The OA

Okay, my little herpetologists.

Let's review.

Warm or cold-blooded?

Cold!

- Covered in... - Scales.

Found on every continent except...

Antarctica!

You are brilliant!

And your snakes are tired,

so please return them to their homes and we'll return to our textbooks.

I hear your heart beating.

Don't be afraid. I know you are a good snake.

The attack on the school bus took my friends' lives...

took my sight...

but I survived.

My father wanted to keep that a secret.

He smuggled me out of Russia to America, to a boarding school for the blind.

He felt I'd be safe there.

My maternal aunt would check in on me and he would join me as soon as he could.

Until then, I had every Sunday night to look forward to.

Did you like it?

I could find you in the midst of a million violins

if you played just one note.

Maybe three notes. But no more.

How was the food this week?

Don't wrinkle your nose!

I'll have Auntie bring you some vatrushka.

I told my friend I would be with you soon.

Soon. I promise.

I need to be careful...

find a new home, where we'll be safe.

It's like hide-and-seek. Right now we are hiding.

Can you stay hidden a little longer?

Because of you, I know I can do anything.

You can do anything.

Nina...

listen carefully.

No one can know who you are.

You need to stop speaking Russian until we see each other again.

Understand?

Yes.

I have one last request.

Play.

He was my lifeline.

And I was his.

Every Sunday, we saved each other.

We shed our skins and plotted the future.

I had escaped the Voi, and he would, too.

We'd fool everyone together.

But then, one day, I was called down to the headmistress' office.

Nina, your aunt...

she's here because something has happened to your father.

I'm so sorry.

Ninachka.

Auntie.

There was an accident...

a horrible accident.

Your papa is gone.

He isn't dead.

- He's in hiding from the Voi. - Ninachka...

Your aunt is here to take you to live with her.

I can't speak Russian.

I can't go with her!

I'm sorry, Nina. You have to go home.

But I don't have a home until he comes and we make one!

I'm sorry, sweetheart, I know it's been good for you here.

I felt my father was in hiding, but my aunt believed he had died,

and both of our lives had changed for the worse.

See, as long as I was in school and she was watching out for me,

my father made sure money,

more money than she had ever seen in her entire life,

flowed into her account.

For my tuition, for her attention.

But that was all done now.

What little money was left in the account

wasn't enough to cover the burden of raising a blind child.

Her name is Nina. She's my niece.

She is fucking blind?

Be decent. Her father, my brother in-law, a great man, just died.

I was really lonely then.

For the first time, my blindness felt like a prison.

It was cold where I slept.

I rarely spoke to anyone...

except for the babies, who would come and go.

Believe me, that picture doesn't do him justice.

Beautiful.

How can his mother not want him?

She's young, a college student.

No, he was meant for you.

We're so lucky.

We never thought, at this point, a baby.

Mmm.

We have his room all ready.

Yeah, of course. Have you brought the money?

Yes, Abel brought it.

Um, we've... been in the car all day.

- May I use your restroom? - Oh, yeah, of course. It's upstairs.

The first door, you can't miss it.

What's your name, sweetheart?

Shh.

You can talk to me.

I'm Nancy.

I'm Nina.

Does your mom live here?

No, she's dead.

What the hell is this?

Do you know why I'm here? I'm a cancer survivor.

Nina?

It's okay, I said she could.

Enough, Nina. Go ask Tamara to help you with your homework.

She said you are behind.

Couldn't we take them both?

Nance, this... I...

Abel, this child is special.

She... she needs more than this.

I can imagine it's very hard.

It is.

Both her parents have passed.

We'll pay you.

Better for you to take the baby.

We choose her.

If you want her, I can't stop you.

You can provide for her better than I could.

Only, no one should know.

No one would know anyway.

We'll change her name. Blank slate.

We'll... we'll make her an American girl.

Do you... do you wanna come live with us?

Yes, I'd like that.

Oh, your eyes are blue as the prairie sky.

Prairie. That's what I'll call you.

Here we go, Prairie!

- Careful, Abel! - Oh, she isn't going to break.

- Careful! - Are you, Prairie?

- No. - No? I can't hear you.

- No. - I can't hear you.

- No! - I can't hear you!

No!

Okay!

This is your new home.

Well, Prairie, we take off our shoes here.

Let me help you.

Okay, can I lift this foot?

And lift that foot.

Wow! How is that?

Good.

Feel all the branches on it, and the leaves.

You're climbing a tree!

"'You don't know what these beans are, ' said the man to Jack.

'If you plant them overnight, by morning they'll...

Up, up, to the sky.

And if it does not turn out to be true, you can have your cow back.'"

Okay, we'll go to the next one.

She's sleeping.

She's been doing this for a couple of weeks.

I'm taping it so we can show a doctor.

She needs a doctor, Nancy.

Honey! Prairie, let go. Prairie. Nina!

Oh!

Prairie believes her father's alive

and sneaking her messages about where to find him in dreams.

She also believes her dreams are premonitions,

and that the Russian Mafia are after her.

Kids tell tall tales. I did myself.

Yes, but hers are tales of grandeur that she believes are reality.

Myths that make her special.

So what are you saying exactly?

Prairie's exhibiting early signs of serious mental illness.

You don't happen to know the mental history

of her biological parents, do you?

No. Um...

But I am sure that when she's been with us for a while,

she's gonna be...

Her new stability is essential, yes,

but the best way to support her, ma'am, is with the right mix of medication.

But how... how will medication make her better?

I can't medicate her. She's a child!

- What she needs is love. - Okay, let me be clear.

Untreated, she gets worse.

Blind children are extraordinarily imaginative,

but this is different, okay?

We're dealing with a psychosis.

If you'll excuse me, I'm gonna get some samples. I'll be right back.

Because we've got friends and relatives far away from here who wanna see you.

And also, I think a good mom should have a picture of her little girl.

- You ready? - Yes.

One, two, three.

There we go.

Nina!

Prairie, honey...

have one of these.

It'll make you feel better. Okay, there you go.

And here's some water.

Good girl. You feeling better?

Mmm.

Okay, how does that feel to you?

Good. Fine, fine.

- Is his collar okay? - Yeah. It's very nice.

I'm starting to sweat.

The lights are hot, sorry about that.