INT. office - day
A MAN and WOMAN walk into an office. The room is full of hanging carved MAORI ART and CARVINGS. An old man's voice sounds from an adjoining room.
VOICE (o.s.): I'll be right with you!
The woman walks over to a wall hanging and looks at the interesting design. The man walks over to a shelf and picks up a rock about the size of his palm and studies it.
An old Maori man in traditional Maori garb, presumably their COUNSELOR, enters the room and says:
COUNSELOR: Please have a seat!
The man beckons them to sit. The couple glance at each other perplexed, then look back at their funny little host.
COUNSELOR: I am your marriage counselor.
He bows low.
MAN :(whispering to his wife) Where did you find his guy?
WOMAN: (through a forced grin) He was cheap. You like cheap.
The counselor takes a seat on the floor and pulls his bent knees up to his chest with surprising agility. The couple sit in nearby chairs.
COUNSELOR: So tell me--where are you guys going on your trip?
WOMAN: Hm? We're not going anywhere.
COUNSELOR: But look at the baggage you are carrying!
He motions to one large, thick, black suitcase sitting next to the man, as well as a tall, slim, black suitcase sitting next to the woman.
WOMAN: That's not mine.
Her husband shakes his head and shrugs.
MAN: Not ours.
COUNSELOR: Good, then you won't mind if I open them. (He reaches for the man's black bag, and pulls it to him)
Oh, heavy! (The counselor struggles to open the bag a riffle through it)
Not yours, eh? But I've found something that belongs to you!
(The little man pulls a small fossil from the bag and waves it around. The man looks on as is if he recognizes it. Suddenly one of the peculiar Maori wall art pieces falls from a wall behind the counselor, revealing part of an outdoor landscape. The couple doesn't seem to take notice)
You love the earth, eh? You like to study it's rings and bones. You went to university to study rocks, but left with a degree in business. You were pressured to carry on your father's legacy. But it makes you drip cold sweat in your sleep. Your life is not your father’s life! Your house, your property, your car, your hidden passion--this is why your bag is so heavy! Your heart longs for adventure and places never visited before. Why do you no longer follow this passion? Your wife would follow you anywhere, yet you keep this part of you from her. This infidelity must stop!
Another painting falls in the background and reveals the outdoors.
MAN: But I just don't have the time.
With a coy smile, the counselor hands the fossil back to the man and clasps his hands over the top. As he does this the man's hand becomes covered with soft red dirt.
The man sits in meditated silence and puts his head to his chest. Another carving falls in the background.
The counselor lunges toward the woman's suitcase, flinging it open.
COUNSELOR: (winking) As always, much more complicated. Ah! But what have I found? (He pulls out a paintbrush, covered in dry red paint)
Why do you not think your art is important anymore?
Another painting falls to the floor, a gust of cool air blows through the room.
WOMAN: It is. I just don't have time.
COUNSELOR: But last week you had the time to paint your dining room three times in search of the perfect shade of….off-white?
WOMAN: Yes but that's what you do when you own a home, you paint it, and fix it, and--
COUNSELOR: Your house will be someone else's house when you are dead and gone. Your house says nothing about your life, but your art can carry on your legacy! You are a cheater. You cheat humanity of your gift. You cheat yourself the pleasure of understanding your purpose. You blame your husband for not allowing you to do what is in you to do. In this way you cheat love.
He takes her hand and presses the brush in her palm, folding her fingers over the top until red paint gushes from between her fingers.
The last of the Maori art pieces falls to the floor, revealing a beautiful landscape all around them in place of walls. The counselor stands and gestures to the scene. The couple look around in awe as if they'd never seen their native scenery in their lives.
COUNSELOR: This is your inspiration...(he motions to the vast landscape. He then takes the woman's hand, still covered in paint, and puts her hand into her husband's dirt covered hand. They gaze into one another's eyes)
...and this is your guide. Share your lives, and here you will find the gift you seek...
The man and woman look back toward the counselor, but find in his place a Maori child in simple modern dress, a tee shirt and jeans.
COUNSELOR CHILD: Time.
CUTS TO BLACK.
Hannah Radcliff
St. Louis Mo.
314.680.0041
dp@hannahradcliff.com
www.hannahradcliff.com