Hilda

A foggy mist covers the blue, mysterious sky.

TITLE: “HILDA”

The title fades out as we PAN DOWN to:

EXT. GRAVEYARD. DAY.

Silent, gloomy. A young girl with brown hair and a blue dress looks over a grave, presuming it to be her grandfather’s. Alongside her is her dog, a dalmatian. The girl places a bouquet of flowers on the grave. The gravestone belongs to the girl’s grandfather, and she is in tears looking down at his grave. It begins to rain, first in little droplets, then in great big drops.

The young girl races out of the graveyard sobbing. Her dog follows.

DISSOLVE TO:

EXT. MEADOW. DAY.

The girl and dog run through the rain until they come to a forest glade. The girl is curious about the strange thicket, and peers through to see a thorny tunnel leading into darkness. Strange whispers echo around her, and her dog begins to whimper in fear. The girl is frightened at first, but suddenly develops courage. She crawls through the tunnel bravely.

INT. THORNY TUNNEL. DAY.

The girl crawls through the dark tunnel, sure of what’s to happen next. The whispers grow louder.

EXT. FOREST. DAY.

The girl emerges into the rain, and looks around her. A heavy fog covers the whole forest, leaving her lost and alone. A kind, elderly voice, presumably one belonging to her grandfather, begins to speak:

GRANDFATHER’S SPIRIT
(O.S.)

Don’t be sad, Emerald. There’s a happily ever after waiting for you.

In the distance, church bells begin RINGING. Emerald, who we know is now the girl’s name, races across the forest in the direction of the church bells. At last, she bursts out of the bushes, her dress all muddy, to find

EXT. ABANDONED CHURCH. DAY.

The church is old and covered in moss, some of its roofs need fixing and its paint is peeling. It’s a haunting, mysterious church you’d find in a supernatural thriller. Emerald looks around, unsure, then she approaches the door. It’s big and wide, leading into the mysterious church.

GRANDFATHER’S SPIRIT
(O.S.)

Emerald, enter. True happiness awaits within.

Emerald slowly approaches the door and knocks three times. The doors open with a CRRREEEEEAAAAK.

INT. ABANDONED CHURCH - CONTINUOUS.

Dark, mysterious. Thunder illuminates the light from stained glass windows, and the girl enters, looking around her in fear and curiosity. The darkness makes it hard for her to see, but thunder lights up the entire building, causing her to hide behind one of the benches. Suddenly, a colourful light shines onto her, and she rubs her eyes. She peers out from behind the bench to see:

FULL SHOT - STAINED GLASS WINDOW

Colourful images of sheep grazing in the field, baby Jesus in his stable and God welcoming people who have died through the pearly gates into Heaven light up the whole building. Emerald slowly crawls out from behind the bench and walks up towards the stained glass picture. She reaches out to touch the picture of God’s hand reaching out at her, but suddenly the hand reaches out to her and puts two fingers on her head, causing her to lie down on the floor and fall asleep.

FADE TO WHITE.

FADE IN:

EXT. HEAVEN. DAY.

Pure, beautiful. The girl wakes up in Heaven slowly, now wearing a white gown and fashionable gold wings. She wanders up to the pearly gates of Heaven, which open before her. She is almost blinded by the light, but it fades away to reveal her grandfather, a wise and cheery person, standing at the head of a table with thousands of children who have passed away and gone onto a new life, also wearing nightgowns and cherub’s wings. He clinks his spoon on his wine glass to get everyone’s attention.

GRANDFATHER

May I have everyone’s attention please?

(beat, then)

You’ve all suffered poorly in your previous life. You’ve died of war, illness, poverty, disease, but these things are behind us now. We can’t look back to our tragic pasts and tell ourselves, why are we still here on earth? We gather to enjoy this bountiful of meals because the earth is a family. It needs us to care for it, and with everything you’ve experienced, it feels like we need to sacrifice a life to let others care for and protect our earth.

Grandfather claps two times, and two young angels carrying a silver dome to the centre of the table. The children look on, excited. The angel with brown hair lifts up the dome to reveal a shaky baby lamb. The children gasp in unison. Grandfather goes up to a beautiful young angel with blonde hair and places a carving knife in her hand. She looks at it for a minute, then back to Grandfather, who nods in approval. The girl raises her knife over the poor lamb, about to slice open his body…

WITH EMERALD

Emerald watches in horror as, offscreen, the girl pierces the knife through the lamb’s body, killing him.

THE LAMB’S CORPSE

Lies on the plate, dripping with blood, its insides showing, surrounded by vegetables.

DISSOLVE:

A few minutes later. Grandfather and the children are wearing hats made out of lamb’s skin under their halos and eating the flesh of lamb. As they eat, Grandfather raises his glass:

GRANDFATHER

To the earth! And may it keep spinning as long as we take care of it.

The children raise their wine glasses, echoing:

CHILDREN
To the earth!

The children and Grandfather begin to drink up.

WITH EMERALD

Shocked by what she just saw. Suddenly, a huge red claw bursts out of the cloud, grabbing Emerald’s leg. Everything suddenly turns red as Emerald tries to escape through the pearly gates, but the claw keeps dragging her down through the clouds.

A FIERY VOID

Emerald screams as she is sent falling down to the pits of Hell, which are burning with fire. As she falls further into the distance, fire consumes her.

EXT. VALLEY. A FOGGY AFTERNOON.

Emerald shoots up into frame. She’s alright now. She’s wearing her blue dress and white skirt again, but she looks at her leg. There’s a large burn mark from her Heavenly vision. Suddenly, she hears barking in the distance, and her dog bounces over towards her. The two hug, and the dog licks Emerald’s face, delighted to see her. Their joyful embrace is cut short when they hear sobbing echoing from far off. They decide to follow it.

A MONTAGE begins of Emerald and her dog following the sobs through the valley, on train tracks, past rivers and through fields.

The MONTAGE finishes and Emerald and her dog encounter a beautiful blonde-haired woman wearing a flower crown and a white gown. Her name is Esmerelda. She turns around, making Emerald and her dog upset for her.

ESMERELDA

I hurt him!

(sobs)

My grandfather! He threw me out of Heaven. He said I wasn’t perfect to be one of his children. They didn’t allow me at the feast! They said lamb’s blood wasn’t good for me, and if I don’t worship God and Satan at the same time I’ll never go up to the feast again!

Emerald puts her hand on Esmerelda’s shoulder and sighs. Esmerelda, touched by Emerald’s kindness, smiles:

ESMERELDA

Do you really think there’s another chance of rejoining your grandfather again?

Emerald nods. Esmerelda stands up.

ESMERELDA
(softer, gentler)

Come with me, then, Emerald. There’s something I want to show you.

Esmerelda takes Emerald’s hand and leads her away. Her dog follows, barking.

DISSOLVE TO:

EXT. VALLEY POOL. DAY.

Esmerelda and Emerald head to the pool and look down at their reflections. The dog appears and takes a drink from the water.

ESMERELDA

Watch carefully.

Esmerelda blows into the water, revealing a reflection of Grandfather.

ESMERELDA
Your grandfather is still alive, Emerald. He lives inside you. You have his spirit.

Grandfather’s reflection morphs into a beautiful image of planet Earth.

ESMERELDA

(cont’d)

He was an environmental activist, just like your grandmother was. If you could follow in his footsteps and make the world a better place, someday all the plant life on earth won’t die out. There’ll be no litter clogging up beaches. There’ll be no pollution in the sea. And best of all, they’ll reward you for who you are.

Delighted over that fact, Emerald hugs Esmerelda thank you.

MATCH DISSOLVE TO:

EXT. GRAVEYARD. NIGHT.

Emerald has been asleep with her dog by her grandfather’s grave this whole time. She wakes up to hear voices calling:

EMERALD’S MUM

(O.S.)

Emerald!

EMERALD’S DAD

(O.S.)

Look! She’s over there!

Emerald and her dog wake up to these voices and are overjoyed. They dash right up to Mum and Dad and hug them.

MUM
Emerald! Where were you, we were worried sick!

DAD
We must’ve left you after the funeral yesterday. Still dreaming about your grandfather again?

There is a long pause. Then Emerald sighs, and says:

EMERALD
Hilda.

MUM

(in tears)

Oh, Hilda! I never thought that was your true name, but now I know. I’ve been a fool to name you Emma.

DAD

Come on, let’s get you two home. You’ll have a nice, hot bath and a warm drink by the fire. Come on, then.

The family walks off into the fog, disappearing. Grandfather’s voice is heard echoing:

GRANDFATHER

(VO)

Remember, the world is in your hands.

FADE TO BLACK.

THE END.