Script for a melodrama film

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“Until the tea is finished”

genre: melodrama, format: short film

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SCENE 1. INT. ANNA'S APARTMENT – MORNING

A small, tidy studio kitchen. The light is diffused. Autumn rain hits the window. The room is silent. Anna (30), in a sweater and with tousled hair, sits at the table and draws. Next to her is a cup of cooling tea. On the wall is a photograph of a man (Sasha).

ANNA'S VOICE (V.O.):
Sometimes time stops. Not because you want it to. Just… someone leaves. And you stay — in the pause.

The pencil in her hand freezes. She looks at the photograph, then at the tea.

DOORBELL RINGS.

Anna freezes. She doesn’t move. The second ring. Reluctantly, she gets up.

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SCENE 2. INT. HALLWAY – CONTINUATION

The door opens. On the threshold is MARK (32), slightly wet, with a backpack. He looks confused but smiles warmly.

MARK
Hi… I just… happened to be nearby.

Anna is surprised but not angry. She just looks at him silently.

ANNA
Three years have passed.

MARK
I know.

Pause. He holds an old notebook in his hands.

MARK (GENTLY):
Can I come in?

She slowly nods. He enters.

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SCENE 3. INT. ANNA'S KITCHEN – A FEW MINUTES LATER

They sit across from each other. Both have cups of tea. Silence.

MARK
I found out… about Sasha. I'm sorry I didn’t write. It’s just…
(pause)
I didn’t know what to do.

ANNA (CALMLY):
No one knows. It’s just — either they come, or they don’t.

He nods, lowering his gaze. Then he hands her the notebook.

MARK
I carried it with me all these years.
(smiling awkwardly)
You gave it to me when I was leaving.

She takes the notebook. Flips through it. On the pages are her old drawings: him, her, random passersby, cafes, their bench.

ANNA
You kept everything?

MARK
I tried to keep at least something.

A glance. A slight, almost imperceptible closeness.