INT. ROGER EL SAYAD’S BEDROOM- BEFORE DAWN
Gray morning light illuminates a room cluttered with clothes, colored pencils, and crumpled paper. On a nightstand squashed between a twin-sized bed and the wall, an alarm vibrates. Stretching his arm from beneath the bed covers, ROGER, eighteen, slams the alarm, interrupting its buzzing. Roger glances at the time and groans. His head drops onto the pillow. ROGER Why now... He lies still momentarily, staring at the dark ceiling before pushing himself out of bed. ROGER Time to check on Minnie. EXT. BACKYARD- TEN MINUTES LATER The red-tinted indigo sky gleams above a small backyard, bordered in the back by a row trees leading to a forest and empty except for a shed across from the house. The light chirping of birds flits through the air. Roger creaks open the screen door and exits his house, careful the door doesn’t slam behind him. He tiptoes over to a shed with his arms wrapped around two bowls of cereal. ROGER (whispering) Minnie! A low groan sounds from the wooden structure. ROGER I know it’s early, but you gotta eat! A snort from within. Roger sighs and looks around him. A few beats pass and then the shed door creaks open and a minotaur appears, towering over Roger. Roger grins. ROGER There you are, Minnie! EXT. FOREST- A FEW MINUTES LATER Roger and Minnie sit side-by-side on a log in the forest munching on cereal. Fall leaves lay scattered around them. ROGER I have to say, even though it's been a couple of months now, I’m still not used to doing all of this alone. Minnie pauses in his eating to glance at the boy. ROGER I know I should be happy that Aziza has started college and Loli is working now, but...I don’t know...I guess I sound kind of stupid. MINNIE You don’t to me. I miss them, too. They sit in silence. A yellow-speckled gray bird flits to the ground before them. ROGER I’m surprised this little guy hasn’t left yet for migration. MINNIE Maybe he’s like us, not ready to leave home yet. Roger smiles at his friend. ROGER So how should we make the most of this fine day? The two friends sit side-by-side laughing as the yellow-speckled bird lifts off the ground and follows the breeze into the sunrise.
0 Comments
INT. MEI-BEAS APARTMENT’S LIVING ROOM- NEW YEAR’S EVE MORNING
Through the window, the sun lights up a living room. A fourteen-year-old girl of East Asian descent, HELLEN, squats on a sofa with a photo album. As she turns each page, specks of dust sparkle in the air. Images of two mothers, one East Asian, MEGAN, and the other Latina, JULIA, stare up at the girl. Sprinkled within these photographs of the mothers are snapshots of two girls. One child, Hellen, is East Asian, yet this girl is not physically similar to either parent. Meanwhile, the other child, ADRIJANA, appears to be biologically related to the second mother. Chinese, English, and Spanish words for love and family outline the photos. The fourteen-year-old grins at each page and as she traces the images’ perimeters with her finger, the pictures glimmer. One image of the two girls at the beach glows especially strong while the setting of the living room fades. EXT. BUCHTTON BEACH- DAY- FIVE YEARS EARLIER The two mothers from the photograph chat with one another while their nine-year-old daughters build a sandcastle. Hellen sprinkles water from a bucket onto the fortress. Adrijana scowls. ADRIJANA Why’d you do that, Hellen? HELLEN It looks prettier this way. ADRIJANA No, it doesn’t. It looks like a dog peed on it. HELLEN No, the water makes it shine more with the sun. The mothers pause in their conversation to stare at their daughters. They glance at one another and then sigh. JULIA Girls, we’re having fun at the beach today. You should be enjoying your time together. ADRIJANA You argue with your sister. JULIA Why are you bringing Aunt Lily into this? Megan reaches into her tote bag and brings out her smartphone. MEGAN Picture time! The two girls groan, but they get into position beside their sandcastle. The camera snaps and the scene fades back into the living room. INT. MEI-BEAS APARTMENT’S LIVING ROOM- PRESENT Hellen flips the page of the scrapbook, a grin still lingering on her face. She pauses to stare at a selfie of her and her mother Julia sitting at a kitchen table with bowls of ice cream laying before them. The image glows and the living room fades again. INT. MEI-BEAS APARTMENT’S KITCHEN- NIGHT- TWO YEARS EARLIER The fluorescent kitchen light gleams down at a sobbing Julia who is slumped over the table. Outside the window, snow drums the glass. HELLEN Mom? Hellen, in pajamas, stands at the edge of the tiny kitchen. She steps into the light to take a seat beside her mother. Julia picks up her head and wipes her eyes. JULIA (In Spanish) It’s just the two of us tonight. Mama and Adrijana went to that Korean culture festival. HELLEN (In Spanish) I heard you on the phone...with Aunt Lily. Is everything okay? JULIA (In English) Yes, of course. How about we treat ourselves tonight. I think we have some ice-cream in the fridge? Hellen nods and leaves to get the dessert. Julia sighs and dabs her eyes with a tissue. Hellen returns with bowls and ice-cream. Mother and daughter slurp on the treat together. JULIA (in Spanish) You have no idea how blessed you are to have a good relationship with your sister, Hellen. HELLEN (in Spanish) Adrijana annoys me sometimes. She’s so bossy and it doesn’t make any sense. I’m older than her by six months. Julia laughs and takes a scoop out of Hellen’s bowl. HELLEN Hey! JULIA (in Spanish) Let’s take a picture to commemorate this moment. Julia takes out her phone and the camera snaps. INT. MEI-BEAS APARTMENT’S LIVING ROOM- PRESENT Hellen closes the photo album and places the book on the coffee table. She then turns to stare out the window as the sun continues to rise, saturating the room with light. It’s almost as if the sun itself is trying to take a picture. INT. TRAIN- SUNSET
An empty commuter train car is illuminated by the setting sun. Dust billows around the blue seats and the rumbling of train wheels murmurs in the background. Outside, fields of orange, red, and green highlight the country. Pink clouds glide across the sky and a hint of night peeks through the horizon’s upper edges. The landscape transforms into mountain ranges and, along with the scenery metamorphosis, time transitions into night. Glasses clink and the train car is now filled with people from all over the world. These people sit at different wooden benches eating a diverse range of foods and speaking distinguishable languages. At a center table protruding from the carriage wall, two sixteen-year-olds speaking in English are laughing with one another. One of the teenagers is a girl, Zaya, and the other is an enby, Taylor. ZAYA This is just incredible! How did this place even pop up? There’re no trains in Buchtton. TAYLOR Like I said, I just saw the train-stop appear next to my house and called you over. ZAYA Thank goodness you did, Taylor. I was getting so bored of Mr. Das’ chemistry homework. He gave us way too many summer assignments. TAYLOR I’m glad I did, Zaya. I love being with you. ZAYA You do? I swear I’m your only friend. TAYLOR That’s not true. I’m friendly with other people. ZAYA That’s exactly it, Taylor. You’re friendly with other people, not necessarily friends. For a moment the two teens sit at their bench in silence. Taylor peers out the window and at the mountains rearing in the distance. A full moon floats above two peaks. TAYLOR I think...at this point, Zaya, you’re more than my friend. INT. TRAIN- NINE MONTHS LATER- SUNRISE The train’s interior has altered again to be unfurnished except for a lone wooden bench in the center of the car. Taylor is hunched over on the seat with their face buried in their hands. TAYLOR (muffled) I’m sorry, Zaya. The overhead lighting above Taylor dims while the sunlight outside intensifies. The wailing of a baby can be heard in the distance. INT. TRAIN- A MONTH LATER- MID-DAY The train horn bellows and the car is now inhabited by two parallel benches that are perpendicular to the wall. Zaya and Taylor sit on each bench with their backs toward one another. Outside, snow floats down on barren fields. The mountains in the background appear jagged and endless. ZAYA We’re back on this train. A silence settles in the room. Taylor fiddles with the strings of their dark red hoodie. ZAYA Maybe it’s better this way. Neither of us will know her now. Zaya twists her body around to face Taylor’s back. She wears a green winter jacket and a tan hat. Her hair splays around her shoulders. Bags hang under her puffy eyes. ZAYA Maybe we now have a chance to be “normal” again. TAYLOR (back still turned) It’s wrong. We abandoned a child. Zaya sighs. She turns her head to stare out the window. ZAYA I know that. Maybe even more than you, I know that. TAYLOR We didn’t have to either. Our parents have money. We could have figured something out. It's like history is repeating itself. I was abandoned as a baby in India and now I'm abandoning a baby. ZAYA It’s this world, Taylor. It’s this world and its obsession with status. I hate this place. I really hate this place. Taylor shifts around to face Zaya. Tears slip down their face and drop onto their jeans. TAYLOR I do, too, Zaya... but what good has hating this place ever done? Zaya and Taylor peer into each other's eyes. TAYLOR This is all my fault. I should never have invited you onto this train in the first place. ZAYA Taylor, everything we did...it was the both of us. I don’t hate you, Taylor. Taylor smiles at Zaya. TAYLOR Do you think there’s still hope for us? Zaya grins and the winter sun shimmers down on her through the train window. ZAYA Do you know where this train is taking us? The two teenagers turn to stare out the window at the limitless mountains. They keep to their separate benches, but their bodies lean toward one another just slightly. EXT. TRAIN- DUSK A white train rumbles down worn brown tracks. Multi-colored fields line the route and lights from little towns glitter in the distance beyond the train. Only one car window is lit and an empty wooden table is in view. Although no one is there, indistinct voices can be heard echoing from the car as the train lumbers on toward night. EXT. BUCHTTON WOODS- MORNING Two foxes slink out from behind bare dark brown trees that protrude from the white snow. Their amber eyes reflect the early morning sun and their paws make barely a sound against the frost. One of them, a female with fur slightly more orange than the other, pauses. She tilts her head toward the wind and breathes in the frosty air. She nods to her companion and the two pick up their pace and dash out of sight. INT. GOLD FAMILY DINING ROOM- MORNING A large dark brown dining table sits in the center of a bright, spacious room. Light shimmers through the glass windows and focuses on two children, a nine-year-old boy and an eight-year-old girl. AMELIE Ezra, we should check on them. EZRA Mom and Dad are going to kill us if we go outside. AMELIE Yeah, but we can't just stay in this ginormous house all day when they need our help! EZRA We should stay, Amelie. Amelie groans and stares out the window at the trees. EXT. CLEARING OF BUCHTTON WOODS- LATE MORNING Large human footprints are stamped into the snow, yet no person is visible. A tree shivers as a squirrel scurries across its limbs. A low growl can be heard coming from the forest floor. The squirrel freezes before leaping from tree to tree. AMETHYST (O.S.) We've already gotten three squirrels. I don't think I have the energy to hunt anymore. The two foxes from earlier stop at the bottom of the tree. The squirrel peers down at them and chatters at them. The darker orange fox, Amethyst, snarls. AMETHYST Now this one is mocking us. CRYSTAL Well, we have a whole pack to feed, Amethyst. AMETHYST Right, Crystal...and I just chased away that squirrel. Sorry. CRYSTAL It's okay. Remember to pause. It'll give you clarity. We must go find more prey. Crystal turns around. Her fur bristles as her gaze washes over the footprints before her. AMETHYST A human. CRYSTAL Let's walk away slowly. INT. GOLD FAMILY DINING ROOM- LATE MORNING Amelie and Ezra are still sitting at the dark brown dining table. Ezra now has a book, Aru Shah and the End of Time, open, but Amelie continues to stare out the window. EZRA Ah, this part is so funny. Aru is saying she's an "A student" because her first name starts with an "A." AMELIE Who cares, Ezra? I'm going to check on the foxes. EZRA Oh, and she's also saying she's a "genius" just because her teacher called her that sarcastically. Amelie is shaking her head at her brother. Sighing, she gets up from the table and leaves Ezra alone in the sunlit room. EXT. BUCHTTON WOODS- LATE MORNING The two foxes are padding away from the footprints. Their feet create little marks in the snow. AMETHYST Why are we heading in this direction? This isn't toward home. CRYSTAL The human will follow our footsteps. We must lead them in one direction and then flee. AMETHYST What about our prey? CRYSTAL We'll get them later. For now, we survive. The foxes continue weaving through the trees. The sun rises around them and the trees become more starkly contrasted against the white snow. A MALE VOICE (O.S.) Stop there, foxes! EXT. CLEARING OF BUCHTTON WOODS- SAME TIME Amelie stomps through the snow in a bright purple coat. The woods embrace her, but the outline of her house, a mansion, can be seen in the distance. AMELIE Where could those foxes be? She pauses and looks around her. She is in the same clearing as the large human footprints. There are more of them now and they trace the direction of Crystal's and Amethyst's pawprints. Amelie kneels down and peers at the foxes' little footprints. Smiling, she stands and follows the tracks. Her own steps leave imprints beside the foxes'. Moments after Amelie leaves the clearing, the trees tremble as Ezra rushes into the scene. His black winter jacket is unzipped and his gray hat is lopsided on his head. His eyes wash over the four sets of footprints, all heading in the same direction. EZRA Who made those big ones? He looks up and sees Amelie walking in the distance. He scurries off after his sister, whose purple jacket is quite visible against the brown trees. EZRA Amelie! Stop! Amelie twists around to see her brother dashing toward her. AMELIE Ezra! I thought you were reading your book. EZRA I was, but I noticed you had disappeared. AMELIE I had to check on the foxes. Growling breaks through the atmosphere. The two siblings share a glance before racing off into the trees. EXT. BUCHTTON WOODS- SECONDS LATER Amelie and Ezra scamper through the trees and almost collide with a large man with big brown boots standing in front of the two foxes. Crystal and Amethyst cower to the ground with their fur on edge. MAN I was wondering when I would run into you foxes again. You ruined everything for my wife and me when you ran away. AMELIE Dad! Leave them alone! The man twists around to face his children. MAN Ezra, Amelie? Go back inside. AMELIE Dad, you can't hurt Crystal and Amethyst. You've already caused them enough pain. MAN How do you know their names? EZRA We're the ones that freed them last Summer from where you held them captive. MAN They're just animals. Because of my experimenting, they can now talk like humans. The man turns back to the foxes and approaches them with his gloved hands reaching out to grab their scruffs. Crystal and Amethyst stay in their positions, their bodies shivering. Ezra and Amelie glance at one another, both their eyes wide. In unison, they lunge for their father and knock him onto his right side. The man howls. The two foxes peer up at Ezra and Amelie, but then gallop deeper into the woods until their orange fur are just specks in the distance. The man pushes himself off of the ground and into a sitting position. Snow and dirt coats his jacket and gloves. He stares at his children who stand above him. A glint of a tear can be seen in his eye . MAN Why would you do that? I'm your father. Ezra and Amelie stay silent. The man and his children stay in the clearing as the sun brightens the trees around them. Birds can be heard twittering in the background and the amber eyes of foxes surround them. Thank you for reading! If you like my screenplay, please don't be afraid to give it a share. Comments are always welcome and I love hearing your thoughts. Question: What would you have done if you were Ezra or Amelie?
|
AuthorI'm Darcy Ridge, creating stories that all revolve around family and identity in a myriad of ways. In the past, I have shared multiple stories and published a novella online. You can find me on Wattpad and many other social media websites. They/them [Image Description: black background with the words "Social Justice and Mental Health Resources" in white in the center /end ID]
Click image for a list of social justice and mental health resources. Archives
January 2024
Categories
All
|