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Rapture (1991)

by Michael Tolkin.

More info about this movie on IMDb.com


FOR EDUCATIONAL PURPOSES ONLY


INTERIOR: TELEPHONE COMPANY INFORMATION OFFICE. DAY. 
We move slowly through a crowded office. A hundred 
information operators in booths. SHARON works at a computer 
terminal. Close on her. She's on a kind of autopilot as she 
does her job, and the people talking to her hear so little 
personality that her humanity barely registers. That she 
might have a beauty that is becoming hollow, or a private 
life that would astonish them -- this, no one thinks about. 
She watches the clock. Five minutes to six.

			SHARON 
	Please hold for the number. 
	Operator 134, what city please? 
		(Pause, as she 
		types in the name.) 
	Is that a business or residence? 
	Please hold for the number. 
		(Pause.) 
	Operator 134. What city please? 
		(Pause.) 
	How do you spell that?

The clock. Two minutes to six.

			SHARON 
		(pause)
	Please hold for the number. 
		(Pause.) 
	Operator 134. What city please? 
		(Pause.) 
	Is that a business or residence? 
		(Pause.) 
	Please hold for the number. 

Pause. Behind her, a woman, another OPERATOR, waits for the 
chair. 

Six o'clock.

SHARON gets up. The other OPERATOR takes her place and takes 
her headphones. SHARON starts to stand as she begins the 
next sentence. Pause.

			SHARON 
	Operator 134. Is that a business or
	residence? ... 

And the other OPERATOR takes her headset and completes the 
number as SHARON leaves her post.

			OPERATOR
	Please hold for the number. 

SHARON walks away. 

Cut to:



EXTERIOR: STREET. NIGHT.
And now we see her sitting in the back of a Jaguar 
convertible. VIC is driving the car. VIC looks to someone 
offscreen. 

			VIC 
	What about them?

			SHARON 
	No. He's wearing a rug, and she has 
	a nose job. 

			VIC 
	It's not a bad nose job. 

			SHARON 
	They're all bad.

Now we see VIC. He is a beardless werewolf [I mean, 
spiritually]. SHARON is excited. She likes danger. 
Underneath, we feel her deep exhaustion. 

			SHARON 
	Let's go to the Continental Club. 

			VIC 
	Really?

			SHARON 
	Come on, Vic, you don't want to go 
	back to the airport. 

He's thinking. 

			VIC 
	I like the airport. I like the bars 
	at the airport hotels. I like 
	tourists. 
		(Meaning the bar:) 
	I don't want that tonight.

			SHARON 
	What's the matter, are you scared 
	of getting dirty? 

			VIC 
		(uncertain)
	Maybe.

			SHARON 
	C'mon, Vic. That's the place to 
	start. Let's have some fun.

From her challenging smile, his laugh, we cut to:



INTERIOR: BAR. NIGHT.
A rummy's bar in Hollywood. SHARON and VIC lean against a 
wall, drinking from bottles. VIC studies a couple sitting 
alone at a table, side by side. Sharp-featured, long-haired, 
not talking, they are smoking.

			SHARON 
	I like them. 

			VIC 
	You would.

SHARON and VIC walk across the floor to the table. They 
slide into the seat facing the couple. Call her DIANA. 
Call him RANDY.

			VIC 
	I'm Vic.

			SHARON 
	I'm Sharon. 

			VIC 
	Hi.

RANDY and DIANA are quietly amused.

			RANDY 
	What brings you to this side of 
	town? 

			SHARON 
	We got tired of shooting the dogs
	where the rich people live.

			DIANA 
	What are you looking for now?

			SHARON 
	Now we're looking for something a 
	little less obvious.

			VIC 
	But fun. Definitely fun. We're very 
	social people. 

			RANDY 
	You might be asking for something 
	you couldn't handle.

			SHARON 
	I can handle  it.

			RANDY 
	What if things go out of control? 

			SHARON 
	What's control got to do with it?

			VIC 
	I think he wants to find out if 
	you have any limits. 

			SHARON 
	Tell him that I haven't found them 
	yet. 

			VIC 
	Sharon hasn't found her limits yet.

			DIANA 
	Talk, talk, talk. 
		(To RANDY:) 
	Let's go somewhere. 

			VIC 
	I have a store. Let's go to the store.

They stand up. VIC takes DIANA'S hand. RANDY and SHARON 
follow. 

Cut to:



INTERIOR: VIC'S STORE. NIGHT.
VIC leads the others in, turning on lights and slow dance 
music (Little Richard singing "Directly from My Heart"). We 
move through the store to a far corner, to a model bedroom.

SHARON reaches out to RANDY and pulls him to her. RANDY lets 
go of DIANA and dances with SHARON. They dance to be watched. 
They are moving toward a bed. DIANA takes VIC'S hand. They 
dance. A blues song plays.

			RANDY 
	Come here. Come here and have a seat. 

			SHARON 
	Come on, let's fool around. 

RANDY lifts SHARON into his arms. 

			SHARON 
	Ohh. What a man.

			RANDY 
	Nice store you got here, Vic. Nice.

SHARON dances slowly with RANDY; they grind into each other, 
putting on a show. SHARON and VIC watch each other.

			DIANA 
	Come on. Show me what you mean by 
	fun. 

			VIC 
	Unnh-uhh.

SHARON sees this and shakes her head. DIANA goes to RANDY 
and SHARON.

			SHARON 
	Vic likes to watch. 

			RANDY 
	Watch this.

And we stay with Vic's face as the other three fall on the 
bed. 

Dissolve to:



INTERIOR: VIC'S STORE. NIGHT.
SHARON, RANDY, and DIANA on a bed. Their sex is a ritual, 
and the surprise here is their need. SHARON is the subject. 
They finish. They are still for a moment. SHARON gets up. We 
watch RANDY watching her.

SHARON sits on the arm of a leather couch, smoking. RANDY 
comes over to her. Behind them, Vic begins fucking DIANA. 
SHARON looks grim. RANDY studies her.

			RANDY 
	Was that far enough? 

SHARON turns to look at him.

			SHARON 
	Randy, right?

			RANDY 
	Hey, you remembered my name. 

			SHARON 
	Hi, Randy. 

			RANDY 
	Was it enough?
		
			SHARON 
	That was ... interesting.

The camera pulls back. We hear DIANA as VIC tries to come. 

Cut to:



INTERIOR: TELEPHONE COMPANY INFORMATION OFFICE. DAY. 
SHARON works at a computer terminal. Close on her. 

			SHARON 
	Operator 134, what city please? 
		(Pause, as she 
		types in the name.) 
	Is that a business or residence? 
		(Pause.) 
	Hold for the number. 
		(Pause.) 
	This is operator 134. What city? 
		(Pause.) 
	Can you spell that? 
		(Pause.) 
	Is that D as in Dick? 
		(Pause.) 
	Please hold for the number. 

Cut to:



INTERIOR: TELEPHONE COMPANY VENDING-MACHINE ROOM. DAY. 
Coffee break. Move through the room. Everyone sits alone, 
recovering from the phones. SHARON enters staring into space. 
Behind her are a group of workers, talking quietly but 
passionately. At first, SHARON doesn't listen. Bits of the 
following drift into consciousness. 

			WORKER #1
	Hi, Wayne. It was much stronger last 
	night, wasn't it?

			WORKER #2
	By a factor of five.

			WORKER #3
	It was almost like the first time, 
	I mean, it was that clear.

			WORKER #1
	And the horn, the sound of a horn, 
	that was new.

			WORKER #2
	One note, a very clear tone. I found 
	it on my piano; it's B flat.
	 
			WORKER #1
	What do you think?

SHARON has leaned back in her chair to eavesdrop.

			WORKER #3
	I think it's going to happen, and 
	soon. Have you been praying?

WORKER #2, facing SHARON'S back, sees her leaning in and 
puts a finger to his lips.

			WORKER #2
	Yes, as much as I can.

The other two glance over their shoulders at SHARON. She 
looks over her shoulder and sees them look at her. She pulls 
her chair forward.

			WORKER #3 
	What does The Boy say? 

			WORKER #1
	Not yet.

Cut to:



INTERIOR: SHARON'S APARTMENT. NIGHT.
She is in bed with RANDY. Under the sheet, he strokes her. 
She comes, pushing his hand away.

			SHARON 
	Tell me a story. 

			RANDY 
	Hmmm. 

He tries to start again.

			SHARON 
	No, no, no. I already know that 
	story. Tell me something new.

He thinks about it.

			RANDY 
	I've done things for money. 

			SHARON 
	Like what?

			RANDY 
	Things I wish I hadn't. 

			SHARON 
	Like what?

			RANDY 
	I killed a man once. 

			SHARON 
	For how much? 

			RANDY 
	For a thousand dollars. 

			SHARON 
	That's not very much money.

			RANDY 
	It was a lot then. All I can say 
	now is, I wish I hadn't.

			SHARON 
	Why?

			RANDY 
	'Cause it stays with me. I mean, I 
	killed a man. I took his life, his 
	only life. That's bad. 

			SHARON 
	Did you know him? 

			RANDY 
	No.

			SHARON 
	Well, why did the people who paid 
	you want him dead?

			RANDY 
	There are some questions you don't 
	ask. After that, they offered me 
	another job, the same kind of job, 
	better money.

			SHARON 
	And did you do it?

			RANDY 
	No. But I think about that killing a 
	lot. I think, you know, if we weren't 
	taught that killing is bad, would I 
	still feel as bad?

			SHARON 
	I don't know.

			RANDY 
	You don't know. Are you scared of me 
	now? 

			SHARON 
	Did anyone pay you to kill me?

A long pause.

			RANDY 
	That was not a good year. 1975, that 
	was my best year. I was nineteen. 
	What was your best year? 

			SHARON 
	Hmmm. I guess I'm still waiting. I 
	don't know. I don't know. Everything 
	just seems so empty. Time passes so 
	quickly.

			RANDY 
	Yeah? I think it's kind of slow.

			SHARON 
	No, I mean, like a day. You know, a 
	day is always just over ... I don't 
	know what I'm trying to say. 

			RANDY 
	I think I understand.

			SHARON 
	Oh really? Why don't you let me in 
	on my secret. 

			RANDY 
	I think that you are depressed, and 
	I think that you should see a 
	therapist.

			SHARON 
	Oh, that's great. That's fucking 
	brilliant. 

Cut to:



INTERIOR: SHARON'S APARTMENT. DAY.
SHARON pulls subscription cards out of magazines. A door 
bell rings; then there's a knock at the door. SHARON answers 
it. Two men wearing suits, white shirts, and dark ties are 
there.

Both are in their late thirties or early forties. In New 
York, you would assume they were bankers or painters trying 
to look like bankers. They are evangelists. None of the 
evangelists in this film sound like TV preachers or have a 
hint of the South in their accents. 

			FIRST EVANGELIST 
	You understand that these are the 
	last days. It can't go on like this. 
	God is coming back. His prophecies 
	are now being fulfilled.

			SECOND EVANGELIST 
	You have to accept Jesus as your 
	Lord and Savior.

			SHARON 
	Otherwise ...

			FIRST EVANGELIST 
	You won't be saved.

She shuts the door. Pause. She opens it again. The men are 
still there, still smiling.

			SECOND EVANGELIST 
	We're not trying to scare you. 

			FIRST EVANGELIST 
	No.

			SECOND EVANGELIST 
	Do you understand the difference 
	between righteousness and faith? 

			SHARON 
	Why don't you tell me.

			SECOND EVANGELIST 
	It's only by the grace of God you'll 
	be saved.

			SHARON 
	But what if I lead a good life? 
	Does it still matter if I don't 
	believe?

			FIRST EVANGELIST 
	Do you really lead a good life? 

			SHARON 
	No.

			SECOND EVANGELIST 
	You have to believe. If you don't, 
	you go to Hell.

			SHARON 
	Well, that doesn't seem fair.

			FIRST EVANGELIST 
	I used to think that. But then I met 
	Him. 

			SHARON 
	Who?

			SECOND EVANGELIST 
	That's what we're trying to tell you. 

			FIRST EVANGELIST 
		(from John 3:16) 
	For God so loved the world that he 
	gave his only begotten Son. That 
	whosoever should believe in Him 
	should not perish but have 
	everlasting life.

			SECOND EVANGELIST 
	You can have what we have. 

			FIRST EVANGELIST 
	A personal relationship with the 
	Son of God.

			SECOND EVANGELIST 
	It's hard to believe unless you 
	believe it. But when you believe it, 
	then it's easy. You just know. 

			SHARON 
	What?

			FIRST EVANGELIST 
	Him. 

			SHARON 
	How?

			FIRST EVANGELIST 
	Who knows? It just is. 

			SHARON 
	Right. And I'm supposed to buy this? 

He hands her a small Bible.

			FIRST EVANGELIST 
	No. It's a gift.

			SECOND EVANGELIST 
	We know what you're thinking ... It 
	doesn't make sense. 

			SHARON 
	No.

			SECOND EVANGELIST 
	I was like you. 

			SHARON 
	I doubt it.

			SECOND EVANGELIST 
	No, really. 

			SHARON 
	And, like I said, I doubt it.

The men turn and leave. As they walk away, SHARON speaks:

			SHARON 
	I heard someone talking about The 
	Boy? Who's The Boy?

			SECOND EVANGELIST 
	Some people say that he's a prophet 
	in the old tradition.

			FIRST EVANGELIST 
	And some people say there are others 
	like him, all around the country. 

			SECOND EVANGELIST 
	All around the world. 

			SHARON 
	And what do you say? 

			SECOND EVANGELIST 
	I say trust in God. 

The SECOND EVANGELIST gives SHARON a warm smile.

			SHARON 
	Excuse me. 

And she shuts the door. 

Cut to:



INTERIOR: TELEPHONE COMPANY INFORMATION OFFICE. DAY. 
SHARON works at a computer terminal. Close on her. 

			SHARON 
	Operator 134. What city please? 
		(Pause.) 
	City please? 
		(Pause.) 
	Please hold for the number. 
		(Pause.) 
	Operator 134. What city please? 
		(Pause.) 
	Is that a business or residence?



EXTERIOR/INTERIOR: SHARON'S APARTMENT. DAY.
The phone rings. She picks up, and we hear VIC on the line. 

			SHARON 
	Hello?

			VIC 
		(voice-over)
	Sharon? 

			SHARON 
	Hi, Vic.

			VIC 
		(voice-over) 
	I dropped by a few of the hotels 
	near the airport today. You'll never 
	guess who I found. The most 
	fascinating couple, really. They're 
	from Philadelphia. Well, he's from 
	Pennsylvania and she's from Florida 
	and they're married. Isn't that 
	romantic? 

She sees evangelists pass outside on bicycles. 

			SHARON 
	What time?

			VIC 
		(voice-over)
	Pick you up at nine.



EXTERIOR: VIC'S WIFE'S HOUSE. NIGHT.
SHARON looking out. Behind her, VIC is dancing with ANGIE 
and the EXECUTIVE.



INTERIOR: VIC'S WIFE'S HOUSE. NIGHT.

			EXECUTIVE
	Here's to open-minded people and 
	L.A., my kind of town.

			ANGIE
	Don't you have, uhh, 
		(to her husband while 
		she corners VIC) 
	something better to do? 

			EXECUTIVE
	I'm doing it.

ANGIE laughs as the Executive goes to SHARON. She declines. 

SHARON'S point of view as he walks back to the group. VIC 
dances with ANGIE while the EXECUTIVE gropes her a little. 
The EXECUTIVE unzips the back of ANGIE'S dress as he turns 
her around, and as the dress falls away, SHARON can see a 
tattoo through the veil of ANGIE'S long black hair.

The tattoo is not finished: we see a long boat with an angel 
blowing a horn on the bow. Behind the scene is a large pearl.

			SHARON 
	What is that?

			VIC 
	What are you talking about? 

			SHARON 
	She has a tattoo on her back. 

VIC looks. 

			VIC 
	Whoa.

			ANGIE
	I got it when I was a kid. 

			EXECUTIVE
	This was before she met me. 

			ANGIE
	I got drunk one night.

			SHARON 
	One night. You had it done in one 
	night? 

			EXECUTIVE
	Well, you know how kids are. I 
	almost got a tattoo once. She was 
	drunk.

ANGIE wraps herself around VIC. The naked EXECUTIVE fondles 
SHARON while she watches VIC and ANGIE kiss and laugh, the 
EXECUTIVE wants to get inside her, but she won't let him, he 
can only use his hands. For a moment, she enjoys it, but the 
pearl on ANGIE'S back is too compelling.

			SHARON 
	Angie, you got that in one night? 

			VIC 
	Maybe she doesn't want to talk about 
	it.

			ANGIE
	There's nothing to talk about. 

			SHARON 
	Why did you get it?

			VIC 
	Sharon? Can we talk about it later? 

			SHARON 
	I mean it must have been painful. 

ANGIE realizes she has to deal with SHARON'S curiosity.

			ANGIE 
		(facing SHARON)
	I don't remember, and I don't know 
	why I got it.

She looks at the EXECUTIVE. He gives her a compassionate look. 

			EXECUTIVE
	Its okay, Angie. I'm here. I'm with 
	you. 

			SHARON 
	Why would you get a tattoo that you 
	didn't really want? I'm sorry, I 
	don't want to make you unhappy, but 
	I really need to know. 

			ANGIE
	Why?

			SHARON 
	I don't know. I don't know. It's 
	important. 
		(She asks again:) 
	What is it?

			ANGIE
	Don't you know what's going on? 

			SHARON 
	What?

			ANGIE
	The dream? The Pearl? 

			SHARON 
	What dream? 

			EXECUTIVE
	Tell them.

Cut to:



INTERIOR: TELEPHONE COMPANY VENDING-MACHINE ROOM. DAY. 
The three workers are sitting together, drinking coffee. 
SHARON comes into the room and walks over to them, then sits 
down. She acts as though she's seen the light, but she's 
heavy-handed and obvious. 

			SHARON 
	Hi, it's a beautiful day, isn't it? 
	How are you? 

			WORKER #1 
		(cautious) 
	We're fine. And you? 

			SHARON 
	I'm fine. Now that I dream about the 
	Pearl. 

Silence. The men watch her carefully. She becomes 
uncomfortable, but they don't release her from their hard 
stares. She is being evaluated.

			WORKER #2
	What dream would that be? 

			SHARON 
	The Pearl. I dream about the Pearl. 

			WORKER #3
	Tell us about it. 

			WORKER #1
	What does it look like?

			SHARON 
	You know. The Pearl. It's a big 
	pearl by a river. 

			WORKER #3
	No, it's not.

			WORKER #1
	You haven't seen it. 

			SHARON 
	Yes, I have.

			WORKER #2
	You can't fake it.

SHARON slumps, defeated.

			WORKER #1
	It's a message from God. If you 
	really want it, all you have to do 
	is pray. 

			SHARON 
		(disdainfully)
	Pray. 

			WORKER #2
	He's coming back.

			SHARON 
	Slow down. If everybody is getting 
	this dream, how come it isn't on 
	the news?

			WORKER #2
	Those who need to know, know. 

			WORKER #1
	And those who don't believe won't 
	get the dream.

			SHARON 
	There are five billion people on the 
	planet. There's I-don't-know-how-
	many religions. Why does the God of 
	some little country on the 
	Mediterranean have to be the God for 
	everyone? Isn't that a little 
	arrogant? I mean, really? The 
	Buddhists get along okay without 
	Jesus Christ. The Hindus get along 
	okay without Jesus Christ. The 
	Moslems seem to be getting along 
	okay without Jesus Christ.

			WORKER #1
	But none of them are saved. 

Cut to:



INTERIOR: SHARON'S APARTMENT. NIGHT.
SHARON comes in. She goes to the bedroom. VIC is in bed with 
a woman.

			VIC 
	Sharon, this is my friend Andrea.
	Andrea is from Nebraska. Come and 
	join?

SHARON leaves and slumps down a wall in the next room.



EXTERIOR: SHARON'S APARTMENT. DAY.
SHARON smokes on the balcony. Something has changed.



INTERIOR: SHARON'S APARTMENT. BEDROOM. NIGHT. 
SHARON wakes up. She shakes RANDY. 

			SHARON 
	Get up. 

			RANDY 
	What?

			SHARON 
	Get up, or get out. 

			RANDY 
	What did I do?

			SHARON 
	I have to make the bed.

			RANDY 
	Come on, look, no, it's three 
	o'clock in the morning.

			SHARON 
	Get out of bed, or get out of the 
	house. 

			RANDY 
	Why?

			SHARON 
	This bed is unclean.

			RANDY 
	I'm out, I'm out. Unclean ... you 
	changed the sheets yesterday. 

			SHARON 
	Shut up!

And he gets out of bed. She rips the sheets off the bed and 
then we cut to:

Close-up of clean sheets being put over the bed. RANDY isn't 
helping; he leans against a wall, trying to sleep. 

			SHARON 
	I'm starting over, Randy. I've had 
	enough. 

			RANDY 
	Enough what?

			SHARON 
	I need a new direction in my life. 
	There is a God, I know it, there is 
	a God, and I'm going to meet Him.

			RANDY 
	When did you get religion?

			SHARON 
	I am trying, Randy. I want my 
	salvation. 

			RANDY 
	Sharon, you're fine the way you are. 

			SHARON 
	You just want to live in sin, don't 
	you? 

			RANDY 
	That's right. I just want to live in 
	sin. 

			SHARON 
	Fine, be a slave to the Devil.

			RANDY 
	Devil? Do you remember where we met? 
	Don't start asking me now to 
	apologize for who I am or what I 
	believe in.

			SHARON 
	Oh, and what do you believe in? 

			RANDY 
	There is no God. There's only chaos.



INTERIOR: SHARON'S APARTMENT. BATHROOM. NIGHT. 
SHARON takes a shower. RANDY talks to her through the glass. 

			SHARON 
	And why do we have such guilty 
	consciences? Answer that?

			RANDY 
	You're the one with the guilty 
	conscience. I sleep really well, or 
	at least I used to. 
		(He tests the 
		shower water.) 
	Jesus Christ, that's hot.

			SHARON 
	Don't take the Lord's name in vain, 
	Randy. That's one of the 
	commandments, it even comes before 
	theft and adultery, it even comes 
	before murder. That's how important 
	it is not to take the Lord's name in 
	vain. 

			RANDY 
	Since when have you known the Lord? 

			SHARON 
	I am trying to.

			RANDY 
	And what does a shower at three in 
	the morning have to do with eternal 
	salvation?

SHARON is washing herself in a steaming hot shower. She 
scrubs herself with a hard brush. She gets out of the shower. 

			SHARON 
	I want to be clean. Am I clean?

RANDY watches in silence as she dries herself with a towel, 
cleans her fingernails, and brushes her teeth. She speaks to 
him in her reflection.

			RANDY 
	Yeah, you're clean.

			SHARON 
	When you do something wrong, we 
	feel bad, and that's because there's 
	a little bit of God in all of us, 
	telling us to change our ways before 
	it's too late. Isn't that right?

			RANDY 
	No, it's not right. It's just 
	conditioned by society. All we are 
	is animals whose brains have become 
	too big and too complicated for the 
	purposes of satisfying our animal 
	needs, which are food and sex.

			SHARON 
	There is a spiritual need which is 
	just as real as hunger, just as real 
	as the need for love.

			RANDY 
	Sharon, don't you understand what's 
	going on? The world's a disaster. 
	We have no power to make it better. 
	You hate your job. You hate your 
	life. But you want to feel special. 
	But instead of letting me do that, 
	you're rushing off to something 
	that's not even there. There's no 
	Pearl, there's only us.

SHARON flosses her teeth.

			SHARON 
	I feel sorry for you, Randy, I 
	really do. But you have to leave.

			RANDY 
	I don't want to leave. I want to 
	stay here with you. You know me. We 
	know each other. We know each 
	other's secrets, that's something. 
	I think we can love each other, and 
	I think you feel that too. 

			SHARON 
	There has to be something more. 

			RANDY 
	Why?

SHARON cries.

			SHARON 
	I'm tired of the pain in my life. 
	I'm tired of feeling empty all the 
	time. 

			RANDY 
	Let me help you.

			SHARON 
	Why can't we let God help both of us? 

			RANDY 
	Because there is no God. 

And he is out the door. Hold on SHARON.



EXTERIOR: DRIVEWAY. NIGHT.
RANDY gets into his truck. 

Cut to:



INTERIOR: SHARON'S APARTMENT. BEDROOM. NIGHT.
SHARON reads the Bible the EVANGELISTS gave her and then 
simply clutches it.

She tries to sleep, to relax. 

Her eyes close.

Whatever it is, self-consciousness or doubt, she can't force 
herself to believe.

			SHARON 
		(whisper) 
	God, please, please, please help me. 
	God, I'm lost. 

Cut to:



EXTERIOR: ENDLESS BOULEVARD. DAY.
SHARON drives aimlessly. She stops for a hitchhiker named 
TOMMY, rough-looking, with a bedroll and a rucksack. 

Cut to:



INTERIOR: SHARON'S CAR. DAY.

			TOMMY
	Chicks don't usually stop for me. 
		(No response 
		from SHARON.) 
	In fact, I think they think I'm 
	dangerous. 
		(Pause, again 
		no response.) 
	They're probably right. I'm not as 
	dangerous as some guys I know, but 
	I would never give myself a lift, 
	that's for sure. No way. If I was a 
	chick, no double-fucking way would I 
	give me a lift. I've looked in the 
	mirror. I've seen myself. I mean, 
	with my thumb out, if I was a chick 
	and I saw me, no sir. On the other 
	hand, if I was a, if I was the one 
	who was hitching and I was a chick, 
	I'd stop for me in a second. In 
	fact, I'd, I'd fuck me, too. In 
	fact, if I was hitching and I was a 
	chick, and I got stopped by a chick, 
	I'd fuck me that way, too. Yeah. In 
	fact, I wouldn't mind getting into 
	a bi-girl scene with myself. 
	Actually, you're the first chick 
	that has ever given me a lift. I 
	think other chicks don't pick me up 
	because they can tell I carry a gun 
	and I've been to prison in Vermont. 
	I don't think they can tell I've 
	been to prison, but that's where 
	I'm from. Vermont. You ever been to 
	Vermont? 
		(SHARON doesn't answer.) 
	I'm from the Lemon Fair Valley. 
	Actually, there's no lemons in 
	Vermont. Actually, it comes from the 
	French, Lay Moan Vayer, which means 
	the Green Mountains. Which is what 
	Vermont means. Green Mountains. Vert: 
	Green. Mont: Mountains. Vermont. 
	Green Mountains. Anyway, my father's 
	a farmer. I left home. What's your 
	name? I'm Tommy. 

			SHARON 
	Sharon.

			TOMMY 
	Oh yeah? With who? 

			SHARON 
	What?

			TOMMY 
	Who you sharin' it with? You gonna 
	share it with me?

Cut to:



EXTERIOR: ADULT MOTEL. DAY.
Tracking shot past the entrance. SHARON'S is not the only 
car parked at the motel.



INTERIOR: ADULT MOTEL. DAY.
TOMMY is on the round bed. He plays with a knife. We hear 
the shower running. The camera peeks into the bathroom.



INTERIOR: ADULT MOTEL. BATHROOM. DAY.
SHARON is in the shower, dressed. TOMMY'S rucksack is just 
outside the bathroom.

			TOMMY 
	Sharon? Did you know that the state 
	bird of Vermont is the Hermit 
	Thrush? I'll bet you didn't know 
	that. The state flower is the Red 
	Clover. Highest point is Mount 
	Mansfield, I believe, which is four 
	thousand three hundred ninety-three 
	something, I don't know. Hey, have 
	you got a quarter? Let's get some 
	magic finger going in here. How 
	would that be?



INTERIOR: ADULT MOTEL. DAY.
SHARON pulls a gun from TOMMY'S rucksack. He hears something, 
turns. SHARON is standing there dripping, with the gun. 

			SHARON 
	It's time for you to go. 

			TOMMY
	Uhhh?

			SHARON 
	You have to go, Tommy, and you have 
	to leave me your gun. 

			TOMMY 
	Ahhhh!

TOMMY raises his knife, she cocks the gun, and he plunges it 
into the bed.

Dissolve to:



EXTERIOR/INTERIOR: ADULT MOTEL. LATER.
SHARON is in bed, the blankets pulled up over her head. She 
pulls the  blankets down. She reaches beside her for her 
bag. She opens her bag. A pint of pear schnapps.

She drinks half the schnapps. She takes the gun and puts it 
under her chin. She closes her eyes and holds the gun for a 
long moment. She opens her eyes.

The disorder of the room bothers her.

She gets out of the bed and puts everything from the bag but 
the gun back into it. The ashtray on the night table is 
filled with crushed butts. She pulls the drawer open to hide 
the ashtray, and she finds the Gideon Bible. She puts the 
ashtray on top of the Bible. 

She is a bit disgusted with herself; disappointed at her 
lack of resolve. Then she takes the Bible out of the drawer 
and opens it. 

She starts to read the Gospels. 

A golden light fills the room.

SHARON is thrown backward by it, and before she's eclipsed 
by its brilliance: 

Dissolve to:

Extreme close-up: a pearl.

You've never seen a pearl this close, so close that we lose 
its shape. All we can see of it is the color: the changing 
white, silver, and pink. It is beautiful. You don't want it 
to go away. 

Dissolve to:



INTERIOR: SHARON'S APARTMENT. DAY.
SHARON is sleeping, smiling, at peace. She wakes up. 
Everything is different. 

She gets up. She goes to her closet and takes a simple 
dress from a hanger.

She hears a door. VIC is behind her. She covers herself 
with the dress. 

			SHARON 
	Can I get dressed? 

			VIC 
	Where were you? 

			SHARON 
	Turn around. 

			VIC 
	Really?

She nods. He does while she puts on the dress.

			VIC 
	C'mon. Where have you been? 

			SHARON 
	I went away for a few days. 

			VIC 
	Who'd you go with? 

			SHARON 
	No one. 

			VIC 
	Meet anyone?
		
			SHARON 
	Yes, yes, I did. I did meet 
	someone. 

VIC can sense that something is different about her by the 
way she talks to him so directly and so calmly, and by her 
placid smile. VIC lies on the bed. She comes out from 
behind the door.

			VIC 
	Are you okay?

			SHARON 
	I'm fine, Vic. I'm really, really 
	fine. 

			VIC 
	Unnh-uhh. No you're not. Something's 
	going on. You've changed. You've got 
	this look right now. 

			SHARON 
	What look? 

			VIC 
	That goofy smile.

			SHARON 
	If I tell you, you're not going to 
	believe me. But I have to tell you, 
	so it really doesn't matter if you 
	don't believe me. It doesn't matter 
	to me. I mean it matters to me, but 
	you're the one who really needs to 
	hear this now. 

			VIC 
	You met a guy.

			SHARON 
	Well, guy is not exactly the word 
	I'd use for Him. 

			VIC 
	You fox, you fell in love. 

			SHARON 
		(deadly serious)
	Yes. 

			VIC 
	Wait until he finds out about you. 

			SHARON 
	Well, He knows all about me. 

			VIC 
	Is he as bad a boy as I am? 

			SHARON 
	I think you should meet Him. 

			VIC 
	Did you tell him about me? 

			SHARON 
	I told you, He knows everything.

			VIC 
	He's rich, right? He's some rich 
	guy, and you fell for some line of 
	his.

			SHARON 
	You could love Him, too.

			VIC 
		(laughing)
	Oh, no, you fell in love with some 
	rich homosexual.

			SHARON 
	He's the Lord Jesus Christ, Vic. 
	He's the Son of God.

VIC jumps off the bed.

			VIC 
	Sharon, did you quit your job? 

			SHARON 
	Why would I do that?

			VIC 
	So you can go to the airport and 
	sell flowers, or do whatever the 
	cult wants you to do.

			SHARON 
	You can't understand, but I know 
	what that's like. Until it happens 
	to you, until you accept God into 
	your heart, it's like a fairy tale,
	it's like some joke that you just 
	don't get.

			VIC 
	I think you need to be deprogrammed. 

			SHARON 
	There's no cult, Vic. There's only 
	God, and his message of Love. 

			VIC 
	Love.

			SHARON 
	Love.

			VIC 
	Look, you'll give this up, someday. 
	I know you, you'll give this up. 

			SHARON 
	This is forever. 

			VIC 
	Everybody says that. 

			SHARON 
	This is different.

			VIC 
	Everybody says that, too. 
		(He is heading 
		out the door.) 
	Sharon, call me when this is over.

SHARON is alone, content. 

Cut to:



INTERIOR: TELEPHONE COMPANY INFORMATION OFFICE. DAY. 
Go down the rows of computer terminals, hearing other 
operators. Stop at SHARON.

			SHARON 
	Hold for the number. Hi. Who's this? 
	... Hi, Susanna, this is Sharon. 
	Have you met Jesus? ... Well, I'm 
	sure you're in a hurry, but don't 
	you think you could take time out 
	to get to know your Lord and Savior? 
	... well okay, well, you have a good 
	day too. What was the number you 
	wanted? Here you go ... 
		(Pause.) 
	Hi, this is Sharon. Who's this? Hi, 
	Maria. Have you met God? You have? 
	Isn't He wonderful?

She looks up and sees HENRY, her supervisor. 

Cut to:



INTERIOR: TELEPHONE COMPANY. HENRY'S OFFICE. DAY. 
The door is closed.

			HENRY 
	You're supposed to spend a maximum 
	of fifteen seconds on each call. Do 
	you know what your average has been? 

			SHARON 
	No.

			HENRY 
	Take a guess.

			SHARON 
	Twenty seconds? Twenty-five?

			HENRY 
	Two minutes. You were clocked on one 
	call at seven minutes fifteen.

			SHARON 
	I am just trying to do my job. 

			HENRY 
	It seems like you're trying to do 
	two jobs. 

			SHARON 
		(a little defiantly) 
	We only have one job. 

			HENRY 
	That's right. And you're not doing 
	the one you're being paid for.

			SHARON 
	Henry, God made me an information 
	operator for a reason. I'm in a 
	position to spread His word to 
	hundreds of people every day, 
	personally. One-to-one. 

			HENRY 
	God.

			SHARON 
	I know you can't believe this, but 
	God is coming back to judge the 
	world. And it's important, I have to 
	tell people. We have to prepare for 
	His return. 

HENRY takes his time before speaking.

			HENRY 
	When did you first see the light? 

			SHARON 
	A few days ago. 

			HENRY 
		(neutral) 
	Mmm-hmm. 

			SHARON 
	You don't believe me.

			HENRY 
	Sometimes people have heard about 
	the Pearl and they try to pretend 
	like they've seen it, but you can 
	always tell when they're lying. You 
	just can't fake it. 

			SHARON 
	You?

SHARON puts her hand on her heart. 

			HENRY 
	When they first meet Him, everyone 
	thinks that Judgement Day is just 
	around the corner. I remember that 
	feeling very well; it's a powerful 
	feeling. But ... that sense that 
	it's going to happen tomorrow 
	passes when tomorrow comes and He 
	doesn't. And then you understand 
	that those feelings, as powerful as 
	they are, and the dreams, as real as 
	they are, are still just shadows of 
	the real thing, and no one can say 
	how far away that real thing really 
	is.

			SHARON 
	The feeling is so strong.

HENRY studies her.

			HENRY 
	I don't know you, but I know you. A 
	lot of people who have come to God 
	are broken. They've been messed up 
	by life. The unbelievers try to make 
	it seem like there's something wrong 
	with us, that we're stupid, but only 
	the humble hear the voice of God. 
	You're alone, aren't you?

			SHARON 
		(tears forming) 
	Yes.

			HENRY 
	It's hard at the beginning. You give 
	up your old life, and it's like 
	you've come to a new country. Your 
	old friends can not really be your 
	friends anymore. 

			SHARON 
	What do I do?

			HENRY 
	Trust in God, and take it easy on 
	the phones.

SHARON smiles.

			SHARON 
	Who's The Boy?

He looks at her. 

Cut to:



INTERIOR: CHURCH. DAY.
A small, spare room. No pews, only a circle of folding 
chairs. Perhaps twenty people are there. We're watching 
HENRY and his son, THE BOY, about ten years old. He never 
speaks out loud; he whispers behind a cupped hand into his 
father's ear. 

On SHARON, across from them, watching.

On THE BOY: he cups a hand and speaks to HENRY. HENRY 
addresses the room.

			HENRY 
	God is coming back. There are wars 
	and rumors of wars, and a curse 
	devours the Earth, and those who 
	live in it are held guilty.

THE BOY again whispers to his father. 

			HENRY 
	We have to wait. 

An OLDER WOMAN in the circle.

			SHARON 
	For how long? 

THE BOY whispers to his father.

			HENRY 
	Probably a few years. Five years, 
	six years. 

The people in the room hug each other. SHARON gives herself 
to the hugs and gives hugs. Love without sex. 

Dissolve to:



INTERIOR: RANDY'S WORKPLACE.
RANDY sprays coating on a metal gate. SHARON arrives. 

			SHARON 
	Hi, Randy.

			RANDY 
		(pretends to struggle 
		to remember her name)
	Ohh, uhh, Sharon. Sharon. How's that 
	apartment coming? Is it still 
	unclean? 

			SHARON 
	No.

			RANDY 
	So you found your salvation. 
	Congratulations. 

			SHARON 
	I found God.

			RANDY 
	Oh yeah? Is he going to move in, or 
	did he keep his own place, or are 
	you going to do that commuting 
	thing? You've got to watch that; 
	it's very tough on a relationship. 
	Why are you here? 

They walk into an adjoining woodshop. 

			SHARON 
	I know you are as lost as I was, 
	Randy, and I wanted to tell you that 
	you could know God. If you just 
	surrender your pride, you can know 
	God. 

			RANDY 
	Sharon, it's just a drug. Instead of 
	doing heroin, you're doing God, and 
	I need sandpaper.

			SHARON 
	Randy, God is real. God is not make-
	believe, and you know that. You 
	don't want to admit that, because 
	you're afraid.

			RANDY 
	What am I afraid of?

			SHARON 
	What we are all afraid of: God's 
	judgement. 

			RANDY 
	No. I'm not.

			SHARON 
	I don't want to lose you.

			RANDY 
	You just want to save my soul. 

			SHARON 
	At least you know you have one. 

			RANDY 
	I don't want to tell my secrets in 
	church. 

			SHARON 
	I'll pray for both of us.

			RANDY 
	You'd stay with me even if I didn't 
	pray? 

SHARON kisses RANDY. They hug.



TITLE SUPERIMPOSED: SIX YEARS LATER



INTERIOR: CHURCH. NIGHT.
There are more people in the room now. THE BOY is older now; 
and although HENRY is beside him, he speaks directly. 

			THE BOY 
	So far, we're still in the realm of 
	signs and wonders ... But the Rapture 
	is coming. It says so in the Bible. 
	Our bodies will be transformed into 
	spirit. And then we will be caught 
	up in a cloud to meet God. The end 
	is coming soon ... This year ... 

RANDY takes SHARON'S hand. 

Cut to:



INTERIOR: SHARON AND RANDY'S TOWN HOUSE. BEDROOM. NIGHT. 
The bedroom is now filled with Christian icons. SHARON and 
RANDY wake up together, shaken by the same image.

			RANDY 
	Ever since I was a kid, I've had the 
	feeling that something was going to 
	happen to me. I always knew that 
	when it happened, I would recognize 
	it, and that I wouldn't mistake it 
	for something else. I wouldn't have 
	something happen to me and I would 
	say, this is it! and then later on 
	say, no, that wasn't it. It was a 
	secret feeling, and I never told 
	anybody about it. 

			SHARON 
	And what's the feeling now? 

			RANDY 
	Something's going to happen.



INTERIOR: RANDY AND SHARON'S KITCHEN. DAY.
SHARON and her daughter, MARY, six years old, sit at the 
kitchen table.

			MARY 
	Where's Heaven? 

			SHARON 
	It's in the sky. 

			MARY 
	Why can't we see it? 

			SHARON 
	You will.

			MARY 
	But why can't we see it now? 

			SHARON 
	Mary? Do you love Baby Jesus? 

			MARY 
	Yes.

			SHARON 
	Then you'll see him really soon. 

Slowly dissolve to:



EXTERIOR: SWIMMING POOL.  DAY.
We move through the water, and the change from the light is 
easy, gradual. The water is ethereal; we don't even know 
this is a pool yet; it could be a body of heavenly water.  
The calm surface of the pool explodes as a six-year-old-
girl, MARY, bursts to the surface. SHARON moves through the 
water. Her friend PAULA floats on a raft. 

			PAULA 
	What does the Bible say?

			SHARON 
	We who are alive who are saved will 
	be taken bodily into Heaven.

			PAULA 
	Ohhh, Sharon ... Sharon ... 

			SHARON 
	You can't accept God, can you? 

			PAULA 
	No.

			SHARON 
	Well, maybe we should talk about 
	that for a minute.

			PAULA 
		(smiling)
	Okay, do you mean that if you're a 
	Christian and you're ironing your 
	shirts and the Rapture happens, 
	you'll be taken to Heaven in the 
	middle of doing the laundry? Or does 
	God give you time to turn off the 
	iron, or do your shirts burn?

			SHARON 
		(joking but deadpan)
	I wear permanent press. 

			PAULA 
	Well, I mean what's supposed to 
	happen? You are supposed to float 
	up into the sky?

			SHARON 
	In the twinkling of an eye. The body 
	will be transformed into spirit. And 
	there is a warning. If you listen, 
	if you pray for it. We'll hear the 
	sound of trumpets, God's angels.

MARY listens.



INTERIOR: RANDY'S WORKPLACE. DAY.
RANDY is now a supervisor in a large insurance office. He is 
well groomed; his hair is cut short; he is a few pounds 
lighter. Other workers are around. RANDY is arguing with 
LOUIS, another worker. A security officer stands behind 
RANDY.

			RANDY 
	Louis, I'm trying to say this 
	without causing you a lot of pain.

			LOUIS
	Any way you say it, I'm fired, 
	right? 

			RANDY 
	We have struggled together, but, you 
	have to admit, it hasn't worked out.

			LOUIS
	That's because I'm not kissing ass 
	around here, isn't it?

			RANDY 
	Louis, it's because you're not 
	doing your job. 

			LOUIS 
	You're not doing your job, banana-
	head. 

			RANDY 
	Louis, we've tried to help you, 
	haven't we? 

			LOUIS 
		(crying)
	I don't want your fucking help. 

			RANDY 
	We took you to a counselor. 

			LOUIS 
	You took me to a homo. 

			RANDY 
	I took you to an A.A. meeting.

			LOUIS 
	They were a bunch of a-holes. 
	A-holes Anonymous. And you're an 
	a-hole. And I'm tired of kissing 
	your Christian a-hole. 
		(To the security guard:) 
	What are you looking at?

			RANDY 
	Louis, I'll pray for you. 

			LOUIS 
		(wildly) 
	Yeah, well, fuck you! 

Cut to:



INTERIOR: RANDY AND SHARON'S APARTMENT. DAY.
MARY and her parents, RANDY and SHARON, hold hands in a 
circle. This is a happy family.



INTERIOR: RANDY'S WORKPLACE. DAY.
We hear a blast. We see RANDY in his office at the corner of 
a hall. There are two bodies in the hall, and LOUIS walks 
down it with a gun. RANDY gets up from his desk and starts 
to come out. As he does, LOUIS shoots into an office. LOUIS 
goes into another office, and we hear two more shotgun 
blasts. RANDY is now out of his office and turning down the 
empty hall when LOUIS comes back into the hall.

			RANDY 
	Louis.

			LOUIS 
	No speeches, preacher. 

			RANDY 
	I have a little girl. 

			LOUIS 
	So what? 

And he blasts RANDY.

Cut to:



INTERIOR: SHARON AND RANDY'S TOWN HOUSE. DAY. 
MARY opens the front door. 

			MARY 
	Come in.

The living room is filled with friends who have brought food 
to SHARON. MARY and other children play. SHARON talks to 
PAULA on a balcony. 

			PAULA 
	You see, now's one of those times 
	when I wish I was a believer. 

			SHARON 
	Why?

			PAULA 
	Because I would have a rock to stand 
	on, because I could tell myself that 
	everything was for the better 
	because God has a plan.

			SHARON 
	But it is, because He does.

			PAULA 
	It is so hard for me, Sharon. I try 
	to resist it as much as possible.

			SHARON 
	So you do feel something tugging at 
	you, don't you?

			PAULA 
	I tell myself it's just conditioning, 
	it's how I was raised. I tell myself 
	that if we didn't tell our children 
	about God, they wouldn't ask. It is 
	a story we tell ourselves so 
	everything makes sense. 

			SHARON 
	It's not.

			PAULA 
	But how do you know? 

			SHARON 
	The Bible.

			PAULA 
	Don't tell me the Bible. 

			SHARON 
	It's a question of faith. 

			PAULA 
	So there's no proof?

			SHARON 
	Paula, the universe you live in is 
	cold and filled with empty space. 
	The universe I live in is filled 
	with God. 

Cut to:



INTERIOR: SHARON AND RANDY'S TOWN HOUSE. NIGHT. 
SHARON and MARY kneel at MARY'S bed, praying. 

			MARY 
	Will we see Daddy again? 

			SHARON 
	Yes.

			MARY 
	When we die?

			SHARON 
	Or when God takes us to Heaven. 

			MARY 
	When the Rapture comes, does that 
	mean we die? 

			SHARON 
	Not exactly.

			MARY 
	So you can go to Heaven without 
	dying? 

			SHARON 
	Yeah.

			MARY 
	But if you die, you can still go to 
	Heaven. 

			SHARON 
	Yes.

			MARY 
	So Daddy is going to Heaven. 

			SHARON 
	No, Daddy's already in Heaven. 

			MARY 
	If we pray to Daddy, can he hear us? 

			SHARON 
	Well, we pray to God, and God tells 
	Daddy what we're saying. That way he 
	can hear everything. 

Cut to:



EXTERIOR: MINIMALL STAIRCASE. DAY. 
SHARON comes down the stairs and stops. 

Pull back to reveal:

We are outside a Photolab in a corner pod mall. SHARON walks 
into view, looking at the snapshots of America rolling off 
the printer.

In the photographs, we see RANDY wearing the clothes in 
which he died, and he's trying to reach her, trying to say 
something to her. Her husband appears improbably in a 
picture at the beach, standing behind a typical family. Then 
RANDY is pictured in the desert, standing on a tall rock pile, 
his arm raised, calling her to him. He's pleading with her. 

Cut to:



INTERIOR: CHURCH. DAY.
The room is filled; people are standing on chairs at the 
wall. There's still a circle in the middle, but it's smaller. 
HENRY and THE BOY are flanked by the two EVANGELISTS. SHARON 
is across from them, with MARY. Now THE BOY speaks.

			THE BOY 
	This is from the Book of Revelation, 
	chapter 12, verse 6. It says, "And 
	the woman fled into the desert where 
	she had a place prepared for her by 
	God." Is anyone else getting visions 
	that tell us we have to go to the 
	desert?

			SHARON 
	You don't believe me. 

			THE BOY 
	I do.

			SHARON 
	What does it mean?

			THE BOY 
	You're the only one who can hear 
	these calls. It could be Satan.

			SHARON 
	I don't think so.

			THE BOY 
	Then God wants you for His special 
	purpose. 

			SHARON 
	Please, come with me. 

			THE BOY 
	We haven't been invited.

SHARON wants to cry. She gets up and takes Mary's hand. The 
crowd parts for her, making a path to the door. She starts 
walking toward it, about ten feet.

			SHARON 
	But I'm scared.

			THE BOY 
	Don't ask God to meet you halfway. 

			SHARON 
	What does that mean? 

THE BOY shakes his head no.

			HENRY 
		(to THE BOY)
	What does that mean?

THE BOY shakes his head. No, he won't answer. SHARON is 
scared. She opens the door.



EXTERIOR: OUTSIDE THE CHURCH. SUNSET.
SHARON and MARY are framed in the church door, the faithful 
behind them. They walk out into the sunset. 

Cut to:



EXTERIOR: SHARON AND RANDY'S TOWN HOUSE. DAY.
SHARON is packing a sports bag while PAULA watches her. 
PAULA is desperate. SHARON is calm. SHARON holds up a few of 
MARY'S dresses while she studies the clothes in her closet. 
PAULA has a shopping bag filled with food.

			PAULA 
	Sharon, you can't just leave like 
	this. 

			SHARON 
	Yes, I can. God is calling me.

			PAULA 
	No, no, no ... Sharon ... what 
	about Mary? 

			SHARON 
	God is calling her too.

			PAULA 
	Why don't you sell the house? You 
	can't just walk away from it.

			SHARON 
	Of course, I can. There's a better 
	house waiting for me. God is 
	building me a mansion, right now. 
	What should I wear?

She takes out a few dresses.

			PAULA 
	God won't come, the bank will own 
	your home, and what are you going to 
	do then?

			SHARON 
	I'm going to Heaven, Paula. I'm 
	going to Heaven. Mary and I are 
	going to Heaven. And we'll wear 
	these dresses, together, when we 
	finally meet God. Randy always liked 
	this dress. I'll wear it for him. 
	I'll be seeing him soon. And he 
	always loved to see Mary in this. 

PAULA sits on the bed. 

			PAULA 
	Don't you get a white robe and 
	wings? 

			SHARON 
	Angels don't have wings. And I don't 
	know about the robes. I don't know 
	what they wear, but I guess I'll 
	find out.

SHARON packs a sweater.

			PAULA 
	Then what's the sweater for?

			SHARON 
	It gets cold at night in the desert.

			PAULA 
	Winter is coming. You'll need more 
	than a sweater.

			SHARON 
	He's taking us soon, very soon. 

			PAULA 
	How do you know? 

			SHARON 
	He told me.

			PAULA 
	Sharon, Sharon, listen to me. I 
	don't know if you can hear me, but 
	listen to me. You need food. 

			SHARON 
	Not that much.

			PAULA 
	You need a tent. I don't want you 
	guys sleeping out in the car. Okay. 
	Candle, matches, flashlight. 

PAULA pulls the named items out of the bag.

			SHARON 
	Thank you, Paula.

			PAULA 
	You need something else. You can't 
	go out to the desert alone, there's 
	a lot of creeps out there, Sharon, 
	and a woman alone, I'm scared. 

			SHARON 
	God will take care of us. 

			PAULA 
	Maybe. Insurance. 

She takes out a small handgun.

			SHARON 
	Oh, Paula, no.

			PAULA 
	You don't have to use it. But you 
	have to take it. And you can bring 
	it back to me when you come home. 

SHARON holds PAULA'S hand, and she looks at the gun.

			SHARON 
	I'm not coming home. 

Cut to:



EXTERIOR: DESERT CAMPGROUND. DAY.
SHARON and MARY drive into a campground somewhere in the 
high desert. There are Joshua trees, yuccas, and large rocks 
and rock piles. 

			MARY 
	Mom?

			SHARON 
	Yes, Mary.

			MARY 
	This doesn't look like Heaven, Mom. 

			SHARON 
	This isn't Heaven, honey. 

			MARY 
	Then why stop here?

			SHARON 
	Think of Heaven as a great big hotel 
	or a big office building.

			MARY 
	Yeah.

			SHARON 
	Well, this is the lobby, this is 
	where we have to wait.

			MARY 
	For what?

			SHARON 
	The elevator.

Another car pulls up. 

Dissolve to:



INTERIOR: TENT. NIGHT.
SHARON and MARY sleeping. We go into SHARON'S dream. She is 
dreaming of the Pearl. 

Cut to:



EXTERIOR: DESERT CAMPGROUND. DAY.
ROCK CLIMBERS are high on the sheer face of a rock wall. 
MARY watches them. One CLIMBER rappels down the rock and 
lands beside them. He is lean, muscular, cool.

			MARY 
	Are you waiting for God, too?

			CLIMBER 
	Oh, is that what you guys are doing 
	here? 

			MARY 
	God is coming back. 

			CLIMBER 
	Sounds good. 

			MARY 
	He really is. 

			CLIMBER 
	Okay.

			MARY 
	He's coming tomorrow.

			SHARON 
	No, soon, Mary. He's coming soon. 

They look up at the sky.



EXTERIOR: DESERT CAMPGROUND. NIGHT. 
SHARON puts MARY to sleep in the tent.



EXTERIOR: DESERT CAMPGROUND. LATE DAY.
There isn't much food left or water. We hear a loud siren. 
SHARON grabs MARY. MARY grabs for her toy panda.

			SHARON 
	That's it! That's it, Mary, here it 
	comes, here it is, he's calling us, 
	come on, hurry, hurry ...

She runs with MARY up a rock formation, higher and higher. 
The sound continues. MARY drops her panda and screams out:

			MARY 
	Panda!

			SHARON 
	Mary, come on ... 

			MARY 
	No, Panda!

SHARON scrambles back to get the doll. It is out of reach. 
She gets it. MARY hugs her panda, and they continue on up 
the rock until we have a good view of the whole campground.



EXTERIOR: TOP OF ROCK PILE. DAY.
The horn is still loud and clear. SHARON holds MARY, their 
faces lifted to the sky, waiting for the Rapture. We see a 
CLIMBER running across the parking lot to his car. He turns 
off the alarm, and the sound stops. SHARON remains frozen 
for a second; then she sits down. For the first time, we see 
real doubt and the beginning of defeat. MARY starts to cry.

			MARY 
	I miss my Daddy.

			SHARON 
	Honey, I miss your Daddy, too. 

			MARY 
	I want to see him again.

			SHARON 
	You will, you will see him in 
	Heaven. 

			MARY 
	Why can't we go to Heaven? Mommy, I 
	want to go to Heaven.

			SHARON 
	We have to wait until God calls us. 

			MARY 
	Did God call Daddy? When you die is 
	that when God calls you? 

			SHARON 
	Yes.

			MARY 
	Then I want to die. 

			SHARON 
	No, sweetie, no.

			MARY 
	You want to go to Heaven, don't you? 

			SHARON 
	Yes.

			MARY 
	And you believe that when we die 
	we'll go to Heaven, because we're 
	saved, right? 

			SHARON 
	Yes.

			MARY 
	Then why can't we just die and go 
	there really quickly and be with 
	Daddy again? Why do we have to stay 
	here and just hang around and wait 
	for God? Come on, Mom, let's die.

SHARON puts her arm around her. She is too young to really 
understand what she's asking for.

			SHARON 
	Let's give God one more chance. 

Cut to:



EXTERIOR: DESERT CAMPGROUND. DAY.
A county sheriff's car drives into the campground. FOSTER 
MADISON gets out of it. MARY and SHARON pray at a picnic 
bench. Something about SHARON attracts him. He could be hard, 
but he is curious, soft. 

			FOSTER 
	Howdy. 

			SHARON 
	Hello.

			FOSTER 
	I'm Foster Madison. 

			SHARON 
	Sharon. And Mary. 

FOSTER crouches to be closer to MARY. 

			FOSTER 
	Oh yeah? I have a sister named Mary. 
	She's all grown-up now.

			MARY 
	Are you with God? 

			FOSTER 
	I'm with the sheriff. 

			MARY 
	We're waiting for our father. 

			FOSTER 
	Where is he? 

			MARY 
	Heaven.

			FOSTER 
	Don't you go to school? 

			MARY 
	I don't have to go to school. 

FOSTER looks at SHARON.

			SHARON 
	I'm not asking you to understand, or 
	to have faith, but the end of the 
	world is coming, and we're a lot 
	safer out here. 

MARY walks away.

			FOSTER 
	Well, there's a two-week limit on 
	staying here. 

			SHARON 
	Is that a limit on how long I can 
	stay in the park, or how long I can 
	use this campsite?

			FOSTER 
	Actually, it's just a limit on how 
	long you can use this particular 
	campsite.

			SHARON 
		(points to different 
		campsites)
	So if I move over there, or over 
	there, or over there ... I can stay 
	for another two weeks.

FOSTER wants to be fair; he sees a woman in need. 

			FOSTER 
	Technically. I can't stop you. 

			SHARON 
	Thank you.

			FOSTER 
	Could I ask you a question? 

			SHARON 
	Sure.

			FOSTER 
	Is this good for your little girl? 

			SHARON 
	Have you been saved? 

			FOSTER 
	No.

			SHARON 
	Do you know what that means? 

			FOSTER 
	Yeah.

			SHARON 
	Would you like to be?

			FOSTER 
	Oh yeah, yeah sure, who wouldn't. 

			SHARON 
	Why is it so hard for you to pray? 

			FOSTER 
	You have to surrender to God, don't you? 

			SHARON 
		(not fully certain) 
	That's right. 

			FOSTER 
	It's in my training. I don't give 
	up my gun. 

			SHARON 
	But you'd like to believe. 

			FOSTER 
	That these are the last days?

			SHARON 
	You know they are. God is coming 
	back to judge the world. A lot of 
	people are going to suffer. 

			FOSTER 
	I hope that's not true; but if 
	there's no law against it, my hands 
	are tied. 

SHARON smiles a little. 

			SHARON 
	I bet with a little prayer you'd be 
	on my side in an hour.

			FOSTER 
	Well, then it's time for me to go. 
	Watch out for the coyotes. 
		(To MARY:) 
	Good-bye. 

			MARY 
	Good-bye.

FOSTER gets back into his car. When he is gone, SHARON 
breaks down and cries.



EXTERIOR: DESERT CAMPGROUND. NIGHT.
The moon is behind clouds. Wind pulls at the tent flaps.



INTERIOR: TENT. NIGHT.
The camera moves toward SHARON. We're getting inside her 
dream again. Brief glimpses of an orgy.



INTERIOR: SHARON'S DREAM.
The Pearl recedes, gets smaller, and finally disappears. 
Blackness.

			MARY 
		(voice-over)
	Mom ... Mommy ...



INTERIOR: TENT. NIGHT.
SHARON wakes up; her eyes are hollow. MARY is awake. 

			MARY 
	Mom ... 

			SHARON 
		(lost) 
	What? 

			MARY 
	Mom, I'm hungry.



EXTERIOR: DESERT CAMPGROUND. DAY.
SHARON looks through trash cans. No food. She turns the 
water jugs upside down. No water. MARY watches her. 

			MARY 
	You said we'd give him one more 
	chance. 

			SHARON 
		(impatient)
	Who?

			MARY 
	God. You said you'd give God one 
	more chance, and if we didn't get 
	the Rapture that we could die. 
	That's what you said. You promised.

			SHARON 
		(gently avoiding 
		the question) 
	Baby ... 

			MARY 
	Don't you believe in God? 

			SHARON Yes.

			MARY 
	Don't you love God? Then why can't 
	we just go to God? Go now. Now.

SHARON doesn't answer immediately.

			SHARON 
		(the implications 
		are frightening)
	One more chance. 

Cut to:



EXTERIOR: DESERT CAMPGROUND. NIGHT.
A motorcycle comes into the campground. SHARON and MARY are 
in the tent. SHARON pokes her head out. The motorcycle comes 
closer. SHARON gets out.

FOSTER, out of uniform, is on the motorcycle. 

			FOSTER 
	I ... I was in the neighborhood.

			SHARON 
	And you thought you'd come by for a 
	cup of sugar.

			FOSTER 
	No. Actually, I came to bring you 
	this. 

He reaches into his pack for a blanket. He hands it to her. 

			SHARON 
	We have sleeping bags.

			FOSTER 
	Yeah, I know, I, it's just that 
	sometimes you want to sit on the 
	ground, you don't want to get dirty, 
	it s nice to have a blanket. 

			SHARON 
	Thank you.

			FOSTER 
	I, I brought your little girl a 
	candy bar. I know moms are worried 
	about cavities, so if you don't want 
	to give it to her, you know, I'll 
	understand. 

			SHARON 
	I'll give it to her. 

			FOSTER 
	You can share it. 

			SHARON 
	Thanks.

He wants to talk. He looks at her.

			FOSTER 
	Well, I'll check up on you again 
	sometime, if that's okay.
	 
			SHARON 
	Thank you.

And he rides away. She returns to the tent.



INTERIOR: TENT. NIGHT.
Close on MARY. She cries out in her sleep.

			MARY 
	Mom! You have to make up your mind, 
	now! Gabriel is coming, Mom, Gabriel 
	is coming. 
		(She wakes up, and she 
		is in a kind of trance, 
		staring at her mother, 
		afraid for her.) 
	He's God, Mom, He's God. Don't ask 
	God to meet you halfway. 
		(A final cry.) 
	Mommy!

			SHARON 
	Wake up, Mary, wake up. It's okay, 
	baby, it's okay.

MARY wakes up, and she cries deeply. Her face tells us 
everything: she has given up hope.

			SHARON 
	Come on, baby, you're just hungry; 
	we'll get something to eat. Come on, 
	let's go to town. 

			MARY 
	No, we can't leave. 

			SHARON 
	Yes, we can.

			MARY 
	But we don't need any food. God will 
	give us food when we get to Heaven. 
	I'll be in Heaven tonight. There was 
	a river. And I was in Heaven. 

			SHARON 
	Where was I? 

			MARY 
	You were there. 

			SHARON 
	Good.

			MARY 
	Sort of. You were there, but only 
	sort of. 

SHARON tries to make sense of this. She can't; she's too 
tired right now for tests of faith. She smiles and looks her 
daughter in the eye.

			SHARON 
	It's almost morning. As soon as the 
	sun comes up, we'll go get something
	to eat. 

Cut to:



EXTERIOR: JACK IN THE BOX DRIVE-THRU LINE. DAY.
SHARON is at the pick-up window. The food order is put out 
for her. The CASHIER waits for the money. Behind him is the 
MANAGER. 

			CASHIER
	Eleven dollars and twenty-eight 
	cents, please. 

SHARON looks at him. He knows what the look means.

			CASHIER
	Oh, no you don't.

SHARON quickly grabs the food and drives away.

			CASHIER
	Call the police. 

			MANAGER 
	No.

			CASHIER
	Why not?

			MANAGER
	She had a kid.



INTERIOR: CAR. DAY.
SHARON returns to the Joshua tree campsite. MARY devours her 
burger and fries. SHARON'S face is set. She is on the other 
side of something powerful.



EXTERIOR: CAR. DAY.
SHARON drives down a road.



EXTERIOR: BURNED HILL. LATE AFTERNOON.
SHARON and MARY walk up the hillside. MARY kneels and 
clutches her toy panda. SHARON stands behind her. 

			SHARON 
	Do you love me? 

			MARY 
	Yes.

			SHARON 
	Do you love Jesus? 

			MARY 
	Yes.

			SHARON 
	You know, in Heaven there's Jesus 
	and Baby Jesus, together, and Baby 
	Jesus has the special job, has the 
	special job 
		(breaking down) 
	of looking out for all the children. 
	Mary, do you love Baby Jesus? 

			MARY 
	Yes.

			SHARON 
	It's not fair to make you pay 
	because I'm lost. If God loves us, 
	He'll understand. We're going to 
	Heaven now.

			MARY 
	We're going together? 

			SHARON 
	Together.

Now we see the gun that PAULA gave her before she left home. 
The sun is going down. 

			MARY 
	And Daddy? Daddy's in Heaven.

			SHARON 
		(this thought 
		comforts her) 
	Daddy. We'll see Daddy. Yes. And 
	we'll be together forever because 
	nothing is broken in Heaven. I love 
	you. 

			MARY 
	Daddy.

			SHARON 
	You have to love God, Mary, do you 
	love God? 

			MARY 
	Yes.

MARY makes a face as though she's about to enter icy water. 
With her panda tucked under her arm, she clasps her hands in 
prayer even harder.

			SHARON 
	Tell Him that. Don't be afraid. 

SHARON pulls the trigger, and the gun fires. MARY is dead. 

SHARON takes the gun and puts it to her head.

She holds the gun. We watch. We wait. Will she? Can she? She 
empties the gun into the air, screams at the sky; then she 
sits down on the ground; then she lies down beside MARY and 
goes to sleep. 

Fade-out. 

Fade-in:



EXTERIOR: BURNED HILL. LATER. NIGHT.
SHARON places a cross on the panda on top of the grave and 
then gets up. She walks away, empty.

We hear hoofbeats, one horse, distant. The sound gets louder.



INTERIOR: SHARON'S CAR. NIGHT.
SHARON speeds down the highway, and everywhere she looks she 
sees a white horse flashing in her vision. 

Cut to:



EXTERIOR: FREEWAY. NIGHT.
SHARON keeps speeding. The white horse is gone. And then the 
red lights of a sheriff's police car appear in the mirror. 
The siren is close. She is sure she has been caught. She 
pulls over. The sheriff's OFFICER MADISON from the 
campground. He shines his searchlight on SHARON'S car. Then 
he walks to the car and knocks on her window. 

			FOSTER 
	Could you get out of the car, please? 

SHARON gets out of the car.

			FOSTER 
	What happened to God? 
		(He can see she is 
		in some kind of 
		distress.) 
	What's wrong? 

She doesn't answer.

			FOSTER 
	I have to see your license and 
	registration, please. 

			SHARON 
	They're in the car.

She gets them. She holds the license and registration out in 
her hand.

			FOSTER 
	Thank you. Could you step over into 
	the light, please?

He takes the identification and goes back to his bike. 
SHARON nods yes. He studies the license. We look at him for 
a moment. He is not a bad man, and he is studying SHARON, 
less as another speeder than as a woman in obvious trouble.

In the beginning, SHARON is catatonic; her answers are short 
and sparse. As FOSTER continues to press her, she starts to 
unravel. She realizes what she has done.

			FOSTER 
	Here. Where's your little girl? 

			SHARON 
	She's with God. 

			FOSTER 
	She died? 

			SHARON 
	Yes. 

			FOSTER 
	Mary. 

			SHARON 
	Yes. 

			FOSTER 
	How?

			SHARON 
	I killed her. I was going to kill 
	myself too, but you can't get into 
	Heaven if you kill yourself. You can 
	get into Heaven if somebody else 
	kills you but not if you kill 
	yourself. Life is some kind of 
	punishment, isn't it? You have to go 
	through with it, even when you know 
	what life is for.

			FOSTER 
	What is life for? 

			SHARON 
	Ask God.

			FOSTER 
	What does he say?

			SHARON 
	I think He says that, basically, you 
	have to love Him, no matter what. But 
	I don't love Him, not anymore. He has 
	too many rules. He told me to meet 
	Him in the desert. And I did and I 
	waited. He didn't come. He broke His 
	promise. He let me kill my little 
	girl. And He still expects me to love 
	Him? I'm afraid of Hell, so I have to 
	wait out my life, waiting for God. 
	Now: He'll forgive me and He'll let 
	me join my daughter and my husband 
	in Heaven, but first I have to say I 
	love Him. You can send me to the gas 
	chamber, and if I let God into my 
	heart before I die, then I can go to 
	Heaven, because God is merciful. How 
	fast was I going?

			FOSTER 
	A hundred miles an hour.

			SHARON 
	A hundred miles an hour. If I had 
	gone off a bridge and died, would I 
	have gone to Heaven? 

			FOSTER 
	I don't know. 

			SHARON 
	Neither do I.

Dissolve to:



INTERIOR: PRISON. DAY.
A guard leads SHARON down a row of cells. A door is opened 
and then locked behind her. A woman on the next bed is 
reading the Bible, and when she lowers the book, we see it 
is ANGIE, the swinger with the tattoo. SHARON says nothing 
to her.

			ANGIE
	I know you. I should be embarrassed 
	to even tell you where we met, but 
	I'm not ashamed, I'm not ashamed of 
	anything anymore, I found God, God 
	found me. I was preaching the word 
	of God at a shopping mall in Palm 
	Springs, and they had me kicked out. 
	So I went back in, and they had me 
	arrested. Have you heard the word 
	of God? 
		(No reply.) 
	It's the greatest gift of all time. 
	You have to trust completely in God. 
	He'll forgive all your sins.

			SHARON 
	Who forgives God? 

And she turns away from her. 

Fade-out.



INTERIOR: PRISON CELL. NIGHT.
SHARON hears a sound from her cell. A flaming sword slices 
the air. The sword stops flaming when it cuts through the 
air. The sword is held by the ARCHANGEL MICHAEL. ANGIE 
sleeps.

Another angel drifts into this scene outside the cell. MARY 
appears dressed as she was when she died.

			MARY 
		(sincerely, with a 
		little difficulty)
	God is coming back, Mommy. There 
	are wars and rumors of wars, Mommy, 
	and a curse devours the Earth, and 
	those who live in it are held guilty.

			SHARON 
	He said He was going to take us to 
	Heaven. 

			MARY 
	Mother, listen to me. The living 
	outnumber the dead. The Armies of 
	the Lord are waiting for the Day of 
	Judgement. Don't you still love God, 
	Mommy? 

			SHARON 
	He left us, alone, in the desert. 
	He let me kill you. 

			MARY 
	Do you still love Him?

			SHARON 
	How can I love a God who let me kill 
	my baby? 

			MARY 
	God loves you because you love Him. 

			SHARON 
	Why?

			MARY 
	I know you want me back, but I can't 
	come back, Mommy. I'm dead.

SHARON looks as they vanish, then, after a beat, looks down. 

Cut to:



INTERIOR: PRISON. NIGHT.
We move through the cells. A trumpet plays one long, 
extended note. The prisoners look outside.

			ANGIE
	That's the first call. It's Gabriel 
	blowing his trumpet. There will be 
	six more calls. We have until the 
	last call to repent. After that, 
	it's too late. After that, it's too 
	late.

We hear the hoofbeats again, getting louder. People look up. 
The sound seems to be in the middle of the room. The sound 
of the hoofbeats is impossibly loud, and we see on the TV 
screen the faint image of a white horse over a ballgame. 
Then the game disappears, and we see the feet of the horse.

			ANGIE
	It's God. He's giving us a last 
	chance to save ourselves. At war, 
	the First Horseman of the 
	Apocalypse. 

The horse is replaced by a trumpet. The channels are changed, 
and the golden trumpet blowing the pure tone is seen across 
every channel. It is a long trumpet raised high before a 
deep blue background. A hand holds the trumpet, but we don't 
see the angel's face. ANGIE begins to sing:

			ANGIE 
		(sings)
	Hark! the herald angels sing, 
	Glory to the newborn King; 
	Peace on earth, and mercy mild,
	God and sinners reconciled! 
	Joyful all ye nations rise, 
	Join the triumph of the skies; 
	With th' angelic host proclaim 
	Christ is born in Bethlehem.

As she sings, the trumpet sounds again. The hoofbeats grow. 
The blast gets louder. Prison bars start to collapse. All of 
the bars fall out of the walls, collapse to the floor with a 
great noise. Women step slowly out of their cells. A 
helicopter sounds in the background. Everyone sits quietly. 
No one knows what to say. 

			ANGIE
	What more do you need? 

			SHARON 
	Get out of here.

ANGIE leaves. SHARON is alone in the cell. FOSTER walks 
down the corridor. 

			SHARON 
	What are you doing here? 

			FOSTER 
	I want to know what happens next. 

			SHARON 
	Are you scared?

			FOSTER 
	I don't know. I never had any faith. 
	But you did. 

			SHARON 
	Yep. 

			FOSTER 
	So? 

			SHARON 
	So.

			FOSTER 
	Well, if the world is coming to an 
	end, this isn't the place to be. 
	Let's go.



EXTERIOR: ROAD. DAY.
SHARON rides behind FOSTER on his motorcycle.

Hoofbeats are closer. The red horse ridden by a rider 
wielding a long sword chases them. The rider holds a pair 
of scales. The trumpet continues to sound. 

Cut to:



EXTERIOR: THE ROAD. NIGHT.
SHARON and FOSTER are on the bike. The night sky is filled 
with the image of a huge bull ridden by a ghostly woman 
holding an immense candelabra. 

Cut to:



EXTERIOR: FARTHER DOWN THE ROAD. DUSK. 
The motorcycle comes to the crest of a hill.

Smoke surrounds the two. It is impossible to go ahead. They 
stop driving. The smoke obscures everything now. Hoofbeats. 
The world is dissolving. The FOURTH HORSEMAN, DEATH, riding 
the pale horse, appears in the fog of smoke and comes slowly 
toward them. 

SHARON and FOSTER get off their motorbike and watch the 
horseman. Then, they begin to rise slowly into the smoke. 
She doesn't want this. 

			SHARON 
	No! No, I don't want to go. 
		(To FOSTER:) 
	Don't let me go. No!

They disappear into the smoke.

Dissolve to:



EXTERIOR: LIMBO. NIGHT.
We are in the dark. The noise has stopped. Then we see them, 
barely lit, a hint of something like moonlight on them. A 
voice, MARY'S: 

			MARY 
	Mom? 
		(MARY walks out of 
		the darkness. She is 
		beside them, holding 
		her panda.) 
	Hi, Mom. 

			FOSTER 
	Is this Hell?

			SHARON 
		(tenderly) 
	Hello, Mary.

SHARON walks to her, but MARY is just out of reach and 
stays there.

			FOSTER 
	That's your daughter. 

			SHARON 
	Mary? Where are you? 

			MARY 
	I'm here.

			SHARON 
	Where are we?

			MARY 
	You know when you hear those songs 
	about the river that washes away all 
	your sins? Well, here it is. Heaven 
	is on the other side of the river. 

			FOSTER 
	We're in Heaven. Why are we in 
	Heaven? 

			MARY 
	You're not in Heaven. Heaven is 
	over there. 

She points to the distance, into the darkness. 

			FOSTER 
	I can't see it.

			MARY 
	It's there. If you love God, it's 
	there. Foster. Do you love God for 
	giving you the gift of life? 

			FOSTER 
		(whispers) 
	Yes.

Then he smiles, and then he disappears.

			SHARON 
	No!

			MARY 
	Mommy! Gabriel is coming. You have 
	to make up your mind.

			SHARON 
	There's nothing more to say. Take 
	me to God, Mary. I have to speak to 
	Him. 

			MARY 
	You have to love God. 

			SHARON 
	I love you, Mary. 

			MARY 
	That isn't enough.

			SHARON 
	Baby, it's all I have. If life is a 
	gift, if it really is a gift, and 
	there really is a Heaven ... 

			MARY 
	There really is a Heaven.

			SHARON 
	Then why should I thank Him for the 
	gift of so much suffering, Mary, so 
	much pain on the Earth that He 
	created. Let me ask Him why? 

			MARY 
	Tell God you love Him. 

			SHARON 
	I can't.

			MARY 
	If you don't tell God that you love 
	Him, you can't go to Heaven. Tell 
	God that you love Him. Mommy! 

			SHARON 
	No.

And then we hear Gabriel's final call. Gabriel's melody is 
like the infinite regression of an image in parallel mirrors, 
and the melody stretches into the end of time. While they 
listen, a gold light, as though a sun is setting, fills 
SHARON'S face. MARY takes her hand and stands beside her. 
The gold light shines on both of them.

			MARY 
	Do you see Heaven? 

			SHARON 
	Yes.

			MARY 
	Isn't it beautiful? 

			SHARON 
	Yes.

MARY lets go of SHARON.

			MARY 
	Do you know how long you have to 
	stay here? 

			SHARON 
	Yes. 

MARY fades away. 

			MARY 
	How long?

And to the darkness, SHARON says:

			SHARON 
	Forever. 

She is alone. We pull back.
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