Some movies don’t come together. I think some stories have their time, perhaps the time passes and it isn’t right to tell the story anymore. Maybe one day the time comes again when the story should be told.
A little while back, I tried to tell a story called Burial Grounds. It was really something that happened to me in Africa, in the Comoros Islands, with my friends Alexis and Junior. Somehow it found its ways to the alleyways of Tempe and to baseball gloves and dog shrines and tape players. Perhaps one day it will make its way to the screen in this way or another.
I want to share some part of it: the screenplay, the blueprint for a movie.
EXT. ALLEY – DAY
The alley is empty, expect for the big black trash cans, the broken glass, and the unwanted furniture. The sun beats it down. A gate opens and MICKEY, a boy, comes out. He wears an over-sized baseball glove on one hand.
EXT. PATIO – DAY
Mickey creeps onto a back patio. He puts his head to the ground and stares for some sign under the door crack into the house.
He gets up, fishes into his pocket, pulls out a pack of gum. He places it on a dirty patio table and walks away.
A moment later, another young hand, this one belongs to ROGER, takes up the pack of gum. A piece is removed, the shiny paper package shed, the pink gum consumed.
EXT. ALLEY – DAY
Mickey throws imaginary baseballs. The gate to a backyard opens. Roger comes out. Mickey stops throwing. He and Roger size each other up, then Mickey throws an arm around Roger and they walk down the alley together.
EXT. BACKYARD – WALL – DAY
Mickey and Roger sit on the wall ledge. They wait and wait.
EXT. HOUSE
Two little hands hold a piece of paper in the window with kid-scrawled writing. It reads I DON’T WANT TO.
EXT. BACKYARD – WALL – DAY
Mickey and Roger continue to wait. Roger blows a big bubble and unfolds another piece of gum into his mouth.
EXT. HOUSE
The same little hands hold a new sign. This one reads WATCHING TV WITH MOM.
EXT. BACKYARD – WALL – DAY
Roger continues to chew. Mickey stands on the wall as a symbol of sincerity.
EXT. ALLEY -DAY
Roger and Mickey are joined by SALLY.They walk down the long alley until they cannot be seen anymore.
CUT TO:
Mickey rummages a pile of trash. He uses the baseball glove to sort through things.
ROGER
Scorpion alert.
SALLY
It’s only an alert if you see one.
ROGER
I bet there’s one there.
SALLY
Black widow.
ROGER
Did you see a web?
SALLY
I didn’t say alert.
ROGER
You’re full of it, Sal.
SALLY
Full of what?
ROGER
I don’t know.
CUT TO:
Mickey leans against a wall. He toys with an old tape player, cradled in his glove.
Sally comes and peers over his shoulder.
SALLY
Does it work?
MICKEY
The batteries are old.
ROGER
It’s just broken.
MICKEY
If I change the batteries it will work.
He holds the broken tape player to his ear.
ROGER
It’s broken. Why would they throw it out if it wasn’t broken?
SALLY
I’m going home.
MICKEY
The sun didn’t go down.
He opens the tape player and investigates a home-made tape with the name of some band written in faded letters on it. Roger blows another bubble.
SALLY
I’ve been here.
ROGER
Let’s go somewhere new, Mickey.
MICKEY
You want to go somewhere we’ve never been?
Roger blows a bubble. Sally leans closer. Mickey takes off and they follow.
ROGER
Throw that junk away.
EXT. STREET – DAY
One alley dead ends into a neighborhood street and picks up into another one across the way. The children watch carefully and when there is no movement on the street they dash to the other side.
EXT. ALLEY – DAY
Mickey leads the trio down the new alley. They behave like animals in virgin territory.
Up ahead they see two girls standing against a wall. One of them holds a pitcher of lemonade. They don’t say anything to Mickey, Roger, and Sally.
SALLY
Are you selling lemonade?
LEMONADE GIRL 1
Yeah. You want some?
ROGER
How much is it?
One Lemonade girl stares at the other.
SALLY
Where are your cups?
LEMONADE GIRL 1
We don’t have any.
ROGER
How are you going to sell lemonade without cups?
LEMONADE GIRL 1
I don’t know.
The kids all stand around each other in awkward silence.
ROGER
How much for the whole pitcher?
LEMONADE GIRL 1
What do you got?
Roger immediately turns to Mickey.
ROGER
Hey, give ’em that thing.
Mickey cradles the tape player in his glove.
ROGER
It’s just a piece of junk, Mickey.
Mickey glances at Sally, maybe for some assisted defense. She does nothing.
ROGER
Come on. I’m thirsty.
Mickey opens his glove. Roger grabs the tape player and hands it to Lemonade Girl 1. She takes it and gestures for Lemonade Girl 2 to hand Roger the pitcher.
CUT TO:
Mickey and his friends sit up against the wall of another part of the alley. Roger finishes a long drink from the pitcher. He hands it to Sally, she drinks too. She gives it to Mickey. He awkwardly holds it with his one hand and the glove and pours the lemonade into his mouth.
ROGER
Take that thing off. You’ll spill it.
Mickey ignores him and drinks.
ROGER
Don’t drink all of it.
Mickey keeps drinking until it’s all gone. He sets the pitcher down get up and starts walking again. Sally turns to the open-mouthed Roger.
SALLY
It wasn’t very good lemonade anyway.
CUT TO:
As they approach a bend in the alley, Mickey holds his arms out, signaling the other two to stop. He advances on something dark and obscure on the wall ahead.
He gets closer and sees that is a string of odd objects tied together and hanging from the wall. There is a chewed-up tennis ball, a frayed rope, some sort of stuffed animal with its head missing. At the end of this conglomeration of objects there is a faded picture of a dog. SCREAMING begins. Disoriented, he and the others who have slowly approached stand frightened, looking for the source of the sound. They spot a face behind a wooden gate, its eyes wide, its mouth too, continuing to exhibit the awful cry.
Mickey looks behind him and another BOY, same age but a little taller, stands a few feet away. The screaming stops. He notices another BOY coming up on the side of him. The GIRL who stood behind the gate screaming opens it and comes out. Another GIRL follows her.
The three of them are now surrounded by four others. BOY 1 picks up a large rock from the ground. He can barely carry it but holds it at shoulder length.
BOY 1
This is a burial ground.
BOY 2
You stepped on it.
SALLY
We didn’t know.
MICKEY
What’s buried here?
BOY 1
I’ll crush your head.
Boy 1 comes a little closer with the rock. Mickey doesn’t flinch. Roger tugs on Sally’s shirt and begins to leave. Boy 2 stands in his way.
Girl 2
You walked on our burial ground.
ROGER
Hey we didn’t know it was here, okay?
GIRL 1
You walked on it. Now you have to die.
Mickey reaches down to the burial shrine and takes the picture. He holds it in his hands. Boy 2 snatches it from him.
GIRL 1
That doesn’t belong to you.
SALLY
Let us go.
ROGER
We’ll give you something, if you let us go.
BOY 1
What will you give us?
ROGER
Give him your glove, Mickey.
Mickey doesn’t budge.
GIRL 1
We don’t want that.
ROGER
I can get some money.
BOY 2
How much money?
ROGER
I don’t know.
Girl 2
A hundred dollars.
BOY 2
A hundred dollars and we won’t kill you.
MICKEY
Sally can get it.
ROGER
I’ll go.
SALLY
Let Roger go, Mick.
BOY 1
If you don’t come back with the money, I’ll crush his head.
GIRL 1
And we’ll hurt her too.
Roger doesn’t say anything. He breaks from the circle and speeds off down the alley.
We follow him a ways and then the camera loses him.
CUT TO:
Sally sits down against the wall.
MICKEY
What’s buried here?
BOY 1
Shut up. I’ll kill you.
He rotates the rock in his tired arm.
SALLY
Sit down, Mick.
MICKEY
How did he die?
Boy 1 holds the rock over Mickey’s head. His arms shake.
MICKEY
Go ahead. It’s alright.
All the other children, including Boy 1, are more scared than Mickey. It isn’t exactly that he’s brave, just that he doesn’t care what happens.
MICKEY
What was his name?
SALLY
Sit down, Mickey.
Her hand reaches out and holds his leg just above the ankle, begging him to back down.
BOY 1
I’ll drop it.
MICKEY
Okay.
SALLY
Mickey.
He looks down at her. Finally he sits. Next to each other, they hold hands.
CUT TO:
The alley is empty. Suddenly a roar is heard, then the grill of the truck appears. It bumps up and down the narrow passage, the pebbles and glass popping underneath its wheels.
CUT TO:
Girl 1 notices the sound first.
GIRL 1
You hear that?
The other three notice the truck and panic marks their faces. They all scatter except Boy 1, who lingers. He eyes Mickey until the truck arrives and then he drops the rock.
ROGER’S DAD gets out of the truck and runs after him, but Boy 1 gets away.
Dust settles. Sally stands up and pulls Mickey with her. Roger comes out of the truck.
ROGER
I got my dad.
Roger’s dad comes over. He pats Sally and Mickey on the shoulder.
ROGER’S DAD
Little bastards. Did you see where they went?
Mickey answers before Sally can.
MICKEY
No.
ROGER’S DAD
You kids alright?
Sally nods for the both of them, still holding his hand.
ROGER’S DAD
Alright, get in.
He goes back to the truck. Mickey and Sally let go of their hand-hold.
MICKEY
I want to walk.
ROGER’S DAD
Don’t be silly, Mickey. Get in the truck.
SALLY
I’ll go with him, it’ll be okay.
ROGER
Come on guys.
MICKEY
I want to walk.
ROGER
Suit yourself.
ROGER’S DAD
Be careful.
The two get in the truck and it pulls away.
CUT TO:
Mickey runs down the alley with Sally trailing behind.
MICKEY
Hurry.
SALLY
Why?
He doesn’t answer. He just keeps running. He comes to a familiar place in the alley (the spot where they met the LEMONADE GIRLS).
MICKEY
They’re gone.
He stares, disappointed, at the blank wall.
SALLY
Mickey.
He turns to see Sally. She holds the tape player in her hand.
SALLY
It was laying over here.
Mickey takes it and hides it in his glove again.
MICKEY
Thanks.
CUT TO:
In the alleyway behind Sally’s backyard, she stands by the open gate about to go in. Mickey stands by, waiting for something to happen.
SALLY
Goodbye, Mickey.
MICKEY
Goodbye.
They awkwardly shake hands. Mickey leaves.
EXT. MICKEY’S BACKYARD
Mickey opens the gate into his backyard.
In his backyard, there is a flat bed trailer, a wood shed, and other random things. He moves to the shed.
INT. SHED
Mickey searches the drawers for batteries until he finds a couple.
EXT. MICKEY’S BACKYARD
He sits on the flat-bed trailer. He replaces the batteries, lets the old ones roll away.
With the new ones in, he presses play on the tape player. It exhibits sound, in the middle of some song. He lays down on the flat bed trailer and looks up at the blue sky and listens.
CUT TO BLACK
