Thematic
Chart
The chart below is a schematic breakdown of how the themes from the
3 key Gothic novels have been transformed into the stories of the 3
women in Dark Seed.
| Frankenstein |
|
|
|
| Baron
Frankenstein |
Creator
of Life |
Dimitri |
IV
experiments |
| Frankenstein's
'monster' |
The
consequences of being transformed by a monstrous figure |
Wendy |
1.
Wendy becomes an individual
2. Wendy explores mysticism |
| Dracula |
|
|
|
| Count
Dracula |
Drainer
of life |
Jason |
rape |
| Dracula's
'living dead' |
The
consequences of being infected by a monstrous figure |
Gloria |
1.
Gloria creates an insular world via phone-sex
2. Gloria embarks on a sex-revenge spree |
| Dr.
Jeykll & Mr. Hyde |
|
|
|
| Mr.
Hyde |
Divider
of Life |
Ford |
domestic
violence |
| Mr.Hyde's
mistress |
The
consequences of being abused by a monstrous figure |
Pina |
1.
Pina leads a double-life
2. Pina lose touch with Tess |
Treatment
Wendy and Dimitri have only recently decided to formally separate. Their
sole child - Byron, now 9 years old - will stay with Wendy. An ex-nurse,
Wendy is a quirky mother and home-maker attracted to all forms of mysticism,
from the corny to the arcane. Quite the opposite, Dimitri works as a
humidicrib technician and is driven by scientific inquiry. He has published
a seminal book in the field: "Studies In Hyper Premature Delivery".
Their separation appears civil. Byron copes with it fine as Dimitri
arrives at Wendy's place to collect the last of his books.
While sorting out Dimitri's books from her own, Wendy comes across a
book titled "The Secret History Of The Alchemists". As she
sits down with her close friend Pina over coffee, she becomes engrossed
in the Alchemists' bizarre prophecies and recipes for the creation of
artificial life forms. Pina and Wendy laugh at the absurdity of some
of the ancient claims made by men who supposedly discovered how to make
babies without the aid of women.
Pina shares a similar robust quality to Wendy. Not as educated as Wendy,
Pina is a strong and vibrant woman. She has a teenage daughter - Tess
- and is married to Ford who runs a furniture warehouse. In her spare
time, Pina works on her own novel - a luridly romantic yet heart felt
tale of castles, barons and suffering maidens.
Tess is nearing completion of her High School studies. She is quiet,
reserved, but always perceptive of her surroundings. She works at the
local supermarket with her dizzy friend, Alecia - who has a knack with
striking up conversation with boys. At home everything appears OK, though
Tess finds difficulty in relating to her mother's escapist fantasies.
A major release for Tess is when she minds Byron, with whom she shares
a casual yet close friendship.
Tess arrives at Wendy's house to mind Byron. As Tess arrives, Wendy's
date cancels by phone. Wendy decides to go out instead with her other
close friend, Gloria.
At "Bruisers" nightclub, Wendy and Gloria throw back a few
drinks. Gloria is a dry, moody, brittle being. Years of friendship and
a small measure of alcohol allow them to easily talk sex at the bar.
Gloria pushes Wendy about whether she will miss the good sex she enjoyed
with Dimitri. To an outsider, the talk would appear vulgar. But between
Wendy and Gloria, there are few hang-ups and little to be hidden or
disguised. Their bonds are deep.
"Bruisers" is known as a singles' bar. At least that is how
it is viewed by some of the men who hang out there. Julian and Jason
regularly go to try and pick up women, but have little luck in doing
so. Both in their mid-30s, Julian and Jason seem harmless enough: manly,
a touch macho, but likeable nonetheless.
While Jason is at the toilet, Julian tries to chat with Wendy and Gloria.
Wrong move: Gloria suddenly clams up and exhibits a severe harshness
which Wendy recognizes as dangerous and unsettling. Jason quickly exits.
Gloria seems overly upset by his intrusion. She decides to postpone
a tarot reading Wendy had planned. Wendy tacitly accepts Gloria's mood
swing.
Recovering from his wounded pride, Julian sits back at the table with
Jason. He points out Wendy and Gloria at the bar, pinpointing them as
examples of women who just come to the bar to talk among themselves.
Jason chuckles - but is fixated on Gloria. Julian advises him to give
up - but Jason continues to eye her.
With a few drinks inside her, Gloria drives home. Looser and more relaxed,
she enjoys making fun of the talk-back radio show she listens to in
her car. Inside her apartment, we discover that Gloria runs her own
phone sex business. Numerous phone lines are linked to cassette decks
and computers. She perfunctorily checks a few files, then showers.
The next morning, Pina goes to work at Commex Northern General Hospital
- in the lower basement laundry. The job is tiresome: she is dwarfed
by giant industrial washing machines into which she feeds an endless
flow of bed sheets.
On her way down to work, she encounters fellow hospital employee Nick
in the lift. Knowing of Wendy's separation from Dimitri, Nick asks Pina
to put in a good word for him to Wendy.
Nick leaves Pina and enters the technician's lab where he works with
Dimitri. Dimitri conducts intensive research into hyper-premature deliveries
and post-natal support systems. A new high-tech humidicrib is about
to be put in place at the hospital. Dimitri and Nick eye the new machine
with wonder and excitement. An intercom call for Dimitri cuts their
pleasure short: Dimitri is wanted by the hospital's chief surgeon, Tsui.
In Tsui's office, the usual argument unfolds between Dimitri and Tsui.
Dimitri needs a baby to effectively monitor his radical post-natal care
programme using the new line of high-tech humidicribs. But each time
Tsui presents the proposal to the hospital's Ethics Board, it is knocked
back. And so the stalemate is repeated: both Tsui and Dimitri know that
the hospital needs a medical first in its IV programme in order to secure
further funding and support. But Dimitri is venturing into a dubious
realm by wanting to push the time line of post-natal support in excess
of the time the baby would spend in the mother's womb.
In the hospital cafeteria, Wendy arrives to meet Dimitri and pick up
some things for Byron's school. Dimitri enters and tries to cover up
his disappointment from his meeting with Tsui. But in the car park,
he snaps at Wendy. She is quick to diffuse the situation, and reminds
Dimitri about Byron coming to the hospital next week to interview Dimitri
for a school project. Wendy laughs: Byron told his class that his dad
makes babies.
We are now at the furniture warehouse of Pina's husband Ford. It is
called "This House Is You". The furniture is low-grade, the
show room huge and empty. The caricature painted on the front window
has Ford with a cartoon bubble saying "Good Lord! It's Ford!"
A group of school girls pass by, stop in the doorway and yell it out
in unison.
A few shops behind them, Tess observes the girls making fun of her dad.
As she reaches the store, she peers inside and sees Ford alone in the
back office. She walks on by.
Inside his rear office Ford goes over some paper work: a set of application
forms for Tess to get into university. Her chosen career is genetic
engineering for fruit and vegetables.
At school, Tess and Alecia each read out parts of their science reports
in class. Alecia is a scammer who has hardly attempted the work required.
Conversely, Tess has worked hard to give serious consideration to the
exercise: name distinguishing factors which contribute to your environmental
and genetic make-up. Much to the amusement of her science teacher, Tess
mixes hard data with issues of feeling and the notion that her being
a girl determines her outlook on the question.
In the school yard at lunchtime, Tess remains disturbed by her science
teacher's dismissal of her report. Alecia is unperturbed: she won't
need to know about such things once she starts her own family.
Back home that evening, Tess helps Pina prepare dinner. Ford arrives
home and sits down to eat. Sensing Tess's down mood, he asks her whether
the kids at school rib her about the late night TV ads he does for the
furniture warehouse. Tess plays it down: the kids don't bother her much.
Later that night, Tess and Alecia work a late shift at the supermarket.
Tess observes Alecia go through the same routine of having to ask customers
the names of the vegetables so she can look up their price code. Alecia
serves Wendy's friend, Gloria - who is concerned that Alecia doesn't
know such basic things. But it is clear that Alecia simply can't be
bothered learning anything she deems boring or unimportant.
Gloria goes on to her weekly calligraphy class. She works hard at it,
finding in its discipline a means of mental focus. Her work is improving:
her teacher congratulates her on her progress.
Gloria arrives home and parks her car in the underground basement. She
steps out of the car - and drops her calligraphy sheets in a puddle
of water. The ink seeps and bleeds across the pages. Gloria curses.
She picks up the soaked sheets - and pauses as the overhead PVC pipes
carry water to the drain system. Momentarily unsettled, she picks herself
up and enters the basement lift.
As Gloria nears her apartment, she stops by her neighbour's door and
hears the sound of cricket playing lightly from the TV. She opens her
own door and enters.
Gloria's next door neighbour is Jason - who was eyeing her at "Bruisers"
a few nights earlier. He turns down the TV and hears the telephones
softly ringing next door in Gloria's apartment. He presses his ear against
the wall, trying to figure out the mystery behind so many ringing telephones.
The next day at Commex Northern General Hospital, Tsui checks on the
state of a newly admitted patient: Fern. She is in her 20s and a likely
case for hyper-premature delivery. Dimitri is also present: maybe Fern
will be suitable as a legitimate case study for Dimitri's proposal?
That night, Gloria visits Wendy. After tucking Byron into bed, Wendy
returns to the kitchen and picks up their conversation about the weird
ideas of the alchemists. Gloria starts to ridicule Wendy for being attracted
to such outlandish things. Wendy points out that it isn't as far-out
as it seems, though Gloria remains unconvinced. The subject changes
to Gloria's phone sex business. Wendy wonders how Gloria is able to
come up with imaginative fantasies all the time. Gloria dismisses it,
saying it's purely perfunctory. Having been friends at school, they
know each other well enough to stop bickering. Out of the blue, Gloria
suggests that Wendy does one of the recipes in the alchemy book. Wendy
is captivated by the idea.
Later that night after Gloria has left, Wendy stays up reading the alchemy
book. She suddenly has a flash - and rings Pina who is working a late
shift at the hospital. Wendy talks Pina into stealing some sperm from
the bank at the hospital. Terrified but excited by the prospect, Pina
successfully accomplishes her mission.
Unbeknownst to Pina, Dimitri is also at the hospital, working late on
his own clandestine mission. He visits Fern and injects her with some
experimental serum to accelerate the induction of her hyper-premature
delivery. A nurse almost stumbles upon his plan - but remains ignorant
of it. Dimitri breathes deep after nearly being caught out.
More undisclosed activities carry into the next morning. Jason breaks
into Gloria's apartment and discovers her phone sex operation. He moves
through her home and scrutinizes her personal effects in the bathroom.
Jason's view of Gloria is developing in foreboding ways. He too is almost
caught - but he hears the approaching lift and manages to get out just
as Gloria enters the outside corridor. Yet inside her apartment, Gloria
senses that not everything is quite right .....
Meanwhile, Pina stops by for coffee at Wendy's house. They continue
their discussion about the similarities between the ancient alchemists
and the medical doctors of today. Pina delivers the illicit sperm for
Wendy's own bizarre recipe.
Another day passes for Ford: few customers and low sales. He removes
the sagging "For Sale" banner hanging outside the store.
Back home that evening, Tess and Pina prepare dinner. Ford arrives -
less his amiable self than usual. Tess innocently asks his permission
to attend an overnight excursion for her science class. Ford irrationally
denies her request, causing Tess to storm out. Sensing Ford's mood swing,
Pina is unsure what to do. He settles, and they discuss Tess's application
to university - which is being aided by research conducted by Pina.
Things seem OK - but Ford swings again. She observes him in silence.
Later, Pina sits in the semi-darkness of the loungeroom and continues
writing her dreamy romance novel.
That night, Dimitri receives a knock at his flat: Wendy stands before
him. Before either of them knows what's going on, they find themselves
having heated sex. Afterwards, they lie together - Dimitri relaxed,
but Wendy experiencing a post-coital comedown. While Dimitri accepts
their separation, Wendy finds it difficult to terminate the many facets
of their long relationship.
The next day at the hospital, Nick notices how edgy Dimitri is becoming.
As if to answer his unspoken pondering, Wendy arrives to see Dimitri.
Nick puts Dimitri's erratic behaviour down to a mix of overwork and
'women problems'. Nick exits and leaves Wendy and Dimitri alone. But
while Wendy is thinking about how things are between them, Dimitri is
more concerned about the unsanctioned experiment he has commenced on
Fern. Not revealing this to Wendy, he still blurts out to her that he
needs her to conduct a few tests. Dimitri wants to exploit Wendy's experience
of her hyper-premature birth of their son Byron. Wendy is outraged:
once again she feels like a guinea pig to Dimitri. The conversation
ends dramatically and she storms out.
Mystified by the behaviour of men, Wendy gathers solace that night by
drinking with Gloria.
Back at Wendy's place, Tess minds Byron. They are engrossed in an old
corny 'mad scientist' movie on TV.
Outside, night grows deep and dark. Ford arrives home and gets drunk
alone. Brooding, he bonds with the family Rottweiler - Mack. Jason tries
to sleep - but the faint ringing of Gloria's phones next door send him
into a cold sweat. Sleeping pills seems to have no effect. Dimitri suffers
momentary pangs of guilt from having injected Fern. But a few drinks
later, he reconciles to continue the dangerous experiment.
Bright morning sunlight streams into Gloria's bedroom. Her hangover
from last night's drinking bout with Wendy is taking its toll. She wearily
gets the morning newspaper from outside her door and sits down to a
rejuvenating coffee.
Suddenly Gloria is struck from behind and blacks out. She comes to,
bound and blindfolded. She hears the voice of Jason. He removes her
blindfold, screams at her for looking at him, then punches her out again.
The screen goes black. Jason pants deeply .....
That night, Dimitri is called to the phone for a emergency: Fern is
about to deliver. Tsui introduces Dimitri to Fern. Dimitri shows no
sign of the covert experiments he is conducting on her. Instead, he
explains the virtues of the new humidicribs, demonstrating his unerring
belief in the technology. Fern is assured and rests easy.
While a storm rages outside the hospital, Fern's baby is born: Nathaniel,
not even five months old. A frighteningly frail being, he now lies in
the new humidicrib, watched over by a fretful Dimitri. Dimitri flashbacks
to the delivery of his own son, Byron.
The next day - unknowing of the dark deeds taking place around her -
Wendy continues with her alchemy recipe. She gathers a range of ingredients
and - in accordance with the archetypal formulae - combines them and
buries them at the foot of a mandrake plant in her backyard.
Meanwhile, Gloria finishes her shower and sits alone on the bathroom
floor, figuring out what to do. Her private phone rings - she ignores
it. She eventually breathes deep and pulls herself together .....
Pina struggles with a malfunctioning dryer at the hospital. She bashes
it - and unleashes a frenzy of aggression upon the machine. She, too,
then breathes deep and pulls herself together .....
And at home, Tess is in the kitchen feeding Mack - the family Rottweiler.
Alone, she finds strange comfort in this beast controlled by her father.
That same day, Ford prepares for the shooting of one of his cheap late
night TV ads. He sits alone in the rear office, writing out his lines
and memorising them. Struggling with the text, he finally beams confidently:
this ad will surely bring in customers.
But when the ad is being shot, an amateur crew and a pretentious director
demolish Ford's faith in his own ability to perform the ad. While he
tries to fit a large amount of copy into the contracted time span, the
director suggests doing it slower. But to Ford, a slower ad means more
cost for on-air time. From that point on, Ford fluffs his lines. Again
and again and again.
Storming home that night, Ford seethes and spits about the day's episode.
Pina innocently suggests that Ford deliver the lines slower. Ford instantly
flies into a rage, beating Pina about the head as she stands defencelessly.
The sound of screaming and beating can be heard from Tess in her bedroom.
She desperately tries to block out the noise while doing her homework.
From outside the kitchen window, Byron - who has come to visit Tess
- has been an innocent witness to the domestic violence. Mack suddenly
growls at him, breaking Byron out of his stupor. Byron jumps on his
push bike and tears home.
Meanwhile, Gloria visits Wendy and confides in her the rape that took
place the other day. Wendy listens patiently as Gloria recounts the
incident as a means of exorcising it from her system. In Gloria's view,
calling in the police is not an option.
Byron arrives home and hears the tail-end of Gloria's experience. Confused
but instinctively realizing he is privy to things he should not know,
Byron withdraws to his bedroom.
Wendy tries to diffuse the situation by suggesting she do Gloria's tarot.
But the cards are ominous: Gloria will be going on a journey .....
Gloria drives home and takes the lift up to her apartment. She halts
as she passes Jason's apartment: the door is wide open, the TV is playing
cricket. She breathes deep and walks by quickly.
Slamming her door shut behind her, Gloria pauses, breathing erratically,
She then flies into a rage: ripping all the phone lines up, throwing
all the cassette tapes into the insinkerator, and smashing all her computer
monitors. Gloria stands sweating, looking into the last monitor. She
catches her own reflection - then smashes it to pieces.
Next day. Outside a fish packing plant, Razza and Scrote - two heavy-set
ex-bikers - take a break. Gloria walks up to Razza - her ex-boyfriend
from many years ago. Scrote leaves them alone. Gloria cryptically asks
Razza to do a job for her. An unspoken respect is evident between them.
As Razza says: it's as good as done.
That night, Wendy tucks Byron into bed. He catches her by surprise by
asking about when parents hit each other. Wendy presumes he is somehow
trying to ask something about Gloria. Little does she know what Byron
witnessed between Ford and Pina.
At an indoor sports centre late that night , Julian and Jason play a
tough game of squash. Afterwards, Jason is in the toilet alone. Suddenly
his head is rammed into the white tiles by Razza.
Scrote slams Jason's body onto the bonnet of a car in the lonely carpark
of the sports centre. Light rain falls as Razza coldly informs Jason
that they are doing a job for a very dear friend. Scrote holds Jason
tight while Razza injects Jason with "Windex". As Razza dryly
points out: Jason has five hours to get to a doctor. They leave him
hobbling toward the sports centre .....
The next morning, Gloria waits for Wendy at a park. Sprinklers hypnotically
whirr in the background. Wendy arrives; Gloria has just had some tests
done at the hospital. Gloria is numbing herself to her situation more
and more. When Wendy tries to comfort her, Gloria explodes at Wendy,
rejecting her sympathy and misinterpreting it as Wendy somehow implying
that Gloria brought it all upon herself. Wendy forces herself to leave
Gloria alone for the time being.
Meanwhile, Byron visits Dimitri at the hospital. He quizzes Dimitri
about what he does and why. In doing so, Byron innocently alludes to
adults doing things other people don't know about. Byron is referring
to Ford and Pina, but Dimitri takes it to mean his own suspect experiments.
In an attempt to justify his own action to himself, Dimitri decides
to show Byron the outcome of his experiments: Nathaniel. The sight does
not upset Byron: he was also the result of a hyper-premature delivery
himself. Byron and Dimitri excitedly talk about the humidicrib.
Dimitri is called on the intercom. Byron walks down the lonely corridor
and peers into a room. There, Fern lies asleep. Her hand is being held
by her husband Ron who sleeps in a chair next to her bed. Byron observes
them closely. He turns and looks at the TV playing with the sound turned
down. It screens the bright and beaming face of jovial Ford doing one
of his ads. Byron watches him impassively.
At that same moment, Tess sits at home in a darkened loungeroom, coldly
watching the ad on TV.
At his work, Ford too has been watching the ad. He makes a call to Pina
in the laundry of the hospital. They each engage in small talk - as
if nothing has happened. Ford hangs up. After a second or two, he breaks
down crying. He looks up and sees a delivery boy waiting for his signature
to receive a consignment. Ford pulls himself together. The two men say
nothing and conclude their business.
Wendy arrives at the hospital to pick up Byron. Byron excitedly drags
her to see Nathaniel. Wendy pales: Nathaniel wakens something inside
Wendy. She tells Byron to stay put while she visits Dimitri.
Wendy bursts into Dimitri's lab. They argue fiercely about their past
- when Wendy allowed Dimitri to try some untested drugs on her when
she suffered complications with the premature delivery of Byron. Dimitri
attempts to force Wendy to admit her acceptance of such an unethical
gamble. Wendy does - but is outraged that he is still undertaking such
pursuits. Dimitri scoffs - but Wendy sternly warns him to keep his ideas
away from her and Byron or else she'll take everything she knows to
the hospital board.
Driving home with Byron, Wendy suddenly pulls the car to the side and
breaks down crying. This is a cathartic moment fo Wendy: she has totally
let go of Dimitri. Byron silently reaches up and holds her hand as she
sobs. Wendy eventually pulls herself together. She starts the car and
they drive home.
Late that night Gloria hails a taxi in the street. A police car pauses
on the other side of the road, suspiciously eyeing her. Gloria sees
them and seethes inside. Her anger is broken by a taxi sounding its
horn for her. The police car pulls away as Gloria enters the taxi.
The cab driver - Shaun - comments on the cops. He appears to be supporting
her, but Gloria notices the wedding ring and the sleazy implications
of his conversation. She cuts to the chase and suggests they go back
to her place. Shaun cockily accepts, not attuned to the icy anger which
freezes Gloria's face as she stares into the oncoming traffic.
At Gloria's barren apartment, rough brutish sex ensues. It is over as
quickly as it started. While Gloria washes up in the bathroom, Shaun
sneaks a call on his mobile to a fellow cab driver - boasting of his
score but whining about having to make up for lost time. He hangs up
as Gloria casually talks from the bathroom. She congratulates him on
not using a condom - then tells him that she is HIV+. Playing with Shaun's
mind, she dismisses the danger of it all as a game which you either
win or loose. Shaun freaks upon hearing this. As Gloria continues talking,
Shaun gathers up his clothes and heads for the door.
Inside the bathroom, Gloria lets the hot water tap run, steaming up
the mirror. She slowly watches her reflection disappear.
Meanwhile, Dimitri visits Nathaniel. No one else is around. Depressed
and anxious, he spies the oxygen tubes feeding Nathaniel. Dimitri closes
down the valve and watches Nathaniel's chest fluctuate. He immediately
returns the oxygen pressure to normal. He then closes it down again
and once more observes Nathaniel's chest. Instantly, he again returns
the pressure to normal. Dimitri stays there in the darkness, watching
Nathaniel, pondering his actions in deep confusion .....
The next day, Wendy checks the mandrake plant in her backyard to see
whether her alchemy recipe is developing. She is starting to lose interest
in the experiment. Pina arrives. Some light talk ensues - but then Wendy
notices that something is not right with Pina. Pina reveals her bruised
ribs to Wendy and breaks down sobbing. Wendy holds her tight.
In the kitchen, Byron looks out at them. Tess arrives and asks Byron
where Wendy is. Byron directs her to the backyard, commenting on how
it's great that Wendy is helping Pina. Tess is shocked that even Byron
knows about her domestic situation.
Vulnerable and exposed, Tess charges down the backyard. Wendy tries
to make small talk - but Tess snaps at her, castigating her for pretending
that everything is OK. Wendy tries to calm her down but Tess is on a
roll. She attacks her mother not only for not standing up to Ford, but
for never discussing the problem with her own daughter. As Tess says,
even when they are alone, Pina would always side with Ford. Tess openly
accuses Pina of not respecting her own daughter. Tess storms off, leaving
Pina in tears.
Tess slams the door shut as she enters her loungeroom. She angrily zaps
through the TV channels, breathing heavily and not watching anything.
Ford arrives home from work. He is unconscious of the anger about to
erupt in Tess.
Ford calls out from the kitchen, asking where the meat for the night's
dinner is. Tess explodes at him. Ford charges in, confused and unsettled.
He takes a swing at her. She ducks it and screams that if he lays a
finger on her she'll be out the door and he'll never see her again.
Tess runs into her bedroom and slams the door.
Moments later, Ford bursts into Tess's room demanding to know what her
problem is. Tess lays it on the line: how she has had to tune out and
pretend that his psychotic episodes never happen, and that she is sick
of living such a lie. Ford mutters that he doesn't want it to be this
way - but Tess dismisses his weak excuses outright and leaves the room.
Ford stands shell-shocked by Tess' overt articulation of the family's
breakdown. But then a rage uncontrollably wells up inside him.
Ford - red-faced and with white spittle gathered at the corners of his
mouth - enters the kitchen ready for war. His face shows confusion as
he sees Tess standing there with the plate of meat ready to fix his
dinner. But his rage is beyond rational control. He slams Tess. She
falls to the floor; Ford kicks her again and again. Finally Tess screams
for him to stop - and out of nowhere Mack jumps up and sinks his teeth
deep into Ford's arm.
Ford looses his balance and falls to the floor. Mack moves to Ford's
face and starts mauling him. Tess sits there dumbstruck. She moves to
help Ford - but something stops her. A split second later, Mack stops
his attack.
That night, Ford is taken to the hospital. Pina enters the ward toilets
and throws some cold water on her face. She breaks into soft sobbing.
Inside one of the toilet booths, Tess sits listening to her mother crying.
Pina shortly stops crying and looks at herself in the mirror: she has
come to some resolve that things will change in hr domestic situation.
She washes her face and exits.
Inside the hospital room, Ford sleeps, his face half covered in thick
bandages. Wendy is watching him when Pina enters. Pina attends to Ford,
perfunctorily wiping a saliva trail from his oral tube. Wendy observes
Pina's slow movements, then leaves the room.
In the corridor, Tsui explains to Wendy that Ford suffered a stroke
once he fell to the ground. It will take some time for him to be fully
rehabilitated. Pina watches Tess approach and sit in the corridor. They
lightly acknowledge each other. Then Pina exits Ford's room and sits
on the opposite side of the corridor. Wendy leaves with Tsui.
After a moment of awkward silence, Tess rises and sits next to Pina.
From the end of the corridor, Wendy sees mother and daughter come together.
Inside Gloria's apartment, a solitary answering machine plays a message.
In place of a lurid porno tale is a beguiling and surreal story about
a woman who was forced to float 10cm above the ground, never able to
walk on the earth. In her car, Wendy listens to the message on her mobile.
She knows that Gloria has commenced the journey of which the tarot spoke.
Night falls. Gloria watches the buildings stream by as she catches a
train out of the city. She notices the beauty of the setting sun.
Back home, Pina works on a new novel. It is about a mother and her daughter.
She looks into the kitchen where Tess plays with Mack. A positive calm
envelops the house.
Wendy tucks Byron into bed. He informs her that his next home project
is to report on what his mother does. Byron asks Wendy to show him an
alchemy recipe he can do at school. Wendy laughs: she promises him they'll
cook up a storm.
Wendy steps out into the backyard. A warm, soft breeze gently bends
the trees. She listens to their creaking and shuts her eyes, an intoxicated
smile on her face. Wendy opens her eyes and sees the mandrake plant
illuminated by a beautiful full moon. The night is gorgeous .....
