Original subtitles

FOOTSTEPS IN THE DISTANCE

GENTLE STREET BUZZ

DOOR SHUTS IN THE DISTANCE

STREET BUZZ STOPS

MYSTERIOUS MUSIC

MUSIC CONTINUES

METAL CLINKS

MUSIC INTENSIFIES

LIGHT SWITCH CLICKS UPBEAT SYNTH SONG

♪ Hurry up It's the final call

♪ It's no opportunity at all

♪ Just a functional decree

♪ That will get our life from A to...

♪ Being alone while not living alone

♪ Living alone but not being alone

♪ Coping not living And living to cope

♪ Hoping not living And living to hope

♪ All aboard, all aboard If you're not on, we're gone

♪ There's a heartbeat of the mind

♪ It's about friendship and being kind

♪ As we make our way through time

♪ these are threads that hide beneath

♪ In layer upon layer, upon layer, Upon layer, upon layer

♪ Time dissolves (my mind)

♪ Layer upon layer, upon layer, Upon layer, upon layer

♪ Time dissolves

♪ Being alone while not living alone

♪ Living alone while not being alone

♪ Coping not living And living to cope

♪ Hoping not living And living to hope

♪ Layer upon layer, upon layer, Upon layer, upon layer

♪ Time dissolves (my mind)

♪ Layer upon layer, upon layer, Upon layer, upon layer

♪ Time dissolves my mind

FERRY ANNOUNCEMENT TONE RINGS

WOMAN'S VOICE: You've been travelling with City Ferries.

Thank you.

MUSIC SOFTENS

SARAH: It's my husband, Joe, he's missing.

MAN ON THE PHONE: Missing?

- Since when? - No... I don't mean...

missing missing . I just mean...

Where are you?

Nothing makes sense.

Okay.

SONG FADES OUT

We're just drifting, we're unmoored.

Excuse me

- Are you in trouble, caller? - Yes.

I am.

Yeah, I could really do with some help here.

- I'm listening... - JOE: Sarah?

MAN ON THE PHONE: Hello?

[SARAH SOBS] JOE: Hey beautiful, what are you doing?

SARAH: Go to bed, Joe.

- What's wrong? - SOFTLY: Nothing.

LOUDER: Nothing, I was just...

LOUD EXHALE

JOE: What?

JOE: Easy, tiger. [SARAH LAUGHS]

- It's late. - Is it?

- Yeah. - Yeah.

Okay.

FRIDGE HUMS

FRIDGE HUMS LOUDLY

HE YAWNS

DOG BARKS IN THE DISTANCE

ELECTRIC CLICK FRIDGE HUM QUIETENS DOWN

POLICE SIREN IN THE DISTANCE

What are you doing?

Oh, it's late, isn't it?

- Yeah. - Yeah, we should...

We should probably go to bed.

Come to bed.

Come to bed!

GENTLE GUITAR MUSIC

WATER RUNS

WATER CUTS

MUSIC CONTINUES

Good morning.

TONI SIGHS HAPPILY

Good morning to you. [GWEN GASPS SOFTLY]

You smell nice.

It's me.

Yeah, I know. I know...

Shh.

WHISPERS: Listen, listen. Gwen.

Shh, shh. Gwen.

Please, listen.

[TONI SIGHS] GWEN: What happened?

It's me, it's Toni.

I'm your partner, [MUSIC ENDS]

and always have been.

I love you.

You're different.

[TONI SIGHS] You've changed.

I know.

Please, Gwen. You know me.

- Everything you know... - No.

Everything you know has changed.

GWEN: What are you doing?

Time has passed.

I'm still here. This is our house.

Isn't it? It's our house.

Go and see.

UPBEAT SONG

[JOE SINGS ALONG] ♪ The ones that crooks took

♪ when life collapsed ♪

There she is.

Hey babe, do you need me, or...?

SONG CONTINUES

Mm. Baby, baby, baby, baby.

BOTH MOAN

- What do you want? - Get me my robe, please.

SARAH LAUGHS JOE HUMS ALONG TO THE MUSIC

SARAH GASPS

SARAH EXHALES

MUSIC DISTORTS

MUSIC GOES BACK TO NORMAL

- You're looking very tired. - That's because I am.

- Hope you're not ill. - No, it's just...

I don't know, alcohol poisoning from my work do.

Why wasn't I invited?

Oh... I'm sorry, are you an archaeologist?

No.

Can you hold your own in a conversation

about the Klasies river mouth in Southern Africa

from thousands of years ago and what they discovered there?

- No. - Well,

if you can't make small talk

about the funeral rites of our predecessors over canapés,

then you're not invited.

SARAH: Sorry!

- You look very tired. - You said.

You feeling okay?

Nothing an early night won't cure.

MUSIC CONTINUES IN BACKGROUND

What's for lunch?

Babe, you just had bacon and eggs.

You're putting on a bit of weight.

IN FUNNY VOICE: Fattyyy!

Fatty fatty boom boom!

HE LAUGHS

MUSIC BECOMES LOUDER

We still have music.

I would hope so, it's my job. [MUSIC ENDS]

- I no longer design houses. - Oh.

Yes, it was just easier to stop.

I held on long as I could after the accident.

The accident?

Yes.

Um... I had a few clients.

But then...

Then I stopped. Careful.

TONI: Okay.

How long have we been doing this?

Nearly fifteen years.

Why?

DRAMATIC MUSIC

GWEN GASPS QUIETLY

CHEERY PIANO MUSIC

GENTLE STREET BUZZ

JENNY: You're late.

Who are the kiddy-winks?

Really? [THEY LAUGH SOFTLY]

Community interaction.

Part of our new funding drive, we need money.

I need my time.

Oh, come on! I promised them they could meet a genius.

I guess you'll do.

- Hilarious. - And annoying.

DR FALMER: Mh-hm.

C'mon, chop chop chop. Have fun!

MUSIC CONTINUES

- Morning Moses. - Morning Dr Falmer.

TEENAGERS: Morning.

- Hope you have a good one.

You'll help me herd the ducklings.

Come on. [MOSES LAUGHS]

Put your brain through a windscreen

at forty miles an hour,

or drop it fifteen feet down a ladder

and life becomes a lottery.

You may or may not remember things.

That theme tune from a kid's TV show;

the taste and sensations of your first kiss.

The insult your sister gave you and then forgot,

but which has plagued you some mornings at 2:30am,

and has done ever since you were twenty.

- GIRL: Oh, she's so young. - BOY: No way.

It's remarkable what that kilo and a half blob

at the top of your neck files away.

JOE: How many grandchildren are we gonna have?

[GENTLE SONG IN THE BACKGROUND] Grandchildren?

Babe, we haven't even spoken about children yet.

Simple enough:

how many grandkids are we gonna have? Three? A dozen? One?

- I don't know. - Tell me.

Um, I can't answer that!

Well, try.

Seven! Three boys and four girls.

And one of them, unfortunately, is red-headed, so...

we keep them in the basement...

Don't take the piss.

MUSIC CONTINUES

MUSIC DISTORTS

MUSIC CLIMAXES AND FADES OUT

ENERGETIC SONG PLAYS IN THE BACKGROUND

SARAH: Oh.

- You feeling okay? - I'm fine!

I swear I can actually see you ageing.

- Let's go to brunch. - Getting old before your time.

- I'm getting ready. - You feeling okay?

Let's go to that trendy café with coffees

and tattoos, you know?

- What's wrong, tell me. - Yeah?

- You feeling okay? - I'm fine Joe!

- What's wrong? - I'm not ill!

I'm just getting older! Okay?

- You are looking older. - Cos I am older!

SHOUTS: How?

SONG CONTINUES QUIETLY

HEAVY EXHALE

DR FALMER: Following a traumatic brain injury,

you might not recognise your mother.

Or recall who was in the room with you two minutes ago.

You might suddenly decide the word for "table" is "antelope".

You might not talk at all; never come round from coma;

or come round aggressive and abusive,

speaking only in Latin,

or humming the theme tune to a kid's TV show

over and over again.

In some rare cases you may even have been improved.

Alright guys, come on, straight through.

CHATTER

DR FALMER: One thing is for sure.

Your old self, the premorbid self, will have gone,

and the new you will have come into being.

Same person, but with new frontal lobes

and therefore, potentially, a brand new personality to match.

Um... It's two minutes past, Doctor.

- WHISPERS: Was it good? - Bit indulgent.

Welcome to the Open Field TBI Hospital, you have met Jenny,

if I don't have the answers you need, she does. Questions?

Excellent! Bye!

Clinic.

MELANCHOLIC PIANO AND CELLO MUSIC

CLAY PIECES CLATTER

DOOR OPENS

DOOR CLOSES

CHILDREN PLAYING MUSIC CONTINUES

JOE, MUMBLES: Oh my God.

HE LAUGHS

MUSIC FADES OUT

Oi!

What you doing?

Who let you give my kid a doughnut?

It's fine, I've got loads.

- Don't eat food from strangers! - JOE: Hey!

- What's wrong with you? - That was a nice one!

I dropped... I'm sorry, I don't mind sharing

- I'm fine, c'mon take another one, pal. -

No!

- Don't go around giving food! - It's okay.

- You on drugs? - SARAH: Stop doing that!

It's okay, okay? You don't understand.

He shouldn't be allowed out!

I understand! Taking the piss, talking to kids!

No! it's not like that. He loves kids!

Oh, I bet he does! [PHONE RINGS]

- SARAH: Oi! You can't do that! - Oh no?

This is an invasion of privacy, you have no right!

I've every right to protect my child, yeah?

You can delete that, I mean it!

- JOE: Stop it. - SARAH: Delete it!

- I've both of you now. - What you looking at?

In fact...

Wait, so you're filming now, are you?

- Yeah, I need proof! - Of what?

We're people!

- We're just peop... - Let go you bitch!

JOE: It's okay, let's move. [CAR HORN]

- Leave her alone, okay? - Fuck off!

Look at this crazy woman,

attacking me in front of my child!

DRIVER: You crazy bitch!

- What gives you the right to judge?

Shut up!

WHISPERS: Sarah, come on. [CHATTER]

- JOE: Sarah. - SARAH: Fuck off!

JOE: Hey, hey! [CHATTER]

Hey, come on.

That was fucking brilliant! [HE LAUGHS]

Babe? You cannot go around with your grinning,

saying weird jokes and talking to random people.

You can't do that.

Don't smile or laugh, people'll think

- something's wrong with you. - Well, there is, okay?

There is.

- You're disinhibited. - Good.

Let's go to bed then.

You got doughnuts.

Nice.

DR FALMER: Thirty years ago, ninety percent of patients

with traumatic brain injury didn't survive,

and now ninety percent do.

It's what with tumours, road accidents and strokes,

we are fast approaching epidemic levels.

Hospitals can't cope; our system's overloaded,

and who's left to deal with that?

It's family at home.

You.

So there's nothing you can do to help. -

Did I say that?

The system's overloaded; epidemic levels;

- hospitals can't cope. - But the brain's adaptable.

So he'll get better?

The tumour Joe's sustained means he'll never get better.

CLOCK TICKS LOUDLY IN THE BACKGROUND

But, he'll improve?

Further use of memory aids can certainly help facilitate more

independent living.

He has to improve.

He's really struggling.

We're struggle... Ah...

I'm struggling.

People are cruel.

You can't see a broken brain.

SARAH EXHALES LOUDLY

CHAIR SHUFFLES DR FALMER SIGHS

This silent epidemic isn't going anywhere.

About Joe.

There is something we could try.

And he'll get better?

The brain is adaptable.

CELLO MUSIC

MUSIC CONTINUES TO PLAY FROM THE RECORD

MUSIC SOUNDS MUFFLED

TONI KNOCKS ON DOOR

[SHE SIGHS AND KNOCKS AGAIN] I'm still here.

KNOCK ON THE DOOR

It's me, Toni.

Whatever lesson I was supposed to learn,

I have it now.

CELLO MUSIC CONTINUES

By heart.

PHONE DIALS

MUSIC CONTINUES IN THE DISTANCE

PHONE DIALS

ON THE PHONE: Dr Falmer here.

- Yes? How can I help? - Um...

My partner,

Gwen Williams.

She had a traumatic brain injury about fifteen years ago

and now lives with...

Retrograde amnesia? Yes, Gwen. I remember.

DR FALMER TAKES A DEEP BREATH

So there's been a change?

TONI: Yes. Yes, there's...

There's a big change.

It's been so long.

MUSIC CONTINUES

She can't be near me any more.

[TONI EXHALES LOUDLY] I'm sorry.

It's just probably a bad day.

- Bring her in, Toni. - No.

Bring her in. A few days' observation,

we'll take it from there.

Actually, um...

I'm sorry I bothered you. I'm okay.

Around five pm?

Pack a bag, we'll make up a room.

It's time, Toni. [TONI SOBS]

GENTLE PIANO MUSIC TONI SNIFFLES

TONI ZIPS SUITCASE

MUSIC CONTINUES WIND BLOWS GENTLY

CLINIC BUZZ

Sit down?

Hello. [TONI SNIFFLES]

We have a five o'clock appointment for Gwen.

DISPENSER SQUEAKS

JENNY: I can't see anything here.

- How're you doing? - TONI: Um...

Um, well...

I don't know. We do have one.

You don't, there's nothing written down.

- TONI: Can you check again? - JENNY: I just have, so...

TONI: We do have an appointment.

It's just not bloody written down!

JENNY SMIRKS

I can't bloody help you then, can I?

TONI: Excuse me?

I didn't choose to come here.

- We were told to come in! - You don't have an appointment!

- We do! - It's okay, Jenny. It's okay.

- Hi, Toni. - Hello.

Take a seat. [LOUD EXHALE]

TONI: Gwen.

DR FALMER: Would you like to come with me?

GWEN: Yeah.

I'll take this.

- It's been a while. - Yeah.

BIRDS CHIRP OUTSIDE

You can help yourself to a magazine.

DR FALMER: There was a car accident

and you sustained a severe head injury.

So how long was I out?

Out?

GWEN: In the coma. How long was I in the coma for?

It wasn't a coma.

Asleep, then. How long have I been asleep?

This... [CLEARS THROAT]

This may be difficult for you to understand,

but you've been conscious

all the time.

CLOCK TICKS LOUDLY IN THE ROOM

I don't think I can do this.

You can.

You always do.

Just give me a minute.

HEAVY EXHALE

My mother?

I'm sorry.

Was it a long time ago?

Four years.

Four years?

Did I go to the funeral?

You were too upset.

I don't remember anything!

Was it a good turnout?

Yeah, the...

The hall was full.

Oh, she would have loved that!

She loved people around her. [GENTLE LAUGH]

TONI: Every morning, she has to go through a version of this.

And it's my job to calm her and...

and explain.

BIRDS CHIRP

TONI: I could go.

It's harder since her mum died.

DR FALMER: Of course.

TONI: She doesn't trust me.

Is she getting worse?

Or, am I weaker?

Go home.

Things will look better in the morning.

SCOFFS

Don't you have something stronger for the pain

than bloody clichés?

I think it's time to leave.

You didn't see me.

I wasn't even here.

MELANCHOLIC PIANO MUSIC

MUSIC CONTINUES

CAR ENGINE HUMS

MUSIC CONCLUDES

SARAH'S VOICE: Hi Joe. Good morning, love.

I hope you slept well.

This is gonna seem pretty strange,

but it's something new that we agreed to try.

Because your doctor said that with repetition,

some of what I say may register.

So, listen up, you hairy-arsed clown. Listen, okay?

Seriously, this is very, very important.

Um, I never know how to tell you this,

and it never gets any easier,

even though I've done it many, many times,

not that you'd remember...

You're ill, Joe.

Um, your brain was injured;

that's why you're at home, and not at work.

You've got a form of amnesia,

from when you were ill two years ago.

I now know this might come as a shock,

you're probably like, "wha..?",

um, but just...

just try to listen, I'm gonna explain everything, okay?

So just try to listen and try to understand.

SNIFFLES

Okay, I got you, babe. Ready?

Er...

It all comes down to the almond and the seahorse.

The amygdala and the hippocampus;

they are components of the brain's memory circuitry,

necessary for the laying-down of new traces,

um, for the making of new memories.

They're called the almond and the seahorse because,

um, they're shaped like that, I guess. [SOFT LAUGH]

SOFT WHIMPER

CLICK

SARAH'S VOICE: You've been rewired.

Okay, imagine the coloured wires in a phone line;

They are the axons

that run from the outer layer of the brain to the cortex beneath,

linking both layers

and making possible the connections between

the brain and the world,

the brain and body,

the brain and the self.

With brain injury, the internal wires are separated...

She's lost the fucking plot.

...If they reconnect, it can be in haphazard or,

like, unusual ways.

Red may find green;

the blue wire may find the yellow one.

It may never reconnect at all.

LOUD CLICK

PUFFS

CLOCK TICKS LOUDLY IN THE ROOM

SWALLOWS AUDIBLY

PRESSES BUTTON

SARAH'S VOICE: Basically, you've been rewired,

but in a new, illogical way.

PRESSES BUTTON

Fuck.

SILENCE ALARM BEEPS

ALARM CONTINUES

ALARM BEEPS

"Take your medicine."

"Box in your top left pocket. Tuesday compartment."

WATER RUNS

CLOCK TICKS IN THE ROOM

ALARM BEEPS

ALARM BEEPS HE SNIFFLES

"Take your medicine. Box in your top left pocket.

"Tuesday compartment." [HE LAUGHS]

SNIFFLES

Sarah!

Sarah, are you home?

LIGHTER CLICKS

"Check list."

"Take pill.

"Check medicine box, square, yellow."

Square yellow.

That's where you are. Check!

"Tuesday compartment. If pill is there, then take it." Huh?

"If empty, you've taken it.

"Cross this out and go to point 2." [PHONE RINGS]

Ha! [PHONE RINGS]

Hello?

- Hi, my name's Rina... - Rita!

It's Rina, from North West Power.

I'd like to save you money on electricity.

That's good.

Not many call to say they've cheaper electricity for sale.

[HE LAUGHS] Wonderful!

- Do you have a pen and paper?

Pen? Yeah, I have. I'll get a pen.

- I appreciate your time. -Sure.

- Okay. - Yeah, I, um...

CLANK

Sarah!

CLOCK TICKS

RINA: Hello, sir?

Hello?

Are you there?

Hello?

Hello? [TELEPHONE THUMPS]

- Hello? - Hi, sir,

it's Rina from North West Power.

- We spoke? - No, I don't know a Rita.

- I said it's Rina. - No.

- Who's this? - Did you get your pen?

Why do I need a pen?

Why ask me that? I've no fucking pen, alright!

I don't have to listen to this. [DIAL TONE]

Charming!

ALARM BEEPS

SEVERAL ALARMS BEEP

BEEPING CONTINUES

Buzz, buzz... [THUMP]

BEEPS CONTINUE

JOE CLEARS THROAT

JOE GROWLS, ANNOYED

BEEPS GROW DISTORTED JOE EXHALES

LOUD ALARM CLOCK HE SHOUTS, SURPRISED

SMACK

SCREAMS

MUFFLED REVERBERATION

INHALES SHARPLY

HE WHIMPERS IN DISTRESS

SOBS

HEAVY BREATHING

HEAVY ECHOEY DISTORTION

PHONE RINGS

PHONE RINGS

- Hello? - SARAH: Hi.

- Sarah! - Hey, babe!

- I love you! - I love you too!

Have you taken your meds, Joe, the pill?

- What pill? - The yellow one.

It's the yellow one, the yellow pill.

- What are you on about? - The box?

- I haven't seen it. - Y ellow pill in your box.

- Oh, I see. - Yeah.

- Yellow one? - Yeah, you got it?

- Yeah, I got it. - Okay, good.

- Alright! - Take it, it's important.

Okay, you can listen to me taking it.

- Yup. Right now? - This is me,

swallowing drugs.

Okay, good.

JOE: Mm.

All gone! Happy now?

Hello? Joe?

- Was I good? - Yeah, I really need you

to follow the lists when I'm not there, okay?

For Christ's sake, Sarah, it's hardly fucking rocket science.

PHONE CLATTERS

BIRDS CHIRP TRANQUIL PIANO MUSIC

FEMALE NURSE: Gwen!

MOSES: Gwen! [LOW BASS]

MOSES: Wait! Ah, I can see her!

PLAYFUL PIANO MUSIC

- MOSES: Gwen! - NURSE: We can see you running!

- MOSES: Gwen, wait. - NURSE: Come! Ah!

Stay with her, Moses!

I've got her.

PLAYFULLY: No, you haven't.

GWEN LAUGHS

Wait, Gwen!

- Bloody hell, wait. - Ha ha! You can't catch me!

- GWEN: Ever! - MOSES: Wait!

- Ever! Ever! - Bloody hell, wait!

MUSIC TURNS MELANCHOLIC

MUSIC FADES OUT

- WOMAN: Hey spud, you ready? - Yeah.

GENTLE CLINIC BUZZ

DR FALMER: Toni!

I told you to go and get some rest.

TONI: I rested.

Respite is for both of you.

Yep!

You know I really think we need to respect people's wants.

SIGHS: I'm not sure what you're saying.

If someone doesn't want our presence, we should...

- You don't want me to see her? - I didn't say that.

My life is in that room.

No, it's not!

DISTANT CONVERSATION

With respect, it's not.

Your life is where you are.

Do I cause her distress?

- I didn't say that. - I...

- I cause her distress? - Go home, Toni.

What do you do when you've been obliterated?

Is, um...

Is this for Gwen?

TONI SIGHS

Yeah, it gives her comfort.

Does she still play?

No, not for years.

Shame.

Music can sometimes help the brain reanimate.

Yeah.

You're welcome.

JAZZY DRUMS

HAPPY SCREAMS UPBEAT, JAUNTY MUSIC

LAUGHS

HAPPY SCREAMS AND SHOUTS

LAUGHING

Joe! Go to get him! Get him!

JOE SHOUTS IN A LOW VOICE CHILDREN SCREAM

I'll go and get the cake, alright?

I don't know what all the bloody fuss is about.

Your mum's a fucker, Cath!

- I know. - Fuck, fuck.

- Fucking fucker! - I know, definitely a fucker.

Fucker! [MUSIC CONCLUDES]

EXHALES

- Okay. - Breathe...

And put those in a bowl, please.

SARAH GRUNTS PLAYFUL PIANO MUSIC

- Hello. - GIRL: Hello.

- What brings you here? - It's my party.

Mhm, happy birthday!

What do we call you?

Bethan the birthday girl!

Well, hello birthday girl, I'm Joe.

Uncle Joe.

MUSIC CONTINUES

JOE SHOUTS PLAYFULLY

Alright, let's... Let's come back in, fairies!

HAPPY SHOUTING CONTINUES

Joe!

MUSIC QUIETENS

SARAH: I just never know what Joe I'm gonna get.

The Dalai Lama, or a five year-old.

WHISPERS: Honestly.

It doesn't bother you that he doesn't remember her?

Oh, he remembers her.

Just the wrong age.

Keeps asking me, "Where's the baby? Is she lying down?".

I'm like,

I don't have the heart to say, "She's there in front of you."

- You thought any more about...? - No.

You know,

what you're going through,

is a kind of bereavement.

BIRDS CHIRP

Only I still have the body walking and talking,

and rolling around on top of me.

Aaah!

Too much information!

Sorry Cath.

Not that he remembers.

Well, that's a family trait.

I can't remember my last shag either.

It's true.

You do need to talk to someone though.

Yeah, well, I have you.

We're not doing friends anymore.

I really can't stomach the little smiles

and the pitying eyes.

Isn't there a group you could join?

- I'm not a joiner. - Oh no.

Sorry, forgot.

Yep, "I'm not a joiner".

So I guess that leaves me then!

Poor Cath! [CHUCKLES]

I still love him, you know.

MELANCHOLIC PIANO MUSIC

OTHER INSTRUMENTS JOIN IN

WIND BLOWS

DISTANT BAR MUSIC JOINS THE PIANO

PIANO MUSIC ENDS

INDISTINCT CHATTER BAR MUSIC CONTINUES

- TONI: Excuse me. - BOY: Oh...

Why, what you done, Nana? [THEY LAUGH]

- What? - You heard.

THEY CONTINUE TO LAUGH

Hey, fuck you! [SYNTH MUSIC]

Whatever!

LAUGHTER AND INDISTINCT CHATTER

SYNTH MUSIC CONTINUES DRUMS FROM INSIDE

♪ Waiting for my time Hiding in the shadows

♪ Waiting for my time Hiding in the shadows

♪ By chance you came along Delivered me from misery

CHATTER AND WHISTLES

♪ We could catch a ride To any new reality

♪ Dance all your shadows to death ♪

SONG CONTINUES

SONG BECOMES ECHOEY AND DISTORTED

PEOPLE CHEER

MUSIC FADES OUT

GENTLE GUITAR MUSIC

SHE SIGHS

SIGHS

You changed!

Not me.

I'm still here.

MUTED CRIES MUSIC CONTINUES

SEAGULLS CALL WATER RUNS

MUSIC CONCLUDES

I can buy you a brontosaurus for three million pounds.

Or a triceratops for two and a half.

I'm not a palaeontologist.

Plus, we would have nowhere to put it.

You already got me that bike.

Actually... Where did you put your schedule?

You think I'm stupid?

No.

Why do you talk to me in that voice?

What? Sorry?

I hate it when you speak to me in that voice.

That patronising, schoolteacher voice.

Huh. Yeah, well, it wasn't intentional, I'm sorry.

LOUD EXHALE

It's just, where's the schedule?

You're supposed to have it with you at all times.

There is that voice!

- I'm doing the best I can! - I hate that voice,

- I hate it! - Tough,

it's the only voice I have!

Ah! In here!

Your schedule! Which you should have with you at all times!

Ugh, for fuck's sake.

- Christ! - I'm sorry, I'm sorry.

Joe, it's just you have to have it with you!

Okay?

It allows you to have some kind of life.

I don't want you having the panic attacks.

D'ya think we can dream our kids before they're conceived?

What?

I mean...

Do they exist out there in the...

mass of energy and molecular particles that is the universe,

and the dark that isn't really dark, just...

Just waiting.

Choose their parents; choose their families,

their soul families...

JOE CONTINUES TO LAUGH

Soul family!

Joe, I...

I really wanna have a baby with you, Joe.

I really wanna have our baby.

And if you're in there, I just...

I'd love you to know that.

What?

I miss your old eyes,

the eyes that were attached to that original brain.

Have you been drinking? [SHE SIGHS]

I just miss you.

- I'm here! - You're not.

You're not the same.

I am!

No, you're not.

Ha ha, I am here!

No, you're not, Joe. You're not here,

- because... - Oh, for...

and to think! I am here.

I am fucking here!

Okay, you're not the same person. You're not...

bitter and dark and twisted, like...

how you used to be.

Are you having a nervous breakdown?

Probably. Yeah.

That comes from digging up those corpses.

Mum said it was morbid and always has been.

Well...

You can tell her I'm basically an archivist now.

And you haven't worked in two years, so...

Ah, for fuck's sake! [HE LAUGHS]

- Something's happened! - Yeah.

You're right, Joe. Something has. You wrote it in your book.

Read your list.

- What happened? - It's in the book!

"Important information about your broken brain.

"For Joe, by Joe.

"One: I am you and we have been ill.

"Two: we grew a tumour the size of an orange inside our skull,

"but it's okay.

"It was benign.

"Three: they removed the tumour and,

with it, large sections of our memory..."

Do you recognise the hand-writing?

Yeah.

Whose is it?

Well, um...

Looks like mine.

I, um...

I can't...

I can't do this, okay?

- You can. - I can't, because it's, um...

I can't do this, cos it's, um...

Hmm. I'm, um, I'm really sorry,

I don't think I...

Joe, it's okay. Sorry, it's alright. No, it's my fault.

- It's alright. - No it's not, and I...

I did something wrong. And, uh,

I'm really sorry.

- I'm here. - I wanna to speak to Sarah.

No, not, I want, um, I want, the other Sarah, okay, yeah?

- I'm here! - I want the real Sarah.

I want the real Sarah.

MELANCHOLIC PIANO AND VIOLIN MUSIC

WATERS RUNS MUSIC CONTINUES

STRING NOTE

MUSIC CONCLUDES

- You have to find your zero. - Sorry?

- It's alright. - Ah!

You have to show it who's boss.

Have you played long?

[CELLO THUMPS GENTLY] You tell me.

Sorry, I didn't, um,

- I should go. - No!

Stay.

You first have to find your zero.

The moment after you've lifted the bow

and right before it falls back to earth.

A breath, a pause, before you start to play.

Take my hand.

- My zero? - Yeah.

LONG NOTE

TENTATIVE NOTES

PLAYING BECOMES MORE CONFIDENT

CELLO MUSIC CONTINUES

SNIFFLES

SINGLE NOTE LINGERS

GWEN: There was once a woman

walking along a shore.

It was twilight, and she could see another figure

walking towards her.

A young woman.

CELLO MUSIC FADES OUT

And,

as they grew closer, she could see how she walked

and it was familiar.

A way of moving so reminiscent of someone she knew.

Her younger self.

"Go back!", she cries.

"Go back!".

Gwen.

Yes, Toni?

No, don't. Don't turn around. Just...

listen. [TONI SNIFFLES]

Why?

I don't think we should do this anymore.

TONI SOBS QUIETLY

I'm sorry. I'm sorry I've changed.

I'm sorry you don't know me anymore.

Yes.

This is just a memory, speaking to another memory.

A goodbye.

TONI SNIFFLES

I'm sorry, Toni.

No, don't be.

GENTLE PIANO MUSIC

SARAH: Oh. Excuse me!

Here he is!

My guy!

- Mr. Trouble is here! - Okay, see you later!

JOE: Bye then!

MUSIC CONTINUES

- Er, Sarah? - ANNOYED: Yes?

Dr Falmer would appreciate a word.

DR FALMER, SOFTLY: Next week then.

- Thanks. - I can come back later.

Let me call you back. Sarah!

Sarah, please, do... Come in, have a seat.

Um, I would like to keep Joe

in the residential wing for a while.

But he always comes home with me.

It's not for very long.

I just want to run a few more tests and...

keep him under observation.

Is there a problem?

Please, sit.

LOUDER: Is there a problem?

According to Joe's medical notes,

he has no memory or recollection of anything

over the past two years?

Yeah, that's right, yeah.

So I am concerned about a possible erosion

of his existing memories

going back to before the tumour.

- Meaning? - Joe's autobiographical memory

appears to be deteriorating.

His memory is deteriorating.

It seems so.

So he's slipping further back?

- I can't say for sure... - Just deleting his memories.

- Ugh, well, when will it stop? - Impossible to say.

So, he just carries on rewinding, erasing our lives?

I really can't say at the moment.

But what if he rewinds

to before we ever met? What happens then?

What happens then? He forgets who I am?

He doesn't recognise me?

I am sorry.

No!

- DR FALMER: I am. - SARAH: No.

I'm sorry, Sarah.

DOOR SHUTS

DOOR OPENS

You know, I thought there was still hope, you told me that.

- I didn't, actually.

What about all those memory exercises

the recordings and Joe's schedule?

They're designed to support

and facilitate independent living.

"The brain is adaptable", you said.

No brain is the same, Sarah.

You gave me hope, and you shouldn't have.

You shouldn't have given me any hope!

Do you have no idea what it's like

to try to hang on and survive like this?

I do. [MELANCHOLIC PIANO MUSIC]

INDISTINCT CHATTER

SARAH SOBS

- GWEN: Time passes so quickly. - Excuse me?

We shouldn't waste it, crying.

GWEN: Seize life.

Grasp it.

Don't waste it.

BIRDS CHIRP

TONI: It'll kill you, you know.

Which is why I like to smoke alone and in silence.

You know, some things require

full awareness and concentration.

It's a talent, some might say it's a discipline.

Total commitment

to the slow process of self-annihilation.

I've never been one for small talk, either.

It changes you.

GENTLE GUITAR MUSIC

Do not be nice to me.

I wouldn't dream of it.

What is the point of having a phone,

if it's always off the bloody hook?

GUITAR MUSIC CONTINUES

INDISTINCT CONVERSATION

Those are the brains I can't mend.

You know you can't smoke anymore in here, right?

THEY CHUCKLE

MUFFLED CHEERS MUSIC CONTINUES

PARADE SOUNDS COMING FROM TV

MUSIC CONCLUDES

Good morning. [DISTANT SEAGULL CALLS]

Hi, okay, er...

[SARAH LAUGHS] Toni: What?

HEAVY EXHALE

Okay, can you get me a towel?

What?

An oblong piece of absorbent material used to

block water from my naked skin, following ablutions?

TONI LAUGHS

Don't you need to pause and inhale,

like us, lesser mortals?

Ah, no. Scary, isn't it? I have excellent breath control;

I can actually go on for hours if I need to,

I can just pump out words, p-p-p-p-p, like, um

a Tommy Gun.

- A Tommy Gun. - Mm.

It's like an automatic weapon, I just spray

words into the air, like bullets...

Look, okay,

I'm clearly not used to doing this, so...

I'm just gonna have a shower and I will be out of your life.

So I guess giving comfort is a crime.

I've never heard it called that before.

But that's what we did.

We comforted each other.

Um...

Yeah, okay, yep,

that's what I was, comfort.

No, you were much, much more than that.

I don't want this.

Why are you being like that?

Last night I was just trying to get away.

Last night was just about me. I'm sleeping with strangers,

and I include my husband in that list, and you have no idea.

You fucking try me!

Okay.

Sometimes, when he looks at me,

- what makes him "him" is... - Missing?

Yes.

The last time I saw Gwen was fifteen years ago,

in our car.

She was pregnant.

The IVF had finally worked.

And she was trying to buckle her seatbelt over her bump,

and that's the second before a car cannoned into us,

sending her through the windscreen.

What happens when there are no babies to tell the stories to?

GWEN: Toni!

LOUDER: Toni!

DOOR OPENS

Where's Toni?

- Please. Allow us to explain, just... - I don't know you.

- My name is Alex Moses, I'm a nurse. - Where am I?

- Gwen, allow me to explain. - No, I need to speak to Toni.

Hear me out. Tell me where you are.

ATMOSPHERIC MUSIC

What happened?

It's okay.

Oh my God...

- No. - Gwen.

Whe-where...

No...

- Where is my baby?! - It's okay.

What did you do to me?

- Where is my baby?! - DR FALMER: Gwen, hello.

I'm Dr Falmer and I'm here to help.

Where is Toni? I need to speak to...

It's alright.

- It's okay. - Oh, please...

- It's okay, Gwen. - It's not okay!

I can't speak! I need to speak to Toni!

DR FALMER: Okay.

MUSIC FADES OUT

Is that clear, Gwen?

Yeah.

I know something now which I...

which I won't at other times.

I know I'm older than I thought I was.

Time's passing.

Life's moving on;

SUBTLE INSTRUMENTAL MUSIC

but tomorrow morning, I'll be a young girl.

And you'll have to go through this all over again?

Yes, I will.

Yes, we will.

Thank you.

Take your time. Moses will see you to your room.

MUSIC FADES OUT SARAH SIGHS

MOBILE PHONE RINGS

MOBILE PHONE RINGS

SUBTLE AMBIENT NOISE

GENTLE INSTRUMENTAL MUSIC

MUSIC TURNS HOPEFUL

TONI: A whole skeleton?

Wow! How long did it take you to complete?

MUSIC CONTINUES

Hmm. Weeks, well, maybe months.

I just got lost in their story, reuniting the bones.

Connecting the dots?

Seems like you needed it.

Yeah, like... [LAUGHS]

Gwen and I loved coming here.

- What? - Too soon?

Oh, you fucker! Oh, you had me there!

You!

I'll drink to that! [GLASSES CLINK]

MUSIC CONTINUES SEAGULLS CALL

THEY SHRIEK AND SCREAM

MUSIC SOFTENS

What do you do when you're grieving

and no one's actually died?

TONI SIGHS

It's not even 6:30, Sarah.

MUSIC CONCLUDES

You're not him.

I do know that.

You're not him.

I know.

[SARAH SIGHS] It's just,

we're not very good at this, are we? [SARAH LAUGHS SOFTLY]

SARAH SMACKS HER KNEES

- Well, I've tried. - [RESIGNED]: Yeah.

What do we have to do to make it work?

Forget.

I want a future.

Can you just be content with the present?

But we're not present!

We're not even here, Sarah!

I've missed so much! So much time! God!

- Toni! - Go, get away from me!

BREATHES HEAVILY

DOOR HANDLE THUMPS TONI SNIFFLES

[SARAH KNOCKS ON THE DOOR] Toni, I'm sorry.

[DOOR HANDLE CLICKS] Toni? But,

what happened to the woman who comforted me, who understood?

She grew old and disappeared.

SHE SIGHS AND SNIFFLES

DOOR SQUEAKS OPEN AND THEN CLOSES

SENTIMENTAL PIANO AND CELLO MUSIC

SEAGULLS CALL

NURSE: We'll let her know you're here.

Hi, Gwen. Toni's here to see you, okay?

MUSIC CONCLUDES

- Go through. - Okay.

WAVES CRASHING

SEAGULLS CALL

Mmm.

Tastes better when you hold them.

Less fattening too.

They arrived a few years ago.

An invasion.

Do we like them?

They're perfect. [INSTRUMENTAL MUSIC]

♪ There are times when we are taken

♪ There are times the pieces break

♪ You can glue them back together

♪ But you'll feel a little ache

♪ So liberate me from the love song

♪ Liberate me from the love song

♪ Liberate me from the love song

♪ To survive another day ♪

SONG CONTINUES

"'I am a dinosaur', said Bunny, stamping down a paw...

"You should see my mighty shadow;

you should hear my mighty roar...

"Tiger raised an eyebrow and scratched his spiny..."

They'll be there for hours.

JOE: 'Hello, Bunny', said Tiger.

"I really have to say, what do you think you're doing,

- "standing in my way?'" - "Said Bunny to Tiger..."

- SARAH: Cath? - CATH: Sarah?

SARAH SNIFFLES

I've... I've done something.

BIRDS CHIRP

Hey.

- Um... I've really messed up. - [GENTLY] So?

- There's this woman. - Woman?

Yeah.

That's one ticked off the bucket list.

- Didn't see that one coming. - Look, Cath.

- I didn't mean to... - Do I look like a priest?

Sorry?

Does this look like a confessional box?

I'm telling you I've done something!

Well, you're not made of wood.

I don't need to know. It's none of my business.

I want Joe back.

Oh, we all want Joe back. [SENTIMENTAL MUSIC]

No, I want Joe!

You've got Joe!

DOOR OPENS

EXHALES HEAVILY

SENTIMENTAL MUSIC CONTINUES

DOOR OPENS

Hi.

Hello.

MUSIC CONTINUES

JOE: I'm outside. Outside in the garden. [BIRDS CHIRP]

Yes, familiar, familiar. This is familiar.

I'm outside, in a garden, by a tree.

JOE LAUGHS

Okay, I'm in a...

In a garden. Familiar, by...

big fucking tree and... Hands are empty.

Oh... [JOE LAUGHS]

In a garden, by a big fucking tree.

Hands cold.

Big fucking tree!

Are you alright?

- Hello. - Hello.

- I'm Joe. - I'm Gwen.

- Hi Gwen. - Hi.

I love your garden.

- It's not mine. - No?

Mm.

- Do you know whose it is? - Not really, no.

Then we are in the same boat.

I hate it when you go to these parties

and no one knows who the host is...

GWEN: Mm.

Maybe you're lost.

We're in the grounds of a health centre.

Was I in an accident?

You look fine to me.

Why,

SOFTLY: why am I here?

- Visiting someone. - Ha!

[JOE LAUGHS] That's it! That is it! Yeah! Let's see.

Yeah.

Very good. [HE LAUGHS]

- Should I know you? - Probably.

You never can tell, can you?

No.

How long have you had your book?

Oh, um...

Em...

Years? Years and years.

I like the garden.

Yeah.

Hello.

You're very familiar.

Sometimes, I'm a little too familiar.

And if that's the case, just...

You remind me of someone.

I'm Joe.

I know.

- Hello. - Hello Joe. I'm Gwen.

Hi.

DISTANT CONVERSATION

So what do we do now?

We could go have a cup of tea.

- I'd like that. - Yes. Come.

JOE LAUGHS

JOE LAUGHS

Um. My friend and I would like some tea, please.

Of course. [CLEARS THROAT]

Take a seat. I'll bring it over.

Thank you.

Hi Joe.

Hi.

I believe you're going to play the cello for us later.

Yeah. Yeah, I am.

Well, I'm looking forward to that.

Good. [CELLO MUSIC PLAYS IN THE BACKGROUND]

PIANO JOINS IN

Bravo! [PEOPLE CLAP AND CHEER]

JOE: Yes! Cello lady!

CHEERS AND CLAPS CONTINUE

Hey! Hey, and a real buster. Who are you?

Joey.

- No, that's my name, Joe. - No, that's my name.

No, I'm Joe. What's your name?

SARAH: A couple of regular Joes!

Hi.

- What's your name? - I'm Sarah.

Hi Sarah.

INDISTINCT CHATTER

I'm Joe.

I've heard there's cake. Did you know?

Yes.

- Oh, you've heard. - Yes.

- Is it good cake? - They have chocolate and jam

and sprinkles and everything!

JOE: Everything? Do they have icing?

- WHISPERS: They have icing. - Ha!

Wanna get some cake?

- Oh, do you mind? - Why not?

- Are you sure? - Yeah.

JOE: I'll be back.

JOE MAKES HAPPY NOISES

JOE: Huh...

This one.

We got here.

We did.

To being present.

To now.

SARAH: Mmm.

- S... - I wanted to say.

Thank you too, Toni.

Seriously.

Don't be nice to me.

I wouldn't dream of it.

BOTH LAUGH

- Mummy, mummy, mummy. - Yeah? Oh!

- Is that for me? - Yes!

He's, he's really fast.

Did you chose this one especially for me?

Yes.

Yeah? Oh, thanks!

Good choice, cos I was so hungry for this.

APPLAUSE

GWEN PLAYS CELLO

GENTLE BELLS JINGLE

MUSIC CONTINUES

♪ Sometimes, often

♪ Never, always

♪ In your hallways

♪ I can give you

♪ More or less or

♪ Something different

♪ Keep me posted

♪ I can give you

♪ More... ♪

SONG CONTINUES