Haitian

As the Haitian erases Matt Parkman's memory, he begins thinking of what it feels like to have memories erased. He is reminded of his father, Guillame, back in his home village in Haiti. Guillame is revered by his people for the protection he provides and the love he shares. The villagers believe Guillame is special, and has unique powers. When the Tonton Macoutes are sent by Duvalier to terrorize the village, Guillame keeps the evildoers at bay. He uses his gift of "bliss and horror," causing the militiamen to vomit and be overcome. Guillame is shocked when his power is suddenly disabled. He wonders what his son has done to him.

The Tonton Macoutes tie up Guillame in his village, and nobody cuts him down for twenty-four hours. Guillame decides to offer a sacrifice to the Loa to win back favor with his people. He insists that his son not be present. Instead, the boy sacrifices a pig in order to help give his father strength. Guillame confronts his people, uses his power on them, and makes them feel wonderful. Unbeknown to the Houngan, his son watches from beneath some bushes, filled with pride in his father. Suddenly, Guillame's power weakens, and his people see through him. Guillame grabs his son and beats him. When the young Haitian's prayers for death go unanswered, his power manifests uncontrollably, "leaping from him like machetes" and reducing the villagers to a zombie-like state.The Haitian and his father trek through the jungle, talking about what happened to their people. The Haitian believes something inside him lashed out and scraped their minds like fingernails. Guillame says that they are both cursed and must make amends.

They arrive at the crossroads. Guillame tells his son that they must rest until dawn. The Haitian asks his father if he hates them, which prompts Guillame to tell the story of the serpent and the crane. The serpent thought the crane was unworthy of his wings, so one day, the serpent swallowed the crane whole, and all of a sudden sprouted wings. The serpent was ecstatic, flying everywhere from the sun to the moon. The Haitian thought it was a good thing that the serpent got what he wanted, but Guillame retorts, "What good is it to fly, if you have nowhere to go?" . Guillame says he is able to drive men to ecstasy and horror when the Loa mount him.

He is able to lead nations, but he instead chooses to make the men euphoric and sleep with their women. That night, The Haitian dreams of a snake with no teeth and a crane with a broken neck. When the sun rises, Guillame and The Haitian trek up to an opening in the mountain, surrounded by skulls and an axe. The Haitian questions what they are to do there, but Guillame ignores him and tells his son to take his machete. The Haitian asks what is going on, but his father, in a trance-like state, kicks his son away. Guillame compares himself to the serpent, saying how he was blessed with the powers of the Loa, but he forgot where he came from. His curse was his son, who took his powers away. Guillame then lunges toward his son in a terrible rage, screaming that he will fly again.

Guillame continues to viciously attack his son at the crossroads. Guillame tells the Haitian that he forgives him for what he is, and allows The Haitian to be free of the pain his father is about to give him. Guillame throws him from the cliff and the Haitian falls, bouncing off the rock wall and crashing into a cliff farther below. The Haitian decides that if his death would bring his father peace, then he would die for Guillame with pride.

However, the Haitian, longing to touch his father one last time before his demise, reaches out to do so and finds past memories in Guillame's mind. This allows Guillame to "remember the ground", and he gives his son a necklace with The Symbol on it. As the Haitian breaks down in tears, Guillame jumps from the cliff to his death.

Just before his plunge, Guillame leaves his son with one final task—-to give peace to his people and bury their shame. He walks through the village contemplating his mission as the villagers grab hold of him with blank stares. When he is about to begin, a man comes into view. He looks at the villagers in their zombie-like state and asks the Haitian if Guillame did this, and then if the boy did this. The man looks at the necklace, and asks, "Are you special?" In response, the Haitian draws a picture of a hand snatching grub worms from a person's head in the sand. The man tells him that he wants to help him, "all of you", if he will let him. The Haitian, never letting go of his father's last wish to remember where he came from, leaves the village in hand with the visitor who finally introduces himself as "Mr. Thompson". As the two walk away while a snake slithers across the ground.