SCENE 1 - OUTDOOR ARTISTS’ MARKET (FLASHBACK)

[Ambient, overlapping conversation, bicycles, footsteps.]

EVIE: How many screen prints can you make of the Manhattan skyline? Who's buying these?

MORGAN: I think they’re for tourists.

EVIE: Tourists don’t come to Sunset Park.

MORGAN: Over here. You think Mom would like these earrings?

EVIE: She has a pair just like them.

MORGAN: So she’ll like these too?

EVIE: That’s not it.

MORGAN: Thank you.

[Footsteps resume.]

MORGAN: Eventually, we'll have to settle for a present that's good enough.

EVIE: Never.

MORGAN: Her birthday’s tomorrow. We're out of time for perfect.

EVIE: No, we're not. The artists’ market doesn’t close for a few more hours. We’ll find something. Oh! Now this is what screen printing is for. This is gorgeous! Look at how bright the colors are!

MORGAN: (under his breath) It’s like a pack of highlighters exploded on a canvas.

EVIE: Clearly, you don’t understand art.

MORGAN: This would give Mom a migraine.

EVIE: Ugh, you’re probably right. Still…

[Ambient noise dims. She enters a tent.]

EVIE: How much for #24? It’s amazing. Super vibrant.

SCREENPRINTER: Thank you! That one was a lot of fun to make. I had to let each layer totally dry or I’d muddy the colors. It took days. Anyway, it’s $85.

EVIE: Oh. Okay. Thank you.

[Pause. Ambient noise increases. Footsteps resume.]

EVIE: (under her breath) I’m not paying $85.

MORGAN: (teasingly) You can’t put a price on art.

EVIE: You can when you have no money. That’s, like, a full day of work. Oh! Morgan, this is it. I told you we'd find something perfect.

[Ambient noise dims. She enters another tent.]

MORGAN: You know what? This time you were right.

EVIE: Mom loves dolphins, and this is so well done. Look at the motion here. It’s just about to fully leave the water. I can see the whole arc of its jump.

MORGAN: Mom and Dad are still decorating the new house. It's great. How much for the small dolphin watercolor Number…

EVIE: Fourteen

MORGAN: Number fourteen?

ARTIST: Oh! I was hoping someone would buy that. It's one of my favorites, but I had it up all last week and it didn’t sell. It’s $60.

MORGAN: Split it?

EVIE: Done.

EVIE: You do a lot of animal paintings.

ARTIST: Oh, for sure. I love them. Animals are all so different, and they move in such unique ways. I try to capture the moment right before the action. Where you can almost see them thinking about their next step.

EVIE: I can totally see that. These are great. Do you have any bird ones?

ARTIST: I did, but those always sell fast. I do have some bird keychains left though. Over there.

[Keychains clink as Evie browses.]

EVIE: Morgan! They have pigeon keychains. I love pigeons, too. Nobody gets it.

ARTIST: Same! I think they’re so funny. You can tell that they’re native New Yorkers by the way that they move. Super bold and unashamed.

EVIE: Even the keychain has an attitude.

ARTIST: I had a few pigeons hanging out on my fire escape last spring. My cat went nuts over it, but it was wonderful to see them right out my bedroom window. I made a few different pigeon pieces before they left for good.

EVIE: How do you make the keychains?

ARTIST: I make small models out of clay, and then, when they’re dry, I use them to create a mold and then cast the keychains in steel. Usually, I batch them. They're so small, that it doesn't make sense to heat up all that metal for just one keychain. It's worth it, though. Those things are sturdy. I’d hate for a wing to break off or something. If you want one, I can give you a deal. Two for $20. That way both of you can have one.

EVIE: Do you see one you like?

[Morgan browses the keychain display. Light clinking.]

MORGAN: Not yet… the dog ones are cute but… (chuckle) I have to.

EVIE: We match! Pigeon and duck.

MORGAN: (laughing) You make us sound like lawyers.

EVIE: I was thinking more: Pigeon and Duck: private investigators.

MORGAN: Do you have any cash?

EVIE: Uhh… Like thirty bucks.

MORGAN: Then you’ll buy coffee on the walk home.

ARTIST: Thank you! Don’t forget your painting.

MORGAN: Oh, duh. Thank you. Have a good day.

[Ambient noise increases. They exit the tent. Footsteps resume.]

EVIE: What are you going to name your duck?

MORGAN: I don’t know. The names usually come to me in a few days.

EVIE: I’m going to name mine Robin.

MORGAN: (laughs) What? It’s a pigeon.

EVIE: That’s the joke, dumbass. Robin Pigeon. It even sounds good together.

MORGAN: You’re- you’re ridiculous.

EVIE: Would you get boba on the walk home instead of coffee?

MORGAN: Can we go to the place on 8th instead of 7th?

EVIE: That’s so far.

MORGAN: They have better flavors! Coffee is the closest to the apartment.

EVIE: Yes, fine, we can go to the one on 8th.

MORGAN: The walk will be nice It's such a beautiful day...

[Scene and ambient noise fade out.]

[INTRO MUSIC]

SCENE 2 - MAYA & NOEL’S APARTMENT (PRESENT DAY)

[Maya and Noel’s voices slowly fade in. They speak under their breath. Light plant growth noises, like they’re pulsing.]

NOEL: You’re the one who’s always stressing discretion! This is not very discreet!

MAYA: They pushed their way into our apartment. What was I supposed to do?

NOEL: I tried talking to them. I told them to leave us alone.

MAYA: Exactly my point: that clearly didn't work. They also won't tell me who they really are, and they've been way too in our business for me to ignore them any longer. For all we know, they’re working with-

[Noel clear his throat. They start speaking at normal volume.]

NOEL: Hello, again.

GRACE: Noel?

NOEL: Yeah. Why did you come back here? I told you to leave us alone.

GRACE: Food serve was a dud, and I couldn't stop looking.

MAYA: You sent them to James?

NOEL: Yeah, and I stand by that.

NOEL: I was trying to help you guys. Why doesn't anyone listen?

[Noel collapses onto the couch.]

MAYA: Noel, we have to make a call about this.

NOEL: No way. This is a you decision.

MAYA: It affects all of us.

NOEL: But you're the one who plant-napped them.

MAYA: I told you, I didn’t- (she cuts herself off and sighs) Just stay here, please.

NOEL: Okay. Alright.

MORGAN: How long are you keeping us here?

GRACE: And how are you able to talk to plants like that? Why do they listen to you? How can they grow so fast? Where do they even get the energy-

MAYA: Right. You know Evie but you don’t know any of that?

MORGAN: Yeah, obviously.

NOEL: The sooner you tell us who you really are, the sooner we can all move past this.

MORGAN: I don’t know what you want to hear. I know I’m Evie’s brother. I know I’m telling the truth. If you don’t believe me, I hope you have more plants, because we’re going to be here a while.

[Plant noises get louder.]

NOEL: Evie wouldn’t lie to me.

MORGAN: She told you she didn’t have a brother?

MAYA: She told us she had no real family. Only child. Distant, out of state cousins. Parents-

MORGAN: Dead.

[Pause]

MORGAN: Head on collision with a semi-truck driving up 95. Dead on impact. I know. They’re my parents too.

[Pause]

MORGAN: Listen, I can prove it! Check my key ring. It's clipped to my belt loop.

[Keychain clinks.]

MORGAN: Look. Duck charm. It matches Evie's pigeon charm. We bought them together.

MAYA: (quietly) Let them go.

[Plant noises stop. The plants disintegrate. Morgan and Grace gasp.]

GRACE: Dust, like the plants were never here.

MORGAN: Thank you.

NOEL: I’m sorry about your parents.

MORGAN: Yeah, I figured.

MAYA: It makes sense.

MORGAN: What?

MAYA: Why she lied. Wrong call, but it's too late now. (sigh) Fine. You were right. You're too involved, now. Tell me about this cop that’s following you.

NOEL: What?

GRACE: I feel like we should get some answers first.

MORGAN: Yeah, I agree.

MAYA: There’s a lot of moving parts here, and most of them aren't relevant. What's matters the most is that we don't know where Evie is either. Noel and I have been asking around, but we're also drawing a blank. Nobody knows anything. My best guess is that she disappeared around two weeks ago.

GRACE: We think so, too. Evie and I barista together. She's missed every shift since last Tuesday.

MORGAN: You two really have nothing to do with it?

MAYA: She was supposed to meet us last Sunday, never showed. We called and messaged her for a few days, nothing. I'm sure you know this, but sometimes she just vanishes for a little bit without warning. Usually camping, hiking, taking the train somewhere outside the city. I learned that if we don't hear from her for a few days, she's usually fine. But then a week went by, and I got worried, so we went to her apartment to check on her. When we got there, half a dozen cops were trying to bust down her door. I wasn't getting mixed up in that.

GRACE: Detective Hirsch told me the cops still can’t get into Evie’s apartment.

NOEL: Who's Detective Hirsch?

MORGAN: We don’t know. We just know he’s a fake cop. He knows where I live, where Grace works. He told us he’s investigating Evie's disappearance, but there’s no Russell Hirsch on the NYPD roster.

NOEL: He could be using a fake name.

GRACE: That’s a lot of effort for one missing persons case.

MORGAN: Not to mention illegal? Right?

MAYA: This whole thing is outside the law.

MORGAN: Yeah, you still haven’t said what ‘this whole thing’ is.

MAYA: It's magic.

[Pause]

MORGAN: Seriously?

GRACE: You just saw her wrap us up in plants.

MORGAN: But how is that possible?

MAYA: I don't know where it comes from. Fate, God, the Earth, any higher power you like is as good a source as any. I don't really care about the answer to that question. I just know that magic is real, and certain people, for whatever reason, can use it. Not many, but more than you'd think.

GRACE: How does it work? I thought it's impossible to create something out of nothing.

MAYA: It is. You have to start with matter that exists already, like the plant I grew to bind you. Then, there's the words I used. Words have energy, life, power. Used with purpose, they can inspire revolutions, craft beauty, break hearts. The words are the heart of the magic, and the blueprint. Precision is everything.

GRACE: Sounds stressful.

MAYA: There's always a physical price. Simple things, alone, require a lot of energy. That's why you really need a partner to hone your idea, focus it, share the load. The key here is mutual understanding. Clarity is safety. When I cast something alone, the magic may take my meaning differently than the way I intended it. That misunderstanding could exhaust me, endanger me, or create something I wasn't prepared for. A partner may notice something you forgot. Together, we speak the same thing into existence, and the magic does the rest.

GRACE: Is that what you did with me? When you described all those far-reaching plants?

MAYA: Yes.

GRACE: But I can't do magic.

MAYA: It doesn't matter. You still got my meaning, still held the same idea in your head as me.

GRACE: So you used my own mind against me.

MAYA: Yeah, better than I expected, honestly. I'm sorry about that. I thought you guys were working with the cops. I was trying to protect me, Noel, and Evie.

MORGAN: How come I've never heard of this before?

MAYA: Maybe you have. We're told magic isn't real, so when people encounter it, they find an easier explanation. One that doesn't undo their understanding of the world. Also, practicing magic in public is illegal. The government views it as a national security risk.

GRACE: So how did you find out you could do magic?

MAYA: I nearly died, and magic saved me. It was like something brand new unlocked inside my mind, something that made my whole world make a little bit more sense. It's hard to explain, but-

[She sighs.]

MAYA: I can tell you the whole thing, if you have a minute. Who knows? Morgan, you've known Evie her whole life. Maybe something I say will sound familiar to you. Help us find her.

SCENE 3 - MAYA'S CHILDHOOD BEDROOM (1998)

MAYA: (voiceover) In Philly, it was always noisy. The hour or the weather didn't matter. Cars honked during rush hours, trucks groaned down the street towards their early morning deliveries. When I was a kid, I used to lie under my bedroom window for hours, listening to any snatch of conversation I could get, and watching the bulbs in the street lights sputter. It was the soundtrack of my life.

[The voices out her window overlap slightly.]

SISTER 1: No, no, she had him over! They’re, you know-

SISTER 2: Her poor husband.

SISTER 1: He must know. There's no way he doesn't.

PEDESTRIAN 1: Hey asshole, learn how to drive!

PEDESTRIAN 2: Yo, Jordan! How the hell have you been?

WIFE: Don’t forget the dry cleaning!

MAYA (voiceover) But, at some point, I started to feel trapped.

SCENE 4 - ON THE STEPS OUTSIDE AN APARTMENT BUILDING (2007)

MAYA: Zuri, admit it. You hate me.

ZURI: No.

MAYA: You hate me.

ZURI: I don’t hate you.

MAYA: If you don’t hate me, then why are you moving?

ZURI: Why would I stay in Philly? What’s left for me here?

MAYA: Wooooow.

ZURI: Come on, you know that’s not what I meant.

MAYA: No, no. I get it. I’m nothing to you. What’s even in Brooklyn, anyway? $4 lattes? People too cool for anything fun? In a year, you’ll be smoking American Spirits with newer, hotter friends.

ZURI: Well, at least I graduated first. Sean and Curtis just dropped out.

MAYA: What you’re missing, though, is that I don’t graduate for another year. What am I supposed to do until then? Homework and chores? Gross.

ZURI: You could finish school, finally release a mixtape, and become an overnight sensation.

MAYA: You just want me to buy you an apartment.

[They both laugh.]

ZURI: Seriously, Maya, there’s nothing left for me here but you. My brothers work so much, I barely see them. Me and Jackson, we’re not really going anywhere, and we haven’t for a long time. It’s so cliché, but don’t you want to be someone? I mean, haven’t you ever felt like, if you stay here, that’s just never going to happen?

MAYA: I mean, yeah, obviously. I’d love to DJ for more than 10 people in Michael’s living room. But everyone’s leaving! Ty’s in Baltimore, Angie and June moved to DC, now you’re, like, the fifth person moving to Brooklyn. Why can’t any of us be someone in Philly?

ZURI: You’ll still have Michael.

MAYA: And I love Michael, but sometimes I want a little feminine energy, y’know?

ZURI: It’s not like I’m leaving the country. Miss your exit once in a while. You’ll practically be on my doorstep.

MAYA: When do you leave?

ZURI: As soon as I find an apartment I can afford.

MAYA: How many roommates are you willing to live with?

ZURI: Are you offering?

MAYA: Not for right now.

ZURI: Ideally? One, but I’ll go up to three. I just want a door I can close.

MAYA: I couldn’t do three.

ZURI: If you stay here, you might not have to do any.

[Cross fade to a few months later, same block, different day. A car’s ignition chime beeps, beeps, beeps. Car door slams. Car keys jingle.]

MICHAEL: (sing-songy) Someone’s missing.

MAYA: You don’t know.

MICHAEL: I don’t? You told me, “save two seats in the car.” Was the other for your bag?

MAYA: Could be.

[Footsteps.]

MICHAEL: May I?

[Pause]

MAYA: Sure.

MICHAEL: Thank you.

[Michael takes her bag and walks back to the car.]

MICHAEL: Ready to go?

MAYA: Okay, fine. Daria’s late again.

MICHAEL: Who called out sick?

MAYA: I don’t know, but I bet you it’s that line cook with the-

MICHAEL: You said she took the day off.

MAYA: She told me she took the day off, but apparently, Clark's called her like, five times this morning and swore they’d give her crazy triple overtime if she’d just, just-

MICHAEL: She can’t say no.

MAYA: I wouldn’t say no to that! But she won’t get off til nine.

MICHAEL: Maya, if we leave at nine, we'll miss the whole party!

MAYA: I know. I know. Just, give me $25.

MICHAEL: What?

MAYA: I’m buying her a bus ticket, but I don't get paid til next Friday. What! We both know she won’t buy it herself, but she needs a fun night out more than either of us. I’m going to drop the cash off at the restaurant with a note that says, “if you’re mad, tell us at Zuri's party” so she can’t say no. We’ll be in Brooklyn before she even finds out about it.

[Pause]

MICHAEL: Yeah… totally. Okay.

MAYA: I just need you to spot me. I told you: I get paid next Friday.

[Footsteps. They both open a car door.]

MICHAEL: Sure, or…

[He jingles the car keys. Maya groans.]

MAYA: Every time!

MICHAEL: You might hold the record for longest serving DD.

[Car doors open and close.]

MAYA: I’ll kill you.

MICHAEL: No you won’t.

[He starts the ignition.]

MICHAEL: That’s why you’re driving home.

[They laugh.]

SCENE 5 - ZURI’S NEW APARTMENT

[Sounds of a party in full swing. Loud, unintelligible conversations and music with a lot of bass. Intercom buzzes.]

ZURI: (shouting) I’ll get it! (to the intercom) Who is it?

DARIA: (over the intercom) It’s Daria!

ZURI: Ugh, finally!

DARIA: Where’s Maya?

ZURI: Hello!

DARIA: Oh, hi, sorry.

[Air kiss.]

ZURI: (calling) Maya!

[Footsteps.]

ZURI: What happened?

DARIA: Just give it a second.

MAYA: Hi! So glad you could make it.

DARIA: What were you thinking?

MAYA: At least thank me first.

ZURI: What happened?

MAYA: Clark’s would shut down without her.

DARIA: Line cook called out sick.

MAYA: Which one?

DARIA: Dylan.

MAYA: The one with the spider web tattoo?

DARIA: Yeah.

MAYA: I knew it!

ZURI: How’d you get here so fast?

DARIA: They felt bad that they called me in on my day off. I got cut at like eight, once the dinner rush started to wind down. Frank said they’d close without me, and then Maya got some idea in her head-

MAYA: You said you didn’t want me to hold up Michael’s car for you, so I didn’t.

DARIA: She fronted me a bus ticket.

ZURI: Would you be here if she hadn’t?

DARIA: Not the point!

ZURI: Then thank you, Maya! Daria, please, please get something to drink. I’m stressed just looking at you. Thank you for coming!

[Footsteps.]

MAYA: No!

DARIA: Please take the money.

MAYA: It was a gift.

DARIA: Please, don’t be proud about this. It’s $65. You’re still in school, and they just paid me like, platinum overtime for saving their asses. (conspiratorially) Really, it’s the restaurant’s money.

[Maya laughs.]

MAYA: (still a bit reticent) Thank you, Clark’s.

DARIA: And give Michael his cut. (pause) Thank you.

MAYA: You want a beer?

DARIA: Oh, I need a something more than beer right now. So, I showed up at 3, right? And shift starts at 1, but that’s fine, they didn’t call me til after Dylan no-showed. Anyway, only half the prep was done! Half! At 3! I was about ready to torch the kitchen…

MAYA: They’re so crazy for that…

[Their conversation fades into the hum of all the others. Music and conversations fade out. A few hours later…]

MAYA: I swear, next year I’ll be out here.

ZURI: Mmm, don’t you dare drop out.

MAYA: I mean next year summer. I'll go half time in the spring so I can work, visit on weekends, look at apartments.

MICHAEL: (slurring) You don’t want to move in the summer.

MAYA: Am I the only one who has to stay in Philly? Will the balance of the universe be thrown into chaos?

ZURI: You weren’t saying that a few months ago.

MAYA: You took the rest of our friends with you and stuffed them into this apartment.

DARIA: Excuse me!

MAYA: You live at Clark’s, not Philly.

MICHAEL: What about me?

MAYA: If I move to Brooklyn, you’ll come with me.

MICHAEL: Okay… I like that…

ZURI: (laughing) I think Michael needs to go home.

[Michael mounts some unintelligible protest.]

MAYA: Yeah, you’re right. Okay, Michael. You’re too big for me to carry you. Find your feet.

DARIA: Come on, two legs, there you go…

[The sound of shuffling feet fades into present-day Maya’s voiceover.]

MAYA: (VO) Next year summer didn’t happen. I was 18 years old, no credit, barely any money, but I’d fallen hard for Brooklyn, and I didn’t care if Brooklyn loved me back. I stayed with my parents and saved. I had it all worked out. My friend Tess and I worked double shifts stocking shelves at Giant.

SCENE 6 - GIANT SUPERMARKET

TESS: C’mon, just throw the boxes up there!

MAYA: I’m right in the middle of getting the soups into these stupid can dispensers.

TESS: You’re so much taller than me! It’s easier for you.

MAYA: I think you’re just trying to get me to do your work.

MICHAEL: (in a bit of a hoity-toity voice) Ladies, where’s the goat cheese? The good stuff, please, I’m worth it.

TESS: Up your ass.

[They all burst out laughing. The scene fades out on their laughter. We’re now in a parking lot. Light road noise]

MAYA: Uhh, where’s your car?

MICHAEL: I sold it.

MAYA: You what?

MICHAEL: That thing was older than us. I got a decent offer on it for parts.

MAYA: I’m surprised someone bought it.

MICHAEL: Their loss.

MAYA: I thought you were driving us to Brooklyn.

MICHAEL: I am.

[Pause]

MAYA: Oh no.

MICHAEL: You wanted an apartment in Brooklyn. I wanted a motorcycle!

MAYA: I’m not getting on that thing.

MICHAEL: Then I guess you’re taking the bus.

MAYA: Do you even have your license?

[Pause]

MICHAEL: Here. You spend more time at Giant than you do at home. I can get a lot done when you aren’t looking.

MAYA: Ugh, you better not crash this thing.

[Michael lets out a victory laugh.]

MICHAEL: I even got you a helmet.

[Footsteps]

MICHAEL: Put your hands on my waist.

MAYA: Don’t get any ideas.

MICHAEL: With you? Never.

[Michael lets out a cheer. He revs the motorcycle and they take off. The sounds of the wind and the road build up. We’re there with them, on the highway, on the motorcycle. Upbeat music starts.]

MAYA: (VO) When that engine started, all the tension left his body. It was like we were traveling through our own private hurricane. The wind was the loudest thing I'd ever heard, like a jet engine in my eardrums. I forgot the highway. I forgot the other cars. I could only feel how warm he was against my chest. I was just floating there, weathering it with him. Eventually, when we reached the bridge, as Michael sped between cars stuck in rush hour traffic, we reached the eye of our storm. The world was so loud that, in that moment, nothing was.

[Road noise cuts out. We only hear Maya’s voice and a little bit of music.]

MAYA: (VO) In the spaces between all that noise, I found my first, real silence. I didn’t just know that I was on a planet, hurtling endlessly through space. I felt it. I saw myself as a speck on the Earth. I saw how slowly I moved across Her skin, even as I flew faster than I’d ever gone in my life. I felt Her embrace me. I felt Her keep me warm.

[Road noise comes back in.]

MAYA: (VO) Michael used to race his way over to Brooklyn. He bet any of our friends he could beat their car. Sometimes, he gave them head starts, twenty minutes, a half hour, while he waited for our shifts to end. It never mattered. It was like he memorized every way our two cities were linked. I was so, so close to an apartment. I was ready to grab anything I could. Zuri had a big party to send summer off right. We hit every bar that would pass our fakes. By 1AM, we’d spilled out onto the sidewalk. By three, we’d torn through Zuri’s apartment. I was so drunk, you could’ve taken me anywhere.

SCENE 7 - OUTSIDE ZURI’S APARTMENT (4AM)

[Road noise, buzz of the city at night.]

ZURI: Is she alright?

MICHAEL: She’ll sleep on the bike.

ZURI: Michael…

MICHAEL: Joking! C'mon, she’s fine. She always wakes up once we start moving.

ZURI: What about you?

MICHAEL: Me? Yeah, I stopped drinking hours ago. The wind will take care of the rest.

ZURI: I have a couch. You can just stay over.

MICHAEL: And let Maya sleep on the floor?

ZURI: She’ll share my bed. It’s not a big deal.

MICHAEL: Nah, nah. I’m opening the bar tomorrow. I’d rather crash in my own bed.

ZURI: You sure?

MICHAEL: Yes, for sure. Have a good night.

ZURI: Call me when you get home.

[Michael kicks the bike on. The motorcycle revs, then he takes off down the street. Cut to some time later, he’s on the highway, cars whizzing past, wind all around them. The noise builds, builds. Suddenly, the tires squeal. A long, loud car horn comes, then it all fades out.]

MAYA: (VO) He didn’t see the meridian. The front wheel slammed into the concrete, and the bike threw us up into the air towards oncoming traffic.

[The car horn fades in again, we are there, in midair with them. The wind and the road noise comes back.]

MAYA: (VO) I caught his gaze, wide and terrified. He yelled to me.

MICHAEL: (in scene) We'll be alright!

MAYA: (VO) I couldn't stop praying, to whatever force was listening...

[Horn fades out. We are still in the air with her, still hear the wind.]

MAYA: (in scene, to herself, like a prayer) Please, please, if only there was wind. A strong wind could push us far enough to clear the highway. Please, please, I'm safe. I'm safe, I'm safe, I won't land on the highway. I'll make it to those trees.

[Pause. Nothing.]

MAYA: (desperate) Please, please, God, Jesus, Mother Earth, if any of you can hear me. Push us towards the trees. Push us out of danger. Take whatever you need from me, take everything I have, just get us away from those cars.

[A gust of wind slams into her.]

MAYA: Ah!

[Scene fades out. Silence. Then, highway noise fades in. Unintelligible radio chatter. A voice. Maya groans.]

CONNER: Hey, hey, hey hey. Okay. Come on, come back, come back. That’s it, come back to me. (calling) Hey, she’s waking up! (back to Maya) Can you tell me your name?

MAYA: Maya… Maya Thompson.

CONNER: Hi, Maya. My name’s Conner. I’m an EMT. We’re going to take you to the hospital.

MAYA: Michael…

CONNER: My friend and I are going to get you onto a stretcher. Okay? Your leg is broken. You may have a concussion.

MAYA: Where’s Michael…

CONNER: We need to take you to the hospital. We’re going to get you into an ambulance so you can get checked out.

MAYA: Is Michael okay?

CONNER: (quietly) 1, 2 (grunt)

[The EMTs lift Maya onto a stretcher.]

MAYA: I need to see him.

CONNER: Michael? Is that your friend? The other guy on the bike?

MAYA: I need to see Michael.

CONNER: They’re going to explain everything at the hospital.

[Maya gets more distressed.]

MAYA: I need to see him, let me see him, please, let go of me I need to see him…

[Scene fades out.]

SCENE 8 - MAYA & NOEL’S APARTMENT (PRESENT DAY)

GRACE: I'm so sorry.

MAYA: Yeah. Does any of that sound familiar to either of you?

GRACE: Not really.

MORGAN: Kind of, yeah. I need some time to think on it, though.

GRACE: What happened to your other friends? Zuri, Daria, the other people who lived in Brooklyn?

[Pause.]

MAYA: We went our separate ways.

[Pause.]

MAYA: What does fake Detective Hirsch look like?

MORGAN: Tall. Taller than me, so definitely 6-foot plus. Graying at the temples, medium brown hair. He wore a jacket but no tie, and he had a gun.

GRACE: At least a holster. Neither of us saw the gun. He claims to have a badge, but he wouldn't let me get a good look at it.

NOEL: You’re sure he’s pretending to be police?

MORGAN: I’m sure, at the very least, that he’s using a fake name.

GRACE: His body language was all wrong. It was something about his eyes... I've never seen a cop with that level of focus. Hirsch came into the shop late in the day. Usually, by 4pm, people are haggard, their eyes droop a little, their hair is a mess. He looked way too ‘on.’

MORGAN: I’m worried he’s a fed.

MAYA: I’m worried he’s not. FBI, not great, but workable.

GRACE: Have you dealt with the FBI before?

MAYA: Sort of. First, let's find out if he's really FBI. Right now, I'm not convinced.

NOEL: And we still need to figure out where Evie went.

MORGAN: Yeah, about that. This stuff about the magic, it's wild, it's a lot, it's kind of cool, but I still don't get what this has to do with Evie.

MAYA: (chuckle) I'll give you one guess.

SCENE 9 - IN THE FOREST, JUST SOUTH OF THE FINGER LAKES

[Heavy breathing. The persistent slap of feet against dirt and grass. Evie is running. She stops short.]

EVIE: Oh no. Come on, please. No. No. No. It’s gone. The whole cabin's collapsed, it's just… splinters and firewood. I can’t even tell the walls from the ceiling.

[She raises her voice.]

EVIE: You’re precise! You didn't knock over a single tree. What is this? A message? Or are you just too stupid to make it look like an accident? Months in the library looking for any overlaps with their known addresses. Weeks of scouring Google Earth and satellite images. The back doors Alix found, the sacrifices they made, just for me to find this place, and it ends with a pile of sticks in the middle of the woods.

[Evie lets out an angry scream. Every ounce of frustration she’s felt for the past two weeks goes into it.]

EVIE: You have no subtly! No nuance! That’s what I get, giving you mud for brains.

[Then, after a moment.]

EVIE: FUCK!

[She lets out a long exhale, then lies down on the ground and groans. She goes back to talking at normal, almost quiet, volume.]

EVIE: This cabin was one of their satellite offices. Did you know that? Or did you just know that it was a danger to me? No official record of sale, either. Safer that way. Maybe one of them built it. Maybe someone inherited it. Standing out here, all of those years, until it met you. There would’ve been documents in here, I know it. Files, photographs, computers. Lists, maybe, of everyone they're spying on. It was a new office, too, really new. There's no way they'd suspect we already found it. It would’ve been the mother load. We might've finally had some leverage.

[She raises her voice again.]

EVIE: I know you're here. I know you hear me. This works both ways. I can find you, you're drawn to me. We're supposed to be partners. I wanted us to go in together. I wanted you to have my back. That is literally your whole purpose, the whole reason I made you, and the first thing you did was run off without me. What, does everyone know better than me? Mud for brains knows better than me?

[Evie stands up.]

EVIE: And now, because you jackknifed the building, they’ll know we’re coming. And the worst part is, I bet everything is still here in this wreckage, if only I could only get to it. Dammit!

[Footsteps.]

EVIE: You think you’re so smart? Watch this.

[Footsteps.]

EVIE: (quietly, to herself) It’s just like the door. Just picture the door.

[Pause.]

EVIE: Please be whole. You were broken by an extension of my will. I will you whole.

[Pause. Nothing happens.]

EVIE: Please? Come on, please! I’ve studied every inch of this place, every image I could get my hands on. I know the floor plan better than the guy who built it. See it. In my mind, it's so clear.

[Static, like a sizzle on the air.]

EVIE: One story, faded wood planks down on the face, a front porch wide enough for a rocking chair, and two tiny windows, gazing west towards the sunset. In the center of it all: a red door, straight out of a storybook.

[The sizzle grows louder.]

EVIE: Gah! Dammit, that hurts. Okay, fine, I get it: a cabin needs more from me than a door. Fine. Never rebuilt a building before, but it should work the same.

[Evie's breathing gets more labored, but she persists.]

EVIE: Maya never tried something this big, all at once, but in theory, it should work.

[She exhales. Her voice grows louder with each sentence, more pained, more desperate.]

EVIE: Let's do it, then. Take it. Take all my strength, please. I’ll rest here for days if I have to. I’ll hide, I’ll lie, I’ll make myself too small for them to find me. Please, please if one of us needs to stand make it the cabin. I can see the damage undoing itself. I see every bit of mending, wood weaving together, beams slotting perfectly into place- Gah!

[She collapses.]

[Outro music stars.]

REMY: The Artisan Who Made Me is written and produced by Remy Davison and directed by Sydney Roslin. This episode featured Chaia Alyss as Evie, Yaya Koas as Morgan, Alexander Michael Reeves as Noel, Bryce Payne as Maya, Ria Meer as Grace, Sahra Mellese as Zuri, R. Jahan as Michael, and Arielle Gonzalez as Daria. Music by Jordan Speranzo, and audio production by Raphael Davison. For more information, transcripts, and to support our show, visit bottledstarproductions.com. “The Artisan Who Made Me” is sponsored, in part, by the Greater New York Arts Development Fund of the New York City Department of Cultural Affairs, administered by the Brooklyn Arts Council.