[Scene: The next day - Caeila and Cassian arrive at the town hospital, a small building that only houses around 50 patients. With the decree from King Oscar set in place, no one in town dared to hurt Caelia. Caelia and Cassian walk through the front doors of the hospital, Caelia carrying a bouquet of flowers.]
FRONT DESK LADY (bowing):
“L-Lady Ardent! Welcome!”
CAELIA:
“Good morning, we would like to visit Mrs. Poppy.”
FRONT DESK LADY:
“Ah! She’s in the room at the end of this hallway.”
CAELIA:
“Thank you so much!”
[Caelia and Cassian make their way over to the room, walking past many noises. Noises of nurses cleaning the rooms, families crying, families rejoicing.]
CAELIA - INNER MONOLOGUE:
What if Mrs. Poppy actually isn’t feeling good?
What if Mrs. Poppy resents me?
[Feeling overly anxious, Caelia walks in silence towards the room.]
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
[Scene: They arrive to the room where Mrs. Poppy was staying. It was a very bright room where there was a huge window overlooking a flower field. Mrs. Poppy was awake, lying down on the bed.]
MRS. POPPY (smiling):
“Ah, my dears have finally arrived.”
[Caelia starts immediately tearing up. She places the flowers on a nearby side table and sits by Mrs. Poppy’s side, holding her hand.]
CAELIA (teary):
“Mrs. Poppy! We’ve finally arrived! I’m sorry it took us so long!”
CASSIAN:
“Mrs. Poppy, how are you feeling?”
MRS. POPPY:
“I’m feeling great, dear! The flowers next to my room here are making me feel less lonely! Thanks for asking.”
[Mrs. Poppy notices Caelia crying.]
MRS. POPPY (to Caelia):
“What’s wrong, dear? Don’t cry, I’m okay.”
CAELIA (wipes tears):
“S-Sorry, I’m glad you’re okay. It’s just… been a rough couple of days. But seeing you makes me feel all better!”
[Caelia pauses for a second and remembers the remaining ruins of the house.]
CAELIA (softly):
“Mrs. Poppy… You and your husband’s house… I’m sorry.”
MRS. POPPY:
“My dear, don’t apologise! That was not your fault at all!”
[Silence fills the room.]
MRS. POPPY (continues):
“Do you remember when I told you that I was glad you and Cassian were fixing my house? That, this was going to be a start for me?”
[Caelia nods.]
“While I was passed out, I saw my husband briefly. We talked and talked and caught up. I told him that the year that he was gone was very hard on me and the house. And I even mentioned you guys to him saying you guys were fixing it.
And he scolded me, believe it or not!
Even when he visits me from the afterlife he still scolds me! He told me, “Ophelia, you have to move on from that damn old house!”
But I told him I couldn’t as it was the last tangible memory I had of him.
And he told me, “Ophelia, for me, you have to stay healthy and continue living on. You’ll only be alone for a short amount of time compared to the forever we have once it’s your turn in the afterlife!”
And I thought to myself, well, why should I have to wait?
And I was heavily considering just following Issac.
But Issac stopped me and he said,
“It’s not your turn yet, Ophelia. You still have things to do in your life, and to be able to do that, you have to accept.”
And I screamed back saying, “I don’t want to do anything! I just want to see you. This year has been hell for me and I just miss you so much!”
Issac started slowly disappearing and said, “you have so many people waiting for you out there. We can talk at another time. Keep on living, for me.”
And I woke up, not understanding why I couldn’t be with him longer. But the words of him saying, “accept” stood out to me. I didn’t understand what that meant at first, but I think I do now.
I just have to accept that it’s not my time yet and I have to continue for those around me.
So thank you Caelia and Cassian for giving me another reason to continue on.
The house burning was probably just a sign I need to accept and continue on with my life without these shackles.”
[Caelia starts crying harder. Cassian comes over to Caelia and puts his hand on her shoulder.]
CAELIA - INNER MONOLOGUE:
I can’t stop crying.
I can’t even imagine what she is going through right now
And yet, she is still thanking us.
CASSIAN:
“Mrs. Poppy, we are determined to build a new house for you.”
MRS. POPPY:
“You guys really don’t have-”
CAELIA (interrupts):
“-No, we are going to build you a house. The best house around!”
MRS. POPPY (smiles):
“Thank you again, my dears.”
[Scene: Caelia and Cassian arrive at Mrs. Poppy’s home. It looks the same, untouched from when they last left it. The ruined home is now just a couple pieces of wood.]
CAELIA (motivated):
“Alright! We have to come up with some sort of plan before we can get started on this house. And then after, we can go back to the school and start building the playground!”
CASSIAN:
“Yeah, let’s get started on a rough blueprint.
Should we make the house big?”
CAELIA:
“No, it should be easy to get around, she is getting older.”
[Caelia whips out a pencil and parchment to jot down some notes.]
CAELIA (talking out loud while writing her notes):
“Alright so:
We need to make everyone accessible for her
We should probably make it one floor since she’s getting a bit older
Pipe the water in a way that ensures it doesn’t make contact with wood
…
…”
[As Caelia is speaking her mind, Cassian can’t help but to notice her face lighting up while making her list. How she taps the end of the pencil on her lips while she’s thinking. How she smiles when she gets a new idea in her head. How she is only focused on helping Mrs. Poppy and nothing else. Cassian starts staring at her longingly.]
CASSIAN - INNER THOUGHTS:
Man…
This could get bad.
CAELIA (looks over at Cassian, displaying her list):
“Cassian, what do you think of these requirements?”
[Cassian doesn’t even look at the list and only looks at Caelia.]
CASSIAN (smiles):
“Caelia, I trust you. Let’s just go for what you have.”
CAELIA (blushing from his smile):
“Actually read it, Cassian! We are working together here!”
CAELIA - INNER MONOLOGUE:
I really gotta stop focusing on his face.
[Cassian reads her list and stumbles across:
8. Needs a greenhouse in backyard]
CASSIAN:
“A greenhouse? Why?”
CAELIA (chuckling, smiling):
“Oh! Aha! It’s because Mrs. Poppy said she felt less lonely when she was looking at flowers. I was thinking we could plant a ton for her. Do you think that’s dumb?”
[Caelia starts looking brighter to Cassian. He notices Caelia’s long black hair that is always down and tucked away behind her ears, her eyelashes long and feminine that protect her gray eyes that resemble stormy clouds, and her naturally rosy cheeks. Just looking at her makes him blush.]
CASSIAN - INNER THOUGHTS:
…She really is beautiful inside and out.
CASSIAN:
“No Caelia, I think it’s a fantastic idea.”
CAELIA (happy):
“Perfect! Then let’s get started on drafting!
I’m sure if we can get help again from the townsfolk, we can finish it in about a month!”
[Scene: Later that night at the guest home, Caelia and Cassian are sitting at the dining room table with pencils and paper sprawled out in disarray. Rejected designs ended up being crumpled up and thrown across the floor.]
CAELIA (ordering, aggravated):
“Alright, you saw my list of non-negotiables, right? And you agreed to all the terms?”
CASSIAN (nods):
“I guess…”
CAELIA (irritated):
“And you know what non-negotiable means, right?”
CASSIAN (nods, sighs):
“Yes…”
CAELIA (angry):
“Then why can’t we integrate all of them into the house?!
I don’t see why having an easily accessible house for an elderly woman can be this hard?”
CASSIAN (pointing to Caelia’s current drawing):
“Caelia, I think you’re getting too ahead of yourself with some of the things you want to add.
I’m not sure if Mrs. Poppy would need a pond in her backyard with a bunch of ducks.
The town doesn’t have enough clean water as is.”
CAELIA - INNER MONOLOGUE:
Ugh! He’s pissing me off.
We’re building a house in a month for God’s sake, why can’t we just add more of these accessory needs for her so she can continue living?!
He does have a point but I just want Mrs. Poppy to live lavishly!
CAELIA (irritated, sarcastically):
“Alright, alright Mr. Head Engineer! I guess you have a point. I will take that into consideration.”
CASSIAN:
“Caelia, I’m not trying to upset you but we need to think realistically here. I also want the best for Mrs. Poppy but we need to have some limits here.”
[Caelia gets silent, admitting defeat but not verbally.]
CASSIAN:
“Let’s take a break for now. Do you wanna sit outside?”
CAELIA (nods):
“… Sure.”
—————-
[Scene: Caelia and Cassian sit outside the front of the guest home on two rocking chairs. Caelia slowly rocks back and forth on the chair. The night sky is a radiant dark blue with sparkles of stars. Caelia looks up and studies every star in the sky.]
CAELIA - INNER MONOLOGUE:
Stars in this universe are so pretty. This is the first time I got to really focus on them.
Back in my previous life, there was too much light pollution to see anything.
The sky is so dark. It’s such a pretty shade of blue…
It kinda reminds me of…
[Caelia pictures Cassian’s eyes. How they are a striking dark blue with a hint of light. Caelia slightly smiles and blushes to herself while looking up at the stars.]
CAELIA (still looking up at the sky):
“Cassian, I’m sorry that I got a bit emotional while drafting today. I just want Mrs. Poppy to live her best life.”
CASSIAN:
“It’s okay, I understand. I also want the best for her too.”
CAELIA (softly, remembering her past life):
“The stars are so pretty. Where I am from, there’s too much light pollution so I could never see the stars.”
CASSIAN (looks up to the sky):
“Yeah, palaces are always lit up.”
CAELIA - INNER MONOLOGUE:
Oh yeah… Caelia is from a palace.
CASSIAN (continues):
“Back at home, we would see the most beautiful stars outside since we were out in the countryside.”
[Caelia looks over at Cassian who was looking up at the sky. His side profile was so sharp that Caelia felt it cut through her.]
CAELIA - INNER MONOLOGUE:
This is the first time he has ever mentioned his home.
I actually don’t know much about him considering we have been working together for a month.
I wanna know more about him because we are close coworkers, right?
Right?
CAELIA:
“Where are you from?”
CASSIAN:
“I’m actually not that far from here. Two towns over is a town called Incara. It’s a village known for agriculture.
My family back at home is just my mom and my sister and we own a chicken farm and sell eggs.”
CAELIA:
“Do you miss them?”
CASSIAN (looking over at Caelia.]
“Of course I do! But I’ll be seeing them very soon. There’s an annual festival that happens in Incara that is happening in 3 months.”
CAELIA:
“Oh! That’s nice! When you go, I can cover for you. I can do all the engineering happening around town while you’re gone.”
CASSIAN:
“No need. I was actually planning on bringing you with me. I mean only if you want to of course.”
CAELIA - INNER MONOLOGUE:
What..?
CAELIA (blushing):
“Y-yeah! That sounds awesome! I would love to go, thank you!”
CASSIAN:
“We can talk more about it when that time comes aha. Are you close with your family, Caelia?”
CAELIA - INNER MONOLOGUE:
…That’s a hard question to answer. As both Caelia and as Norma.
As Norma, I had a mom and dad but I always find myself questioning if they really wanted to be parents.
Or if they just wanted a kid to fill that “socially acceptable” vessel of having a kid after marriage.
They never really supported me or my endeavors. Right when I finished university, I kind of was on my own.
Caelia’s family backstory wasn’t revealed. The story just made a point that her family wanted her to politically marry Prince Theodoric. I’m completely in the dark about that.
CAELIA:
“I’m not quite sure if I would say, “close.” I think a better word to describe our relationship is, “interesting.””
CASSIAN (apologetic):
“S-Sorry did I bring up a sensitive topic?”
CAELIA:
“No! Not at all, please don’t worry about it!”
CAELIA - INNER MONOLOGUE:
That’s just the best I could come up with with the knowledge I have about the original Caelia!
I don’t know much about the original Caelia personally…
This entire time at the castle, no one from Caelia’s original home has sent in a letter.
Mrs. Poppy was the first older role model where I felt like she genuinely loved me and treated me as if I was one of her own.
Even if it was a general treatment she gives to everyone, it meant the world to me.
CAELIA (smiling gently):
“I guess that’s part of the reason why I want Mrs. Poppy to live lavishly. She treated me like I was her child. In some way, I want to give back to her.”
[There was a slight pause.]
CASSIAN:
“… I see. I apologize for criticizing your designs. We will definitely help her build a new house. We can compromise somewhere in the middle and look through those drawings again.”
CAELIA:
“Don’t apologize, I may have gone a bit overboard with some things. Thank you for keeping me grounded.”
CASSIAN:
“Do you wanna go back in and design?”
[Caelia nods.]
[Montage: After two days and resolving multiple disagreements about the structure, Caelia and Cassian finished the sketch, detailed with correct dimensions and materials needed for this big project.
Caelia and Cassian then called some local townsfolk who were willing to help them. Some declined due to Caelia’s scandal but Caelia did not pay much mind to that. She was grateful that people agreed to help.]
Comments (0)
See all