The Keeping Room Page #4

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eyes, hoping she’ll see where the animals are in her

mind. But she can’t.

No matter how hard she tries, she can’t make the animals

come back.

She opens her eyes and then -A

GLIMPSE of movement not too far off.

EXT. FARMHOUSE - LATER

WIDE on the farmhouse and BARN. The land is STILL.

EXT. BARN - SAME

Mad BRUSHES the old horse, FERN, who is tied to a FENCE

POST. She pets her nose and then wipes sweat from her own

brow.

Not too far off, Louise dreams on a MAKE-SHIFT SWING that

hangs lazily from an OLD OAK.

Mad cranes her neck and calls out --

MAD:

What you doin’ over there?

LOUISE:

Nothin.’

MAD:

You should come n’ help me brush this

girl.

LOUISE:

I’m tired --

(CONTINUED)

11.

MAD:

Funny thing considerin’ you ain’t done uh

stitch uh work all day.

And SUDDENLY --

BANG!

A GUNSHOT rings out in the distance.

It catches Louise off guard --

She GRABS tight to the rope. Steadies herself.

A CRY OF JOY:

Rips out from beyond the trees.

Mad runs over to where she can see the trees. Louise

jumps from the swing and joins her. They look towards the

woods, breathless, searching -

AND THEN -Augusta

EXPLODES through the crest of trees, her face

bursting into a GRIN.

Mad runs to her, Louise following behind -

Augusta HOLLERS and WHOOPS --

They reach each other and Augusta holds up

A DEAD RABBIT.

Mad and Louise join in the CHORUS and together they run

straight to the Keeping Room.

INT. KEEPING ROOM - DUSK

Mad’s beautiful, dark HAND as she DIGS a KNIFE into the

FLESH of the rabbit. She is deliberate: she knows how

this is done.

There is an inherent violence to the act itself, pulling

the skin off an animal.

And then:

-- The SKIN is cut away.

-- Mad wipes sweat from her face and eyes, leaving a

SMEAR of BLOOD behind.

(CONTINUED)

12.

-- Augusta WATCHES.

-- Louise WATCHES too.

-- The SKINNED RABBIT hits the BUTCHER’S BLOCK.

-- Augusta hands Mad a CLEAVER.

-- Mad LOWERS the cleaver into the animal, and she HACKS

the rabbit to pieces.

-- Mad drops the PIECES onto a SKILLET.

The women wait. The rabbit boils.

They are hungry.

INT. KEEPING ROOM - NIGHT

A PEWTER TRAY:

With pieces of BOILED RABBIT smack in the middle.

The women take a moment and stare at the beauty of the

creature. It’s proud body in pieces, warm and brown.

Augusta leans in and SMELLS it.

Then Mad.

Then Louise.

This smell will line their hearts for months.

Louise goes to grab a piece, but Augusta stops her.

Louise looks up at her and -Augusta’s

eyes are CLOSED.

Louise and Mad exchange a look. Then Mad closes her eyes.

And then Louise does, too.

After a moment --

AUGUSTA:

Alright.

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