I WON'T RISE WITH THE DAFFODILS written by Elisha Nain Elisha Nain 532 E Gaston St. Apt. A Savannah Ga, 31401 540 877 8315 story@elishanain.com
FADE IN Superscript: In Loving Memory of Charmian Carr & Grandma Susan INT. NURSING HOME - 'S ROOM - 'S MIND - MORNING Army veteran, NEAL (74), has dementia. He sits upright, hooked to an IV, lying in a medical bed. There is an entire garden in his room. Delicate flower pods grow off of his arms and fingers the size of his body hair. Nature's songs fill the air. He spots a daffodil with a snipped petal on his window sill. He stares at it in a discontent silence. A blaring heart monitor kills the ambiance. Repetitious bars from Rodgers and Hammerstein's "My Favorite Things" play. David shields himself from the echoing, overlapped sounds: (V.O.) Just go away! (V.O.) Nonni! Nonni! SAMPSON (V.O.) He's never going to change. (V.O.) Get away from me. David notices (7) peeking through the hospital door. Mr. Neal, are you okay? David shuts his eyes. INT. CARE CENTER - 'S ROOM The sounds stop. David opens his eyes. David, may I come in? (35) stands where Merly stood in the doorway. There is no garden. David realizes it was a dream. I'm not deaf.
2. INT. CARE CENTER LOBBY- MORNING Jarringly slow. PATIENTS inch down the hallway with NURSES. At desk, SECRETARY gets a phone call. SECRETARY For who?... Why yes... Okay... No it's no trouble at all... She pulls the "Guest Attendance" sheet from David's file., his wife, dead at age 69, is the only recorded visitor. Under "Meredith Neal, 11:00 a.m. 2010," Secretary writes "Marylyn Neal, 2:00 p.m." INT. NURSING HOME - 'S ROOM - CONTINUOUS Any chest pains? I'm old. What do you think? Head Nurse writes "mild chest pains" on the medical form. He checks his blood pressure. Sir, this is all just procedure. All you're doing is changing a sack, reading a monitor and asking me a bunch of preschool-level questions. Fuck off. You want to do your job? Go find my Meredith. Meredith! I cannot do that, sir. Then get the hell out. Secretary hands Head Nurse a note. He looks at her with disbelief. Secretary leaves. You have a guest. Meredith. Head Nurse writes down notes. He glances at David, who's attention has shifted to the daffodil.
3....Sir, I understand it's been awhile since Meredith's dea-- She's coming back. Yes. Sir, Are you familiar with a Marylyn Neal? No reaction. NURSE brings breakfast. David is disgusted. (CONT'D) Well she'll be coming in for your birthday this afternoon. I think company would be good for you... David tunes him out as he drones on, mesmerized by the sunrise logo on his orange juice. My Sunshine. EXT. 'S BACKYARD - 'S MIND - 15 YEARS AGO David looks up. He is standing, surrounded by flowers. He plants a deformed-petaled daffodil, grabs a delicate pair of scissors, and attempts to trim it. Merly prances around David, giggly and sing-songy. She bumps into him, dropping his scissors. Goddammit. Meredith! David sees Meredith arguing with SAMPSON (35), David's unemployed son, through the kitchen window. She is distressed. Merly grabs David's hand to spin him around. He resists, than he excepts. Merly dances widely as David moves her away from trampling on his precious garden. He gets exhausted. He stops. Merly picks up a trowel. Can I garden with you, Grampy? He takes the trowel from her. He holds her delicate hands. Sunshine... How's about you go play over there?
He points to a spot far away from his garden. He kisses her forhead. Merly wanders. David returns to his uneven flower. INT. NURSING HOME - 'S ROOM - CONTINUOUS Is there anything else you would like me to get for you, sir? David snaps back to reality. Go get my trowel. INT. NURSING HOME - 'S ROOM - AFTERNOON IV drips. The heart monitor sounds. David waits anxiously for his granddaughter, holding his old, rusty trowel. He takes the daffodil off of his window sill to practice scooping the soil. He is weak, sweating. He flinches to a sharp chest pain and drops the trowel. 4. Dammit. Door knocks. Startled, he returns the flower to its place. Come in. (CONT'D) Merly peeks into the room. Merly. Hi, Grampy. (CONT'D) Merly runs up to David and hops up to hug him. (CONT'D) Happy Birthday. How are you? Thanks. I'm okay. You? I'm well. Merly examines the medical room. She puts a budding daffodil next to David's flower. The encounter is awkward. Spotting the trowel on the ground, she picks it up.
5. (CONT'D) Oh goodness. I remember this old thing. Do you garden? Um, I'm getting back into it. I received my English degree recently. Confused, David pats sweat from his face. (CONT'D) I got a couple of odd jobs here and there, nothing stable. Now, I'm living with a guy. You'd like him. He's driven, just like you. And since I've got the time, I'm growing my own little garden....well, I guess I've rubbed off on you. Kind of. Nonni actually taught me. You sure you're okay? I should-- I'm fine. You've spoken to your grandmother? Yeah, well I did-- Do you know if she's coming? Merly is unsure of how to approach the situation. Nonni isn't... She's um, asleep. Well when she gets up, can you tell her to see me? Grampy, Nonni is...grampy? He clutches his chest, taking short breaths. It's really hot. I just need...
6. P.O.V David vision fades. Merly covers her mouth in fear. Her scar is bleeding and she starts to cry. Heart monitor sounds. David goes in to cardiac arrest. EXT. 'S BACKYARD - CONTINUOUS Distant heart monitor blares. Merly is in the same position, holding her bleeding mouth. Look what you made me do! David points to the clipped daffodil. (CONT'D) You have no reason to be back here! Nonni! Nonni! Meredith and Sampson run outside at the sound of her cries. What happened, Sunshine? Grampy hit me. It was an accident. I told her to play away from the garden. Meredith carries Merly to the back porch to mend her wound. SAMPSON (to David) Seriously? You need to get that girl under control. Running back here like she's lost her damn mind. SAMPSON Goddamit, Dad. She's a kid! And so are you. Sampson has had enough.
7. EXT. 'S BACKYARD - PORCH Heart monitor is distant. Meredith cleans Merly's lip, humming "My Favorite Things" to soothe her. It's all my fault. Now you listen to me, Merly, It's not your fault, alright?... okay? (Merly nods) Grampy, just doesn't... It's just hard... For him to love, sometimes. Is it true that we aren't staying here anymore?...daddy told me. Speechless, Meredith takes off her amethyst gem necklace and puts it around Merly's neck. Your Grampy got me this on our first Valentine's Day. I lost the amethyst earrings your great grandmother gave me. He got me this necklace so I can be close to her. Can you keep it safe for me? Hm? (Merly nods) That's my girl. I will always be with you. "Girls with white dresses with blue satin sashes/ Snowflakes that stay on my nose and eyelashes..." (Merly joins) "Silver white winters that melt into springs/ these are a few of my favorite things/ When the dog bi--" David and Sampson enter. SAMPSON Marylyn, are you alright? Yeah, I'm okay. SAMPSON Good. We have to go. Sampson, please. Wait, I don't want to leave. Nonni--
8. SAMPSON Mom, stop...he's never going to change. Oh Jesus, Meredith. Let him go. Sampson pulls Merly along. Merly reaches out for her grandmother, but she stays on the porch with her husband. (CONT'D) Good to finally have this house to ourselves, Huh? (Meredith ignores) What's wrong with you? You know what? Some day you're going to realize that you need them more than they need you. Meredith. Please, get away from me. But Mer-- Just go away! Meredith slams the door. David chases her. INT. CARE CENTER - 'S ROOM- 'S MIND Held back by his IV, he is back in his medical bed, covered in a garden. Blaring heart monitor sounds. The echoing, overlapped sounds roar. He lets out an aching scream. Meredith. Meredith, please help me. I don't want to be alone. Noises stop. Heart monitor lets out a long, soft beep. Meredith appears, kissing him on the forehead. He is calm, settling into a sleep. David is stable. INT. CARE CENTER - 'S ROOM - NIGHT David's hand lays unmoving on the bed. Merly reaches her hand over to hold his, returning the trowel. She hops on the bed to watch over him.
David wakes. He finds pregnant MARYLYN NEAL (22) standing at his side. They share a gaze. He spots the amethyst necklace, then the scar on her lip,and gets overwhelmed. MARYLYN Oh no, no don't cry. (grabs a tissue) Everything's going to be okay. I'm not going anywhere. (wipes his face) I'm not going anywhere. Marylyn and David sit together quietly. She holds David's hand and soothes him, singing a song to pass the time. MARYLYN (CONT'D) "When the dog bites, when the bee stings, when I'm feeling sad..." On the window sill is one, budding daffodil. FADE OUT MARYLYN (V.O.) (CONT'D) "I simply remember my favorite things/ And then I don't feel so bad." 9.