Chapter Text
Head credit sequence mysterious sewing room – night, A haunting lullaby plays against a black, star-pricked Sky when something appears in the distance.
A button- doll floats towards camera, through the open window of a Small sewing room where it lands in a pair of waiting hands, hands that are made of sewing needles.
The doll – which resembles a young girl in old-Fashioned clothes, and long raven colored hair – Is placed on a sewing table. An elaborate sewing kit is Opened, and, in flickering green light, the needle- Go to work.
The doll’s old clothes are cut away; button-Eyes torn off; hair pulled out. The doll’s stuffing is Removed and then the empty cloth body is pulled inside Out.
Sawdust is poured in the new doll’s mouth; facial Features added; brown yarn hair punched in; and then a Fresh pair of shiny black button eyes is selected from a Button drawer.
The transformed doll, in a little yellow jacket, its New button eyes affixed, is released out the window and back into the night.
LAST HEAD CREDIT APPEARS, THEN FADES.
EXT PINK PALACE, ASHLAND OREGON – DAY WIDE ANGLE on a rambling old Queen Anne-style house with Tacked-on outside stairs. It’s late winter, the sky a Damp, grey sponge. A sign in the foreground reads “Pink Palace, Apartment for Rent”.
MR. Monkey King – Performs calisthenics on the rooftop, counting in Russian.
MR. Monkey King
“Dras, dva, tri, chetyri.
Dras, dva, tri, chetyri.
Dras, dva, tri …”
A beeping sound begins and he pauses. A tired moving van Backs into frame and up the muddy driveway. A VW beetle – Suitcases roped to its top – recklessly passes the truck And disappears around the side of the house. Monkey king Shakes his fist angrily after the car and shouts:
MR. Monkey king (CONT’D)
“Mer-sa-vich!”
He marches away indignantly. One of the movers, unseen in The truck, speaks to his companion.
MOVER 2 (O.C.)
“We’re here. Time to muscle up.”
ANGLE ON MOVING TRUCK’S REAR DOORS as they’re wrenched Open by two men – MOVER 1, tall and bear-shaped, and MOVER 2, built like a brick top – to reveal a lot of boxes and beat-up furniture.
They haul out the loading ramp towards camera.
NEW ANGLE, exterior stairs to basement flat. Yin, A silver demon, surveys The movers as they pass by hum chair-lift with boxes and Furniture. The guy can’t wait to tell his flat mate Below about the young, strapping men.
MOVER 2 (CONT’D)
(efforts)
“Got it? Almost there, just a few more. Come on, now, LIFT.”
ANGLE ON FRONT PORCH. The job finished, Mover 2 heads Down the front steps while Mover 1 waits for a signature From the unseen-but-for-his-hands new tenant. Papers Signed, a tip of a single, grubby dollar bill is placed In the outstretched hand of the disappointed mover, and The door is shut.
EXT HOUSE, REAR VIEW – SAME ANGLE FROM BACK YARD. Hiding behind shrubs, we share the pov of a mysterious spy. With a click, a close-up lens is Rotated into place to better see the movers quietly pack Into the truck and drive away. A mangy black cat walks Right in front of the lens and looks at us with concern.
OFF-SCREEN, a door bangs open. we follow the cat as it races up a tree and out a branch towards the back porch to investigate.
CMK, steps onto the porch in a yellow jacket with a shoulder bag. we – SPY’S POV – click to a close-up to find this new tenant has brown hair and a Skeptical face.
NEW ANGLE, NON-SPY reverse, on Mk as he glances Furtively over his shoulder, then hops down the steps and Moves diagonally away from the house.
NEW ANGLE, SPY POV. We watch Mk head towards the woody shrub we’ve hidden ourselves in. we duck down.
ANGLE ON MK, NON-SPY, shrub by garden gate. He Reaches into the shrub and breaks off a forked branch.
He removes the stick’s red leaves, aims it like a dowsing rod and heads into the garden.
CAM PUSH IN to shrub as the spy rises up, wearing a three-Eyed skeleton mask on her head and skeleton gloves on her Hands. The black cat hops into frame, glances at the spy And follows the boy.
MONTAGE VARIOUS EXT – SAME
AFISH POND IN GARDEN – SAME
Mk explores the drained, crumbling pond. He finds An old turtle shell in the muck and holds it up. After Rapping on it to make sure it’s empty, he puts the shell Into his shoulder bag.
ANGLE ON MK, SPY POV. we push aside dead vines from The railing of the garden bridge for a better look.
Mk aims his forked stick once more then follows it Up from the pond and out the back gate. A gust of wind Blows dead leaves into a swirling eddy we track high up Into the air.
DISSOLVE TO:
ROCKY PATH HIGH ABOVE HOUSE – LITTLE LATER
SPY POV on sky, now dark with gathering storm. Hidden Behind a natural wall of stones, we tilt down to view Mk crossing frame on a steep hillside path. He Steps on an old railroad tie, and his foot sinks into the Rotted wood, stopping him.
We lean out for a better view, and dislodge some stones That roll down past him. we duck as he jerks his head Our way.
NEW ANGLE, NON-SPY. Unnerved, MK calls out.
MK:
“Hello?... Who’s there?”
He throws a rock over the wall of stones, hits the unseen spy, causing a cry of pain. animal? human? Freaked Out, he gasps, runs up the trail.
NEW ANGLE, SPY POV. We rise up to watch and the black cat Hops onto the stone wall.
EXT. OVERGROWN ORCHARD – CONT.
Mk races down past an old tractor and into an orchard. wind begins to blow.
NEW ANGLE as we move beside Mk through the old Apple trees, where he nearly trips on the tongue of a Harvest cart.
DOWN ANGLE ON Mk as he backs into a circle of toadstools in front of a stump. breathing hard, he looks Out for his pursuer.
NEW ANGLE. The black cat shoots past Mk in the tall Grass. he can’t see him but he knows something is There. Already behind him now, the cat leaps onto the Stump with a loud, warning “MEROWWW!” startled, Mk yells and whips around. he’s both Angry and relieved when he sees it’s just some cat.
MK:
“You scared me to death, you mangy thing!”
Cat glares at him with gold eyes, makes a low growl As he stands. he exhales.
MK (CONT’D)
“I’m just looking for an old well. Know It?”
Cat blinks eyes slowly.
MK(CONT’D)
“Not talking, huh?”
The wind picks up. He grasps the forks of his stick, Closes his eyes, and, tracing a figure eight above him,
Says:
MK (CONT’D)
“Magic dowser, magic dowser: show… me…The well!”
ANGLE ON MK FROM HIGH BLUFF. The spy moves into Frame, astride some kind of motor-bike. She presses a Button on the handlebars and blasts a loud air horn.
startled, Mk spins around.
UP ANGLE ON SPY. As lightning flashes and thunder rolls, Mk sees her for the first time. With her turret- Lensed skull mask and skeleton gloves and green and white jacket flapping in the wind, she looks like a psycho killer!
MK (CONT’D)
(freaked out)
“AHHHHH!”
She revs her motor, pops a wheelie, then swoops down the Bluff towards him. He hollers in fear, then tries to whack her with his forked stick.
MK (CONT’D)
“GET AWAY FROM ME-“
She snatches it from him as she passes, knocking him to the Ground. She side- her bike, hops off and jumps up Onto the stump. Looking ten feet tall from the ground, thunder and lightning at a peak, the Spy turns her three eyed turret lens and studies him like a predatory alien.
And then, the thunder and lightning just fade out and This psycho-killer, three-eyed spy pulls off her mask and Mk gasps – she’s just a short girl in a costume.
Shoulders hunched, neck bent, the Spy – real name Mei Dragon – examines Mk’s forked stick, aims It around.
Mei:
(oblivious)
“Hoo! Let me guess, you’re from Texas or Utah; someplace dried out and barren, Right? I heard about water-witching Before but it doesn’t make sense; I mean, It’s just an ordinary branch.”
Mk, snatches it from her gloved hands.
MK:
(enraged)
“IT’S A DOWSING ROD!”
Mk smacks Mei.
Mei:
“Ow!”
Mk:
“And I DON’T LIKE BEING STALKED, not by PSYCHO-NERDS OR THEIR CATS!”
She crouches, nervous, to scratch the cat behind his ears.
Mei:
“He’s not really my cat; he’s kinda feral- You know, wild? Of course, I do feed Him every night and sometimes he’ll come In my window ‘n bring me little dead Things.”
The cat PURRS like a diesel.
MK:
(tough)
“Look, I’m from Pontiac.”
Mei:
“Huh?”
MK:
“MICHIGAN? And if I’m a “water witch”, Then—
(points stick, stomps foot)
--where’s the secret WELL?”
Mei:
“You stomp too hard and you’ll fall in it!”
Mk reacts, hops out of the springy circle. The girl Scrapes at the ground, revealing a circular covering Made of wooden planks. She wedges a fallen branch under One side, and, using a rock for the fulcrum, pries up the Covering.
Mei (CONT’D)
“See? Supposed to be so deep if you fell To the bottom and looked up, you’d see a Sky full of stars in the middle of the Day.”
MK:
(softens)
“Huh.”
His frown relaxes and the black cat tilts his head, Noticing his change in tone. He steps off the branch, and The well cover thumps in place.
Mei:
“Surprised he let you move in…”
Jerks her head toward the pink house in distance.
Mei (CONT’D)
“… my Grandpa. He owns the “Pink Palace”
(indicates house in distance)
Won’t rent to people with kids.”
MK:
“What do you mean?”
Mei:
(suddenly worried)
“Uh… I’m not supposed to talk about it.”
Changing the subject, she lifts a gloved hand to shake.
Mei (CONT’D)
“I’m Mei, Mei Dragon.”
MK:
(skeptical)
“Mei?”
Mei:
“Yup. Not my idea, of Course. What’d you get saddled with?”
MK:
“I wasn’t saddled with anything. It’s MK.”
Mei:
“Mk what?”
MK:
“MK. Just Mk.”
Mei:
(confused, not hearing it)
“Hmmm… It’s not real scientific, but I Heard an ordinary name, like-“
His face goes as dark as the rain clouds above.
Mei (CONT’D)
“Can lead people to have Expectations about a person-“
MEI’S GRANDPA (O.C.)
(calling from afar)
“Meiii!”
MK:
“I think I heard someone calling you, Mei.”
Mei:
“What? I didn’t hear anything-“
MK:
“Oh, I definitely heard someone, Mei Dragon.”
A distant dinner bell clangs.
MEI’S GRANDPA (O.C.)
“Mei!”
Mei:
(under his breath, nervous)
“Grandpa!”
She holds up her hands in surrender, nodding with eyes Closed, forcing some laughs.
Mei (CONT’D)
“Heh. Well, great to meet a Michigan Water witch.”
She picks up her bike, wheels it around, then holds up her Gloved hands.
Mei (CONT’D)
“But I’d wear gloves next time.”
MK:
(skeptical)
“Why?”
She points to his dowsing rod, nods.
Mei (CONT’D)
“‘Cause that dowsing rod of yours? Uh, It’s poison oak.”
MK:
“Ehh!!”
Mk drops the stick as she zooms away and wipes his Hands on his clothes.
The cat merows at him, shaking his head with a pitying Look, then trots away after Mei. Mk sticks out his tongue at her.
He looks down at the covering to the well. Mk Finds a pebble and drops it through a small knot-hole.
Ear at the knot-hole, he counts until there’s a watery ‘plop’ far below. fat raindrops start to fall around him.
ROTATE DISSOLVE TO:
INT. KITCHEN – NEXT MORNING
It’s pouring out. Mk looks out a window at the dead looking garden, and places packets of seeds – pumpkins, Squash, snap dragons, bleeding hearts – on the sill.
He’s developed a reddish rash -poison oak – on one Hand.
The main floor kitchen, like most things in the Pink Palace, is barely maintained, and looks worn and faded.
Mk’s father, Pigsy, bangs away at his Laptop on the table, moving boxes stacked nearby. He’s Plain-looking and tired and wears a neck-brace.
MK:
“I almost fell down a well yesterday, dad.”
Pigsy:
(not listening)
“Uh huh.”
MK:
“I would have died.”
Pigsy:
(continues typing)
“That’s nice.”
Mk scratches the rash on his hand, changes subject.
MK:
“Hmmm. So can I go out? I think it’s Perfect weather for gardening.”
Pigsy:
“No, Mk. Rain makes mud. Mud makes a Mess.”
Mk turns to him.
MK:
“But dad, I want stuff growing when my Friends come to visit. Isn’t that why we Moved here?”
Pigsy:
“Something like that. But then we had the Accident.”
MK:
“Wasn’t my fault you hit that truck.”
Pigsy:
“I never said it was.”
MK:
(mutters)
“I can’t believe it – you and Dad get Paid to write about plants and you hate Dirt.”
Pigsy stops typing, loses his patience.
Pigsy:
“Mk, I don’t have time for you right Now. And you still have unpacking to do.”
Lots of unpacking!”
MK:
“That sounds exciting.”
Pigsy remembers something.
Pigsy (CONT’D)
“Oh – some kid left this on the front Porch.”
Mk walks over and is handed a newspaper-wrapped package. Attached note reads:
Mei (V.O.)
“Hey Mk, look what I found in Grampa’s Trunk. Look familiar? Mei.”
He rips open the package and finds the button-eyed, brown haired, yellow jacket-wearing doll from the head Credits -it’s a little Mk!
MK:
(to himself)
“Huh… a little me? That’s weird.”
He crumples the note, both annoyed and charmed.
Pigsy:
“What’s her name, anyway?”
MK:
“Mei. And I’m way too old for dolls.”
But Mk takes it with him and leaves the room.
INT. STUDY – SAME
Tang, goose- Dark black hair, HUNT-AND-PECKS at his ancient computer, Surrounded by boxes of gardening magazines and empty Coffee cups. Mk, with doll, opens the squeaky door.
He doesn’t turn.
MK:
“Hey Dad, how’s the writing going?... Dad?”
He ignores his reflection in his computer screen as he Types away, green letters on black. He clears his throat.
Tang:
“Hello, Mk…
(notices doll’s reflection)
And… Mk doll?...”
MK:
“D’you know where the garden tools are?”
He hears rain outside.
Tang:
“It’s pouring out there, isn’t it.”
MK:
“Humph, it’s just raining.”
Tang:
“What’d the boss say?”
MK:
(mocking)
“Don’t even think about going out, Mk!!”
Tang:
“Then you won’t need the tools.”
Mk groans, stamps his feet. Tang just taps Harder on the keys. Pouting, he makes the door squeak, Opening and shutting it till he can’t take any more. He Spins around.
Tang (CONT’D)
“Uhhh, you know, this house is a hundred And fifty years old.”
MK:
“So?”
Tang:
“So explore it!”
He grabs a pen and pad, holds it out.
Tang (CONT’D)
“Go out and … count all the doors and Windows and write that down. List Everything blue!
(begging)
Just let me work.”
He rolls his eyes, takes paper and pen and leaves.
MONTAGE, VARIOUS – SAME
HALLWAY NEAR STAIRS
Mk, with doll, jumps on bump in carpet that moves With each jump.
LAUNDRY ROOM/WINTER GARDEN
He wipes off the misted glass so he and the doll can See out, then writes in his pad: 7 leaky windows. A drop Of water lands on the pad, smearing the ink. He adds Really between 7 and leaky windows.
HALLWAY NEAR STAIRS
Mk thumps the carpet bump again and pounds up the Stairs.
PARENT’S ROOM/BATHROOM
A framed photo sits in the foreground on a beside table.
It shows a younger, happier Mk with his parents by The bear fountain at the Detroit Zoo.
RACK FOCUS to Bedroom door as it swings into the room, with Mk Hanging on it. He drops to the ground and, doll and pad In hand, decides to check out the bathroom.
When he pulls aside the mildewed shower curtain he Finds a hundred skittering silverfish bugs.
Mk:
“Ewww!”
Disgusted, he jumps into the tub and smashes as many as he can.
He turns on the faucet to wash his hands, only to get Soaked with rusty water from the shower head.
MK (CONT’D)
“Ahh!!”
He shakes out his hair.
HALLWAY NEAR STAIRS
Mk pounds down the stairs, spots the carpet bump Again in the hallway and jumps on it. A closet door Opens, a light on inside, and he goes to investigate.
WATER HEATER CLOSET
ANGLE OVER water heater on Mk. He jots down one Rusty water heater in his pad. As he leaves, he flicks Off the light switch, not noticing a note taped beside it
That says:
‘Do not turn off!’
INT. STUDY – SAME
Lights flicker and then Tang’s computer dies. He Hollers.
Tang:
“No, no, no, no, no; GAAAA--!”
INT. HALLWAY – SAME
Tang (O.S.)
“--AAAAAAA!”
Mk reacts with guilty alarm, runs back to the Closet and –
INT. CLOSET – SAME
Spots the Do not turn off note. He flips the light Switch back on and gets out of there.
INT. LIVING ROOM – SAME
The room is faded and cold with bare windows looking out On rain and gray. The floor is strewn with moving boxes, A few pieces of furniture, Tang’s old Nordic Track. A Few garden tools lean against one wall; a cardboard Mattress box leans against a corner wall.
Mk enters, counting windows and doors to note in his pad. He sets the doll on a low table beside an open Moving box and smiles.
The box is filled with his dad’s collection of snowglobes. He takes out his favorite – the bear fountain at the detroit zoo – and shakes it. He studies The globe and sighs with homesickness. He sets it Carefully on the fireplace mantel, then unwraps the rest Of the snowglobes and places them beside it.
Over the mantel hangs a painting of a crying boy in blue – A scoop of ice cream melting on his shirt, his hand Holding an empty cone. Mk takes up pad and pen and Adds to his list, muttering aloud.
MK:
“One boring blue boy in a painfully boring Painting … four incredibly boring Windows … and no… more… doors…”
He turns to grab the doll off the table by the snow Globe box. It’s gone.
MK (CONT’D)
“All right, little me, where are you Hiding?”
Scanning the room, he spots the doll looking out from behind the mattress box leaned against the corner wall.
Perplexed, he walks over and kneels down to grab the Doll when he notices something on the wall behind the Box.
He shoves the box aside, and discovers the outline of a small door that’s been wallpapered over.
MK (CONT’D)
“Huh?”
Intensely curious, he calls to the kitchen.
MK (CONT’D)
“Hey dad…”
INT. KITCHEN – CONTINUOUS
Dad, typing away, ignores him.
MK (O.S.)
“Where does this door go?”
Pigsy:
“I’m really, really busy!”
INT LIVING ROOM – CONTINUOUS
Mk tries to open it but there’s no handle.
MK:
“I think it’s locked.”
Pigsy (O.S.)
INT. KITCHEN – CONTINUOUS
MK (O.S.)
“Pleeeeeeeeease!”
Pigsy gets up, really annoyed. Big sigh.
Pigsy:
“Uhhh…”
INT. LIVING ROOM – SAME
He walks over to Mk, looks at the outline of the Door in the ratty old wallpaper.
Pigsy:
“Will you stop pestering me if I do this For you?”
Mk nods his head quickly, whining like a dog.
Pigsy (CONT’D)
“Fine.”
He heads back to the kitchen.
INT KITCHEN – CONTINUOUS
Pigsy pulls open a drawer, pushes a bunch of loose brass And nickel keys aside to find a small, sharp black key. Holds it up.
INT LIVING ROOM – CONTINUOUS
Pigsy cuts the wallpaper around the door and sticks the key In the lock. Mk looks on, giddy with anticipation, The doll at his side. Pigsy turns the key, unlocks the Door, and pulls it open to reveal … an unbroken brick wall. Mk is totally disappointed.
MK:
“Bricks? I don’t get it.”
Mk scratches his wrist rash with annoyance.
Pigsy:
“They must have closed this off when they Divided up the house.”
Pigsy gets up to leave.
MK:
“You’re kidding? And why is the door so Small?”
Pigsy leaving room, turns back, and loses it.
Pigsy:
“We made a deal. ZIP IT!”
He exits. Mk makes annoyed sound.
MK:
“You didn’t lock it.”
Pigsy (O.S.)
“AaaaaH!!!”
Mk pushes the little door shut, his head lowered.
EXT. HOUSE – NIGHT
WIDE ANGLE ON HOUSE. Pouring rain. We hear Tang Singing a song about Mk, badly.
Tang (O.S.)
“Oh, my twitchy witchy boy,”
INT. KITCHEN – SAME
Tang, using oven mitt to protect his hand, takes a burned-up casserole dish from the oven while Pigsy closes Up his laptop. Mk sits at the table with his doll.
Tang:
“I think you are so nice, I give you bowls of porridge And I give you bowls of ice –“
Tang sets the dish on the table.
Tang:
(really bad note)
“Cream!”
Mk pushes it away, disgusted.
MK:
“Why don’t you ever cook, Dad?”
Pigsy:
“Mk, we’ve been through this before: Your Dad cooks, I clean, and you stay out Of the way.”
Mk huffs.
Pigsy (CONT’D)
“I swear I’ll go food shopping soon as we Finish the catalog.
(indicates Mk’s plate)
Try some of the chard, you need a Vegetable.”
MK:
“Looks more like slime to me.”
Tang:
“Well, it’s slime or bedtime fusspot – Now what’s it going to be?”
Mk looks to his doll, cradles its head.
MK:
“Think they’re trying to poison me?”
He makes the doll’s head nod “yes.” Mk rolls his Eyes, looks up to the heavens and –
INT. MK’S BEDROOM – SAME
Falls back, washed and dressed for bed, on his pillow.
Still raining out. Mk puts the doll on the chair Beside him, then scratches at his wrist. origami dragonflies are strung between the tall, thin bed posts; The turtle shell he found in the garden sits up on a Box, his night lamp that projects stars and moons is Warming up on the bedside table. Despite his efforts at Decorating, Mk’s new bedroom feels small and cold, Cracked and faded.
Mk reaches for a framed photo that rests on a toy praying mantis by his night lamp.
It’s his two best friends from home, posing in the snow By his old school’s marquee, its letters rearranged to Spell “Mk, GOOD BYE!” he touches his friends’ Faces with his fingertips.
MK:
“Don’t forget about me, guys. Okay?”
He puts back the photo, hits the light switch over his Bed and, looking over at the doll, sighs.
MK (CONT’D)
“Good-night…little me.”
His breathing slows and, with the doll watching him, he Starts to fall asleep.
INT. MK’S BEDROOM – DREAMTIME
--SURREAL MIST SWIRLS out his window. moons and stars slowly move across the walls. something in the room goes t-t-t-t-t-t. Mk sits up, Awake. something chitters under his bed. He leans over his bedside, head first, peering underneath when a ghost- Pale kangaroo mouse jumps out and bounds out the door.
INT. HALL – SAME
He gives chase, down the upper hall, down the stairs, Snaps on the lower hall light, sees it hop into the Living room.
INT. LIVING ROOM – CONTINUOUS
Mk enters. The mouse edges out from beneath the Sofa, then hops frantically toward the small door behind The wallpaper! Mk runs and dives, but the door is Open a crack, and the mouse escapes.
Mk grabs the door’s edge and pulls it open. Instead Of a brick wall, there is a dark, expanding tunnel, with The hopping mouse heading towards a bluish light at the Far end.
MK:
“Whoa…”
He catches his breath, pulls the door wider and crawls through.
INT. PASSAGEWAY – CONTINUOUS
Mk moves forward, towards the light ahead.
INT. OTHER LIVING ROOM – CONTINUOUS
Mk steps out through the same little door, into What looks like the exact same living room he just left, Only something is different – it feels deeper, more Dimensional.
MK:
“Huh?”
He looks around, notices the painting over the Fireplace: The crying blue boy is now smiling, his shirt Clean and his ice cream back on his cone.
From across the hall, warm light comes from the kitchen And the smell of delicious food wafts towards his nose.
MK (CONT’D)
“MMMMM, something smells good.”
INT. OTHER KITCHEN – NIGHT
Mk enters to see his father cooking at the stove, Wearing an apron and rooster-Head oven mitts. The light And colors are much warmer and the details more perfect In this kitchen. Other father is facing away from Mk as he works.
MK:
“dad?! What are you doing here in the Middle of the night?”
Pigsy turns from the stove to greet him and Mk Is dumbstruck: he’s got buttons for eyes! he beams with Happiness at Mk’s arrival.
OTHER FATHER:
“You’re just in time for supper, dear!”
MK:
“You’re not my dad.”
MK (CONT’D)
“My dad doesn’t have b-b-buh…”
Mk points to his own eye.
OTHER FATHER:
“B-b-b-buttons? Do you like them?”
He taps one with his nail.