Windflower--The screenplay

( A Hopeful Drama will Change Everyone’s life)


By Niki Yan ( 323-798-4524, Rainbowsea@hotmail.com Registered with the Congress of Library)
Copyright Niki Yan 2009





EXT. PACIFIC. NIGHT. ( Wide panoramic shot)

Dark sea. The endless icy cold blue water. Full moon. Wavy water. Close-up shots. A cargo-vessel emerges from distance. It moves slowly. Then disappears. The icy cold water again. Slowly, we see flame burning at the bottom of the ocean. The water slowly dissolves to desert, a phoenix arising from the fire to the virgin blue sky. The wings tips are brilliant, like the center of the sun.


ECHO (V.O. )
If you ask me what kind of story this is,
I can’t tell you. It’s about a poor Chinese
Girl falling in love with a white boy, or
a white boy falling in love with a poor Chinese
Girl. It’s none of them. It’s something larger
than that. Like at night when you look at
the sky, you wonder why they shine
in the dark of the night. Sometime, I wonder
the same, why is it so bright, and so generous?


PACIFIC: The endless icy blue water again. A cargo-vessel emerges from distance. It moves slowly, then disappears from the horizon.


EXT. HOLLYWOOD. DAY. WINTER. (B&W)

The traffic is heavy. A lot of people walking. Your typical Hollywood scene.

Camera slowly moves to the southwest corner of Sunset and Highland. We see a Chinese girl sits at the corner of Hollywood High school. Her cloth is dirty, her face is innocent. She turns to the garbage can next to her and finds a piece of bread and eats it. Several people passing by her, no one gives her any attention. A quiet Hollywood afternoon.

A middle aged man ( ROB Davilman) walks to her. He is bald and slightly over-weight.


ROB
Are you hungry?
Do you want to eat something?
I can take you to a restaurant…
Where are you from?


Blankness on her face. She glances him without saying anything. In her hand there is that half piece of bread.

ROB
Where are you from?
( He sits down next to her)
Do you speak English?


Her eyes show that she is fearful.


ROB
Do you want to go with me?
I can take care of you, you know what I mean?
I can provide you food, and
you can live in my house,
A big house, you don’t have to
live on the street no more.
I’m a rich man, I have money,
I can take care of you.
It’s cold right now, at night, it’s cold,
You don’t have food, no cloth,
You may die here, and someone could kill you
Or rape you, you know rape right? It’s pretty
Dangerous, You know
What I mean?...
(pause, he tries to read her eyes)
How old are you?


ECHO
Sixteen.



Finally she says. Her voice is deep and strong. A few homeless people behind her. They are giggling.


ROB
Come on, (grabs her arm) let’s go.
(he glances the other three homeless)
I’m taking you to eat.

She is hesitating for a moment, then she stands up. She looks deeply into his eyes with innocence. She wants to TRUST this guy.


INT. ROB’S CAR.

Echo sits on the passenger seat. Looks out of the window. It’s dark. The street lights and the city lights passing by like ghosts. They’re moving like a dream. She’s lost in that dream. Her mind is somewhere else. She is in her own world of coldness and loss. The color is cold and colorful. Rich Hollywood lights passing by her window and they make her face change colors. She looks out of the window. Same gaze, blankness into Hollywood.


INT. MacDonald’s. Los Angeles. ( CON’T)

Rob and the 16 years old Chinese girl eating hamburgers and fries.

ROB
It’s good?

She nods. She has big bites. She is hungry.


ROB
This is what you want to eat, right?

ECHO
Yes (she glances him strangely).
I always wanted to go to MacDonald’s
when I was in China. ( A smile
shows on her lips, and suddenly it
disappears).


ROB
Are you from China?

ECHO
Yes.

ROB
How did you end up here?

She stops eating. Turns to the window. Tears coming from her eyes silently.



EXT. ROB’S HOUSE. WEST LA. NIGHT.

He parks his car to his garage. A big
lovely house in a nice quite neighborhood.


INT. ROB’S HOUSE.

ROB
From now on, this is your home.

She speaks nothing.

ROB(CON’T)
Go take a shower. You are very dirty,

This is God’s plan ( murmuring to himself)
Haha!


ECHO turns, glances him. With confusion on her face.


INT. BATHROOM.

She is taking off her cloth, slowly and nervously. She looks numb, also a little afraid. We see her naked from behind. She tries to turn the water on.


ROBERT ( V.O.)
Are you all right?

ECHO
Yes. ( Her voice is shaking).

Finally the water comes out. She stands there, just let the water wash out her past. She closes her eyes, just let the water go through her body like a river.



INT. LIVING ROOM.

She comes out from shower.

ROB
From now on, this is your home.


Blankness on her face. She is frozen there. Don’t know what to say.


INT. LIVINGROOM(CON’T)

She comes out from the shower, a towel wrapped her body.

ROB
Here’s the shirt, if you like to wear it.
(He throws her a man’s shirt.)

She is fearful. Staring at him with fear and grabs the towel tight.


ROB
It’s ok, go change it!

She turns to the room.

ROB
Ok, here’s my pajama too, if you like!
(he throws to her)

INT. LIVINGROOM(CON’T)

She comes out, with his cloth. Her hair is long, she is beautiful. A comb in her hand,

ROB
Pretty good. What you think?
Let me comb your hair…

ECHO
NO, I can do it.

She sits on the chair in the corner, slowly comb her hair, she looks into the mirror, her face is pale, her mind is not on the hair or the comb.



INT. LIVINGROOM. ( CON’T)

She sits on the couch, eyes widely open, hair is still very wet. Sadness in her eyes. A close shot of her face.


ROB
See, I told you to take a shower,
Look at you!!
Now you look so beautiful…
(he looks at her with lust)
He approaches her on the coach.

She is beautiful. The black hair down to her waist, her face is shining like stars, innocence in her eyes. But she looks frightened. She moves to the edge of the couch.
ROB
(approaching her)
I really like you, you know?
I saved you…and that’s God’s plan…


She stands up. Backs up, against the wall.


ROB
Don’t be afraid, little girl,
I will make you happy, I will give you anything you
Want… I will feed you,
cloth you, house you, and you will never
have to live on street again..
This is God’s plan.
Did you see it, little girl
( he starts touching her chin)
I will make sure you are taken care of…but
I need someone to take care of me too.

She crawls to the corner in the living room. Her hands grabbing the wall, very tight.

ROB
(he grabs her shoulder, arm…taking off her cloth)
Come on baby,
I’m single and lonely,
No one takes care of me, baby, now you can,
It works perfectly.

He kisses her, touches her, eventually invades her body. She screams.
Trying to fight. Loud Cry.
Fade to black.

BEDROOM: He falls to sleep. She is half naked, sitting in the corner of the
Room. Tears shine on her face.


EXT. PACIFIC. NIGHT.

Dark sea. The endless icy cold blue water. Close-up shots of the wavy water. A cargo-vessel emerges from distance. It’s getting closer and closer, suddenly it sinks, and the whole ship is on fire, we hear mixed screams with fear.

ECHO (V.O.)
Mama!!!!!!

Suddenly the whole ocean becomes endless flames.


ECHO (V.O.)
Mama!!!!!!


Cut To :

INT ．BEDROOM.

ECHO
Aa-a-a---------!!!!

Echo suddenly wakes up from a dream. She looks over, Rob’s snoring.
Tears coming down her face silently. She gets up, walks to the bathroom. Locks the door. Starts crying. Loud, very loud. She covers her mouth using her hands.

Fade in.


EXT. PACIFIC. NIGHT.

Dark sea. The endless ice cold blue water. Close-up shots of the wavy water. A cargo-vessel emerges from distance. It moves slowly. Then disappears from our vision. The ice cold water again. Slowly, we see flame is burning at the bottom of the ocean. The water slowly dissolves to desert, a phoenix arising from the fire to the virgin blue sky. The wings tips are brilliant, like the center of the sun.


ECHO (V.O.)
Sometimes you don’t know exactly
what you want. But you know
exactly what you Don’t want.


INT. LIVINGROOM. MORING.

Rob and Echo sit at the dining table. Sausages, bread and milk.

ROB
From now on, you have to cook everyday
That’s the rule #1. Number 2, you can’t go
outside of the house by yourself. Listen, you don’t
belong here, this is the best thing ever happened to
you, you met me, I saved you. Always remember
that, without me, you could be dead.
Rule number 3, clean this house everyday, and waiting for
me to come home every night.


Blankness on her face. No language. Not a word. He shuts the door and leaves. She stands there for a long time.

She pulls out a little picture from her pocket. A black and white picture, a little girl and her mom. The lady is young and beautiful. A drop of tear drops on the picture. Stillness. We see the girl’s face covered with tears.

A close shot of the picture, Echo and her mom. The smile is beautiful,
They both look very happy. We see her face again, she is silently crying.


INT. ROB’S HOUSE. ( A series of shots of Echo cleaning the house, cooking dinner etc. Repeating, back in forth, to show her routine and this brand new life, she is no longer a homeless girl, she is a girl in Jail, in hell)
(Wet Dreams playing in the background)

Echo’s mopping the floor;

Echo’s cooking dinner;

ECHO is being raped;

Echo’s lying on the bed, eyes wide open with tears;

Rob’s snaring…

The full Moon.

The Pacific.

The picture of her and her Mom.

The face which is covered with pain, silent and heart-aching.

The busy streets in LA…

The 405 free way,

The Night lights of LA,

The transparent lime light in the city of Angels.

The coldness on people’s face.

The homeless.

The Busy restaurant, and the hunger of the people on the street…

Echo’s doing laundry.

Echo’s mopping the floor.

Echo’s cooking dinner.

ECHO is being raped.

Echo’s lying on the bed, eyes wide open. With tears.

… ( repeating)

A series of shots of her life in the house and the big environment of Los Angeles.



ECHO ( V.O.)
Everyday It was the same,
I clean the house, mop the floor,
cook the dinner…and yes
I had to sleep with the stranger.




EXT. SAHARA –FULL MOON.

The wind is so strong, blows up her hair. The MOON shines on the white sands like a quiet hand. She’s standing in the middle of the desert. She is shaking, her body trembling in the cold air. The wind whims her face, she turns around, nothing but the wind. The wind comes from eight directions and four dimensions. And the coldness goes into her bones, she falls and crawls to the ground. The brisk wind goes though her veins, she is lying on the ground, the sand becomes the concrete. Her eyes are closed.


EXT. ECHO’S NEIBORHOOD. DAY.

The sun is so warm. A particular day of Los Angeles.

The street. The people. The restaurants. The cars. The shops. The stores. The trees. The flowers. The parks, the kids, the family. Camera moves around in the city of Angels, eventually her neighborhood. The camera slowly moves back to her house, we see her sitting in the living room at the table drinking milk. The window is open, it’s big, shining, it faces the front lawn and street, she can see people passing by.

She looks out of the window. Blankness on her face. Then, she sees a man passing by. He wears a light blue shirt and blue jeans. There is a hole in it. A middle aged man. His shirt is a little bit dirty, greasy. He sees her staring him. He glares her with that cold marble smooth deep green eyes, the air is chilly, the wind swirls to her face, her hair is all over her face. His face is like marble, his skin is smooth and dazzlingly shining under the sun. That cold glance makes her body shake. She, dazed.

Nothing about this guy shocks her, it’s just that look, that glare, it is cold. Also warm. Ancient sadness on his face, also firmness. Something IS there. Something about the guy touches her. Just that one glance, Yes, he sees her. The two souls meet for the first time.

He passes by without hesitation. She is frozen. The dazzling glare makes her dream.



ECHO (V.O.)
I still remember the first time I saw him.
That was a sunny afternoon.
The sun was so bright, it made me feel light.
He walked by the front lawn,
Against the virgin blue sky.
If not because of the sky,
I probably would never notice him.

His face was like marble, pale and smooth,
His nose was carved with dignity.
His skin was cold and dazzling shining like diamond.
He glared at me without any hesitation, and
that glare, made me dizzy.
And it was an old ancient feeling,



EXT. HOUSE. FRONT LAWN.

Echo comes outside. She watches him disappear. She wears a white dress, has two pony tails. Lovely and innocent. The sunlight is lucid and clear as it is always been. Her face is frozen to one direction. Watching him pass by in the dazzling sunshine.

ECHO (V.O.)
…He passed by with dignity,

He seems from a different time. He looked
like an ancient sculpture from Old Greece.


Madonna’s frozen playing in the background.

She is still standing there, he is already gone, just the blue virgin sky, the dazzling sunshine, her infinite happiness. And Bliss.

An old Italian lady comes out next door. Her face is covered with heavy make-up. She wears a gold red silk wrap dress.


TITTY
Hi, Echo, how are you? Is your husband home?

ECHO
No, he is not my husband.

TITTY
Oh, I thought he is your husband.
Well, he looks like a good man. You better keep him.
(smiles) I better go now, need to buy some lunch, do you want anything from the grocery?

ECHO
No. Thank you.


TITTY
You look very lovely today. I can tell
You are falling in love.( she makes a face)

Bye, honey.
(She walks away, then returns.)
I want to tell you something Echo. You are such a sweet little girl.
How long have you been living in that house?
Ten years? Be happy! Life is short!

My husband died about twenty years ago.
I dreamed about him last night, and he said to
me: “darling, I miss you very much. I am ok.
I am in a better place now. I just can’t wait to see you again.”
What that supposed to mean? You know
I never dreamed about him for 20 years,
last night it was the first time.
What was he trying to tell me?


ECHO
Well, his spirit is still alive, he wants to
see you in the form of the spirit, you know,
this body is only temporary. He is all right.
You have nothing to worry about.

TITTY
That’s why I’m happy everyday.
Cause I know he never left! Get busy living
or get busy of dying!

She walks away singing.

Echo still stands there. She walks to the house, looks up to the sky one more time.


ECHO(V.O)
Kitty is from Italy. She told me many times
about her passed husband. And her two children.
Her two daughters were both killed in a car accident.
She is an amazing lady.


EXT. HOUSE.

Kitty is knocking the door.


TITTY
Echo! Echo!

She opens the door. Echo is sitting by the window, lost.


KITTY
See what I got? I brought you some
papaya, you might like it, this is my
husband’s favorite fruit. He ate them everyday!
Today I went to his grave got him some papaya.
He must be happy now.
I was thinking about the dream,
he may be hungry there.

She hands her the papaya.

ECHO
Thank you.
(looking at the bright shining orange papaya)
Do you want to come in for a cup of coffee?
I saw you all the time, but we never really
talked. I mean a real conversation.


TITTY
It’s ok, Echo, thank you, you are a very nice girl.
I just have to go home to feed my cats.
You know when you don’t live alone,
you got responsibilities. By the way,
where are you from Echo? Were you born here in LA?
I moved to this house after my husband passed away.
I am renting it. I don’t own it.
I gave the house to his brother.
I just wanted everything out.
After his death, I just want a new life.
Cause he died, a part of me dead too, now
I am trying to be fully alive, actually
I just realized recently that I actually
lost nothing, cause I did not
own them in the first place. Ok,
I got going now, my food is on the stove,
It’s probably burning now, I can smell it.

She walks away. Echo looks at her back, she is dancing, singing in some language she never heard of.



EXT. Venice Beach. Drum Circle. Evening.

The moonlight. The waves.
Echo is dancing.

She sits down on the sand. Staring at the waves.
The moon light shines on the ocean, also her face.

The drum beat is still dancing with the moonlight, the waves, people are dancing, people are whistling, some guy is playing saxophone.

No language.


Fade in


INT. HOUSE.


ROB
Where did you go last night?


ECHO
Oh, I went to the beach. You know?
Danced with the drum circle.


ROB
You know Echo? If you want to dance in a
club or something I can help you.
I mean if you want to work as a dancer
if you can do so.


ECHO
It’s ok, I enjoy dancing on the sand.


ROB
I love you, you know I love you, that’s why I saved you.
At least you don’t hate me right? I know I am NOT the guy for you,
But Echo, life is not perfect, we all have to compromise…


ECHO
But you don’t compromise with your life.


She walks to her room.


ECHO (V.O.)
Three years have passed since
I entered the city of angels.


EXT. Fire. Forest.

Deep green forest. A fire lit up.
Mount sits next to Echo. She is dancing. He is looking at her. No languages. It is like a sacred ceremony. She kisses his hand. The fire lights up her whole body, her face is like a red rose, burning.


INT. BEDROOM.

She is watching the ceiling.


ECHO(V.O.)
His sparking skin radiated the ancient dream,
and his face was like the old Greek Sculpture.
There was marvel carved in that light…
He must from a different time,



EXT. LOS ANGELES.

A series of shots of sunset in the city of angels.


INT. ROB’S HOUSE. NIGHT.

Rob is feeding the cat.

ROB
(to the cat)
If you behave, I will feed you a fish ,
if you are bad, I’m going to punish you.

She’s staring at the cat.

ROB
(turns to her)
How was the day ? Good?



INT. BATHROOM. ( CON’T)


She is in the shower. closes her eyes, just let the water wash down her long black hair. We can see her skin tone through the glasses door of the shower, it’s gold, shining. She is thinking about what happened at the front lawn today, the guy, the sunshine, the sky. And his marble face and pale skin. And that glare, she sees his face again in the shower.


Flash back:

The guy passing by the window, against the virgin blue sky. She is talking to him, through the window, her hands are setting on the window, she leans her body.


ECHO
(Whispers to him)
I have loved you,
before your existence.


He smiles and vanishes, then we see the endless blue sky, then the dark side of the Pacific Ocean shining in the dark night, the moon is bright.


INT. HOUSE.

He walks in the door, with blood all over the face.

She is calm. Numb.

ROB
Did you see my nose is bleeding?
Go do something about it.

She throws him a towel.

ROB
Those mother fuckers.
All because of you, give me so much trouble.


She is astonished, has no idea what he is talking about. He sits on the couch, and has bondage on his neck, and nose.

ROB
Echo, I care about you,
I saved you, without me, you probably dead or
sent back to China.
You know you are NOT supposed to be here,


She does not looking at him, just kept changing the TV Channels.

ROB
I want you to be happy. And I never
see a god damn smile on your face.
Am I treating you good?
Yes, I am.
Am I nice to you?
Yes, I am.


I have done a lot for you,
you have lived here,
have a place to stay, have food to eat,
and have someone to take care of you.
What else you need?


She turns off the TV. Gets up from the couch.


EXT. BACKYARD. DAY.

4 years old Echo and two boys are playing hide and seek, one boy ( 4 years old Mount )covers the little girl’s eyes using a piece of cloth.

She opens her arm and tries to find the two boys.

She can’t find anyone, finally she steps into the water, she walked to the water, first , it is just a ripple, then becomes a pond, as she walks, then a lake, then the whole ocean.

She sees fire flaming inside of the water, the ice cold crystal blue water. She feels the blazing light, she takes off the bondage, opens her eyes, she becomes an adult, we see it as Echo, she has tears, she sees Mount-adult mount standing right in the middle of the water and smiling at her. She smiles back, and walks slowly to the water, deeper and deeper. And she becomes a little girl again.

FOUR YEARS OLD ECHO
( She stands right in front of adult Mount, still in the firing water)
I know you are MR. Ironman…


She hands him a prehistoric egg.

He takes the egg. Smiling.

MOUNT
Who are you?

Four years old Echo disappears in the fire.



INT. BEDROOM. HOUSE. NIGHT.

The bedroom is cold as usual. You can feel it from the color, dark blue.
Echo walking into the bedroom in pajama. Her hair is straight down to her waist, it’s still wet. She looks numb, cold. A slight of sadness carves her face. Rob is already waiting in the bed.

She lies down on her stomach. Her face is down to the right. Her eyes are closed. She doesn’t move. He rips off her pajama, turns her around, and starts invading her body. She no long screams. Emptiness. Despair. Numb. She no long feels the pain, the pain already becomes so vast as the sky. She no longer feels it. A close shot of her face. She closes her eyes.


INT. BEDROOM. ECHO’S HOUSE. NIGHT. (CON’T)

ROB snaring. Echo’s eyes are widely open.

She sees the endless blue ice-cold water. The mother earth Pacific. The water slowly becomes the desert. The Sahara. The endless Gold sand. The dream. The phoenix. The Golden red bird flies in the sky above the sand, it has a human face. We see it as Echo. The girl wants to fly, to dream, to love. We see Echo wearing the traditional Chinese costume dancing in the wind.


EXT. HOUSE. FRONT LAWN.

Echo is mowing the lawn. She wears a white dress, has two pony tails. Lovely and innocent under the sun. She turns around, sees a familiar back disappearing in the end of the street.




INT. DINNER.


ROB
What is your problem? Echo?
You have NOT talked to me for last three days?
What’s wrong? Are you all right honey?


She chews the food dryly.



EXT. HOUSE. FRONT LAWN. ( CON’T)

Nobody around, she is lying on the grass let the sun shine in her eyes. She closes her eyes. The green field slowly becomes the endless ocean, The sunlight is pure and clear covers the whole city. The music starts( “Forever”)

I stand alone in the darkness
winter of my life came so fast
Memories go back to childhood
to days I still recall
Oh how happy I was then
There was no sorrow there was no pain
Walking through the green fields
Sunshine in my eyes
I’m still there everywhere
I’m the dust in the wind
I’m the star in the northern sky

I never stayed anywhere
I’m the wind in the trees
Would you wait for me forever?

She gets up, stretches, walks to the house.


ECHO(V.O.)
When the morning sun touches my skin,
I feel like to sing,
when the orange light coming down from heaven,
I thought I was extraordinary.


INT. BEDROOM. NIGHT.

Her eyes are still widely open, the same position, same desire, she does not even move an inch, the same dream, the dream of heaven, She’s lost in another dimension. The fire, the bird, the sand are burning in the background.

ECHO(V.O)
I entered the orange light of the city
I knew every single street,
I know every light that turned on at night



INT. HOUSE. EVENING.

The food is on the table. Dinner is prepared. Echo sits on the chair, she is looking at the picture of Sahara. The door is OPEN. Rob walks in. She hides the picture away.


ROB
You have better things to do.
It’s dinnertime. I’m hungry.
(staring the food on the table.)
Did you cook chicken tonight?
You promised me many time
To cook me Lemon Chicken,
Where is it?


ECHO
I don’t want to cook today.

ROB
What are you talking about?
You are trying to upset me or what?
You know you are NOT supposed to be
Here, I can turn you in anytime, to INS, you
Know? You know what that means?
They will send you back to CHINA!

ECHO
And you will go to Jail for that!!

ROB
What? What did you say?(He slabs her)
You stupid fucking bitch!!! You don’t
know how to appreciate my HELP?
I saved you!!
Just see what I did for you in the
last three years!


ECHO
Three years in HELL.


She walks to the bedroom, shuts the door.


EXT/INT. ECHO’S HOUSE.

It’s raining in Los Angeles. Echo is sitting by the window looking at the raindrops falling down from heaven.



ECHO ( V.O.)
I see him, a genius with the soul of snow
a permanent voice standing on my roof

I see him, standing on the top of Everest,
With tears falling down on my finger tip


INT. KICKEN. NEXT DAY. SUNNY.

Echo is cutting green beans, silently. Her mind is lost again. Her mind is never in this house. She turns, and sees the same guy passing by her window. Same blue Jeans. Same sunshine. Same sky. She stands there. Frozen. Rob sees the guy pass by the window.


ROB
Who is it?

ECHO
I…I don’t know.


She goes back to the kitchen. He looks at her with distrust.
Cutting the beans. She cuts her finger. Her blood comes out.



INT. BEDROOM. NIGHT.

Echo’s lying on the bed with eyes closed, Rob walks in, he takes his cloth off, just leaves the underwear, he starts touching her. She suddenly opens her eyes.

ECHO
(very annoyed)
I don’t feel like it.
I don’t want it tonight.
Actually I don’t want it every night!

ROB
What do you mean you don’t want it
Tonight? (He rips her cloths off and
starts raping her again.)


She is trying to resist. Screaming. He slaps her. Beats her up.


INT. BEDROOM. ( CON’T)

Robs faces down sleeping. Echo’s face carved with despair. She sits on the bed. Silently, in vain.


INT. BEDROOM. ( CON’T)

She turns and tosses around in bed. She can’t sleep.

ECHO(V.O.)
If you really want to know. I can tell you.
I can tell you. I can tell you it ALL.
I can tell you the virgin blue sky,
and how his light coming through my
eye, but I can’t tell you if you don’t
know what love is what dust is. I can’t
tell you if you don’t know how to fly,
how to die
I can’t tell you, if your is
heart never open, if you never lived in
Prison.



INT/EXT. ECHO’S HOUSE. NEXT DAY. MORNING.

Echo is combing her hair, she is sitting in front of the mirror, hears some noise. She sees a trash truck right outside. She walks out with comb in her hand, bare feet. She has a white dress on. Her hair is straight down to her waist. Someone is sitting there and picking up the trash in front of her house. She recognizes him. A big SMILE on her face. She watches him finished.

When he is finished, about to leave, the two pairs of eyes meet. The light coming from his eyes.

MOUNT
You did not think I’m a garbage guy do you?

She smiles. Shakes her head.


MOUNT (CON’T)
Now you know. I don’t do it forever.
Tomorrow I might be doing something
else. I’m only living at this moment, right
now. Understand? There is no
tomorrow, there is only NOW. The sun
May not shine tomorrow.


He sits in the Garbage truck. His voice is loud, it’s like lightning from the darkness. It’s like from a different space. She’s just smiling at him like sunshine. Innocent, warm, she closes her eyes.

ECHO
What’s your name?

MOUNT
Who cares?

ECHO
I’m Echo if you care.

MOUNT
You live here? It’s your house?
It’s a damn big house!

She smiles bitterly.

MOUNT ( CON’T)
Maybe I will see you around.

She sees him starting the engine.

ECHO
Maybe.


His truck disappears and she feels dizzy. The dazzling light from his marble face makes her dazzle.

ECHO (V.O)
I am the lightning in the dark blue sky
The sunshine under your eye,
The imaginary rose and clouds
The rain that wet your dreams
The dragonfly, the sound, the silence, the pain, the prayer,
The emptiness, the daring one with all the courage
I want to share you my sorrow and pain
For God’s wish.


INT. ECHO’S HOUSE. NIGHT.

ECHO sits on the floor and looking at a picture, happily( for the first time)a picture of Sahara. The same one as she usually sees.


EXT. SAHARA. DAY.

The desert breathes in her own way. Endless, pure, gold, weeping your mind away. She feels it, she sees it, her face appears in the background.

Fade to black.

EXT. INT. ECHO’S HOUSE. NIGHT.

The moon shines from the window is ever silver. Another full moon night makes Echo distraught. She tosses in bed. Her eyes are widely open.




INT. ECHO’S HOUSE. BEDROOM.

Rob tries to fuck her. She pushes him away.

ROB
I saved you! You are MINE!
You can Never say NO!
I owe you! ( his voice is higher and higher,
desperate and Pathetic)


ECHO
I don’t like you rape me every night!
Yes, you saved me from the street,
but this is just another hell!
Yes, you house me,
You feed me, you cloth me, but you don’t love me,
This is not love! ( she’s crying)


ROB
I love you, of course I love you.
Shut up! Without me, you will be dead by now.

ECHO
I wish I was dead!

He stares her. Frozen there.

Fade Out.


EXT. ECHO’HOUSE. AFTERNOON.

She is mowing the lawn. A garbage truck stops before her. It is not Mount. An old man sits in the truck and waves his hands. She waves back, tries to smile.




EXT. DOWNTOWN LOS ANGELES.DAY.

A white guy in his 40s is picking up stuff in the junk; Echo stands behind him and watching. He suddenly turns around. It’s Mount. She is staring at him.

MOUNT
Are you a secret agent from FBI or something?

ECHO
Actually, a spy. ( Smiles)


MOUNT
A spy?


ECHO
Yes, [pause]
A spy from China.

He glances her without saying anything. Continues picking up his junk.

ECHO
I used to find treasure in those junks when I was a little girl.

No response.

ECHO( CON’T)
One day, the teacher asked everyone
to write an essay about what you
want to do when you grow up.
I told them I want to be a trash picker,
the teacher gave me a F, and
I had to invite my parents to the
teacher’s office, and she let me re-write it,
so on my second take,
I said I want to be a trash picker in America,
she still gave me another F, she read
my article in the classroom in front
of all the students, everyone was laughing,
and she let me stand in front of the class,
so that each one can truly remember a dumb kid.
(Pause)
So I was dumb.


His face is serious. It’s NOT funny. He stops what he is doing, sits down next to her.


ECHO ( CON’T)
I asked the teacher, what’s wrong
with my paper?
She said everyone else wants to be a doctor
Or a lawyer, and you are
the only one who
wants to do nothing with your life, wants
to be trash picker! She said I have no
future, so I went home, wrote another paper,
I said when I grow up I
want to be a doctor,
just for two years though,
after that, I’m going to
pick up trash in the junk which throw away by a doctor.

Mount laughs.

MOUNT
You are right. People throw treasures
away each day, esp. in America,
look what I found!

He shows Echo a piece of Iron he just finds.


MOUNT
I can reuse it and make a piece of art.
Look at this, (in his right hand,
there is an old iron cup) it
looks like it has stayed here for 50 years,
a rusty iron cup.
What a beautiful cup! I can paint it,
make it alive again.
Treasures are everywhere,
you just have to open your eyes,
the eyes of your heart.
Beauty is everywhere,
Most people take it for granted, and
They don’t even realize it.



ECHO
I just want to dance, breathe…
( she looks up to the sky, opens her arm, takes a
Deep breath). I just want to breathe,
Be a desert woman, when I was little
I always had this dream
To become a desert woman,
dance like wind, become one
With the universe.


She starts to dance, freely, like wind. For the first time, she finds freedom. Just like the air, she can go anywhere.


ECHO ( V.O)
There are things you can’t explain in life,
But they exist. And they change your destiny like a magic,
That’s what I call—miracle. Like the air you breathe…you never
Know what kind of scent wind brings to you.


He is watching her, smiling, he is intrigued by her energy. Time, space disappear. His dazzling smile is cool and transparent, it’s ancient and deep.

MOUNT
I’m surprised to see you HERE.

ECHO
Well, I’m NOT supposed to be here…


MOUNT
Why, you parents don’t allow you go out?
They must be very strict with you.


ECHO
Yes, they were. They were loving parents
indeed. ( her head is down, she is sad.)

MOUNT
I’m sorry if I made you upset,


ECHO
No, No. it’s all right.


MOUNT
Do you want to grab something to eat?

ECHO
Sure.

MOUNT
Where do you like to go?

ECHO
I don’t care.


He is picking up his stuff and put them into his old truck. So we see the trunk, it’s rusty, it’s old. Not very good-looking.


INT. MOUNT’S CAR.

Driving. Echo sits on the passenger seat.


MOUNT
I’ve been having this truck for twenty years.
It’s pretty old, I know it
Looks like a piece of shit,
but I don’t care. People in LA care about what
Kind of car you drive, what kind of job
you have, and how you dress yourself,
you know it’s all bullshit, people are fake, people are
stupid, people are shallow, people are lost,
People are brain-washed, people
can’t think for themselves. People are scared.
People are living in fear.
Silence.

ECHO
That’s why you are here. Right?
To save the world. (Smiles)


MOUNT
Yeah, right.
(smiling)


EXT. SUNSET BLVD.

He parks the car. They are walking to a café. Everyone looking at them while them passing by.


INT. Karma’s Café. Hollywood.

They are sitting eating sandwiches.


MOUNT
You were lucky, I did not even have the
chance to express what I really wanted
when I was young. I mean I had no dreams.
I just wanted to die, my father was an
alcoholic and
My mother was a prostitute.
He eventually ended up in Jail cause he killed her lover.
And my mother killed herself,
not very pretty huh?
Welcome to America,
Bloody and disgusting.
We have a lot of broken families here, people
Are NOT happy I’m telling you.
How about you?
What about your family?
(that cold gaze is ancient, he looks into her eyes)

Tears coming down to her cheek.


CUT TO:
The crystal blue waves of Pacific….


ECHO (V.O.)
He never
asked my name, but he knows me.
he knows everything about me.


MOUNT
What’s wrong?

ECHO
Nothing. (pause)
I have no parents, like you.

MOUNT
What happened?

The tears are falling down like a river.

ECHO
Let’s not talk about it, maybe someday
I will tell you.

MOUNT
By the way, I want to introduce myself officially,
Sorry I was rude the other day
when you asked about my name.
I could be a jerk.( Smiles)
My name is Mount Ironman,



ECHO
I am Echo Sand.

MOUNT
ECHO SAND, what a beautiful name.


ECHO
Thank you.

So, you go there
everyday to pick up trash?( she wipes her tears
and tires to smile)


MOUNT
You kidding me? You have to drive around
the whole damn city to find the junks,
Change, that’s what it is. Plus I am a garbage man remember?

She laughs.


ECHO( CON’T)
You were right, yesterday, it
was a different guy picked up the trash.

MOUNT
I told you I’m not a garbage guy forever.

ECHO
There is No profession is insignificant.
Nothing is insignificant.
Everything is glory and divine.
Yes, I made mistakes, I was in pain, I don’t know who
To condemn, but now I realized
I am fully responsible
For my own reality. It’s NOT God’s fault.
We make our own destiny.

ECHO
Where do you live?

MOUNT
The Junk house by the junk place, remember?
The place you saw me today.

ECHO
Oh.


He pulls the pepper on the table to her. His motion is slow, and delicate,
He is fast and careful. His hand is pale and his fingers are long. Cold, smooth, carved with marble. His fingers are reaching hers. The tenderness of this strange man, for the first time, he shows his soft side.

Her palms are open on the table, he touches her fingers, gently, marvelously, just one touch, the electricity, her body shakes.


MOUNT
You are amazing, I don’t think you are human,
Where are you coming from? Mars?

She smiles.


MOUNT
When the first time I glared you
from the window, I knew you are different,
I’ve seen you somewhere, maybe last life,
or the life before, who are you, ECHO,
where are you coming from?
(His gaze is warm now, still with mystery)


ECHO
From the wind, from the stars. From this universe.
From the trees, from the flowers, from the water drop
On the grass tip…

Silence.

ECHO
How about you?
Where are you from?
I don’t think you are from this planet
either. ( smiles)


MOUNT
(smiling)
it’s possible.
Anything is Possible.


The cigarette on his hand shining, burning, the smoke blurs his eyes.

ECHO(CON’T)
What you can imagine is real.
( she glances hi with that cold form look)


Silence. They look into each other’s eyes. Try to discover.


ECHO (V.O.)
Time and space disappear. His gaze was
So dazzling, and ancient, yes it’s penetrating.
He can read me. I swear God,
he can read me since the first time he saw me.



EXT. CITY STREET. AFTERNOON.

Echo walking alone. She sees children playing in the park. she sees the marvelous sky, she sees it all. She is delightful. ( SLOW MOTION) She closes her eyes , walking. Palm trees. Crows. Children’s play. Virgin blue sky. The stillness of the houses, people, everything all together becomes a picture.




EXT. ROB’S HOUSE.

Echo is watering the lawn. An old Italian lady comes to her.

TITTY
(stranger accent, sharp high voice)
You know the garbage man,
he does not work here no more,
I ONLY see him once to pick up the trash,
he is a weird man, I have been seen
him in this neighborhood for the
last three years, always seeing him
on the street and doing nothing, good,
he is No longer a garbage man,
God knows what he is doing!

Do you know him?


Echo runs her fingers through her hair for a couple of times, she is biting her lips, very nervous.


ECHO
No.
I don’t know him,
I only saw him once like you said.

He is strange I know.
I see him all the time,
Only in my mind.


TITTY (CON’T)
Well, I haven’t seen him for a while,
he is so weird, his wife is dead,
she was killed in a car accident.
He used to be a rich man, he used
to own a toy company, had a beautiful
wife and happy life, but things changed
since his wife’s tragic death. He lost
everything. Now he has nothing.

He is a climber. A Mountain Climber.


ECHO
How do you know all these?


TITTY
I know everything.( she smiles mystically)
I know everything about him.

She walks away.


TITTY
( As walking, self-talk)
Good people die young, good people die young’
That’s just the way it is.

ECHO stands here, with the mowing machine handle in her hand, dazed watching the old lady going back to her house, which is cross the street.


INT. MOUNT’S HOUSE. NIGHT.

Mount is painting his junks, those rusty iron cups he found in the junk, his room is messy, the light in the room is dim. He paints the cup carefully. There are a few painted ones sitting in front of him, they are in different colors. They look bright and piece of arts.


EXT. Park. Los Angeles. EVENING.

Echo’s lying on a bench. Staring at the dimly sky with no thoughts. A few homeless men passing by.

MAN
Are you Ok? Do you have a place to stay tonight?

She says nothing, looking at him blankly.

ECHO
Here’s an orange, you can have it.
I got from a tree.

MAN
From a Tree?


ECHO
Yes.
Organic, Natural.
Good for you.
(She folds her arms again, lying down.)


The man looking at her close the eyes, staring,
Just staring. He does not move.

Suddenly Echo gets up.

ECHO
I just want to tell you I love you.
I LOVE YOU.


MAN
What?
Nobody ever said that to me before!
( a big grin on his face.)

They smile at each other. Echo opens her palm, a tree
leaf on it…

ECHO
This is just as beautiful as you.
And it’s for you.


ECHO(V.O.)
One moment defines FOREVER.
I got that right.



INT. CITY STREET. DAY. ( CON’T)

Windy, the wind whims her face. Echo is walking on the street. Not many people on the street. The street is dirty, wet, it just rained. A few people walking, everyone’s face is cold. It’s wintertime in Los Angeles. She is walking home. Echo wears a dark jacket and she is walking to a newsstand, glances the newspaper. She asks the owner, an old Russian man about something. We could not hear anything, the scene is still, quite, running in its own way, we see the owner looks at her coldly, does not answer her question then turns around and continues reading her magazine. She walks away. Sees a coffee shop, walks in. The same coffee house she had lunch with Mount the other day.


EXT. MOUNT’S HOUSE.

Echo knocks on his door. Nobody answers.
Echo puts food at his door. leaves.

INT. CAFÉ.

Echo sits in the corner sipping the tea. The gold silk honey is slowly falling in the hot warm tea, it’s dissolving, falling, at the speed of light. View, speed, time, transparent. Echo is staring. The dissolving honey and water blends into a strange place called Sahara, which is breathing under her every single breath.

A series Aerial shots of the golden sand:

The dunes are shaped like woman’s curves, the whole desert is breathing, heavily, like a pregnant woman, the wind blows the gold sand and there is a phoenix with a human face flying over the desert.


ECHO ( V.O.)
There is something so deep and
profound, nobody can touch.
Whenever I think of it, it makes my
heart ache, yes, Sahara, the ancient language.
I just want to breathe, dance…
let the desert shape my
Language.



INT. MOUNT’S HOUSE. EVENING.

He sits in front of TV without watching, he changes channel around.
Suddenly his window opens…the wind blows in. He stares outside of the window, nobody is there.

CUT TO:
Mount’s lying on bed in a big pillow, with hands on his back, he is thinking about something, maybe his life, maybe his past, maybe Echo. Complication on his face. He stares at a photo on the wall. He is a lonely man, a moody man, a man with kind heart but hard shell. He has his story. But at this point, to Echo, he is a closed book, with a hard metal cover. He is surely a mysterious man to ECHO.


EXT. Korean Town. LA.

She crossing the street, Vermont, and Wilshire.
People coming and going, very noisy, when she is crossing Vermont on Wilshire, she sees a man crossing Wilshire on Vermont, towards her. She stops. In the intersection, he walks way, the suddenly disappears. Sun glasses, marble face. She is almost sure it’s the same guy she sees outside of the library yesterday. It’s MOUNT. Even he wears glass, and dresses different, but she is almost sure it’s him.


INT. MOUNT’S HOUSE.

He is cooking. The food burns on stove.

MOUNT
Shit!

He dumps all the food to the garbage can, takes off the picture from the wall, a man climbing in a snow mountain.

EXT. MOUNT’S HOUSE.

He sees the food. Opens it. It is lemon chicken.


EXT. MOUNT’S HOUSE.

Echo puts food at his door.


INT. ROB’S HOUSE.

Rob sleeping like a pig next to her. Her eyes widely open. The room is dark, but her eyes shining like stars.

Robs makes a turn.
She sits up. Opens her palm, exams it. Her fingertips. Shining too. Her hair coming down.


EXT. CITY STREET. DAY.

Cloudy. Lonely street. The elegant palms trees make her look even lonelier. Echo sits in a bench. The same bench. There is a leaf on the bench, green fresh, she picks up, exams it. Her fingers are pale and long, like carved with marble.


EXT. LA. DAY.

She goes to the same ruin, but today he is not there picking up junks.
She is staring the junks, a little disappointed. She picks up a piece of a scrap iron and walks away.

ECHO (V.O.)
Sometime our destiny is changed just
because of a person. Like when you’re
standing in the middle of the intersection,
you have no idea which direction to go,
then suddenly you see the green light, and
you are awaking from the darkest of
your dream, and you know exactly
where to go. I was like that, confusion,
fear, depression, I had no idea where
life would lead me, I thought I was
going to live a life like that for the rest
of my life, nothing is going to change
till the day I die. Then suddenly a ray of
light comes from the dark of the night,
in a few seconds, before any preparation,
before you can imagine. Life, is breathing…


She squats down, examines the waste iron cup in her hand with extra care. The sun shines on her back.

EXT. BATHROOM.

The bathroom door is shut. Heavily.
Cut to: Black.

Echo is crying hard. She is sitting on the floor, in the bathroom, next to the sink.


INT. ECHO’S HOUSE. DINNER TABLE.


ROB
Were you having lunch with
some guy the other day?

She looks up to him. A little nervous.

ECHO
NO. ( She looks up)

ROB
So what did you do the other day,
what do you do everyday?!

ECHO
You know what I do.


She continues to eat.

ROB
So, tell me, what do you do every day?
Besides cooking and cleaning?

ECHO
I walk around, talk to people,
see this city, this country,
Come on,
I need a little freedom, right?
I’m a human, I need to breathe.


ROB
Breathe, breathe my ass!!
( He pushes her to the floor, kicks her)
don’t fuck with me, ECHO,
you know what’s
going to happen if you get caught!
( Stands up and leaves. ANGRY)



EXT. Downtown LOS ANGELS (Aerial shot, NIGHT)

The city of angels shines in the city lights. Luxury, dizzyingly, and lonely.
Vivid city night. CUT TO:

ECHO’s face, quietly staring the city from her window…


EXT. Downtown LA. DAY.

Echo is staring at him picking up junk, like the first time. NO conversation, she’s just standing behind against the wall watching.


INT. ECHO’S HOUSE. DAY.


ROB
[Careless]
Sorry about last night,
I was just mad you know?
I don’t want to be MAD at you.
Please don’t make me MAD.
Everything is ok, Ok?


He tries to hug Echo.

ROB (CON’T)
I’m sorry Echo, you know me,
just follow the rules, don’t make me
mad, see, if you behave,
I’m happy, you happy, all is good.

ECHO
I’m going to take a shower NOW.

She turns around to the bathroom. The door is closed. She is buried in the hot steamy water.



INT. Grocery store. DAY.

She picks up mink , eggs, and throw them into her arms, she slips o the floor, all the groceries dropped to the floor. She sitting on the floor, sighs deeply.


EXT. MOUNT’S HOUSE.

Echo puts food at his door. And leaves.


EXT. PARK. WINTER.

Snow is falling down to the ground. Echo wears a yellow fur coat and a black Kangaroo fur hat. Her hair is up in the hat. She is sitting on a bench.
Her vision is blurred in the white flakes.

Mount sits at the another end of the bench. His face is pale, like marble, solid, cold, shape like the ancient sculpture. His eyes are dazzling shining, and cold, still dark green and ancient. He is like a man without time. His hair is standing straight…his lips are bloody red and solid.


MOUNT
(his head down, he is NOT even looking at her)
I have loved you before your existence.

His voice is deep and transparent, like the cold snowflakes, can really melt your heart, and go deeper, to the core of your being, and you feel it in your bones.

She trembles, looking at him with fear. then turns around watching the snow falling down from heaven.


INT. LIBRARY. DAY.

She is reading a Chinese magazine. She does not see the little girl. She folds over the book, stares at the empty seat.


OLD MAN
( Sitting next to her, glasses, silver hair)
You came to America alone?
You parents must miss you.

She looks at him, smiles. Bitter.


OLD MAN
Listen to your heart!
The miracles
are just right in the corner.


Her face is pale. She is looking at the old man. Frozen.

OLD MAN
How do you like America?
It must be hard to live in a foreign country.

ECHO
Oh. Sure. She is awakening.



EXT. DOWNTOWN LA. DAY.

Mount is picking up waste irons in the junks again.
She is leaning against the wall watching.


ECHO (V.O.)
I see him pretty much everyday, most of the
time, I see him picking up wasted
irons in the junk, he already used to it.

His marble hand is picking up junk in the dump, she is learning there, and notices how he moves his hand, and his whole structure like a sculpture,


EXT. LA. EVENING.

She is walking home. In a corner, she is about to turn, suddenly a few guys show up. Two of them carry her to the corner and threw her to the Jeep next to it. She is screaming, trying o fight, but it’s useless, she uses all her might to get away, her cloth is torn, she is raped. Then they let her go, her face is bleeding, she is half-naked. She runs fast, so fast, her tears are rushing down to her cheek.


EXT. MOUNT’S HOUSE.

MOUNT is cleaning her wounds on her face, neck. Her eyes are closed. She stands up, sees all his Cds.

She sees a guitar sitting in the corner.

ECHO
You play Guitar?

MOUNT
Yeah. Years.

ECHO
Why don’t you playing something for me.

He plays. “ The year of Cat.”

His fingers are long and cold, his eyes are still like marble, only with warmth this time.

ECHO(V.O.)
I felt his heart beating.
It’s gentle, like marble.


MOUNT
So, who do you live with?
Your boyfriend?

ECHO
NO.
You have a lot of questions, do you?
I have to go NOW.

She rushes to the door and leaves.

He sees her leave and picks up the Guitar. “Stairways to Heaven.”
Echo stops, turns around. Watching him playing, she stands there, still, the pain in her face, it’s dissolving away.


INT. ROB’S HOUSE. BATHROOM. MORNING.

Echo washes her faces. Sees herself in the mirror. Her face is pale.
The faucet is ON. Water’s washing down. LOUD. She does not hear.
She does not care. Stares at the stranger in the mirror.


EXT. MOUNT’S HOUSE.
Echo puts food at his door. Leaves.


EXT. CITY STREET. LOS ANGELES. DAY.

She saw a bunch of flowers from the window of a store.
A close shot of the sunflowers then it faded in to a vase with a bunch of flowers in it. The golden flower burning wildly.

Fade In.

SAHARA. DAY.

The endless sand. The wind is the only thing touches the skin of the desert. Suddenly a phoenix arising from the ashes, the wing tips are golden brilliant. A Chinese girl runs behind with the moving happy smile on her face. We see it’s Echo.


EXT. ROB’S HOUSE.

The 80s old Italian lady with thick make-up is knocking the door. LOUD.
She wears heavy Jewelries and a big black hat, half of her face is coved.


TITTY
ECHO!

ECHO opens the door.

TITTY
My cat Chow Chow died last night.

Suddenly she is crying.


TITTY( CON’T)
You have been such a sweet little thing for me,
here’s a gift for you,
(she opens her palm, it’s a leather
neck belt for her Cat. It’s red)

My mom gave it to me, and she bought
this from Tibet. She had been having it all her life,
she gave this to me before she passing away.
It’s piece of art. Do you agree? ( her eyes
were widely open, now we see her whole
face, Wrinkly, thick make-up. A
Little scary.)

Echo is dazed.

TITTY( CON’T)
A physic told me my cat will be
reincarnated to a white Chinese cat.
Called “Baibai.” Have you heard of it?
They are adorable. The psychic told me he
will become a girl, with green eyes, and long white hair.
She told me next month go to an Animal’s hospital in NY,
should I go? ECHO? I think she is crazy!
When you die you die,
nothing left, that’s why I never got
married again since my husband died thirty years ago.

…who doesn’t make mistakes?
Even cats. Poor little Chow Chow. ( she starts weeping again)

Echo stands there, dazed.


TITTY( CON’T)
You saw Chow Chow right? She was very cute.
I will have to go to NY next month…
my Angel never
died…did I ever tell you my cat’s nick name is angel?
She was pretty old. For a cat. Black shining like a diamond, now she is
Going to reincarnated to a white Chinese kitty, this is so awesome.


The gift from the old lady still on her palm, she looks at it.

TITTY
Wish me good luck. Echo.

ECHO
Good luck Mrs. Jefferson.

TITTY
God, you are such a sweet little thing.
I love you call me Mrs Jefferson
Yes, I am always Mrs. Jefferson.
I can’t believe you remember my husband’s last name.

MJ “ You are NOT alone.” Playing in the background.


EXT. VENICE BEACH. DAY.

A wide shot of the beach. People roller skating, biking, swimming, surfing, drumming. Echo on the boardwalk. She sees Mount on the side selling arts. Those iron waste are painted with different colors. There is an old guitar lying next to it.

ECHO
I did not know you are an artist,
they are so beautiful.

MOUNT
They are just junks, you know?
As I said, that’s what I do now and
I might lose interest tomorrow. I might climb
Mount Everest tomorrow.

ECHO
MOUNT Everest?

MOUNT
Yes, did I tell you I am a mountaineer.
I do all sorts of things.

ECHO
I’m getting to know you.
As long as you are NOT a vampire.

MOUNT
Vampire?(laughing)
Maybe next life.


ECHO
Did you say you are a Mountaineer?
(pause)
My father loves climbing, it was his life,
He said he always heard they were
calling his name, so he went back over
and over. He even attempted to climb the Everest,

MOUNT
Everest?

ECHO
Yes, ( Looks away high above,
thinking about Everest)
The highest mountain in the world,
8850 meters/ 20053 feet high.


MOUNT
Where is he now?

ECHO
He never came back…(pause)
He always told me that one of his dreams
is to lie down in the endless snow, just
himself, on the 8850 meters high.
Nothing around him just the snow,
just listen, listen to the snow, and touch
the wind, standing on the top of the
world…become one with it, he told me it
would be heaven.(pause)
I hope he is happy now.


He listens. Takes out a cigarette, but he is NOT smoking, he is just holding it in his hand.


MOUNT
That’s pretty amazing.

ECHO
Yes. It is. It’s even more amazing
when you think about it,
Especially in the dark of the night,
in the back of your head.
It never goes away…It is always
there, it keeps calling you, it’s called Windflower.

MOUNT
Windflower? ( pause)
What is it Windflower?


ECHO
It’s the hidden wave in the bottom of
the ocean; it’s the thunderstorm sings
when the lightning is about to come;
it’s the first bubble comes to the surface
when the rest of the world is sleeping?
It’s the passion, the desire, the dream.
It’s something you really want in the
bottom of your heart; It’s the absolute
beauty that you can never reach. The
first rainbow appears in the dark broken
sky; Something never changes just like
phoenix’s rebirth from the ashes. The
fire inside of the ocean or a secret you
can never betray? Windflower is a special
flower, it is only blossoming in your heart.



ECHO (CON’T)
My father told me that.
I know he is in a better place now.
He chased his dream, the
windflower
inside of him never DIES.

He told me a lot.
I was ONLY five years old.
But I remember every
single word he said.
(look into the horizon
over the ocean.
(Sunset. Red flame. Eternal dream)



ECHO (CON’T)
(Turns back)
The nature always speaks to me,
you know? The snow, the mountain,
the leaves, the rain, the air, the sky,
the water drop on a grass tip.
It’s ALL ALIVE. And I am connected
with them ALL. ( She looks into
his eyes. That look, firm,
unbreakable, and marvelous.)


ECHO (CON’T)
He died when I was five years old.
That spring, he never came back…
I cannot image he died in a different way.
( pause)
Imagine yourself lying in the endless snow,
by yourself, in that height, the thinnest
air, the purest snow.
You can’t see nothing but the endless snow,
That’s the purest world I can imagine.


He looks at the girl, he is thinking, the Everest, the summit, the thinnest air, the oxygen, the courage, or the death zone…he is falling in his own contemplation. She tries to examine his face. He looks like a lost boy falling in the well of a dream. He suddenly looks up to the sky. Says nothing.


MOUNT
I know nothing about tomorrow.
The sun may mot shine tomorrow.
I may die tomorrow, life is meaningless,
You have to give life
your own meaning and purpose,
live in the passion.
( his sparking eyes very shining)
I believe human beings are
all striving to live for that purpose.


ECHO
I disagree. Most people just want to have
a goddamn degree, and have a goddamn job,
so they can have a Ferrari, and a big damn
house they can never live, and pay the
last penny for the goddamn mortgage,
then on the death bed, they can say their
dream is accomplished. How sad. How sad.
It’s terrifying, but it is TRUE.


He laughs for a second. Then serious again.


MOUNT
It is funny, but it is TRUE.
You are so smart Echo.
You are so insightful; you
see most people don’t see.


ECHO
It’s a bless also a curse.

MOUNT
What that mean?


ECHO
Well, just look at the sky…
just…LOOK AT it.
( she turns to the ocean,
the horizon, Mount does the same.
A red ball
hanging at the edge of the sky.
you can actually
stare at it without getting
your eyes burned.


ECHO ( V.O.)
Something hard for me to explain,
every time when I look at the sunset
or sunrise, I’m just so amazed by
that kind of power, I don’t know
what it IS. There must be something
GREATER out there. You call it
GOD, or the higher power. I know
something is OUT there, other than
this three dimensional world we live in,
other than our BODY and MIND.
Other than the EAT- Sleep daily routine.

I don’t know what it is, but I do know
something is OUT there. If you don’t
believe me , just look up to the sky,
and stare that VASTNESS.
When you’re having lunch, or
through your office window.


( a series shots of day life of LA, students coming and go, people eating lunch at restaurants, cars line up outside of the fast food restaurants
the suit-tie business men and woman hurry in a office building. Fast motion)


ECHO
People don’t pay attention to
small things in life, beauty
is everywhere, the tree is
NOT just a tree, a flower is
NOT just a flower, they
exist because of a higher
power, they are spiritual
beings, just like us, breathing,
loving and living. They
communicate with us constantly,
all we need to do is to PAY attention.
Miracles are everywhere, you see
the people, the beach, the benches, ( pause),
Nothing is insignificant, they are all
coming from a higher power…
they are motivated by a spiritual
force we call LIFE.


MOUNT
How did you know this?(pause)
In such a young age?

ECHO
Look at the SKY.
he was against the virgin blue SKY,
melted in the sunlight.
and I saw him,
from that moment,
everything became clear to
me.
(coldplay’s yellow starts playing)

His eyes widely OPEN. Amazed. Astonished. Speechless. Powerful. He pulls his hand towards hers, he touches her finger tip. It is so fragile, also so strong. They both astonished. Close shots of the HANDS.

FADE IN.

ECHO(V.O.)
So What is forever? If you ask me,
That moment DEFINED forever.



EXT. MOUNT’S HOUSE.
Echo puts Lemon chicken at his door. Mounts walks out.


She sees an old bike outside of his door.

ECHO
Your bike?

MOUNT
Yeah.

ECHO
Can you take me for a ride?
(stares are the bike, old and beat-up)
Is still working?

MOUNT
Yeah. Come on. ( he pulls
the bike, Echo jumps at the front)

They ride around the block. Her arms are open, eyes are closed. She is flying.


MOUNT
Is that the food you cook for me everyday?
I knew it’s you.
Who else? Who else can cook lemon chicken everyday?

ECHO
It’s you favorite.

MOUNT
How do you it’s my favorite.

ECHO
(serious)
I just know.



INT. MOUNT’S HOUSE. EVENING.

Mount and Echo sitting by the fireplace. The red flame reflected on their faces. Warmth. Passion. Tranquility. The house is lit up with candles. Romantic, mystic.


ECHO
My father used to take me ride
all the time when I was a little girl,
it was so cool, and I
opened my arms like flying…
( she opens her arms, closes her
eyes imagining she is flying…)


Echo closes her eyes, imaging flying with her father.


ECHO
My father told me there is a kind of flower
called Windflower. They grow in the desert,
they don’t die, cause they grow in the pinnacle of your heart.

They travel with the wind,
you can never get close, once you get close,
you will never want to leave.

My dream is o be a desert woman,
just like the phoenix airing from the ashes.
I just want to be there, listen to the
language of GOD. Just be, just breathe…( closes her eyes)


MOUNT
You know what I want to do? My dream?

ECHO
What is it your dream?

MOUNT
Climb the MOUNT Everest.
Breathe the thinnest air, be on the roof of the world.
That’s heaven. And that’s the purest heaven I always dream.

ECHO
That’s why you gave your name MOUNT ?

MOUNT
Yes.

ECHO
Can I show you some dance?

Mount puts on some music. Some traditional Chinese music. Echo dances in front of the fire like an angel.


ECHO(V.O.)
Yes, I just want to dance, breathe…
this is life, I want nothing else…
I just want to breathe, like human

We all going to die alone, so you
better hold me tight…
there is no time and space
everything you
see is illusion,
only my heart is vivid and shining


The red-hot flame brightens her face to heaven red, bright, she looks especially beautiful, against the fire, she looks so pure, so dazing right, like an angel. Mount sits next to her.

ECHO
How about your mother?

MOUNT
She died when I was five; I don’t
even remember what she looks like.
I grew up in foster home.
I had no parents. He went to Jail,
After he killed her lover.
I was an orphan.
I hate them both…
(sigh)


MOUNT
(CON’T)
I grew up in foster homes, I never
know what Love looks like.
Never felt what it’s like to grow up
With mom and dad.

She looks at the man with compassion. She feels her man’s pain. The memory, past, future, everything is burning into her heart.

ECHO
Life has to go on. ( pause)
You want to listen to a story?

MOUNT
Sure. An old country sure have a lot story to tell.

He’s looking at her to wait for her to start.

ECHO
Long time ago, there was a snake called Snake white, she was a snake goblin. She mediated for a thousand years to become a human to thank the man called Xian, who saved her life once. So she became the human, a beautiful girl like Goddess. One day, at the pond, when the morning raindrops are still shining on the lotus leaves, a beautiful young woman was born from the water. Her skin was milky white, her hair was shinning black, she was standing over the bank, and she is the white snake. She saw him, the man she has been dreaming and longing for a thousand years, the man who saved her life. She saw him was fighting with a evil spirit, called Fa, snake white saved him, but the price was high, she had to go become a snake again, Cause she lost too much blood. The thousand year of discipline was gone with the wind, and she can no longer become a woman, so she died, became the snake again. She hided in the same forest she loved, and never returned, and Xian never knew it’s snake white saved her life.

The fire shines on her face, she looks like a goddess.

MOUNT
It sounds like the mermaid story.
Do you know the little Mermaid?

ECHO
Yeah.

MOUNT
It’s so beautiful.


ECHO
I don’t die. I’m eternal.
Just like the Phoenix, they don’t die,
like the flowers, they never die,
the moments of blossom makes them
live forever. The flower blossom is just
like with endless desire and light,
with the richest color like Vicente van Gogh’s painting.

The fire is still burning, it’s so quite, nothing but the burning, the melting, connection, the passion, the love, you may call. The candle are dazzling, light up the time and space.

Their faces getting closer. His sculpture face, no long pale, it’s warm, and sensational. Her lip touches his. Almost. Her eyes are closed, and his. There is a drop of her tear coming down from her face. The first time, she drops her crystal blood.

SAHARA. DAY.

The endless sand. The wind is the only thing touches the skin of the desert. Suddenly a phoenix arising from the ashes, the wing tips are golden brilliant. A Chinese girl runs behind with the moving happy smile on her face. It’s Echo.


INT. ROB’S HOUSE. DINNER.


They both sit and eating spaghetti. No conversation, just plain awkward.

ROB
It’s not good to live on the street,
you could be killed and starve to death,
or raped, you know what I mean?


She is chewing the noodles. Her eyes are blank towards to the window.


EXT. MOUNT’S HOUSE.

Echo puts food at his door. Leaves.


EXT. BEACH. DAY. RANNING.

Jade green ocean. Dark. Raining. Transcending,
Echo and MOUNT on the beach.

ECHO
Would you carry me?

He turns and looks at her with smile.

MOUNT
Jump on.

He lowers his back. She does. He wades into the water, she is happy like a child, make noises like a baby girl.


ECHO
Did you see?
Another side of the ocean.

MOUNT
What ?

ECHO
China.
( We don’t see her face)
just the close-up water, ice cold water.

He stops wading and staring to the vast water. We see the water is under his kneel. We see his face, like marble. A shot from behind, we see the endless water. The ice cold water. She points to the another side of pacific.


ECHO
My father used to carry me like that too.
I sit on his shoulder, when I was a little…
on the street, that’s my favorite ride…

MOUNT
Do you miss China?


Mount sets Echo down.
They both standing in the water.

ECHO
Of course.
That’s my home.
the people,
the land, I miss my first sixteen
years I spent there, it’s my youth, it’s
my life, how can I NOT miss it…
( sentimental )

The rain drops are silent too, they caress her face, her hair, she feels it, it’s such a great feeling.

ECHO
Of course I do. ( she repeats.)

She looks into the horizon, the rain, the ocean blended together make a misty world in another side of the vision.



ECHO
Have you ever regretted?
Like something you wish you did not do.

MOUNT
No. No regret. ( sigh deeply)

He looks into her eyes deeply.

ECHO
It’s destiny. That’s why I’m here.
Your wife killed in a car
accident. After the Christmas party,
If you and your wife went to the
party one minute earlier or later,
she would not have hit by a car,
if you knew that she was destined
to kill in a accident, would you still marry her?

MOUNT
How do you know all these?

ECHO
Cause I know, I know everything about you,
( she tries to grab his hand.)


MOUNT
(frowns)
Well, I don’t know, Echo, you can’t make
a statement like that, life’s a mystery,
unknown, that’s what it’s all about,
if we knew everything about my life,
I would not be interested in living.

ECHO
I miss my father. And my mother.

The rain is dropping to the Pacific like destiny, you cannot distinct the water and the sky. The endless cold green water is like old jade, it’s ancient, it’s wise, it’s also very much present, it’s such a mystery, it’s full of life, Echo’s hair is soaking wet, the raindrops are still very gently touch her face, also the wind, the wind mixed with the rain, cold, dark, but also lucid and transparent, you see everything in water, you see everything in sky, you see everything between her eye.

ECHO
I really like this kind of weather.
Especially at the beach, I like the
rain at beach, it’s transparent, it’s
so spiritual and awakening, it
makes me feel so good, I just
love it, you know? ( turns to
Mount, he is looking over
the water) It’s such a mystery,
the water, it really awakens me.
The nature, the destiny, the current flow of life…


I miss my mother.
I hope she is in a better place now.


Mount is still standing up , the same spot, he is standing still and stares Echo is walking into the water, buries her ankles. He does not move. He knows Echo needs sometimes alone.


ECHO
I want to go with you, take me with you.
Anywhere, I don’t care…
(murmuring as wading, Mount is behind)


ECHO
( turns to Mount)
Take me with you.
Anywhere, I don’t care!!!( shouting, angry, with fear)
I don’t care , just take me away, forever, never returns.
Some place shapes my dreams!
wherever you go.

Silence.
ECHO keeps wading. Faster and faster.


ECHO (V.O.)
He looks at me without saying
anything, without saying this world is
beautiful, without saying baby,
please take me away.


INT. ECHO’S HOUSE. NIGHT.


ROB
Did you cheat on me? Echo?
I know you go out everyday now?
Did you fall in love with some hot stuff
( mimic a woman’s voice)

ECHO
What are you talking about?

ROB
(screaming)
Did you fall in LOVE with someone else, bitch?
(slaps her); you have been behaved so weird lately.

ECHO
I am ALWAYS weird in your dictionary!
(walks away)


EXT. MOUNT’S HOUSE.
Echo puts food at his door. Leaves.


EXT. SAHARA. DAY.

The phoenix flying in the desert, looking for her, the same bed, same color, same flower, the white sheet with the purple orchards on. The phoenix flying over the bed, sees this beautiful woman sleeping on it, bare, naked, on her side. When the bird gets closer, the naked girl becomes a infant, crying, the phoenix uses the mouth taking her away, they are flying high, above the sky. The baby opens her eyes, looking down the desert and the bed…still EMPTY.


ECHO( V.O.)
I just can’t get over this image a
red gold phoenix flying over the
Sahara desert, the tip of the wings
are shining, brilliant, a color you
have never seen before. They
are born from the ashes, they don’t die no more,
they are eternal, after the rebirth, after
one suffering, I always see them
flying over the infinite golden sand…looking, searching..
LOVING…


EXT. DESERT. NIGHT.

Next to a fire, in the endless desert, she is sitting next to a fire.


MOUNT
Open your eyes!

Her eyes covered by a pair of hands. We see his face. His face looks so shining, and gracious. Pale, like marble, His fingers are so white, they are shining in the light, also his eyes, burning like a dream in the FIRE.

She stands up, turns around, she sees him, MOUNT, standing behind her, she touches his hands. She embraces him from behind. He says nothing. Just looking at her with anxiety, fear, and loss.

ECHO
(whispers to him)
when I’m lost
can you show me the light on your finger tip?
or I’m just a lost child can't see the
dark but the moment of eternity and
last life’s secret?

I am a wounded kid
looking for my direction,
you may never see me
but you know my pain

ECHO (V.O.)
Yes, he knows…


Slowly they both disappear in the fire, burning, everything, in the fire, including her heart, passion, desire, the brightest also the darkest, the wish, the dream, from the previous life and life after, all IS in the fire, the ashes dancing in the air like butterflies or like the reborn phoenix…

She stares the fire, her mind is burning in the fire, her pains, her past, her future, her love, and her dream.

She looks back, the guy no longer exists, just the phoenix flying over her face her passion, her eyes of soul, she closes her eyes. And she wakes up from her dream.


EXT. MOUNT’S HOUSE.
Echo puts food at his door. Leaves.


EXT. HOLLYWOOD. DAY.

Echo is walking on the street. She sees sunflowers through the window. She stops and looking at the flowers. The pedals are burning, the yellow gold flowers grow wildly like the paining of Vincent Van Gosh. Something is burning, something is burning inside of her, and she knows what it is. The eternal flame. She sees the endless desert, the silent desert, the infinite love and light. she feels it, the ripples, shaped by the wind, and a phoenix is singing and flying over.

ECHO (V.O.)
I’ve always dreamed of a firebird
arising from the ashes to the sky
over the endless Sahara desert.
They live in the center of the sun,
they don’t die. They appear in my
dream every night. They are called
phoenix. And I am the phoenix. I
don’t die. Just like the sun, like
the breath, the air, the dust, the
sand, they are eternal and everlasting.
Just like the Sahara desert, it’s peaceful
and divine, it will be always there, the
form may change, but the essence is the
same. They say the phoenix only dies
once and they will live forever after
that. I already died once. I’m eternal NOW.


She notices a man passing by.

Black Man
(shabby cloth)
Lost in translation!
(smiling)


She smiles bitterly, see the man walking away,


EXT. MOUNT’S HOUSE. DAY.

Echo puts food again at his door. She sees some torn-up pictures lying down on the floor which is next to a trashcan, she picks them up. Realizes it’s Mount’s, she finds out all the pieces of pictures in the trash.


INT. ECHO’S HOUSE. DAY.

Echo gules all the pictures together.


EXT. DESERT. EVENING.

The sun dyes the sand to blood read, endless, endless the sand, the land, and the void above it. A river is next by.


EXT. CITY STREET. NOON.

The sun is so bright, the sun shines the whole street, Echo is bare feet, wears a little purple skirt, all the background is blurry, but she is flying, like an angel. She is walking. The sun shines on her gold skin like a flower blossoming blazingly. She walks to the coffee shop, sees someone on a wheelchair is about to leave. She rushes to the door and opens the door for him, and when he turns around, she sees his face and that’s Mount.


ECHO
MOUNT! ( shouting)

She sees him only one leg.

ECHO
What happed?

MOUNT
You don’t know want to know what happened!
( Her face is terrifying)
Leave me alone!!!

ECHO
What happened? Tell me, Mount!!
( she holds the wheelchair,
bursts into tears.)

MOUNT
Curiosity kills cats!

Mount rolls away, as fast as he can. Anger. Madness. Pain. His face no longer pale.


EXT. MOUNT’S HOUSE.

She puts down lemon chicken at his door.


Man(Passing by)
Be careful, Girl.

Stranger walks away. Black, shabby cloth, a different guy.

Man ( turns back)
Do whatever you want, but be careful
what you see! The truth is always difficult to accept.


She glances the food and stands up.


EXT. MOUNT’S HOUSE.

She puts down food at his door.


EXT. MOUNT’S HOUSE.

Mounts comes out, sees the food, he opens, it, the food, lemon Chicken as
usual. Then something is falling down to the ground, he opens it. They are
his pictures.


INT. MOUNT’S HOUSE.

He looking at the pictures, glued together, glances the door again, complicated feeling. He sees a little China girl standing right in front of him, smiling, just a few seconds, she turns around and gone. He looks down on the pictures, and his thoughts are going at the speed flight.

He put the pictures back on his wall.


INT. ECHO’S HOUSE. EVENING.

Rob walks in.

ROB
You are a liar!
Why you cooking Lemon chicken everyday?
You think I don’t know?!
I know everything! You can’t fool me!

Why you cooking Lemon chicken everyday?
For some stupid moron?


ECHO
For homeless people.

ROB
Homeless? You are very kind,
You are an angel, aren’t you?
So you can
break the rules of Mr. Davilman.

ROB
[angry]
Is that cripple? Is him?

He pushes her to the couch.

ROB
You have to tell me the truth,
otherwise you can’t sleep tonight!!!

ECHO
[screaming]
It’s None of your business…

He pushes her again the wall and starts choking her.

ROB
Tell me the truth, little bitch,
I saved you, I saved your life, I
did everything for you, feed you,
house you, cloth you…

She pushes him away.

ECHO
But you never cared about me!
As a human! Yes, you feed me, yes, you house
Me, yes, you cloth me, but INSIDE I am dying…
You provide everything I need OUTSIDE,
But none of those can make me a human!!
I’m slowly dying…don’t you understand?
My spirit is dead, my heart is NO longer
Beating, my emotion is frozen…My world is crashing…


ROB
DO you think it’s ALL my fault??
I am MR. NICE Guy, I shall go to heaven
After I die, I did all the THINGS God wants me to do—And To help
A hopeless girl from China sure is part of
GOD’S
Plan!!! A DIVINE Plan!!

He slams the door, leaves.

Echo opens her palm…there is a sign on the palm…The Chinese Yin-Yang. Black and white, she paints it today. She looks at it carefully.


EXT. DESERT . EVENING.

Next to a fire she is dancing. Mount is sitting 20 feet away, watching. Her hair is so long, straight down, black, shining, radiant. She looks like a goddess. The wind stars blowing. The fire is ceased, including him.

She turns around, embracing the desert, the sand, she is lying down, dancing. All the branches of tress, flowers start growing from all over the place, buried her body completely.


INT. ECHO’S HOUSE. EVENING. DINNER.

ECHO is one eye is covered with white cloth, there are scars on her face and her neck.

ROB
I’m sorry I hit you last night.
If you promise me never see him again,
You can still stay here, and I won’t do anything,
Otherwise you know what’s going to happen.


SILENCE.
Tears coming down silently.

ROB
I am sorry, baby,
Don’t cry.
I love you,
I want to be with you,
Marry me,
Let’s be together forever.


She looks up, stares at him with strange fear.


INT. MOUNT’S HOUSE. EVENING.

Mount sits by the table in the living room, eating dinner himself,

There is someone underneath the table. Echo. She sneezes. Mount drops his plate, he falls down from the chair. He sees her under his table.
She picks up the broken plates from the floor.


MOUNT
You don’t need to make me feel like a
Cripple! I can do it myself.

He rolls the wheelchair, picks up the pieces on the floor.


MOUNT
What are you doing here?!

She sees a bee on her palm, it flies away, she crawls out from the table.


ECHO
Look , see what is it? she
opened her palm, a bee on her palm.


MOUNT
You scared shit out of me!

He sees her scars.

MOUNT
How did you get in my house?!
And what happened to your face?!

No response.
MOUNT
I so, what do you
want from this old man,
A man has no leg, a man who is in pain,
a man who has nothing!
I have nothing to offer…
You don’t know shit about me…
You understand? You don’t know shit about me!

She sits there patiently. Her face is peaceful.

MOUNT
So , there was a boy, ten years old,
he had a dream, and the dream
was to…climb the Mount Everest.
And he never gives up on his
dream till one day he lost his leg.

Now his dream is breaking, it no Longer Exists.

A 40 years old guy with only one leg, and
he loves climbing, his dream was to climb the
Everest. But now,
his entire dream is broken. He is sad,
broken, mad, cause his
lifetime dream is destroyed by
something we call fate! And he is giving
up, cause he don’t believe in miracles, he don’t
want to define himself, he would rather let
his disability and other people, even his
expectation do so. That’s very sad, isn’t it?


Why are you so calm? Why are you still here?
And you were the one talked about divine power!


ECHO
(soft , but with strength)
You don’t need legs to climb mountains…
(pause)Just like you don’t need arms
to swim, you don’t need hand to play
piano, no ear to listen,
no mouth to speak.
All is right here. (she uses
her hand points to her head)

ECHO
You are infinite, you can do anything
and everything you want. Anything is possible?
You have NOT used your full-potential, have you?
When you live in infinity, you can do anything!
Physical being cripple is NOT a problem,
The MOST dangerous thing is mental cripple.


MOUNT is shocked, he has no idea what to say, he is dazed.

ECHO (CON’T)
You just
have to… (pause) believe. Belief,
that’s ALL it IS. Just believe,
the rest just follows.


She looks at him with determination and such a wonderful power. He looks at her with doubts and fear.

They are both silently for a while.


ECHO
Three years ago, a sixteen years
old girl arrived on this foreign land
called America, she and other fifty
people including her mother lived
in a container. And they were called
“Illegal escapers.” Her mother died
on the way, and they threw her body
into the beautiful mother earth ocean
we call Pacific with twenty other unlucky
escapers. But she is a survivor,
an ultimate survivor.

Flash Back:

EXT. PACIFIC OCEAN. NIGHT. [ Cold Dark Blue]

A Cargo Vessel is moving on the dark endless ocean. The moonlight shining on the surface, it makes it even lonelier.


ECHO (CON’T)
She lived in a container of a Cargo-vessel
for near four weeks and finally she
came to this foreign land called U.S.
First, she lived on the street, then
one day, an American guy took her
home from the street. Yes, he saved
her. Also put her into another HELL.


Flash Back:
EXT. HOLLYWOOD. DAY.

It’s ice cold blue color. ECHO is lying on a bench, you can tell that she is homeless, in her eyes, there is fear, in her eyes, there is confusion and despair, she looks into the empty street, even though people walking driving back in forth, but in her mind, NO sound, just the ice cold blue melts the whole city, the Ice, Cold, Blue, that’s the color in her heart. A guy walks to her, and starts talking to her. She sits up. We can’t hear their talking, it’s still, it’s silent, it’s the ice cold blue. Finally she gets up, gets into his car.

ECHO ( CON’T)
And she lives with him since. Yes,
he owns her, he feeds her, clothes
her, houses her, she got listen to
him, she has to listen to him.
Of course she can always escape,
but to where? She lives in fear.


Flash back:
ROB raping her. Hitting her. Dark blue. Cold.

ECHO ( CON’T)
It was a nightmare,
She was afraid of ending up on the
street and being homeless again,
she is afraid to be sent back to
her own country, no one would
comfort her any more in that big
crowded land we call China. She
thought that was her fate, to survive
and eventually die in this strange
city, and it’s her fate to live as a
prisoner. She thought all her dreams
were washed away, washed away by
the pacific ocean, washed away by
the currents of modern life of Los
Angeles, the Angel city that she
only saw on TV, the strange country
which she never imaged she would
ever come in the way of “escaping”.
So she stays with him till one day
she saw that marble face under
the marvelous sunshine. She sees
her dream again in this man’s eyes.
She has a dream. A dream she has
been thinking since she was 9 years
old. She never forgot her dream after
all these years, it’s always there, it’s
never left her, it was covered with dust,
now she can clean it again, and it
did come to the surface. And her
dream is to go to Sahara, live on the
desert, be a desert woman. Listen to
the desert language and understand
a language called silence. She
dreams about the golden sand
touches the skin, and she
wants to be the phoenix
arising from the ashes and
become eternal, just like
the phoenix, live in the center
of sun, sings everyday under
the brand new sun. Finally
she realized she is phoenix, she
is eternal. Cause the dream never
left her heart, not even for a second,
maybe sometime she forgot, but
the dream never abandons her, it’s always there.

There is always light coming from
the darkest sky, cause HOPE,
is what we live for, is what we
believe in ourselves so it will
come to save us from the prison
of life. And I am destined to
leave the prison of my life, leave
the guy who treats her badly, breath
the desert wind and keep the man
she loves forever.


Long silence.
He is falling into his own thoughts and imagination.



ECHO(CON’T)
So, look at you, now, another victim of life…
In pain, angry, frustrated, and I understand,
But at the mean time, don’t you think it’s only for the better?
Do you think God
is testing you?
You know this is NO
coincidence. You climbed the mountain,
and you fell, cause you did not believe in
GOD, that’s how you lost your leg, and
NOW, you can make it ALL possible,
You can believe again…
The worst always came, God brought you
the most difficulty is to provide a
marvelous opportunity for you to grow,
both mentally and spiritually, also
emotionally. It’s a chance
for you to learn your strength.

Now,
you can make the Impossible possible.


MOUNT
What are you talking about?


ECHO
Everest.
You can do it, yes, after this terrible
accident!( she exams his eyes)

His eyes widely open, covered with fear and new air.


ECHO( CON’T)
Yes, this is the time,
you can do anything you want to do,
you can make it happen. ( calmly)

Echo sits down on the couch, looking at the wall, the picture is still there, the glued ones. She smiles.

ECHO
God never left you. He wants you do good.
He wants you to be happy.
He wants you to realize your dreams.

ECHO
You will breathe the thinnest air,
and the cleanest air, promise me,
promise me one thing…
(intensely.)

He stares at her.

ECHO (CON’T)
[intensely]
Pick up a snow-lotus from the top of the world, whenever you make it. I know you will. Promise me, promise me get the whitest of the snow-lotus for me, that’s a dream since I was a little girl, since I was 5 years old. That’s the dream my father promised me…but he never make it. But I know you will. So promise me, Mount, Promise me whenever you climb to the top, get me the whitest lotus…


He looks at her and said nothing, then his mind is flying over to the high above, the 8850 meters of the world roof, when he comes back to the reality, he nods.

He presses the play button, the Sound of Silence starts melting in this room. They both in silence just listening.

She is about to leave.

MOUNT
Echo!

She turns around, gazes him and turns around. She looks at his eyes, with passion, with expectation. He says nothing, she gazes him for a few seconds, then says:

ECHO
The only thing stops you , is fear.

She leaves, the door is SHUT.MOUNT is sitting there, for the first time, he shows a man’s fear, also fragile side of him. He is almost weeping…


ECHO( V.O.)
I see his another
Side, a man’s fragile side.
His gentleness and softness.
(pause)
We’re all the same,
We are no different, we are human after all.

The door is open, she returns.

ECHO
I’ve loved you… before your existence,
Before the origin of the universe…

You are so
loved, and you are LOVE, you can
do anything and everything you
want to do in your life. You are
an angel. Yes, you are. You are
infinite. And God never left.
He will never. He is always here
with you. You are NOT alone.
And heaven is here, just look at
it…everything is so perfect,
the divine creation, the divine
manifestation, Everything, just
look around, Miracle is everywhere,
and all things are possible, you are
NOT alone, everything is right now
right here, everything is perfect, and
everything is available, all we
need is right here.


Tears, joy, self-realization, love, Mount is laughing with tears, dramatically, emotionally, awakening, yes, he finally realizes something.


ECHO( V.O.)
I saw myself flying high, above the sky
to the snow mountain, to the end of the
Planet.

I saw tears flying down on his cheek

I’ve heard every bird’s singing and
every single flower’s blossoming.
I fall in love with city just
because of one person.


I saw myself flying high, above the sky
to the snow mountain, to the end of the
Planet.

Yes, there is a place called paradise.


Her hands reach his. The close shot of her fingertips, and his. The light comes through, fills the whole room. Echo closes her eyes, starts dancing, she is in heaven. They both are in heaven. Bliss. self-realization, awakening, The pure connection between two human beings. The energy beyond language.


INT. ROB’S HOUSE. EVENING.

ROB’S on the phone.

ROB
( Mad)
You told me you will give me ten
thousands dollars, this is a good
deal man, what the fuck is your problem,
don’t play me around I’m telling
you, nobody can fuck me around!

He hangs up the phone.

ROB
( To Echo)
If Jack calls me again, just say I
am NOT home! That bustard,
he said he would pay me ten thousands
dollars, but he broke his promise.

She is eating strawberry. Slowly. Silence. No response. Her face is pale.


EXT. SAHARA DESERT -- DAY

A phoenix with human face, flying over the desert, there was a bed, empty, there is a guy sleeping on it with the eyes closed. She lands on the bed just look at him.

The bed is empty again. White sheet, with purple orchid on it.

ECHO ( V.O.)
The water is burning,
the fire is singing,
the Pacific is ever green,
I know there is a place called home.


EXT. PARK. DAY.

Echo sways alone. She sees Mount is under a tree in his wheelchair.
She walks to him and sits down next to him under the tree.
He notices her. Silence.
She looks into the sky. It’s a beautiful mid-summer’s day. The trees and flowers are all over the place, the birds and bees are dancing around in the hot warm air. Not far, you see houses and people, they are moving the way as they usually do.

ECHO (V.O.)
Beautiful palm trees stretching
out to the deep inside of the virgin
blue sky. And the sky dyed everything
blue, everything is in still, the houses,
the cars, the people. Everything
is in Golden too, because the
divine crystal Gold sunshine.
Everything keeps still, they are
all melting in the bright shining
sky and the yellow gold sunshine.
The whole picture makes it a
whole living image of life.
I heard a voice coming from
my heart, slowly, and gently,
it speaks:
“ This is the life I have been waiting for.”


He turns and sees her looking up to the sky.
No one says a thing.

MOUNT
My father is dying. Cancer.
And I have not seen him for 20 years,
I hate him, he was never there
for me, he loved to drink, a typical
alcoholic, he never loved me, he was never there for me
and he killed my mother’s lover.
now he is dying and I still hate him.

He was an unhappy man, he never see
the blue sky, or he never realized the
sky is crystal blue. Some people never
see the blue sky. That’s a shame.
He had a strong personality, bad
temper, very bad temper, He is an
extreme man, he sees things either black,
or white, but he does not know most of the
time, the world is in between, it’s gray.


MOUNT (CON’T)
And my mother, she was very sweet,
very gentle, very feminine…
That’s all I remembered.
She died when I was five, god I miss her
(pause)
I’ve always wondering how each generation
is so similar to each other, we are all
repeating, the same mistake, same glory,
and loss. But each generation is actually
really far away, like the distance between
two stars. How far is that? You can never reach.


Silence.

ECHO
He had his hard times.


MOUNT
Painful memory is hard to erase.


ECHO
We have to forgive,
ourselves, and others,
let it ALL go,
we don’t have any choice, do we?
We have to let it go, cause we don’t
want to live in misery.

Echo stands up,…she picks up a little rock from the ground, throws it away.

ECHO(V.O.)
His words touched every being of me,
I am NOT the only victim of life,
Cause we all are.

For the first time in my life, I don’t feel lonely no more.
Finally I realized something.
We are all the same,
We are all in the same boat,
We breathe the same air,
We drink the same water,
And we complete the same life cycle.
I am NOT alone.




EXT. CITY STREET. LATER AFTERNOON.

Phone booth. Echo is making a phone call. She inserts two quarters, dials the number. It’s cold and windy. Her hair is blown away by the wind.

ECHO
I will be home late tonight.
The sandwich is in the Fridge.

She hangs up the phone. Walks in the cold.
Her hands in the pocket. The wind blows her hair over her face.


INT. CLUB. EVENING.

A middle aged white man sits in a wheelchair speaking on stage. The light is shining, about two hundred people off stage, sitting, drinking, laughing, not many people give him attention. Echo is sitting in the corner listening.
The camera moves to the center of the stage, the man’s face is full of vitality.

MOUNT
……
Nothing matters baby. I got all I want,
I got them all. Including my leg,
why the damn stupid people are
all around, I hate people, Ok?
That’s why I’m going to climb
the Everest, who wants to go
to with me?
Whom? I’m asking, this is
the last chance, I got my
legs, I can do anything I want,
so who is coming? Who is coming
with me? Are you guys afraid?
Are you guys all afraid?
I knew it,
I knew it before I even stood
up here, actually,
sitting here, in the wheel chair,
that’s right ( lower softer) who
wants to go with me? Whom?
I knew nobody, I knew it. Have
a good night, ladies and Gentlemen,
I’m going to climb by myself, and
you guys better not bother me after I make it.


Echo’s face is smooth like marble, a little uncomfortable on her lips.


ECHO ( V.O.)
I saw his eyes
I felt his breath.
Bitter and sweet
are the two sides of the coin.


Mount spits on the stage and leaves. Curses and anger arouse in the audience. Echo stands in the back, bitter, sweet, yes, her eyes never leave the wheelchair. Music starts, it’s party time, people starts dancing and having a good time.

Suddenly Mount rushes to the center of the stage. The music stops.


MOUNT( CON’T)
I’m not finished yet. Has anyone
out there noticed the small things of
life, the trees, the flowers,
don’t you think it’s miracle? Sure it is,
the blue sky, the bright colorful sunshine?
A grain of sand? A water drop on grass tip?
A Stranger’s smile? A gentle touch of
the wind? Who has noticed it?
It makes me cry… a 42 years old man…

Echo’s eyes show she is so touched at this moment.


MOUNT( CON’T)
Yes, a drop of water on the grass tip in
the morning sun? A ray of light in the bleakest afternoon?
And a bird, a bird’s singing, is that beautiful? It touches my
heart every time when I see them, beauty are everywhere,
we just have to open our heart to see it, we great human
always ignore those called small things, and we pay
attention to those so called Big. From a drop
of water sees the whole world, from a grain of sand sees the
whole cosmos, “In the perception of
the smallest is the secret of clear vision; in the
guarding of the weakest is the secret of all strength.”
Lao Tzu, a guy 2500 years ago said it in ancient China.
Open your heart, and you will see miracles
are just right in the corner.”

ECHO smiles. Her eyes are sparking shinning in the blue color lights of the club.


Flash back:
EXT/INT. ECHO’S HOUSE. CHINA.

A little Chinese girl walking home, crying.

MOM
(In Chinese)
What’s wrong?
Someone hit you?

Little Girl
( In Chinese)
(Wipes her tears)
No, they hurt all the flowers in the garden.


She points to the outside. Her mom holds her little body tightly.


INT. CLUB. EVENING.

Her eyes are wet. She still focuses on Mount, thrilled.


ECHO ( V.O.)
Where can we go?
What can we see?
Where are you gonna to stay?

What’s tomorrow?
Where is today and yesterday
I don’t know, I fall in love with you
Cause I saw your soul.
Cause I saw your sorrow.

I love people,
I love you,
I love the sky filled with light.

I love your eyes filled with tears.
I love to see you cry,
I love to see you alive.
I love to see you in LOVE.

That’s what I wanted to say to him, to whisper, to, claim, to embrace.
My heart was beating like thunderstorm,
I thought I was melting a cold hard iceberg,
finally I saw a clear stream water coming
out of a giant iron mountain. He is s soft
man, a compassionate being. He has
a good heart. And I knew it, since the first
moment I saw him passing by in front of my lawn.

MOUNT comes to ECHO. The crowd is loud, the music finally arrives. All the beautiful words like bubbles buried in the noise and the big empty stage. It seems nothing happened. People are dancing, drinking, flirting, no one gives them second thought.

Echo dances around him with the wheelchair. Mount is pretty good moving the wheelchair around, he follows her around. They are dancing. Echo has a hot red dress on, it is so vivid, and vibrating dazzling. They are laughing, having a good time.

ECHO( V.O.)
I felt like a gypsy floating with the wind…
Yes, every day I was newborn…

Mount laughs hard, he is drunk, he is happy, he is enjoying himself, he moves the wheelchair around Echo with the beat of the music. They are dancing, laughing, flying.

MOUNT
Funny, funny. Nothing is funny,
baby, nothing is funny…(still moving the
wheelchair around dancing around Echo)

Suddenly, he starts laughing, really hard. She knows he is drunk, also sad also, she can see his pain from his laugh, the louder the laugh, the sadder the heart.


MOUNT
What do you think about my speech?

ECHO
“Open your heart, and you will see miracles
are just right in the corner.” I like that.

MOUNT
You think I will make it huh? With this special leg.

ECHO
I never doubt it.

MOUNT
(sarcastic)
You’re right.

MOUNT (CON’T)
You are lying to me ? why can’t you be
honest to me Echo? Just once? Be Honest
to me, tell me the truth!

ECHO
I’m honest, I was
telling you the truth.

MOUNT
(angry)
You are a liar!

She tries to hold him, he pushes her arm away.

MOUNT
You’re just like anybody else, have pity
for me, you think I’m a cripple,
can’t do nothing, a loser…

Echo stands there, in pain.

ECHO
I will be right back.

She turns and leaves for the restroom. Three guys walking toward him, Strong, evil looking. They are cursing, they beat him up, Mount tries to fight back, but he can’t. He is in the wheelchair after all. They leave him alone after his nose coming out of blood, and his neck, forehead is bleeding…Echo comes back, see Mount’s bleeding…She sees three guys turn around give her the fingers with evil laughs. She is in panic, she takes out her handkerchief wipe his blood.


INT. MOUNT’S HOUSE.

Echo washes his wounds, using cottons, and medicine which can stop bleeding. Mount sits on bed.


MOUNT
I thought I was going to die. I fell
from 10000feet.
But I survived…
(pause)
What nourish me destroy me.

ECHO
You didn’t die.

She touches his finger tips. Close shot of the magical connection of the Finger-TIPS, and the light coming from it.


MOUNT
No, I didn’t.

Mount’s eating the Lemon Chicken she just brought.

MOUNT
How did you know my favorite
dish is Lemon Chicken?

ECHO
I know everything about you.

Silence. She is still watching him Mount chewing her Lemon Chicken. She’s lost in blankness.

MOUNT
What else you know about me?

ECHO
I know he is an angel and he is
going to create miracles. Cause he is a mirale himself.
( she stops and looks at him.)
He is not a dancer, he is the dance)

MOUNT
Haha! That’s you!
You are the dance.

ECHO
We all are.



EXT. MEADOW. PARK. Los Angeles – Morning

A 5 years old Chinese girl chases a little boy on the field. They are running, screaming.

FIVE YEARS OLD ECHO
I got you, I got you!

Finally she grabs him, and he falls right in the grass. They both close their eyes. When she opens hers, she sees this little boy already becomes a 40 years old man, lying in the meadow with eyes closed. It’s Mount.


FIVE YEARS OLD ECHO
Are you tired , MOUNT? What’s wrong?
You don’t like to play with me?

The little girl has little sadness on her face.

Mount suddenly opens his eyes.

MOUNT
I got you now!

He is so happy and picks her up over his head, and kisses her on the cheek. When he puts her down, they both lying down, like a father and a child. She opens her eyes wide looking at the man’s face, the man no longer exists, it’s a bird. He becomes a bird.


FIVE YEARS OLD ECHO
(mumbles)
Mount…

The little girl kneels on the ground. Puts the bird on her palm, it’s a wounded bird, it’s blue, gentle, beautiful wings, she gently touches the bird , murmuring some loving words. When she stands up, turns back, sees grown-up Echo wears a white skirt, long hair, the little girl disappears, Echo opens her hand, a feather comes out, a golden, feather, the feather flies to the sky and disappears over the desert.


ECHO ( V.O.)
Times does NOT exist,
ONLY dreams.
Everything is connected.
we are ALL spirits.


INT. MOUNT’S HOUSE. ( CON’T)

She shows him a picture of her mom with her father.

MOUNT
Your parents?

ECHO
Yes.

MOUNT
That’s the guy who attempted to climb
the Everest! ( he points the guy on the left.)

MOUNT
What’s this?(he noticed Echo wearing
an Jade necklace, looks old and very ancient.)

ECHO
My mom left for me.

MOUNT
Oh, that’s beautiful.
.

ECHO
We both are fascinated by the extremes,
the highest mountain, the biggest desert.
We are the same. We share the same soul.


EXT. Sahara.
The endless gold sand stretching alone over the crystal blue ocean…and the red crane flying over…

ECHO ( V.O.)
We are never separate, no matter where you are,
no matter where you go, you know
there is a voice deep down, and that will set you free.
Heaven is here.
Right here on earth,
We just have to allow it to happen.


Mount is just listening, he is looking at her, his emotions is evolved. He says nothing , but his mind is disappearing in the thinnest air…the summit which’s sky high.


ECHO ( CON’T)
You are rigid and tough from outside.
But I know you have a beautiful heart,
it’s soft and gentle. Lucid and clear.
Just like the beautiful water string running
through my heart. Everyone has a shell.
But that’s ONLY fear. You know you have
so much love to give and you know you
are love, and this world depends on YOU.
You are so important, to me, to this WORLD, to yourself,
Cause nothing is insignificant. Our
deepest fear is NOT we are inadequate,
our deepest fear is we are powerful beyond measure.

ECHO ( CON’T)
Get busy living or get busy of dying.

MOUNT
Get busy living or get busy of dying.
Who said it? Sounds familiar,
Shawshank Redemption?

ECHO
(sighs)
Yes.

MOUNT
You saw the movie?

ECHO
Yes.
It’s my favorite.

He looks at her with astonishment.


INT. ROB’S HOUSE. BEDROOM.

Dark. The light is off. He tries to take her cloths off.
She crawls in the corner of the bed.

ECHO
I don’t feel like tonight,( pause)
I don’t feel like every night!!

ROB
What do you mean? Everything has
a cost, I saved you!
Come on, baby…
(He is drunk.)

He starts kissing his neck, grabbing her arms.

ECHO( screaming)
This is IT!!!
STOP!!

She pushes him away.


INT. BEDROOM.

She is sleeping, then we see Mount in the room, look at her. Nobody around. The room is dazzling bright. Rob’s not there.


MOUNT
ECHO. ECHO! Guess who I am!!
I know everything about you.
I know everything about you.
(Cold penetrating voice matches his marble pale face)


She is dreaming, sweating, little smile in the corner of her lips.
She wakes up.
It’s a dream.


INT. ROB’S HOUSE.

Echo and Rob are eating dinner. She looks sad, she never looks happy when she is in this house. Rob is finished and put his bowl on the table.


ROB
I have a meeting now, after you done,
clean the table, do the laundry,
iron my shirt, and wash the floor,
I have a friend will visit tomorrow.

ECHO
Jack called you.

ROB

Jack?
Fuck him, a greedy bustard, tell him don’t ever fucking
call me any more!!


INT. Laundry Room.

The dryer is running. Echo stares at it.

The music “ Who I am” starts in the background.

As the music goes. She is washing the floor, knocks out the vases.

She put cloths into the dryer.
Then just sitting there looking at the cloths dancing freely in the dryer, dazed.


INT. ROB’S HOUSE. DINNING TABLE.


ROB
My friends said they saw you were with a guy,
a guy who has no fucking legs, who is it?

ECHO
(serious)
A friend.


ROB
A friend?
You did not have sex with him,
Didn’t you? Since he only has one leg…
or you do want to have sex with him?

Her face becoming pale.

ECHO
I don’t know what you are talking about.

ROB
You know what I’m talking about,
don’t pretend you are innocent,

ECHO
I am innocent.
I am always innocent.
(calm)

ROB
So, Who is that guy? Did he fuck you?
Did he fuck you like I did? Or you want to tell me
you falling in love
with him? Don’t forget you can’t love,
cause you are MINE,
I own you!
I saved you,
don’t ever forgot that!

ROB(CON’T)
You can’t see him any more,
If you ever see that cripple again…,
I will kill you, you understand?!

He beats her up to the floor. He grabs her arms harshly, and starts choking her, and she could not breath. .


ROB
Why you got home so late last night? Every night??!
Where did you go? Someone told
me you have been hanging out with a
garbage man, is that true? And you
fucking whore! And that’s the guy
who passed by my house the other
day! Did you tell him to come to my
house? Yes, I know, you seduced him,
you stupid little fucking whore! ( He
starts beating her up. Blood coming
from her nose. Her cloths torn up)


ROB( CON’T)
This is IT! You can’t see that guy no more!
You understand? ( He uses finger points to her nose)
Otherwise I will KILL YOU!
You little whore!You never loved me!
( He slabs her again) I feed you, I house,
I actually saved your life. And you’re
fucking someone else? Is he good? Is he really good?


ECHO
I hate you, ROB
I want to tell you
that how much I hate you!


He hits her again.

ROB
You know you are NOT supposed to be here!
They can always send you back to your stupid country,
And you don’t have to be here!

He kicks her again on the floor.

ECHO
I love HIM!!!!!!!!!!!!!
( uses all her strength, she tries to get up)

ROB
What did you say?? You love him!
Go to HELL, you can DIE NOW!!!

ECHO
I LOVE HIM! I LOVE HIM!!!!
………………

He pulls her into a little dark room, and locks the door.


INT. LITTLE DARK ROOM.

Echo sits on the floor, tears coming form her face, from all over.
She is beat up. Her body, but not her spirit. Blood all over her face, his cloth is torn. Her eyes like peaches. She looks around the room, it’s dark.
She sees some pieces of paper on the floor, she puts them together, it’s the picture of Sahara, which she brought from China, also, the picture of her parents…tears falling down like pearls to the golden color of Sahara, and her mom’s eyelids.

She sees many bags lying on the floor. She stands up, opens it, it’s white powder. She smells and becomes suspicious.

Someone is knocking the door, LOUD. She quickly closes the bag and moves to the corner.

ROB. ( V.O.)
You have to stay there tonight! Honey
, sorry, I have a party going on
here tonight, and I don’t want you embarrass me !
You can never escape from my palm!

Echo closes her eyes painfully, blood dropping on her face. She wipes with her hands. Suddenly, she hears a lot of noise, a lot of people coming
to the house. Then, the music, the laugher and the talking. It is loud, but she can hear every single word they say. She put her ear next to the door.

ROB (V.O.)
How much you want to pay?

Man ( V.O.)
Five thousands.

ROB (V.O.)
Five thousands? Come on,
twenty thousands, you promised me…
How can you change your MIND like that?!
She is young and fresh.
She is beautiful…

MAN(V.O.)
20,000 $ brother, no problem,
She is a pretty woman, I know, and
I love Asian chicks, is she good?


ROB
She is so good, man…!
It’s guaranteed!
( laughing)

Echo is dazed, shocked.


MAN (V.O.)
OK, Let me think about it.
Before anything else, I will have to meet the girl.

Nice body…
Where is she now?

ROB (V.O.)
She is sleeping, next Mon,
she will be ready, she is sick now.
Come on over next Mon, you will meet her,
and you will know what I’m talking
about. ( starts laughing.)


MAN (V.O.)
Are you sure?


ROB (V.O.)
I’m sure.


The laughter mixed with danger.

She closes her eyes. Breathes deeply. She can’t hear any words no more, just noise and chaos, her face is peaceful. She glances the pieces of the pictures. The music starts. She starts organize her stuff, quickly. She put her belongings, which is all in a bag pack, there is not much, just a piece of cloth from her mom, her precious stones, and her parent’s pictures.

Suddenly, Rob breaks in, she suddenly stops.

ROB
(drunk)
Are you ok? Baby, if you want to
have a drink, come party with us.”

She shakes her head with fear and nervousness.
In his hand was beer bottle. He slams the door.


INT. MOUNT’S HOUSE. EVENING.

Mount sits on his bed, drinking beer. A few empty beer bottles lying on the floor. He stares at the picture of him and his father sitting on his bed table. He was five years old. Smiling, like a prince, his father holding him, he was so handsome, and he looked like just a daddy.


INT. MOUNT’S HOUSE.NIGHT. (CON’T)

He can’t sleep, tosses around in bed. He sees ECHO appears in front of him, white dress, her face is luminous. She looks like an angel.


ECHO
The only thing stops you,
is fear.

Her voice is soft and glowing. Divine light coming from her, shines on him, Mount is sitting on his wheelchair, dazed.

Suddenly, he wakes up. She disappears.
He starts crying, very hard.
Then laughing…
Joy and tears are the two sides of a coin.
He is coming to the awakening.


INT. DARK ROOM.

Echo’s eyes are closed. In her hand, is a bag, the noise of the living room, she can still hear it.

The music starts: “Love is stronger than fear”.


EXT. SAHARA.

She is riding a big giant phoenix over the Sahara desert. The wind blows her hair up to the sky.


INT. ROB’S HOUSE. ( CON’T)

The living room is messy. Beer bottles are all over the place. Rob falls asleep on the couch.

Echo comes out from the dark room. Rob is sleeping on the couch, he is snaring. Echo tries NOT to make any noise, she looks through the window, IT’S raining…she thinks for a second, glances the room one last time, the kitchen, the bedroom, around the house, she closes her eyes, a drop of tear comes down, then she quickly walks to the door, turns around and sees ROB is still sleeping. She is OUT! She closes the door gently. She is outside, the thunderstorm is coming from the dark sky. The rain is pouring…she walks to the rain…running…let the water clean her body…she run and run, finally sitting at a bus stop, resting for a second. The rain is still pouring, it’s quite, nobody on the street, just the rain, it’s two in the morning, ONLY a few cars passing by, just the rain, the joy , the pain on her face, she opens her face to the sky, let the rain wash OUT her pain, her past away…she is standing still in the rain for a few, the joy, the tears, mixed with the cooling gift from heaven, then she starts running again.


EXT. MOUNT’S HOUSE. (CON’T)

She is sitting under the roof of MOUNT’S HOUSE. Sees a black cat passing by, the rain is still pouring, she closes her eyes, falls asleep, a big smile on her face.


EXT. MOUNT’S BEDROOM (CON’T)

He is sleeping, Echo walks to his bed, still in white, long dazzling hair , black, she looks like the angel from heaven, she kisses him on the his forehead, then whispers:


ECHO
I’ve loved you before your existence.



EXT. MOUNT’S HOUSE. MORNING.

The sun is OUT. The sun is shining on her face. She is still sleeping, in sweet dreams. wounds on her face , neck, but she sleeps peacefully. A Cab stops by her. She awakes. The door of the house is open, a man comes OUT. He is no longer in a wheelchair, he gets a prosthetic leg, a cane on his right hand. He wears a white T-shirt and black trousers. He really dresses up, brand new look.

He sees ECHO. She gets up, ( Smiling)

ECHO
I have made my decision.

MOUNT
What decision?

ECHO
Sahara.
(pause)
I’m here to say Good-bye.

She takes out a silk wrap from her bag, hands to him. He opens it, it’s a white silk handkerchief, with a red phoenix on it. She is smiling, a drop of tear hanging over the corner of her eye, but she is smiling, the transcendent smile is like never before, the beautiful light sunshine like angel touches her skin, for the first time, she feels the warmth.


ECHO
I am free NOW.


MOUNT
I am too.(smiling)
I’m going to NEPAL Tomorrow,
to realize my childhood dream.



Her smile is radiant, they are facing each other, standing, two feet in between.

A close shot of Mount’s new leg.


MOUNT
I’ m going to visit my father first though.

Echo smiles, the lucid bright shining smile we see it for the first time, they both stand there read each other’s eyes, celebrating the burst of happiness which resides in their hearts.

ECHO
Thank you.


MOUNT
She will become a desert woman, and
I will not recognize her. Her skin will be
just like the golden sand, shining and
solid, and she will teach me how
to speak that strange language.

Silence. Just the deep connection and joy. And pure understanding and LOVE.

The cab driver standing against the car, he gets in.


MOUNT
(turns to her)
I’m NOT worried about you.

ECHO
Me neither.

Her eyes are crystal shining. She is smiling. Like morning sun light blossoming.


EXT. ROB’S HOUSE.

Two police cars stop at ROB’S HOUSE.
They knock on the door. Rob is still sleeping.
He wakes up by the police.

POLICEMAN
Mr. Davilman,
,We have been
looking for you for so long…
Go with us.

They handicap him.

ROB
What did I do?

POLICEMAN
You know what you did. You are guilty
of two Crimes. Selling cocaine, and
Torture a young teenage girl…

They take him away. An old Italian lady shows up at the door, holding a Chinese puppy.

TITTY
(still the same high voice with an accent)
God does punish those who harmed others.
GOD is righteous.
I finally believed it,
Karma, karma, all is karma.
( she is combing her hair, walks away.)

TITTY
(mumbles to herself)
My angel is coming back…(petting the dog)




EXT. SAHARA.

The endless desert is stretching into the horizon, Golden sand, the ripples the dunes display under the mother earth sky. Echo wears a long long white skirt with infinite red roses n it. She is getting water from a well with local African women. There are two old African women dress in black with the veils covered the faces, just the eyes can be seen.


EXT. SAHARA.

Echo is dancing with a few local men and women, the African dance, by the fire, under the sky, in the endless ancient sand, a few guys are hitting the drums. The beat is full of vibration and vitality.

She is lying over the sand by the sunset. The wind blows her hair all over her face.

ECHO( V.O.)
I loved the desert life, it made me
complete, it made me one with nature.
I thought I was the luckiest woman in
the world. But only one thing in my mind…


EXT. MOUNT EVEREST. DAY.

Mount sits on the top with eyes closed, head is up to the air, he is in the endless snow…enjoys the thinnest air, the whitest clouds. The moment, the pinnacle light on his heart, and there, he sees heaven.

A few aerial shots of EVEREST.


EXT. SAHARA. DAY.

Echo sits by the sea, alone, another side is the endless sand, the flame sunset dyes the sea and the sand red, a flock of red cranes fly over her head, the surface of the ocean is peaceful and sparkling shining, and that’s the marvel of Africa,



ECHO ( V.O.)
How many times we have to wait in
life? Everyday, I watch the sunrise
and sunset, I see how they born
and how they die, everyday, in my
deep of my heart, there is a part,
like mountain lake, deep, and serene,
and I knew, someday he will come…



INT. MOUNT’S HOUSE.
Mount is packing for Everest.

CUT TO:

EXT. A series shots of the snow-covered Himalayas,

ECHO ( V.O.)
I see you, a genius with the soul of snow
I see you, a permanent voice standing on my roof
I see you walking in the desert,
With the wind between the toe

I see you, standing on the top of the Everest,
With tears falling down on my finger tip


EXT SAHARA. DAY.

Many tents in the desert. People are walking around, playing, laughing…
Colorful cloth, dark shining skin, and the faith on their faces. It’s close to sunset, the beautiful soft sunlight touches the whole desert. A little Asian girl sitting next to the tent looking towards the west, in her right hand, she is holding a camel skull…

BLACK LADY
(Arabic)
Come dance with us!

She grabs Echo’s hands, she gets up and join the group. She starts dancing with them.

CUT TO:
EXT SAHARA. EVENING.

Echo is dancing alone…freely, in a GOLDEN dress, wearing exotic jewelries. She looks like the girl has no country, a universal citizen…she just dances…like she is breathing

Flash back:
Echo is talking to MOUNT…

ECHO
I just want to dance , breathe…


FADE in.
The desert again…dancing. She let the wind shape her body, let the sand shape her language…

ECHO ( V.O.)
Three years have passed,
I dance, I breathe…
Everyday I dream…
The same.


EXT SAHARA.DAY.

ECHO sits, playing the sand, she finds a shell. Two African women were around her, one younger, one older.

ECHO
(towards to the older woman,
Showing her the shell in her hand)
This desert used to be a sea…

BLACK WOMAN
(looking at her astonished)
Yes.


CUT TO:
A few aerial shots of Himalaya, endless snow…white clouds. The kingdom of heaven,

EXT/INT TENT. SAHARA.
Echo is cooking in a stove in her tent.

EXT. Sahara Desert. ( three years later)

Tents. Hot sun. The solid tanned skin. Echo is getting the water from the well. She is very much like African now, she dresses like an African, cloth wraps her head, she wears a golden color dress. Her skin is dark, shining, like gold. There is a big black vessel on her shoulder. She fills the water, about to leave, looking over the horizon, with anxiety.


BLACK WOMAN
ECHO!ECHO!

She turns around, and sees the black woman with colorful cloth covered all her body, including her face. The same woman asked her to dance, and the same woman she shows the shell to. She runs towards Echo. with something in her hand. She runs so fast, like wind.

BLACK WOMAN
(Arabic)
Your letter! Your letter!!

ECHO
(Arabic)
MINE?


BLACK WOMAN
(Arabic)
YES!



She hands her the letter. Echo sets down the vessel. She is so nervous, she spills all the water. She looks at the envelope, the mark of the stamp, it says: NEPAL. That’s it, No Address. She opens it. The African woman standing next to her, looking. A white lotus comes out, her heart is beating fast, she smiles it, it’s a little dry, but still shining like angel white. She opens the letter.

MOUNT (V.O.)
Dear Echo, I hope this letter find you, I hope this letter find you well. I still remember the last time I saw you, three years ago, can you believe that? Time flies between the blinks. I did visit my father, and I forgave him, he died three days later. Then I went to Nepal, I tried to climb the Everest, twice, can’t you believe it? Twice in three years. After the first failure, I came back to the U.S., got more training, both mentally and physically, especially mentally.

I can’t tell you what happened during those two attempts, first time, I almost died…frozen to death, second time, almost closed to the fourth camp, I wanted to give up…I was so scared, I scared I would never see you again…I looked at the frozen sky, and I was thinking about you, I wish I could see you here, but nothing, just the endless icy cold air…You told me your father died here, you told me this is paradise if there is one on earth, and I believed you, yes, you breathe the purest air, and you are free, this is Heaven on earth…everything was perfect, but I couldn’t do it, I only wished you were there, with me, so I would feel SAFE again, somehow I always thought you are my guarding angel, without you, I will be trapped…I missed you, at the ten thousand feet high…in a place no one would imagine, yes, I missed you. As you said, we are NOT separate…we are ONE, and you never left me.I cried, my tears frozen becoming part of the ashes, and I only had ONE wish.

Now I’m climbing again, the third time. I’m writing this letter at my base camp, I hope this letter will find you, I hope this letter will find you WELL.


ECHO
(Arabic)

May l3 rd. (Echo looks at the date)
Today is the 30th , right? ( to the African woman)


AFRICAN LADY
(Arabic)
YES.

She looks at ECHO anxiously.

ECHO gets up slowing, her body is trembling…She breaths DEEPLY.

ECHO
(Arabic)
Well, I hope he is still ALIVE.

She looks into the horizon, the endless gold sand, and the mother earth’s breathing. She does NOT move. She hears some noise, from distance, it looks like something is moving!

AFRICAN LADY
(Arabic)
A car!

They both see a jeep coming towards them. It’s getting louder and louder. The Jeep is getting closer and closer, The African woman is very curious, she runs towards the car, Echo stands there still, she holds the breath.

She can’t see who is in the car cause the sunlight. She put her hand right above her forehead to cover the sun, she sees the jeep is closer and closer, only 50 feet from her. Now she sees it, a middle–aged white man, a man she has been known since the previous life, he stops the car, the guy she has been dreaming about every night is, now, smiling at her in a white T-shirt, blue pants.

He’s out of the car…the two eyes meet, the whole world melts. He’s walking towards her, slowly, with a cane. On his left hand, he is holding a white lotus ( as he promises) His eyes are full of f vitality. He looks tanner, solid and strong. Echo is running towards him ( slow motion), tears coming from her eyes, the vanishes in the wind, in his right hand, he is holding something, she sees it, it’s the white Silk Handkerchief that Echo gave to him. It’s still white, it’s still red, the bird is still flying on it!
She bursts into bliss. Now they are standing before each other, he hands her the handkerchief, it’s dazzling under the sun, they are hugging…


Her skirt is dancing. The morning sun touches the skin softly like she never before. The white handkerchief is flying to the camera, then high above to the sky, it’s floating in the wind of Sahara, it’s still snow-white background, and the phoenix on it is ever red. It slowly becomes a real phoenix. The camera moves away and goes above them, they are still hugging, no language.

…then the camera slowly pulls back, the two get smaller and smaller, eventually become one with the sand, the endless golden sand in a foreign land which will shape both of their fates

ECHO(V.O.)

When the sun goes down,
Dear! looking into the horizon
over the Pacific ocean,
the red ball shines for who?
The waves ring for who?
and your heart BEATING for who?

and your voice, your dreams singing for
who?

Windflowers, beautiful, windflowers,
I can’t stop touching you,
Ancient windflowers
I LOVE YOU.


“ Windflower” starts playing in the background.

Windflowers, windflowers
　　my father told me not to go
　　near them
　　He said he feared them always
　　and he told me that they
　　carried him away
Windflowers, beautiful windflowers
　　　I couldn't wait to touch them
　　　to smell them I held them
　　　closely
　　　And now I cannot break away
　　　Their sweet bouquet disappears
　　　like the vapor in the desert
　　　So take a warning, son
Windflowers, ancient
　　windflowers
　　their beauty capture every
　　young dreamer
　　who lingers near them
　　But ancient windflowers,
　　I love you.



THE END.