He joined her, propelling himself down the new slope. Lise was far ahead but was no longer worried about it. He had always relied on his wife, who guided him without even being aware of it. He was no longer sure what direction they were going in, but he liked the idea of leaving it to her, trusting her. She was tearing ahead like an antelope that couldn’t be stopped and would carry on running even after it had shaken off its hunters, an incredibly light and free antelope.

There was no doubt that they were getting lost. The route was so winding that Franck was sure of it. The sun was behind them now, when it had been in front of them two minutes before. When they got to the third hill, the path disappeared under the tough plants that covered everything. Here, wilderness reigned supreme. It was a snarl of holm oaks and thorny bushes, a tangle of branches weaving themselves into a prickly, impenetrable scrubland. His phone still had some battery left but no signal. When he opened his compass app, he realised it only worked with an internet connection: it wasn’t a real, self-sufficient compass. The north point changed every second.

There’s a level of exhaustion where the body carries on automatically, sleepwalking to the rhythm of your breath, but the mind is in a hypnotised state. Franck stared at Lise’s pink trainers in the distance, trying hard to stay focused on them. Many images went through his head. There, with his eyes full of sweat, he remembered that it was Lise who had assuaged his doubts when Liem and Travis had come to dinner a year ago. He hadn’t had a good feeling about them, but Lise had said: ‘Go on, go for it; they’re good guys. They’re young, they’ll give you a fresh take on things. I’m sure you’ll work well together …’

‘Oh, come on, what have I got in common with a couple of guys who watch films on their phones?’

‘Exactly. They’ll give you a different perspective on things. You can make good films that are not necessarily good art, don’t you think?’

‘I can’t believe you’re saying that!’

In the end, it was Lise who had convinced him to join forces with them, simply telling him to stop being so distrustful all the time. Just as it was Lise who had told him not to fear the luminescent eyes staring at them in the dark, the animal watching them from the edge of the woods.