152. The Angel and The Agnostic - Leslie

• FADE IN:


• INT. CHURCH OFFICE - DAY


• Pastor DAN O'REILLY sits at his desk writing a draft of his sermon on some scratch paper.


• His pencil drops and he groans, then leans down to grab it.


• As he comes back up from under the desk, a fluttering noise grabs his attention.


• He looks up and nearly falls off his chair.


• AMARIEL, a tall angel, is perched on the edge of his desk.


• Dan chokes.


• AMARIEL
• Don't be afraid.


• DAN
• Uhhhh.


• AMARIEL
• I thought you'd say something like that.


• She smiles, her warm, caramel skin luminous.


• Dan slumps in his chair.


• DAN
• How are you here? You don't exist.


• AMARIEL
• You preach my existence.


• She looks at him for a long time.


• DAN
• You get used to patterns; one day you realize you don't believe them anymore, but it's comfortable.


• AMARIEL
• Besides, there's that shining reputation to uphold.


• DAN
• Why are you here?


• AMARIEL
• Perhaps I'm a little mosquito sent here to give you an itch that won't go away. Or maybe just a hallucination; that in a few weeks you'll question and in a few months you'll doubt; and in a year you'll have forgotten.


• She stands.


• AMARIEL
• Maybe it's up to you to make of it what you will. And maybe you need to dig deep and figure out what He wants from you.


• She walks out the door.


• Dan runs after her and looks into the hallway; it is empty.


• He walks back to his desk, and slumps onto the wood surface next to a small radio.


• The RADIO crackles to life.


• DAN (VO)
• Today's sermon is going to be different. I'm here not to admonish or to teach, but to beg forgiveness. I am taking a leave of absence effective today. I can no longer stand here and be a liar. I can no longer be your minister and preach what I cannot know and do not believe.


• The radio hits static and hisses.


• FADE TO BLACK.