Runaway Balloon Children's Book By Mikael Thakur

Runaway Balloon

1

Runaway Balloon by Mikael M. Thakur

2

1

New York, New York

New York, New York, the city so nice they named it twice. Center of the arts, music, and business for most of the world is also home to Henry Tomassey who happens to live in lower Manhattan. It’s summer and school is over for Henry and chants of "hooooooooooray, no more homework, no more books no more teachers dirty looks” could be heard throughout the hallways of his school, Admiral High. Michael, Henry’s father, promised him that if he did well this year (which he did) he would take Henry to the Shangri-La carnival that usually passes through Manhattan during this time. “Father, Father get up, it’s Saturday!” yells a very excited Henry who bursts into his father's bedroom, jumped on his bed and is now straddling him who happens to be still asleep. “Father, the carnival, you promised!” “Uhhhhhhrgh!” groans Michael. Michael slowly begins to open his eyes and looks at an old analog clock located on the right side of his bed. “My god Henry it’s only seven-o'clock”, replies Henry’s father, “the carnival doesn’t open until nine”. 3

Henry’s father then pulls his bed sheet over his head and goes back to sleep. Henry however remains on top of his father and keeps motioning him to wake up. “Father, but you promised”, replies Henry in a very sympathetic tone, “you promised, you promised, you promised”. “Oh a-l-l-l-r-r-r-right Henry”, moans Michael, “you win, go brush your teeth and get dressed, I’ll go get breakfast ready”. Henry finally gets up off his father and quickly leaves the room; his father however is not as quick and remains motionless on his bed. The Tomassey’s live in a small two-bedroom apartment in a very seedy area of lower Manhattan. Needless to say the are not wealthy but they do manage to get by. Their apartment is so small that the kitchen, dining, and living room are all one room, however it is quite well decorated. Michael is by the stove preparing breakfast while Henry is sitting patiently for it at the kitchen table. The table has been made and there is a pitched or orange juice and an open milk carton. “Good morning Henry, did you brush your teeth?”, asks Michael, “yes” replies Henry. “Make your bed?”, “yes”, “How about your homework?”, “Homework? Schools over… I don’t have any homework” replies Henry in a very arrogant fashion. “Yes I know Henry, but it doesn’t hurt to be a little ahead, I want you to read Henry, read books, go places where I can’t take you.” “How can you go places by reading books father? Don’t be silly.” “Travel in your mind Henry, imagination can be a powerful tool. Books will always be there for you, always. As Michael finishes his sentence he hands his son large portions of scrambled eggs scraping it out from the frying pan with a burn spatula. Henry slowly begins to eat his eggs and his father just watches him for a while. “I have something for you”, 4

says Michael who then quickly leaves to his room. He returns with a book wrapped in a white lace ribbon, and puts this book beside Henry’s plate. Henry stops eating his breakfast and looks at the book. “It belonged to your mother.” Henry picks up the book, unties the white lace ribbon, and tries to pronuciate the title of the book, “huck.. hackel..”, Michael quickly cuts him off “Huckleberry Finn, it was one of one of her favorites.” Henry’s mother passed away a long time ago, a year after he was born and his father has raised him alone ever since. “Henry are you finished your breakfast?", asks Michael. Henry quickly grabs his fork and takes some big scoops out of his eggs, gulps down his milk and then nods in response to his father. Apparently Henry now has a white moustache courtesy of the milk. Michael just looks at Henry and is amused. He then walks towards the coat rack and puts on his black hat and blazer then turns around towards Henry and says “okay, lets go, we don’t want to be late for the carnival now do we?”.

5

2

The Carnival

There are many people blowing fire from their mouths, clowns riding unicycles, many multicolored tents, jugglers, circus freaks, your typical carnival. Henry and his father are at the ticket booth and his father has just paid the entrance fee. The cashier hands him two tickets and off the go. Michael bends down and picks up his son and puts him around his shoulder. Together they attend most of the shows and rides at the Shangri-La carnival. As Henry and his father are just coming off the Ferris wheel and are about to head towards another attraction, the infamous triple-cyclops loop-de-loop ride, Henry hears something, “Bal-loons, get your bal-loons here, blue ones, red ones, green ones, big ones, small ones… bal-loons.” Henry looks around for the source of the voice and suddenly finds it, the balloon vendor disguised as a clown. Henry’s eyes are hypnotized by the balloon vendor and his father takes notices. 6

“Would you like a balloon Henry?", asks Michael. Henry very slowly nods his head as if the balloon vendor has him under his spell. Michael notices Henry’s induced state and gives off a subtle laugh and they both walk towards the clown who happens to be surrounded by many children. As they approach the balloon vendor Michael asks his son “Okay Henry, which one do you want?.” Henry looks at all the balloons, it seems as if the entire spectrum of colors are there, like a rainbow. He slowly scans each balloon and then focuses in on one; it is a red balloon slightly smaller than the others are. “That one!” shouts Henry. “Excuse me, how much for that red balloon over their?”, asks Michael to the balloon vendor who responds “Only twenty five cents sir.” Michael reaches deep into his pockets for some change. “Twenty-five-cents, here you go," says Michael as he pays the balloon vendor. The vendor takes the money, puts it into his money pouch which is wrapped around his waist then pulls down the little red balloon and unties it from the others and gives it to Henry. Henry is ecstatic and his father once again reaches deep into his pockets and takes out a pocket watch and looks at the time. “It is getting late Henry, maybe we should go now…?”, asks Michael. Henry nods his and both of them start to make their way out of the carnival. 7

3

Balloon-a-muck

Henry and his father are just exiting the carnival and entering the busy streets of New York City. He is holding the little red balloon in one hand and is walking along side his father who is munching away at some popcorn he purchased earlier at the carnival. As they are walking, Henry suddenly trips over a crack in the sidewalk and loses his grip of the balloon and it slips away from his hand. “The balloon!” cries Henry. The balloon slowly starts to ascend over the main streets, in a zigzag pattern, which are heavily congested with traffic. Michael hears Henry's cries and quickly notices the run-away balloon. “Wait here Henry!” replies Michael who hands his son his popcorn and make makes his way into the streets regardless of the traffic. “Hey buddy get off the road” 8

yells one driver, “what are you doing, are you crazy man?” yells another driver as Michael is trying to keep up with the balloon. He finally manages to grab a hold of the fugitive balloon but at that very instant he struck by a car. Henry drops the bag of popcorn and shouts “FAAATHER!”, as he watches in horror.

9

4

St. Josephs

Henry’s father has several bandages around his head and is lying unconscious on a small hospital bed. He is attached to an electrocardiogram (ECG), a device used in hospitals to measure heartbeat. The room is silent except for the sound “Doop…doop, doop…doop”, coming from the ECG machine. Henry is sitting beside his father with his head down holding the little red balloon in his hand. Suddenly a nurse walks into the room and looks at Henry, “Henry? Henry Tomassey?", asks the nurse. Henry lifts his head up and looks at the nurse with a flushed face and eyes full of tears. “Come with me dear, the doctor must examine your father now”. Henry slowly gets up and heads towards the door, but before he exits he turns back and looks at his father one more time. Henry is now sitting in the waiting room which is not too far away from his fathers room, in fact it is clearly visible. 10

The waiting room is filled with people, some crying, some talking, but most of them are tuned into the television. Henry also begins to watch the television show which is now reporting the local weather, “…and it’s going to be a windy day tonight and tomorrow folks. Wind speeds of up to 40 miles per hour are to be expected throughout most of New York City so if your outside please hold on to your hats. Henry’s eyes are now focused in on his father's room. He is watching a doctor enter the room with the same nurse that escorted Henry out. After a minute the nurse comes out of the room and looks at Henry from the distance. She then begins to approach him. “Is my father going to be alright?” asks Henry to the nurse. The nurse looks at him with a melancholic face and kneels down to his level. “your father is hurt very badly Henry", replies the nurse, “right now he must rest and the doctor will examine him again in the morning”. Henry just stares at her with a long face and puppy dog eyes. “Henry is there anyone who can take care of you? A brother? Or an uncle maybe?”, asks the nurse. Henry is distracted for a moment, as something else has caught his eyes. He sees a very well dressed lady in the background that resembles his perception of a social worker. He immediately thinks she is going to take him away and reacts defensively, “My Uncle Joseph… he is staying with us, he can take care of me”, 11

responds the cautious Henry. He then quickly gets up and leaves. “Henry!…Henry wait”, cries the nurse as she watches him leave.

 Henry has now left the hospital and is back home. He is lying face down on his bed crying. His two hands are clenched tightly to a pillow and after an hour of crying he has fallen asleep. “R-r-r-r-r-r-r-r-i-i-ng! R-r-r-r-r-r-i-i-ng!”, sounds of an alarm clock echo throughout Henry’s room. Henry opens his eyes and reaches for the alarm clock to turn it off. He then gets up, looks at the red balloon that has now floated to the ceiling and stares at it for a while. He then heads towards his little desk and rips off a piece of the carnival poster on the wall and starts writing: Dear god, please help my father get better. He is all I have. You took my mother away from me, please don’t take my father away too. All my heart, Henry Tomassey. Henry puts down his pen and looks at his letter. He then folds the letter many times and gets the white laced ribbon from the book his father gave him earlier and attaches the note to the balloon.

12

He now takes the balloon, runs towards the small window in his bedroom, quickly lifts it open and exits it onto the fire escape. Henry starts to climb up the fire escape ladder attached to the exterior of the building with the balloon in hand.

13

5

Up, up, and away

Henry has made his way up to the top of the building. He starts looking around amazed at all the other buildings around and gets a little frightened after coming to realize how high up he is. Nonetheless he walks to the center of the building and looks up into the sky, it is a beautiful sunny day and quite windy as predicted by the weatherman. Henry then looks at the balloon and lets it go. He just stands there watching the balloon as it ascend into the mighty blue yonder until it is no longer visible. The balloon travels across the city, high in the air with a view of all the corporate buildings below. It then reaches the coast and finally the ocean, as there is nothing but blue waters below, the Atlantic Ocean. One week later – England England, once a mighty empire that covered most of the world, is one of the few countries that still has a queen. Most of the English are quite successful; one in particular would be Diane Malton, wife of the late Edward Malton who had made his fortunes in coal mining.

14

Diane lives in a grand Georgian style house decorated in an old Victorian style. She is about 40 years of age and is sitting on a very comfortable chair facing the window. She is watching her daughter, Victoria of about 9 years of age playing the violin while sitting on a porch. Victoria is playing one of her favorite pieces, Beethoven’s violin concerto, with a richly lacquered violin, a Stradivarius replica. She is an only child with no friends except for the household staff and the wildlife that surrounds her home. Diane watches her daughter through the window with pride and sorrow. Suddenly the head butler, Daniel, who happens to be carrying a silver tea set, interrupts her. “Tea madam?” asks Daniel, “why certainly, thank you Daniel. Care to join me?”, “It will be my pleasure” replies Daniel. Daniel begins to pour two cups of tea and serves one to Diane. They both begin to drink their earl gray tea, and whenever there is tea there is in England there is also great conversation. “Daniel, may I ask you a question?”, asks Diane, “Why yes”, replies Daniel. “Do you think Victoria is…”,

15

Diane moves towards the window looking at her daughter again and then looks back at Daniel, “…happy?”, “I believe so madam”. “I think she blames me for the death of her father and also not allowing her to attend public school like the other children”. “Nonsense, with wealth there comes certain obligations madam, if she does not understand this now I am certain she will when she comes of age”. Daniel finishes. Diane turns back and looks at the window again. She takes another sip of her coffee and notices something peculiar stuck to one of the trees. “Daniel, could you come here for a moment please”. Daniel puts his cup of tea down and moves towards the window. “What is that!?”. “What is what madam?". “Over there, stuck in that tree”. “It appears to be… a balloon”. “A balloon? How odd. Daniel could please bring it to me?”. “Certainly madam”. “Maybe it might help cheer up Victoria”, finishes Diane. Daniel then proceeds to leave the room as Diane continues watching the balloon that is stuck in the branches of an old oak tree. Victoria is now putting her violin back into its’ case and getting ready to leave.  Victoria is lying face down on her bed. Softly crying. “Steady… steady, a little more.”

16

says a faint voice coming from outside. Victoria suddenly stops to cry and makes her way towards the window. Apparently Daniel and one of the gardener’s, who is on a ladder, are trying to get the little red balloon out of the tree. “You're almost there, almost, you got it!” shouts Daniel as the gardener grabs a hold of the balloon. The gardener begins to climb down the ladder. Victoria however doesn’t seem the slightest bit interested. “The balloon madam”, says Daniel as he hands the balloon to Diane. “Thank you Daniel”, replies Diane who immediately begins to examine it and notices that something is attached to it. “What is this?” “It appears to be a note madam.”, “A note, hmm." Diane begins to untie the note and unravels it. She slowly begins to read it. Suddenly she puts one hand on her mouth and slowly sits back down on her chair. Flash backs of a very young man hooked up to various machines with nurses and doctors running in and out of the room race through Diane’s mind, it is of her late husband. Diane has a dissociative look on her face. “Madam, madam… are you okay?” asks Daniel. Diane looks at Daniel. “I’m…I'm fine…where did this come from?", replies Diane, “May I?”. 17

Diane gives the note to Daniel who reads it quickly, and turns it around. The address of the carnival is present. Manhattan, New York City, New York. “New York madam,” says Daniel, “New York?, my god, that poor dear”. “Would you like me to throw it away?” “No, give it to me!“ "Is there anything you would like me to do?” Diane thinks for a while. “Yes, Daniel there is something I would like you do.” “Yes madam?” “I want you to go to New York.” “New York?… America Madam…?” “Yes, New York. I want you to find this boy and his father and make sure that they are well taken care of," “When would you like me to go madam?” “Tomorrow, book yourself on the next flight to New York.” “Very well madam.” Daniel starts walking towards the door. As he is just about to exit the Diane stops him, “Oh, Daniel. Thank you”, “My pleasure madam”.  Meanwhile back in New York… “…But Doctor they don’t have that kind of money." says the nurse that is looking after Michael.

18

“Then I’m afraid there is nothing more we can do. It has been a week and his condition has not improved. He requires more medication and surgery and medication and surgery, as you well know nurse, are very expensive.” replies one of the doctors at St. Joseph's. The nurse nods in agreement with the doctor. Henry, unfortunately, hears this discussion. The nurse and the doctor together look at Henry who is watching them. The emotionless doctor leaves abruptly while the nurse is left standing there looking at Henry. Shortly after she starts to approach him. “Is my father going to be all right?” says Henry again. “Henry, listen to me. Your father needs an operation, and operations are very expensive. He also needs more medication.” replies the nurse. Henry just stares blankly at her. “Don't worry, I'm sure everything will be alright”. The nurse leaves the room and Henry looks back at his father.

19

6

The British are coming, the British are coming

Daniel is walking out from New York's JFK airport, well dressed, not in the typical ‘butler’ uniform. He is carrying a handbag in one hand and with the other he tries to flag down a taxi. “Taxi!… Taxi!” A yellow New York style cab pulls up and he gets in. The taxi driver pulls away and starts driving. “So where are you going?” asks the the taxi driver with a thick New Yorker accent. “I…I don’t know”, replies Daniel. “Well the meter is running pal”, says the taxi driver. Daniel see’s a phone booth at the corner of the street, “Drop me off over there." 20

The taxi driver obliges and stops at the corner of the curb, “That will be seven dollars." Daniel suddenly realizes that he hasn’t converted his London pounds into American dollars. “Would you take seven pounds instead?” The taxi driver thinks for a while and finally realizes that each pound is worth almost three times the American dollar. “Yeah, yeah, sure that will do, seven pounds.” Daniel takes out the money and hands it over to the driver, and then gets out of the cab. The taxi driver then immediately picks up the CB radio, used to keep in touch with other cabbies, and calls dispatch, “Hey boys guess what, some guy just paid me in pounds?”, “pounds? London pounds?” replies an unknown cabbie, “yes, now that’s what I call a tip”. Daniel walks towards the phone booth and picks up the loosely attached and extremely worn out phone book. He then opens the phone book immediately to the 'T' section. Daniel reaches into his pocket and takes out the neatly folded carnival poster that was attached to the balloon and carefully analyses the spelling of Henry’s last name, Tomasey. He then searches the 'T' section hoping to find a match. Bingo! He finds a Tomasey one of several. He decides to pick the first one, Michael Tomasey apt472-291 Sarasota drive, Manhattan, and coincidently this happens to be the correct address. Daniel now reaches into his inner coat pocket and takes out a pen and jots it down on Henry’s 21

note and then closes the phone book and exits the phone booth and once again attempts to flag down a cab. Taxi’s are everywhere and New York taxi drivers, or ‘cabbies’ as they are known here, are a different breed. They are the real city guru’s, they know and see all. Ask a cabbie who won the Yankee’s game last night, not only will he tell you the score but also the play-by-play or if you wanted to know a great restaurant to dine at, the cabbie will, again, not only name you the best place to eat at but also recite the restaurants menu and alo their daily specials. A taxi cab quickly pulls up to Daniel who gets in. “Driver take me to 291 Sarasota drive." “No problem, but you do realize that that is a long drive, do you have money for the fare?”, asks the driver, “Why yes I do, that is if you take pounds?” “Ah, so you’re the pounds guy?” “Pardon me?” “oh nothing, yeah I take pounds, Sarasota drive?”, “two-nine-one Sarasota drive”. “Okay, here we go," finishes the driver as he begins to drive. The taxi driver arrives at Sarasota drive and begins to slow down and eventually stops in front of a very old apartment building, “291 Sarasota drive." "Excellent." Daniel pays the fare to the driver, again in pounds, and gets out of the cab and waits for it to leave. Daniel immediately notices that this is a very seedy area, nothing remotely like Chelthenham at all. He turns around and looks at the apartment building, which has a bronze plate with the numbers 291 attached to the exterior of the building. As he proceeds to 22

walk towards the apartment building he notices that he is being watched by some of the current residents. One man approaches him. “Can I help you?” asks the man, “Yes, I am looking for a Mr. Tomassey, Michael Tomassey." “He ain’t here." “Do you know where I can find him?”, “Yeah, he’s in the hospital, got hit by a car or something, at St. Joe’s…”, “St. Joe’s?” “St. Joseph’s down Simmons Street”, “Simmons street… at St. Joseph’s. Thank you sir.” Daniel turns quickly turns around and attempts to, once again, flag a taxi and one quickly, as always, pulls up.

23

7

Sunshine

"Doctor Stanton please come to the O.R., doctor stanton, to the o.r.", says someone over the hospital announcer, the message echoing throughout the Hospital's corridors. St. Joesph's hospital is a very busy hospital, lots of people going in and out of various rooms, some using crutches with either legs or arms in a cast, and on a few on wheelchairs. Daniel has managed to successfully find the hospital and is engaged in conversation with the receptionist. The receptionist picks up the phone, talks into it and shortly after hangs it up. Then she says something to Daniel and he thanks her. A doctor, dressed in scrubs, approaches the receptionist area. He looks at the receptionist who directs him to Daniel. The two men shake hands, talk briefly, and then Daniel reaches into his inside coat pocket, takes out what appears to be a check book. He signs it and hands it to the doctor, who first looks at it and then hands it to the receptionist. The two men shake hands again and the doctot leaves.

24

Later that evening… Henry is walking towards his father's room, passing many other rooms. There are many nurses and doctors dressed in scrubs in many different colors in the hallway. He finally reaches his fathers room and proceeds to enter it and as he does he immediately notices that his father is conscious. Michael, however, is not alone in the room, Daniel is also present. Henry completely ignores the butler and runs towards his father. “Father!”, yells Henry as he runs towards his father and gently hugs him. Daniel watches the reunion with a smile on his face. Henry then pulls away from his father. “Father, you're better?!”, “For now I am, I missed you Henry.” Henry now notices the man, looking cautiously at him, “Henry, I would like you to meet Mr. Williams, He is the reason why I am still alive”, “Please, Michael, I was merely carrying out orders, you have my lady to thank”, “I would like to meet your lady and thank her personally”, “I’m sure she will want to meet you as well, and especially you Henry”, Henry looks at him perplexed. Michael does not take notice. The attending nurse walks in. “I’m so glad to see you are feeling better Mr. Tomasey." “Thank you nurse, so am I." The nurse checks the various machines still attached to Henry's father, 25

“Everything looks good." replies the nurse. She then looks at Michael with a more of a serious look. “However I'm afraid I do have some bad news." “Bad news? What can that possibly be?” “After your operation you will need to spend a lot of time in the hospital to recover and for the doctor's to monitor your progress. I’m afraid there is no one to take care of Henry…" She then looks at Henry, “…and I have checked, Henry you do not have an Uncle Joseph." Michael looks at Henry and then back at the Nurse with a confused look on his face. “What?, Uncle Joseph? What exactly are you saying nurse?”, “Henry will be in foster care until the courts deem you fit to take care of him”, "What is she talking about father?” frightfully asks Henry, “No, I will not allow this!“ "I’m sorry Mr. Tomasey but we do not have another option”, The lady Henry saw earlier walks into the room. “Will you excuse me for a moment?” says then Daniel who then quickly leaves the room. The social worker starts to approach them.

26

8

Have you ever seen the Big Ben? Daniel is at a phone booth in the main lobby of the hosiptal, he is making a call. "operator", says the telephone operator on the other end, "Hello operator, I would like to make a colloect call to London, England." "Your name, and the number you wish to call?" "Daniel, 212-8332." "Thank-you, just one moment please… You have a collect call from Daniel, would you like to accept the charges?" "Yes." replies Diane in England, "Thank-you, go ahead." "Hello." " Madam…", "Daniel?", "Yes madam.", "How’s America?", "Fine, madam.", "And Henry’s father?" 27

"He is doing much better now, but Henry…", "What's the matter Daniel?", "…I’m afraid there is a problem madam. The father requires surgery and will not be able to tend for the boy. Henry is going to be placed in foster care", "Foster care? Nonsense. Daniel I want you to bring Henry here, I will take care of him until his father gets better. "My sentiments exactly." "Excellent. Godspeed Daniel." finishes Daniel who then hangs up the phone. Meanwhile back in the room… “…I can assure you Mr. Tomasey, you will have custody of Henry once you have recovered.” Finishes the social worker. She the hands Michael some documents to sign and also a pen. “I just need you to sign here, here, and here to give legal guardianship of Henry to the state of New York.” Michael does not like this but knows he has no choice. He begins to sign the documents when he is suddenly interrupted by Daniel who abruptly enters the room. "Before you sign that may I speak with you for a moment…?", Daniel then looks at the social worker and the nurse, " …alone." "Yes, yes of course", replies Michael. He looks at the social worker and the nurse who then begin to leave the room confused. He then looks at Henry, "I’m afraid you too Henry." 28

Henry begins to leave the room too but before he exits, he looks back at his father who smiles and nods his head. Henry, the social worker and the nurse are all sitting in the waiting room. He is starring at the door that leads to his father's room. A couple of minutes pass and the door suddenly swings open. The butler comes out, looks at the three, smiles, and retreats back into the room. The three get up and start walking towards the room. "Henry, come here", says Michael. Henry listens to his father and walks cautiously towards him. "Listen to me son, I want you to go with Daniel here..." "I’m sorry but I cannot…" interrupts the social worker, "I have given Daniel here legal guardianship to take care of Henry in my absence", Michael rips the contract, and the social worker looks at him with a disturbed look and then quickly leaves. "Are you sure about this Mr. Tomassey?", asks the nurse, "Positive. Now if you two may excuse me I would like to have a moment with my son". The butler and the nurse leave the room. "Henry, you will go with Daniel to England…", "England?", "Yes, you will be well taken care of Henry." "I don’t want to go to England. I want to stay here with you!" "You can’t stay here, you know that. They will put you in a foster home. Besides England will be much more fun, have you ever seen the big ben?" "Big ben?" 29

"It is a very large clock-tower, truly magnificent. I have only read about it, and Henry you will get a chance to actually see it. It truly is a magnificent site. Plus you get to experience a whole new culture." Michael notices Daniel peeking through the door and he then takes some deep breathes, "I’m feeling tired Henry, give me a hug." "I'll will miss you." replies the now teary eyed Henry who gives his father a hug, "I love you Henry. Okay son Daniel is waiting." Henry leaves slowly towards the Butler, with tears in his eyes. "I will see you soon. Be a good boy." finishes Henry's father as he lays down and closes his eyes pretending to sleep. Daniel and Henry leave the room and as they do, A tear runs from Michael's left eye down to his cheeks.  Henry's bedroom... Henry is packing some clothes getting ready to leave for England. He closes his small briefcase and heads towards the door. Before he opens the door, he stops, pauses, and then turns around and gets something, a book, the book his father gave him. A cab is parked outside with Daniel waiting beside it. The butler sees Henry approaching and he takes his suitcase from him and places it in the trunk. Henry and Daniel then both get into the cab which promptly leaves for the airport. Daniel and Henry aboard an airplane that is just about to leave for London, England. This is Henry's first time on an airplane and he has managed to get the window seat in first class. Daniel is sitting next to him reading some British tabloid full of gossip from back home. 30

The airplane proceeds towards the runaway. Henry, although a bit frightened about the dramatic change of events that have occurred in the past 24 hours, is quite excited about his first ride on a plane, and is looking out through the window waiting for the plane to be airborne. Suddenly the engines become louder, and then the plane accelerates like a rocket down the runway. Henry is pinned back into his seat from the force of the plane zooming down the runway, but he fights hard to overcome it so he can watch through his window. Finally the airplane lifts up into the air, and like a bird, it is airborne.

31

9

England It is raining, and There are many people exiting from the airplane from the outside, many carrying umbrellas. Henry and Daniel are the last to exit the airplane. Daniel unfolds an umbrella and holds it over them both. They both walk down the stairs leading from the airplane to very luxurious car, a limosine, waiting for them. As they approach the car the driver takes their bags, opens the door for them and they both get in. The driver then puts the luggage in the trunk. The driver then gets into the limosine and proceeds to leave the airport. The limousine is travelling along a muddy road in the beautiful Cheltenham countryside. A grand Georgian style house can be seen in the distance. Henry looks in awe at the grandiose mansion as he exits from the limosine. Daniel quickly puts the umbrella around them both and they both proceed towards the mansion. Daniel then folds the umbrella and hands it to one of the maids inside the mansion who were waiting for their arrival. "Will you also tell the miss’s that we have arrived,"

32

says Daniel to one of the maids who nods and then leaves. The butler then looks at Henry. "Come along Henry." Daniel shows Henry around the mansion, and my what mansion it is, large and decorated like museum. They then pass by Victoria's room and the door to her room is slightly open. Henry hears the sounds of a violin being played. music is heard over. Daniel, however, ignores the music but Henry, like a snake being charmed by his masters flute, is drawn to it as he stops and looks through the opening. He sees a young girl, Victoria, playing her violin, a sad composition but well played. He cannot help but stare at the young girl. Victoria, who is in her nightgown, is focused on playing her violin and is oblivious to her surroundings. "Herny, come along lad." Henry hears Daniel calling for him but before he takes his eyes off Victoria she looks up at him and there eyes lock for a brief moment before Henry quicky leaves. Daniel show Henry another room in the mansion. He opens the door and walks in the room this time and Henry follows him. "…and this, Henry, will be your quarters." Henry does not say a word, he is amazed. He looks around the room, it is decorated like the other rooms, old Victorian, and at least three times as big as his room in New York. He looks at the bed and notices that his little suitcase is there. "Come along Henry, you may unpack later." Daniel now takes Henry to the living room. Diane is sitting on the same sofa looking out through the same the window as she was earlier. HENRY is curious of who this woman might be, maybe the owner of the house? 33

"Madam." Says Daniel. Diane turns around and looks at them. "May I introduce Henry." She just stares at him for a while with a smile on her face then and looks at Daniel. "Thank you Daniel. How was your trip?" "It was fine madam." "Welcome back." Diane now focuses on Henry, who is standing beside Daniel looking quite nervous. "Come here child." says Diane. Daniel proceeds to leave the room leaving Henry all alone. He then slowly begins to move towards her. "My goodness, aren’t you just adorable." Henry just stares at her. "Henry, is that your name?" "Yes, ma’am." Henry has a fearful look on his face and Diane acknowledges this. "Don’t be afraid. Come closer." Henry takes a few more steps closer towards her. "Thank you for helping my father ma’am." "It was my pleasure. How is your father?" "Much better now." "That’s good." "May I ask you a question ma’am?" 34

"Yes, of course." "How did you, I mean why…" Henry is interrupted by Diane. "Come with me Henry, I want to show you something." Diane gets up and takes Henry's hand and escorts him out of the room. "I was looking out the window one day, and there was something odd stuck in the tree…" She has taken Henry to her bedroom and as she opens the door to her room Henry see's his red balloon tied to a chair, still inflated and floating. "My balloon!" says Henry as he runs towards it. Diane slowly walks behind him. Henry turns around and looks at Diane "…It was a balloon, that balloon, stuck in an old oak tree." "And the note? "I’m sorry that it didn’t reach Heaven, but I did what I thought God would have done." "Thank you so much." "You are quite welcome dear. And you are welcome to stay here as long as you like." Suddenly they are interrupted by some noise coming outside the room. They both look at the door, it is Victoria running. "Mother!, mother!, there is someone in the house!" Victoria sees Henry with her mother and she slows her step and eventually comes to a stand still. "Victoria, I would like you to meet Henry, he will be staying with us for a while." Says her mother. Victorias looks at Henry, and Henry looks back at her. 35

"Hello." says Victoria slowly. "Hello." replies Henry. "He is from America." Says Diane. Sounds of a struck clock are then heard over. "It’s getting late, Victoria could you please escort Henry to his room?" "Yes, Goodnight mother." "Goodnight dear, and goodnight Henry." "Goodnight ma’am." "I am sure you are going to love England." Victoria and Henry both leave the Diane's bedroom and they head towards Henry's room. "So you’re from America?" "Yes." "From what part?" "New York, New York City." "Did you like it?" "Like what?" "The music that I was playing with my violin?" "Yes, you're very good." "I have been playing the violin since I was three. Do you play any instruments Henry?" "No." "That's too bad. Music is the language of the soul, well that's what my father used to say. If you don’t mind me asking, why exactly are you here?" "Your mother is taking care of me until my father gets better." "What happened to your father?" "He was in an accident" "Oh, I’m sorry to hear that." 36

They both reach Henry's room and Henry stops. "This is it." Victoria stops, looks at HENRY and smiles. "Good night Henry. I’m glad you’re here." "Good night." finishes Henry as he retreats to his room.

37

10

Do you see what I see? It's a brand new day in England, the sun is out, the birds are chirping, and the breakfast is on the table. Henry and Victoria are the only ones sitting down at the fairly large kitchen table and have already begun to eat their breakfast. They are waiting for Diane, who finally walks in well dressed as if she is going to work. She goes towards near Victoria and kisses her on the head. "Good morning Dear." "Good morning mother." "Good morning Henry." "Good morning." "Did you sleep well?" "Yes ma'am." She looks back at Victoria with a more serious look on her face. "Victoria, I have to go into town today and will not be back for some time. I expect you will be on your best behavior and trust that you will take care of our special guest. Can you do that?" "Yes mother." "Great. Daniel will be coming with me today."

38

Daniel then enters the room, holding a briefcase. Diane kisses Victoria on her head again. "Have a good day children." Diane and Daniel then leave then exit the room. Henry and Victoria continue eating breakfast.  Henry and Victoria are outside and running down through the garden and towards a path. It is a bright summer day. "Where are we going?" "Just come on." The have managed to have enter a forest filled with luxuriant ferns, foxgloves, and trees. Henry looks at the many trees in astonishment. “It’s so green, and there are so many tree’s." “Don’t you have tree’s in New York?" “Yes, a few, but no so big.” “ You know Henry, I will be going to New York…" “Really? When?” “Someday, when I get older, It’s the center of the art world you know. Maybe I could stay with you?” “Yeah sure…” "Look!, over there!” Victoria points to a giant old Oak tree in the distance and she starts to walk towards it, Henry follows her. "It is just another tree Victoria." "No, look there is a nest." VICTORIA has now begun to climb the tree and Henry does the same. They both have managed to reach close to the top and are resting on a strong branch watching the clutch of robins. 39

“They hatched yesterday," whispers Victoria. "When its not raining, I always come here and see if any of the eggs had hatched..." Henry looks at the birds, curious to see for himself in any of the eggs did hatched. "...A few days ago we had quite a terrible storm, with hurricane like winds..." "yes, in New York we too had something of a wind storm." "... The wind was so strong that it managed to blow this nest right off the tree. Fortunately when I came to visit the following day the egss were not damaged. I managed to pick them up and put them back in the nest and the nest back on the tree. "Really? Wow.? "Their quite lucky, because if I hadn't gotten to them I am sure a fox or a raccoon may have." "So, you're kind of like their mother?" "Something like that, but we better go before their real mother comes back." Henry nods. Victoria looks down towards the river below and she sees an row boat tied to a tree. “Henry…look!, do you see what I see?” whispers Victoria as she uses her head to point out the direction to Henry. Henry looks at the boat in the distance. They both climb down the tree, and walk towards the boat. An old row boat, with two oars inside of it, is tied to a tree. Victoria begins to untie it from the tree. “What are you doing?” asks Henry, but at this time the boat is free and Victoria throws the rope inside the row boat and begins pushing it in the water and then jumps in. 40

“Come on Henry, get in!” Henry looks at Victoria and looks back at the forest. He has a hesitant look on his face. "But..." “Come on, Hurry!” Henry then runs into the water and climbs aboard. The boat starts too drift slowly. “What if we get caught?” “We won’t get caught, we will return it." The boat starts to drifts at a snails pace. Victoria lies on her back and looks up at the many voluptuous shaped clouds above. “Henry… what does that cloud look like?” “It looks like…like a cloud”. “No… it looks like a bird, like the robins”. Henry lies on his back, joining Victoria, and starts to looks at the cloud. “Look, there are its wings”. “It looks more like… like and angel." Victoria looks at it a bit more carefully. “Yes, you’re right, it does look like an angel. Do you believe in angels?” “I don’t know, I guess, how else could have my balloon gone so far without the aide of an angel. Do you believe in angels? “My father did. He always said that everyone had an angel watching over them”, “Victoria, what happened to your father?”, “He died, of the black lung disease. He worked too hard and for too long for what we have now. My mother was happy when my father was alive, now she is always sad, and she very keeps busy. Sometimes I worry about her”. “I’m sorry. " “I really miss him. Look! he gave me this ring” 41

Victoria shows Henry her ring, a small gold ring with a black bead, similar to a mood ring. “Do you like it?” “Yes, It’s very nice”. Suddenly the boat begins to rock, waves are breaking into it. They both get up and look at the surrounding rough water. “Quick! Get the other oar”. Victoria gets one of the oars and Henry gets the other and they both try to using it to steer away from the raging waters but its useless. Both of the oars fall into the water and they both take grip of the boat. “Henry I’m scared”. “Just hold on!” The boat is rocking violently back and forth. Victoria can’t hold on and she falls into the river. “A-h-h-h-h-h!” Henry looks at Victoria who is being carried away by the rapids. “Henry! Henry!” Victoria can’t seem to swim, the currents are too powerful for her. Henry looks at her, and without thinking, jumps in. “Victoria! I'm coming.” Henry looks around, he can’t find her. He goes under the water and comes back up empty handed. Henry apparently is a much stronger swimmer than Victoria. “Victoria!” Henry see's something near by, dives down, and comes back up with Victoria. She looks very weak but still conscious. 42

Henry swims toward a rocky shoal, the waters there are not as fierce as they were before. He lays Victoria down on the shoal. “Victoria, are you ok?” Victoria is coughing and spitting out water. “ I… I think so…wait!” She looks at her hand, her ring is missing. “My ring!, my ring is missing!” They both search the nearby surroundings. “I think it must have fell in the…” They both synchronously look at the river. Victoria starts to cry softly. “I think we should go back now”. says Henry to Victoria who nods in agreement. They both get up, drenched, and start to head back. Later that evening... ******** Diane, HENRY, and VICTORIA are sitting at dining table eating diner. HENRY and VICTORIA have changed into new clothes and it looks as though they have taken a shower. The motheR takes notice. “Did it rain?” VICTORIA and HENRY look at each other, then VICTORIA looks back at her mother. “Yes.” “Now that’s odd, it didn’t rain in the city.” “It rained only briefly.” “Hmm… well you never can tell here in London.” The MOTHER does not seem the slight bit interested anymore. 43

“So Henry, how was your first day in England?” “It was great ma’am.” “I hoped you enjoyed your day, was Victoria a good host?” “Yes… she was.” “That’s good. I am glad you two are getting along so well. “Henry why don’t you tell us about New York City.” “New York City?” “Yes…New York City. What’s it like? Tell us.” “Well, New York City is like… like the whole world in one city. There are so many people from so many different places, and you never see the same person twice. The buildings are so big, that sometimes you can’t even see the top, and when you try to you fall back because they are so tall….” “Yes, Daniel has told all about those buildings.” “…But what I especially like about New York are the hot dogs” “Hot dogs… What’s a hot dog?” asks Victoria, HENRY looks at his dinner. “Here, I’ll show you”, HENRY begins cutting up his steak into a cylinder shape. He then splits a bun and puts the piece of steak in it. “It kind of looks like this...” HENRY takes a bite out of the pseudo-hotdog. “..It’s very good.” VICTORIA and her MOTHER watch HENRY, perplexed. Into the darkness HENRY is sleeping. There is a flash of lighting shortly followed by a sound of thunder. HENRY opens his eyes, gets up and moves towards the window. HENRY stares outside. VICTORIA is sleeping. The MOTHER is sleeping. The window is open, and a tree is seen swaying back and forth from the wind. Flashes of light are seen followed by sounds of thunder, which are even louder now. HENRY is slowly walking in the night. It starts to rain, soft at first, then hard. HENRY is now running. We hear sounds of thunder and the ubiquitous flashes of light. HENRY tears through the trees, drenched and hair streaming. He has a ghost’s grace on his face. 44

HENRY is standing along the same rocky shoal in which he laid VICTORIA down. He is breathing heavily from all the running. He looks at the river, A beat, then walks in it. HENRY is looking for something, it’s the ring. He looks around searching for it. His attention then focuses on a shiny object, it is the ring. He removes the small rock around it and picks it up. We are watching the surface of the river, the rain hitting the water hard. We see HENRY rising from underneath, as he reaches the surface he gasp for air. We are watching the window again, this time it is closed. The camera follows the trail of water to a pile of soaked clothes and a towel. We then see HENRY asleep. We see the sun rise over the water. HENRY is sleeping, the sun is shinning on his face. VICTORIA bursts in and goes by HENRY’s side. She starts shaking him, trying to get him to wake up. “Henry, Henry, wake up!” HENRY rubs his eyes, squints and looks at VICTORIA. “Come on Henry, get up, we are going to pick gooseberries and blackberries, Margaret is going to make her famous tarts.” VICTORIA is carrying a grass woven basket and HENRY is beside her. They are picking berries from the bushes around them, and laughing. We see a seasonal transition of the leaves on the tree’s and bushes in the surrounding from green to orange, red and brown synchronously with HENRY and VICTORIA picking the berries. HENRY and VICTORIA enter the house, laughing with a basket full of berries. We see the MOTHER in the distance holding an envelope. “Henry, come hear here for a moment please.” Says Diane HENRY and VICTORIA stop laughing and HENRY approaches the MOTHER. “There is a letter for you.” The MOTHER gives HENRY the envelope. HENRY looks at the letter. A beat. He then opens it. There is a letter with an airplane ticket. He starts reading the letter. “It’s from my father.” He continues to read the letter. 45

“He’s ok, he’s ok!… I’m going home”, HENRY is ecstatic. He looks at the MOTHER, who has a smile on her face. “I’m going home!” He looks at VICTORIA who does not share HENRY’s joy. HENRY’s smile vanishes as he looks at VICTORIA. She looks at him, A beat, then leaves the room running. The MOTHER watches her leave. “Oh dear…” The MOTHER walks towards VICTORIA’s direction. Henry is left standing alone. We see VICTORIA crying softly on her bed, her MOTHER is beside her trying to comfort her. “He cannot stay dear. He has to go to school… his father needs him, he needs his father.” HENRY opens the door, VICTORIA’s eyes shift from the MOTHER to HENRY. The MOTHER then turns and looks at HENRY. VICTORIA is not crying, but sniffling. Her face is red and eyes are full of tears. “I’ll leave you two alone.” The MOTHER gets up and leaves. HENRY looks at her. A beat. “I don't want you to go Henry...” “You know I have to.” “Promise you will write.” “I will write.” “Promise!” “I promise.” We are watching HENRY depart. The limousine that brought HENRY here is waiting with the trunk open. HENRY, VICTORIA, and her MOTHER walk towards it. They stop and HENRY walks in front of the two and turns around. He approaches the MOTHER and looks at her. “Thank-you for your kindness.” He hugs her. “You are very welcome.” The MOTHER has tears in her eyes. HENRY then pulls away and moves towards VICTORIA, she is softly crying and sniffling. They gaze at each other. A beat. “I have something for you.” 46

HENRY reaches into his pocket, takes something out. He gives the object to VICTORIA. A beat. HENRY then walks towards the limousine. VICTORIA looks at the ring, A beat, then watches HENRY walking towards the limousine. She then looks at the ring again recalling its significance, then with an astonished, yet heartbroken face looks at HENRY who is looking at her through the window of the limousine. There eyes lock and the limousine drives away. VICTORIA hugs her MOTHER's hips, heartbroken. The limousine drives away. The moment is emotionally charged. 15 years later, New York City A cash register is heard over. We see HENRY and three of his friends, SAM, JOHH, and KENNETH sitting at a table, drinking coffee, smoking and engaged in a conversation. sam “…So Sue like comes over last night, looking all serious and shit, and you know what she does? she proposes.” JOHN “She asked you to marry her?” SAM “Yeah!.” HENRY “Did she get you a ring and go down on her knees?” SAM “Yeah…she got me a pretty nice ring too.” KENNETH “So… what did you say?” JOHN “You didn’t say yes did you…” The other three are looking at SAM. A beat. HENRY “Oh my good, you did…” SAM “Well what else could I have said? No? Besides I was relieved.” JOHN “Relieved?” SAM “Yeah, at least she didn’t say she was late…” 47

A beat. KENNETH, HENRY, AND JOHN start to laugh. JOHN “Well congrats man.” HENRY “Yeah, we are all real happy for you.” A beat. KENNETH “So… Henry, that just leaves you…” HENRY “Leaves me what?” KENNETH “You’re the only one not yet hitched.” HENRY “…And that’s a bad thing?” SAM “What happened with Julie?” HENRY “Julie?… She left.” JOHN “Julie left? I liked Julie.” HENRY “She wasn’t… the one you know.” SAM “Henry, you know what your problem is, you want Ms. Perfect. You’re searching for someone who doesn’t exist.” KENNETH “Maybe Henry’s swinging the bat the wrong way.” JOHN “Oh is that it Henry? You got a designated hitter?” HENRY “What? No!, we don’t have to go there…There was this one though.” JOHN “Who?” HENRY (slowly) “Victoria.” KENNETH “Victoria? Who’s Victoria, you never mentioned her before.” 48

HENRY “She was my first… love.” HENRY is lost in thought now. SAM “What was wrong with her?” HENRY “Nothing…” JOHN “Well, what happened to her?” HENRY “…It was a long time ago… long distance relationships, you know how it is…” HENRY reminisces and drinks his coffee. The other three just stare at him in bewilderment. KENNETH breaks the silence. KENNETH “…So who’s coming with me to the Lakers-Knicks game tomorrow?” HENRY and SAM are outside the coffee shop. SAM “Listen Henry,…I'm sorry about what happened in there.” HENRY “Hey…don't worry about it.” SAM “We're just worried about you, that's all.” HENRY “Yeah, I know.” Henry waves for a cab. A cab pulls up. HENRY “Want to share a cab?” SAM “Yeah, sure.” Inside the cab SAM “Henry, I didn't want to mention this in front of the others but I want you to be the best man.” HENRY “Really? Me?… I'm…I'm honored.” SAM 49

“So… you’ll do it?” HENRY “Of course I'll do it… I'll be your best man.” SAM “Thanks, this means a lot.” HENRY “So that means I have to throw you a bachelor party right?” A beat. SAM laughs. SAM “Yeah, I…I guess so.” HENRY gets out of the cab, makes a gesture to pay for his share but is interrupted by SAM. SAM “Don't worry about it, this ones on me.” HENRY “thanks. See you later Sam.” SAM “Yeah, see ya.” HENRY begins to walk away from the cab. A bachelor part is in progress. SAM, a twenty-six year old man, is moving through the crowd making small talk as he walks by. SAM’s shirt is buttoned down. The people here, mostly men, are casually dressed and the few women present are dressed very provocatively with big hair. Everyone has a drink in his or her hand. SAM, holding two drinks, makes his way to HENRY who is talking with KENNETH, appears to be enjoying the party a little less than the others. SAM approaches him and hands HENRY a drink. SAM “Hey man, great party. I can’t thank you enough.” HENRY “No problem man. Enjoy it because this is the last night you will be a free, single man.” SAM registers what HENRY has said, his face is perplexed. KENNETH nods in agreement. HENRY is walking on a sidewalk. He sees a newsstand, stops and picks up a paper. He looks at the top section summaries. There is a picture of a women beside the Arts and Entertainment section heading. 50

PAPER VENDOR “That will be eighty-five cents sir.” He ignores the vendor, and looks at the image of the woman. It looks like VICTORIA. He turns to the Arts and Entertainment section, and flips through it. He finds the article and begins to read it. PAPER VENDOR “Sir…sir. Eighty five cents!.” HENRY “What?, oh, yeah.. here.” HENRY gives the vendor a five dollar bill and walks away. PAPER VENDOR “Your change, sir.. your…” HENRY ignores the paper vendor. His attention is focused on the article. Article- VICTORIA will be in town tomorrow performing a concert, it appears she is now a famous violinist. HENRY (whispers) “Oh my god.” HENRY is on the phone, talking with SAM. He is holding the newspaper. “Hello.” “Sam… It’s me Henry.” “Hey, what’s up?” “It’s her man.” “What… it’s who?” “Victoria.” “Victoria? The Victoria?” “Yeah.” “Where?” “In the paper. Do you have the Times?” “Yeah, I think so unless Sue threw it out already. Let me go check, one sec. Yeah, I have it.” “The art’s section, second page.” “Shit, that’s her. Wow.” “Yeah… she’s playing here tomorrow, and I was wondering…” “…Wait, Henry… I know what you’re gonna say, and I can’t…” “Oh, ok I understand…” “Look man, you know I would come, but I have this thing with Sue’s parents…” “Hey, no problem.” 51

“What about Ken or John? Have you called them yet?” “No, not yet.” “Well I’m sure one of them will go with you. Look man, I am sorry.” “Hey, don’t worry about. I’ll talk to you later okay?” “Yeah ok, bye Henry.” “Bye.” Henry hangs up the phone. HENRY, well dressed wearing a black suit and slacks with a white shirt, walking towards a theatre hall. There is a crowd, many of New York's pristine socialites are present. HENRY is walking between the row of seats trying to get to his seat. He takes a seat and looks at the center stage, which is not that far away. The lights dim. A beat. VICTORIA, walks in from the side entrance, and takes a seat in the middle. HENRY’s eyes just light up. VICTORIA is very beautiful. She lifts her violin, the same Stradivarius replica, a begins to play a familiar piece by Tchaikovsky. The concert is over. HENRY is walking slowly, looking for someone. He looks ahead and sees VICTORIA, surrounded by admirers. She is engaged in a conversation with them. HENRY stares at VICTORIA while walking towards her. VICTORIA glances at HENRY, stares at him for a while and her childhood memories consume her. “Oh my god… Henry?” Her admirers look back at HENRY. “Henry, Is that you?” HENRY stops and smiles. “Victoria.” “Oh my god, look at you. You look great.” “Thanks. So do you.” More admirers gather around her, she is trying to talk with HENRY but can’t. She looks at HENRY with sorrow and relents and starts talking with them. HENRY sees the crowd and slowly retreats. HENRY leave the theatre and shortly thereafter stops at the edge of the sidewalk and looks to the right, and then to the left of the road. When he looks towards his left he notices VICTORIA standing behind a pillar. “hey you.” “Hey… shouldn’t you be…” 52

VICTORIA cuts him off. “…In there? Yeah, just came out to get some air. Got a cigarette?” “Yeah.” HENRY reaches in his pocket, takes out a pack of cigarettes, hands one to VICTORIA . She puts the cigarette in her mouth. HENRY takes out a lighter and lights her cigarette. HENRY also lights up a cigarette for himself. VICTORIA inhales and the slowly exhales the cigarette. “Victoria, in New York, who would have thought it.” VICTORIA inhales her cigarette and then lets it go. “How long has it been?” “Too long… So how’s life?” “So… elegant.” “I bet.” They both laugh, and look at each other again. They hear sounds coming from the theatre and both look at that direction, sounds which sound like people calling for VICTORIA. “My admirers… I should get back to them.” VICTORIA flicks her cigarette. “Oh yeah, sure. It was great to see you again.” VICTORIA takes something out of her purse, a business card, and hands it to HENRY. “Call me…” HENRY accepts the card, looks at VICTORIA walking towards the theatre doors. Before she enters, she turns around and looks at HENRY. “…Maybe we can go get a hotdog or something?” HENRY smiles. HENRY walks into the apartment, removes his jacket and loosens his tie. HENRY then walks into his bedroom, moves towards his dresser and puts the keys on top. He then opens his drawer, takes out something, a deflated balloon. HENRY looks at the balloon, then inflates it with his mouth and lets the balloon go. HENRY laughs, and falls into his bed. We see HENRY purchasing two hot dogs from a hotdog vendor. He approaches VICTORIA and hands her one of the hotdogs. She examines the hotdog carefully. “So this is a hotdog?” “Just try it…” She takes a bite, HENRY waits for her reaction. 53

“Not bad.” HENRY smiles. They walk through a park, eating their hotdogs while talking. “So Henry, how’s your father?” “My father? Oh he past away.” “Oh, I’m sorry.” “Your mother? How is she?” “She passed away too.” “Really? I’m sorry.” “So Henry, what do you do?” “I… I write.” “You’re a writer? Wow that's great.” “Thanks.” “So… what have you written?” “Nothing yet, I’m working on a book.” “What kind of book or you working on?” “It's a novel…” “…is it a mystery, thriller, suspense, adventure…” “Adventure… an epic really.” “Like Homer?” “Something like that. I’m almost finished.” “I would like to read it when it is.” “Yeah… sure, no problem.” They have walked on a arching bridge. They stop at the middle and watch the manmade river below. HENRY looks at VICTORIA. “So how long are you going to be in New York?” “For a couple more days, and then its back to London.” HENRY looks back at the river. “You know… I still have it.” HENRY looks at her again.. “Have what?” “The ring.” She reaches in her chest and takes her necklace out, it has a ring entangled within it, the same ring her FATHER gave to her and HENRY recovered from the river. HENRY reaches for it and pulls it towards him. He holds the ring and looks at it, then his eyes slowly move towards VICTORIA’s eyes. They gaze at each other, 54

and the both move in to kiss. As they are about to kiss there is a sound of thunder. They both synchronously look up and a few drops of rain fall on their faces. “Looks like its going to rain.” They laugh. It’s raining hard, HENRY has taken off his jacket and the two of them are using it as a shield against the rain. We see them slightly jogging through the city. They reach a corner. “Where are you staying?” “The Hilton, not too far from here.” “I’ll walk you there.” “No, you go ahead, I’ll be fine.” “Are you sure?” “Yeah, call me tomorrow ok?” “Ok, at least take the jacket.” VICTORIA hesitates at first then takes the jacket and leaves. HENRY watches her leave for a moment , and then takes off in the opposite direction. HENRY is walking slowly in the rain holding a folded newspaper over his head. He sees a police car drive by real fast with its lights flashing. Moments later he sees an ambulance drive by fast, with its lights flashing and siren on. The ambulance is headed towards VICTORIA’s direction. HENRY looks at the ambulance turn a corner. A beat. He then starts to walk in that direction, slowly at first, then jogging. He turns the corner and sees lots of lights and people in the distance, there appears to be an accident. HENRY approaches the crowd and stops by one spectator. “Hey, what happened?” SPECTATOR “Some chick got hit by a car.” “Did she… did she have brown hair?” The spectator is not paying much attention to HENRY, he is more interested in the accident. “Did she have brown hair?” SPECTATOR “What? Yeah, yeah I think so.’ HENRY stops looks at him, breathing heavily from the run and soaking wet. He makes his way through the crowd. He sees an ambulance with its rear doors open and someone being hauled in, but he cannot see the face due to the many 55

paramedics. He then looks at the cop, and sees a man, presumably the person who hit VICTORIA discussing something. His eyes then focus on the middle of the road where there appears to be a jacket.. HENRY walks towards the jacket, kneels down and realizes that it is his.. He then looks at the ambulance, which pulls away. The moment is emotionally charged. HENRY burst opens a two-way hospital door. He moves through the hallway in a hurry. He sees a NURSE in a distance and walks towards her “Where is she?” “Who?” replies the nurse “Victoria!” “I’m sorry…?” “The young woman who just got hit by a car.” “Oh… straight through there.” HENRY jogs towards that direction, there is a door up ahead. He is stopped shortly by another NURSE. “I’m sorry sir, you cannot go in there.” “How is she… Victoria?” “Are you family?” “…Yes.” “Just a moment.” The NURSE leaves and discusses something with a nearby DOCTOR. The DOCTOR comes towards HENRY. “What’s your name?” asks the doctor “Henry, Henry Tomassey…” “Well Mr. Tomasey Victoria has some serious internal injuries, she’s in the O.R. right now.” “I have to see her.” “I'm afraid that would be impossible.” “Is she going to be alright?” “It’s too soon to tell, I suggest you go home and get some sleep, I promise I will call you as soon as we have something.” “Thank you, doctor.” HENRY is walking in the rain slowly. He sees images of VICTORIA and himself playing when they were younger. 56

HENRY is sitting at a table staring at the center piece, a wine bottle with flowers in it. He knocks it over with his hand, and then puts his hand on his face. The phone rings. HENRY quickly answers it. “Hello.” “Mr. Tomasey?” “Yes?” “It’s Dr. Adams, we spoke earlier. We have some good news. Victoria is going to be fine, We managed to stop the bleeding. She however did suffer a broken leg.” “A broken leg?” “You can see her in the morning.” “Thank you doctor.” HENRY hangs up the phone. He leans his head back. “Thank you.” He looks at a dresser top mirror in the distance and stares his reflection. His focus then shifts to a red object, a deflated balloon. VICTORIA’s POV: She slowly opens her eyes, everything is a blur at first and then the room becomes focused. She notices that her room is inundated with balloons of different colors, all of which have notes on them. She manages to get a hold of one, and looks at the note. It reads "I love you". She manages to get a hold of another balloon, reads the note, again with the same message. She then struggles for another balloon and almost succeeds in getting it when her attention is focused on HENRY who is behind that balloon. “Hi.” “Hi.” “How are you feeling?” “I've had better days.” “The doctor said I only have minor injuries and a broken leg, they said I can leave in a couple of days.” “That’s good…At least you didn’t break an arm.” The both laugh. “Thank you.” “For what?” “The balloons.” “You’re welcome.” “Come here, I want to tell you something.” HENRY moves closer towards her. 57

“Closer.” HENRY is very close to her face, “You know, we never did get to finish that kiss.” HENRY looks at her, VICTORIA looks back. They kiss. THE END.

58