The Shunning Page #4

---

Must be the

old girl's arthritis.

Acts up with

the change of seasons.

I'll go by tomorrow,

take it to her.

Or you could let

me take it to her.

SAMUEL:
Horses need

their supper, too.

I'll help.

Ephram, please.

You don't have to say nothing.

Just let me buy

the thread I need.

I've always been able to help

her when she's suffering.

And now there's

not a thing I can do.

I can't speak to her.

I can't hold her hand.

I know I've been hard on the girl.

Have been all her life.

Give her some time.

She'll come to her senses,

do a kneeling confession.

All will be well again.

It's what

the shunning's meant for.

You'll see.

But this pain, Samuel?

Is this God's

way of showing us

what Laura Mayfield

has felt all these years?

Just wanted to be

close to her child,

just to see her one time,

but having a wall

separating her.

(GUITAR PLAYING)

She has no respect at all.

I'm not trying to

be disrespectful.

It's the only way to

get your attention.

We've given her every opportunity.

How does she repay us?

Please, Dat, talk to me.

Samuel, please!

She brings this English

instrument into our home!

Dat, please talk to me!

I don't know what to do.

I need my papa's help

to help me to know what to do!

REBECCA:
Samuel,

maybe we could just...

What?

We could what?

You want to defy the order?

No.

You want to walk away

from everything we believe in?

No.

Everything that

sets our world apart?

Please, talk to me.

No!

(CRYING) Talk to me,

please. I need you.

DANIEL:

Remember the fireflies?

They were everywhere,

weren't they?

DANIEL:
Shining all around us

as I took you home in my buggy

on this very road.

The night we first

fell for each other.

Everything was perfect.

Everything was right.

The people have always

been there for me, Daniel.

When you drowned, they gave

me the strength to go on.

Now I've lost them, too.

Is this what my

faith has been about,

being banned for

the rest of my life?

I don't even know

who I am anymore.

Then maybe it's

time you find out.

The only people

who know the truth

about my birth

are Mam and Dat.

And even if they wanted to,

they can't tell me anymore

because I'm shunned.

I don't have anyone left.

Is that true?

You mean her?

But I don't even

know who she is.

I don't know how I

would even find her.

Deep down,

you know what you

need to do, Katie.

Why did you have

to leave me, Daniel?

Mrs. Lapp?

Hello, I was hoping

to see Mrs. Bennett again.

Oh, I'm sorry.

You're too late. She's gone.

Gone? But she said she was...

MAN:
Jessica.

Out front. Your flight

leaves in 90 minutes.

I'll be right there.

Can you give

this to her for me?

I suppose so.

I really have to go.

She left so suddenly.

Her husband arranged

for an air ambulance

to fly her back

to her doctors.

She collapsed this morning.

Collapsed?

You mean she

didn't tell you?

Tell me what?

Her vitals have stabilized.

BP 90 over 60.

She's been in and out of UC

all the flight over here.

Laura, can you hear me?

What's wrong with her?

Please, tell me what's wrong.

Laura, I want you

to look at me.

That's very good. Okay.

I love you.

Prep her stat,

I'll be right behind you.

The good news is, I don't

think she's had a stroke.

But I did warn her

this could happen.

That tumor's pressing

on her spinal cord

and interfering with the

blood flow to her brain.

Oh, dear God.

We should have done this

surgery a month ago.

I know.

She kept insisting there was

something she had to do first.

Whatever it is,

I hope it was worth it.

(CELL PHONE RINGING)

Hello?

Yeah.

Yeah, she's doing great.

The surgery was a week ago.

Yeah, she made it through

with flying colors.

Yeah, so about our deal...

You went through

a major surgery, honey.

It's normal to

feel a little down.

We'll have you back on your feet soon.

You'll see.

How's she doing today?

Singing the blues.

We need to give her some space

to heal, so keep it short. Hmm?

I understand.

I know, but I just need to have

a reasonable rate of return.

Morning, Mrs. Bennett.

What's that?

Rebecca.

She came by the hotel when I was

leaving and she gave me this for you.

Oh! Oh!

Hey, look, I'll have to get

back to you later. Thanks.

Sweetheart, what's that?

Could you give

us a few moments?

Mam.

I want you to know

everything, Katie.

It's time you come

to know what happened

the night you came

to be our baby girl.

But the ban, you shouldn't

be talking to me.

I would rather be

shunned myself than have

another minute in

silence with you.

I was eight

months pregnant, Katie.

We loved your brother

more than anything,

but your dat and me had been

praying for more children.

And God answered our prayers.

Just not in

the way we expected.

LAURA:
There was a time

before my inheritance

that you don't know about.

And it's the reason that I

went to Lancaster County.

My mom was an alcoholic

and a drug addict.

And my grandmother

disinherited her.

And when I was 16,

I met this boy

who made me feel

like I mattered.

And with no one

really watching over me,

things happened.

After Ben was born,

we tried having more babies.

I got pregnant three

times and lost each one.

I wasn't taking

chances with this baby.

I was going to

fight for this one.

But the baby

started coming too early.

Your dat wanted

to fetch Ella Mae,

but I knew

something was wrong.

I just knew I

needed an English doctor.

LAURA:
I begged and begged

him not to leave me.

But he did.

He did leave me.

REBECCA:
Our precious

baby girl was born,

but something was

wrong with her heart.

There was

nothing they could do.

She lived

only a few minutes.

The doctors said my

child-bearing days were over.

Said we'd never again hold

a little one of our own.

LAURA:
I remember sitting in the

wheelchair wondering what I was gonna do,

when I saw...

REBECCA:
That's when

she came to us.

She was no more than 16.

She wanted you to

have a good life,

the kind of life she didn't think

she could provide at the time.

She offered you

to us in secret

when no one was watching.

That buggy driving away was

the last I ever saw of her.

All that searching

and you didn't get to see her?

No.

I realized that's

the greatest gift

a mother could ever

give her daughter,

putting her needs

before her own.

REBECCA:
All anyone knew was that

we left the Hollow pregnant

and we returned with

a beautiful baby girl.

Why did you keep it a secret?

Because we loved you

so much.

We were afraid

if anybody knew,

that some people would come

and try to take you away.

And that's a risk

we were never willing to take.

It mightn't have been legal

in the English's eyes.

But we knew in our hearts,

it was legal in God's.

You were a gift to us.

Straight from heaven.

But I now see you

were a gift to her, too.

She just realized it

too late.

Where is she now?

She went back home.

To New York.

There's something else.

She's dying, Katie.

And that's why

Rate this script:0.0 / 0 votes