To Drown or Breathe
by Alexander Miley
Scottsdale Community College
Fade in:
Int. Apartment bathroom - night
ROBERT, late 20s, dressed in a cheap Mummy costume, is wrapping his head with GAUZE.
On the ceramic sink, lays a BLUE TIFFANY RING BOX. He stares at it nervously for a moment, and then gazes down to his hand.
On his ring finger, is a RED RIBBON. He looks at it with pain before looking back up into the mirror.
In the mirror, he sees the silhouette of a WOMAN in a white gown. Her back faced towards Robert's.
His heart pounds and echos through the room.
Robert tears the gauze away from his face and slowly turns around to see... nothing. Just an old shower bathtub with a simple curtain.
Robert attempts to remove the red ribbon off of his hand, but it won't budge.
Taking a moment, he grasps the sides of the sink, his pounding heart slowly depleting.
KNOCK. KNOCK.
The knocking startles him.
Josie (o.s.)
Everything okay? You've been in there for a while...
Robert
Fine. Everything's fine.
He glances to the ring box one last time before:
JOSIE, mid 20s, wearing a bloody prom dress, opens the door.
Robert quickly shuffles the ring box into his pocket before she can see, but still, she catches the slightest glimpse.
Josie
What's wrong?
Robert
Nothing.
Robert is massaging his ring finger. No red ribbon in sight.
Josie
Your finger?
Robert
It's nothing. Let's get outta here.
He kisses her, and then swiftly walks past her.
Josie glances to where the ring box was, and then looks down to her left ring finger.
She smiles excitedly.
Int. Car - NIGHT
Robert firmly drives. Josie sees his discomfort.
Josie
Wanna tell me what's wrong?
Robert
What? Seriously I'm fine.
Josie
Mmmmm, no you're not.
Robert
What do you mean?
Josie
You're doing the cheek thing.
Robert is scraping the inside of his cheek with his molars. She playfully pokes his cheek, and he grabs her hand in embarrassment.
Robert
You know. Just the time of the year, I guess.
Josie
It's Halloween! You should be having fun.
Robert
And I will once we get to the party.
She grips his shoulder, and he relaxes.
Int. House party - MOMENTS LATER
Robert and Josie walk into the Halloween house party.
Josie's FRIENDS quickly pull her away, leaving Robert alone for a moment.
Living room
He walks further into the house, looking around for his friends.
He sees the woman that he saw in his home bathroom standing in the corner of the living room. She's facing the wall.
Robert walks closer and closer to her. As she is about to turn around, his friend TOMMY, late 20s, wearing a ridiculous clown costume, jumps in front of Robert, startling him.
Tommy
(In a Pennywise voice)
THEY ALL FLOAT!
Robert
Jesus, Tommy.
Tommy
Did I scare you?
Robert
(sarcastically)
Why didn't you wear a costume?
Robert looks around Tommy to the corner of the room where the girl was standing, but only sees an empty corner. Robert lets out a disappointed sigh.
Tommy
So, uhhh, tonight's the night, huh? You ready to pop the question?
Robert
Well, I'm gonna try to.
Tommy
Hold up. Try to? How long have you been waiting to do this?
Robert
I know, I know. I'm just nervous.
Tommy
(mocking Robert)
“I'm gonna do it on Halloween because it's her favorite holiday... Oh no, I'm nervous, I'll wait till next year, or some bullsh...”
Robert
Okay! I get it.
Tommy
Hold on.
Tommy walks away and then comes back with a DRINK for Robert.
Tommy
Just relax and have fun. It's gonna be a good night.
Robert takes a sip.
Robert
Ugh, what is this shit? Battery acid?
Tommy
It'll help you relax...
Robert
Maybe you should have a couple more.
Tommy
Oh, trust me. I will.
Tommy downs the cup and then scurries away.
Robert scopes the room for Josie, but instead sees the woman yet again, this time in the mix of the small crowd.
Images flash in Roberts mind: A quick flash of car headlights. A hand splashed with blood, twitching in the grass. On the ring finger is a diamond ring.
The images fade away and so does the woman from the crowd.
Robert downs the drink.
Someone grabs Robert's shoulder, and he spins around to see:
Josie.
Josie
Hey! Sorry, they kinda pulled me away from you.
She gives him a sweet kiss on the cheek. He reaches into his pocket and tightly grips the box.
Robert
Josie, I just want to say how much I...
Before Robert can finish his sentence, he looks down to his ring finger in pain, only to notice the red ribbon constricting tighter.
Glancing back up, he notices the woman, again in the crowd.
Robert
One second...
He lets go of the box in his pocket and tries to keep his focus on the girl, but she keeps on disappearing in the crowd of people.
In frustration, Robert climbs on top of the living room table, knocking over cups and bowls of chips. One drink SPILLS onto the table.
Robert scopes the room until he sees her again.
More images flash in Roberts mind: A woman being consumed by light. A man reaching out for her.
Just before her face is revealed, Robert slips on the spilled table drink and falls to the ground, HARD. Josie kneels down to help him.
Josie
(quietly)
What's wrong with you?
Robert grabs a cup from the table, and drinks the remainder of what's left.
Josie
Whatever.
Josie storms away. He gets up to follow her, but is sidetracked when he sees Tommy in the kitchen.
KITCHEN
Tommy is flirting with a few of the other party-goers. Robert forcefully pulls him away.
Robert
Tommy, I don't know what to do. This needs to be perfect but I think that she's mad at me and I keep on seeing... I don't know.
Tommy
Rob, you just gotta relax, man.
Tommy hands him another dreadful cup, downing it.
Living room
He walks around the house looking for Josie. He finally spots her on a bench next to the stairs and attempts to make a bee-line for her, but the drinks have finally caught up to him.
The world around Robert spins slower and slower.
The mob of people seems to have DOUBLED IN SIZE.
He pushes his way through the large crowd to get to Josie, but instead he sees the woman once more in the mob of people.
She appears and disappears through the shuffling crowd.
He turns his attention back to finding the mysterious woman.
Finally, almost as if on purpose, the crowd parts, and he sees:
THE WOMAN.
Her back towards him.
As Robert walks towards her, surrounding party-goers grab at the gauze on his costume, restraining him more and more.
Robert prevails through the crowd and grabs her by the shoulder.
As she turns around, every ounce of horror, guilt, sadness, and relief gloss over Robert's face.
Robert steps back, tripping on a piece of DRAGGING GAUZE, and falls to the ground.
He lets out a blood-curdling SCREAM.
The ring box falls onto the floor right to Josie's feet.
The party-goers look at him with confused expressions. There is nobody in front of him.
No woman.
No crowd of people to push through.
Just him.
Alone on the floor with dozens of eyes staring at him.
Robert looks around, seeing the ring box at Josie's feet.
He sadly crawls towards her to grab the ring box.
She looks at him with unease. Complete embarrassment and confusion.
He runs up the stairs to a bedroom.
Int. Upstairs Bedroom - CONTINUOUS
Robert stumbles into the room, collapsing on the bed. As he stares at the ceiling, Robert senses something in the corner of the room.
He positions himself up onto the bed to see:
The woman, back towards him, unnaturally GLIDING out of the dark corner of the room.
Robert
(through frustrated tears)
Leave me alone...
The woman continues towards him. HER FEET JUST BARELY GRAZE THE TOP OF THE CARPET.
Robert
Please.
The woman stops.
The sounds of the party stop.
Everything. Stops.
Robert looks down to his hand. The red ribbon attached to his ring finger trails off of the bed, down onto the floor and up to the woman's ring finger.
She turns to look at him, but he can barely bring himself to look at her.
Everything about her is unnatural. Her milky-white eyes, glossed over. Her dead stare. Stiff. Hardly even human. Not an ounce of shame or vengefulness. Just a blank, emotionless stare.
BEGIN FLASHBACK:
Int. Small living room - night
A YOUNGER ROBERT, early 20s, patiently stands next to a record player, staring at a bathroom door.
The minute Robert notices the door open, he turns the player on.
Out of the bathroom, walks a WOMAN, early 20s. She sports a diamond ring on her left hand. A woman similar to who Robert's been seeing, but this time, full of life.
The song picks up to the chorus, and she giggles. This is their song.
Robert grabs her hand and pulls her close.
Sweet romantic music plays and they dance for a moment.
Everything around them fades away.
Nothing else in the world matters. Only them.
Cut to:
Ext. CEMETERY - day
The cemetery is covered in a thin layer of orange leaves. Robert lies on the ground of a particular gravestone, staring up at the cloudy-blue sky. He looks older than before, but younger than his present self.
A YOUNGER JOSIE, early 20s, approaches a gravestone near Robert's.
Robert watches her approaching. She stands at the grave for a moment. She's not looking directly at the grave, but rather past it. Sadness in her eyes.
Josie notices that he is staring at her, and she can't help but chuckle. He embarrassingly chuckles along.
She sits down next to Robert.
Ext. Cemetery - LATER
It is now sunset.
They help each other up, pausing for a moment to look into each other's eyes.
As Josie and Robert walk towards the gates, in the distance, is the faintest silhouette of the woman, watching Robert and Josie walk away. With every step Robert takes, she fades away more and more.
END FLASHBACK.
Int. Upstairs bedroom - NIGHT
Robert is sitting up, staring at the woman, now facing him. He looks into her empty eyes. Just a shell of a person.
Robert sharply turns his head to the door right as Josie bursts in. The woman disappears.
Josie
What the hell was that! Everyone's freaked out.
She sees the ring box on the bed.
Josie
(referencing the box)
And we'll get to that.
He embarrassingly grabs the box.
Robert
Josie, I'm--
Josie
What? Sorry?
Robert
But I am sorry.
Josie
Why won't you just tell me what's wrong with you?
Robert
Because it has nothing to do with you.
Josie
But if you tell me, maybe I can help.
Robert
No. No you can't. Not with this.
Josie
Is it your old fiancé?
Robert looks at her in shock.
Josie
You see her, don't you.
Josie sits on the bed and pulls at him to sit up next to her.
Robert
You see her too?
Josie
No, but I know what it's like.
She glances over to the ring box in Robert's hands.
Robert
I'm sorry. I wanted tonight to be perfect.
Josie
Just, stop being sorry. And stop trying to be perfect. I don't love you because you're perfect.
Robert
But I had it all planned out...
Josie
Life's unexpected. You can't live according to some perfect plan. It's impossible. Things just... happen.
(beat)
You think I wouldn't understand, but I do.
Ext. CEMETERY - DAY (flashback)
Josie is approaching a gravestone.
Josie (V.O.)
When I lost dad, I felt like I saw him everywhere. Everywhere.
Josie looks past the gravestone to see a MAN. Back to her.
Her gaze is distracted by Robert looking at her.
Josie (V.O.)
Until I saw your big, stupid eyes. Just, staring at me. For who knows how long.
Noticing Robert looking at her, Josie giggles.
She looks back to where the man was standing, but he's not there anymore.
Josie (v.O.)
And then he just... I stopped seeing him.
Int. Upstairs BEDROOM - night (present)
Robert
I had no idea. Why didn't you tell me?
Josie
Why didn't you tell me?
Robert
I don't know. Thought I was alone.
Josie
Well there you go.
Robert processes.
Robert
Why'd you stop seeing him?
Josie
I don't know. Maybe because I found someone who understood how I felt. Maybe I just needed someone to talk to. Or both. Or neither. I don't know.
(beat)
Why don't you ever tell me about her?
Robert
Because it still hurts.
Josie
Of course it does. It's always going to. Can't do anything about it.
Kitchen - same
Tommy is standing in a crowd of people. They laugh and drink around him, but his expression tells a different story. He's looking at something in front of him.
Josie (v.o.)
We could either drown our feelings...
Tommy stares at an OLDER WOMAN, sitting in a chair at the kitchen table. Her back faces him.
He reluctantly downs another cup.
Bedroom - same
Josie
Or we can let them breathe.
(beat)
You might not be ready yet, and that's fine. But I want you to know that I'll always--
Robert grabs her and pulls her close.
Robert
I love you. I want to be with you.
She squeezes him closer to her.
Josie
Soooooo, if you are ready, I think I should let you know that I've been waiting for that damn ring for way too long...
They both chuckle.
Josie
I mean “it's about you right now” or whatever... But seriously it's about me... I'm just kidding... Not really.
Robert comically slides off the bed and onto the floor, getting on one knee.
He holds out the box to Josie.
Robert
Josephine Beckett, will you...
He looks past Josie's shoulder to see the woman blankly staring at him.
For a moment he pauses, staring at the woman.
Back to Josie.
Robert
Will you marry me?
Josie
Can I think about it?
Robert rolls his eyes.
Robert
Oh, come on.
She nods holding out her left hand.
The ring fits perfect.
He crawls back onto the bed, and they lay there, holding each other’s hand, looking up at the ceiling.
In Roberts mind: a vision of a younger Josie and Robert laying in the cemetery looking up at the sky. The first day they met.
Int. Wedding reception - night
A now married Josie and Robert sit at the foot of a long table.
Robert gazes down to his hand. A ribbon is tied on his left ring finger.
Robert freezes in terror, following the ribbon to:
Josie's hand.
He smiles softly to himself.
A song starts to play. Josie and Robert look at each other and laugh.
Robert leads Josie to the dance floor. Everything around them fades away.
Nothing else in the world matters. Only them.
Fade to black.
Bio: Alexander Miley is an aspiring filmmaker and screenwriter.