1.
"HESPIA"
Written by
©SALDUIA
PILAR HERRERA
© FIRST DRAFT
Date 3 March 2005
35 Berrigan Crescent,
O’Connor, ACT 2602
Canberra / Australia
Email:
+61+2+62477903
FADE IN:
1. setting: Dingle Peninsula. Slea Sea. Day. 1.
Great cliffs. Wide skies. The sea all around.
A girl, Hespia, aged six, is seated on the edge of a rock on the slippery, stony cliff, eating raw clamps gathered into a net. She wears a skirt, and is naked from the waist up. She finishes eating. Then she remains seated for a while looking into the far horizon of the sea. Her face shows a quiet, deep gaze; her nostrils move, inhaling the air; around her lips her face is stained with the juices from the food she has eaten. Her dark hair waves with the wind.
After a short while, she stands up, fastens her net-bag around her waist, adjusting her feet to the rocks. Her feet have three toes and a small spur. She starts climbing down, moving her arms, as if they were wings. On her back, the sinking sun lends a golden-red colour to the feather-like hair growing between her shoulder blades. Facing the night that emerges from the eastern horizon she reaches the beach and approaches a rock, where she has left her shoes and a blouse. She puts them on, and ties her shoes well. Then, she walks normally towards the village.
2. in the village. inside a house. night. 2.
Mrs Sullivan is setting the table for dinner. She is a calm, kind-looking woman in her 60’s, dressed modestly but with a certain style that denotes that she once had a professional career.
The sounds of someone coming in, can be heard from the front door.
Mrs Sullivan lifts her eyes looking towards the entrance. She smiles, as if greeting someone.
Hespia enters.
hespia
Sorry, mum. I know I’m late, again. I really wanted to help you in the kitchen, but (she lowers her eyes) I still don’t know the hours on the clock, I can only understand the sun and the light.
mrs sullivan
(with love)
Don’t worry, dear, soon you will learn it. Go, have a shower, and come down quickly. (smiling) Dinner is getting cold.
Hespia climbs the stairs quickly.
3. dining room. night. 3.
Mr Sullivan enters the room with a happy face, carrying a small gift box.
Mrs Sullivan is filling the glasses with water.
Hespia, who wears a dress and has combed her hair back, is serving the bread with a pair of tongs.
HESPIA
(greeting him)
Good evening, Daddy.
(noticing the gift box)
You look happy.
mr sullivan
(smiling)
And I am. Here, that’s for you.
Hespia drops the tongs on the bread basket and looks astonished.
hestia
Really,… for me… what’s in it?
mrs sullivan
(prompting her)
Come on, open it, and see.
Hespia stretches out her hand. Mr Sullivan hands her the gift box.
Hespia, still surprised, looks at both parents, then, to the box in her hands.
hespia
May I?
mr Sullivan
Of course, that’s all yours.
Hespia, a little tense, starts unwrapping. When she opens the box, she sees inside a school set (pencils, rulers, erasers); a bundle of exercise books, and a wristwatch. She looks at it steadily and thoughtfully.
Mrs Sullivan, who had moved to go to the kitchen, stays there.
mrs sullivan
(looking at the box)
(kindly)
… and a watch! Oh, Hespy, let’s put it on the right time.
Hespia still doesn’t react.
Mr sullivan
(smiling)
Get the watch out of the box, Hespy, and try it on your wrist, like we do. (he lifts his jacket sleeve and shows his watch)
Hespia puts the box on the table and, with care, takes out the little box containing the watch. Slowly, she opens it, and removes the watch. With the watch in her hands, she looks at both parents with a happy face.
Hespia tries the watch on one wrist, then in the other. She looks at Mrs Sullivan’s watch and tries it on again. Mr Sullivan watches affectionately. Mrs Sullivan smiles, and approaches her, takes the watch and fastens it to Hespia’s left wrist. Hespia, fascinated, looks at it.
mrs sullivan
(pointing to the watch face)
It needs to be put on the right time, I mean, on the right hour of the day. But first, we’ll have dinner.
mr sullivan
(pointing at the wall clock)
What’s the time now?
Hespia is at a loss, then she turns to the window.
hespia
It’s night.
mr sullivan
(swiftly and pointing to the wall clock)
True, that’s why we shall say ‘it is eight o’clock in the evening’.
mrs sullivan
(proudly)
Hespy already knows counting, and when we put the watch right, she’ll know how to count on it. She learns so quickly!
(commanding sweetly, while looking at them both)
But now, it’s dinner time!
4.int. dining room. night. 4.
Mr and Mrs Sullivan are finishing dinner and have started eating some fruit.
Hespia is still trying to finish some small pieces of chicken. It is clear that she doesn’t like it.
hespia
Mum, may I have some more corn?
mrs sullivan
(lifting the lid of a dish)
There is still some.
Mrs Sullivan serves her some corn.
hespia
Thanks, mum, that’ll do.
May I have some berries, as well?
mrs. sullivan
Of course! Today I gathered some of these first blackberries.
hespia
(looking inside the container)
Uhm! They look yummy…!
She starts eating corn mixed with blackberries.
The picture is that of a happy family.
5. int. dining room. night. 5.
The Sullivan family is clearing the table. Mr Sullivan carries the plates to the kitchen. Mrs Sullivan is putting the glases onto a tray, and Hespia reaches for the bread basket and the serviettes.
6. int. kitchen. night. 6.
Hespia is putting the bread basket into a cabinet; then, she starts folding the tablecloth and the serviettes. Mrs. Sullivan is at the bench pouring hot water into the sink, and Mr Sullivan brings the dishes to be washed.
mr sullivan
What time should we be going tomorrow? It’s registration day.
mrs sullivan
We should be there by nine o’clock.
(turning to Hespia)
Isn’t that the time the School Headmaster told us, Hespy?
hespia
(with a gloomy face)
Yes, mum, that’s the time.
Hespia looks at her watch.
hespia
Now, it’s nine o’clock in the evening.
Mr and Mrs Sullivan look at each other astonished. Then, both look at their own watches. The watches show 8:45 p.m.
mrs sullivan
(in a soft voice)
We have only learned the hours, and now we have to learn the fractions of the hour: the minutes. As you know, classes don’t start till next Monday, so we’ll have plenty of time to get familiar with the exact time on the watch.
Hespia’s face turns preoccupied again.
7. int. master bedroom. night. 7.
Mr Sullivan is in bed, reading.
Mrs Sullivan, wearing a nightgown, comes out of the bathroom,carrying a towel and some underwear.
mr sullivan
(dropping the book on his chest)
Hespy is going to have a tough time, and we must do anything possible to make her love school. Just like any other child.
mrs sullivan
(standing halfway in the room on her way out to the bedroom)
She is a quick thinker, and has imagination. I don’t doubt for a moment that she will develop a good intellect and get above great marks.
mr sullivan
Only if she manages to conceal her physical dissimilarities.
(worried)
You know, children can be very cruel.
mrs sullivan
I know, I know. Fifty years dealing with them has given you quite enough knowledge of the child’s soul.
(she looks at the clothes she holds in her hands)
Excuse me, dear, I must put this into the washing machine.
mr sullivan
And believe me, Hespy is no exception. She still doesn’t have a cause to start hating.
Mrs Sullivan exits. Mr Sullivan takes up his book again.
8. int. laundry. night. 8.
Mrs Sullivan is putting the clothes into the washing machine.
mrs sullivan
(voice over)
It would be very sad. She is so lovely! I’ve the feeling that, in a given moment, she would slip away and ignore provocation, instead of confronting it. She knows that she’s not yet prepared to fight others. Time will tell her when, and how.
(pausing)
If only we were around long enough!
She switches the light off, and goes to the bedroom.
9. int. master bedroom. night. 9.
Mr Sullivan closes the book and puts it onto the bedside table.
Mrs. Sullivan gets into the bed.
mr sullivan
Let’s hope for the best. When we adopted her three years ago, we were warned…
mrs sullivan
(defiant)
Nonsense! I told the Judge that I’d take full responsibility, and that I’ll answer myself for anything that might happen. And I stick to my word! Besides, arrangements for her to avoid confrontation, have already been made with the school.
mr sullivan
(calm)
I also took full responsability. Hespy will never end up in an institution.
mrs sullivan
If we only knew more about her people…
Mr Sullivan switches the lamp off.
10. ext. school ground. morning. 10.
Parents with their children, girls and boys, carrying their back-packs, come from different sides of the street towards the main gate. Some parents greet other parents. Some children greet other children. Many greet Mr and Mrs Sullivan. No child greets Hespia. Only a girl, a little plump, blonde, blue eyed with a deep glance, smiles at Hespia. Hespia, taken by surprise, returns a weak smile, looking contented. More people come between them, and they lose sight of each other.
At the entrance to the building, there are large cardboards indicating the initials of the surnames and to which room the parents should proceed with their children.
A cardboard shows: SU – First Floor / Room 8
11. int. room 8. morning. 11.
A female officer is sitting behind a desk, writing on an application form. Mr and Mrs Sullivan and Hespia, are sitting at the other side of the desk.
registrar
(handing a file across the desk)
Hespia will attend all obligatory classes for all first-years, except on Fridays, when she, during the first semester, instead of doing gymnastics, will have music lessons with other children. If she likes music, she might continue having lessons during the second semester and, perhaps, dancing lessons. The school must boost our musically talented youngests.
All three look confidently at Hespia. Her face betrays no expression.
mrs sullivan
(takes Hespia’s hand)
Are you happy with it?
hespia
(looking thrilled at Mrs Sullivan)
Yes, I’ll love to learn music.
registrar
(happy)
Good, I’m glad that you love music.
(looking at Hespia’s hands)
And you have lovely hands, Hespy, long fingers, perfect for playing an instrument, especially the piano, or the harp.
hespia
(amazed, looks at her hands)
Me? … Would I?
registrar
Of course you will.
Hespia remains looking at her hands.
12.int. CLASS ROOM. EARLY MORNING. 12.
The last few pupils, boys and girls, are entering the room in a hurry,loaded down with their back-packs. Hespia and other children are already seated at their desks. Next to Hespia there is a girl with dark hair and brown eyes, thin and gracious.
GIRL
My name is Posy, what’s yours?
hespia
I’m Hespy, Hespia Sullivan.
posy
I’ve seen your father. Is he one of the teachers at the High School?
Hespy nods.
posy
My father works at the bank. We live in town. Where do you live?
The teacher enters the room. All children stand up and greet him. “Good morning, Mr MacKenzie!”
posy
(in low voice)
Could we meet during the break?
Hespia nods.
13.ext. school grounds. midday. 13.
Hespia and Posy are sitting on the grass with their lunch boxes open. Posy is biting into a pie; Hespia is nibbling with a plastic fork at small pieces of crab, grains of corn, and cranberries. Posy notices this unusual lunch, but says nothing.
Not far away, a group of four boys are talking in low voice; one of them looks at Posy and Hespia.
14. int. school corridor. another day. afternoon. 14.
Hespia, with the music books under her arm, is heading towards the piano room. A boy, fat, with blond hair, and a cheeky look, approaches Hespia.
boy
(passing her, while imitating the trill of a bird)
Hespia doesn’t pay attention, but discomfort fills her.
15. ext. school playground. another day. morning. 15.
Hespia, with the lunch box in her hands, is looking for Posy.
The blonde girl that smiled at her the first day, approaches Hespy.
blond girl
Posy left earlier today. May we have lunch together, Hespy?
hespia
Of course, we can… what was your name, again?
blond girl
Melissa. Lissa.
hespia
I’m glad to have lunch with you, Lissa.
The two girls sit down on the grass and start opening their lunch boxes. Lissa looks tactlessly into Hespy’s lunch box.
lissa
(ingenuously)
Is it a bird’s lunch?
Hespia doesn’t take it literally. She smiles.
hespia
What are you talking about?
lissa
You don’t like pies and chips, do you? And you never drink Coca-Cola, either. (naively) Everyone says…
hespia
… No, I don’t. And now, excuse me, I must go.
Hespia goes into the building. Shortly after, she exits with her back-pack and leaves the school grounds. Lissa sees her leaving and doesn’t understand any thing at all.
16. ext. town. midday. 16.
Hespia runs through the streets. She arrives at the beach and runs along it, till she reaches the cliffs. Behind a rock, she drops the back-pack, the shoes, the socks, and the uniform. Just in knickers, she climbs the rocks. She stops at the top and breathes deeply facing the ocean and the sinking sun.
17. int. school. headmaster’s office. afternoon. 17.
Sitting around the Headmaster’s desk are Hespia’s parents, very much taken with anxiety, a police officer, the teacher Mr Mackenzie, and the lady Registrar.
police officer
Who was the last person that talked to Hespy?
mr mackenzie
After lunch, when I noticed that Hespy’s seat was empty, I asked the class, but no-one answered.
police officer
How is it possible that nobody saw her leaving, apparently with her back-pack? Where was the person on duty at lunch time?
The Headmaster looks at the lady Registrar, who says nothing; then, he takes a sheet. It has the heading THURSDAYS. He goes down the list with a pencil.
headmaster
Miss Abbot.
18. int. headmaster’s office. afternoon. 18.
Miss Abbot enters closing the door behind her, and steps towards the desk, standing in front of them.
Miss abbot
I didn’t leave the area for a single minute, and I remember having seen her having her lunch with Lissa.
19. int. headmaster’s office. afternoon. 19.
Lissa enters and stands at the door. The lady Registrar stands up and walks towards Lissa. The Registrar closes the door and invites Lissa to approach the Headmaster.
headmaster
(with a soft voice)
Lissa, you know that Hespy is missing. Because she was last seen having lunch with you this afternoon, could you help us by telling us whether she might have been upset, or didn’t feel well.
Lissa, remains straight, with both hands clasped behind her back.
lissa
No, sir, she wasn’t upset, or unwell. She said that she must leave.
police officer
Did you see her leaving?
lissa
She entered the main building, and I went on with my lunch. When I saw her carrying her back-pack and leaving the school grounds, I didn’t think of anything special. She had said that she must go.
mr sullivan
(talking to himself)
“must go”
headmaster
Thank you, Lissa. You may leave.
Miss Abbot shows Lissa off.
Mr and Mrs Sullivan are very distressed. The police officer is writing on a report sheet. The Headmaster seems very preoccupied.
headmaster
Mrs Sullivan, was Hespy lately really happy with the school?
Mrs Sullivan
Indeed she was. She was enjoying the music classes very much.
Mr Mackenzie motions asking for permission to talk.
mr mackenzie
She is doing very well in all subjects, specially sciences. In this three months she’s been attending, I have never had any trouble with her.
police officer
(turning to the parents)
Any specific place, or site, she likes to be, or play?
Mr Sullivan, extremely frightened, leaps out of his chair.
mr sullivan
(screaming)