THE WATER SPIRITS
By ANJIKA
Cover design by:
Erin Maher
Copyright 2011 aquamarine publishing
Smashwords edition
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All rights Reserved.
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SCENE 1
EXT NIGHT ROBERTO’S PROPERTY
IT IS AROUND 9PM HIGH ON A HILLTOP IN THE SANTA MONICA MOUNTAINS OVERLOOKING VAST WILDERNESS. IT IS A DARK, MOONLIT NIGHT. LUCY, EARLY TO MID 40’S, IS IN A JACUZZI THAT SITS OUT BACK OF A HOME THAT IS ON THIS HILLTOP. THERE IS A DEEP, PROFOUND SILENCE WITH OCCASIONAL SOUNDS OF OWLS AND COYOTES. THE CAMERA SHOOTS FROM LUCY’S PERSPECTIVE LOOKING OUT INTO THE WILDERNESS AROUND HER FOR A PERIOD OF TIME. THEN, WE SEE A MAN, ROBERTO, WHO IS A MEDICINE MAN AND WAS INITIATED IN ZIMBABWE IN THE BANTU TRADITION OF THE WATER SPIRITS. HE IS IN HIS EARLY 50’S, WHITE, HALF LATINO/JEWISH/CATHOLIC BY WAY OF HIS MOTHER AND HALF SOUTHERN BAPTIST/BUDDHIST BY WAY OF HIS FATHER WHO GREW UP IN NEW MEXICO. HE WALKS UP TO JACUZZI AND HANDS LUCY A TOWEL. LUCY GETS OUT, DRYS OFF, AND THE TWO OF THEM WALK INTO THE DEEP NIGHT BACK TO THE HOUSE.
THIS TAKES PLACE VISUALLY WHILE DEEP, BEAUTIFUL MUSIC (THOMAS NEWMAN) ACCOMPANIES IT AND INTRODUCTORY CREDITS APPEAR.
LUCY (VO)
It all happened here in the still, dark night...Roberto says I was like Psyche going into the underworld, or the argonauts in pursuit of the golden fleece.
What happened to me is profound and deep. Next to the birth of my two daughters, the three nights I spent with Roberto and the water spirits I will hold dear in my heart forever. The spirit of MS, multiple sclerosis, left me as Roberto puts it. I went through three cermonies of initiation to release all that was keeping me from being well and to become profoundly aware of what the spirit of MS had taught me.
Roberto calls it “sacred illness”. He became a nganga, a medicine man, in Africa, where the Shona and the Ndebele Zulu, of Zimbabwe say sacred illness comes of God and returns to God in this life or through to the end of it. Healing can mean either. The essential thing is to listen to the spirit that afflicts, yield to its wisdom, be undone as one will be undone, be stripped and stripped again to what is most elemental and true.
Roberto told me I was his water spirit sister. Roberto had been afflicted with MS, losing full use of his legs. He offered to me as an nganga to initiate me into the ngoma of the water spirits.
With lesions in my brain, neck and spine, peripheral neuropathy which is a strange, strong numbness in my legs, feet, right arm and hands, weakened knees and legs, tight bands in my feet, a vulnerable right optic nerve, sensitivity to heat, a balancing issue, being so tired you can’t do one more thing, and throbbing in my brain like a constant drum beat...
I was willing to listen to the spirit of the illness. I was willing to trust this man to show me the way of the water spirits...
INT NIGHT BATHROOM GUESTHOUSE
AT THE END OF LUCY’S VO FROM ABOVE LUCY IS IN BATHROOM CHANGING INTO HER NIGHTGOWN AND HANGING BATHING SUIT ON TUB.
INT GUESTROOM NIGHT
AT THE END OF LUCY’s VO FROM ABOVE ROBERTO IS SITTING IN SIMPLE WOODEN CHAIR DEEPLY RELAXED LIKE A ZEN MASTER. LUCY COMES OUT OF BATHROOM AND LIES DOWN ON BED. ROBERTO STANDS UP BY HER BEDSIDE MOVING HIS HANDS AND BODY SAYING AND SINGING PRAYERS IN SPANISH AND SHONA AND CALLING ON THE GODS AND SPIRITS. HE WALKS OUT THE GUEST BEDROOM DOOR.
SCENE 2
EXT DAY MAGIC HOUR/DUSK
SHOTS OF LUCY DRIVING CAR AND OF THE EXTRAORDINARILY BEAUTIFUL LANDSCAPE AS SHE IS DRIVING UP THE MOUNTAIN.
LUCY VO
My daughters told me that I was coming up here to heal. I had no clue or idea about what would unfold in the deep beauty of the Santa Monica mountains. This beautiful land has carried me. I received one of the most substantial gifts of my life. My daughters led me here.
LUCY DRIVES UP TOPANGA CANYON, TURNING LEFT ONTO OLD TOPANGA ROAD, DRIVING ABOUT A MILE, THEN TURNING LEFT ONTO BRIDGE AND UP A HILL ARRIVING IN FRONT OF A SMALL, MAGICAL PINK HOUSE. IT LOOKS LIKE A SMALL INDONESIAN/BALINESE HOUSE. VIEWS OF MOUNTAIN TOPS ARE MAGNIFICENT. THERE IS MIST AROUND THE TOP OF THE MOUNTAIN. THERE IS AN OUTDOOR STAIRCASE THAT GOES UP TO TOP OF PINK HOUSE. SPACE ON TOP IS DECORATED WITH INDIAN PILLOWS, CANDLES AND FLOWERS. THERE IS A DETACHED BATHROOM DOWN A STONE PATHWAY IN THE BACK WITH WILDERNESS ALL AROUND THEM. THERE IS A PINK SHED ACROSS DIRT ROAD IN FRONT OF PINK HOUSE WHERE THEY KEEP SOME BOXES AND THEIR SUITCASES.
SCENE 3
EXT DAY DUSK/MAGIC HOUR
Lucy pulls lever for hood to pop up, gets out of car, lifts hood up, takes clamp off battery. Her brake lights stay on unless she releases clamp off battery. It is an old, retro honda accord, 1980’s.
Lucy, every now and then, will lean to the left or right losing her balance ever so slightly and catching herself. For the most part, she looks like nothing is wrong with her. She has to take her time walking down the stones in the back going to the bathroom.
Lucy looks up at mountain top taking it in and takes a deep breath letting it all go. She is extremely tired from the day.
LUCY VO
This is my car, “Bloom”. She was given to me by very special friends, Ruby’s best friend Lola and her parents. When we got back from a year in New York, we were broke, and I was not well.
This is our home.
Laila and Ruby come out front door. Laila is 20, beautiful, deep, highly intelligent, sensitive and strong. Ruby is 12, beautiful, smart, athletic, outgoing and has a lighter, more joyful quality. They both love their mom. They are all three deeply close. They have different fathers who are both German from Hamburg. Lucy’s family is from Dallas, Texas.
RUBY
Hi mom.
LAILA
Want some help mom?
LUCY
Thanks.
(Gives her the two grocery bags.)
We have to leave for Roberto’s soon. I just have to pack some things, and then, we can go.
SCENE 4
INT DAY DUSK/MAGIC HOUR LUCY'S HOME
PINK HOUSE HAS ONE ROOM WITH SMALL KITCHEN DECORATED WITH SIMPLICITY AND BEAUTY. THERE IS A QUEEN BED WITH BEAUTIFUL, CONTEMPORARY, NEW, FRESH BEDDING, FOUR PILLOWS AND TWO DECORATIVE PILLOWS, A SMALL TABLE WITH TWO MODERN WOODEN CHAIRS. THE KITCHEN HAS GLASS JARS WITH GOJI BERRIES, CACAO NIBS, COCONUT, DATES, MACA, HEMP SEEDS, TWO OWL SALT AND PEPPER SHAKERS, OLIVE OIL, HONEY, CANDLE IN GLASS HOLDER WITH BLACK ROCKS, BLENDER, TOASTER AND HOT POT TO HEAT UP WATER, LIGHT BLUE PLATES, BOWLS, GLASSES, COFFEE MUGS, GLASS PITCHER WITH BLACK ROCKS HOLDING SILVERWARE. THEIR INTERIOR IS ORGANIZED, CLUTTER FREE, SIMPLE, BEAUTIFUL AND MODERN. THE WALLS IN THE MAIN ROOM ARE PAINTED A LIGHT GREEN, AND THE KITCHEN AND BATHROOM ARE PAINTED A LIGHT BLUE. THE BATHROOM HAS A TASTEFUL BODHISATTVA CANVAS, A CANDLE IN GLASS HOLDER WITH BLACK ROCKS, A SHOWER CURTAIN FROM WEST ELM, TWO LARGE SILVER HOOKS FOR TWO WHITE BATH TOWELS AND A DARK WOOD BASKET WITH TOILET ROLLS INSIDE.
They walk in the front door. Lucy goes to frig and notices that it hasn’t been shut all the way.
LUCY
You guys please remember to shut the frig all the way. It takes a full shove. You might think that it’s closed, but it takes an extra push to completely close it. There’s $10,000 worth of medication in here. You must shut it fully.
RUBY
I didn’t do it.
LAILA
I didn’t do it. (laughing)
LUCY
Well then who did? Somebody had to.
(Lucy calls Roberto.)
Roberto, I just got home. I can be up there by 7. I am leaving soon.
She gets her injection bag, puts a shot in injection assistance piece and puts a shot in her right hip. Ruby is doing her homework and has Demi Lavato’s “Beautiful” on. Laila is picking Doreen Virtue unicorn tarot cards. They are used to her giving daily injections. It is a normal daily occurance. They stay focused on what they are doing. She gathers her things, brushes her hair, teeth, puts on some lipstick and puts a beautiful black pancho on around her.
LUCY
We’ve got to go. I am so tired. I don’t even have time to shower.
SCENE 5
EXT DAY/DUSK/MAGIC HOUR CAR
They walk out to car.
LUCY
Ruby, would you put clamp on battery?
They drive down hill, go up Topanga canyon and turn right on a street and go up to the top. They arrive at Roberto’s home where he lives with his beloved wife who is a writer. There is a bedroom, kitchen and living area in one space on property. Roberto’s wife studio/office, a guestroom/bathroom and Roberto’s office is in another space on property close together. It is very simple, rustic and comfortable. Similar to a farmhouse. Property sits on top of a mountain with vast wilderness all around. They get out of car, and Roberto comes out to greet them.
LUCY
Hi Roberto.
ROBERTO
Hello.
LUCY
This is Laila and Ruby.
They exchange hellos.
RUBY
I love you mama.
LAILA
Good luck mom.
LUCY
Have a good night. Laila, I will call you when to pick me up around 9.
They drive off down the hill.
ROBERTO
I will show you where you will be staying.
SCENE 6
INT NIGHT GUESTHOUSE/ROBERTO’s PROPERTY
It’s around 8 pm, TUESDAY, MARCH 8, 2011. Date written on screen. A twin day bed with throw pillows and a huge window looking out over the wilderness. There is a wooden table with african artifacts from Zimbabwe on it with candle lit. These objects are sacred to him. A picture of an elephant who he knows called Ambassador in Zimbabwe that means alot to him, a mask, a totem. On bedside table there is a huge spider that represents Ambuya Bwebwe, grandmother spider, a major spirit he calls on in his ceremony who weaves and unweaves.
ROBERTO
So my dear, one is initiated by the Spirit of the affliction. It’s called sacred illness. In Bantu medicine every illness has a spirit. You are a water spirit person. You have all the symptoms of water spirit illness. Afflicted with an empathy that incapacitates, vivid dreams and waking visions, a life rich in tragedy and displacement, extraordinary sensitivity.
LUCY
It is amazing I am still here. I am highly sensitive. I remember a Brazilian friend of mine who spoke of how in Brazil there are healers who lie on the floor and connect themselves with children and people who have diseases and illnesses, and the illness energetically goes out of the person carrying the illness and into the healer who releases it, like in the “Green Mile”. I knew that I had the capacity to do that form of healing when she spoke of it. I am highly empathetic.
ROBERTO
I was in Africa in 1996 with my beloved wife. We were in the waterlands of southern Zimbabwe. A snail parasite slid through my skin and laid eggs in my nervous system. I had a fever that night, and two weeks later my legs were numb from the waist down. I walked eight years with that numbness. It changed when I lost full usage of my legs. I learned over and over again the meaning of surrender. There were gifts in the wake of surrender. Tell me about you my dear.
LUCY
I woke up at the end of a chest cold, and my feet were numb. Over the next few weeks I was numb up to my chest. I did not have health insurance, so I decided to take out wheat, dairy and sugar, and within days, the numbness started dissipating. Every time I got a cold or virus, the numbness would return, and I would do that again. Then, I met a man who loved to cook with a love for French and Italian cooking.
ROBERTO
(laughing) Oh my.
LUCY
Although it wasn’t the food, it was the extreme hatred in the home. The ex-wife had deep hatred for him. And he had deep unresolved issues with his mother. I once heard that if one parent hates the other parent, there is violence in the child. It was like an emotional war zone which the child absorbed. Me being an empath, my legs would sizzle like they were frying, and my head would throb. It was not working living in that environment. When we separated, I took a dive into the abyss. He was the first man I truly loved. There was a deep, profound connection between us.
ROBERTO
I hear you. MS is a disease that is on the rise in a world that is enraged, violent and militant. You must heal your inflamed heart and soul my dear.
LUCY
At the end of our time together, it was like he was driving a truck and had tied a rope around my foot dragging me through the mud into the belly of the whale, cut the rope and left me without looking back emotionless. There was a kind of brutality to it. It affected my health greatly.
ROBERTO
In Greek mythology you were like Psyche after Eros fled leaving her in deep grief. You were left in the underworld with the Gods and your fate. My dear, he wasn’t messing around. (laughs) He took you straight into the deepest darkness. You are not kidding.