Call of The Card

INT. WORKPLACE - NIGHT
Dark and dim. Window curtains are closed shut. Light source
comes from a desk lamp. ORCHID (24) is sleeping on her desk.
Piles of disorganised books and papers just by her side.
Orchid slowly opens her eyes and immediately fixes her
sitting posture as she looks around her. She checks the
clock, disappointed.

ORCHID
(grunts)
Great, I slept again.

Orchid yawns and stretches her arms. She adjusts her glasses
and reaches for a book laid in front of her.

ORCHID (CONT'D)
 (rubs her face)
Ugh, no more naptimes.
Where was I?

She flips through the pages one by one. It gradually gets
faster until she pauses on a page with a CARD slipped in it.
She opens the card, reveals a birthday-themed invitation to
a game in the form of a pop up paper.

There is a LEVER below the card. She pulls it and a nearby
DOOR shines through the frame.

ORCHID (CONT'D)
Am I dreaming right now?

She pockets the card, gets up from her seat and goes to open
the door. It reveals a WHITE SPACE. She looks back to her
desk before she steps inside.

I/E. WHITE SPACE
Empty. Bright. Spacious. Reaches to infinity. Orchid enters
the room. The door suddenly SLAMS shut. She turns around to
see the door disappear. She's shocked, reaches her hand to
where it was but nothing is there.

ORCHID
What the -- No! Come back!

She is greeted by a voice of YOUNGER ORCHID (12).

YOUNGER ORCHID
(excited)
No way, you're actually here!
I'm so happy to see you here! Hello!

Orchid turns to where the voice came from.

ORCHID
Uh, hi? Who are you?
YOUNGER ORCHID
I am you! But 12 years old!

Orchid walks closer to Younger Orchid and examines her face.

ORCHID
Yep, I must be dreaming.

Orchid slaps herself on the face with no hesitation.
She exclaims in pain.

YOUNGER ORCHID
(concerned)
Hey, no! What are you doing?

Orchid rubs her slapped cheek in defeat.

ORCHID
Alright, kid. What do you want from me?
How do I get out of here?

YOUNGER ORCHID
I want you... to play a game for your birthday!
Everyone deserves a fun birthday,
even grown ups like you!

ORCHID
What?! I don't want to play, I've got work to do!

YOUNGER ORCHID
(teasing)
Aw, too bad. You're going to have so much fun!

The card comes out from Orchid's pocket on its own.
It floats toward Younger Orchid's hand.

YOUNGER ORCHID (CONT'D)
(clears throat)
I'll hide this card and you'll need to find it.
There's a special message waiting for you.
The game ends when you read the message.

ORCHID
But there's nothing here. How are you gonna hide it?

YOUNGER ORCHID
Just wait and see! Riddle me this first.
(poetically)
Shelves stretching far, filled with tomes,
Realms of tales, and places to roam.
From history's grasp to future's flight,
I hold the keys to realms of light.
What am I?

Few seconds of awkward silence.

ORCHID
(crosses her arms, disappointed)
A library?

The card opens on its own. It SUMMONS walls and bookshelves,
slowly constructs a giant full-sized ABANDONED LIBRARY.

INT. ABANDONED LIBRARY - NIGHT
Dusty floor. Shattered windows. Bookshelves in disarray with
some books scattered on the ground. Bits of overgrown
foliage across the library. Night sky lights up the whole room.

Orchid gazes around her in bewilderment.

She looks back to find Younger Orchid and realizes she's missing.

ORCHID
Kid? Hey, kid? Where did you go?!

A floating screen appears, shows a moving image of Younger Orchid.

YOUNGER ORCHID
Ooh~ I'm a spectator now!
The card is now hidden, so start looking around.
Also, be careful with it because it's fragile.
(fast-talking)
Okay thanks, happy hunting, bye!

The screen disappears.

ORCHID
Wait! Where do I start? Oh dang it.

Not knowing what to do, Orchid wanders around
aimlessly. She walks through different aisles.

Few moments later she stops to glance outside
the window. She runs her hand through the night light.

YOUNGER ORCHID (V.O.)
Hey, hey! Time for another riddle. Ready?

ORCHID
Another one? Uh, I don't know.

YOUNGER ORCHID (V.O.)
Wrong, the answer is "yes"!
(poetically)
Speech balloons bring words to life,
With action scenes, no need for strife.
Ink and colours, an artist's might,
A universe born in black and white.
What am I?

ORCHID
Eh, sounds like a comic book.

Particles of bubble speeches APPEAR in front of her, slowly
forms a path. Comic sound effects POP on her feet as she
takes a few steps toward it.

The library becomes more vibrant in colours.

She follows the particles and it starts moving faster. She
switches to running. More comic sound effects shows up to
match her every move. She starts to laugh along the way.

The particles slow down and stop on an aisle, disappears in the end.

The library reverts back to its original state.

ORCHID (CONT'D)
(breathlessly)
It's gone. Did something happen?

Orchid sits on the ground to catch her breath for a moment.
She looks over a sign that reads "COMIC BOOKS".

A floating screen slides in from behind.

YOUNGER ORCHID
I see you were laughing! That was fun, wasn't it?

ORCHID
(embarrassed)
What? No! That was alright I guess.

YOUNGER ORCHID
Okay, ready for your next riddle?

ORCHID
Yeah, sure.

YOUNGER ORCHID
(poetically)
In lands of magic and creatures rare,
Heroes rise with courage, beyond compare.
Quests to undertake, and a villain to fight,
A realm of wonder, both day and night.
What am I?

ORCHID
That is... fantasy.

One book starts to SPARKLE in a luminating light.
Another book sparkles as well.

Orchid watches in fascination as more sparkling books
scatter across the shelves.

ORCHID (CONT'D)
Wait a second. Do I have to look through all of them?

YOUNGER ORCHID
Yeah. Why did you ask?

ORCHID
What?! Can't there be less of them?

YOUNGER ORCHID
Nope, you have to look at them.
Okay, good luck!

The floating screen disappears.

Orchid gets up from the ground. There is a sparkling book
just beside her. She takes it out and looks at the cover.

ORCHID
I used to read this for hours.

Orchid opens the book. Drawn characters and objects POP OUT
from the panels. Characters interact with their surroundings
like how it's shown in the panels.

ORCHID (CONT'D)
I’m getting nostalgic.
Oh, don't get sidetracked.

Orchid flips through the pages. She reaches the last page
and finds no sign of the card.

She sighs and closes the book. The drawings disappear and
the book loses its sparkles.

She takes another one and stares at the cover as well.

Time goes by as Orchid looks through more books and still
found nothing until there are only a few sparkling books left.

ORCHID (CONT'D)
This feels hopeless.
(scratches her head)
Hey kid, help me out here.

YOUNGER ORCHID (V.O.)
Sorry, what was that?

ORCHID
Give me a hint. Please?

YOUNGER ORCHID (V.O.)
Oh, okay!

ORCHID
Wait, really?

YOUNGER ORCHID (V.O.)
(singing)
Open your eyes, look up above you
and see~!

Orchid lifts her head up. She steps back to see the shelves
above her. She spots TWO SPARKLING BOOKS on the very top of
the tall shelf.

ORCHID
(sigh)
Oh, great. Thanks.

YOUNGER ORCHID (V.O.)
No problem!

She looks around and sees a WOODEN LADDER attached to a
pole. She tries to slide the ladder but it’s stuck.

Orchid makes several attempts to push it, but to no avail.
She takes the ladder off from the pole by force and places
it near the book herself.

The ladder CREAKS as she takes a few steps on it. Climbing
up to the top, Orchid sees the two sparkling books.

She takes the book that is the closest to her, quickly flips
through the pages and finds nothing. Disappointed, she puts it back.

The last book is further away and she has trouble reaching for it.

ORCHID
(muttering)
She's purposefully making it hard, isn't she?

YOUNGER ORCHID (V.O.)
I can hear you!

Orchid slightly jumps from the sudden scare, and sighs.
She reaches for the book one more time but fails. Then she
swings herself to reach closer. Suddenly the ladder BREAKS.

ORCHID
What the --

She quickly grabs onto the shelf as the ladder collapses,
but the shelf also BREAKS.

She manages to grab onto a stronger shelf. The bookshelf
TILTS forward a bit and becomes slightly unstable.

A floating screen pops up with a worried Younger Orchid.

YOUNGER ORCHID
Oh no! Are you alright?

ORCHID
I'm okay.

Orchid gets discouraged as she looks down to see the ground.
She looks upwards to where the book is at and becomes determined.

YOUNGER ORCHID
Please get down, it could fall!

ORCHID
Not now, kid. I'm so close to getting that book!

She gets a better grip and slowly climbs up to the top shelf.
There is a gap between her and the book. She tries to swing
herself toward it as her hand gets closer to reach in every try.

She barely touches the book for a split second. The book
SLIPS and falls off the shelf. Orchid makes a desperate
attempt to grab it mid-air but MISSES.

ORCHID (CONT'D)
No, no!

The book drops to the ground and exposes the card. Before
she knows it, the shelf loses balance and FALLS DOWN with her.

A few books that were already on the ground roughly cushions
her fall.

Things around her start to DEFORM.

ORCHID (CONT'D)
The card! 

Orchid immediately gets up and looks for the card.
She finds the card already damaged from the impact.

She opens the card and it's empty, nothing like how she first saw it.

ORCHID (CONT'D)
(panics)
No, no, no! Kid! Can you hear me?
Help!

The deformity on objects around her gets more severe in
every second. Soon the library COLLAPSES and turns into a
pitch BLACK VOID. The chaos stops.

I/E. BLACK VOID
Pitch black, but not completely dark. Nothing left except
for Orchid and the card.
She takes a closer look at it, possibly beyond repair. She's
devastated, holds back tears as she hugs the card.

ORCHID
(shakily)
I should have listened.

Feeling heartbroken, she recalls the moments when her
younger self was preparing the game.

CUT TO:

INT. YOUNGER ORCHID'S ROOM - AFTERNOON
Younger Orchid is laying on the carpet, drawing on a piece of paper.
Scene switches to her setting up a digital prototype of the library.
Later she is on her desk, writing on a piece of paper.
Then she takes the card from her desk.

CUT TO:

I/E. BLACK VOID
Returning to her senses, something clicks in Orchid's mind.

ORCHID
There's another riddle.

CUT TO:

INT. YOUNGER ORCHID'S ROOM - AFTERNOON
Younger Orchid holds the card and says something inaudible.
A folded piece of PAPER comes out of it.

CUT TO:

I/E. BLACK VOID
With the card still in Orchid's hands, she holds it in front
of her. She tries to recall the riddle word by word.

ORCHID
(poetically)
In envelopes, I travel wide,
To reach your loved ones, side by side.
Without me, language would be lost,
A simple symbol, yet a treasure, embossed.
What am I?

She stares at the card with hope. Takes a deep breath, exhales.

ORCHID (CONT'D)
A letter.

The card GLOWS, slowly reveals the folded LETTER. Orchid
waits for the letter to fully form, and holds it.

She feels anxiety rushing through from having the letter on
her hands. Gently unfolds it, looks at the contents.
Tears start to flow on her face, softly wails.

The black void slowly lifts, reverting to the
original white space like it was before.

I/E. WHITE SPACE
Orchid puts the letter down and sees Younger Orchid in front
of her with guilt on her face.

Orchid offers her a hug from afar, Younger Orchid walks, and
runs to her and both of them embrace each other tightly.

YOUNGER ORCHID
Please don't cry! I'm sorry, this is the worst birthday gift ever.

ORCHID
(brushes Younger Orchid's hair)
Don't be, I'm the one who should be sorry.
I should've gotten off the shelf.

Slight pause of silence as they both comfort each other.

YOUNGER ORCHID
At first I thought you don't want to come and play.
But you did. Thank you so much for coming.

ORCHID
To be fair, I never thought I
needed a break until your card
showed up. So, I thank you for
setting up this game for me.

After some time calming down, they let go from the hug.
A DOOR appears right beside them. She looks at Younger
Orchid to make sure she's alright.

YOUNGER ORCHID
(nods; smiles)
Bring the letter with you. You can leave now.

Orchid walks toward the door and opens it.
Reveals the place where she came from on the other side.

She turns her head back and waves at Younger Orchid.

ORCHID
Goodbye. I'll miss you!

Younger Orchid waves back at her happily.

YOUNGER ORCHID
Bye-bye! I'll miss you too!

INT. WORKPLACE - NIGHT
Orchid walks through the door, then closes it shut. With her
hand still on the handle, she opens it again, only to reveal
a small storage room.

She closes it again. Turns to see her room and walks to her
desk. A few seconds later, she looks back to the door again.
Orchid goes to a shelf nearby and grabs a comic book.

Looking at the cover makes her smile.
She brings it to her desk, sits on her chair comfortably.
Starts to read through the book.

THE END