"KIRIWAN" (trans. "THE SNEAK")
Story and Screenplay by DIEM JUDILLA Email Mobile © 2013
[email protected] 0932.456.6038
1.
INT. A LIBRARY – DAY. WHITE TILES get stepped on by A YOUNG LADY's SLIP-ON SHOES; the flat soles hardly make a sound as these trail after the wheels of a LIBRARY BOOK CART. WENDY (20s, innocent of face) pushes the book cart to a stop beside a table and collects discarded books. She lifts THE BOOK John Milton's "Paradise Lost". A TABLET DEVICE lies beneath this lifted book. Wendy looks at it; a hungry moment. She casts her eyes around the area. She is all alone. A blank red-covered slate, the tablet looks brand-new. INT. CIRCULATION DESK, A LIBRARY. Wendy pushes the book cart to one side and steps behind the long circulation desk. In her hands, she holds the TABLET. She crouches down to open A SMALL CABINET; where a cardboard box labeled “LOST AND FOUND” is kept. Inside the Lost & Found box are IDs, wallets, small coin purses and a few cell phones; all cheaper/older models, all blank-screen. Wendy looks at the tablet; another hungry moment. She presses the black screen to light. THE TABLET SCREEN presents a LOCK-SCREEN that requires a 4-number pass code. Wendy's fingers press a combination but no luck, the screen remains locked. THE PHOTO GALLERY/SCREEN SAVER ICON rests on the screen's edge. Wendy presses this. The tablet screen presents photos of bright, open landscapes: green hills, blue skies with white clouds, open roads with clear horizons that appear and fade. Wendy frowns slight; no selfies? She looks thoughtful. Pulls the tablet to her lips. She turns to A CHAIR where A BAG sits. WENDY'S BAG. She is about to rise and move...
2.
GIRL (O.S.) Excuse miss? Tabangi ko, nawaa akong tablet. Wendy remains crouched, frozen. Her breath is quiet but quick. She blinks fast. GIRL (O.S.) Naay gauli ug tablet na puwa? A BEAT. Wendy places the tablet in the cabinet space, takes out the lost and found box. Wendy rises, the box in her arms. She looks down at the box's contents with concern. WENDY Tablet 'to miss? Sori, morag wala may tablet dire... She looks up and tilts the box to show its contents. WENDY (CONT'D) ...Diin man nimo nabilin? Wendy stops. SHE IS ALL ALONE. She looks around. NO ONE loiters within 100 feet vicinity of the circulation desk. Confused, Wendy returns the box inside the cabinet, takes the tablet... ...the tablet gets slipped inside Wendy's bag. She casts a cautious look around. The coast is clear. Wendy is calm. Wendy glances down at her wristwatch. Lifts her bag onto her shoulder and steps to a COMPUTER, grabs a mouse and clicks. She checks out. Wendy leaves the circulation desk. INT. DOORWAY, A LIBRARY. She reaches the entrance/exit of the library. Leaves out into the bright day. EXT. THE STREET – DAY. Wendy turns THE STREET CORNER from the main road down into AN ALLEY.
3.
She passes by LANDMARKS; A SARI-SARI-STORE, AN ELECTRIC POLE, A BAD PATCH OF ROAD, A DARK-COLORED GATE, AN ANCIENT TREE... EXT. APARTMENT/DORM BUILDING – DAY. ...until she walks to an APARTMENT/DORM BUILDING; a troll among dwarfish shacks and low-houses. EXT. ENTRANCE, APARTMENT/DORM BUILDING. Swift, Wendy steps through the entrance. She bows her head and ignores any neighbor's call. INT. STAIRWAY, APARTMENT/DORM BUILDING. Wendy takes swifter up the stairs until she gets on a dimly lit corridor, her floor. INT. HALLWAY, APARTMENT/DORM BUILDING. Wendy makes a direct beeline to the end of the hallway, where A DOOR waits. She fishes out her keys and opens the door's lock. She steps inside and shuts the door closed behind her. INT. WENDY'S ROOM. Wendy throws her keys on A STUDY DESK that faces another DOOR labeled by hanging sign that says "BATHROOM". Beside the bathroom is WENDY'S BED. Wendy lifts out the Tablet and places it on the study desk among many coin purses, wallets, cellphones and a pile of USB drives. Wendy's fingers tap the desk. She fishes out her own phone and speed-dials a number. Wendy presses her phone to her ears, listens to the ring, then the answer... MAN (O.S.) (filtered) Hello, Wendy...? WENDY Peter, naa akoy bag ong nakitan. Pwede ta magkita? MAN (O.S.) (filtered) 'ge, agion tika taud-taud.
4.
Wendy ends the call. Pockets the phone. Licks her lips in anticipation. She takes up the tablet. Brings it to the BED. She sits on the edge; tablet on lap, feet on the floor. Opens the lock-screen. Attempts to unlock it. No luck. Presses the Gallery icon. More NEW PHOTOS appear: THE RUINS OF A DEMOLISHED BUILDING/ THE REMAINS OF AN EXCAVATED GRAVE. 32 CHICKEN BONES LAID OUT ON BLACK CLOTH LIKE TEETH IN A GRIN. DISCARDED SCALY SNAKE SKIN. A BROKEN-EYED BABY DOLL HALF-BURIED IN THE GRIME OF AN OPEN CANAL. CHALK OUTLINES OF A CUT-UP BODY-- ARMS,TORSOS, HEAD. ON THE GROUND, SPATTERED WITH DARK PUDDLES. A NEST OF RUSTY NAILS/BARB WIRE IN A RED POOL. A BUNCH OF SEVERED LIZARD TAILS. A SINK, FULL OF BLACK INK. A BOUQUET OF DECAYED ROSES/FLOWERS. AMONG THE DEAD BLOOMS ARE SEVERED DEAD CHICKEN HEADS. EARTHWORMS DROWNED IN A GLASS OF DIRTWATER. AN ABANDONED CLASSROOM WITH OVERTURNED CHAIRS. AT ONE CORNER A *PERSON* LAY CRUMPLED; HEAD AGAINST THE WALL, BODY SPRAWLED ON THE FLOOR IN ODD ANGLES. MAYBE DEAD. Wendy frowns in confusion and disgust. She puts the tablet away when the last photo fades and a new series of photos appear: THE BOOK-COVERED TABLE AND CHAIRS AT THE LIBRARY. Wendy stops. And looks.
5.
A NEW PHOTO: THE CIRCULATION DESK, where the crown of Wendy's head can be almost seen, when she crouches behind the desk. Wendy pulls up the tablet closer. A NEW PHOTO: THE LIBRARY DOORS. Wendy's eyes open in disbelief. A NEW PHOTO: THE STREET – THE START OF WENDY'S ROUTE HOME(!) THE CORNER FROM THE STREET INTO THE ALLEY... THE SARI-SARI-STORE... THE ELECTRIC POLE... THE BAD PATCH OF ROAD... THE DARK-COLORED GATE... THE ANCIENT TREE... WENDY'S APARTMENT BUILDING... Wendy's eyes freeze wide with anxiety. THE BUILDING ENTRANCE... THE STAIRWAY... THE HALLWAY, WENDY'S HALLWAY... WENDY'S DOOR(!) Wendy turns to the door as if it's about to open. It doesn't. Wendy looks down back to THE TABLET. THE WIDE-OPEN DOOR, THE ROOM INSIDE. THE BED, WENDY'S BED. THE DARK SPACE BELOW WENDY'S BED(!). Wendy's hands shiver as they hold the tablet as this fades into... THE BACK OF WENDY'S SHOES, HER HEELS; AS SEEN FROM UNDER HER BED! Wendy shakes, looks down as she puts aside the tablet from her lap to one side...
6.
AROUND HER ANKLES TWO BONY HANDS GRIP HARD, KNUCKLES SHARP AND WHITE. WENDY SCREAMS without sound; the shriek frozen, the look of horror stilled. BIRD'S EYE: Wendy's frozen scream of horror is a PHOTO on the TABLET, that lies on top of the bed. Wendy is nowhere to be seen. It is an empty room. Wendy's image on the tablet fades into a black screen. A KNOCK ON THE DOOR (O.S.) ON THE DOOR, the second knock opens THE DOOR. A YOUNG MAN, PETER peers in through the gap into the room with a loud question. PETER Wendy? Si Peter 'ni... He steps inside, already familiar. He knocks on the bathroom door. PETER Wends, naa ka diha? He pushes open the door, expects a reaction. None. He opens wide. An empty bathroom. Peter looks irritated. Wendy's not here. He looks at the study desk, his hands checks the items before he stows them inside his own bag. He makes A CALL as he moves over to Wendy's bed, sits down. He spots THE TABLET. He hears a phone's VIBES (O.S.) He looks down. Crouches low. The sound comes from under the bed(!) Peter scans the dark under. Sudden, he gets pulled under(!) but he pulls out, holds Wendy's phone in hand. PETER Aargh unsa ba. Wends gibilin mo imong cell. He cancels his call. Throws Wendy's phone on her bed. He picks up the tablet, then heads to the desk.
7.
He takes his bag. Using A PEN AND NOTEPAD on the study desk, he writes quick. Steps to the door and locks it after him. It closes shut. Silence. INT. HALLWAY, APARTMENT/DORM BUILDING. Peter walks, takes his time as he checks out the tablet. He attempts to unlock it. No can do. He presses the gallery icon/screensaver... A PHOTO OF AN EERIE, DIMLY-LIT HALLWAY APPEARS. Peter stops, he frowns. He recognizes this... His eyes look around. He turns. He's in THE HALLWAY, whose image is in the tablet. Peter's frown deepens. How odd. He shakes it off. Shuts down THE TABLET. The hallway's image fades into the deepest black. THE END.
