YOU HAVE

Ellen is already out the door.  She pulls it shut behind her.

CUT TO:

39.       consulting room of prof. roth – int. / day

A pleasantly decorated consulting room.  Standing by a window is PROF. ULRICH ROTH (Professor of Psychiatry), a distinguished man around 50 years of age.

prof. roth

You see, there are various approaches to an explanation for what you are currently going through.

Ellen is hunched in a chair opposite of him.

Prof. Roth turns around to face her and takes a seat behind his desk.  The leather chair creaks.

prof. roth

One of the latest theories claim that at certain frequencies, air conditioners create an oscillation that can, in fact, cause hallucinations.  They may also be due to the interior pressure of your eyes and so on and so forth.  Personally I believe that all of this is nonsense.  The loss of a child is a traumatic experience. Subconsciously, you may still be blaming yourself for it, and maybe now believe that your son should punish you...

Ellen impatiently cuts him short.

ellen

Listen, it’s one thing to have a guilt complex. But I know the difference between when I’m overstrung and when I’m seeing things that are simply not there!  Besides, it only began after we moved!

prof. roth

            (hesitantly)

There is, of course, another possible explanation which I dearly hope is not the case.

Lost in thought, Prof. Roth taps his pen on his desktop.

ellen

And that is?

prof. roth

A tumor – which could cause pressure on certain parts of the brain and, thus, influence your perception.

Ellen stares at him, shocked.

prof. roth

Just to be on the safe side, I would like to have a few tests done.

CUT TO:

40.       computer tomograph – int. / day

Ellen is lying on a stretcher, slowly being moved into the opening of the computer tomograph.  She is wearing a pale-green hospital garment.

The penetrating sound of the machines – technical coldness.

41.       doctor’s office – int. / day

Blood is filled into a cannula.

Ellen is sitting on a stretcher.  The NURSE pulls the needle out of her arm.

DR. SCHLETH, a man who makes a somewhat lethargic impression, enters the room and fastens the tomograph shots in front of an illuminated surface on the wall.

dr. schleth

Congratulations.  You are definitely the healthiest person I’ve had in CT for years.

Ellen heaves a sigh of relief.

dr. schleth

Dr. Roth gave me these for you.  Three times a day, after meals.

He hands her a box of tablets.

ellen

What is this?

dr. schleth

Fluctin.  A pretty strong antidepressive... If you asked me, I’d try to do without them first.

He takes a look into her health records.

dr. schleth

You come from Goldmoor?

Ellen answers absent-mindedly.

ellen

We just moved there.

dr. schleth

            (by-the-way)

One time, when I was in college, we examined a swamp corpse in pathology.  They had excavated it there.

Now he has Ellen’s attention.

dr. schleth

Three or four thousand years old.  But I didn’t deal with the subject any more than necessary.  You know, I never liked pathology.  Somehow, I always felt it reduced humans to something they are not.

Suddenly, Dr. Schleth’s beeper goes off.  He takes a quick glance at it and turns to leave.

ellen

Dr. Schleth.

The doctor stops at the door.

ellen

What do you believe happens to a human after he dies?

The otherwise reserved Dr. Schleth suddenly seems very human.

dr. schleth

You mean, do I believe in something like a soul?

He smiles mischievously.

dr. schleth

I haven’t seen one on any of my x-ray pictures, yet.  But then again, what would x-rays know?

He turns around and walks out.  Lost in thought, Ellen watches him leave.

42.       in front of the house – ext. / night

Ellen steers the car into the driveway and climbs out.  The dog runs to greet her, wagging its tail.  Ellen kneels down in front of the dog and pets it.

ellen

Hey, girl!  Here, I brought you something.

She takes a collar with a little bell on it out of her purse and puts it around the dog’s neck.

ellen

Now all we need is a name for you.  How about Clara – okay, then: Clara.

She walks to the house door.  The dog follows her inside as if it were the most natural thing to do.  The bell jingles.

43.       entrance area – int. / night

Ellen enters the hallway.  At the same time, Martin comes upstairs from the cellar.

ellen

Hi, love.  Trouble with the fuses again?

Martin locks the door behind him.

martin

It’s a real mess.  I think it’d be better for you not to go down there for a while.  It’s just too dangerous.

He drops the key for the cellar into his pocket.  Ellen watches this with irritation.  Martin’s entire behavior seems odd.

Behind Ellen, the dog trots into the corridor.

martin

Don’t tell me you’ve made friends with that wandering flea circus?

ellen

Why not?  She can guard the house.  By the way, I gave her a name: Clara.

She pets the dog, not noticing the frown on Martin’s face.

martin

Where have you been all day?

ellen

I went to see Prof. Roth!  You know, I had another one of those dreams last night.  I saw Tommi!

Suddenly, the look on Martin’s face softens again.  He takes Ellen into his arms to comfort her.

martin

Ellen... our Tommi is dead.  And there’s nothing we can do about it.

Ellen rests her head against his shoulder.

ellen

You know, Martin, since we moved to this house... sometimes I just get the feeling that the past is catching up to us again...

Martin interrupts her with unexpected ill temper and frees himself from the hug.

martin

Oh!  Now we’re getting to the point!  So all of a sudden, it’s the house.  Yesterday, it was a road sign.  And the first thing you do is go and run to “Dr. Freud”!

He heads for the study, leaving Ellen behind.  Ellen calls after him:

ellen

But that’s not the point! 

What if all these things are somehow connected?

martin

Oh, baloney.  You should just hear yourself talk!

He treads up the staircase.

martin

I’ll be in the study, just in case you decide to get reasonable, after all.

Ellen watches him with consternation.  She goes into the kitchen, worried.

44.       kitchen – int. / night

Lost in thought, Ellen takes out a cup and pours herself a cup of coffee from a thermos.

She takes the pills that she got from Dr. Schleth out of her purse and studies them.

She looks out through the window, at the dreamlike landscape of the moors.  There is a warm evening breeze.

Suddenly, Ellen’s eyes focus on the reflection of her face in the window.  She faintly discerns something strange on her forehead: “4”!

Startled, she touches her forehead.  There is nothing on it.

When she takes a second look at her reflection, everything is normal again.

The dog trots up to Ellen, whining balefully.

ellen

            (to the dog)

Either Martin is right or I am really starting to lose my mind...

For a moment, she considers taking one of the tablets.  But then, she determinedly throws the whole package in the trash can.

CUT TO:

45.       in the village – ext. / day

Ellen parks her car in the center of the nearby village.  The small township is smothering in a humid summer’s heat.

Ellen heads for a bookstore with Clara trotting in behind.

46.       at the bookstore – int. / day

Ellen enters the shop.  It is unusually dark and quiet in here.  She runs her fingers across the shelves, searching.

She passes by a stand with pocket books, also including several copies of “Cherry-red Tears” next to Stephen King’s “Shining”.  She stops for a moment.  Smiles.

Then, she finds the department for books on psychology.  She pulls out a book titled “The Inner Child – The Ghosts of the Past”.  Leafs through it.  She stops at a certain page:

ellen

            (quietly reads to herself)

“...certain places arouse recollections and links within us...”

Suddenly, Ellen hears a voice behind her.