FADE IN:
1.
INT. SMALL HOUSE, BEDROOM - DAY
The bedroom is small
and in disarray. Strewn over a double bed are piles of woman’s clothes of all
colours and designs. Clearly the cupboards have been emptied and dumped on the
bed.
To one side there is
an old crumbling chest of drawers with a huge cracked mirror above it. Before
the mirror sits a thin androgynous young man, DANIEL (17), staring hopelessly at
his reflection. On his face are fading bruises and a fresh splatter of blood. He
wears a dress that falls lifelessly down his chest making him appear waifish
and masculine. He tugs half-heartedly at the straps.
Daniel turns away
from the mirror and glares at the clothes on the bed. He jumps up, seizing
armfuls of the clothing and sweeping them to the floor. He continues this until
the bed is entirely clear… revealing a human shape hidden under the covers.
He pulls back the
doona to reveal the recently deceased pale CORPSE OF HIS MOTHER. She is wearing
a black dress that has been stabbed and mutilated around the torso area.
Daniel smiles at
her. He kisses her forehead before proceeding to undress her.
2.
INT. SMALL HOUSE, KITCHEN - EVENING
Amongst mould and mountains
of dishes, Daniel does his best to prepare a meal and set the table, not
forgetting the most important thing: his father's bottle of Jack Daniels.
Daniel grins as he
pulls the bottle down from the alcohol cabinet and rinses a glass. He places them
both side by side on the table. He’s wearing the black dress he’d removed from
his mother but it’s been tucked into a pair of jeans so it now resembled a
shirt.
The microwave dings
and he removes a ready meal. By the time he places the on the table, grabs and
cleans a fork, his FATHER ambles into the kitchen.
Silently Father
collapses into his prepared seat and cracks open the bottle of Jack Daniels,
not even bothering with the glass.
FATHER
(irritated)
Where's
your mother?
DANIEL
She
had to go out.
Father pokes at the
meal, making no attempt to eat it. Daniel watches him silently.
FATHER
Get
out of here!
Before Daniel can
leave, Father pushes the uneaten meal away and stands up. He wanders out of the
room with the bottle in his hand.
Daniel clears the
table and retreats back to the safety of his mother's room.
3.
INT. SMALL HOUSE, BEDROOM - CONTINUOUS
His Mother is
staring up at him when he walks past her and returns to the vanity. She’s half
uncovered, her limbs splayed.
Distracted, Daniel
finds his mother’s makeup, making the effort to line his eyes in kohl, surround
them with green and cover his lips in the brightest red he can find.
All the while he’s
mumbling to himself (or to her) incoherently.
As if he’s spotted
her disarray in the mirror, Daniel returns to his mother. He folds her arms
gently across her chest, closes her mouth and caresses her eyes closed.
He pulls the doona
up to her neck to cover all the unsightly stab wounds over her chest and
stomach and rests her head on a pillow.
He kisses her
forehead.
DANIEL
Be
still Mother.
4.
INT. SMALL HOUSE, LOUNGE - NIGHT
Daniel slinks in the
doorway watching his Father who is mumbling incoherently at the TV, clearly
drunk.
He fetches another bottle
of alcohol from the kitchen and carries it over to his father. His father takes
the bottle, pushing the mostly empty one to the floor.
As he cracks it open
he looks his son up and down, trying to focus on him.
FATHER
What
the fuck are you doing home? You should be out making money!
Daniel's eyes narrow
as he realises his father's mistake. His father grabs his arm, dragging him
closer.
FATHER
(CONT'D)
Daniel?
What the fuck are you doing wearing your mother's stuff?
His father wrenches
his son down so far he almost stumbles to the ground, but as the bottle smashes
him hard across the head he goes down anyway.
FATHER
(CONT'D)
I
have fucking told you again and again not to do this shit!
Daniel scrambles up
crawling in the broken glass and spilt alcohol. A trickle of blood runs down
the side of his face.
His Father is climbing
to his feet.
Daniel is thrown
against the wall as his Father hisses abuse in his ear.
FATHER
(CONT'D)
You
want to be a bitch then I will treat you like a fucking whore!
His father's hands
come up Daniel's skirt, and Daniel attempts to escape but is restrained quickly.
Daniel grins weakly
as his father unbuttons his own jeans and slides Daniel’s dress up.
FADE TO BLACK.
FADE IN:
5.
INT. SMALL HOUSE, KITCHEN – NIGHT
Lit by only
moonlight, Daniel sits in the dark at the kitchen table. His breathing is heavy
and strained. His make up is smeared and there is dried blood caking the side
of his face. His lip and cheekbone have swelled significantly and his dress is
torn around the neck and left in haphazard ruins.
He is staring
blankly at a bloodied knife.
6.
INT. SMALL HOUSE, LOUNGE – DAY
The house is
immaculately clean and Daniel sits on the sofa in front of the television pouring
himself a cup of tea from a pot.
He is wearing a
beautiful summer dress, his make-up applied carefully over bruising and scabs, his
hair is pulled back into a scrunchie.
He is beaming.
Beside him on the
couch are two Decaying Corpses, both dressed like porcelain dolls in fancy
clothes and wigs with glitter and coloured make-up upon their rotted faces.
Daniel leans back
into the sofa and drapes his arm around his Father. He looks at the man
lovingly and reaches over to kiss him on the cheek.
FADE TO BLACK.
END.
