The Rapture

	INTERIOR: TELEPHONE COMPANY INFORMATION OFFICE. DAY. 
	We move slowly through a crowded office. A hundred 
	information operators in booths. SHARON works at a computer 
	terminal. Close on her. She's on a kind of autopilot as she 
	does her job, and the people talking to her hear so little 
	personality that her humanity barely registers. That she 
	might have a beauty that is becoming hollow, or a private 
	life that would astonish them -- this, no one thinks about. 
	She watches the clock. Five minutes to six.

				SHARON 
		Please hold for the number. 
		Operator 134, what city please? 
			(Pause, as she 
			types in the name.) 
		Is that a business or residence? 
		Please hold for the number. 
			(Pause.) 
		Operator 134. What city please? 
			(Pause.) 
		How do you spell that?

	The clock. Two minutes to six.

				SHARON 
			(pause)
		Please hold for the number. 
			(Pause.) 
		Operator 134. What city please? 
			(Pause.) 
		Is that a business or residence? 
			(Pause.) 
		Please hold for the number. 

	Pause. Behind her, a woman, another OPERATOR, waits for the 
	chair. 

	Six o'clock.
 
	SHARON gets up. The other OPERATOR takes her place and takes 
	her headphones. SHARON starts to stand as she begins the 
	next sentence. Pause.

				SHARON 
		Operator 134. Is that a business or
 		residence? ... 

	And the other OPERATOR takes her headset and completes the 
	number as SHARON leaves her post.

				OPERATOR
		Please hold for the number. 

	SHARON walks away. 

	Cut to:
 


	EXTERIOR: STREET. NIGHT.
	And now we see her sitting in the back of a Jaguar 
	convertible. VIC is driving the car. VIC looks to someone 
	offscreen. 

				VIC 
		What about them?
 
				SHARON 
		No. He's wearing a rug, and she has 
		a nose job. 

				VIC 
		It's not a bad nose job. 

				SHARON 
		They're all bad.

	Now we see VIC. He is a beardless werewolf [I mean, 
	spiritually]. SHARON is excited. She likes danger. 
	Underneath, we feel her deep exhaustion. 

				SHARON 
		Let's go to the Continental Club. 

				VIC 
		Really?
 
				SHARON 
		Come on, Vic, you don't want to go 
		back to the airport. 

	He's thinking. 

				VIC 
		I like the airport. I like the bars 
		at the airport hotels. I like 
		tourists. 
			(Meaning the bar:) 
		I don't want that tonight.
 
				SHARON 
		What's the matter, are you scared 
		of getting dirty? 

				VIC 
			(uncertain)
		Maybe.
 
				SHARON 
		C'mon, Vic. That's the place to 
		start. Let's have some fun.

	From her challenging smile, his laugh, we cut to:
 


	INTERIOR: BAR. NIGHT.
	A rummy's bar in Hollywood. SHARON and VIC lean against a 
	wall, drinking from bottles. VIC studies a couple sitting 
	alone at a table, side by side. Sharp-featured, long-haired, 
	not talking, they are smoking.
 
				SHARON 
		I like them. 

				VIC 
		You would.
 
	SHARON and VIC walk across the floor to the table. They 
	slide into the seat facing the couple. Call her DIANA. 
	Call him RANDY.

				VIC 
		I'm Vic.
 
				SHARON 
		I'm Sharon. 

				VIC 
		Hi.
 
	RANDY and DIANA are quietly amused.
 
				RANDY 
		What brings you to this side of 
		town? 

				SHARON 
		We got tired of shooting the dogs
		where the rich people live.
 
				DIANA 
		What are you looking for now?
 
				SHARON 
		Now we're looking for something a 
		little less obvious.
 
				VIC 
		But fun. Definitely fun. We're very 
		social people. 

				RANDY 
		You might be asking for something 
		you couldn't handle.

				SHARON 
		I can handle  it.
 
				RANDY 
 		What if things go out of control? 

				SHARON 
		What's control got to do with it?
 
				VIC 
		I think he wants to find out if 
		you have any limits. 

				SHARON 
		Tell him that I haven't found them 
		yet. 

				VIC 
		Sharon hasn't found her limits yet.
 
				DIANA 
		Talk, talk, talk. 
			(To RANDY:) 
		Let's go somewhere. 

				VIC 
		I have a store. Let's go to the store.
 
	They stand up. VIC takes DIANA'S hand. RANDY and SHARON 
	follow. 

	Cut to:
 

  
	INTERIOR: VIC'S STORE. NIGHT.
	VIC leads the others in, turning on lights and slow dance 
	music (Little Richard singing "Directly from My Heart"). We 
	move through the store to a far corner, to a model bedroom.
 
	SHARON reaches out to RANDY and pulls him to her. RANDY lets 
	go of DIANA and dances with SHARON. They dance to be watched. 
	They are moving toward a bed. DIANA takes VIC'S hand. They 
	dance. A blues song plays.
 
				RANDY 
		Come here. Come here and have a seat. 

				SHARON 
		Come on, let's fool around. 

	RANDY lifts SHARON into his arms. 

				SHARON 
		Ohh. What a man.

				RANDY 
		Nice store you got here, Vic. Nice.

	SHARON dances slowly with RANDY; they grind into each other, 
	putting on a show. SHARON and VIC watch each other.
 
				DIANA 
		Come on. Show me what you mean by 
		fun. 

				VIC 
		Unnh-uhh.
 
	SHARON sees this and shakes her head. DIANA goes to RANDY 
	and SHARON.
 
				SHARON 
		Vic likes to watch. 

				RANDY 
		Watch this.
 
	And we stay with Vic's face as the other three fall on the 
	bed. 

	Dissolve to:
 
 

	INTERIOR: VIC'S STORE. NIGHT.
	SHARON, RANDY, and DIANA on a bed. Their sex is a ritual, 
	and the surprise here is their need. SHARON is the subject. 
	They finish. They are still for a moment. SHARON gets up. We 
	watch RANDY watching her.
 
	SHARON sits on the arm of a leather couch, smoking. RANDY 
	comes over to her. Behind them, Vic begins fucking DIANA. 
	SHARON looks grim. RANDY studies her.

				RANDY 
		Was that far enough? 

	SHARON turns to look at him.

				SHARON 
		Randy, right?
 
				RANDY 
		Hey, you remembered my name. 

				SHARON 
		Hi, Randy. 

				RANDY 
		Was it enough?
      
				SHARON 
		That was ... interesting.
 
	The camera pulls back. We hear DIANA as VIC tries to come. 

	Cut to:
 
 

	INTERIOR: TELEPHONE COMPANY INFORMATION OFFICE. DAY. 
	SHARON works at a computer terminal. Close on her. 

				SHARON 
		Operator 134, what city please? 
			(Pause, as she 
			types in the name.) 
		Is that a business or residence? 
			(Pause.) 
		Hold for the number. 
			(Pause.) 
		This is operator 134. What city? 
			(Pause.) 
		Can you spell that? 
			(Pause.) 
		Is that D as in Dick? 
			(Pause.) 
		Please hold for the number. 

	Cut to:
 


	INTERIOR: TELEPHONE COMPANY VENDING-MACHINE ROOM. DAY. 
	Coffee break. Move through the room. Everyone sits alone, 
	recovering from the phones. SHARON enters staring into space. 
	Behind her are a group of workers, talking quietly but 
	passionately. At first, SHARON doesn't listen. Bits of the 
	following drift into consciousness. 

				WORKER #1
		Hi, Wayne. It was much stronger last 
		night, wasn't it?
 
				WORKER #2
		By a factor of five.
 
				WORKER #3
		It was almost like the first time, 
		I mean, it was that clear.
 
				WORKER #1
		And the horn, the sound of a horn, 
		that was new.
 
				WORKER #2
		One note, a very clear tone. I found 
		it on my piano; it's B flat.
     
				WORKER #1
		What do you think?
 
	SHARON has leaned back in her chair to eavesdrop.

				WORKER #3
		I think it's going to happen, and 
		soon. Have you been praying?
 
	WORKER #2, facing SHARON'S back, sees her leaning in and 
	puts a finger to his lips.

				WORKER #2
		Yes, as much as I can.
 
	The other two glance over their shoulders at SHARON. She 
	looks over her shoulder and sees them look at her. She pulls 
	her chair forward.

				WORKER #3 
		What does The Boy say? 

				WORKER #1
		Not yet.

	Cut to:
 
 

	INTERIOR: SHARON'S APARTMENT. NIGHT.
	She is in bed with RANDY. Under the sheet, he strokes her. 
	She comes, pushing his hand away.
  
				SHARON 
		Tell me a story. 

				RANDY 
		Hmmm. 

	He tries to start again.
 
				SHARON 
		No, no, no. I already know that 
		story. Tell me something new.
 
	He thinks about it.
 
				RANDY 
		I've done things for money. 

				SHARON 
		Like what?
 
				RANDY 
		Things I wish I hadn't. 

				SHARON 
		Like what?
 
				RANDY 
		I killed a man once. 

				SHARON 
		For how much? 

				RANDY 
		For a thousand dollars. 

				SHARON 
		That's not very much money.
 
				RANDY 
		It was a lot then. All I can say 
		now is, I wish I hadn't.

				SHARON 
		Why?
 
				RANDY 
		'Cause it stays with me. I mean, I 
		killed a man. I took his life, his 
		only life. That's bad. 

				SHARON 
		Did you know him? 

				RANDY 
		No.
 
				SHARON 
		Well, why did the people who paid 
		you want him dead?
 
				RANDY 
		There are some questions you don't 
		ask. After that, they offered me 
		another job, the same kind of job, 
		better money.
 
				SHARON 
		And did you do it?
 
				RANDY 
		No. But I think about that killing a 
		lot. I think, you know, if we weren't 
		taught that killing is bad, would I 
		still feel as bad?

				SHARON 
		I don't know.
 
				RANDY 
		You don't know. Are you scared of me 
		now? 

				SHARON 
		Did anyone pay you to kill me?
 
	A long pause.
 
				RANDY 
		That was not a good year. 1975, that 
		was my best year. I was nineteen. 
		What was your best year? 

				SHARON 
		Hmmm. I guess I'm still waiting. I 
		don't know. I don't know. Everything 
		just seems so empty. Time passes so 
		quickly.
 
				RANDY 
		Yeah? I think it's kind of slow.
 
				SHARON 
		No, I mean, like a day. You know, a 
		day is always just over ... I don't 
		know what I'm trying to say. 

				RANDY 
		I think I understand.
 
				SHARON 
		Oh really? Why don't you let me in 
		on my secret. 

				RANDY 
		I think that you are depressed, and 
		I think that you should see a 
		therapist.

				SHARON 
		Oh, that's great. That's fucking 
		brilliant. 

	Cut to:
 

 
	INTERIOR: SHARON'S APARTMENT. DAY.
	SHARON pulls subscription cards out of magazines. A door 
	bell rings; then there's a knock at the door. SHARON answers 
	it. Two men wearing suits, white shirts, and dark ties are 
	there.
 
	Both are in their late thirties or early forties. In New 
	York, you would assume they were bankers or painters trying 
	to look like bankers. They are evangelists. None of the 
	evangelists in this film sound like TV preachers or have a 
	hint of the South in their accents. 

				FIRST EVANGELIST 
		You understand that these are the 
		last days. It can't go on like this. 
		God is coming back. His prophecies 
		are now being fulfilled.
 
				SECOND EVANGELIST 
		You have to accept Jesus as your 
		Lord and Savior.

				SHARON 
		Otherwise ...

				FIRST EVANGELIST 
		You won't be saved.
 
	She shuts the door. Pause. She opens it again. The men are 
	still there, still smiling.

				SECOND EVANGELIST 
		We're not trying to scare you. 

				FIRST EVANGELIST 
		No.
 
				SECOND EVANGELIST 
		Do you understand the difference 
		between righteousness and faith? 

				SHARON 
		Why don't you tell me.

				SECOND EVANGELIST 
		It's only by the grace of God you'll 
		be saved.
 
				SHARON 
		But what if I lead a good life? 
		Does it still matter if I don't 
		believe?

				FIRST EVANGELIST 
		Do you really lead a good life? 

				SHARON 
		No.
 
				SECOND EVANGELIST 
		You have to believe. If you don't, 
		you go to Hell.

				SHARON 
		Well, that doesn't seem fair.

				FIRST EVANGELIST 
		I used to think that. But then I met 
		Him. 

				SHARON 
		Who?

				SECOND EVANGELIST 
		That's what we're trying to tell you. 

				FIRST EVANGELIST 
			(from John 3:16) 
		For God so loved the world that he 
		gave his only begotten Son. That 
		whosoever should believe in Him 
		should not perish but have 
		everlasting life.
 
				SECOND EVANGELIST 
		You can have what we have. 

				FIRST EVANGELIST 
		A personal relationship with the 
		Son of God.

				SECOND EVANGELIST 
		It's hard to believe unless you 
		believe it. But when you believe it, 
		then it's easy. You just know. 

				SHARON 
		What?

				FIRST EVANGELIST 
		Him. 

				SHARON 
		How?
 
				FIRST EVANGELIST 
		Who knows? It just is. 

				SHARON 
		Right. And I'm supposed to buy this? 

	He hands her a small Bible.

				FIRST EVANGELIST 
		No. It's a gift.
 
				SECOND EVANGELIST 
		We know what you're thinking ... It 
		doesn't make sense. 

				SHARON 
		No.

				SECOND EVANGELIST 
		I was like you. 

				SHARON 
		I doubt it.

				SECOND EVANGELIST 
		No, really. 

				SHARON 
		And, like I said, I doubt it.
 
	The men turn and leave. As they walk away, SHARON speaks:

				SHARON 
		I heard someone talking about The 
		Boy? Who's The Boy?
  
				SECOND EVANGELIST 
		Some people say that he's a prophet 
		in the old tradition.

				FIRST EVANGELIST 
		And some people say there are others 
		like him, all around the country. 

				SECOND EVANGELIST 
		All around the world. 

				SHARON 
		And what do you say? 

				SECOND EVANGELIST 
		I say trust in God. 

	The SECOND EVANGELIST gives SHARON a warm smile.

				SHARON 
		Excuse me. 

	And she shuts the door. 

	Cut to:
 

 
	INTERIOR: TELEPHONE COMPANY INFORMATION OFFICE. DAY. 
	SHARON works at a computer terminal. Close on her. 

				SHARON 
		Operator 134. What city please? 
			(Pause.) 
		City please? 
			(Pause.) 
		Please hold for the number. 
			(Pause.) 
		Operator 134. What city please? 
			(Pause.) 
		Is that a business or residence?
 


	EXTERIOR/INTERIOR: SHARON'S APARTMENT. DAY.
	The phone rings. She picks up, and we hear VIC on the line. 

				SHARON 
		Hello?
 
				VIC 
			(voice-over)
		Sharon? 

				SHARON 
		Hi, Vic.
 
				VIC 
			(voice-over) 
		I dropped by a few of the hotels 
		near the airport today. You'll never 
		guess who I found. The most 
		fascinating couple, really. They're 
		from Philadelphia. Well, he's from 
		Pennsylvania and she's from Florida 
		and they're married. Isn't that 
		romantic? 

	She sees evangelists pass outside on bicycles. 

				SHARON 
		What time?
 
				VIC 
			(voice-over)
		Pick you up at nine.
 


	EXTERIOR: VIC'S WIFE'S HOUSE. NIGHT.
	SHARON looking out. Behind her, VIC is dancing with ANGIE 
	and the EXECUTIVE.
 
 

	INTERIOR: VIC'S WIFE'S HOUSE. NIGHT.

				EXECUTIVE
		Here's to open-minded people and 
		L.A., my kind of town.
 
				ANGIE
		Don't you have, uhh, 
			(to her husband while 
			she corners VIC) 
		something better to do? 

				EXECUTIVE
		I'm doing it.
 
	ANGIE laughs as the Executive goes to SHARON. She declines. 

	SHARON'S point of view as he walks back to the group. VIC 
	dances with ANGIE while the EXECUTIVE gropes her a little. 
	The EXECUTIVE unzips the back of ANGIE'S dress as he turns 
	her around, and as the dress falls away, SHARON can see a 
	tattoo through the veil of ANGIE'S long black hair.
 
	The tattoo is not finished: we see a long boat with an angel 
	blowing a horn on the bow. Behind the scene is a large pearl.

				SHARON 
		What is that?
 
				VIC 
		What are you talking about? 

				SHARON 
		She has a tattoo on her back. 

	VIC looks. 

				VIC 
		Whoa.
 
				ANGIE
		I got it when I was a kid. 

				EXECUTIVE
		This was before she met me. 

				ANGIE
		I got drunk one night.
 
				SHARON 
		One night. You had it done in one 
		night? 

				EXECUTIVE
		Well, you know how kids are. I 
		almost got a tattoo once. She was 
		drunk.
 
	ANGIE wraps herself around VIC. The naked EXECUTIVE fondles 
	SHARON while she watches VIC and ANGIE kiss and laugh, the 
	EXECUTIVE wants to get inside her, but she won't let him, he 
	can only use his hands. For a moment, she enjoys it, but the 
	pearl on ANGIE'S back is too compelling.

				SHARON 
		Angie, you got that in one night? 

				VIC 
		Maybe she doesn't want to talk about 
		it.
 
				ANGIE
		There's nothing to talk about. 

				SHARON 
		Why did you get it?
 
				VIC 
		Sharon? Can we talk about it later? 

				SHARON 
		I mean it must have been painful. 

	ANGIE realizes she has to deal with SHARON'S curiosity.

				ANGIE 
			(facing SHARON)
		I don't remember, and I don't know 
		why I got it.

	She looks at the EXECUTIVE. He gives her a compassionate look. 

				EXECUTIVE
		Its okay, Angie. I'm here. I'm with 
		you. 

				SHARON 
		Why would you get a tattoo that you 
		didn't really want? I'm sorry, I 
		don't want to make you unhappy, but 
		I really need to know. 

				ANGIE
		Why?

				SHARON 
		I don't know. I don't know. It's 
		important. 
			(She asks again:) 
		What is it?

				ANGIE
		Don't you know what's going on? 

				SHARON 
		What?

				ANGIE
		The dream? The Pearl? 

				SHARON 
		What dream? 

				EXECUTIVE
		Tell them.
 
	Cut to:



	INTERIOR: TELEPHONE COMPANY VENDING-MACHINE ROOM. DAY. 
	The three workers are sitting together, drinking coffee. 
	SHARON comes into the room and walks over to them, then sits 
	down. She acts as though she's seen the light, but she's 
	heavy-handed and obvious. 

				SHARON 
		Hi, it's a beautiful day, isn't it? 
		How are you? 

				WORKER #1 
			(cautious) 
		We're fine. And you? 

				SHARON 
		I'm fine. Now that I dream about the 
		Pearl. 

	Silence. The men watch her carefully. She becomes 
	uncomfortable, but they don't release her from their hard 
	stares. She is being evaluated.
 
				WORKER #2
		What dream would that be? 

				SHARON 
		The Pearl. I dream about the Pearl. 

				WORKER #3
		Tell us about it. 

				WORKER #1
		What does it look like?
 
				SHARON 
		You know. The Pearl. It's a big 
		pearl by a river. 

				WORKER #3
		No, it's not.
 
				WORKER #1
		You haven't seen it. 

				SHARON 
		Yes, I have.

				WORKER #2
		You can't fake it.
 
	SHARON slumps, defeated.
 
				WORKER #1
		It's a message from God. If you 
		really want it, all you have to do 
		is pray. 

				SHARON 
			(disdainfully)
		Pray. 

				WORKER #2
		He's coming back.
 
				SHARON 
		Slow down. If everybody is getting 
		this dream, how come it isn't on 
		the news?
 
				WORKER #2
		Those who need to know, know. 

				WORKER #1
		And those who don't believe won't 
		get the dream.
 
				SHARON 
		There are five billion people on the 
		planet. There's I-don't-know-how-
		many religions. Why does the God of 
		some little country on the 
		Mediterranean have to be the God for 
		everyone? Isn't that a little 
		arrogant? I mean, really? The 
		Buddhists get along okay without 
		Jesus Christ. The Hindus get along 
		okay without Jesus Christ. The 
		Moslems seem to be getting along 
		okay without Jesus Christ.

				WORKER #1
		But none of them are saved. 

	Cut to:
 

 
	INTERIOR: SHARON'S APARTMENT. NIGHT.
	SHARON comes in. She goes to the bedroom. VIC is in bed with 
	a woman.
 
				VIC 
		Sharon, this is my friend Andrea.
		Andrea is from Nebraska. Come and 
		join?

	SHARON leaves and slumps down a wall in the next room.
 


	EXTERIOR: SHARON'S APARTMENT. DAY.
	SHARON smokes on the balcony. Something has changed.
 
 

	INTERIOR: SHARON'S APARTMENT. BEDROOM. NIGHT. 
	SHARON wakes up. She shakes RANDY. 

				SHARON 
		Get up. 

				RANDY 
		What?

				SHARON 
		Get up, or get out. 

				RANDY 
		What did I do?
 
				SHARON 
		I have to make the bed.
 
				RANDY 
		Come on, look, no, it's three 
		o'clock in the morning.
 
				SHARON 
		Get out of bed, or get out of the 
		house. 

				RANDY 
		Why?
 
				SHARON 
		This bed is unclean.

				RANDY 
		I'm out, I'm out. Unclean ... you 
		changed the sheets yesterday. 

				SHARON 
		Shut up!

	And he gets out of bed. She rips the sheets off the bed and 
	then we cut to:
 
	Close-up of clean sheets being put over the bed. RANDY isn't 
	helping; he leans against a wall, trying to sleep. 

				SHARON 
		I'm starting over, Randy. I've had 
		enough. 

				RANDY 
 		Enough what?
 
				SHARON 
		I need a new direction in my life. 
		There is a God, I know it, there is 
		a God, and I'm going to meet Him.
 
				RANDY 
		When did you get religion?
 
				SHARON 
		I am trying, Randy. I want my 
		salvation. 

				RANDY 
		Sharon, you're fine the way you are. 

				SHARON 
		You just want to live in sin, don't 
		you? 

				RANDY 
		That's right. I just want to live in 
		sin. 

				SHARON 
		Fine, be a slave to the Devil.
 
				RANDY 
		Devil? Do you remember where we met? 
		Don't start asking me now to 
		apologize for who I am or what I 
		believe in.
 
				SHARON 
		Oh, and what do you believe in? 

				RANDY 
		There is no God. There's only chaos.
 


	INTERIOR: SHARON'S APARTMENT. BATHROOM. NIGHT. 
	SHARON takes a shower. RANDY talks to her through the glass. 

				SHARON 
		And why do we have such guilty 
		consciences? Answer that?
 
				RANDY 
		You're the one with the guilty 
		conscience. I sleep really well, or 
		at least I used to. 
			(He tests the 
			shower water.) 
		Jesus Christ, that's hot.

				SHARON 
		Don't take the Lord's name in vain, 
		Randy. That's one of the 
		commandments, it even comes before 
		theft and adultery, it even comes 
		before murder. That's how important 
		it is not to take the Lord's name in 
		vain. 

				RANDY 
		Since when have you known the Lord? 

				SHARON 
		I am trying to.
 
				RANDY 
		And what does a shower at three in 
		the morning have to do with eternal 
		salvation?

	SHARON is washing herself in a steaming hot shower. She 
	scrubs herself with a hard brush. She gets out of the shower. 

				SHARON 
		I want to be clean. Am I clean?
 
	RANDY watches in silence as she dries herself with a towel, 
	cleans her fingernails, and brushes her teeth. She speaks to 
	him in her reflection.

				RANDY 
		Yeah, you're clean.
 
				SHARON 
		When you do something wrong, we 
		feel bad, and that's because there's 
		a little bit of God in all of us, 
		telling us to change our ways before 
		it's too late. Isn't that right?
 
				RANDY 
		No, it's not right. It's just 
		conditioned by society. All we are 
		is animals whose brains have become 
		too big and too complicated for the 
		purposes of satisfying our animal 
		needs, which are food and sex.
 
				SHARON 
		There is a spiritual need which is 
		just as real as hunger, just as real 
		as the need for love.
 
				RANDY 
		Sharon, don't you understand what's 
		going on? The world's a disaster. 
		We have no power to make it better. 
		You hate your job. You hate your 
		life. But you want to feel special. 
		But instead of letting me do that, 
		you're rushing off to something 
		that's not even there. There's no 
		Pearl, there's only us.
 
	SHARON flosses her teeth.

				SHARON 
		I feel sorry for you, Randy, I 
		really do. But you have to leave.
 
				RANDY 
		I don't want to leave. I want to 
		stay here with you. You know me. We 
		know each other. We know each 
		other's secrets, that's something. 
		I think we can love each other, and 
		I think you feel that too. 

				SHARON 
		There has to be something more. 

				RANDY 
		Why?
 
	SHARON cries.

				SHARON 
		I'm tired of the pain in my life. 
		I'm tired of feeling empty all the 
		time. 

				RANDY 
		Let me help you.
 
				SHARON 
		Why can't we let God help both of us? 

				RANDY 
		Because there is no God. 

	And he is out the door. Hold on SHARON.
 

 
	EXTERIOR: DRIVEWAY. NIGHT.
 	RANDY gets into his truck. 

	Cut to:
 


	INTERIOR: SHARON'S APARTMENT. BEDROOM. NIGHT.
	SHARON reads the Bible the EVANGELISTS gave her and then 
	simply clutches it.
 
	She tries to sleep, to relax. 

	Her eyes close.
 
	Whatever it is, self-consciousness or doubt, she can't force 
	herself to believe.
 
				SHARON 
			(whisper) 
		God, please, please, please help me. 
		God, I'm lost. 

	Cut to:
 

 
	EXTERIOR: ENDLESS BOULEVARD. DAY.
	SHARON drives aimlessly. She stops for a hitchhiker named 
	TOMMY, rough-looking, with a bedroll and a rucksack. 

	Cut to:
 
 

	INTERIOR: SHARON'S CAR. DAY.
 
				TOMMY
		Chicks don't usually stop for me. 
			(No response 
			from SHARON.) 
		In fact, I think they think I'm 
		dangerous. 
			(Pause, again 
			no response.) 
		They're probably right. I'm not as 
		dangerous as some guys I know, but 
		I would never give myself a lift, 
		that's for sure. No way. If I was a 
		chick, no double-fucking way would I 
		give me a lift. I've looked in the 
		mirror. I've seen myself. I mean, 
		with my thumb out, if I was a chick 
		and I saw me, no sir. On the other 
		hand, if I was a, if I was the one 
		who was hitching and I was a chick, 
		I'd stop for me in a second. In 
		fact, I'd, I'd fuck me, too. In 
		fact, if I was hitching and I was a 
		chick, and I got stopped by a chick, 
		I'd fuck me that way, too. Yeah. In 
		fact, I wouldn't mind getting into 
		a bi-girl scene with myself. 
		Actually, you're the first chick 
		that has ever given me a lift. I 
		think other chicks don't pick me up 
		because they can tell I carry a gun 
		and I've been to prison in Vermont. 
		I don't think they can tell I've 
		been to prison, but that's where 
		I'm from. Vermont. You ever been to 
		Vermont? 
			(SHARON doesn't answer.) 
		I'm from the Lemon Fair Valley. 
		Actually, there's no lemons in 
		Vermont. Actually, it comes from the 
		French, Lay Moan Vayer, which means 
		the Green Mountains. Which is what 
		Vermont means. Green Mountains. Vert: 
		Green. Mont: Mountains. Vermont. 
		Green Mountains. Anyway, my father's 
		a farmer. I left home. What's your 
		name? I'm Tommy. 

				SHARON 
		Sharon.
 
				TOMMY 
		Oh yeah? With who? 

				SHARON 
		What?
 
				TOMMY 
		Who you sharin' it with? You gonna 
		share it with me?

	Cut to:
 


	EXTERIOR: ADULT MOTEL. DAY.
	Tracking shot past the entrance. SHARON'S is not the only 
	car parked at the motel.
 


	INTERIOR: ADULT MOTEL. DAY.
	TOMMY is on the round bed. He plays with a knife. We hear 
	the shower running. The camera peeks into the bathroom.
 


	INTERIOR: ADULT MOTEL. BATHROOM. DAY.
	SHARON is in the shower, dressed. TOMMY'S rucksack is just 
	outside the bathroom.
 
				TOMMY 
		Sharon? Did you know that the state 
		bird of Vermont is the Hermit 
		Thrush? I'll bet you didn't know 
		that. The state flower is the Red 
		Clover. Highest point is Mount 
		Mansfield, I believe, which is four 
		thousand three hundred ninety-three 
		something, I don't know. Hey, have 
		you got a quarter? Let's get some 
		magic finger going in here. How 
		would that be?
 


	INTERIOR: ADULT MOTEL. DAY.
	SHARON pulls a gun from TOMMY'S rucksack. He hears something, 
	turns. SHARON is standing there dripping, with the gun. 

				SHARON 
		It's time for you to go. 

				TOMMY
		Uhhh?
 
				SHARON 
		You have to go, Tommy, and you have 
		to leave me your gun. 

				TOMMY 
		Ahhhh!
 
	TOMMY raises his knife, she cocks the gun, and he plunges it 
	into the bed.

	Dissolve to:
 


	EXTERIOR/INTERIOR: ADULT MOTEL. LATER.
	SHARON is in bed, the blankets pulled up over her head. She 
	pulls the  blankets down. She reaches beside her for her 
	bag. She opens her bag. A pint of pear schnapps.

	She drinks half the schnapps. She takes the gun and puts it 
	under her chin. She closes her eyes and holds the gun for a 
	long moment. She opens her eyes.

	The disorder of the room bothers her.

	She gets out of the bed and puts everything from the bag but 
	the gun back into it. The ashtray on the night table is 
	filled with crushed butts. She pulls the drawer open to hide 
	the ashtray, and she finds the Gideon Bible. She puts the 
	ashtray on top of the Bible. 

	She is a bit disgusted with herself; disappointed at her 
	lack of resolve. Then she takes the Bible out of the drawer 
	and opens it. 

	She starts to read the Gospels. 

	A golden light fills the room.

	SHARON is thrown backward by it, and before she's eclipsed 
	by its brilliance: 

	Dissolve to:
 
	Extreme close-up: a pearl.

	You've never seen a pearl this close, so close that we lose 
	its shape. All we can see of it is the color: the changing 
	white, silver, and pink. It is beautiful. You don't want it 
	to go away. 

	Dissolve to:
 
 

	INTERIOR: SHARON'S APARTMENT. DAY.
	SHARON is sleeping, smiling, at peace. She wakes up. 
	Everything is different. 

	She gets up. She goes to her closet and takes a simple 
	dress from a hanger.

	She hears a door. VIC is behind her. She covers herself 
	with the dress. 

				SHARON 
		Can I get dressed? 

				VIC 
		Where were you? 

				SHARON 
		Turn around. 

				VIC 
		Really?
 
	She nods. He does while she puts on the dress.
 
				VIC 
		C'mon. Where have you been? 

				SHARON 
		I went away for a few days. 

				VIC 
		Who'd you go with? 

				SHARON 
		No one. 

				VIC 
		Meet anyone?
      
				SHARON 
		Yes, yes, I did. I did meet 
		someone. 

	VIC can sense that something is different about her by the 
	way she talks to him so directly and so calmly, and by her 
	placid smile. VIC lies on the bed. She comes out from 
	behind the door.

				VIC 
		Are you okay?
 
				SHARON 
		I'm fine, Vic. I'm really, really 
		fine. 

				VIC 
		Unnh-uhh. No you're not. Something's 
		going on. You've changed. You've got 
		this look right now. 

				SHARON 
		What look? 

				VIC 
		That goofy smile.
 
				SHARON 
		If I tell you, you're not going to 
		believe me. But I have to tell you, 
		so it really doesn't matter if you 
		don't believe me. It doesn't matter 
		to me. I mean it matters to me, but 
		you're the one who really needs to 
		hear this now. 

				VIC 
		You met a guy.
 
				SHARON 
		Well, guy is not exactly the word 
		I'd use for Him. 

				VIC 
		You fox, you fell in love. 

				SHARON 
			(deadly serious)
		Yes. 

				VIC 
		Wait until he finds out about you. 

				SHARON 
		Well, He knows all about me. 

				VIC 
		Is he as bad a boy as I am? 

				SHARON 
		I think you should meet Him. 

				VIC 
		Did you tell him about me? 

				SHARON 
		I told you, He knows everything.
 
				VIC 
		He's rich, right? He's some rich 
		guy, and you fell for some line of 
		his.
 
				SHARON 
		You could love Him, too.
 
				VIC 
			(laughing)
		Oh, no, you fell in love with some 
		rich homosexual.
 
				SHARON 
		He's the Lord Jesus Christ, Vic. 
		He's the Son of God.
 
	VIC jumps off the bed.
  
				VIC 
		Sharon, did you quit your job? 

				SHARON 
		Why would I do that?
 
				VIC 
		So you can go to the airport and 
		sell flowers, or do whatever the 
		cult wants you to do.
 
				SHARON 
		You can't understand, but I know 
		what that's like. Until it happens 
		to you, until you accept God into 
		your heart, it's like a fairy tale,
		it's like some joke that you just 
		don't get.
 
				VIC 
		I think you need to be deprogrammed. 

				SHARON 
		There's no cult, Vic. There's only 
		God, and his message of Love. 

				VIC 
		Love.
 
				SHARON 
		Love.
 
				VIC 
		Look, you'll give this up, someday. 
		I know you, you'll give this up. 

				SHARON 
		This is forever. 

				VIC 
		Everybody says that. 

				SHARON 
		This is different.
 
				VIC 
		Everybody says that, too. 
			(He is heading 
			out the door.) 
		Sharon, call me when this is over.
 
	SHARON is alone, content. 

	Cut to:
 
 

	INTERIOR: TELEPHONE COMPANY INFORMATION OFFICE. DAY. 
	Go down the rows of computer terminals, hearing other 
	operators. Stop at SHARON.
 
				SHARON 
		Hold for the number. Hi. Who's this? 
		... Hi, Susanna, this is Sharon. 
		Have you met Jesus? ... Well, I'm 
		sure you're in a hurry, but don't 
		you think you could take time out 
		to get to know your Lord and Savior? 
		... well okay, well, you have a good 
		day too. What was the number you 
		wanted? Here you go ... 
			(Pause.) 
		Hi, this is Sharon. Who's this? Hi, 
		Maria. Have you met God? You have? 
		Isn't He wonderful?

	She looks up and sees HENRY, her supervisor. 

	Cut to:
 


	INTERIOR: TELEPHONE COMPANY. HENRY'S OFFICE. DAY. 
	The door is closed.
 
				HENRY 
		You're supposed to spend a maximum 
		of fifteen seconds on each call. Do 
		you know what your average has been? 

				SHARON 
		No.
 
				HENRY 
		Take a guess.
 
				SHARON 
		Twenty seconds? Twenty-five?
 
				HENRY 
		Two minutes. You were clocked on one 
		call at seven minutes fifteen.
 
				SHARON 
		I am just trying to do my job. 

				HENRY 
		It seems like you're trying to do 
		two jobs. 

				SHARON 
			(a little defiantly) 
		We only have one job. 

				HENRY 
		That's right. And you're not doing 
		the one you're being paid for.
 
				SHARON 
		Henry, God made me an information 
		operator for a reason. I'm in a 
		position to spread His word to 
		hundreds of people every day, 
		personally. One-to-one. 

				HENRY 
		God.
 
				SHARON 
		I know you can't believe this, but 
		God is coming back to judge the 
		world. And it's important, I have to 
		tell people. We have to prepare for 
		His return. 

	HENRY takes his time before speaking.
 
				HENRY 
		When did you first see the light? 

				SHARON 
		A few days ago. 

				HENRY 
			(neutral) 
		Mmm-hmm. 

				SHARON 
		You don't believe me.
 
				HENRY 
		Sometimes people have heard about 
		the Pearl and they try to pretend 
		like they've seen it, but you can 
		always tell when they're lying. You 
		just can't fake it. 

				SHARON 
		You?
 
	SHARON puts her hand on her heart. 

				HENRY 
		When they first meet Him, everyone 
		thinks that Judgement Day is just 
		around the corner. I remember that 
		feeling very well; it's a powerful 
		feeling. But ... that sense that 
		it's going to happen tomorrow 
		passes when tomorrow comes and He 
		doesn't. And then you understand 
		that those feelings, as powerful as 
		they are, and the dreams, as real as 
		they are, are still just shadows of 
		the real thing, and no one can say 
		how far away that real thing really 
		is.
 
				SHARON 
		The feeling is so strong.
 
	HENRY studies her.

				HENRY 
		I don't know you, but I know you. A 
		lot of people who have come to God 
		are broken. They've been messed up 
		by life. The unbelievers try to make 
		it seem like there's something wrong 
		with us, that we're stupid, but only 
		the humble hear the voice of God. 
		You're alone, aren't you?
 
				SHARON 
			(tears forming) 
		Yes.
 
				HENRY 
		It's hard at the beginning. You give 
		up your old life, and it's like 
		you've come to a new country. Your 
		old friends can not really be your 
		friends anymore. 

				SHARON 
		What do I do?
 
				HENRY 
		Trust in God, and take it easy on 
		the phones.
 
	SHARON smiles.
 
				SHARON 
		Who's The Boy?
 
	He looks at her. 

	Cut to:
 
 

	INTERIOR: CHURCH. DAY.
	A small, spare room. No pews, only a circle of folding 
	chairs. Perhaps twenty people are there. We're watching 
	HENRY and his son, THE BOY, about ten years old. He never 
	speaks out loud; he whispers behind a cupped hand into his 
	father's ear. 

	On SHARON, across from them, watching.
 
	On THE BOY: he cups a hand and speaks to HENRY. HENRY 
	addresses the room.
 
				HENRY 
		God is coming back. There are wars 
		and rumors of wars, and a curse 
		devours the Earth, and those who 
		live in it are held guilty.
 
	THE BOY again whispers to his father. 

				HENRY 
		We have to wait. 

	An OLDER WOMAN in the circle.

				SHARON 
		For how long? 

	THE BOY whispers to his father.

				HENRY 
		Probably a few years. Five years, 
		six years. 

	The people in the room hug each other. SHARON gives herself 
	to the hugs and gives hugs. Love without sex. 

	Dissolve to:



	INTERIOR: RANDY'S WORKPLACE.
	RANDY sprays coating on a metal gate. SHARON arrives. 

				SHARON 
		Hi, Randy.

				RANDY 
			(pretends to struggle 
			to remember her name)
		Ohh, uhh, Sharon. Sharon. How's that 
		apartment coming? Is it still 
		unclean? 

				SHARON 
		No.
 
				RANDY 
 		So you found your salvation. 
		Congratulations. 

				SHARON 
		I found God.
 
				RANDY 
		Oh yeah? Is he going to move in, or 
		did he keep his own place, or are 
		you going to do that commuting 
		thing? You've got to watch that; 
		it's very tough on a relationship. 
		Why are you here? 

	They walk into an adjoining woodshop. 

				SHARON 
		I know you are as lost as I was, 
		Randy, and I wanted to tell you that 
		you could know God. If you just 
		surrender your pride, you can know 
		God. 

				RANDY 
		Sharon, it's just a drug. Instead of 
		doing heroin, you're doing God, and 
		I need sandpaper.
 
				SHARON 
		Randy, God is real. God is not make-
		believe, and you know that. You 
		don't want to admit that, because 
		you're afraid.

				RANDY 
		What am I afraid of?
 
				SHARON 
		What we are all afraid of: God's 
		judgement. 

				RANDY 
		No. I'm not.
 
				SHARON 
		I don't want to lose you.
 
				RANDY 
		You just want to save my soul. 

				SHARON 
		At least you know you have one. 

				RANDY 
		I don't want to tell my secrets in 
		church. 

				SHARON 
		I'll pray for both of us.

				RANDY 
		You'd stay with me even if I didn't 
		pray? 

	SHARON kisses RANDY. They hug.
 
 

	TITLE SUPERIMPOSED: SIX YEARS LATER

 
 
	INTERIOR: CHURCH. NIGHT.
	There are more people in the room now. THE BOY is older now; 
	and although HENRY is beside him, he speaks directly. 

				THE BOY 
		So far, we're still in the realm of 
		signs and wonders ... But the Rapture 
		is coming. It says so in the Bible. 
		Our bodies will be transformed into 
		spirit. And then we will be caught 
		up in a cloud to meet God. The end 
		is coming soon ... This year ... 

	RANDY takes SHARON'S hand. 

	Cut to:
 

 
	INTERIOR: SHARON AND RANDY'S TOWN HOUSE. BEDROOM. NIGHT. 
	The bedroom is now filled with Christian icons. SHARON and 
	RANDY wake up together, shaken by the same image.
 
				RANDY 
		Ever since I was a kid, I've had the 
		feeling that something was going to 
		happen to me. I always knew that 
		when it happened, I would recognize 
		it, and that I wouldn't mistake it 
		for something else. I wouldn't have 
		something happen to me and I would 
		say, this is it! and then later on 
		say, no, that wasn't it. It was a 
		secret feeling, and I never told 
		anybody about it. 

				SHARON 
		And what's the feeling now? 

				RANDY 
		Something's going to happen.
 
 

	INTERIOR: RANDY AND SHARON'S KITCHEN. DAY.
	SHARON and her daughter, MARY, six years old, sit at the 
	kitchen table.
 
				MARY 
		Where's Heaven? 

				SHARON 
		It's in the sky. 

				MARY 
		Why can't we see it? 

				SHARON 
		You will.
 
				MARY 
		But why can't we see it now? 

				SHARON 
		Mary? Do you love Baby Jesus? 

				MARY 
		Yes.

				SHARON 
		Then you'll see him really soon. 

	Slowly dissolve to:
 


	EXTERIOR: SWIMMING POOL.  DAY.
	We move through the water, and the change from the light is 
	easy, gradual. The water is ethereal; we don't even know 
	this is a pool yet; it could be a body of heavenly water.  
	The calm surface of the pool explodes as a six-year-old-
	girl, MARY, bursts to the surface. SHARON moves through the 
	water. Her friend PAULA floats on a raft. 

				PAULA 
		What does the Bible say?
 
				SHARON 
		We who are alive who are saved will 
		be taken bodily into Heaven.
 
				PAULA 
		Ohhh, Sharon ... Sharon ... 

				SHARON 
		You can't accept God, can you? 

				PAULA 
		No.
 
				SHARON 
		Well, maybe we should talk about 
		that for a minute.
 
				PAULA 
			(smiling)
		Okay, do you mean that if you're a 
		Christian and you're ironing your 
		shirts and the Rapture happens, 
		you'll be taken to Heaven in the 
		middle of doing the laundry? Or does 
		God give you time to turn off the 
		iron, or do your shirts burn?

				SHARON 
			(joking but deadpan)
		I wear permanent press. 

				PAULA 
		Well, I mean what's supposed to 
		happen? You are supposed to float 
		up into the sky?
 
				SHARON 
		In the twinkling of an eye. The body 
		will be transformed into spirit. And 
		there is a warning. If you listen, 
		if you pray for it. We'll hear the 
		sound of trumpets, God's angels.
 
	MARY listens.
 
 

	INTERIOR: RANDY'S WORKPLACE. DAY.
	RANDY is now a supervisor in a large insurance office. He is 
	well groomed; his hair is cut short; he is a few pounds 
	lighter. Other workers are around. RANDY is arguing with 
	LOUIS, another worker. A security officer stands behind 
	RANDY.
 
				RANDY 
		Louis, I'm trying to say this 
		without causing you a lot of pain.
 
				LOUIS
		Any way you say it, I'm fired, 
		right? 

				RANDY 
		We have struggled together, but, you 
		have to admit, it hasn't worked out.

				LOUIS
		That's because I'm not kissing ass 
		around here, isn't it?
 
				RANDY 
		Louis, it's because you're not 
		doing your job. 

				LOUIS 
		You're not doing your job, banana-
		head. 

				RANDY 
		Louis, we've tried to help you, 
		haven't we? 

				LOUIS 
			(crying)
		I don't want your fucking help. 

				RANDY 
		We took you to a counselor. 

				LOUIS 
		You took me to a homo. 

				RANDY 
		I took you to an A.A. meeting.
 
				LOUIS 
		They were a bunch of a-holes. 
		A-holes Anonymous. And you're an 
		a-hole. And I'm tired of kissing 
		your Christian a-hole. 
			(To the security guard:) 
		What are you looking at?
 
				RANDY 
		Louis, I'll pray for you. 

				LOUIS 
			(wildly) 
		Yeah, well, fuck you! 

	Cut to:
 

 
	INTERIOR: RANDY AND SHARON'S APARTMENT. DAY.
	MARY and her parents, RANDY and SHARON, hold hands in a 
	circle. This is a happy family.
 


	INTERIOR: RANDY'S WORKPLACE. DAY.
	We hear a blast. We see RANDY in his office at the corner of 
	a hall. There are two bodies in the hall, and LOUIS walks 
	down it with a gun. RANDY gets up from his desk and starts 
	to come out. As he does, LOUIS shoots into an office. LOUIS 
	goes into another office, and we hear two more shotgun 
	blasts. RANDY is now out of his office and turning down the 
	empty hall when LOUIS comes back into the hall.
 
				RANDY 
		Louis.
 
				LOUIS 
		No speeches, preacher. 

				RANDY 
		I have a little girl. 

				LOUIS 
		So what? 

	And he blasts RANDY.

	Cut to:
 
 

	INTERIOR: SHARON AND RANDY'S TOWN HOUSE. DAY. 
	MARY opens the front door. 

				MARY 
		Come in.
 
	The living room is filled with friends who have brought food 
	to SHARON. MARY and other children play. SHARON talks to 
	PAULA on a balcony. 

				PAULA 
		You see, now's one of those times 
		when I wish I was a believer. 

				SHARON 
		Why?
 
				PAULA 
		Because I would have a rock to stand 
		on, because I could tell myself that 
		everything was for the better 
		because God has a plan.
 
				SHARON 
		But it is, because He does.
 
				PAULA 
		It is so hard for me, Sharon. I try 
		to resist it as much as possible.
 
				SHARON 
		So you do feel something tugging at 
		you, don't you?
 
				PAULA 
		I tell myself it's just conditioning, 
		it's how I was raised. I tell myself 
		that if we didn't tell our children 
		about God, they wouldn't ask. It is 
		a story we tell ourselves so 
		everything makes sense. 

				SHARON 
		It's not.
 
				PAULA 
		But how do you know? 

				SHARON 
		The Bible.
 
				PAULA 
		Don't tell me the Bible. 

				SHARON 
		It's a question of faith. 

				PAULA 
		So there's no proof?
 
				SHARON 
		Paula, the universe you live in is 
		cold and filled with empty space. 
		The universe I live in is filled 
		with God. 

	Cut to:
 
 

	INTERIOR: SHARON AND RANDY'S TOWN HOUSE. NIGHT. 
	SHARON and MARY kneel at MARY'S bed, praying. 

				MARY 
		Will we see Daddy again? 

				SHARON 
		Yes.
 
				MARY 
		When we die?

				SHARON 
		Or when God takes us to Heaven. 

				MARY 
		When the Rapture comes, does that 
		mean we die? 

				SHARON 
		Not exactly.
 
				MARY 
		So you can go to Heaven without 
		dying? 

				SHARON 
		Yeah.
 
				MARY 
		But if you die, you can still go to 
		Heaven. 

				SHARON 
		Yes.
 
				MARY 
		So Daddy is going to Heaven. 

				SHARON 
		No, Daddy's already in Heaven. 

				MARY 
		If we pray to Daddy, can he hear us? 

				SHARON 
		Well, we pray to God, and God tells 
		Daddy what we're saying. That way he 
		can hear everything. 

	Cut to:
 

 
	EXTERIOR: MINIMALL STAIRCASE. DAY. 
	SHARON comes down the stairs and stops. 

	Pull back to reveal:

	We are outside a Photolab in a corner pod mall. SHARON walks 
	into view, looking at the snapshots of America rolling off 
	the printer.
  
	In the photographs, we see RANDY wearing the clothes in 
	which he died, and he's trying to reach her, trying to say 
	something to her. Her husband appears improbably in a 
	picture at the beach, standing behind a typical family. Then 
	RANDY is pictured in the desert, standing on a tall rock pile, 
	his arm raised, calling her to him. He's pleading with her. 

	Cut to:
 
 

	INTERIOR: CHURCH. DAY.
	The room is filled; people are standing on chairs at the 
	wall. There's still a circle in the middle, but it's smaller. 
	HENRY and THE BOY are flanked by the two EVANGELISTS. SHARON 
	is across from them, with MARY. Now THE BOY speaks.
 
				THE BOY 
		This is from the Book of Revelation, 
		chapter 12, verse 6. It says, "And 
		the woman fled into the desert where 
		she had a place prepared for her by 
		God." Is anyone else getting visions 
		that tell us we have to go to the 
		desert?
 
				SHARON 
		You don't believe me. 

				THE BOY 
		I do.
 
				SHARON 
		What does it mean?
 
				THE BOY 
		You're the only one who can hear 
		these calls. It could be Satan.
 
				SHARON 
		I don't think so.
 
				THE BOY 
		Then God wants you for His special 
		purpose. 

				SHARON 
		Please, come with me. 

				THE BOY 
		We haven't been invited.
 
	SHARON wants to cry. She gets up and takes Mary's hand. The 
	crowd parts for her, making a path to the door. She starts 
	walking toward it, about ten feet.
 
				SHARON 
		But I'm scared.
 
				THE BOY 
		Don't ask God to meet you halfway. 

				SHARON 
		What does that mean? 

	THE BOY shakes his head no.

				HENRY 
			(to THE BOY)
		What does that mean?
 
	THE BOY shakes his head. No, he won't answer. SHARON is 
	scared. She opens the door.
 
 

	EXTERIOR: OUTSIDE THE CHURCH. SUNSET.
	SHARON and MARY are framed in the church door, the faithful 
	behind them. They walk out into the sunset. 

	Cut to:
 

 
	EXTERIOR: SHARON AND RANDY'S TOWN HOUSE. DAY.
	SHARON is packing a sports bag while PAULA watches her. 
	PAULA is desperate. SHARON is calm. SHARON holds up a few of 
	MARY'S dresses while she studies the clothes in her closet. 
	PAULA has a shopping bag filled with food.
 
				PAULA 
		Sharon, you can't just leave like 
		this. 

				SHARON 
		Yes, I can. God is calling me.
 
				PAULA 
		No, no, no ... Sharon ... what 
		about Mary? 

				SHARON 
		God is calling her too.
 
				PAULA 
		Why don't you sell the house? You 
		can't just walk away from it.
 
				SHARON 
		Of course, I can. There's a better 
		house waiting for me. God is 
		building me a mansion, right now. 
		What should I wear?

	She takes out a few dresses.

				PAULA 
		God won't come, the bank will own 
		your home, and what are you going to 
		do then?
 
				SHARON 
		I'm going to Heaven, Paula. I'm 
		going to Heaven. Mary and I are 
		going to Heaven. And we'll wear 
		these dresses, together, when we 
		finally meet God. Randy always liked 
		this dress. I'll wear it for him. 
		I'll be seeing him soon. And he 
		always loved to see Mary in this. 

	PAULA sits on the bed. 

				PAULA 
		Don't you get a white robe and 
		wings? 

				SHARON 
		Angels don't have wings. And I don't 
		know about the robes. I don't know 
		what they wear, but I guess I'll 
		find out.
 
	SHARON packs a sweater.

				PAULA 
		Then what's the sweater for?
 
				SHARON 
		It gets cold at night in the desert.
 
				PAULA 
		Winter is coming. You'll need more 
		than a sweater.
 
				SHARON 
		He's taking us soon, very soon. 

				PAULA 
		How do you know? 

				SHARON 
		He told me.
 
				PAULA 
		Sharon, Sharon, listen to me. I 
		don't know if you can hear me, but 
		listen to me. You need food. 

				SHARON 
		Not that much.
 
				PAULA 
		You need a tent. I don't want you 
		guys sleeping out in the car. Okay. 
		Candle, matches, flashlight. 

	PAULA pulls the named items out of the bag.

				SHARON 
		Thank you, Paula.
 
				PAULA 
		You need something else. You can't 
		go out to the desert alone, there's 
		a lot of creeps out there, Sharon, 
		and a woman alone, I'm scared. 

				SHARON 
		God will take care of us. 

				PAULA 
		Maybe. Insurance. 

	She takes out a small handgun.

				SHARON 
		Oh, Paula, no.
 
				PAULA 
		You don't have to use it. But you 
		have to take it. And you can bring 
		it back to me when you come home. 

	SHARON holds PAULA'S hand, and she looks at the gun.

				SHARON 
		I'm not coming home. 

	Cut to:
 

 
	EXTERIOR: DESERT CAMPGROUND. DAY.
	SHARON and MARY drive into a campground somewhere in the 
	high desert. There are Joshua trees, yuccas, and large rocks 
	and rock piles. 

				MARY 
		Mom?
 
				SHARON 
		Yes, Mary.
 
				MARY 
		This doesn't look like Heaven, Mom. 

				SHARON 
		This isn't Heaven, honey. 

				MARY 
		Then why stop here?
 
				SHARON 
		Think of Heaven as a great big hotel 
		or a big office building.
 
				MARY 
		Yeah.
 
				SHARON 
		Well, this is the lobby, this is 
		where we have to wait.
 
				MARY 
		For what?
 
				SHARON 
		The elevator.
 
	Another car pulls up. 

	Dissolve to:
 
 

	INTERIOR: TENT. NIGHT.
	SHARON and MARY sleeping. We go into SHARON'S dream. She is 
	dreaming of the Pearl. 

	Cut to:
 

 
	EXTERIOR: DESERT CAMPGROUND. DAY.
	ROCK CLIMBERS are high on the sheer face of a rock wall. 
	MARY watches them. One CLIMBER rappels down the rock and 
	lands beside them. He is lean, muscular, cool.
 
				MARY 
		Are you waiting for God, too?
 
				CLIMBER 
		Oh, is that what you guys are doing 
		here? 

				MARY 
		God is coming back. 

				CLIMBER 
		Sounds good. 

				MARY 
		He really is. 

				CLIMBER 
		Okay.
 
				MARY 
		He's coming tomorrow.

				SHARON 
		No, soon, Mary. He's coming soon. 

	They look up at the sky.
 

 
	EXTERIOR: DESERT CAMPGROUND. NIGHT. 
	SHARON puts MARY to sleep in the tent.
 

 
	EXTERIOR: DESERT CAMPGROUND. LATE DAY.
	There isn't much food left or water. We hear a loud siren. 
	SHARON grabs MARY. MARY grabs for her toy panda.
  
				SHARON 
		That's it! That's it, Mary, here it 
		comes, here it is, he's calling us, 
		come on, hurry, hurry ...
 
	She runs with MARY up a rock formation, higher and higher. 
	The sound continues. MARY drops her panda and screams out:

				MARY 
		Panda!
 
				SHARON 
		Mary, come on ... 

				MARY 
		No, Panda!
 
	SHARON scrambles back to get the doll. It is out of reach. 
	She gets it. MARY hugs her panda, and they continue on up 
	the rock until we have a good view of the whole campground.
 

 
	EXTERIOR: TOP OF ROCK PILE. DAY.
	The horn is still loud and clear. SHARON holds MARY, their 
	faces lifted to the sky, waiting for the Rapture. We see a 
	CLIMBER running across the parking lot to his car. He turns 
	off the alarm, and the sound stops. SHARON remains frozen 
	for a second; then she sits down. For the first time, we see 
	real doubt and the beginning of defeat. MARY starts to cry.
 
				MARY 
		I miss my Daddy.
 
				SHARON 
		Honey, I miss your Daddy, too. 

				MARY 
		I want to see him again.
 
				SHARON 
		You will, you will see him in 
		Heaven. 

				MARY 
		Why can't we go to Heaven? Mommy, I 
		want to go to Heaven.
 
				SHARON 
		We have to wait until God calls us. 

				MARY 
		Did God call Daddy? When you die is 
		that when God calls you? 

				SHARON 
		Yes.
 
				MARY 
		Then I want to die. 

				SHARON 
		No, sweetie, no.
 
				MARY 
		You want to go to Heaven, don't you? 

				SHARON 
		Yes.
 
				MARY 
		And you believe that when we die 
		we'll go to Heaven, because we're 
		saved, right? 

				SHARON 
		Yes.
 
				MARY 
		Then why can't we just die and go 
		there really quickly and be with 
		Daddy again? Why do we have to stay 
		here and just hang around and wait 
		for God? Come on, Mom, let's die.

	SHARON puts her arm around her. She is too young to really 
	understand what she's asking for.

				SHARON 
		Let's give God one more chance. 

	Cut to:
 

 
	EXTERIOR: DESERT CAMPGROUND. DAY.
	A county sheriff's car drives into the campground. FOSTER 
	MADISON gets out of it. MARY and SHARON pray at a picnic 
	bench. Something about SHARON attracts him. He could be hard, 
	but he is curious, soft. 

				FOSTER 
		Howdy. 

				SHARON 
		Hello.
 
				FOSTER 
		I'm Foster Madison. 

				SHARON 
		Sharon. And Mary. 

	FOSTER crouches to be closer to MARY. 

				FOSTER 
		Oh yeah? I have a sister named Mary. 
		She's all grown-up now.
 
				MARY 
		Are you with God? 

				FOSTER 
		I'm with the sheriff. 

				MARY 
		We're waiting for our father. 

				FOSTER 
		Where is he? 

				MARY 
		Heaven.
 
				FOSTER 
		Don't you go to school? 

				MARY 
		I don't have to go to school. 

	FOSTER looks at SHARON.
 
				SHARON 
		I'm not asking you to understand, or 
		to have faith, but the end of the 
		world is coming, and we're a lot 
		safer out here. 

	MARY walks away.

				FOSTER 
		Well, there's a two-week limit on 
		staying here. 

				SHARON 
		Is that a limit on how long I can 
		stay in the park, or how long I can 
		use this campsite?
 
				FOSTER 
		Actually, it's just a limit on how 
		long you can use this particular 
		campsite.
 
				SHARON 
			(points to different 
			campsites)
		So if I move over there, or over 
		there, or over there ... I can stay 
		for another two weeks.

	FOSTER wants to be fair; he sees a woman in need. 

				FOSTER 
		Technically. I can't stop you. 

				SHARON 
		Thank you.
 
				FOSTER 
		Could I ask you a question? 

				SHARON 
		Sure.
 
				FOSTER 
		Is this good for your little girl? 

				SHARON 
		Have you been saved? 

				FOSTER 
		No.
 
				SHARON 
		Do you know what that means? 

				FOSTER 
		Yeah.
 
				SHARON 
		Would you like to be?
 
				FOSTER 
		Oh yeah, yeah sure, who wouldn't. 

				SHARON 
		Why is it so hard for you to pray? 

				FOSTER 
		You have to surrender to God, don't you? 

				SHARON 
			(not fully certain) 
		That's right. 

				FOSTER 
		It's in my training. I don't give 
		up my gun. 

				SHARON 
		But you'd like to believe. 

				FOSTER 
		That these are the last days?
 
				SHARON 
		You know they are. God is coming 
		back to judge the world. A lot of 
		people are going to suffer. 

				FOSTER 
		I hope that's not true; but if 
		there's no law against it, my hands 
		are tied. 

	SHARON smiles a little. 

				SHARON 
		I bet with a little prayer you'd be 
		on my side in an hour.
 
				FOSTER 
		Well, then it's time for me to go. 
		Watch out for the coyotes. 
			(To MARY:) 
		Good-bye. 

				MARY 
		Good-bye.
 
	FOSTER gets back into his car. When he is gone, SHARON 
	breaks down and cries.
 
 

	EXTERIOR: DESERT CAMPGROUND. NIGHT.
	The moon is behind clouds. Wind pulls at the tent flaps.
 

 
	INTERIOR: TENT. NIGHT.
	The camera moves toward SHARON. We're getting inside her 
	dream again. Brief glimpses of an orgy.
 


	INTERIOR: SHARON'S DREAM.
	The Pearl recedes, gets smaller, and finally disappears. 
	Blackness.

				MARY 
			(voice-over)
		Mom ... Mommy ...
 


	INTERIOR: TENT. NIGHT.
	SHARON wakes up; her eyes are hollow. MARY is awake. 

				MARY 
		Mom ... 

				SHARON 
			(lost) 
		What? 

				MARY 
		Mom, I'm hungry.
 
 

	EXTERIOR: DESERT CAMPGROUND. DAY.
	SHARON looks through trash cans. No food. She turns the 
	water jugs upside down. No water. MARY watches her. 

				MARY 
		You said we'd give him one more 
		chance. 

				SHARON 
			(impatient)
		Who?
 
				MARY 
		God. You said you'd give God one 
		more chance, and if we didn't get 
		the Rapture that we could die. 
		That's what you said. You promised.

				SHARON 
			(gently avoiding 
			the question) 
		Baby ... 

				MARY 
		Don't you believe in God? 

				SHARON Yes.
 
				MARY 
		Don't you love God? Then why can't 
		we just go to God? Go now. Now.

	SHARON doesn't answer immediately.

				SHARON 
			(the implications 
			are frightening)
		One more chance. 

	Cut to:
 


	EXTERIOR: DESERT CAMPGROUND. NIGHT.
	A motorcycle comes into the campground. SHARON and MARY are 
	in the tent. SHARON pokes her head out. The motorcycle comes 
	closer. SHARON gets out.

	FOSTER, out of uniform, is on the motorcycle. 

				FOSTER 
		I ... I was in the neighborhood.
 
				SHARON 
		And you thought you'd come by for a 
		cup of sugar.

				FOSTER 
		No. Actually, I came to bring you 
		this. 

	He reaches into his pack for a blanket. He hands it to her. 

				SHARON 
		We have sleeping bags.
 
				FOSTER 
		Yeah, I know, I, it's just that 
		sometimes you want to sit on the 
		ground, you don't want to get dirty, 
		it s nice to have a blanket. 

				SHARON 
		Thank you.
 
				FOSTER 
		I, I brought your little girl a 
		candy bar. I know moms are worried 
		about cavities, so if you don't want 
		to give it to her, you know, I'll 
		understand. 

				SHARON 
		I'll give it to her. 

				FOSTER 
		You can share it. 

				SHARON 
		Thanks.
 
	He wants to talk. He looks at her.

				FOSTER 
		Well, I'll check up on you again 
		sometime, if that's okay.
     
				SHARON 
		Thank you.
 
	And he rides away. She returns to the tent.
 


	INTERIOR: TENT. NIGHT.
	Close on MARY. She cries out in her sleep.
 
				MARY 
		Mom! You have to make up your mind, 
		now! Gabriel is coming, Mom, Gabriel 
		is coming. 
			(She wakes up, and she 
			is in a kind of trance, 
			staring at her mother, 
			afraid for her.) 
		He's God, Mom, He's God. Don't ask 
		God to meet you halfway. 
			(A final cry.) 
		Mommy!
  
				SHARON 
		Wake up, Mary, wake up. It's okay, 
		baby, it's okay.

	MARY wakes up, and she cries deeply. Her face tells us 
	everything: she has given up hope.

				SHARON 
		Come on, baby, you're just hungry; 
		we'll get something to eat. Come on, 
		let's go to town. 

				MARY 
		No, we can't leave. 

				SHARON 
		Yes, we can.
 
				MARY 
		But we don't need any food. God will 
		give us food when we get to Heaven. 
		I'll be in Heaven tonight. There was 
		a river. And I was in Heaven. 

				SHARON 
		Where was I? 

				MARY 
		You were there. 

				SHARON 
		Good.

				MARY 
		Sort of. You were there, but only 
		sort of. 

	SHARON tries to make sense of this. She can't; she's too 
	tired right now for tests of faith. She smiles and looks her 
	daughter in the eye.

				SHARON 
		It's almost morning. As soon as the 
		sun comes up, we'll go get something
		to eat. 

	Cut to:
 
 

	EXTERIOR: JACK IN THE BOX DRIVE-THRU LINE. DAY.
	SHARON is at the pick-up window. The food order is put out 
	for her. The CASHIER waits for the money. Behind him is the 
	MANAGER. 

				CASHIER
		Eleven dollars and twenty-eight 
		cents, please. 

	SHARON looks at him. He knows what the look means.

				CASHIER
		Oh, no you don't.
 
	SHARON quickly grabs the food and drives away.

				CASHIER
		Call the police. 

				MANAGER 
		No.
 
				CASHIER
		Why not?
 
				MANAGER
		She had a kid.
 
 

	INTERIOR: CAR. DAY.
	SHARON returns to the Joshua tree campsite. MARY devours her 
	burger and fries. SHARON'S face is set. She is on the other 
	side of something powerful.



	EXTERIOR: CAR. DAY.
	SHARON drives down a road.



	EXTERIOR: BURNED HILL. LATE AFTERNOON.
	SHARON and MARY walk up the hillside. MARY kneels and 
	clutches her toy panda. SHARON stands behind her. 

				SHARON 
		Do you love me? 

				MARY 
		Yes.
 
				SHARON 
		Do you love Jesus? 

				MARY 
		Yes.
 
				SHARON 
		You know, in Heaven there's Jesus 
		and Baby Jesus, together, and Baby 
		Jesus has the special job, has the 
		special job 
			(breaking down) 
		of looking out for all the children. 
		Mary, do you love Baby Jesus? 

				MARY 
		Yes.
 
				SHARON 
		It's not fair to make you pay 
		because I'm lost. If God loves us, 
		He'll understand. We're going to 
		Heaven now.
 
				MARY 
		We're going together? 

				SHARON 
		Together.
 
	Now we see the gun that PAULA gave her before she left home. 
	The sun is going down. 

				MARY 
		And Daddy? Daddy's in Heaven.
 
				SHARON 
			(this thought 
			comforts her) 
		Daddy. We'll see Daddy. Yes. And 
		we'll be together forever because 
		nothing is broken in Heaven. I love 
		you. 

				MARY 
		Daddy.
 
				SHARON 
		You have to love God, Mary, do you 
		love God? 

				MARY 
		Yes.
 
	MARY makes a face as though she's about to enter icy water. 
	With her panda tucked under her arm, she clasps her hands in 
	prayer even harder.
 
				SHARON 
		Tell Him that. Don't be afraid. 

	SHARON pulls the trigger, and the gun fires. MARY is dead. 

	SHARON takes the gun and puts it to her head.
 
	She holds the gun. We watch. We wait. Will she? Can she? She 
	empties the gun into the air, screams at the sky; then she 
	sits down on the ground; then she lies down beside MARY and 
	goes to sleep. 

	Fade-out. 

	Fade-in:
 


	EXTERIOR: BURNED HILL. LATER. NIGHT.
	SHARON places a cross on the panda on top of the grave and 
	then gets up. She walks away, empty.
 
	We hear hoofbeats, one horse, distant. The sound gets louder.
 
 

	INTERIOR: SHARON'S CAR. NIGHT.
	SHARON speeds down the highway, and everywhere she looks she 
	sees a white horse flashing in her vision. 

	Cut to:
 
 

	EXTERIOR: FREEWAY. NIGHT.
	SHARON keeps speeding. The white horse is gone. And then the 
	red lights of a sheriff's police car appear in the mirror. 
	The siren is close. She is sure she has been caught. She 
	pulls over. The sheriff's OFFICER MADISON from the 
	campground. He shines his searchlight on SHARON'S car. Then 
	he walks to the car and knocks on her window. 

				FOSTER 
		Could you get out of the car, please? 

	SHARON gets out of the car.

				FOSTER 
		What happened to God? 
			(He can see she is 
			in some kind of 
			distress.) 
		What's wrong? 

	She doesn't answer.

				FOSTER 
		I have to see your license and 
		registration, please. 

				SHARON 
		They're in the car.
 
	She gets them. She holds the license and registration out in 
	her hand.
 
				FOSTER 
		Thank you. Could you step over into 
		the light, please?

	He takes the identification and goes back to his bike. 
	SHARON nods yes. He studies the license. We look at him for 
	a moment. He is not a bad man, and he is studying SHARON, 
	less as another speeder than as a woman in obvious trouble.

	In the beginning, SHARON is catatonic; her answers are short 
	and sparse. As FOSTER continues to press her, she starts to 
	unravel. She realizes what she has done.

				FOSTER 
		Here. Where's your little girl? 

				SHARON 
		She's with God. 

				FOSTER 
		She died? 

				SHARON 
		Yes. 

				FOSTER 
		Mary. 

				SHARON 
		Yes. 

				FOSTER 
		How?
 
				SHARON 
		I killed her. I was going to kill 
		myself too, but you can't get into 
		Heaven if you kill yourself. You can 
		get into Heaven if somebody else 
		kills you but not if you kill 
		yourself. Life is some kind of 
		punishment, isn't it? You have to go 
		through with it, even when you know 
		what life is for.

				FOSTER 
		What is life for? 

				SHARON 
		Ask God.
 
				FOSTER 
		What does he say?

				SHARON 
		I think He says that, basically, you 
		have to love Him, no matter what. But 
		I don't love Him, not anymore. He has 
		too many rules. He told me to meet 
		Him in the desert. And I did and I 
		waited. He didn't come. He broke His 
		promise. He let me kill my little 
		girl. And He still expects me to love 
		Him? I'm afraid of Hell, so I have to 
		wait out my life, waiting for God. 
		Now: He'll forgive me and He'll let 
		me join my daughter and my husband 
		in Heaven, but first I have to say I 
		love Him. You can send me to the gas 
		chamber, and if I let God into my 
		heart before I die, then I can go to 
		Heaven, because God is merciful. How 
		fast was I going?
 
				FOSTER 
		A hundred miles an hour.
 
				SHARON 
		A hundred miles an hour. If I had 
		gone off a bridge and died, would I 
		have gone to Heaven? 

				FOSTER 
		I don't know. 

				SHARON 
		Neither do I.
 
	Dissolve to:
 


	INTERIOR: PRISON. DAY.
	A guard leads SHARON down a row of cells. A door is opened 
	and then locked behind her. A woman on the next bed is 
	reading the Bible, and when she lowers the book, we see it 
	is ANGIE, the swinger with the tattoo. SHARON says nothing 
	to her.

				ANGIE
		I know you. I should be embarrassed 
		to even tell you where we met, but 
		I'm not ashamed, I'm not ashamed of 
		anything anymore, I found God, God 
		found me. I was preaching the word 
		of God at a shopping mall in Palm 
		Springs, and they had me kicked out. 
		So I went back in, and they had me 
		arrested. Have you heard the word 
		of God? 
			(No reply.) 
		It's the greatest gift of all time. 
		You have to trust completely in God. 
		He'll forgive all your sins.

				SHARON 
		Who forgives God? 

	And she turns away from her. 

	Fade-out.

 
 
	INTERIOR: PRISON CELL. NIGHT.
	SHARON hears a sound from her cell. A flaming sword slices 
	the air. The sword stops flaming when it cuts through the 
	air. The sword is held by the ARCHANGEL MICHAEL. ANGIE 
	sleeps.
 
	Another angel drifts into this scene outside the cell. MARY 
	appears dressed as she was when she died.
 
				MARY 
			(sincerely, with a 
			little difficulty)
		God is coming back, Mommy. There 
		are wars and rumors of wars, Mommy, 
		and a curse devours the Earth, and 
		those who live in it are held guilty.
  
				SHARON 
		He said He was going to take us to 
		Heaven. 

				MARY 
		Mother, listen to me. The living 
		outnumber the dead. The Armies of 
		the Lord are waiting for the Day of 
		Judgement. Don't you still love God, 
		Mommy? 

				SHARON 
		He left us, alone, in the desert. 
		He let me kill you. 

				MARY 
		Do you still love Him?
 
				SHARON 
		How can I love a God who let me kill 
		my baby? 

				MARY 
		God loves you because you love Him. 

				SHARON 
		Why?
 
				MARY 
		I know you want me back, but I can't 
		come back, Mommy. I'm dead.

	SHARON looks as they vanish, then, after a beat, looks down. 

	Cut to:
 

 
	INTERIOR: PRISON. NIGHT.
	We move through the cells. A trumpet plays one long, 
	extended note. The prisoners look outside.
 
				ANGIE
		That's the first call. It's Gabriel 
		blowing his trumpet. There will be 
		six more calls. We have until the 
		last call to repent. After that, 
		it's too late. After that, it's too 
		late.

	We hear the hoofbeats again, getting louder. People look up. 
	The sound seems to be in the middle of the room. The sound 
	of the hoofbeats is impossibly loud, and we see on the TV 
	screen the faint image of a white horse over a ballgame. 
	Then the game disappears, and we see the feet of the horse.

				ANGIE
		It's God. He's giving us a last 
		chance to save ourselves. At war, 
		the First Horseman of the 
		Apocalypse. 

	The horse is replaced by a trumpet. The channels are changed, 
	and the golden trumpet blowing the pure tone is seen across 
	every channel. It is a long trumpet raised high before a 
	deep blue background. A hand holds the trumpet, but we don't 
	see the angel's face. ANGIE begins to sing:

				ANGIE 
			(sings)
		Hark! the herald angels sing, 
		Glory to the newborn King; 
		Peace on earth, and mercy mild,
		God and sinners reconciled! 
		Joyful all ye nations rise, 
		Join the triumph of the skies; 
		With th' angelic host proclaim 
		Christ is born in Bethlehem.
 
	As she sings, the trumpet sounds again. The hoofbeats grow. 
	The blast gets louder. Prison bars start to collapse. All of 
	the bars fall out of the walls, collapse to the floor with a 
	great noise. Women step slowly out of their cells. A 
	helicopter sounds in the background. Everyone sits quietly. 
	No one knows what to say. 

				ANGIE
		What more do you need? 

				SHARON 
		Get out of here.
 
	ANGIE leaves. SHARON is alone in the cell. FOSTER walks 
	down the corridor. 

				SHARON 
		What are you doing here? 

				FOSTER 
		I want to know what happens next. 

				SHARON 
		Are you scared?
 
				FOSTER 
		I don't know. I never had any faith. 
		But you did. 

				SHARON 
		Yep. 

				FOSTER 
		So? 

				SHARON 
		So.
 
				FOSTER 
		Well, if the world is coming to an 
		end, this isn't the place to be. 
		Let's go.
 
 

	EXTERIOR: ROAD. DAY.
	SHARON rides behind FOSTER on his motorcycle.
 
	Hoofbeats are closer. The red horse ridden by a rider 
	wielding a long sword chases them. The rider holds a pair 
	of scales. The trumpet continues to sound. 

	Cut to:
 

 
	EXTERIOR: THE ROAD. NIGHT.
	SHARON and FOSTER are on the bike. The night sky is filled 
	with the image of a huge bull ridden by a ghostly woman 
	holding an immense candelabra. 

	Cut to:
 


	EXTERIOR: FARTHER DOWN THE ROAD. DUSK. 
	The motorcycle comes to the crest of a hill.

	Smoke surrounds the two. It is impossible to go ahead. They 
	stop driving. The smoke obscures everything now. Hoofbeats. 
	The world is dissolving. The FOURTH HORSEMAN, DEATH, riding 
	the pale horse, appears in the fog of smoke and comes slowly 
	toward them. 

	SHARON and FOSTER get off their motorbike and watch the 
	horseman. Then, they begin to rise slowly into the smoke. 
	She doesn't want this. 

				SHARON 
		No! No, I don't want to go. 
			(To FOSTER:) 
		Don't let me go. No!
 
	They disappear into the smoke.

	Dissolve to:
 

 
	EXTERIOR: LIMBO. NIGHT.
	We are in the dark. The noise has stopped. Then we see them, 
	barely lit, a hint of something like moonlight on them. A 
	voice, MARY'S: 

				MARY 
		Mom? 
			(MARY walks out of 
			the darkness. She is 
			beside them, holding 
			her panda.) 
		Hi, Mom. 

				FOSTER 
		Is this Hell?

				SHARON 
			(tenderly) 
		Hello, Mary.

	SHARON walks to her, but MARY is just out of reach and 
	stays there.

				FOSTER 
		That's your daughter. 

				SHARON 
		Mary? Where are you? 

				MARY 
		I'm here.
 
				SHARON 
		Where are we?
 
				MARY 
		You know when you hear those songs 
		about the river that washes away all 
		your sins? Well, here it is. Heaven 
		is on the other side of the river. 

				FOSTER 
		We're in Heaven. Why are we in 
		Heaven? 

				MARY 
		You're not in Heaven. Heaven is 
		over there. 

	She points to the distance, into the darkness. 

				FOSTER 
		I can't see it.
 
				MARY 
		It's there. If you love God, it's 
		there. Foster. Do you love God for 
		giving you the gift of life? 

				FOSTER 
			(whispers) 
		Yes.
 
	Then he smiles, and then he disappears.

				SHARON 
		No!
 
				MARY 
		Mommy! Gabriel is coming. You have 
		to make up your mind.
 
				SHARON 
		There's nothing more to say. Take 
		me to God, Mary. I have to speak to 
		Him. 

				MARY 
		You have to love God. 

				SHARON 
		I love you, Mary. 

				MARY 
		That isn't enough.
 
				SHARON 
		Baby, it's all I have. If life is a 
		gift, if it really is a gift, and 
		there really is a Heaven ... 

				MARY 
		There really is a Heaven.
 
				SHARON 
		Then why should I thank Him for the 
		gift of so much suffering, Mary, so 
		much pain on the Earth that He 
		created. Let me ask Him why? 

				MARY 
		Tell God you love Him. 

				SHARON 
		I can't.
 
				MARY 
		If you don't tell God that you love 
		Him, you can't go to Heaven. Tell 
		God that you love Him. Mommy! 

				SHARON 
		No.
 
	And then we hear Gabriel's final call. Gabriel's melody is 
	like the infinite regression of an image in parallel mirrors, 
	and the melody stretches into the end of time. While they 
	listen, a gold light, as though a sun is setting, fills 
	SHARON'S face. MARY takes her hand and stands beside her. 
	The gold light shines on both of them.

				MARY 
		Do you see Heaven? 

				SHARON 
		Yes.
 
				MARY 
		Isn't it beautiful? 

				SHARON 
		Yes.
 
	MARY lets go of SHARON.

				MARY 
		Do you know how long you have to 
		stay here? 

				SHARON 
		Yes. 

	MARY fades away. 

				MARY 
		How long?
 
	And to the darkness, SHARON says:

				SHARON 
		Forever. 

	She is alone. We pull back.


 

 

Screenplay by Michael Tolkin

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