BURIED ALIVE

BURIED ALIVE:

1 INT. GRANDPARENT’S HOUSE - DAY

A young boy on a sofa looks out the window toward a cemetery across the street. It is raining. He is half-listening to his grandparents conversation in the kitchen.

PHILIP:

Dorothy we will have to decide where we

will be buried.

DOROTHY:

I thought we had decided Phil we are

going to be buried across the street at pine hills cemetery?

PHILIP:

Well yes but there are all the details

and arrangements to be finalized.

DOROTHY:

So we will go on Monday morning and

finalize them, OK?

PHILIP:

OK, that sounds like a good idea.

The boy is now totally focused on an open area across the street in the cemetery.

EXT. CEMETERY -- DAY

A slow ZOOM IN on the open area across the street where there is now a headstone. The headstone bears the names of Philip Thomas Dyer 1910-1980 and Dorothy May Dyer 1913-1981

INT. GRANDPARENT’S HOUSE -- DAY

The boy is leaning forward, totally transfixed. A smile creeps onto his face and he gives a wave.

DOROTHY William.

The boy continues to look out the window, waving.

1

DOROTHY (CONT’D)

The boy is pulled out of his daydream. He turns around.

William!

(CONTINUED)

* *

CONTINUED:

DOROTHY (CONT’D)

It’s time for you to take a shower and

get ready to go out for dinner.

WILLIAM (nodding his head)

Sure thing, grandma, its as good as done.

As he gets up off the sofa, he glances over at the open space once again. The headstone is no longer there.

FADE OUT.

EXT. STREET -- DAY

William,The grown up version of the boy, is driving down the street past his grandparents old house. He turns his head to the right, waves and smiles as he passes by. He makes a left turn into the cemetery and drives along the narrow road past all the grave sites and stops at his grandparents headstone.

EXT. CEMETERY --AFTERNOON

He gets out of his car closes the door and stretches- he goes to the trunk and takes out a big box he closes the trunk. (The box contains a brush,flowers,water bottle,I Pod,resume and a beautifully wrapped box; his mothers cremated remains)

He starts to walk towards his grand parents grave site,he is talking and greeting them as he approaches and then he stops and looks at the headstone.

Good afternoon Philip and Dorothy I have brought you a present.

He puts the box down and starts to take out the wrapped box and places it on the headstone,he sits down,turns on the I pod and starts to talk.

(I-Pod docking station) ( AMAZING SOUND TRACK IN THE BACK ROUND)

(I am going to tell you a story,the one I was unable to tell you when you were all alive.)

William shifts his weight and starts to pick at the long grass around the headstone.

(CONTINUED)

2.

CONTINUED:

WILLIAM:

The things I missed most about you both

when you were gone, is not being able to ask you about stuff that would pop in my head.

It has become impossible for me to remember all the details of my life and I am finding out as time passes that my version of events is not necessarily the way it happened. I do remember some of the stories that you both had told me.

He picks up the hand broom and starts to sweep the dust off the head stone.

I remember the story that Grandad told me about how you both met. It was in the late twenties and you were both at the Palais Royale dance club at Sunny side beach and the Benny Goodman orchestra was playing that night.

Dorothy you were with your girlfriend and Grandad had been watching both of you all night, he would of asked you to dance but it appeared there was no shortage of fellows waiting to take you out for a spin on the dance floor. The night was winding down and you both were leaving the dance club. He asked if you needed an escort, because you were both headed for the street car stop. Grandma you said yes and thanked him for his concern and introduced yourselves. You told him your name was Dorothy and your friends name was Ester.

William continues to clean and straighten the grave

As you walked towards the streetcar he asked which streetcar stops were you and Ester getting off at. You said your stop was Pape Avenue and Esters was Birchmount road. At that point he was a little perplexed,because he had been playing his cards pretty close to his chest and not giving up if he liked you or your friend.

(MORE)

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(CONTINUED)

3.

CONTINUED:
(2)

WILLIAM (CONT'D)

Well Dorothy you lived closer and if he got off at your stop he would be home sooner,your friends stop was quite far away and in the 1930’s Birchmount Road was in the middle of nowhere,farm country is how Grandad put it. He actually said that you were more beautiful and he was a little intimidated by that, but he was attracted to Ester, but given that you lived closer he got off at your stop and walked you home. He asked if he could see you again and you said yes, because you had noticed him at the Palais Royal and hoped that he would ask you to dance because you thought that he was the most handsome man that you had ever seen.

The Palais Royale is still there and people still go on Saturday nights to dance and listen to music and meet the love of their life. I have partied there several times and every time I go by it I remember that story and think if you hadn't of lived closer then Ester I would never of been born and I wouldn't of been able to experience this amazing life I have lived or been here today to tell you both this story.

William takes a water bottle and fills up the flower holder in the ground next to the head stone, then he places the flowers in the holder and straightens them.

Some of the fondest memories of my childhood are, the little plastic bathing bucket that doubled as my toboggan, on the small snow hill in the backyard of our house next to that amazing park.

He sits down on the grave and stretches his legs out.

My favorite little yellow car that I could sit in and peddle around the house, that some how mysteriously disappeared one day and I was told a little bird must of taken it. The same little bird that took my blanket, my hat and my skates and not once did I see a bird in our house. I know I was not willing to let go of the things that I had outgrown, but to blame it on a little bird that could not of even flown away with one of my socks, come on. After that it took me a long time to trust any birds.

(CONTINUED)

4.

CONTINUED:
(3)

William leans forward and crosses his legs and continues to talk while he picks at the grass.

What I do remember very clearly is the complete unconditional love and devotion that you both gave me at all times, no matter how badly I had behaved. You were both on my side at all times, even when you knew I was lying about something.

Like the time I threw a rock and hit another boy in the head which I did not mean to do, and I ran to your side Grandad for protection and you stood up for me even though you knew I was lying.

I felt so bad about not being able to tell you the truth about what I had done and I was so ashamed of my actions that some how I believed the lie was going to save me and the truth was going to do me harm .So I stuck to the lie and for that

I have always been sorry because I realized at that very moment I had betrayed your trust and you would try but never be able to trust me fully ever again. At the time I was seven years old and it was 1965, so I got over it, but I will never know if you did.

William turns on his side, puts his arm under his head and continues to talk while tracing out the names on the head stone with his finger.

All the amazing moments and memories that we all shared.

My first pair of skates that I got for Christmas when I was two or was it three?.See it’s questions like that,that I wish you were both here so I could ask you and then give you both a hug.

The day you brought my new baby brother home from the hospital and my Mother was not there, she was still in the hospital for observation, so you reassured me everything would be alright because you knew how attached I was to my Mother.

(MORE)

(CONTINUED)

5.

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