flashback

FADE IN:
INT. 1 WHITE ROOM – DAY 1
The room is plain and almost empty. The only occupants of the room are a lean man in a black suit, 32, and a woman, 40, in sweatshirt and sweatpants. The woman is sitting on a chair with a table separating her from the sitting man. On the table, there is a glass and a half empty bottle of white wine. The other notable thing in the room is a ticking wall clock and a big mirror. Camera pans in on the woman’s face.
Her eyes are sunken, her lips are chapped, and her hair is in rough cornrows.

LILA
I saw an angel the first time i
died, and no, he wasn’t wearing
white; just the ugliest shade of
blue I’d ever had the displeasure
of seeing.

She picks up the bottle of wine, pours herself a glass, and gulps down the whole content at once. The man looks uncomfortable, while she smiles at him with a drunk
expression. She snorts, but covers it with giggles.

LILA (CONT’D)
Oh lighten up Barry. Is it so bad
for a woman to like her wine?
BARTY
(Grimacing)
Not at all Ma’am, not at all.
LILA
Then why do you look like you’re
about to lay an egg?
BARTY
It’s just that…
(Points to the clock on the wall.)
BARTY (CONT’D)
We have spent close to an hour here
and you have not said anything of
substance about that night. We have
less than an hour left.

Lila does not respond. Instead, she pours herself another glass of wine and begins to take slow sips while appearing lost in thoughts.

BARTY (CONT’D)
Mrs. Adedokun
Lila sips her wine, sighs, and closes her eyes.
BARTY (CONT’D)
Lila, can you hear me?
(Lila’s eyes remain closed.)
BARTY (CONT’D)
Ma’am? Ma’am?
Barty stands up, tip toes to her position and calls her loudly.
BARTY (CONT’D)
Mrs. Adedokun!
The glass in Lila’s hand falls to the floor, shattering and spilling its golden contents to the tiled floor.
BARTY (CONT’D)
2465XX!
Lila’s eyes suddenly pop open but they are not looking at Barty.
LILA
(In monotone)
I died on the night of Friday the
twelfth, and i was killed by an
angel in blue.

CUT TO:
2 INT. RED CAR – NIGHT 2
From a blurry view, the camera slowly becomes sharper, as it signifies Lila opening her eyes. She is seated in the passenger side of car. Her makeup is heavy, but her mascara and lip stick are smudged. She groans and holds her head, a sign of headache. The camera slowly pans her body to show that she’s in a red gown with a slit on the left side. She
gasps when she sees her left arm is bleeding from a deep cut.
She looks confused when she sees a little clock showing the time in LED. It reads ‘3:00’. She opens the car door and…

3 EXT. THE ROADSIDE – CONTINUOUS 3
Steps out in beautiful nude heels onto the tarred road. Her hair looks frazzled on her head. She realizes the car is a clean red Toyota Camry. She uses her right hand to support her injured arm, while whimpering
in pain.

LILA
Oh God. What am i doing here? How
did i get here? What in God’s name
am i wearing?

Footsteps and an approaching shadow startles her, making her move closer to the car. She tries to open the car but her hands are already covered in blood. The shadow morphs into a man, 28, wearing a blue suit. She widens her eyes in terror when she sees a pair of huge wings popping out behind him as he moves closer to her. He finally stops when he gets to her.

ANGEL
You are bleeding.
Lila continues staring at him, examining his handsome profile and face.
LILA
Sorry, you said what?
ANGEL
I said you’re bleeding.
She looks down at the injury, wincing visibly.
LILA
Where am i? Why do you have wings?
Are you an Angel?
ANGEL
(Nods and smiles)
Yes, Lila, i am an Angel
LILA
(Surprised)
How do you know my name?
ANGEL
(laughs darkly)
Because i am an angel. You are in
the realm between heaven and earth
because you have just died. That
arm injury is a gash you got from
the accident that led to your
death.

Lila is quiet for a few seconds, then tears slowly trickle down her face as she sobs.

LILA
I died?
ANGEL
(Nods)
Yes Lila, you died. I know this is
hard for you to process, but you
must pull yourself together. There
is one more task you must complete
before your fate is determined.
LILA
What fate?
ANGEL
There’s no time for us to stand
here and talk.
He nods his head to one side.
ANGEL (CONT’D)
Come with me, let me show you. I’ll
explain your task as we walk.

Lila bends a bit and manages to kick off her shoes. When the heels are off, she falls into step beside the Angel, as they begin their walk.
LILA
Why aren’t you flying us to the
destination? Aren’t angels supposed
to fly?
She stops walking, bends a bit and begins to wheeze. She is tired. The Angel does not stop walking. Lila notices this, stands up straight and jogs to catch up with him.

LILA (CONT’D)
Which of the Angels are you? An
Archangel? Cherubim or Seraphim?
Thrones or Dominions?
ANGEL
(Frowns)
Are you usually this annoying?
(Lila stops walking again and gasps.)
LILA
Says an Angel?
The Angel sighs and stops walking too. He walks back to her, takes her uninjured arm and slowly leads her to begin walking.
ANGEL
I am a Seraphim
LILA
What is your name?
ANGEL
That is classified
LILA
I see.
(Pauses for a heartbeat)
LILA (CONT’D)
I still don’t believe you’re an
angel though.
Angel stops walking, faces her, and folds his arms on his chest.
ANGEL
You’re Lila Adedokun, born on the
16th of March, 1981. You got
married at the early age of 19
against your parents’ wishes and
had two children for your doting
husband. You cheated on him with
his best friend, 15 years into your
marriage, and you have been
divorced for six years now, raising
your son and daughter alone. You’re
a realtor and contrary to what
people think, you didn’t become
successful by sleeping your way to
the top. You enjoy bagels, tea, and
all kinds of pasta. Want me to tell
you more?
Lila is silent, as she slowly raises her good hand to her mouth.
LILA
(whispering)
No one other than my ex-husband
knew that about me.
(She starts to cry.)
LILA (CONT’D)
Tell me… how did i die? You said
it was an accident, how come i
don’t remember?
ANGEL
You have been reckless for a while
now. Living on the edge, and acting
without fear of consequence. So
this…
LILA
(Interrupts)
Me? Living recklessly?
(The angel gives her a quelling look.)
LILA (CONT’D)
Sorry. Carry on.
(Angel resumes walking, and Lila follows suit.)
ANGEL
You went on a date with a man you
had just met, and you dressed up
for him. Unfortunately, after
drinking too much alcohol with him,
you let him drive, and right at the
entrance to your street, he rammed
the car into an electricity pole.
LILA
(Covers mouth)
My God!
ANGEL
That’s not all.
LILA
What else?
ANGEL
You both killed two children. They
were on their way back to their
mother’s house.

Lila stops walking again, this time her wails are loud. The Angel looks at a building looming in front of them and stomps his feet with impatience.
LILA
(Cries)
Oh those poor children. Their poor
mother. How will she survive now? I
am such a terrible person. A scum.
I really did not deserve to live.
(She pauses and looks at the impatient angel.)
LILA (CONT’D)
(Sniffs)
You’re taking me to hell aren’t
you?
ANGEL
(Smiles)
Not exactly.
(He resumes his walk and Lila follows him.)
ANGEL (CONT’D)
Come with me Lila and you’ll see.
They walk in silence for the rest of the walk till they reach the building. The Angel looks at Lila with a smile.
LILA
Why are we here?
ANGEL
For your task, Lila. In there, you
will find the two children you
killed with your recklessness. You
have the chance to either save them
and send your soul to hell for
eternal damnation, or send them to
hell while you get to live.
LILA
(Shouts)
No! That’s not fair. I don’t want
to go to hell, neither can i send
those two innocent children there.
ANGEL
You either make a choice or you all
go to hell.
He opens the door and stays on the threshold.
ANGEL (CONT’D)
The choice is yours Lila, i hope
you choose wisely.
He enters into the building, leaving a worried looking Lila. She stands there for a few seconds before she finally lets
out a big sigh. She enters the building.

4 INT. BUILDING – CONTINUOUS 4
The room is fairly lit and it is almost empty. The angel is standing in front of some people on the ground. Two women wearing black jean, black Aloe t-shirts and black shoes are standing on either side of the people on the
ground. Lila walks towards them slowly. When she gets to them, she sees the two people on the ground. A young boy, 15, and a young girl, 18. They are both sweating and crying.
LILA
(Screams)
Tife! Moyo!
TIFE & MOYO
Mummy!
MOYO (CONT’D)
Mummy save us please
Lila walks in a hurry towards the angel. With her right hand, she grips his lapel.
LILA
(Crying)
Send me to hell. I will go to hell.
Those are my children. Send them
back to earth.
Angel nods and releases himself from her grip. He nods at the two women.
ANGEL
Send her to hell
In slow motion, the two women bring out gleaming knives and cut the throats of the children. Tife and Moyo collapse while blood gush out of their throats. Lila begins to scream and she rushes towards the children. She kneels down and starts to shake them, calling their names and asking them to wake up. After a few seconds, she looks at the angel.
LILA
(Whispers)
Why?
ANGEL
You asked me to send you to hell.
What other hell is worse than
knowing your children on earth, and
still failed to save them from the
lake of fire and sulfur, even in
the afterlife.
Lila stares at him for a while
LILA
Who are you?
ANGEL
(Shrugs)
Some call me the serpent, but you
may call me the Angel Samael.

CUT TO:
5 INT. WHITE ROOM – DAY 5
Same setting as before. Lila’s eyes are open but she’s not looking at Barty.
LILA
The angel killed my babies.
Barty moves back a bit.
LILA (CONT’D)
The angel killed my babies.
Barty raises his head and looks at the mirror in the room. He stares at it for a while and then shakes his head. The camera focuses on the mirror and then…

6 INT. OUTSIDE THE WHITE ROOM – CONTINUOUS 6
This is the corridor outside the white room. The angel and a lady, 26, are looking at the white room through a one way glass. It appears as a mirror inside the room, and as a
transparent glass on the corridor. The angel and the lady are wearing white lab coats.
ANGEL
2465XX is a failure. Terminate her.
LADY
(Stutters)
Ter…ter…terminate?
ANGEL
(Sternly)
Did i speak Igbo? Yes, terminate.
She still has all the memories of
that night. We are trying to build
a serum that when injected into
soldiers that have experienced war
trauma, they will forget it all,
and become fearless. Sadly, even
after injecting her with the batch
of the last experiment, she still
remembers. She’s a liability.
He turns away and begins walking down the corridor.
LADY
(Shouts)
No serum can beat love.
Angel stops walking and slowly turns around to look at her.
ANGEL
What did you say?
LADY
No disrespect, Dr. Yahyah
She begins to walk towards him.
LADY (CONT’D)
Can’t you see that Lila has no
previous memories of you, except of
that night? She does not remember
meeting you, going on a date with
you, or you shoving her in your car
and cutting her arm.
ANGEL
So?
LADY
She only remembers that particular
incident, not even the whole night,
because her children were involved.
She loves them. As long as a test
subject or our soldiers have
attachments, no serum in this world
can make them forget any pains
attached to their loved ones. They
will always remember.
ANGEL
(Frowns)
Tell Dr. Adedokun that his ex-wife
was a failure. Let him be the one
to decide what to with her. After
all, he offered up for experiment.
He walks away, leaving the lady gaping after his retreating
back.
FADE TO BLACK.