somebody else: a screenplay
one more excerpt
(FLASHBACK)
INT – RETREAT CENTER – SASCHA’S ROOM – MOMENTS BEFORE EARTHQUAKE
Sascha enters her room and approaches the bed. She grabs her camera phone off her bed. Then she slips the phone into her back pocket and turns for the door.
There’s a large RUMBLE and the ground begins to shift under Sascha’s feet, throwing her against the wall. She crumbles to the floor. A light fixture from above falls on top of her, hitting her in the head.
(I will jump forward now, skipping over a montage of scenes where Karen meets Sascha and begins to befriend her. As their connection deepens, Karen realizes that her marriage has been a sham…
I will also skip over the scene where Karen finds Sascha in her room and begins to take care of her…)
INT – SASCHA’S ROOM — DUSK – DAY OF EARTHQUAKE
An hour has passed. Karen has placed blankets on top of Sascha and set her head on a pillow. Sascha is breathing hard, her eyes wide open in shock.
Panicky, Karen starts looking around the room for something—anything—to comfort this dying woman. She comes across a water bottle and soaks a nearby t-shirt, placing the shirt on Sascha’s forehead.
NARRATOR
(over MONTAGE)
It was strange. Caring for a woman I hardly knew but already held such deep feeling for. Until I met her, leaving Jake had been an idea, something I was getting ready to do. But after that kiss, it got real. And after the earthquake, well, a chasm opened up between before and after.
MONTAGE of SHOTS across the span of night.
As Karen...
...tends to Sascha
...paces around room
...rummages around in Sascha’s things
...holds up a pair of skimpy underwear, gives them a quick smell, then quickly puts them back
...returns to tend to Sascha
...lies down next to her and caresses her forehead
...tries to get some sleep
INT – SASCHA’S QUARTERS – MIDDLE OF THE NIGHT
Karen cradles Sascha’s body, rocking back and forth in shock. Sascha’s eyes are closed but she breathes shallowly. Karen strokes her face.
KAREN
(whispering)
Wake up. Please just wake up.
INT – RETREAT CENTER – MIDDLE OF NIGHT
Karen is leaning over Sascha, who is close to death. Sascha gestures Karen to come closer. She leans in as Sascha speaks to her in a whisper. The words are unintelligible.
Karen sits back on her heels. There’s a look of amazement, sadness, and shock on her face.
NARRATOR (VO)
When Sascha whispered those words in my ear, I knew. I had to do something. Something more. Not just anything. Do this one thing.
INT – SASCHA’S ROOM – NEXT MORNING
Karen wakes to sound of a rooster CROWING in the distance. Sascha is dead. Karen covers Sascha with a blanket.
Karen gets up and starts going through Sascha’s things. She finds her passport and opens it to her photo. The resemblance is uncanny. Karen pulls out a handful of plane tickets, gives them a quick look.
CLOSE-UP ON PLANE TICKETS
One ticket is for Los Angeles, another for New York City, and another for Montreal.
Karen places them back in the bag along with the passport. She starts to walk out of the room but pauses in the threshold.
She steps back in the room and grabs Sascha’s bag. HELICOPTER SOUNDS come from a hole in the roof. Karen looks up.
INT – RETREAT CENTER – KAREN’S ROOM – MORNING
Muffled VOICES can be heard outside.
Karen, moving quickly, drops Sascha’s bag outside the door then walks over to her bag in the corner and makes sure all her clothes are in it, along with her wallet and passport. She hooks the bag on her shoulder and heads for the door.
INT – RETREAT CENTER – HALL – MORNING
Karen pulls off the “Karen” sticker from the door and brings it over to Sascha’s door. She takes off the “Sascha” sticker and replaces it with the “Karen” sticker. Then she heads back to her room and puts up the “Sascha” sticker. The VOICES are coming closer.
INT – RETREAT CENTER – KAREN’S ROOM – MORNING
Karen walks back to Sascha’s room and lays her bag at the foot of Sascha’s bed. She pulls out some of her clothes and tosses them on Sascha’s bed.
INT – RETREAT CENTER – HALLWAY – MORNING
Karen grabs Sascha’s bag on her way out, slings it over her shoulder, then heads down the hall.
KAREN
Help! Please help me!
FADE OUT
A CAPTION READS “SIXTEEN YEARS EARLIER”