| Vanish |
GENRE: Sci-Fi Thriller.
STATUS: Script written. Prospective shoot anticipated in the fall of 2022.
LOGLINE: A woman and her co-workers who are visited by the spirit of her dead landlord on his property, determine that the reason for his appearances, is to assist them in discovering who killed him.
Script Development
Vanish has as its source of inspiration, actor Michael Carter (inset photo), who has been featured in a number of YBS LegacyVision Films. He had a small role as a security guard in World Buffet, played the strong man of a triumvirate of villains in Closing Costs, turned around and played a good cop in The Curse Of Witness Protection, and then returned to playing a bad guy in the short film anthology, Grab. He also played voice-over roles in So Close Shig, Before The After, The Landline Detective, and Covid Release. During these past productions, he had always suggested to YBS producer Eric Nemoto that his house and property in the Kahaluu area of the island of Oahu, Hawaii, could be used for shooting a movie if there was a story that could fit the area. Given Michael’s continuous offer, Eric set about writing a script that could be set within his two story house and five acre plot of lush land. The result, completed on May 21, 2019, was Vanish, a 90-page science fiction thriller that is intended to be shot entirely on his property. Michael has been cast as one of the five characters. He will play John Jarecki, whose visit to a female co-worker confirms that strange things are happening where the woman lives.
Script Treatment
In the country, set amidst a beautiful view of a lush mountain range, there is a two story house with a large property. On it Veronica Laney, 40’s, a woman who is fragile of mind and spirit. She stares out to the acreage as if in search of something. She’s been missing from work for some time and staying at home for some reason. Later at night she sits in her house waiting for something as the clock ticks its way to midnight. She has barricaded the front door with chairs. A jolting knock at the door has Veronica in tears. She screams, “No, go away!” The chairs are methodically pulled away by some force. The lock is turned open. The door opens and we see Foster Wayfair, 70’s, a man who was Veronica’s landlord and who died on her property a month ago. His presence raises the question as to whether he is a ghost or something that exists only in the eyes of Veronica. We get a long shot of the property as we hear Veronica’s scream in the distance.
In the morning, a co-worker, John Jarecki, 40’s, drives his truck onto the driveway, exits, climbs the steps to the second story. He senses something but can’t figure out what it is. John finds the front door slightly ajar and peeks in, calling out for Veronica. He is called by Veronica to come to the backyard. He goes there and finds her sitting in a beach chair looking out to the back of the property. John can sense something wrong. He tells her that the temp is getting everything wrong. Veronica tells him that’s why the boss should’ve given her a raise when she asked for it. John asks if that is the reason for her absence. Veronica says no, that she’s a pro, she always does her job. Then why then, John asks, why is it that she’s just not coming to work. Veronica doesn’t answer. John looks around and asks her what’s going to happen to the place? Veronica shrugs that she doesn’t know. “Has anyone come around? He asks. Veronica nods as she stares out blanky, “Yep.” John suspects there’s meaning behind her confirmation. When Veronica comments that she doesn’t feel well, John escorts her back upstairs and into her bedroom and tucks her in. Finding out she hasn’t eaten in days, he tells her to rest while he goes to her kitchen to cook something up.
Later, John talks to another co-worker, Brian, on his cell. Through their discussion we learn that the temp filling Veronica’s place has been fired so John will hang out for the day to see that Veronica gets something to eat and hopefully feels better. Brian suggests that Veronica may need psychological help after finding her landlord dead and her being close to him and all. John tells Brian he’ll stay and be in touch later.
Later, John watches as Veronica slurps down some soup, the first type of food she’s had in two days. After she finishes he asks her what’s going on. She tells him it’s a bit complex, other worldly in fact. He wonders what is that about and wants to know. After a bit of evasion, Veronica tells John that her dead landlord still comes around. John asks her what does that mean? Veronica explains that Foster’s ghost appears every night, close to midnight, no fail. She says she tried barricading the door but it’s no use. John looks around and sees the chairs strewn about. Veronica reasons that Foster is trying to tell her something. She just can’t figure out what it is. John tells her that it’s likely that Veronica is just seeing things because she was emotionally traumatized by Foster’s death. Veronica is calm and lucid and tells John, no, it’s his ghost, and if John is just going to counsel her rather than listen, that he should just leave. John wipes his face in contemplation.
Back outside by his truck, John talks to Brian again on his cell. As he does, the ghost of Foster stands to the side watching him. As he continues talking we learn that Veronica considered Foster almost like a surrogate father. Brian tells John that he needs to get Veronica out of the house and away. John agrees but tells him Veronica doesn’t want to leave. Then, a crashing sound happens, and John tells Brian to hold as he sees a hubcap has fallen in the middle of the garage. John picks it up and looks around and the wheels in his head turn. As he steps over to a stack of hubcaps he tells Brian that he’s going to stay the night to watch over Veronica.
Late at night, as it approaches midnight, John and Veronica await the arrival of Foster. The front door has been left open because as Veronica says, even when she barricades the door, Foster gets in anyway. She paces about, a pit of anxiety, while John sits calmly, seriously doubting anything will happen. Unknown sounds happen which makes John stand, but he rationalizes that it was just the wind. Then, a series of knocks occur. Veronica deadpans, “I think the wind wants to come in.” After some beats of waiting Foster appears in the frame of the door and both Veronica and John scream. Veronica manages to nervously joke that she doesn’t want to say it. “Yeah, yeah,” John says as he stares in shock, “You told me so.” A series of appearances and reappearances, one involving Foster sitting with a scrabble board in front of him, has both Veronica and John spooked out and they make a dash for the door. They get into John’s truck in spite Veronica commenting that their escape is fruitless. John starts the engine. It is dead. As he exclaims, “What the…”, they see Foster sitting in the back seat. They scream and get out of the cab. John leads Veronica up the driveway in an attempt to escape but at the top entry way to the property they see Foster standing and looking back at them. They turn and run around the house and into the backyard that overlooks acres of shrubbery. “No way,” Veronica says, “No way I’m going into a forest where he can jump out at us at anytime.” John agrees and they settle onto the grass and try to make sense of things. Veronica explains that Foster appears mostly at night, but he’ll pop up in the day if she tries to leave. John tries to call the police but finds that his cell phone has died. He looks at Veronica and gets it. Veronica hasn’t been to work simply because she hasn’t been allowed to leave and hasn’t been able to communicate with the outside world.
The sun rises on the next morning and Veronica and John continue talking in the backyard. We learn that Veronica got to know Foster from the moment she arrived to inquire about renting the upstairs house. Foster was cooking breakfast and asked her to come in for some bacon and eggs. By the time they had finished, Veronica was told he could move in. Because they were early risers they continued their breakfasts together, either downstairs or upstairs, depending on who was cooking. They became close since Veronica had lost her father when she was 10, and Foster had lost his son a few years back as well as his wife. The only family he had was his daughter-in-law, Fran, who he never liked and never got along with. They were polar opposites. Foster was the type of guy who could turn lemons into lemonade. Fran made them rancid. She recalls one night hearing her pressing him about whether or not she was in his will. He yelled back, “YES! But why I have no idea! You made my son’s life hell!” Veronica tells John that Fran was always out for money, had a drug problem, and Foster even said that he thought that she even caused his son’s death. John asks about the image of Foster playing scrabble and what was that about? Veronica responds that she and Foster used to play once a week, no fail. She also confirms that when he didn’t arrive for breakfast, she checked on him and found Foster dead lying in his bed with the scrabble board next to him. “How’d he die? John asks. “Heart attack,” Veronica, “At least that’s what Fran told me.” While Veronica confesses that she feels an obligation to stay to figure out what Foster wants, John tells her she’s not looking good and that Foster would never want her to suffer. John suggests that the next time, they just rush past Foster at the top of the hill. Veronica, with no better idea, agrees to his plan.
Another car enters from the top of the hill and drives onto the driveway. John listens and says, “It’s Brian.” He gets up and he and Veronica rush to the front of the house. John waves and shouts to Brian to stay up on the hill and don’t enter, but it’s too late. Brian Venares, 40’s, notices John’s frantic waves but drives his car down to the front of the house anyway. He parks it and gets out. He asks what was all the waving about. John tells him both of their cars can’t start and likely Brian’s one won’t either. Brian squints confusion but follows their gaze back to his car and sees Foster sitting in the passenger chair. Brian wonders aloud who is that guy? He goes over, saying that Foster should get out, but when he bends down to look through the driver’s side window Foster is no longer there. “What the hell?!” Brian jumps back, “Did you see that? The guy just vanished!”
Later, the three of them are sitting the car port contemplating what to do. Brian confirms that he can’t call out with his cell either. They look to the top of the hill and see Foster standing there like a guard. After banter that ensues about who should be the guinea pig, the trio decide that all of them will walk to the top and attempt to merely walk past Foster. They then walk to the top and nervously pass Foster and proceed to walk down the street. Veronica utters, “Occam’s Razor?” John asks what’s that. Brian explains that Occam’s Razon is the principle attributed to the medieval philosopher, William of Occam that basically means the simplest solution is usually the best. He continues to say that rather than assume Foster can physically stop them, they just walked on by. But just when they think they are in the clear they see Foster standing in the distance. John says, “Occam’s Razor my ass.”
Later, in Veronica’s house, they have breakfast and coffee together. Veronica concludes that Foster is trying to tell them something. They each contribute reasons as to why Foster appears but he can’t directly communicate what he wants to say. Afterwards, Brian tries to watch a little television. He points and presses the remote but nothing happens. “Oh man…,” Brian shakes his head, “Really Foster? ” Outside, John approaches his truck, and hesitantly starts to open the door to the cab. “All right Foster,” John glances around, “I’m not trying to get away. I’ve got a bag of extra clothes in my back seat. I’m going to just take it out okay?” Back in the house, Brian, sitting on the couch can hear the sound of soft foot steps approaching. He starts to breathe hard, his anxiety building. He gets up and presses himself against the opposing wall as he watches the door handle slowly turning. The door is flown open and Michael yells. Brian screams like a little girl and hops about. As John laughs, Brian points and shouts, “You asshole! That’s not funny!” John drops to the floor laughing. Brian, breathing hard, is finally forced to laugh himself.
Back in the bedroom, Veronica is sound asleep. We get a dream sequence and see: a door is open and the light is on; a side table has a bunch of prescription pills on it and an empty glass; Foster lies on his bed with his back with his eyes frozen open; Veronica reacts in shock; next to Foster is a packet of cotton balls along with Scrabble game box; and his hand holds a pen. Veronica stirs and her eyes open.
Later, John comes out of the bathroom having freshened up by taking a shower. He thanks Veronica. She asks Brian if he wants to take a shower. Brian jokes about whether she thinks he smells and says he’s hoping he won’t have to stay the night like John, but if so he has extra clothes in his car too and he can get it if he wants. John asks him if he’d rather get it now just in case or later when it’s dark? “Seriously?” Brian says and reluctantly leaves. As he does he mentions that the television isn’t working. Why? Foster lets them have everything else electrical why not the TV? He points and depresses the remote and nothing happens. John moves over and takes the remote, turns it around, points and presses, and the TV turns on. Brian walks out the front door. John and Veronica chuckle and sit down and talk and subject turns to Foster’s appearance must mean that there is another side of existence. After they have discussed things philosophically for some time, the front door bolts open and Brian growls. John and Veronica look at him with no reaction. Brian slumps his shoulders and joins them, carrying his own back pack filled with clothes.
Veronica proceeds to tell the guys more about Foster. She tells them that Foster was very religious. During their scrabble games he’d try to answer questions that Veronica had that she just couldn’t reconcile when it comes to the stories of the Bible. In reference to Noah living over 900 years, and that the flood happened around 4,500 years ago, she says that Foster told her about “The Lost Squadron,” as an example of everyone has the age of the earth wrong. John chimes in that he knows about this and explains to Brian that American fighter planes had crash landed in a remote area of Greenland back in 40’s, and that the pilots were all rescued but the planes were just left there and eventually forgotten. Fifty years later it was decided to go and retrieve the planes, which they merely expected to still be sitting out in the open, but in fact they were buried under 250 feet of snow. This anomaly goes against all of the science that says it takes a long time to accumulate such an ice fall, and they calculated that at that rate the entire thickness of the Greenland ice sheet could be created in 1200 to 1500 years, well within the Biblical time frame that everything was created in 6,000 years and Noah’s flood happened 4,500 years ago. The discussion makes them all contemplate history and reality as they’ve known it. John says, “What’s the essence of religion?” “Faith,” Veronica responds, “The essence of religion is believing in something when you don’t have any proof.” At that moment the trio hear another car entering the driveway.
They go to the window and watch as a car parks and out pops Fran Wayfair, 30’s, the former daughter-in-law of the late Foster. She wears dark glasses to shield her eyes but to also mask the glaze she sports due to her dependency on drugs. She walks to the entrance of the first floor of the house. Veronica leads the men down the steps and quietly they enter house through the door that has been left open. They see Fran, having taken off her dark glasses, moving about in a semi-form of panic. She turns over cushions on the sofa in search of something. Finding nothing she goes to the series of shelves that line against the wall and carelessly turns things on it over that might be covering up what she’s looking for. Eventually she notices Veronica and the guys.”What are you doing here?” She demands. Veronica responds that she was just checking who came. In her communication, it is clear that Fran despises Veronica, and vice versa, and that she’s on drugs. She tells them that she’s looking for Foster’s will, something that Veronica can’t help but scoff at the notion that Fran would be in it. But she tells Fran that if anything at all Foster would have kept it in a safe deposit box. Fran says it isn’t as she’s just come from the bank. She holds up and envelope. Veronica asks what it is. Fran hands it over to Veronica as in her state she can’t read it easily. Veronica reads and it’s a statement saying that a check for $20,000 is written to Fran to buy her out of the property. Fran despises it. Veronica tells her she should feel fortunate and that she should take the check and run. Fran angrily disagrees, saying she deserves the whole place. Fran orders Veronica off the property. Veronica says that the note proves Fran no longer owns any piece of this place and that she’s paid up until the end of the month. Fran shoots back that until she cashes the check she does own part of the property so Veronica needs to get out by the next day or else she’ll call the police.
Later, back upstairs, Veronica, John, and Brian talk things over. Veronica explains that Fran and Foster’s son, Forrest, were married and used to live in this place. Foster never liked her and used to tell Forrest that she was a user, not only in terms of drugs, but in terms of generally just using people. She tells them that Foster was convinced that somehow Forrest had been poisoned, that his death happened when he was away on a Bible cruise, and when he returned, he was told by Fran that she had Forrest cremated, something he never expected, seeing as how Forrest was like Foster, a devout Catholic, and they didn’t believe in cremation. That was the last straw. Foster told Fran to leave. She wouldn’t. She said she was on title to the property and that she had every right to stay. Brian asks, “How’d he get her to leave?” Veronica responds, “He told Fran that if she didn’t leave he’d exercise his option to buy her out and take her off the deed by offering $20,000.” Brian gets it, “Ahh… so that’s what she was talking about.” Veronica explains that Foster insisted on having that option. The only way that he’d let Forrest and Fran build on his property was if he ultimately had controlling interest and that he had an option to buy them out for a low price. They discuss how Fran could’ve gotten the keys to the safe deposit box because she was Foster’s next of kin and that she wants to find the will not because she might be on it, but because if she destroys it then Foster died intestate, and if there’s no will, then all of Foster’s possessions goes to probate court. And while that’s not necessarily ideal, Fran, being the closest Foster would have to being family, would have the best shot of getting everything. Talking this out, they all get it. Fran wants to find the will and destroy it. They determine that Fran will turn over every thing until she finds it unless they find it first. They then hear the first floor front door slamming. They get up and go to the window.
They watch as Fran unsteadily makes her way back to her car. She turns and looks up to them. “I’ll be back! Don’t go in the house! If you go inside the house I’ll have you all arrested!” “Geez,” John reacts in amazement, “How does she make it through the day?” Brian chuckles, “Oooh… this is going to be fun. She’s going to flip out when she meets her father-in-law again.” Fran gets into her car and starts it up. She reverses up the driveway, onto the street, and then drives away. Back in the house, Veronica, John, and Brian exchange incredulous looks to each other. The trio make their way downstairs and mill about the car port. “Okay,” Brian asks, “Someone tell me why we get priority treatment?” As they think about what just happened they react to the sound of another hubcap crashing on the concrete. John steps over and picks it up and looks at the others. “There’s gotta be a reason,” he says.
Later that night the three of them have dinner on the dining table. They trade theories as to why Foster keeps them there and lets Fran go. One theory is that Foster is trying to communicate with them but their ears can’t pick up on it. Like those ghost hunter shows on TV they talk of asking a question and recording what happens. But as Brian points out, “Well, what does it matter, we don’t have anything to record anyway.” Veronica responds, “Actually, we do. Well, not us here. But over at Foster’s place.” John and Brian look at Veronica and then to each other. Back on the first floor, John and Brian watch as Veronica searches through a variety of shoe boxes filled with cassette tapes. She pulls out one of many Christian tapes. “Oh… I’d hate to record over any of these.” John responds, “Uh Ver? I don’t think he’ll be around to use it anymore.” Veronica then finds one that is unwrapped.
Back up at her place, Veronica holds a portable cassette tape recorder. They talk about whether they should shut the lights. John surmises they should because that’s what they do in all those shows. “They record in the dark because a lot of those places they film are abandoned and have no electricity.” Veronica retorts. They decide to just start recording with the lights on. They start asking questions and get no response. Then, the lights go out. Brian screams and curses John for likely pulling another joke. “Well, tell you what partner, I had nothing to do with it. So either the electricity just went out legitimately, or, good old Foster is trying to reach out to us again.” At that moment a glare arises which illuminating them. They stare at it, mesmerized. For they see Foster again sitting at a small table in the middle of the living room. Atop the table is a game of Scrabble that is in the middle of being played. Foster turns to look at them. Brian asks, “What’s he doing?” They all step closer to him.
They continue to watch Foster and wonder about why a game of Scrabble? Veronica looks away and suddenly her eyes close and we another dream sequence. We are again in the bedroom. The lights are on. The prescription pills are on the side table, and there is an empty glass. Foster’s body lies on his back and his eyes are frozen open. There is again the cotton balls and the Scrabble board game. And again Foster’s hand holds a pen. We hear John asking if Veronica is okay. We are back at the side table where the pills are also strewn about. We get a closeup of the pen that Foster holds in his hand. The camera pans from this to the Scrabble box until it fills the screen.
Back in the present, Brian and John react that Foster has just vanished. Veronica awakes and walks about in thought. John and Brian watch her, feeling something hat dawned on her. “I never noticed it before,” she says. “What?” John responds. Veronica explains that when Foster died, his pills were scattered about on the side table and there were cotton balls strewn about. and that in his hand was a pen. Veronica turns, “What had he been writing?” Veronica points out that on his bed, to the side, was the Scrabble game box. Veronica squints, “Why?” As they contemplate, John asks Veronica to play back what they recorded. She does. There’s nothing. Not sure what everything means, Brian logically states, “Look, if he’s appeared multiple times showing this Scrabble thing then it must have some meaning to all of this.” John nods, “Where’s that Scrabble game, Ver?”
Back on the first floor Veronica leads the guys into the bedroom. She mentions that she put it up in the closet after she found Foster, not thinking anything about it. Veronica opens the closet and takes the box down from a top shelf. She opens it up and they find Foster’s prescription pill container in which there is a cotton ball, and a folded sheet of paper. She hands the container to John but tells him not to open it. She opens up the sheet of paper. On it we see forced, scribbled writing, that is written sloppily, at an angle. We see that the scribbled writing shows, “I,” “have,” a jagged line, “poisn,” and the letters, “fr.” John exclaims, “That’s poison. He’s written poison.” Veronica nods and contemplate the “F” and the “R”. She reasons that when Foster realized that he had been poisoned, he wanted to leave something behind, to let someone know who did it to him. Veronica thinks back, “When I found him, there was a glass on this table.” She concludes that Foster must have drank from the glass and realized he only had a few minutes left and she plays things out. “So he gets a bag of cotton from the bathroom and gets a cotton ball to swab the inside of the glass. But he needs something to put it in. So he opens his medicine container, empties out the pills and puts the cotton ball inside of it. But he needs to hide it. Where? So he figures to hide it in something, so he stumbles over here and reaches up to get the Scrabble box. But he realizes he needs to explain what has happened. So he goes to his desk. He’s in pain. So he goes back to his bed and lies down. He’s near death but he has to write down what happened. So he begins to write, “I have been poisoned,” only he knows he doesn’t have much time. So he cuts to writing “poison” but can’t make it through spelling it entirely. He has to write the name of the person who did it, but he’s fading. So he manages to get what he can and must end it there because he’ll be dead in a few seconds and what good is all this if it’s found by the person who did it. So he folds up the sheet and puts it along with the prescription pill container into the Scrabble box and closes the cover, and then…”
“He dies.” Veronica, John, and Brian are startled and they turn to see Fran pointing a handgun at them. “Ay what are you? Artistic or something? Clairvoyance?” Fran asks. It all makes sense to Veronica now. She tells everyone what happened. “Somehow, I couldn’t believe it. But you had Foster cremated, Fran, just like you did with your husband. Convenient. All the evidence burned away. You killed Foster, Fran. You killed him just like how you killed your husband.” Fran blurst out, “Those guys wanted to ice me out. NOBODY ICES ME OUT!” Veronica talks to Fran and asks her how she did it. Fran confirms that the poison used was arsenic, the perfect murder weapon, which works quickly, and is impossible to detect. Fran confesses that she was able to get it from her drug contacts. She admits that she was trying to make like she turned over a new leaf and had brought his medicine with a glass of water, and eventually he drank his medicine. It is revealed that she did the same to her husband, Forrest, to collect on his life insurance policy, just like she did it to two other men before Forrest, collecting all of their money as well. “So you’re a regular serial killer aren’t you?” Veronica stares Fran down, “A genuine Black Widow.” Fran smiles, “Hey, it’s a living.” Fran attempts to get both the note and the pill box but Veronica and John hold the evidence behind them. “Oh you guys! Come on man!” Fran chuckles, “I’m gonna get them anyway!” John questions, “How do you think you’re gonna get away with this huh? How you gonna get rid of three bodies?” In her drugged state, Fran still has an answer, one that has been thought out. “I’m not.” She says, “I’ll leave you right here. I shoot you all and then I wipe this gun clean and I’ll put the gun in your hands Veronica! It’ll look like you killed the other two and then killed yourself! So I’ll shoot these two in their hearts, and then shoot you last in your head. I mean, nobody will even hear the gun shots, since we’re so far out in the country. Pretty good huh?” When John contends that they’ll trace the gun, Fran tells him that the serial number has been conveniently filed off. “It cost a little more but comes in handy,” she says. Brian leans in to John and whispers, “For somebody who’s fucked up she’s thought up all the angles.” Fran overhears Brian and explodes. She takes aim at them. “It was nice chatting with you all, but a girl’s gotta do what a girl’s gotta do. BYE!”
But just before Fran can pull the trigger, something she sees transforms her face into a mask of shock and fear. She starts to tremble. For standing in front of Veronica, John, and Brian, is Foster. Fran reacts with anguish, “NO! YOU’RE DEAD! YOU’RE DEAD!” She fires three shots as Veronica, John, and Brian leap to the side to avoid the gunfire. But Foster remains in place, intact, stoically looking back at Fran, whose face contorts in horror. Fran turns and runs to the door. But just as she gets there the door slams shut and Fran runs into it and knocks herself out. As Veronica, John, and Brian see Fran on the floor, they then look around for Foster. He has vanished. A moment passes and all of their cell phones beep. They each take their cells out and realize that their phones are now working. “Man,” Brian shakes his head, “Did you hear what she confessed to?” John punches numbers into his cell. “Yeah, before the cops get here,” John puts his cell to his ear, “We better put our heads together and write down everything she said.” Veronica tells them there’s no need to. She pulls out the cassette tape recorder from her pocket, hits the “rewind” button, presses the “play” button, and they hear Fran’s voice describing all that she did. The trio smile to each other.
Later, with police car lights flashing, Veronica, John, and Brian watch as Fran is being driven away.”Well, now we know why old Foster was hanging around,” John says. “Yep,” Brian agrees, “He just couldn’t let Fran get away with murder.” Veronica, John, and Brian smile at each other. At that moment, there is another crashing sound and the trio react and turn around to see another hubcap still spinning on the ground. Once again, John steps over to inspect it. John hypothesizes that even though Fran has been caught, that the hubcaps mean something. The three of them take a beat to think it out and then decide to do the obvious. They notice that to the side a bunch of other hubcaps seem to be resting upon something that is partially covered with a cloth. They approach the hubcaps and take them off until they come to a cloth that covers something. They take that off to find a rectangular storage box. A beat passes and then Veronica opens it to reveal a large white envelope labeled, “Veronica, the daughter I never had.” “Holy crap!” Brian shouts. Everyone knows what’s coming. “It’s Foster’s will,” John nods. Veronica takes out what’s in the envelope and reads, “I, Foster Wayfair, being of sound mind, do hereby bequeath all of my worldly possessions to…” Veronica looks up and succumbs to the moment, “Oh my God.” At that very moment the car port’s lights go out and the trio are in darkness once again. “Here we go,” Brian looks around. As do Veronica and John. There, to the side, appears a glare of light. It is Foster. Veronica steps towards Foster and says, “Thank you for what you did, Foster. I miss you. You’re the father I never had. I’ll never forget you. I think I’ll see you again one day.” Foster’s usual expressionless gaze returns a tilt to his head. Veronica catches herself. “No, I mean,” she smiles, “I WILL see you again.” And for the first time, a smile etches across Foster’s lips as his image fades away into the night. Veronica, John, and Brian share looks of astonishment.
A week later the trio enjoy pizza and beer together. They talk about the new raise that their boss has agreed to give Veronica. Their discussion confirms that they believe Foster’s time back on earth has ended and he’s permanently back on the other side and that Foster’s will has given the house to Veronica. They talk about the surreal experience they all had and that neither of them have told anyone else. Who would believe them? John then realizes something. He remembers that he took a photo of Foster that first time he appeared to him. He takes out his cell and scrolls through his gallery until he finds the shot. Veronica and Brian stand and gather near for they are curious as well. But in the entrance to the hallway where Foster would have been, it is empty. “What the hell,” John says, “I’m telling you he was in the shot! I checked it that night. You saw it, Ver, right?” Veronica acknowledges that she did. John’s shoulders slump dejectedly. But Brian tells him they all know it’s true. Veronica agrees. “We don’t need any pictures, for we have the essence of religion.” John and Brian look to Veronica to explain. She smiles, “Faith.” The three of them smile and nod in agreement.
We end our story with shots around the property. We see the mountain range, trees that are buffeted by winds, the side of the house, a window of the house, a sunflower, and a long shot of the house on a beautiful, sunny day.
Comments are closed.