KAINO70 The Crossing

The Characters · Thomas

The clerk who just wants to be forgotten.

Twenty-six, from Longueuil, now a City Hall clerk in Montreal. He counts to sixty at the sink, drinks herbal tea from a mug that says “World’s Okayest Clerk.” He reorganizes his bookshelf at night because the constant hum of fluorescent lights is the only sound that means nothing is changing. This is the one whose files hold what happened in the camp.

  • Age 26
  • Longueuil, Quebec
  • Montreal · City Hall

The records clerk

Thomas, who files the truth and hopes no one notices

Thomas is 26, from Longueuil, and works in the basement archives of Montreal City Hall. He reads instruction manuals for fun - wiring diagrams, assembly guides - because it’s the only reading that doesn’t make him anxious. When he can’t sleep he reorganizes his bookshelf: alphabetical, then by colour, then by height, then back again.

He looks over his shoulder walking to the metro and tells himself it’s just city awareness. The power he wishes for is to be forgotten - to file his files and leave and have no one remember he was there. He knows the files hold what happened in the camp.

Medium portrait of a young white man in his mid-twenties with light brown hair and round glasses, wearing a beige shirt with a striped tie and a CITY HALL EMPLOYEE lanyard, clutching a leather briefcase in a blurred marble lobby, looking startled.
Thomas

Ten things about Thomas you’d never notice

The file is clean. The man isn’t. Ten small rituals that make him real - and the one he can’t shake.

  1. 01

    How he starts the day

    He checks his phone for messages. There are never any. Then he checks his work email, scrolling quickly, looking for anything unusual. Then he brushes his teeth, counts to sixty, and leaves.

  2. 02

    The one cup that calms him

    He doesn’t drink coffee. He drinks herbal tea, no sugar, from a mug that says “World’s Okayest Clerk.” It was a joke gift from a coworker who no longer works there.

  3. 03

    The meal that brings him home

    His mother’s ragoût de boulettes. She still makes it for him on his birthday. He goes to Longueuil for dinner, eats too much, and lets her tell him he looks thin.

  4. 04

    What he reads when no one’s around

    Instruction manuals. He likes knowing how things work - wiring diagrams, assembly guides, the correct way to hang a shelf. It’s the only kind of reading that doesn’t make him anxious.

  5. 05

    The power he wishes for

    To be forgotten. Not erased - just to exist without anyone noticing him. To file his files and leave and have no one remember he was there.

  6. 06

    What he does when he can’t sleep

    He reorganizes his bookshelf. Alphabetical. Then by colour. Then by height. Then he puts them back the way they were and tries to sleep again.

  7. 07

    What he carries

    A key card for City Hall that he never uses. He keeps it in his wallet, even though he no longer needs it for security. It’s the only thing that proves he belongs somewhere.

  8. 08

    The habit he can’t break

    Looking over his shoulder when he walks to the metro. He tells himself it’s just city awareness. He knows it’s not.

  9. 09

    The sound that calms him

    The hum of the fluorescent lights in the basement archives. It’s a constant, low drone that means nothing is happening. Nothing is changing. He can breathe there.

  10. 10

    The name he’d give a pet

    Poussière. Dust. A grey cat that would sleep in the warm spots and not need much attention. He’d feed it, and it would ignore him, and that would be perfect.

Souvenirs

Three moments from before the files. Books in order, ink at the desk, an empty street where nothing happens. Things he carries to remember what it means to be unseen.

  • A teenager stacks books in a library, rows of spines filling shelves, soft window light filtering through tall windows.
    Books in order.
  • A man writes at a desk, fluorescent lights above, a worn keyboard beneath his fingers, papers scattered around.
    In the archives.
  • A man walks down an empty city street, late hour, streetlights casting long shadows, buildings cast shadows on wet pavement.
    An empty street.

To file his files and leave and have no one remember he was there.

THE CROSSING · character note

Voices from the cold

The sonic portrait of every soul in the story. Thomas’ score is the one he plays with the volume low - five songs about wanting to disappear and staying anyway.

  1. 01How to Disappear CompletelyRadiohead
  2. 02Exit Music (For a Film)Radiohead
  3. 03CreepRadiohead
  4. 04No SurprisesRadiohead
  5. 05Fake Plastic TreesRadiohead
Listen on Spotify

THE CROSSING · Act I trailer