342. The Midnight Visitor - Leslie

• FADE IN:


• INT. NATHAN'S ATTIC OFFICE - NIGHT


• NATHAN sits at his desk, staring off into space, a blank sketch pad in front of him.


• Street lights toss warm light into the room through the large bay window that sits perpendicular to him.


• Vintage art deco and soviet posters cover the wall over the desk.


• He ponders a print of Alphonse Mucha's "Les Saisons" hanging to the left of his desk.


• To his left sits a dusty easel.


• ADRIANA (O.S.)
• Hiya Nate.


• He jerks his head right.


• Adriana sits on the bay window ledge, a teddy bear hanging from one hand, a book, open and and on fire in the other hand.


• Flames lick the pages, but even though Nathan can feel the heat, they don't seem to be burning.


• She is dressed in a black crinoline skirt, a ribbed corset covers a white spaghetti-strapped tanktop, and fingerless black lace gloves that run up to her biceps.


• He stares.


• She waves.


• ADRIANA
• Hi.


• NATHAN
• I don't think I'm going to bother asking how you got in here; but who are you?


• ADRIANA
• Oh, that's not really important. I'm here with a message.


• She walks over to him.


• Nathan leans away from the flames.


• NATHAN
• How are you not burning yourself?


• She smiles at him.


• ADRIANA
• It's time.


• NATHAN
• Excuse me?


• ADRIANA
• When you were five years old, you made a promise that whatever God asked of you when you were all grownup, you would do.


• NATHAN
• Are you kidding me? I was five years - I wasn't serious.


• ADRIANA
• Oh, you were dead serious.


• NATHAN
• So, now He comes calling? That's not fair, I mean, I have a whole life ahead of me. Now I'm supposed to run off and be a monk? Pull the John the Crazy Baptist act?


• ADRIANA
• YYou know what you have to do.


• NATHAN
• I'm not an artist, you know I'm terrible at it.I just go through the motions.


• ADRIANA
• I've heard otherwise. You have the ability to change an entire worldview with one image. You curse God when you refuse to use that gift.


• NATHAN
• I'm no one, just lil' ol' Nathan. And I'm a terrible person, a jerk, really.


• ADRIANA
• I've worked with worse.


• She holds the book out towards him and he leans further back.


• ADRIANA
• Take a page.


• NATHAN
• No way!


• ADRIANA
• Take it.


• He shakes his head.


• She catches his eye and he can't look away.


• ADRIANA
• Take it.


• He reaches out, his hand shaking, turning his face away from the heat.


• His fingers dart forward, then back.


• NATHAN
• It's too hot.


• She just looks at him.


• He takes a breath and reaches inside the flames, yelling in pain as he rips a page out.


• He pulls his hand away, then stops.


• He looks in amazement at his hand, which is free of any blisters or burns.


• The page is gone, but a strange circle of symbols has appeared between his thumb and forefinger.


• ADRIANA
• You know what you're supposed to do.


• She walks back to the window, turns, and smiles at him.


• She turns back to the window and then blows away, her body disintegrating to ash in the evening breeze.


• Nathan watches in awe, then looks at the mark on his hand again.


• He pinches it, wipes at it, then stops and looks over at the dusty easel, then back down to his sketchpad.


• He pulls open a draw and pulls out a well-bitten micron pen, dusty with disuse.


• Smiling a little, he puts pen to paper and begins to draw.


• FADE TO BLACK.