UNSAID & IMMORTAL EP1
921 Words
Got it — here’s *Episode 1 / Chapter 1: “Brother Tams”* in full play/script format. I kept it tight for mobile, but cinematic.
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*UNSAD & IMMORTAL*
*Chapter 1: Brother Tams*
_Tagline: He said no to every girl. Until he couldn’t say no to her._
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*[SCENE 1: BOMADI, 2009 – TAMARA AGE 4 – “THE CHICKEN”]*
_Dawn. A small mud-house. Grandma Pere wails outside._
*GRANDMA PERE*
My only chicken! For market! Now dead! God, why me?
_Little TAMARA, 4, barefoot, oversized shirt, walks to the chicken. He touches it. Eyes closed._
*TAMARA*
(small voice, not his own)
Get up.
_The chicken jerks. Flaps. Runs off clucking. Grandma drops her wrapper._
*GRANDMA PERE*
Jesus! Boy… what did you say?
_TAMARA blinks, confused. He doesn’t understand what happened. But Heaven does._
*GRANDPA PERE*
(appearing, face hard)
From today, Tamara. You speak to save lives. Not to impress people. Your words carry weight.
_He lifts the boy. First rule given. First cage locked._
*CUT TO BLACK.*
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*[SCENE 2: GOVERNMENT COLLEGE BOMADI, 2022 – SS1 – “THE REJECTION ROSTER”]*
_After Bible Study. Students dispersing. BLESSING, 15, choir lead, blocks TAMARA, 14, same 3 shirts, Bible in hand._
*BLESSING*
Tams, wait. God told me in a dream. You’re my husband. We’ll do ministry together.
_TAMARA stops. Looks at her. Not cruel. Just… tired already._
*TAMARA*
(soft)
Then God will tell me too, Blessing. Until then… can I help you carry your Bible? It’s heavy.
_She flinches. Tears start._
*BLESSING*
You pray for everyone’s mother. Why can’t you love me?
*TAMARA*
I do love you. As a sister in Christ. And I’ll still pray for your dad’s BP tomorrow. But I can’t say “yes” to your dream until Heaven says “yes” to mine.
_He takes her Bible, walks her home in silence. Prays for her sick dad next week. Keeps his rule._
_VOICEOVER – TAMARA, 17:_
“That was the first no. There would be 200 more.”
*MONTAGE – 3 YEARS PASS*
1. Senior girl slips him a love letter in Chemistry. He returns it with Hebrews 12:1 written on it.
2. Pastor’s daughter brings him soup. He thanks her, eats with the boys, no “date”.
3. Teacher’s niece “accidentally” sits next to him in chapel every Sunday. He moves to sit by the window to pray.
_They start calling him “Brother Tams”. The safest boy in Bomadi._
_VOICEOVER – TAMARA:_
“They called it purity. I called it the loneliest assignment on earth.”
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*[SCENE 3: GOVERNMENT COLLEGE BOMADI, 2025 – SS3 – “SHE SEES THE BOY”]*
_Chemistry Lab. Noise. VANESSA OKORO, 17, new transfer from Lagos, designer lab coat, guarded eyes, is measuring chemicals. The beaker explodes._
_Glass flies toward her face. Time slows. TAMARA, 17, drops his test tube and moves._
_He steps between her and the glass. One shard slices his forearm. Blood drips on the floor. The class screams._
_Silence. Only the Bunsen burner hissing._
*VANESSA*
(panicked, grabbing his arm)
You’re stupid! Why would you— Why did you do that?!
_TAMARA looks at her. Not at the blood. Not at the class staring. Just at her._
*TAMARA*
(quiet, raw)
Because I’ve said no to everyone else, Vanessa. I didn’t want to say no to keeping you safe.
_Her hands freeze on his wound. For the first time in 13 years, someone sees past “Brother Tams” the miracle boy. She sees the exhaustion. The boy._
*VANESSA*
(whisper)
You look tired. Are you okay?
_That question hits harder than the glass. No one asked him that. Not Grandpa. Not the governors he prayed for. Not the 200 girls._
*TAMARA*
He swallows. Almost says more. His throat burns with words that could create reality. He clenches his jaw._
*TAMARA*
I’m fine. Let’s get you out of here before your guards come.
_He pulls away. Walks out, blood on his shirt, hiding his hand. Vanessa watches him go. Something shifts in her eyes. Not lust. Not awe. Recognition._
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*[SCENE 4: THE MANGO TREE – NIGHT – “THE SLIP”]*
_Later that week. Tamara and Vanessa study under the old mango tree. Her driver waits by the gate, engine running. She’s frustrated._
*VANESSA*
You’re always somewhere else, Tams. With me, but not _here_. Where do you go every night? You smell like hospital and prayer.
*TAMARA*
(nearly breaks)
If I tell you, I—
(stops. Breathes hard. Grandpa’s voice in his head: “Hide your mantle until Heaven unmasks you”)
Vanessa… I can’t lose you.
_He doesn’t say “I love you.” But in his mouth, “I can’t lose you” lands like thunder. The wind moves through the mango leaves._
_Vanessa rubs her chest. Her asthma inhaler is in her bag. She doesn’t reach for it. For the first time since age 6, she breathes deep. No wheeze. She doesn’t tell him. She just watches him closer._
*VANESSA*
(to herself, barely audible)
Who… are you?
_TAMARA stands up. Back to us.*
*TAMARA*
(voiceover)
I’m the boy who said no 200 times.
(pause)
God… why does my yes scare me more than raising the dead?
*FADE OUT.*
*END OF EPISODE 1*
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*Hook for Episode 2*: Blessing sees Tamara bleed for Vanessa. She remembers her “dream from God”. Jealousy + prophecy + a girl who won’t back down = the first real threat to Tamara’s secrets
- Writer
