SCENE 38: CLEAR LINES

INT. HER LIVING ROOM – DAY

WIDE SHOT:

She sits cross-legged on the floor.

Written pages scattered like fragments of her mind — finally starting to align.

Focused. Steady. In it.

AMY steps in with her laptop.

That too-sweet smile already in place.

AMY
Heyyy… quick favor?

SHE doesn’t look up. Just breathes.

AMY
I need your help with my presentation.
You’re so good at that stuff —
you just make it make sense, you know?

HER
(softly, not looking)
I’m busy.

AMY
With… this?
(small laugh)
I mean — I’m talking real work.

That word.

“Real.”

It cuts.

Just for a second.

She freezes.

Then lifts her head.

Calm. Direct. Different now.

HER
(quiet, clear)
This is real to me.

A pause.

Amy shifts.

Blinks.

Tries to read her.

HER
(soft, steady)
Also…
I think you’ve stayed here long enough.
(beat)
It’s time for you to leave.

AMY
(startled)
What?

HER
I need my space back.

Silence.

Amy stands there.

Stunned.

Something in her deflates.

AMY
(curt)
Right.

She turns.

Walks off.

Door clicks shut.

HOLD ON HER.

She exhales.

Not victory — just peace.

She stacks the pages slowly.

One by one. No drama. No shaking hands.

Just a woman clearing her space.

CLOSE-UP — HER HAND:

A final tap to straighten the pile.

SFX:

The quiet clink of a spoon in coffee.

SCENE 39: WHEN SILENCE BREAKS

INT. DINER – DAY

CLOSE-UP — SPOON STIRRING COFFEE

Circular. Repetitive.

The sound soft, almost meditative. A ritual.

WIDE SHOT — BOOTH

WILLIAM and his DAD sit across from each other.

The place is familiar. So is the silence.

DAD
(half-hearted)
You finish that proposal?

WILLIAM
(still stirring)
I’ve been working on music.

DAD
(gesturing vaguely)
Yeah, but the real stuff.
You still need something stable, Will.

William doesn’t respond.

He cuts into his food.

Small, slow movements. Contained.

WILLIAM
Let’s not talk about that today.
(beat)
How are you doing?

DAD
(surprised, automatic)
I’m... fine. Just busy.

Will nods.

Looks out the window.

A long pause.

Distant clatter of plates behind them.

WILLIAM
Did you read the book I gave you?

DAD
(glancing at his phone)
Not yet.
Been meaning to.

Another nod.

The distance between them louder than any noise.

CUT TO:

EXT. CITY STREET – DAY

They walk. Shoulders close. But never touching.

DAD
(still on his phone)
You ever think about a backup plan?
Just in case?

William stops. Back to camera. Still.

WILLIAM
(calm, but pointed)
Why do you even show up —
if you don’t believe in what I’m doing?

DAD
(stammering)
I… I care about you—

WILLIAM
Then start acting like it.
I’ve been telling you what matters to me.
You just don’t want to hear it.
You only listen when it sounds like you.

A long beat.

Held eye contact.

Then William turns.

Not angry.

Just... done.

His father stays frozen.

Words gone.

CAMERA HOLDS – DAD FACES US

WILLIAM’S back walks out of frame.

His father doesn’t follow.

Just stands in the silence.

SCENE 40: THE REBIRTH

INT. HER MUM’S APARTMENT – DAY

WIDE SHOT – LIVING ROOM

She and JORDAN sit side by side on the couch. Travel brochures scattered — Maldives, Bora Bora, Greece. Warm conversation. A kind of ease that’s new.

JORDAN
(grinning)
Okay, okay — I know it’s a lot,
but I’m thinking warm, blue water, soft sand...

HER
(smiling, teasing)
You’re going all out.

JORDAN
(laughs)
I’ve waited my whole life to live like this.
Kept saying: “later.”
Later, when work calms down.
Later, when life settles.
(beat)
But later never shows up.

He looks down at the brochures, then back at her — gentler now.

JORDAN
Then I met your mum...
And she made me realize —
What are we even waiting for?
This moment...
it’s the only one that’s real.

She softens. Surprised by how much she needed to hear that.

JORDAN
She changed me.
Just by being her.
And I want to make her happy —
as long as I can.
(beat)
I want us to make memories now.
Not just talk about them.

A pause. Something shifts.

JORDAN
And I want you to come with us.

HER
(startled)
Me?

JORDAN
(nods)
Yeah.
I know we’re still figuring this out...
But I mean it.
I want us to be a family.

She goes quiet.

Looks at him — really looks.

That look people give when someone says what their father never did.

JORDAN
You don’t have to keep chasing people
who never showed up.
You’ve got your own life to feel now.

Her breath catches. Tears rise — but she lets them.

HER
(quiet, real)
Thank you.

WIDE SHOT – MUM enters Coffee in hand.

JORDAN
Thank you, honey.

They settle on the couch.

Laughter rises.

A still from a life she thought was lost.

She watches them.

Pauses.

A soft smile grows. Real.

JORDAN
(grabbing the brochures again)
Alright, girls!
Let’s get down to business —
Let’s find the perfect place for our adventure.

She nods — but her gaze drifts.

Still smiling, but somewhere else now.

INT. BEDROOM – DAY

CLOSE-UP – HER HAND

She picks up her phone.

Stares at it for a moment.

Thumb hovers.

Then — dials.

It rings.

VOICEMAIL (V.O.)

The person you are trying to reach is not available… please leave a message after the tone.

BEEP.

She doesn’t speak.

From the other room: soft laughter.

Mum and Jordan.

Warm. Present. Real.

She looks back at the phone.

A quiet breath.

She presses a button.

SFX: Message deleted.

She lowers the phone.

Holds it to her chest.

Closes her eyes.

Inhales.

A small smile forms — not out of victory, but release.

Peace.

[MUSIC CUE: “Spring 1 – 2012” by Max Richter]

Stillness.

A chair slightly askew.

Dust in golden light. A mug. An open book.

The past, paused.

EXT. APARTMENT BUILDING – DAY

The door bursts open.

She sprints out. Flushed. Bright-eyed.

Grabs her bike.

Fumbles with the lock.

Throws a leg over — rides.

EXT. CITY STREET – CONTINUOUS

LOW ANGLE – FEET ON PEDALS

Fast. Faster.

CAMERA MOUNTED TO BIKE – FACING HER

Her face tight. Then—

A breath.

A smile.

Hair lifts. Scarf flutters behind her like a banner.

MONTAGE – BIKE RIDE

Sun flickers through trees.

POV: Handlebars weaving past blurred traffic.

Side tracking shot: she’s flying.

She leans into a curve. Eyes close. A tear slips.

She opens them wide.

Alive.

She laughs — wild, breathless.

(Same frame from Scene: The Bookstore — vision sequence)

EXT. PARK ENTRANCE – CONTINUOUS

She veers off.

Brakes hard.

Skids.

Jumps off.

EXT. PARK PATHWAY – CONTINUOUS

She runs.

CLOSE-UP – HER BREATH

Fast. Shaky. Scarf streaming like a comet.

TIGHT – UPPER BODY

Arms pumping.

Chest rising.

Her face flickers — joy, rage, release.

EXT. OPEN FIELD – CONTINUOUS

She bursts through trees.

Tears streak her face.

She runs — harder.

Faster.

Throws her arms wide. Fists unclench.

CLOSE-UP – HER FACE

Eyes closed.

Lips part. Then—

THE SCREAM.

Raw.

From the gut.

A letting go.

A becoming.

WIDE SHOT – FIELD

Her figure streaks across.

Birds lift from the grass. Scarf flares in the wind.

The scream echoes. Into everything.

EXT. FIELD – MOMENTS LATER

She collapses.

Lies in the grass.

Arms outstretched.

Face wet. Smiling.

TOP SHOT – DRIFTING UP

She lies there. Still. Scarf beside her. Chest rising.

Breath slow.

Peace.

SFX: A faint car horn in the distance...

SMASH CUT TO:

SCENE 41: BRIDGE BETWEEN WORLDS

EXT. CITY STREET – DAY

WIDE SHOT —

A black car glides through traffic.

Not rushed. Not flashy. Just moving.

The rhythm of the city around them — muted colors, soft haze, a low hum. Life in motion.

INT. CAR – CONTINUOUS

Inside — reflections flicker across the windshield. Natural light, unfussy.

William stares forward — quiet, present.

Thomas drives — one hand on the wheel, smirking slightly.

THOMAS
(grinning)
Open the glovebox.

William glances over, curious.

Reaches.

Opens it.

Inside — a simple folder.

WILLIAM
(raising an eyebrow)
What’s this?

THOMAS
(casual, smiling)
It’s official.
(beat)
License for the piece you wrote.

William blinks — still for a beat.

Takes the folder like it might vanish.

WILLIAM
(soft)
Wait… seriously?

THOMAS
(smiling)
You’re landing in the film.

William exhales.

Light laugh. Almost disbelief.

WILLIAM
(breathless)
Holy shit…

He runs a hand over the folder.

Thomas watches him.

Quiet pride.

THOMAS
(chill, steady)
Just the beginning.

William nods, slowly.

Looks out the window.

Sees a familiar corner —

His old pub.

Old friends outside.

Smoking.

Laughing.

The past — still there.

THOMAS
We’ll celebrate tonight.
New place. I know the owner.

William doesn’t reply right away.

His eyes stay fixed on the group outside.

THOMAS
(glancing at him)
You good?

WILLIAM
(quiet, sincere)
Yeah… I just—
(smiles at him)
I really appreciate you, man.

Thomas pauses — surprised by the softness.

THOMAS
You don’t have to thank me.
(beat)
You earned it.

William nods. Still looking out the window.

The pub fading in the rearview.

WILLIAM
(quiet)
I mean it.
I was stuck.
But I stayed true to the work —
to myself.
Even when it felt like no one saw it.
And then you showed up.
Like the door opened because…
I didn’t sell out.

THOMAS
(beat)
Exactly.
You didn’t chase it —
You became it.
(beat)
And that’s why it found you.

William watches the pub vanish completely now.

But he doesn’t flinch.

He lets it go.

WILLIAM
(half to himself)
I never thought it would work.
Being true.

THOMAS
(quiet, sure)
It’s the only thing that ever does.

They approach the bridge.

Sunlight floods in — broken by steel.

William cracks his window. Sticks his hand out — catches the wind. The motion says everything.

WIDE SHOT – BRIDGE AT SUNSET

The car drifts forward. Sky glowing. Two men.

A moment between.

A chapter closing.

Another beginning.

FADE OUT.

[published 1/7/2025]
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