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Text copyright © 2010 byJustin Messina.

Published by Ashley PrintsFirst Edition

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A Screenplay By Justin Messina

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Justin Messina

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FADE IN:

EXT. TAREYTON - NIGHTThe sun is nearly set over the medieval kingdom of Tareyton. The sky is a swirl of pink and crimson. A CASTLE gleams in its light.

MR. MCCABE (30), emerges upon a hill overlooking the village, carrying a large WALKING STICK and dressed in a haggard TRAVELING CLOAK.

MR. MCCABE (V.O.)There once was a great traveler. He had wandered far from his home, exploring distant lands. And one day, he stumbled upon a magical world called Tareyton.

EXT. TAREYTON - VILLAGEMr. McCabe walks around the town, villagers coming out of their houses to marvel at him.

MR. MCCABEThe people of Tareyton called him the Great Wanderer because they had never seen someone like him before.

INT. BEDROOM - NIGHTMr. McCabe sits with YOUNG LUKE (5) in bed, finishing the story.

MR. MCCABEAnd you know what they say?

YOUNG LUKEWhat?

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MR. MCCABE Those who go to sleep may find Tareyton in a dream.

Luke’s face is full of hope and excitement.

INT. NEWSPAPER OFFICE - DAYLUKE, now a sheepish man of 35, sits at a computer in a cubicle - his face now the definition of boredom. His editor, MARK (35) walks over, a cheerful bounce in his step.

MARKHow’s it hanging, Luke?

LUKEUm, pretty good.

MARKYou have that obit done yet?

LUKEYeah, just finishing it up.

MARKGreat. I need it on my desk by 5, ’kay?

LUKESure thing.

Mark starts to walk away.

LUKE (CONT’D)Uh, Mark?

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MARKWhat’s up?

LUKEDid you, uh- did you get the piece I submitted?

MARK (awkwardly)Oh, yeah.

LUKEWell, what’d you think?

MARKI, uh, thought- It was good. Really, it was.

LUKEBut?

MARKYou should just really stick to writing obituaries; it’s what you’re good at. If it ain’t broke then why fix it, right?

He flashes a plastic smile and walks away.

LUKEYeah.

Luke heaves a sigh of frustration and turns back to his computer.

INT. MCCABE HOUSEHOLD - KITCHEN - DAYThe McCabe family: Luke, his perfectly manicured wife MEREDITH, and his

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scrawny and nerdy son, PETE (7) sit at the kitchen table, eating dinner.

MEREDITHSo, how was your day?

LUKEOh, you know, car crashes, heart attacks; same old same.

He places a piece of chicken onto his plate.

LUKE (CONT’D)Chicken again?

MEREDITHYes, chicken again. Did you ask Mark about your article?

LUKEYeah.

MEREDITHWhat’d he say?

LUKENot what they’re looking for.

Her face drops.

MEREDITHWhy not?

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LUKEI don’t know, they didn’t like it I guess. Just like the last one.

MEREDITHWell, why don’t you ask them what was wrong so you can improve for next time? You don’t want to be stuck writing obituaries forever, do you?

LUKENo.

PETECan I go watch TV?

MEREDITHYou didn’t eat your food.

PETEI’m not hungry.

LUKEAlright, go ahead, Pete.

Pete gets up from the table and walks out of the kitchen.

Meredith shoots Luke a look.

LUKEWhat?

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MEREDITHWhy did you just let him get up from the table after I told him he couldn’t?

LUKEHe’s not hungry. Can’t say I blame him.

He stabs at the dry chicken with his fork. She rolls her eyes.

INT. MCCABE HOUSEHOLD - LIVING ROOM - DAYPete and Luke sit watching cartoons on TV. Meredith begins to walk upstairs but notices Luke’s shoes on the staircase.

MEREDITHLuke.

Luke turns to look at her. She motions angrily towards the shoes. He turns back to the TV.

LUKEI’ll move them when I go upstairs.

MEREDITHNo, you won’t, you’ll say that, and then you’ll end up walking right past them like you do everyday. And then I’ll end up bringing them upstairs instead.

LUKEWhat can I say, I’m a creature of habit.

With a groan, Meredith picks up the shoes.

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LUKE (CONT’D)We’ve got something in common.

MEREDITHAnd did you put the Christmas stuff away like I asked you to?

Luke looks over at a stack of boxes overflowing with Christmas decorations.

MEREDITHYou do realize that it’s February, right?

Meredith climbs the stairs, shoes in hand.

INT. MCCABE HOUSEHOLD - ATTICLuke climbs up a ladder leading to the attic, carrying a stack of Christmas boxes.

He sets them on the floor among the other stacks.

As he rearranges the other boxes, he finds an old typewriter tucked away inside one.

He picks it up and examines it.

INT. MCCABE HOUSEHOLD - BEDROOMLuke enters with the typewriter and places it on the bed. He examines it. Meredith enters in her pajamas, rubbing lotion on her hands.

LUKEHey, look what I found.

MEREDITHOh, isn’t that your father’s old typewriter?

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LUKEYeah, I totally forgot we had it.

MEREDITHMe too. Does it still work?

LUKEI don’t know.

MEREDITHYou should set it up in the office.

LUKEYeah.

INT. MCCABE HOUSEHOLD - PETE’S ROOM - NIGHTLuke and Pete enter.

LUKECome on, bedtime.

Pete hops into bed and Luke tucks him in.

PETEDad?

LUKEYes?

PETE Tell me a story.

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LUKEHmm, let’s see.

Luke sits down in a chair next to the bed.

LUKE (CONT’D)Well. You know, when I was your age, Grandpa used to tell me about this land far, far away from here.

PETEWhat’s it called?

LUKE (thinking)It was called... Tareyton. But it’s very different than any other place you’ve ever been to because there’s magic there.

PETE (skeptical)Magic?

LUKEYup. Like wizards and unicorns.That kinda stuff. And there’s a castle with knights in shining armor. And wishing stones that grant any wish you could possibly have. But only certain people can go there.

PETEWhy?

LUKEBecause it’s hard to find. The only way to get there is through magic.

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PETEIs it real?

LUKEOf course, it’s real?

PETEHow do people know?

LUKEBecause all around us are doorways to that world. And every now and then, someone finds a doorway.

PETELike Narnia?

LUKEI guess, yeah, like Narnia.

PETEAnd it really exists?

LUKE

It really exists.

PETEI don’t believe you.

LUKEYou don’t have to believe me. I mean, I’ve never been there before. But maybe one day you’ll find a doorway to that world. And they

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say, sometimes when you go to sleep, you can go to that world. And everything you want comes true.

He kisses Pete on the forehead and turns out the light.

LUKE (CONT’D)Good night, pal.

INT. NEWSPAPER OFFICE - NEXT DAYLuke sits at his desk with various pages.

Mark approaches.

MARKLuke, are you planning to run this story about the serial rapist?

LUKEUm... well, I wrote the piece.

MARKWhy would you choose to write about him?

LUKEWell, he was a well-known local. And he died. So I picked him.

MARKLuke. Obituaries should be uplifting. They should make our readers feel inspired to do great things with their lives.

LUKEBut they’re about people dying.

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MARKNo, they’re a documentation of accomplishment, a medal of achievement. They should make people want to do great things intheir lives. That’s why we run these highlights.

LUKEOh, sorry.

MARKWell, we need to run something else.

LUKEI’ll find something.

Mark walks away. Luke sighs and turns back to his computer. He sits in thought and begins typing.

LUKE (V.O.)Luke McCabe lived his life in black and white. When not working asan under-appreciated obituary writer for a local newspaper, he lived a comfortable, if rather predictable, life of lemon chicken dinners and un-hung Christmas lights. Everyday of his life was exactly the same: predictable, uneventful, and completely banal until the end of his days.

INT. MCCABE HOUSEHOLD - OFFICE - DAYLuke places the typewriter on the desk next to a framed PICTURE of his father, Mr. McCabe. He begins looking through the desk drawers.

LUKEMeredith, where’s the printer paper?

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MEREDITH (O.S.)In the drawer!

LUKEWhere?

Meredith enters, opens a drawer, and slams the paper on the desk.

LUKE Oh.

He begins to load the paper in the typewriter.

MEREDITHDoes it work?

LUKEThat’s what I’m about to check.

He continues. He clicks a few keys.

The letters print out on the page.

LUKELook at that! Still has ink and everything.

MEREDITHWow. Did your father use it a lot?

LUKEYeah, he wrote his novel on it.

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MEREDITHOh, the big one?

LUKEYeah. Maybe it’ll bring me some luck.

MEREDITHWhat do you mean?

LUKEI just can’t seem to think of anything absolutely brilliant to write for my next piece.

MEREDITHWell, I’m sure you’ll think of something.

INT. MCCABE HOUSEHOLD - BEDROOM - NIGHTLuke is laying in bed, reading. Meredith enters holding a box of Christmas decorations.

MEREDITHWhat is this?

LUKE

Um... Christmas stuff?

MEREDITHHow many times do I have to ask you to put them away, Luke?

LUKEWell, I started.

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MEREDITHAnd what happened?

LUKEWell, I found the typewriter and got kind of- Why don’t you putthem away if it bothers you so much?

MEREDITHBecause it was a test.

LUKEWhat?

MEREDITHI wanted to know how long it would take before the boxes of Christmas decorations lying around bothered you enough that you would put them away.

LUKEThat went well.

MEREDITHI just can’t understand you sometimes. Do you not care how the house looks? Do you not care that I asked you to help me?

LUKEMeredith, they’re freaking Christmas decorations.

MEREDITHWhy is everything like pulling teeth with you? I try so hard to keep everything together around the house, and you act like you don’t

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even care.

LUKEFine, you want me to do it, I’ll do it.

Luke gets out of bed and grabs the box from Meredith.

MEREDITHYou don’t have to do it right now.

LUKENo, I’ll do it.

Luke exits.

INT. MCCABE HOUSEHOLD - ATTICLuke climbs up the ladder and places the box with the other decorations. He remains kneeling on the ground in angry thought.

INT. NEWSPAPER OFFICELuke sits in a daze at his computer. Mark walks over.

MARKLuke, do you have that new obit yet?

LUKEI’m, uh- no.

MARKAlright, Luke, what’s going on? You’re work has been noticeably sub-par as of late.

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LUKEI just had a rough night. Week, really.

MARKI’m just... warning you.

LUKEWarning me?

MARKWell, we’ve been looking to cut back on some of our staff lately and- you might just want to kick it up a notch, you know? But hey,we’re still cool right?

He laughs.

LUKE (sarcastically)Yeah.

Mark walks away.

DAVID (O.S.)That sounded pretty rough.

Luke looks up to see DAVID standing, looking down at him from the next cubicle.

LUKEYeah, he can be a bit of a tight-ass sometimes. Are you new?

DAVIDYeah, I’m David.

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He holds out his hand and Luke shakes it.

LUKELuke.

DAVID

So, what do you do?

LUKEObituary writer.

DAVIDReally? People still do that? I thought that was only for big news-papers, not this local bull shit.

LUKEYeah, well, we run a piece each week about a local citizen who died. Usually if they’ve done something important. It’s incredibly boring.

DAVIDI hear ya.

INT. NEWSPAPER OFFICE - BREAK ROOMLuke and David sit eating lunch.

LUKEThe worst part though, is that Mark and I both started working hereat the same time. And now he’s my fucking editor.

DAVIDOoh, that sucks, man.

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LUKEI was really excited about that piece too. I keep hoping if I write something they like, they’ll give me some actual assignments once in a while.

DAVIDThey’re not feeling it, huh?

LUKEI guess not. I always thought writing would come easier to me be-cause my dad was a writer. Guess I didn’t inherit the writing gene.

DAVIDOr maybe you just haven’t had your big break yet.

LUKEWell, I may not have had my big break yet, but I’m certainly broke.

INT. MCCABE HOUSEHOLD - OFFICE - DAYLuke sits at the typewriter, pulling his hair out.

Meredith scooters in.

MEREDITH (excited)Honey!

LUKEHey. You’re in a good mood.

MEREDITHI have a surprise for you! I know that Christmas just passed and all,

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but I figured it’s something for the whole family, so who cares?

LUKEWhat is it?

MEREDITHIt’s a surprise!

INT. MCCABE HOUSEHOLD - LIVING ROOM - DAYLuke and Meredith descend the stairs.

MEREDITHCover your eyes!

He does so and she ushers him into the living room.

MEREDITH (CONT’D)OK, open them!

He uncovers his eyes to see: a freestanding, ANTIQUE COAT RACK.

LUKE (disappointed)Oh. What is it?

MEREDITHIt’s a coat rack. An antique!

LUKEHow much was it?