Chapter 11: 3:03
287 Words
EXT. VACANT LOT - DAY
Where BAHAY REVENAR stood. Now a PARK. Swings. One BLACK TREE in the center — taller now. Leaves. Green.
MIREILLE SANTOS, 29, sits on a bench. Same scar on chin. No rosary. No key. Wearing a NURSE’S UNIFORM. Lunch break.
A TEENAGE BOY, 16, skateboards past. Stops. Looks at her.
TEENAGE BOY
You’re her, right?
MIREILLE
(doesn’t look up)
Her who?
TEENAGE BOY
The Revenar girl. The one who burned it down.
Mireille finally looks. Smiles. Tired.
MIREILLE
Wrong name.
The boy shrugs. Skates off.
Her watch BEEPS. Digital. 3:03 PM.
The BLACK TREE SHUDDERS. One leaf falls
INT. SAN FERNANDO DISTRICT HOSPITAL - CONTINUOUS
Mireille charts at the nurses’ station.
DOCTOR CRUZ, 40s, walks up. Holds a FILE.
DOCTOR CRUZ
Santos. New admission. Room 303. No ID. No next of kin. Found unconscious at the bus terminal.
MIREILLE
(reading)
Vitals?
DOCTOR CRUZ
Stable. But…
He flips the file. Photo clipped inside.
GIRL, 6. White dress. Burn on her chin.
Mireille’s pen STOPS.
MIREILLE
(quiet)
That’s not possible.
DOCTOR CRUZ
What isn’t?
MIREILLE
(beat)
Time.
INT. HOSPITAL ROOM 303 - CONTINUOUS
Mireille enters. The GIRL sleeps. Same face as the child from St. Martha’s. Same burn. Same age.
On the nightstand: A SKELETON KEY. Rusted. Old.
The heart monitor BEEPS. Steady. Then:
3:03 PM.
The girl’s eyes OPEN.
She looks at Mireille.
GIRL
(whispers)
You’re late, angel.
Mireille doesn’t move. Doesn’t breathe.
Then the girl SMILES.
GIRL (CONT’D)
Don Severino says hello.
The heart monitor FLATLINES.
Then BEEPS again. Normal.
The girl is asleep. Like nothing happened.
The skeleton key is gone.
Mireille backs out of the room.
HOSPITAL PA SYSTEM (O.S.)
Code Blue, Room 303. Code Blue, Room 303.
FADE OUT.
- Writer
