REALITY-FADE IN:
STAGE-EXT. THE STAGE – NIGHT
The occasion is New Year’s Eve, and the stage area is split – 30% on the left is reserved for a fake stage, and the actors cover the rest 70% on the right. The play starts in an unusual way. The actors, five in number, all dressed in white, hold hands and bow to the crowd and say “Thank You”, as if it were the ending of the play and not the beginning.
Soft music spurs the actors to be mechanical and unaware in behavior. The melody evolves into a panic-struck crescendo through the meta-skit.
A porter enters from the right with a signboard that says, “Week Minus Three”. The actors pick up their props and get ready for Part 1:
A CASUAL BUNCH
FADE IN:
INT. A LOCAL BUS – LATE MORNING
Swara and Aaradhya (two girls around 12 in age) sit on the window and aisle in the middle of a bus, facing two empty seats. The girls glance at their left outide of the window.
From the right enter two boys, Varun and Harsh. The boys are older than them, but it’s hard to tell. Harsh is carrying a mandolin case. They sit on the two empty seats across them, and put their bags under the seats and the mandolin beside them.
Varun: Hello! How are you? My name is Varun. What’s yours?
He offers a hand to the girls. Swara shakes it nervously and very lightly, while Aaradhya is full of enthusiasm.
Aaradhya: I am Aaradhya, and she is Swara. I am from Sector-A, Rampura. She’s from Sector-D.
The other boy follows suit and greets them. Everyone settles down. The bus is moving slowly, and a hawker enters the bus at the last moment, shouting “Chai-Sanwich”.
Harsh (looking at Varun): Yes, right?
(Varun nods)
Harsh (looking at the hawker): We’ll have two Sandwiches and two chai. No sugar in one.
Varun starts with a “You guys”, but before he can ask or offer anything to the girls, Swara shakes her head vigorously, no thanks, while Aaradhya gets a tea for herself as well. Harsh takes out his phone and plays a song. Aaradhya starts vibing almost immediately. They change excited glances.
Varun: So, where are you two going? We are going to a wedding. Our best friend’s wedding.
Aaradhya: We are running away —
Swara prods on Aaradhya’s elbow to stop her and follows her with a slight shake of her head.
Aaradhya (reassuringly): Come on, it’s fine! We can tell them.
(not stopping for Swara)
Aaradhya: We are running away from home. I mean, she is. I’m just helping her. I’ll return to Rampura from this same bus.
Swara looks dejected. Her disapproval is sensed by a change in the melody.
Harsh (talking to Swara): Do you speak less? You haven’t said a single word since we got on. Are we making you uncomfortable?
Aaradhya: Oh, nothing like that. Actually, she can’t speak. Something horrible happened to her. That is part of the reason why she’s running away.
Varun (sincerely): Oh. I am so sorry.
Aaradhya: That’s okay. I’ve gotten used to it over the past year. What’s up with the Mandolin, though? You guys are going to play at the wedding?
Varun (excitedly): Yes! We’ve written a small song. Do you want to hear it now? It’ll cheer you right up!
Aaradhya (ignoring Swara’s headshakes as usual): Yes, we would love to!
Varun: (to Harsh) Come on!
The boys clear their throats, and sing a happy-go song on a fresh tune which Varun plays on the mandolin. At the end of the song, Aaradhya claps and sings a couple of lines along with them. Swara feigns a smile too.
Harsh (in a friendly tone): So, you liked it?
Aaradhya: It was the best thing I’ve ever heard! Lovely! How long have you been preparing?
Harsh: Over a month now. Anyway, you said you were from different sectors, right? So, how did you two meet?
Harsh takes out a Tic-Tac and offers it to the girls. As expected, Aaradhya takes one genially and Swara refuses with a slight shake of her chin.
Harsh: You can take one!
Swara gestures another polite no thanks using her hands and head.
Harsh: Well, okay, nobody gonna force ya.
Aaradhya (casually): We met at a local food shop. I was crying after a fight with a friend, and I took the only seat left — in front of her. She had bruised her left eye. I learned that day that she could not speak. That was seven months ago. We have had lunch together every day since then. It was I who convinced her to leave home.
Varun (to Swara) (and then turning to Aaradhya instinctively) Hey. If you don’t mind me asking, why did she have to run away from home?
The melody turns suspenseful. Even Aaradhya, who had been so chummy until now, solemnly weighs whether she can talk about it. Swara looks down to the floor of the bus.
Aaradhya (voice almost down to a whisper): All right, I’ll tell you. But you have to promise us you won’t tell a soul.
Harsh and Varun (serious): Yes, we swear we’ll not tell anyone.
Aaradhya bends forward so that the boys can hear her whispers clearly enough. The boys follow and bend forwards too. Swara unaffectedly looks out of the window. They will reach Old School road in another half hour.
Aaradhya (whispering): Her father beats her. Used to.
Varun (sympathetically): Well, my old man beats me too. At least when he’s drunk.
Aaradhya (with urgency): No! You don’t get it. He beats her very badly and tells her that he does it because he loves her and wants her to become strong. There’s not a single thing in her house that he hasn’t used to hit her or throw at her. Ever since she was a little child. I don’t know what her mother does, but she’s away from home most of the time.
Varun: Oh. Again, I’m so, so sorry.
Aaradhya: It’s okay. So, as I was saying, he used to beat her very badly. I told her so many times that this is cruel, and it will not make her stronger. It will make her afraid, is all. So we’ve been planning this for a long time. New Year’s was a busy day, and hence the best for us.
Varun (with wonder): Oh man. You are very brave.
Harsh (interjecting): So what’s the plan after this bus?
Aaradhya: She has some money so she’ll live in a hostel for a couple of months, and then she’ll figure out what to do. I’ll visit her next month!
Aaradhya smiles and looks at Swara. Swara smiles back. The bus has almost reached its destination and thus slows down. The music’s volume is set to low. Another hawker runs and gets on the moving bus and yells “Chai-Sanwich”. Varun asks him to pack five Sandwiches. Harsh pays for the same, and they give it to Swara. She pushes them back politely, but they force the packet toward her. She has to accept, albeit reluctantly.
Varun (getting up and taking his baggage): Looks like we’re almost there. It was great meeting you. Best of luck. Hope you stay safe.
They exchange greetings, and get up to leave the bus. Aaradhya stays in the bus for the return journey. After the boys leave to the right, Swara turns back, gives a slow, tentative hug to Aaradhya, and says, “Thank you for everything”. She runs to the left, leaving Aaradhya too stunned for words, and never looks back. Both their eyes well up.
FADE OUT:
The music shifts. The actors arrange themselves on the stage again and discuss what they will do for Play-2. A porter enters from the right with a signboard that says, “Week Minus Two”.
BRITTLE BLACK RINGS
FADE IN:
EXT. A DARK ALLEYWAY – LATE EVENING
A man, in his 40s, otherwise well dressed, has a conspicuous limp due to a stiff right hip. He walks along an unknown road in an unknown city. The alleyway is mostly dark and the audience can feel the unfamiliarity.
Sullen, eerie music ensues.
There is one light on the left that points on the bushes and fields to the side instead of the road, and one on the right, that points to the road but blinks.
A number of mundane things frighten the man:
An animal, probably a cat, moves swiftly through the bushes on the left. The man paces quicker through the buildings.
The man approaches a woman, who faces away from him, and keeps on screeching, “Help me! Help me! Help me! Ehehehehehehe” in a godawfully scary voice.
The man is practically running now. After a few hundred meters, he slows down, stopping for breath. The audience can hear the wind rustling through the silence. On the left, there’s a telephone booth.
The man is shuddering and sweating. Suddenly, breaking the silence is a loud ring.
The man, desperately wishing to talk to someone, to feel safe, enters the booth and picks up the phone. A woman picks it up. The man said nothing.
CUT TO:
INT. THE TELEPHONE BOOTH – LATE EVENING
After a few moments, the woman speaks up.
WOMAN
Hello?
MAN:
—
WOMAN (uncertain)
Is anyone there? I didn’t expect that someone would pick it up at this hour.
MAN (frightened)
Who are you?
WOMAN
Hi. I am Nora. I own the telephone booth. Listen, it’s not safe there.
MAN
How do you —
WOMAN (interrupting him)
Do not say much. Don’t tell me who you are. Try to not make much noise. Listen.
A few moments of silence walk by. A child runs across the road in front of the telephone booth and is out of sight in a blink.
WOMAN (secretly)
Somewhere down beside you, you’ll be able to see a dustbin. Under that dustbin, there’s a ring. A brittle black ring.
The man did not move.
WOMAN
This lane is haunted by the ghost of THE THORN. During the night, this brittle black ring can protect you from the curse. Don’t worry, just take a look, under the dustbin is probably the safest place on that lane. Hopefully the ring is still there.
The man stoops down, pulls the side of the dustbin, and finds the ring there. He picks it up. Somehow, the woman knows exactly how much to wait before she starts speaking again.
WOMAN
Put on the ring.
But wait!
Please return the ring back at the same place during daytime. The curse doesn’t work in the daytime, so it’s safe to return it then. Will you be able to return it?
MAN (very softly)
Y — yes.
WOMAN
Great. Thank You.
Put on the ring, and say this thrice:
“nie mam 8 lat; nie ma czegoś takiego jak duchy.“
The man repeats the chant three times. The music becomes less eerie. The scary light stops blinking. And the audience feels the hitherto eerie general sense of foreboding melt into the music. The man feels much more confident.
WOMAN
Listen. You are safe now. Go home. Do not come out into this lane during the night without the ring. Return the ring during daylight. I’m cutting the phone now.
MAN
Wait. Who are you?
WOMAN
I already told you. I’m Nora.
MAN
No, but who are you really. How are you related to everything?
WOMAN
I do not want to burden you with that, but something bad happened to me last year. It was New Year’s Eve too. I feel, and I’m not very proud of this feeling, that I must help out anyone who mistakenly wanders here at night. I call every half hour, and I sleep during the day. Seriously, I don’t want to burden you with more. Please go.
MAN
All right, thank —
The line was cut. The audience hears the blips. The man leaves the telephone booth and moves forward.
CUT TO:
EXT. A DARK ALLEYWAY – EARLY NIGHT
The same scary things approach the man. But this time, both him and the audience are much more confident. They do not feel afraid, and move ahead. The man hears footsteps, but does not mind, now that God is with him, and now that the curse is off him.
The scene focuses on another person in a mask, tiptoeing around the man. This masked person, which the audience can see, is only footsteps for the man.
The music is suddenly intense. The masked person enters the telephone booth, puts another brittle black ring under the dustbin, and moves toward the man. The person is holding a rucksack.
This time, though, when the man hears footsteps, he does not pace. He does not panic.
In a swish, the person in the mask pulls the rucksack over the man’s head, and kicks him to the ground.
The man is yelling, and after a few blows, stops that as well.
The music stops. The masked person pulls the man into the undergrowth on the left.
The scene ends.
FADE-OUT:
The actors prepare themselves for Play-3. A porter enters from the right with a signboard that says, “Week Minus One”.
FADE-IN:
Reality
STAGE FADE-IN:
THE BACKSTAGE
The actors assemble backstage. It is evident to the audience that panic is in the air. The music picks up. For this play, the characters are the actors themselves. They enter a heated discussion.
ACTOR-1
What do we do now? We have prepared so much, and yet have nothing to show.
ACTOR-2
Yes. Water, water everywhere.
ACTOR-3
Let’s not lose our minds. Let’s do this: we show different weeks of our preparation, and —
ACTOR-4 (picking up)
— and in the last week, we’ll have no idea what to do, so we will —
ACTOR-5
— so we will show ourselves panicking about there being nothing to present.
ACTOR-1
And we’ll have a separate fake stage, which is the real stage inside the fake skit. For the real skit.
ACTOR-2
And to complete the loop, we’ll hold hands and say “Thank You” at the start of that play, just like we would have done in the end.
ACTOR-3
Awesome! It’s our turn next, I think.
ACTOR-4
Let’s Go!
The actors, five in number, all dressed in white, hold hands and bow to the crowd and say “Thank You”, as if it were the ending of the play and not the beginning.
The play ends.
Happy New Year.
REALITY-FADE OUT: