The Red Turtle Page #3

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Birds fly above the waves. The sun is at its zenith.

The man comes back from his swim. The crabs scuttle away as he goes past.

He walks around the turtle and carries on walking.

He starts building another raft, a few yards away from the turtle which is still

on its back and looking a sorry sight.

...

It's the middle of the afternoon, the sun is beating down. The turtle's agony

must be terrible, but the man doesn't want to think about it. He glances at it

from afar, then goes fishing for his evening meal.

When he comes back from his swim at dusk, the crabs scurry away as he

goes past:
The man is dangerous.

And yet his anger has at last subsided.

He goes over to the turtle, touches its paw and its strange skin.

A few insects buzz around the animal. Its paw is no longer moving. Maybe it's

at death's door. The man hesitates: Should he save it?

He goes and sits down nearby and holds his head in his hands.

The crabs seize this opportunity to pounce on his catch lying at his feet.

Then, all of a sudden, in the middle of the night, the turtle flies away.

The man runs behind it. He tries to stop it, but it climbs ever higher in the

sky.

The man wakes up. It was just a dream.

He runs over to the turtle which is still lying motionless on its back, dying.

He knees down next to it, touches its leg, and tries with all his strength to

turn it over onto its belly, but to no avail.

It seems heavier than it was before, or maybe the man's strength has

diminished.

The man sees the turtle's head lolling wretchedly.

He runs to fetch his bamboo container and sprinkles some seawater on its

face. He does this several times, but the animal doesn't stir.

The man kneels down beside it, shattered.

Seen from above, the man and the turtle, very close to one another, form a

strange hybrid creature.

II. 2. Half-woman, half-turtle. Care and attention.

The man and the turtle have fallen asleep on the sand, head to tail.

At the first light of dawn, a sinister cracking wakes the man.

He sits up and stares: the turtle's shell has split almost right across its belly.

It's a horrible sight.

The man turns to the sea, feeling numb and wretched. What do you do when

you're so sad about a death you yourself caused?

Just then, it happens.

When the man looks at the turtle again, there's a woman's arm instead of the

leg. And a woman's face and legs are sticking out of the shell. He instinctively

recoils. The thing is just too supernatural. Is it another mirage?

But the woman is still there, her eyes closed, showing no reaction.

The man walks around her, peering at her. Is she alive?

He kneels down, touches her forehead, and brings his ear close to the

woman's mouth. He can feel her breath on his cheek. She is breathing gently

but regularly.

The man gets up to fetch some fresh water. As he goes past, he picks up the

bamboo container, realizes that it's heavier than usual, throws onto the sand

the two or three crabs that had sought refuge in it, and heads for the

waterhole.

The crabs approach the half-woman half-turtle creature and look at her face

which is turned to them.

The man gets some fresh water from the pond, then comes back to the

woman.

He kneels down, puts an arm under her neck, and tries to give her a drink.

But her mouth is closed. A trickle of fresh water runs down her chin. Her lips

have barely even been moistened.

The sun appears behind the tall trees.

Soon the woman will be too hot.

The man picks up a few branches among the bamboos and brings them back

to the beach. A crab runs after him to steal a twig.

The man hurriedly builds a little canopy that he covers with a branch. From

above, he can see the woman's face through the foliage. He shifts slightly to

get a better view of her.

Later.

The man has finished his canopy. A few branches are enough to give the

woman's body some welcome shade.

Two crabs play around them, chasing after each other.

Two birds fly past in the sky.

It's evening.

The man kneels down near the woman's face.

He puts his hand on her forehead and dampens it with some water.

Now he sits cross-legged near the canopy.

He watches over her like a sentinel.

The woman seems to be in a deep, almost comatose sleep. Her face is calm

and gentle as two flies buzz around above her.

Seen from above, the man keeps watch over her as he looks out to sea.

Fade to black

II. 3. The woman wakes up and disappears.

The island stirs to rain, in the grey early morning light.

Raindrops lands on the succulent leaves of the tropical plants. A lizard slides

between the rocks to take shelter.

The man, who had fallen asleep near the canopy, is woken.

The woman is still there, motionless.

Raindrops drip through the canopy.

The man rearranges a half-fallen branch and goes to fetch others to protect

her better.

But the rain is a godsend.

It drips everywhere like a life force. It creeps under the canopy, into the

crack in the shell, onto the woman's lips, and onto her hand which moves at

last...

When the man comes back, weighed down with branches, only the shell is

still there.

The woman has disappeared.

The man runs to the shore. Has she gone back into the sea?

He walks along the water's edge, scouring the waves on the horizon.

The hard rain makes the sea inhospitable.

And suddenly, another idea comes into his head. The man changes direction.

He walks across part of the bamboo forest and goes to the waterhole.

The rain has stopped.

The man looks around.

In the sunlight, three frogs jump into the pond.

Yes, there are footsteps on the muddy path. The marks of bare feet. Hers, no

doubt about it.

The man hurries over there. He follows the footprints which go through a

thick bush which he goes through.

The man walks along, searching, scouring the ground. But in vain.

The footprints have disappeared.

The man carries on looking, without holding out too much hope.

On the beach, a wave ebbs at nightfall.

The man is sitting on the sand. He lies down.

The night is at an end.

The man wakes up. Did he hear something?

He looks around him...

That's when he sees her.

She's a bit further away, bathing, water up to her shoulders.

The man jumps to his feet in delight. He goes over to her.

But he frightens her. The woman bends down. Only her eyes are visible

above the waterline.

The man stops short. He gestures at her to make her understand he won't

hurt her. Then, she realizes she's naked. And modest.

He takes off his shirt, puts it on the sand, and walks discreetly away to the

bamboos. He waits, listening closely.

When he comes back to the beach, the woman has gone again.

He goes over to the glassy sea, then turns on his heels.

He looks for her inland, more calmly this time, looking almost serene. He

walks through the bamboo forest and climbs the mound.

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