19. Nest - Eric

FADE IN:

EXT. CATER FALLS, TN. DAY

GEORGES, an aging man, with hardly any hair traipses up the side of a rocky cliff. A waterfall gushes past him. He is eyeing a BIRD’S NEST, thirty feet above him. As he loses his footing several times, small ROCKS roll from under his feet and tumble down the side of the cliff. PAMELA, his wife, shields her eyes from the sun and shouts his name. Several hikers with backpacks collect at the bottom of the cliff where she is standing. They shield their eyes and look up at GEORGES in amazement.

HIKER 1 (fingering his carabiner)
Umm, wow, this guy must be a pro.
How’s he doing that with no equipment?

HIKER 2
Yeah, this guy is making me jealous.
I thought this part of the falls was off limits to rock climbers.

PAMELA (nervously)
He’s not a rock climber!
He’s going to kill himself.
GEORGES, get down here NOW!

REBECCA, a young, pregnant teen, holds her boyfriend’s hand. They slowly trudge their way up to PAMELA and the hikers. Her boyfriend MIKE, is also a teen. He is pale and pasty, and wears an eyebrow ring.

REBECCA
Oh my God mom, what’s he doing?

PAMELA (crying)
I don’t know hun, he’s going to kill himself up there.

MIKE (laughing)
Wow, this is so cool.
Your dad is going postal!
No way! Look at him go.

Rebecca and Pam give him a dirty look.

GEORGES is trying to balance himself on the side of the rocky cliff. He cautiously places his hands in the crevices. When he gains footing he pulls himself up a few feet. Rocks still tumble down the side. Rich, dark green foliage pokes its head between the rocks. The BIRD’S NEST is only a couple of yards above him, hanging out on a lonely pine branch. A hazy steam of water rises up from the waterfall, dissipating just past him. He is wet with moisture. He continues slowly climbing.

GEORGES (VO)
When I was younger and things got bad in the house, I’d always head for the hiking trails by my house in Apison. I’d run up as fast as I could to the creek. The water relaxed me, took my mind off everything.
Those were the good old days, before I became a mouse potato. All this technology doesn’t feel natural. There’s no sense of tranquility in a computer. No, back in the day we knew how to escape, and relax.

Now, some thirty people surround Pamela. She is wheezing and holding her chest. MIKE is smiling.

PAMELA
Someone call the Park Ranger for God’s sake! Don’t just stand there!

GEORGES (VO)
Three weeks ago my boss wanted to
celebrate the company’s thirtieth Anniversary.
We went golfing the other day. I hate golfing.
He wants to play Bridge tonight at the lodge.
Well, I know one person that won’t be there.

GEORGES stumbles a few times. Several medium size rocks roll off the side. Below people are screaming and running. Finally he is able to grab the NEST. Georges gently lays the nest down and turns to dig in the soil between two rocks. After a minute he is holding an Earthworm. He feeds it to the baby HATCHLING.

GEORGES (VO)
They say something about water, how it has positive Ions.
We’re supposed to be negatively charged so when
we come in contact with water there is a sort of chemical reaction,
a soothing balancing out of charges.
A warm bath or hot shower is supposed to raise your
white blood cell count and make your body produce endorphins.
I don’t know about all of that, but every time I spend
any length of time around a body of water I get this feeling.
The best way I can describe it is that it’s a neutral feeling.
It’s not divine, and it’s not negative, it’s nothing and
everything at the same time. I embrace the nothingness
and let it envelope me and soon I can’t feel anything.
But I can feel everything, and it isn’t asking me to give.

EXT. CATER FALLS-NIGHT

Several Rangers are inflating a large cushion. Their carts have flashing yellow lights that stab the side of the cliff. Another fireman begins raising an extended, steel ladder from an ATV. A spotlight is on GEORGES. A RANGER is shouting at him through a megaphone.

RANGER (megaphone)
Mr. Dutch. We’re not going to ask you again. Don’t do this, it’s not worth it!
We will be forced to come up there in five minutes, and we will place you under arrest.

Georges has built a simple SHELTER from pine branches that do a splendid job of blocking out the spot light and the moisture from the waterfall. The NEST is at his side; he is lying on his back with his hands folded behind his head.

GEORGES (VO)
I’m in mother womb right now. I’m not getting old.
I don’t have to foreclose on the mortgage, and my
sixteen-year-old daughter really isn’t pregnant from that scumbag.
Most of all, my wife isn’t a nag. Not up here.
The only responsibility I have is me and this little chick.

EXT. CATER FALLS-MORNING

PAMELA is tying a picnic basket to a long, yellow rope. She is surrounded by park Rangers. Several news crews are aiming cameras at her and up to Georges, pelting her with questions. She is crying. After she fastens the knot GEORGES slowly raises it. He lifts the cloth from the basket and begins digging through it. He eats a pair and a sandwich. Georges takes down his makeshift shelter and basks in the sunlight while eating. He breaks off pieces of the pear and feeds it to the chick. His face is dripping wet.

GEORGES (VO)
This is the best sandwich I’ve ever had.
This pear tastes like God made it just for me.
I need to do this more often.

PAMELA (with megaphone)
Honey, please. Please… come down.
You’re scaring me. You’ve proved your point.

MIKE (chuckling)
He needs to shit or get off the pot.
What’s he waiting for? Jump already, dude.

Pamela scowls at Mike and slaps him hard across the face. Several policemen show up and talk among themselves, pointing up at the cliff. They are pointing to the ladder, and several shake their heads. One shouts on the megaphone.

POLICEMAN
Sorry, but I’m not about to climb up there.
It’s too dangerous. The rungs are all wet. Look at it!

EXT. CATER FALLS-NEXT DAY

GEORGES begins slowly climbing down the ladder. There are several hundred people below now, gasping in awe. More news crews arrive. He is carrying the nest with the CHICK, like a mother cradling her baby.

GEORGES (VO)
Sigh…Nothing looks the same anymore.
Spring isn’t just spring, but a beautiful
miracle unfolding before me.
This is how we did it back in the day.

PAMELA rushes to GEORGES through the throng and embraces him. They kiss. He hands her the NEST as he is cuffed and led away. The news crews trail behind him like vultures. He is SMILING a soft, serene Bhuddist smile.

FADE TO BLACK.