I am at a place for training the military. It is a township, a community, with bungalows for officers and rolling hills with single lane roads cutting across the grasslands. An old man tries, despite all odds, to paraglide from somewhere to the rolling hills, hanging upside down from the harness while the trainer controls the flight. The landing stretch is the road that passes through the undulating grassland, and the landing run is down the road, a long run, where I am looking at the trainer and the old man as they pull the cords and makes the sail tip upward, stalling the flight, doing a long flare and slowly running down the road. They come to a stop outside the bungalow.
CUT TO THE TRAINING AREA.
THIRD PERSON POV
The training area is industrial, with iron truss-work supporting a wide,
grey sheet of roofing. There are platforms, ropes, trenches filled with
water. My old classmate is supervising the drills. I see myself jump
from one platform to another one. I do not fall.
CUT TO MY ROOM.
FIRST PERSON POV
I am half awake, mostly in a slumber. Clothes are strewn across the room
and things overflow the table and chair into the ground. I see the door
open halfway and it is early morning. The atmosphere is dark and cool. A
woman steps into the room, hesitates, opens the door all the way and
looks at me. I am scantily covered by a blanket and a thin sheet of
fabric. She screams and runs away. I stir in my slumber, surprised and a
little annoyed.
A police officer comes through the door. I can tell he is a police officer because he looks like he knows what he is doing. He goes through the clothes on the floor, shaking them down to check whether there is something hidden in them. There is nothing except dust on the wall which stays fast. He asks me whether I’m aware of what I have done as he cuffs my hands. I am surprised and frightened to the core. I am taken outside the room.
CUT TO A LOBBY.
MY PARENTS ARE WAITING
THIRD PERSON POV
I walk down the stairs flanked by police officers. The handcuffs are
polished and stand out in the scene. My parents have been crying. Their
eyes are red and a little puffy. They tell me they’ll take care of
things and that I’ll be released soon. I am taken to the elevator on the
left end of the lobby. An old style elevator with wrought iron picket
gates painted black and they creak when they are opened. I am in the
elevator and it goes down.
CUT TO THE POLICE STATION
THIRD PERSON POV, CLOSE SHOTS
I beg the policeman who has taken me to the station to let me go. I beg
him, grabbing his feet, which are clad in a pair of leather sandals. He
doesn’t care and walks into the station. Another car arrives and out
comes another police officer, who looks like he holds a higher position
than the one who brought me in. I beg him too. The same thing repeats,
except this time I know the officer. He nods his head, and that tells me
he knows I am innocent.
FAST INSERTS TO THIS SCENE
SHORT, FLUTTERING SEQUENCES WHERE I AM BEATEN BY THE POLICE WITH BATONS,
INSIDE THE STATION
CUT
INTERIOR OF A HALL. LOOKS LIKE A BIG PRISON CELL.
THIRD PERSON POV. UP CLOSE, FROM BEHIND.
TWO PEOPLE, ONE ME, IN WHITE CLOTHES, SITTING.
On the other end of the hall, which isn’t that far, there is a TV which
shows who has been released under bail today. The numbers change and I’m
glancing at the TV for my number to appear, but it does not seem like
that is gonna happen, so I hang my head down and stay that way.
CUT TO A COURT, INTERIOR
THERE’S SOMEONE TESTIFYING AGAINST ME
CUT
INTERIOR OF PRISON CELL.
THIRD PERSON POV. UP CLOSE, FROM BEHIND.
TWO PEOPLE, ONE ME, IN WHITE CLOTHES, SITTING.
On the other end of the hall, which isn’t that far, the TV shows who has
been released under bail today. The numbers change and I’m glancing at
the TV for my number to appear, but it does not seem like that is gonna
happen, so I hang my head down and stay that way.
CUT
ME AND PARENTS
LOCATION UNSPECIFIED
DARK BACKGROUND
I plead my parents to get me out of prison. They tell me they’ve been
pulling a few strings, but I’ll have to wait. They look a little
detached, a little cool. I wonder whether they really want me out of
prison.
CUT
CLOSE UP OF A SCREEN
THERE ARE NUMBERS SPREAD ACROSS THREE COLUMNS. THE NUMBERS CHANGE AND
THE PRODUCT OF THE NUMBERS IN THE FIRST TWO COLUMNS IS DISPLAYED ON THE
SCREEN. THE EDGE OF SOMEONE’S CHEEK IS VISIBLE AND THERE IS JOY WHEN THE
NUMBERS CHANGE INTO 0 * 6 0. THE JOY DIES WHEN I REALIZE (THROUGH A
VOICE OVER) THAT IT IS NOT THE NUMBERS THAT MATTER, BUT WHETHER THE
PRODUCT IS EVEN OR ODD. DESPITE 0 IS CONSIDERED AS EVEN, 0 DOES NOT
RESULT IN A BAIL.
END