h other's prayers.
If we can't talk to each other --
we're not going to make it.
(beat)
Now baby, tell me... I won't be
mad, honey... Did you take the bumble
bee pendant?
Beat. Cole's eyes start to water up.
COLE
No.
Lynn goes cold.
LYNN
You've had enough roast beef. You
need to leave the table.
Cole just stares at his mother's expression.
LYNN
(yells)
Go!
68.
Cole gets up -- never taking his eyes off his mother -- and
leaves the room.
CUT TO:
INT. HALL - NIGHT
Cole enters the DARK HALLWAY. He gets startled by the SOUND
OF HIS PUPPY GROWLING.
Sebastian comes racing down the hall and scurries past Cole.
Cole watches his puppy dart into the living room and under a
couch.
Cole slowly turns back and looks down the hall.
THE DOOR TO COLE'S ROOM SITS AT THE END OF THE CORRIDOR.
IT'S ALMOST SHUT. COLE WATCHES AS THE DOOR BEGINS TO OPEN
VERY SLOWLY. IT OPENS WIDE. COLE DOESN'T MOVE AN INCH.
SUDDENLY IN THE STILLNESS AND THE DARKNESS, A SMALL FIGURE
SCURRIES FROM ANOTHER BEDROOM INTO THE BLACKNESS OF COLE'S
ROOM. IT HAPPENS LIKE A FLASH.
Cole stops breathing.
THE FIGURE SLOWLY STEPS OUT FROM COLE'S DOORWAY.
IT'S A BOY. A FEW YEARS OLDER THAN COLE.
THE BOY WHISPERS IN A LOW, HOARSE VOICE.
BOY
Come on... I'll show you where my
dad keeps his gun... Come on.
THE BOY TURNS. WE SEE THAT THE BACK OF HIS HEAD IS MISSING
AS HE DISAPPEARS INTO THE DARKNESS OF COLE'S ROOM.
Cole is too terrified to move.
CUT TO:
INT. KITCHEN - NIGHT
Lynn is kneeling on the kitchen floor trying to coax the
puppy out of the broom closet.
COLE (O.S.)
Momma.
Lynn turns -- surprised to hear her son's voice. Lynn's
eyes are red from crying. She wipes them quickly with the
back of her hand.
Mother and son look at each other. Beat.
69.
COLE
If you're not very mad... Can I
sleep in your room tonight?
Lynn fights back some tears.
LYNN
Look at my face, Cole.
Cole does. Lynn smiles at her son.
LYNN
I'm not very mad.
Lynn hugs him. Beat.
LYNN
Baby... Why are you shaking?
Cole doesn't answer.
LYNN
Cole, what's wrong?
Cole just closes his eyes and holds his mom tight.
LYNN
(desperate)
...Please tell me.
Cole doesn't say a word.
LYNN
(crying)
Please.
CUT TO:
INT. ANTIQUE STORE - DAY
We are in an antique store. Filled floor to ceiling with
furniture and knickknacks.
Anna stands with a YOUNG COUPLE. All three lean over and
peer into a glass cabinet.
An antique engagement ring sits on a velvet stand.
ANNA
It's Edwardian. Beautifully worked.
Entirely platinum with a mine cut
diamond and an actual color Burmese
Sapphire... It's timeless.
YOUNG MAN
You got anything a little plainer?
70.
The young woman looks at her beau.
YOUNG WOMAN
Plainer? You want a plain ring to
go with your plain fiance. Is that
how it is?
YOUNG MAN
No, baby. Don't get in a tizzy.
It's just... you're so beautiful...
you're like a Burmese Sapphire all
by yourself. You don't need all
that.
YOUNG WOMAN
(disbelief)
Uh-huh.
Anna smiles as she takes the ring out of the cabinet.
ANNA
Why don't you two hold it?
She places it in their hands.
ANNA
Do you feel longing?
YOUNG WOMAN
Excuse me?
ANNA
When I touch this piece I feel a
longing. I imagine the woman who
owned this, loved a man deeply she
couldn't be with.
The young woman looks at Anna with great intrigue.
YOUNG WOMAN
Did he have wavy hair and broad
shoulders?
The young man throws an odd glance at his fiance.
ANNA
I don't know... But maybe...
(beat)
A lot of the pieces in this store
give me feelings. I think maybe
when people own things and then they
pass away -- a part of themselves
gets printed on those things -- like
fingerprints.
Beat. The young man and the young woman gaze at Anna
silently.
71.
They look down at the ring. They place their hands on it
reverently, delicately -- like checking for a pulse.
Anna can't hold back her sweet smile.
CUT TO:
INT. ANTIQUE STORE - DAY
Anna moves to the back desk where SEAN comes out. He's
carrying an antique bench in his arms. He places it down and
takes a much needed seat.
SEAN
You don't need someone with a masters.
You need a wrestler guy whose neck
is larger than his head.
ANNA
I need a wrestler with a masters.
Anna fills out the paperwork for the ring.
SEAN
What's this?
Anna looks over to find Sean standing at his desk where a
BIRTHDAY PRESENT sits on his tabletop. Sean looks at her.
SEAN
From you?
Anna nods, "yes."
SEAN
Is it wrestling tights?
Anna smiles as she moves to his desk. Sean begins to tear
off the wrapping paper like a kid at Christmas.
Anna laughs. Sean holds up a weathered hardback copy of
"THE GREAT GATSBY." Beat.
ANNA
It's a first edition.
SEAN
Wow, this is too much. It's perfect,
Anna.
Sean puts down the book and hugs her. He pulls back a little,
still holding her. They smile at each other.
Beat. The moment goes on just that crucial fraction of a
second too long. Their smiles slowly melt away as they
continue to hold each other. Nothing happens for the longest
time.
72.
CRASH! A SHATTERING DOOR SLAM ECHOES THROUGH THE STORE.
Anna and Jeffery pull apart. They rush past the young man
and the young woman to the front of the store. They find
the glass front door cracked in a spider web pattern.
They carefully push open the door and step out onto the
sidewalk. Look around. No one in sight.
Anna stares down the empty street. A concerned expression
on her face.
CUT TO:
EXT. STREET - DAY
Malcolm walks angrily down the sidewalk. He stops as his
hand goes to his side. He winces with pain as he keeps
walking.
CUT TO:
EXT. SUPERMARKET - DAY
Lynn and Cole emerge from the supermarket.
Cole rides inside the shopping cart tucked between bags of
food.
Mother and son are quiet as they move towards their car.
Beat.
Lynn leans over, looks at the side of her son's pensive face.
She starts pushing the cart faster. Cole wakes from his
thoughts as his hair flutters in the wind. He looks back.
Lynn is smiling as she pushes. Cole turns and raises his
hands in the air like he's on a roller coaster.
Beat.
They slow and come to a rest at the bumper of their car.
Lynn leans over -- sees the side of Cole's face smiling.
Lynn's face shows a little happiness for the first time. A
little hope enters her eyes as she starts to load the
groceries into the car.
CUT TO:
INT. CAR - DAY
Cole and Lynn ride home with a back seat full of groceries.
Cole finishes off a cherry popsicle as he watches out the
window.
73.
Lynn looks over.
LYNN
Let's rent a movie.
Cole bites off the last of the popsicle and glances at his
mom.
LYNN
Your pick.
Cole stares at his mom quietly.
LYNN
It can even have Jean Claude Van
Damme in it if you want.
Cole smiles at that. He nods, "Yes" joyfully.
His smile fades away as he notices his mother fiddling with
the HEATER controls.
Cole gazes out the front windshield as the car moves towards
home.
Suddenly a piece of paper sticks to the windshield. It's a
page from a Playbill. A 1941 Playbill. It flies away
revealing a woman in a flowing flowery dress from the 40's
suddenly walks into the middle of the street as the pages of
her Playbill swirl in the air.
COLE
(yells)
Momma, look out!
The woman in the flowery dress turns. Her hand rests on her
stomach. WE SEE SHE IS PREGNANT.
Playbills stick to the windshield obstructing the view.
Lynn slams the brakes... Too late.
THE WOMAN SMASHES INTO THE FRONT GRILL OF THE CAR... HER
TERROR-STRICKEN FACE COMES OVER THE HOOD AND CRASHES RIGHT
THROUGH THE WINDSHIELD IN A SHOWER OF BLOOD AND GLASS...
COLE SCREAMS. LYNN SCREAMS... THE CAR SCREECHES TO A STOP
IN THE MIDDLE OF A CONGESTED INTERSECTION.
The line of cars behind them suddenly hit their brakes and
swerve to one side avoiding a mass collision. After a few
seconds, the entire intersection has come to a halt.
Cole who has shut his eyes... slowly opens them.
He looks around fearfully. His eyes move to the windshield.
No broken glass. No blood. And no woman.
74.
Cole looks out through the pristine windshield onto the street
where cars are stopped and staring all around them.
Cole slowly looks over to his mother. He finds her staring
at him in complete and utter disbelief. Her hands clutch
the wheel. The whites of her knuckles showing her fear.
She has no idea why he screamed.
CUT TO:
INT. DEN - AFTERNOON
The den is very quiet. Cole and Malcolm sit around the multicolored
table. Malcolm leans back in his small plastic chair --
arms folded over his chest. Cole sits slumped over the table --
eyes peering out over his arms.
They both look like shit.
COLE
You don't wanna ask me questions
today?
Malcolm nods, "No." Beat.
COLE
Can I ask you then?
MALCOLM
Yes.
COLE
What do you want more than anything?
MALCOLM
I don't know.
COLE
I told you what I want.
MALCOLM
I don't know, Cole.
COLE
Why don't you think about it for a
while?
Malcolm doesn't respond. Cole watches him. Beat.
MALCOLM
I know what I want.
(beat)
My goal is to speak to my wife. The
way she and I used to speak. Like
there was no one in the world but
us.
75.
Beat.
COLE
(soft)
How are you going to do that?
Beat.
MALCOLM
(whispers)
I can't be your doctor anymore.
(beat)
I haven't given my family enough
attention. Bad things happen when
you do that. Do you understand?
The room falls into silence again. Cole speaks extra soft.
COLE
You want to go home?
Malcolm stares across at Cole.
MALCOLM
I have to.
COLE
When?
MALCOLM
Soon. One week.
Malcolm looks down at his eyes full with emotion.
MALCOLM
I'm going to transfer you. I know
two psychologists that are exceptional--
COLE
(whispers)
Don't fail me.
Malcolm looks up sharply.
MALCOLM
--What?
COLE
Don't give up. You're the only one
who can help me. I know it.
Beat. Malcolm tries to stay composed. It doesn't work.
MALCOLM
You want to know a secret?... I was
a paper champion.
(MORE)
76.
MALCOLM (CONT'D)
(beat)
Do you know what that means?
Cole shake his head, "No." Tears fall down Malcolm's cheeks.
COLE
Don't cry.
MALCOLM
I means I wasn't what everyone thought
I was...
(beat)
I was a fake.
COLE
You weren't a paper champion.
MALCOLM
Someone else can help you. Someone
else can make you happy.
Cole is crying now.
Cole wipes his eyes with his sleeve. They sit quietly and
stare at each other. Beat.
Cole whispers.
COLE
Dr. Crowe?
MALCOLM
Yes.
COLE
You believe me, right?
A long pause.
COLE
Dr. Crowe, you believe my secret,
right?
They both just stare.
MALCOLM
I don't know how to answer that.
Cole searches for the answer in Malcolm's eyes... He finds
it. It's not the one he wanted. Malcolm looks down.
COLE
How can you help me if you don't
believe me?
Cole reaches into his pocket. Pulls out a PENNY.
77.
Cole pushes it across the table.
Malcolm gazes at it, then looks up at Cole's pained eyes.
Beat.
COLE
(whispers)
Some magic's real.
CUT TO:
INT. BASEMENT - AFTERNOON
Malcolm sits stoically at his desk in his basement. His
eyes gaze at the dusty FRAMED CERTIFICATE FROM THE CITY OF
PHILADELPHIA shoved between two packing boxes.
Malcolm leans his head back against the chair. Stares into
the shadows. Drowns in his thoughts.
Beat. THE CHAIR CREAKS as he slowly sits up again. Malcolm's
eyes scan the room and come to a stop on a box marked with
the label...
"SESSION TAPES -- VINCENT GRAY"
CUT TO:
INT. BASEMENT - AFTERNOON
A tape slides into the tape player seated on Malcolm's desk.
Malcolm hits play.
THE SOUND OF A DOOR OPENING AND CLOSING IS HEARD.
MALCOLM
(on tape)
Sorry about that. Hope I didn't
leave you alone too long... Wow,
it's cold in here.
WE HEAR A CHAIR MOVE AS MALCOLM SITS DOWN. And then SILENCE.
Beat.
MALCOLM
(on tape)
Vincent... Why are you crying?
(beat)
Vincent?
A TEN-YEAR-OLD'S VOICE ANSWERS.
VINCENT
(on tape crying)
Yes?
78.
MALCOLM
(on tape)
What happened?
(beat)
Did something upset you?
Beat. VINCENT SNIFFLES.
VINCENT
(on tape)
You won't believe.
MALCOLM
(on tape)
I won't believe what?
Beat.
VINCENT
(on tape)
I don't want to talk anymore. I
want to go home, okay? I want to go
home.
Beat.
MALCOLM
(on tape)
Okay, Vincent, you can go home.
CLICK. THE TAPE GOES TO SILENCE.
Malcolm just sits in the shadowy basement. He doesn't move
for a while.
Then he hits the rewind button. Stops it. Presses play.
MALCOLM
(on tape)
--about that. Hope I didn't leave
you too long... Wow, it's cold in
here--
Malcolm hits the rewind button again. Lets it rewind for a
while. Presses play.
MALCOLM
(on tape)
--like needles either. When I was a
kid, I had this blood test down --
threw up chill cheese fries all over
this male nurse.
WE HEAR VINCENT CHUCKLE SOFTLY.
THE SOUND OF A DOOR OPENING IS HEARD.
79.
SECRETARY
(on tape)
Excuse me, Doctor Reed is on line
two.
MALCOLM
(on tape)
Vincent, I have to take this. Give
me a minute.
VINCENT
(on tape)
Okay.
FOOTSTEPS AS MALCOLM AND THE SECRETARY LEAVE THE ROOM. THE
DOOR CLOSES. AND THE SILENCE.
Nothing happens for a long time. AND THEN WE HEAR A SUDDEN
CHAIR SCREECH ACROSS THE FLOOR. VINCENT'S BREATHING QUICKENS.
A SLIGHT STATIC STARTS TO FILTER IN ON THE TAPE.
Malcolm's eyes are locked on the spool of audio tape as it
spins in the player.
Malcolm's fingers move to the volume dial. He turns it way
up. THE STATIC NOISE FROM THE TAPE FILLS THE BASEMENT.
Malcolm leans closer to the tape player. Closes his eyes
and listens... Beat.
DEEP IN THE STATIC... ANOTHER SOUND EMERGES, WHISPERING.
A MAN'S VOICE IS HEARD IN THE ROOM WITH VINCENT
MAN'S WHISPERING
(on tape)
Familia... No dejen que esto me
pase... Mi familia... Yo no quiero
morir... Familia...
Malcolm's mouth opens in disbelief.
MALCOLM
...Jesus Christ.
CUT TO:
EXT. STREET - AFTERNOON
Malcolm stands on a familiar sidewalk. He stares into the
bay window of Mr. Marschal's brownstone.
Inside the window we see Mr. Marschal seated with a group of
older gentlemen his age. They sit around a table eating
sandwiches and talking. Malcolm watches as Mr. Marschal
tells a story to his friends.
80.
WE CAN'T HEAR WHAT HE'S SAYING, but when he finishes everyone
at the table laughs. Mr. Marschal smiles.
Malcolm can't help smiling as well. This is not the same
man he saw before. Life has returned to this house. Beat.
Malcolm turns and moves down the street. Each step faster
than the next.
CUT TO:
INT. CHURCH - LATE AFTERNOON
Malcolm moves to the front of the church down the center
aisle. His eyes scan the empty seats. No one in sight in
any direction.
Malcolm stands in the aisle a little out of breath. He holds
his hand to his side as he winces a bit.
Malcolm's eyes float up to the balcony where toy soldiers
sit on the bannister. Cole's head pops up.
MALCOLM
Hello again.
He looks down and studies Malcolm.
COLE
You been running around?
Malcolm nods, "Yes."
COLE
It makes you feel better?
Malcolm nods, "Yes" again.
COLE
I like to run around. It's good
exercise.
(beat)
You want to ask me questions now?
Malcolm shakes his head, "No."
COLE
You want to be a lance corporal in
Company M, 3rd Battalion, 7th Marines?
We're being dispatched to the Quang
Nam province.
Cole holds up his plastic rifleman. Malcolm's eyes show he
understands now.
MALCOLM
Maybe later.
81.
Beat.
COLE
Something happened, didn't it?
MALCOLM
Yes, it did.
COLE
Are you wigging out?
MALCOLM
Yes, I am.
COLE
We're not gonna start crying again,
are we?
MALCOLM
No, we're not.
COLE
What happened?
Beat.
Malcolm glances around the empty church before looking back
up to Cole.
MALCOLM
These people... People that died
and are still hanging around. Maybe
they weren't ready to go.
Cole studies Malcolm's passionate face. A new face.
COLE
You really look better.
MALCOLM
Maybe they wake up that morning
thinking they have a thousand things
to do and a thousand days left to do
them in... And then all of a sudden,
it's all taken away. No one asked
them. It's just gone...
COLE
You have nice red in your cheeks
now.
MALCOLM
Do you know what 'Yo no quiero morir'
is?
Cole shakes his head, "No."
82.
MALCOLM
It's Spanish. It means... 'I don't
want to die.'
(beat)
Not all the ghosts are scary, are
they? Like Mrs. Marschal?
COLE
No.
MALCOLM
What do those ghosts want when they
talk to you? Think real careful
now, Cole...
Cole stops moving. He looks over the balcony railing at
Malcolm.
COLE
Just help.
MALCOLM
Yes! I think that's right!... I
think they all want that. Even the
scary ones...
COLE
You believe now?
Malcolm's stare is unwavering.
MALCOLM
I believe both of you now.
(beat)
And I think I might know how to make
them go away.
COLE
You do?
Malcolm nods "Yes."
MALCOLM
I think they know you're one of those
guys rare people can see them.
(beat)
You need to help them. Each one of
them.
(beat)
Everyone wants to be heard. Everyone.
Cole takes a big sigh. Fiddles with his riflemen.
COLE
What if they don't want help? What
if they're just angry and they want
to hurt somebody?
83.
MALCOLM
I don't think that's the way it works,
Cole.
Cole looks nervous.
COLE
How do you know for sure?
Malcolm's eyes are drawn to Cole's arm. Peeking out from
under his shirt sleeve are a set of cuts. Malcolm gazes at
them.
MALCOLM
I don't.
Cole and Malcolm stand silently in the center aisle of the
back of the church.
CUT TO:
EXT. HOUSE - NIGHT
Malcolm moves around the corner on his street. His mind
surges with thoughts. And then he glances up. His steps
slow to a complete stop.
Further down the sidewalk, coming out of the front door of
his house is SEAN.
Malcolm's face turns to stone. He watches as Sean comes
down the front stairs and starts across the street.
A sudden rage surges up. Malcolm moves towards Sean fast.
Sean reaches his car and enters it. He doesn't notice the
figure closing in on him.
THE ENGINE STARTS. Malcolm reaches the car a second late.
Sean pulls away into traffic almost hitting another car as
he does.
Malcolm watches the car disappear down the next street.
Beat.
Malcolm turns and looks up at his home with unchecked anger
and overwhelming pain erupting his eyes.
CUT TO:
INT. HOUSE - NIGHT
Malcolm stands in his foyer.
Anna is sitting on the stairs, phone in her hand. She faces
away from the front.
84.
Malcolm's a ball of tension as he listens to Anna talk into
the phone.
ANNA
...You just walked out. You're
probably on your way home. I'm
leaving this message... I just didn't
get to say what I meant...
(beat)
I know you're confused. It's just...
I'm not prepared to do this, Sean.
(beat)
I don't want to be ashamed of that.
I don't want to have to make excuses
for that.
(beat)
And I wanted to tell you... I bought
your present wholesale from a friend.
I didn't even pay tax on it. You
don't need s