Hanru Sazuki

(Lee nervously stands in front of Kaito and his pregnant sister, Nicky. He tries his best to keep a straight look on his face and his nerves calm and strong like steal. He takes one good swallow to relieve himself of any uprising nervous feelings. He drops his bag and gives Kaito a glare. Kaito glares back at him with a straight face. Lee’s nerves begin to build up again. Kaito continues to remain collected.)

Kaito: Sit, please.

Lee: I’d rather stand.

Kaito: (Sighs) We’re all a little tense right now, and I think it would be best if we all just relaxed.

Lee: (Lying) What are you talking about; I’m relaxed.

Kaito: Come on- it’s okay- have a seat. I won’t hurt you. We’re just here to talk.

(Lee slowly grabs the metal chair next to him and unfolds it. He takes a seat. Kaito raises his gun up to his face so Lee can see it. Kaito then tucks it in the back of his shirt.)

Kaito: I’m not the controlling psychopath I used to be. Proof of that is you still being alive in front of me. I’m giving you a change to explain yourself.

Lee: I was afraid. I was afraid of commitment. I know I said I was ready before, but I’m not ready. I’m sorry, but I’m not. Now I will be here for your sister, I- (Peeks over at Nicky) I will be here for you, Nicky, and for the baby too. That’s why I came back. I can’t live my life separated from my child and I can’t live my life haunted by the guilt of constantly running away because I was afraid. We were both going through some things and we both helped each other through a lot, and then you got pregnant, and then you lost the baby, and then I was there for you and you ended up getting pregnant again by me and I want to be here to make sure this baby makes it out healthy and full of life.

(Nicky remains turned away from Lee wiping tears from her eyes.)

Lee: I’m sorry I left, but I’m here now and I never want to hurt you- any of you, again. Please, just… give me another chance, please.

(Nicky begins crying and Kaito gives her a comforting hug.)

Kaito: Alright, alright, that’s enough. You’ll be alright, Nik.

(Lee gets up and walks over to Nicky. He wraps his arms around her to try and comfort her.)

(Jessica’s apartment)

(Jessica, Etta, and Keith are all in the dining room eating pasta on a large blanket on the floor. There small apartment not yet has living room nor dining room furnishing. Jessica takes a bite of the pasta and after the first bite, she spits it back out and fails at the attempt to prevent showing her sour face. Luckily no one sees this. Jessica casually puts her bowl down on the blanket.)

Keith: As always, the pasta is delicious.

Etta: (Cheerful) Aw… (Blushes) You’re so sweet; thank you, baby. (Kisses Keith on the cheek) For that, you get a little something extra later on tonight. (Winks at Keith)

Keith: (Cracks a grin and chuckles) Can’t wait.

(Jessica glances over at Keith, at the same time he does and they both make eye contact for half a second. Keith all of a sudden gets nervous.)

Keith: I’m gonna go to the restroom. I’ll be back in a few minutes.

(Keith grabs his bowl of pasta and walks away.)

Etta: You’re taking your pasta to the restroom?

Keith: (Continues to rush to the restroom) Yeah.

(Keith goes into the back of the apartment and then to the restroom. He closes the door behind him. Etta’s mood gets kinda dull.)

Etta: That guy is such a sweetheart.

Jessica: Why, cause he lied about your pasta?

Etta: You don’t like it?

Jessica: It’s okay, it just needs more seasoning.

Etta: Is this the first time?

Jessica: No, it’s never seasoned.

Etta: (Moans) I knew my cooking was bad, but I wish he’d tell me that. Why can’t he be honest with me whenever I do something wrong?

Jessica: He loves you. Either he doesn’t want to hurt your feelings, or he’s so lost in your love for him, he isn’t aware of your flaws.

Etta: Maybe I should confront him about this.

Jessica: You’re the relationship queen. What do you think is best?

Etta: (Pouting) I don’t know! Help me, Jessica.

Jessica: Alright, calm down. Maybe you should confront him about this, but just don’t be so aggressive. You don’t wanna scare the poor guy off.

Etta: He doesn’t scare too easily. I have a few personal problems that we haven’t really discussed yet… but I know he accepts me for them.

Jessica: How do you know?

Etta: Well he hasn’t brought anything up in conversation yet and our relationship seems constant, so nothing’s changed. If he did have a problem with me, he’d tell me.

Jessica: Like he did with the pasta, right?

(Etta freezes and thinks for a while.)

Etta: I never thought about it that way. Maybe he’s just afraid he’d hurt my feelings. Maybe that’s why he doesn’t have any problems with me; he’s too afraid to tell me what he doesn’t like. (Looks away and sighs)

Jessica: Okay, I really didn’t mean to stir up this… whatever with you. I just thought that I’d… bring to light what… Uh… some issues may or may not… be.

Etta: Hey, maybe after Keith comes back, we can teach you how to kiss. (Giggles and lightly claps) I will show you all of the secret techniques that’ll have your boy-toy bowing to you at your feet.

Jessica: (Sarcastic) Sounds fun!

Etta: (Excited) I know right! I’ll go get Keith right now! (Stands up and runs away)

(Bus stop)

(Lawrence is sitting at a bus stop next to a homeless man who looks like he’s in his 30’s. The homeless man looks a bit crazy and he’s Native-American. The two of them seem a bit un-eased, but not just from the cold weather. Lawrence in shaking a bit and is bundled up in his coat.)

Man: Hey, man, you wouldn’t happen to have a smoke on you, would ya?

Lawrence: Nah, man; I don’t smoke.

Man: Good. Don’t start. Them things will kill ya.

Lawrence: Then why keep doing it?

Man: (Shrugs) It helps take the edge off on life sometimes, you know? When life knocks you down, you gotta have something to fall back on, you know?

Lawrence: And you fall back on cigarettes?

Man: (Nods) Suuure, yeah. They make you feel good for a few minutes, but at the same time slowly kill you on the inside- Just like women, only less expensive (Chuckles). Yeah, I tell ya, families are really something. I once had a wife; a few kids. But things didn’t work out and me and the old lady split. Legally fixed it up to where I couldn’t see them until they’re grown up and out of the house. That’s uh… at least another 8 years. I’ll be long gone by then. You got any kids?

Lawrence: Um… I don’t.

Man: Just as well. What kind of world do we live in to where the government makes laws that prevent us from watching our own children that we’ve brought into the world, grow up into strong independent adults? (Shakes his head and disappointment and loudly sighs) I tell man, it just a’int right.

Lawrence: I’ve been through some things myself.

Man: What… you?! (Laughs) Nah, you’re still just a baby.

Lawrence: I’ve seen people get murdered right in front of me. I’ve even helped a few times. Not to mention I’ve taken a few lives myself.

Man: That’s rough man. You know, I really hate to hear that. Young people nowadays should be focusing on girls and parties and schools and all that stuff. Now kids are involved with all kind of stuff- gangs, drugs, abuse, prison, and now murder. Boy I tell ya.

Lawrence: I’d give everything to keep my brother safe and innocent. He got involved with some bad people and I’ve been living the past few years working for them so they won’t hurt him.

Man: (Offers handshake) You’re a soldier at heart. I respect that.

Lawrence: (Hesitantly shakes his hand) Thank you.

Man: (Stops shaking hand) Eventually there will come a point in your life when you need to make a choice for yourself. Believe me, I speak from experience when I say, this isn’t gonna workout. These people you work for don’t owe you a thing, man. And if they wanted to take you or your brother out, they’ll do it, and not even think twice about it. You mean nothing to them. There is no loyalty in the streets unless money or fear are persuasions, man. That’s real talk. I talk from experience.

(A woman and her teenage daughter stand at the bus stop.)

Man: Excuse me, ladies, might any of you have a cigarette?

Woman: No, sorry.

Man: (Smiles) That’s okay, God bless you, anyway.

(About 7 cars drive pass in front of Lawrence as he stares at the ground in silence and thinks.)

Lawrence: Maybe it is time I make a choice. I wanna be with my family. I wanna spend the holidays with them.

Man: Well, call ‘em up. It won’t hurt to see what they’ve been up to.

(Hanru’s home)

(Hanru and Ada are sitting next to one another and a cute Japanese girl with short black hair sits in the couch across from them. There is an awkward silence for a few seconds.)

Hanru: (Thinking) So this is my new foster sister- or cousin… Or whatever. Good thing my Asian fetish went away.

Ada: (Breaking the tension) So… Yoko: Interesting name. Japanese, right?

Yoko: Yes, correct.

Hanru: (Thinking) She has a great American accent and she’s obviously fluent in English. She does speak her sentences kinda fast so she is also fluent in her native language as also.

Ada: We’re gonna have lots of fun together. I know I work really hard and may not have too much time to spend with you here at the house, but I promise you the times I am here will be spent between you and me.

Yoko: Oh… well… That sounds neat. (Awkwardly chuckles) And what about you, sir?

Hanru: I just do whatever. But I am here most of the time so you’ll almost never be alone.

Yoko: I suppose that’s a good thing.

Hanru: Yeah… Great.

(Awkward silence once again.)

Ada: The social worker should be back any second now.

(Jessica’s apartment)

(Etta and Keith are both sitting on the bed in the bedroom with their bodies facing each other. Jessica stands beside them.)

Etta: Okay, now Keith and I will show you how to do a tease kiss. A tease kiss is when you very gently, yet aggressively and very quickly, peck your partner’s lips. This kiss usually happens on its own during intense sexual encounter, but it’s good to know how to do it manually.

Jessica: I have nothing better to do but to listen to advice that’s not even useful to me. Did you forget- I don’t have a boyfriend?

Etta: And whose fault is that?!

Jessica: Hey, don’t be a meanie!

(There are 4 loud knocks at the door.)

Jessica: Who is that, the police?

Etta: See, Keith, I told you those security cameras caught us having sex in the park! My face is gonna get bruised in prison. I work too hard to maintain this beauty. Jessica, you go answer it and tell the cops we’re not here. In fact, tell them we moved.

Jessica: (Gives Etta a funny look) Yeah, uh-huh. (Walks away)

(Jessica gets to the door and opens it and it is tall and very handsome young man with bright green eyes, a long black button up coat, and a black ivy cap. He’s holding the hand of a little girl fully dressed in warm clothing.)

Jessica: Hi.

Tony: Nice to meet you, miss. My name Tony; I was wondering if a Jessica Heartwood lived here?

Jessica: Uh, who’s asking?

Tony: Her brother.

Jessica: Brother?!

(Cheap Apartments)

(Erika is seen walking alone in the courtyard of small apartments. She looks at a small sticky note in her hand. She stops and looks up at the second floor of the apartments in the courtyard. She walks up the stairs and across the pathway. A lady in a fast food uniform comes out of her apartment in a bit of a rush, buttoning the top button of her shirt. She closes the door and locks it. As she quickly walks away from her door, she almost bumps into Erika, but she smiles and nods a hello. The two pass and go their separate ways. Erika goes to the apartment one door pass the lady’s and she hesitantly knocks on it 3 times. She nervously takes a deep breath. A man in his early 40’s quickly opens the door. He gets a nervous look on his face once he sees Erika.)

Woman: Who is that, baby?!

Angelo: (Yells in the apartment) It’s uh…

(Erika points at the clip beside his door. He looks at the clip and sees a paper clamped to it. Angelo quickly grabs it.)

Angelo: (Yells in the apartment) Maintenance leaving us a notice! (Whispers to Erika) Meet me at the McDonalds down the street in 10 minutes.

Woman: You said Maintenance left us a notice?!

Angelo: Yeah! The neighbor next door handed it to me!

Woman: Okay then.

(The woman gets to the door and looks outside. Erika is nowhere to be seen.)

Woman: Where is she?

Angelo: (Stammering) You know how she is when she’s running late for work.

Woman: Yeah, you ain’t lying. What kind of notice did we get? (Takes the paper and examines it)

Angelo: Exterminator- for the roaches.

Woman: Good. Maybe the spray will drive your mother out too.

Mother-in-Law: (Yelling from inside) I heard that!

Woman: GOOD!

(McDonalds 20 minutes later)

(Erika is drinking a cup of water while sitting alone. She stares off into the next room divided by glass. She watches in silence as the children run around playing tag and laughing together. She looks at the corner bench of the play-area and sees a shady looking man starring at the children. Angelo sits down and across the table from Erika and snaps her out of her daydream. She turns to him in silence.)

Angelo: I told my neighbor who works here to tell my wife she came by this morning to hand me a notice.

Erika: You must lie to your wife often?

Angelo: (Chuckles nervously) I do what I have to, to keep the peace. My wife isn’t much of a peacekeeper.

Erika: How did you get out of prison?

Angelo: (Says seriously) I’m sure the personal file where you found my address explained it. I was released on a technicality.

Erika: I’m not your wife; Don’t make it a habit lying to me.

Angelo: (Pauses for a few seconds and then crosses his arms) Alright. (Leans forward and flicks his nose) As long as I have a guarantee that no cops will be kickin’ down my door.

Erika: It’s just you and me here.

Angelo: The people I work for have connections in law enforcement. Oliver wasn’t the only one.

Erika: Wait… Oliver was a part of your group?

Angelo: (Says silently and leans closer) We were a part of his group. (Nervously looks around and leans back in his booth) There are many of us. Most of the serial killers in this city all work for one another.

Erika: Why are you telling me all of this? I only ask you how you got out of jail.

Angelo: This is the second time you came by to see me. Last time it was back in ’09 and now in 0… ’14. I can’t have you coming by my house unexpected like you did today and risk you starting problems with me and my wife. I’m telling you this so that way you know everything I know and this time when you leave, you won’t be coming back.

Erika: Fine.

Angelo: (Sighs) I can’t tell you everything but I’ll tell you what I can. (Looks around nervously) After I tell you these things, I probably won’t wake up to see morning anyway.

Erika: How many people are in your group?

Angelo: I don’t know. I haven’t cooperated with them in years.

(A flashback is seen as Angelo tells his story.)

Angelo: That plan to beat Charles Deveaux to death with a loaf of bread in the store had a bigger plot to it and it was my final job. I’m sure you know Charles was suing me and the motive your police force had on me was that I murdered him because I was upset about the case. Of course after the store incident, I was arrested and once I was in jail, I was tasked with murdering a snitch who thought prison was the safest place for him. We have people in jail too who work for us, but my boss wanted to see how far I was willing to go for my freedom. So He sent me in. I remained freed for my vicious deed. Sorry I used to be a poet back in high school.

Erika: So why did your boss really want Charles Deveaux dead?

Angelo: Charles was interfering in our operations and he knew too much to get off Scott-free. It’s the same thing with Ross Gellar and Gregory Bell: the paramedic. The only difference is that Ross’ death was faked and he’s still alive. Gregory Bell was the paramedic who picked up Ross’ body in the alley way when he was supposedly killed. Greg was partners with another paramedic who was working with us. Her name was Elicio… or it might have been a he; I don’t know. But I believe the last name was Elicio. Greg was only doing his job and he was innocent, but Elicio planned to take him out to keep his mouth shut.

Erika: I remember I worked that case. Greg’s tongue was cut out and his body had scares and scratches that were very odd. And then I got that call from my co-worker’s nephew and he asked me about a number or code I was familiar with. I told him the number of scars then he disappeared.

Angelo: As you know me, Ken the German, and Enrico, were the ones who raped you and your friends and murdered them in cold blood right in front of you when you were a teenager. The scars on Greg’s body were identical to that of a previous victim we had killed before you got there and Enrico told you how many scars were on her body and years later when you were working in forensics and you saw Greg’s body. You remember the scars on that woman. And you know exactly what number Hanru was looking for when he called you. Our group was testing him and his intelligence.

Erika: So you went through all this effort to torture Greg just to bring up my old feelings and test some kid?! Wasn’t he like 15 at the time?!

Angelo: Our boss has connections to his biological parents and they too have been working with us for many years. Hanru was closely being monitored as he was growing up with his parents and they all reported Hanru’s behavior to our boss. He was a sociopath and was showing early signs of becoming a serial killer when he got older. Leo being the detective that he is, somehow figured out that the boy’s father was involved in a few murders. He wanted to protect his sister and that is why he hired a “criminal” to break in the house and murder Hanru’s father. But the criminal ended up stabbing both of Hanru’s parents with a sword and slightly stabbed Hanru in the chest. His dad told our boss that Leo was onto him so our boss made Hanru’s parents wear blood packs under their clothes so when they were stabbed fake blood would come out. He really did stab Hanru though, but only a tiny bit. I’m not sure why; maybe it was to be convincing. The criminal’s name is Dominic Ice. I’m sure you remember he was actually a cop in your department before he transferred to Chicago after the incident happened. Leo couldn’t report who the killer was unfortunately because Leo was the one who hired him. What brought Leo and Dominic, two cops, to plot a murder is beyond me, but nonetheless it did happen. Hanru’s been targeted for recruit but His parents are working for the boss in exchange for allowing their son to be safe. He is still a target to this day and our boss is just waiting for an opportunity to bypass his deal with the parents and go after the son.

Erika: To this day? I thought you stopped working for them years ago.

Angelo: (Frustrated) AGH!

Erika: I told you not to lie to me.

Angelo: Alright, I’m not completely out yet. I’m still being monitored and I am in contact with a few people in the group. The stories I’ve told you are all true, I assure you.

Erika: I can’t believe all of this was going on. Why are there so many serial killers all working together?

Angelo: Last time I checked the number of members years ago before the prison situation and we had 23 members- me included.

Erika: Can you tell me your boss’ name?

Angelo: No. I’m sorry. I’m not gonna lie and tell you that I don’t know his name. I do, I just can’t reveal that.

Erika: Fine. With all of this conspiring going on, was I by any chance an… official target?

Angelo: After you escaped and found Oliver, you ran away with him and told him about your situation. He then told our boss what happened then our boss recruited my group to his. Our boss is too high-profiled and has way too many connections with bankers, politicians, celebrities, killers, store owners, even terrorists and assassins from other countries. It’s possible he’s trying to create some kind of cult, if he doesn’t have one already. With the type of connections he has, he’s obviously got something big planned.

Erika: Is my life in danger by you telling me all of this?

Angelo: Your life isn’t in any more danger than mine is.

Erika: But earlier you said you might not live to see morning.

Angelo: Exactly.

(Awkward silence)

(Jessica’s apartment)

(Jessica sits on a stool in her living room next to Tony. Tony’s little girl runs up to him.)

Fantasia: Daddy, may I have my juice now, please?

Tony: Sure, princess. (Opens her bag on the table and hands her a small plastic bottle with red juice in it) There you go. (Smiles)

Fantasia: Thank you, daddy. (Runs away)

Jessica: So how come I’ve never heard of you before until now?

Tony: Our parents had a total of 8 children. 6 of us are biological and the other 2 were legally adopted, but split soon after they became of legal age to take care of themselves. There’s you, me, your big brothers Josh, and Christopher, and your big sister Victoria, but we call her Tori, and your little sister, Nicola, but we sometimes call her Nicole. (Looks at his daughter) That little gem right there is your niece Fantasia. She just turned 7 last year and she’ll be 8 next month- Sagittarius.

(Tony and Jessica watch as Fantasia struggles to open her juice bottle.)

Jessica: (Cracks a smile) She’s a cute one.

Tony: Yeah, and she’s always trying to do things her way and never likes following rules. (Smiles) Sometimes that’s what makes her so cute. (Chuckles) It’s not so cute when her mother does it though; or did it. We’re not together anymore.

Jessica: Divorced?

Tony: No, just separated. We were engaged when we split. You know the fact that Fantasia was born out of wedlock still troubles me to this day. I know it wasn’t her fault. I am a very honorable man; very humbled though. I don’t think myself better than anyone, but my faith is strong in my beliefs and morals of life. And you know her mother is pretty much the same way as me except her morals lie in more negative self-destructive contents. One reason why we broke up was because she felt like having a family was tying her down and holding her back from being the carefree party girl she always enjoyed being. She thrives on chaos and I thrive on order and household stability. She didn’t appreciate that much, so things ended. (Glances over at his daughter) Children are so fragile, especially babies. I never knew how major and influential a baby’s mind was until I did research on circumcision for males. You being a woman, you’re probably all for it, aren’t you?

Jessica: Why would you ask that?

Tony: Sorry, I didn’t mean to bring that up, it’s just… That was another reason her and I broke up was because of an argument we had over our unborn son. She ended up getting pregnant again and didn’t even know until after a few months. We found out the gender of the baby was a boy.

Jessica: She must have been on the birth-control shot. I only assume ‘cause how else would she not know she was pregnant?

Tony: She was, yeah, but I guess it wore off after a few months and she forgot to take the next shot again and she ended up getting pregnant. She got very frustrated and didn’t even want to have the baby, but she had second thoughts about it. While picturing a future with a son, circumcision entered the conversation and she said she wanted to cut him. I don’t believe in cutting unless the child wants to make the choice himself. But doing it to toddlers is inhumane, a violation of human Rights, it’s child abuse, and you’re removing a very vital part of the male body. I tried explaining this to her, but she didn’t care. She though uncut was unacceptable and she didn’t want to constantly look at her son in disgust. She says women find that sort of thing disgusting and she would want her son so have his fair share of “head”.

Jessica: I mean the truth is the clitoris is technically a birth defect. It is An undeveloped uh… (Peaks over to make sure Fantasia isn’t listening) an undeveloped penis. And the body actually puts all these nerves in one tiny space, where as in men, the body spreads the nerves out to form a penis. Circumcision only causes erectile dysfunction, in many cases, depression, it causes low self-esteem, emasculation, mental and emotional trauma, which most people never realize, and many more issues no one seems to care about. They only care about how a penis looks or how “less gross” it can be, but even after circumcision, many girls still think guys are gross. In the end, it’s BS. How would girls feel if they had to get their clit cut off because guys think it looks gross or unnatural, or their parents got it removed so guys would go down on them? They would be fighting against it then, right?!

Tony: Wow… I never thought I’d meet a woman who cared so much about that. You seem to know a lot. Did you know that it was made religious because removing it caused a psychologically corrupt effect which would lower or permanently eliminate a male’s thirst for sexuality and therefore make him spiritually “pure”. Later it became an initiation into manhood, because the foreskin was seen as a feminine organ. These poor babies are losing their natural gifts at birth and not realizing it and it affects them psychologically. It’s sad really.

Jessica: Awe, I never knew that. You sound like a sex-ed teacher.

Tony: (Chuckles) Sorry I’m so used to rambling on and on about this stuff to student.

Jessica: Oh, so you are a sex-ed teacher?

Tony: Well… Yes and no. I am a professional on the subject of sex and yes I sometimes do volunteer at different colleges.

Jessica: Wow, so from a professional’s point of view is the clitoris technically a birth defect?

Tony: No actually. The clitoris and penis are the exact same thing, they are the exact same organ. While babies are in the fetus, we all technically start off female and first develop as females, and then the male chromosomes come in and begin developing males. This is why men have nipples, because we technically start off being developed as females before fully being developed as men. Technically speaking, women are undeveloped creatures.

Jessica: Women are undeveloped creatures?

Tony: Depending on how you look at it.

Jessica: I guess I can see that.

Tony: Woman are spiritually oriented creatures who seek physical concepts such as worrying about looks, trying to figure out what to wear, worrying about their body images, wearing makeup, wanting to cuddle, always being materialistic and wanting spiritual concepts such as love to be physically presented to them. They’re more emotional, more naturally in contact with the spirituality of life which is why women make such good characters of judgment and can decipher their feelings for a person just as they walk into a room. Men are physical creatures who seek spirituality, such as pride, honor, independence, fulfillment, creativity in things physical, like making cars and learning how vehicles work, things like that. Men are more logical because logic is actually more of a physical aspect. You have to know the actual definition of physical to understand that though?

Jessica: Well, what is the literal definition?

Tony: I’ll give you the short version. Physical basically means a stabilized structure. However, to have a stabilized structure, you first need something that is non-physical and unstable.

Jessica: Like molecules and ions and science stuff?

Tony: Chemistry. We’re all just chemistry. Everything in this world is made of chemistry- different combinations of molecules that attach in an infinite number of combinations and create new things, then those things create new things and the cycle repeats itself over and over again until all of these molecules connect and stabilize into something extremely unbelievably large, such as objects or physical things.

Jessica: What are molecules?

Tony: Getting down to the genesis, Molecules are light. Molecules are energy. Every physical thing in this world is made up of energy constantly forming together in a small single space and building up and then stabilizing. But no matter how much things stabilize, they constantly break apart, just to reform into something new.

Jessica: All of this sounds pretty scary.

Tony: (Chuckles) The further science goes, the more we prove that there is a god, but ironically, religion has put a face on god and causes people to be given an image about him. Religion actually works against god.

Jessica: How exactly does science prove this?

Tony: So, all form of energy is actually alive. Nothing dead moves on its own and electrons, ions, molecules, bacteria, chemicals, light, all of these things move on their own function on their own terms. No matter how far you go in science, you will find the conclusion that nothing in this world can exist without a source of direction. I am a scientist and we learned that life itself and even reality, is a paradox. Light and energy are nothing but a paradox that cannot be explained without the conclusion of something creating guidance. God is something that goes beyond what can be explained, however, it is the only thing that can explain the origin of what allows energy to function on its own and do what it does.

Jessica: Thousands of years ago, people only believed in religion for knowledge of the world. Then they turned to Science. But nowadays people turn away from both. And trust in themselves and whatever they want to believe in. I’ve heard science reports everywhere but so many people don’t believe them anymore.

Tony: As much as I hate to admit it, the Christian bible actually predicted this would happen toward the end of the world. The Christian bible said a lot would happen to this when the world was soon to end and no one ever believes in that, but the proof is in the book that was written centuries ago and talks about today’s society. Science is constantly proving, the news is constantly proving, society, politicians, videogames, media, history, technology, people, us, life, all of these things are literally proving more and more the truth that the bible is real and god is real. Even Chinese culture proves it. But despite me knowing the true about all of this… I get a little scared at times. Sorry, this must be awkward talking to a stranger about this stuff.

Jessica: No actually. I only worry about things if I have to. Otherwise, I don’t stress or make a big deal out of a situation. But we really should talk about you being my brother.

Tony: Our parents want the 6 of us altogether again for Thanksgiving. They want to rebuild their family.

Jessica: I would say it’s a bit too late, but… You know with the rioting, that recently started over, Mike brown and that cop, and just the way the country’s going. Throughout all of history you hear about poverty, slavery, concentration camps, cold wars, World Wars, devastating natural disasters, land invasion, protests, revolutions, and it’s like, every single person in the whole world has this huge misconception that all of those things could never happen again. It’s happened so many times throughout history, so what makes people think they won’t happen again? You think people back in the 40’s or 50’s knew about the technology we have now? Do you think they would have imagined the society we live in now? No.

Tony: Sometimes people are just too scared to imagine that truth. (Looks at his daughter) Sometimes they can’t stand to imagine their loved ones suffering to such an extent, that death is the only hope for peace.

Jessica: I guess that’s why now should be the time to embrace the people you love, and not hold so many grudges.

Tony: I’m glad you’re my little sister.

Jessica: (Smiles) I hope my other siblings are as cool as you.

Tony: I’ve meet them actually and they’re some characters. (Grins) Christopher is crazy I think.

Jessica: I had an- well my only ex I should say, was named Chris.

Tony: Really? What happened to him?

(A flashback shows Chris running out of his house behind Kaito Zonoda. Kaito turns around and shoots him in the head with his pistol. Kaito looks down at his body and casually walks away.)

Jessica: He used me for my virginity, and then broke up with me, and a few minutes after I last saw him, he was gunned down by a mobster.

Tony: That’s… Ok…?

Jessica: Long story. It happened like two years ago.

Tony: Well that’s very interesting to hear. I know now not to get on your bad side.

(They both chuckle)

Tony: Sweetie, are you still struggling with your juice? (Gets up and walks over to his daughter) Let me get it open for you?

Fantasia: No, daddy, I wanna do it!

Tony: Don’t start acting like your mother, let me help you.

(Outside of Hanru’s home)

(The Chinese-American social-worker who just delivered Yoko has a stressed out look on her face as she stands frustrated by the driver side of her car. Lawrence is walking through the lawn and sees her. He’s hesitant, but he stands on the other side of the car and asks-)

Lawrence: You gonna be alright?

Aileen: (Startled) Oh yes, yes. I’ll be fine.

Lawrence: You looked like you were about to cry there.

Aileen: I know, I just locked my keys in the car and this is a rental so…

Lawrence: So breaking the window isn’t an option?

Aileen: No, not exactly.

Lawrence: (Smiles) Well you know, this is a pretty bad neighborhood. Someone sees a fancy-looking car and they might just wanna see if anything fancy is inside too.

(Lawrence punches the passenger-side window and shatters it completely.)

Aileen: Seriously?!

Lawrence: You can either complain or you can get your keys out and be move on with your life.

(Lawrence reaches into his pocket, pulls out a couple hundred dollars and gives it to Aileen.)

Lawrence: That should cover the cost. (Walks away)

(Lawrence walks into the house and into the living room. Ada, Yoko, and Hanru are all stunned to see Lawrence.)

Lawrence: Hey, family! I’m home!

Yoko: (Excited) I have two big brothers?!

Lawrence: Who is this?

Ada: Uh, Lawrence, this is, Yoko; I just adopted her. So, where have you been all this year?

Lawrence: Out.

Ada: (Irritated by his response) Right well you can’t just disappear for a year and then come back and then disappear again. There’s a child here now and I didn’t tell the social workers about you, so you can’t stay here.

Lawrence: Oh wow. That’s disappointing. I was actually hoping to stay for good this time.

Ada: (Sighs in frustration) Lawrence…

(Lawrence drops some money down in Ada’s lap. She stares at it and grabs slowly to examine it.)

Lawrence: I got rent. That’s no problem.

Ada: (Uncertain) Mmm. Alright, Lawrence. Wanna come help me make Thanksgiving dinner?

Lawrence: Thanksgiving isn’t until a few more days.

Ada: I know but I haven’t even gone shopping yet.

Lawrence: Why is that?

Ada: Been busy working; not enough money. You’ve been on your own, you know how it is.

Lawrence: (Once again pulls out a couple hundred dollars) Actually I don’t. But hey, Thanksgiving’s on me. (Smiles at Ada) I’ll be in the car. (Walks toward the front door, stops, and then turns back around) Where is that by the way?

Ada: I don’t have a car. I take the bus to work every morning.

Lawrence: You really are poor, aren’t you?

Ada: We are middle class.

Lawrence: (Laughs) Oh get outta here! There’s no such thing! Either you’re rich or you’re poor in today’s economy. Which by the way is a conspiracy to have an excuse to abstract money from American and non-American citizens without any need for a complex national explanation. How else do you think they can afford all these nukes and private camps?!

Hanru: (Thinking) One of the worse subjects anyone can bring up around me.

Ada: Let’s go, Lawrence. I was joking about not having a car; it’s parked in the backyard. The driveway connects to it.

Hanru: (Thinking) I can tell Ada needs some time alone with my brother to discuss some things, so maybe I should make up an excuse to keep Yoko and I here. (Says to Yoko) So, Yoko, while the two of them are out shopping, how about you and I spend some time getting to know each other?

Yoko: Um… okay…

Hanru: Don’t be so nervous around me. I’m harmless… Most of the time. (Chuckles)

Yoko: (Nervously smiles) Ok.

(Miami)

(As a woman opens up the stove, smoke comes flying out of the oven and it quickly fills the entire room. A man grabs a fire extinguisher and quickly shoots it into the oven to put out the fire that’s inside. Everyone begins to cough. Three women walk out of the smoky house coughing. These three women are Tsuki, Holly, and Janet.)

Janet: I think I left the fire on too high. (Coughs)

(The next door neighbor Al sees the three of them coughing as he grabs something from inside his vehicle.)

Tsuki: You’ve gotta be the world’s worse cook. That was the third turkey you burned!

Janet: Hey, I’m still new at this house-wife stuff okay! Last year we went to Golden Corral for a thanksgiving dinner! Or was that Cracker Barrel?

(LJ comes walking out of the house.)

LJ: You all good?

Janet: Yes, honey, we’re okay.

Al: Howdy neighbor!

LJ: (Waves) Hey, Al.

Al: (Leans over the fence) I’ve noticed you’ve been having some trouble with preparing your family feast this year.

LJ: Yeah, well some years are better than others.

Al: Oh, don’t I know it. Last year, we all sat down for Thanksgiving and forgot the pumpkin pie! (Smacks himself on the forehead) V8, right?! (Laughs) Boy was that a nightmare. Lovely dinner, amazing appetizer, but no dessert to follow it down. (Shakes his head softly) Man what a night.

LJ: (Awkward) Yeah… Right… So anyway, we should probably get inside and fix up the kitchen and get started again on another turkey.

Janet: (Gasps loudly) Lawrence! Did you turn the macaroni off?!

LJ: No, I didn’t turn anything off! And stop calling me by my first name.

(Janet screams in panic and quickly runs inside the house.)

LJ: (Looks at Al) We may need to start our entire dinner all over again. (Chuckles)

Al: Non-sense, neighbor! Come on over for a meal. My wife is making more than enough food this year because our in-laws were supposed to be coming in, but they cancelled. Let me talk it over with the wife and I’ll be right back out! Hey, don’t go burning down any more houses while I’m gone! (Laughs and runs inside)

Tsuki: Suburban white people crack me up.

LJ: Hey, don’t forget you used to be a suburban white people too before you moved out and went to college.

Tsuki: (Yells to the skies) It feels so good to have finally graduated! Yes!

LJ: (Chuckles) Get inside before someone calls the psych-ward.

(Al closes his front door softly.)

Al: Honey! Sweetie?!

(Al quickly tip-toes into the kitchen and sees his beautiful blonde wife standing over the sink with a cutting board in front of her with half cut celery on top. His wife has the knife pressed up against the celery but she's not moving. She’s stuck mid-motion and blankly staring at the food and knife in front of her.)

Al: Baby…

(Al hesitantly walks up to his wife and slowly approaches her.)

Al: Honey? It’s ok… It’s your husband.

(Al quickly takes the knife away and gently places it on the counter. His wife turns around and buries her face into his chest as he firmly hugs her.)

Al: Hey, hey, you okay? (Kisses her forehead) What’s the matter, cherry-pie?

Elizabeth: Al, I can’t do this.

Al: No, Lizzie. (Looks her in the eyes) Elizabeth, listen to me, we will get through this, okay? You just gotta stay strong, alright, now I’m here for you. You got your medication?

Elizabeth: Krista took the rest of the pills and gave them to her boyfriend a few weeks ago.

Al: What?! Elizabeth, you’ve been off your medication for weeks and you never told me?!

Elizabeth: I figured I would be okay without them. Next week I can get another refill.

Al: Okay, hold on. Kids get down here now! It’s an emergency!

(A young 18 year old girl and 16 year old boy walk down stairs and toward the kitchen.)

Krista: What is it now, dad?

Cody: Did mom forget the pie again?

(The two of them walk into the kitchen and see Al holding their mother down on the floor in the corner. Krista gasps.)

Al: Cody, Krista, I need you two to take care of mom, alright. Make sure she’s not near any knives, sharp objects, or anything she could use to hurt herself with alright? And Krista, I need to talk to you about giving away your mother’s medication like that and giving it away to your boyfriends.

Krista: Sorry, dad, he needed it!

Al: I’m not arguing with you about this. Make sure your mother’s safe and make sure the food doesn’t burn cause we’re having the neighbors over tomorrow for Thanksgiving. Handcuff your mother to the door knob if you have to, and if she gets crazy and tries to hurt you guys like she did awhile back, Cody, go to my hunting gear and get my tranquilizer from out the closet. I know that’s extreme but in case of emergencies, okay. Now I’ll be back!

(Al rushes outside and sees LJ standing on his porch.)

LJ: Hey, I was just about to knock.

Al: (Rushes to his SUV) Why don’t you come take a ride with me?!

(Minutes pass and Al enters his vehicle from the store parking lot. He takes a deep breath and has a depressed look on his face. He rests his forehead on the top of his steering wheel.)

Al: I couldn’t get a refill of my wife’s prescription. I’ll have to wait until next week. (Sits back in his chair and sighs) I don’t know what I’m going to do?

LJ: You said your wife suffers from manic depression, right?

Al: Bipolar, yes.

LJ: If you can give me the brand and MG amount of her medication, I can get it for you. You got $60 on you?

Al: On my credit card, yeah.

LJ: Not acceptable. Cash is needed. (Reaches into his pocket and grabs his wallet) I got 30 on me.

Al: Well no, I have no cash, I’m sorry.

LJ: Well neighbor… (Looks down) You better be glad I like you.

(Grocery Store)

(Lawrence and Ada are both walking around the crowded grocery story shopping. Their basket is nearly full of food.)

Lawrence: Alright so that covers all the snacks and healthy stuff. Now we just need the turkey of course and some ham and we’ll be all set.

Ada: No, Lawrence, we still need to get more cookware, containers, pies, vegetables, chicken, salad, maybe even a movie or some appetizers.

Lawrence: Is all that really necessary?

Ada: It is when you’re the one paying for it.

Lawrence: (Laughs) Oh, so because I’m the one with the money, you’re gonna take advantage?!

Ada: Yep. That’s right.

Lawrence: (Playfully hugs Ada with one arm) Oh, come here, you sweet Auntie you. (Stops hugging her and walks away) Go ahead; buy anything you want. (Turns around and walks backwards as he points at Ada) But just so you know, I only have a $600 limit. The rest of my money is in savings.

Ada: (Smiles) Got it. I promise I won’t spend too much.

Lawrence: (Shrugs) Alright, well… (Walks away)

(Hanru’s house)

(Hanru walks into a vacant bedroom and sees Yoko in there holding her bags and looking at all of the baby stuff.)

Hanru: This room was used for babysitting. One of the clients put their baby things in here for us and then, ended up losing custody. They went to jail and never came back to get their things.

Yoko: Maybe I could use it.

Hanru: Aren’t you like 17?

Yoko: Yes, but I have a baby of my own.

Hanru: You do, really?

Yoko: Yes. I hope to see him soon. I miss him.

Hanru: Well that’s interesting.

(There is a ring at the door.)

Hanru: (Relieved) I should go get that.

(Hanru goes down stairs and he opens the door. Hanru has a shocked look on his face once he sees who it is.)

TO BE CONTINUED