Thinking that she is alone, Meili removes the last remaining shawl covering her face. Meili – a young girl in her late teens – is astonishingly beautiful. However, there is a sense sadness which tarnishes her comeliness. Nevertheless, Kai is astonished by Meili’s beauty. As he stares at her face he absentmindedly knocks over a nearby oil lamp. The flaming oil spills out and ignites one of the pillows above him.
Startled, Meili quickly covers her face once again. Kai leaps out of the pile of pillows, quickly puts out the fire and rights the lamp. When he finishes, Kai spins around and turns towards Meili. He shrugs his shoulders. Meili tries to cover her face but stops herself.
KAI
I don’t know what to say.
I’m sorry to have…
MEILI
(interrupting)
No, it is I who must apologize.
KAI
Apologize? For what?
MEILI
Your friend.
Meili starts to cry.
KAI
Please. It’s not your fault.
He moves to comfort her. She falls into his arms. Her cries are muffled by his shoulder.
MEILI
You’re wrong. It is my fault.
KAI
Why?
MEILI
My husband’s jealousy has caused your friend’s death.
KAI
No. I made Xiaogou come here.
If anyone is to blame, it is me.
MEILI
But why did you come?
KAI
I wanted to know if the legend was true.
MEILI
What legend?
KAI
That the most beautiful woman in the world
lives here in this Ivory Tower.
Meili looks up at Kai.
MEILI
(ironic)
The most beautiful woman in the world?
KAI
Yes. You.
MEILI
Then your friend died for nothing.
KAI
Come now.
You must know how beautiful you really are?
MEILI
How could I?
KAI
Have you never looked at yourself in a mirror?
MEILI
No.
(a beat)
Look around. Do you see a mirror?
Kai looks around. He soon realizes that there are no mirrors or any other reflective surface in the room.
KAI
Well, I’ve never seen a more beautiful face
in my entire life. Beautiful, but also sad.
MEILI
You don’t understand. All my servants, all my teachers, anyone
I’ve ever met has been blind or blindfolded, except for Aijun Gong.
You’re the first person, other then him, whose ever seen my face.
KAI
Then, I can see the reason for your sadness.
MEILI
Can you help me?
KAI
How?
MEILI
Teach me about the outside world;
about how things really are.
I feel so trapped in here.
KAI
What you ask is dangerous.
Maybe even impossible.
MEILI
Sometimes I think that it might be better
if I simply ended my life.
KAI
I saw you standing near the edge of the parapet earlier.
(a beat)
That was you, wasn’t it?
MEILI
Then you know what I’m saying is true.
It’s only a matter of time.
KAI
I can’t promise,
but I will try to come and visit you again.
MEILI
Thank you. Now I think you should go.
It’ll be dawn soon.
Kai starts to stand. Meili wraps her arms around him.
KAI
Don’t worry. I will try to come back.
Kai slips out of her grip. Meili hands him the burnt pillow.
MEILI
(teasingly)
You’d better destroy the evidence.
Kai takes the pillow, smiles softly at her and moves toward the stairwell.
Meili watches him leave.
EXT. WU TAI SHAN MOUNTAIN RANGE – DAWN
Kai is making his was down to the bottom of the sheer cliff wall. He comes upon Xiaogou’s smashed body at the base of the mountain. He grabs up the limp body of his friend.
KAI
(emotional)
You were looking out for me. But I never looked out for you.
He rises, the body of his friend still held in his arms.
KAI (CON’T.)
I saw her and spoke to her. She is beautiful.
Perhaps the most beautiful woman in the world.
But she is also the saddest person I have ever met.
I want to help her find happiness.
Maybe in that way it will make up
for what I caused to happen to you.
He walks off carrying Xiaogou with him.
FYI – the level of insult in most pop Asian culture is far worse than calling someone a lamebrain. The goal of this is not to try to approximate or translate – this is an original story in the style of a Chinese fairy tale (spoiler alert – no happy endings – but morality lessons). What we do learn about the girl in the ivory tower is that once she realizes that she truly is beautiful her entire demeanor changes – she becomes petulant, difficult and manipulative. The concept at work here is “be careful what you wish for”… Also in regard to screenplays – the descriptive element is – by design – left to a minimum. I have considered turning this into a novella – which is where more detail can (an should) be added to paint a more “fleshed out” vision of the venue and the characterizations of the people. The problem that we try to address, as screenwriters, is how to relate the craft of writing to the needs and goals of a screenplay. I have been at it professionally for a long time and find that the best script writing is akin to blank verse poetry.
I like the setting and the characters, but some of the dialogue struck me as needing work. Would they really say “lamebrain” and “I got to thinking?” This didn’t seem fitting to me, although I admit that I am no expert on translating Asian languages into English. I have this scene in my head, but I would like a few more descriptive elements about the courtyard and tower. In all, well done effort on a difficult scene to write. I look forward to more posts, so we can find out more about the mysterious lady in the tower.