This encounter broadens Ariel's circle of people affected by Adam's world. It introduces new perspectives on loss, memory, and the bonds that persist beyond tragedy.

Gideon proposes an idea inspired by a Chinese custom: to marry Adam and Abigail. The proposal presents a provocative way to honor Adam's memory by creating a domestic linkage. Ariel considers the plan as a meaningful, if unconventional, extension of Adam's legacy.

Ariel finds Gideon's proposal appealing and starts to envisioned a future where Adam's memory lives on through a new union. He contemplates how such an arrangement might heal wounds and connect the generations. The idea reframes his understanding of family and memory.

Committed to the idea, Ariel begins to take steps to arrange the marriage between Adam and Abigail. He works to connect the people who knew Adam with those who care for Abigail, turning memory into a living project. The journey becomes a mission to keep Adam's story alive.

Throughout the journey, Ariel aims to understand Adam by learning about the life he led and the people who knew him. Each encounter fills in pieces of who Adam was and what his life meant to those around him. The timeline closes with Ariel carrying Adam's story forward in his actions and decisions.