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by Eric Priezkalns

+974 33191443
+44 7958 467273

(c) Eric Priezkalns 2011

fade IN:

Int. Plush Bedroom - night

A man, who we know as X, sleeps in a large bed with an attractive oriental woman.  A young oriental girl wearing pyjamas, the woman's daughter, comes into the room and switches on the light.  The daughter is scared and wants to be comforted.  She goes to her mother's side of the bed and tugs at her, waking her.  The woman raises herself up on one elbow and sleepily caresses her daughter's long, straight, black hair, which matches her own.  X also wakes, opens his eyes and turns towards the girl, but continues to lie flat.

Oriental Girl

Mommy, mommy, there's monsters living under my bed.

Oriental woman

No, dearest, monsters only live inside your head.

Fade To:

Int. Office - Day

A close-up of X's face shows he is asleep.  The camera pulls back, revealing that X is dressed in a suit and tie, and is sat at a table in a meeting room with some fellow workers.  The view from the window behind them indicates they are in a tall building.  X's new friend, Rollo, is sat beside X.  Rollo is going to put his arm on X's shoulder, to stir him, but before he does, a ball of paper hits X on the head, startling him awake, and his colleagues laugh.

Colleague (O.s.)

Wake up!

Other Colleague (O.S.)

Poor soul, his first week has been a long one...

(laughs)

Colleague (O.s.)

Well, if people will go out partying until the early morning.

Other COLLEAGUE (O.S.)

The good news is this meeting is over.  Now everyone can go home and have some rest.

(laughs)

We hear the sound of people leaving the room and chatting as they do.  X and Rollo continue to sit at the meeting table.

Rollo

(joking)

You did the right thing, man - it wasn't worth staying awake during that meeting.  Did you have a good dream?

X

I don't know.  I never remember my dreams.

(beat)

You want a lift, right?

ROLLO

If you don't mind.

X and Rollo walk back to their desks to collect their things.  A close-up shows X selecting a key from a bundle on a chain, and then locking his desk drawer.  X and Rollo take the elevator.  Rollo presses both the 'up' and 'down' buttons at the same time.  X looks at him quizzically.

ROLLO

It's quicker this way.

The elevator bell rings, and the elevator doors open.  A pretty young woman stands inside, alone.  Her clothes are smart, stylish but casual.

Young OFFICE WOMAN

Are you going down?

X

I'd like to.

Rollo smiles slyly at X.

YOUNG OFFICE WOMAN

I'm going up.

The doors close, and just as they do, X speaks to Rollo.

X

She's not the only one.

Rollo grins.  Another elevator rings and Rollo and X take that instead.  It is empty apart from them.  As soon as the doors close, Rollo speaks.

ROLLO

So did you take that girl home last night?

X

A gentleman doesn't tell.

Cut To:

Int. Night Club - Night

X and a pretty blonde caucasian woman, Pascale, are dancing and flirting in a busy nightclub.  They are smiling and having fun whilst messing around to the music.  We see their lips moving, but the music is too loud to hear what they are saying.  The dance music has a strong rhythm, and the rest of the crowd are also dancing energetically.  The camera pulls back to show Rollo perched by the bar, enjoying a cigarette and a drink whilst watching X and Pascale.

ROLLO (V.o.)

Come on, I saw you leave together.  And based on what I saw in the club...

Close up on the faces of X and Pascale.  They are close enough to kiss, although they never do.  Both are smiling and looking intently at one another.  X turns and leads Pascale off the dancefloor.

X (V.o.)

There wasn't anything to see whilst we were in the club.  After we left, then you would have seen something...

X and Pascale step outside, into the night.  They walk away from the building.

X (V.O.)

Pascale is some girl, alright.  So you saw that I took her outside.

X looks around, checking nobody is around to see them.  As soon as he is sure, he rapidly spins Pascale to face him, and assertively closes in, as if to kiss her.

X (V.O.)

I got a hold of her and...

Cut To:

Int. Office Elevator - Day

The elevator bell rings.  X stops talking mid-sentence, and sheepishly looks to the ceiling as an older, conservatively-dress woman steps into the elevator.  The woman stands, turns and faces the doors, with X and Rollo behind.  X and Rollo trade knowing glances behind her back.

X receives a text message which reads: "Are you alone?"  He does not recognize the number but assumes the message is from Pascale.  X shows the message to Rollo and smiles.

Rollo

(to X)

Is that from her?  She's keen.

The woman turns and looks towards X and Rollo.

X

(to Rollo)

I guess it must be from her.  I don't know anybody in this country.

X notices the woman looking at them.

X

(facing front, mock serious)

Yes, she's eager.  She has an appetite for a heavy workload and the stamina to match.

The woman leaves the elevator at the ground floor.  She has a sullen expression on her face.  X and Rollo exit behind her.  Their faces express boyish amusement.

Ext. Outside Office - Day

X and Rollo step outside the office building.  Rollo offers X a cigarette and they both light up.  As Rollo and X turn to walk towards X's car, X receives a call on his mobile phone.  It is Pascale, the woman he met last night.  By her accent, it is revealed she is French.

X

Hello.

Pascale (V.o.)

You didn't call.  I should be very angry at you.

X

Oh Pascale, I'm sorry.  I was going to call you when I got home.  I'm just leaving work now.

PASCALE (V.O.)

So are we still going out tonight?

X

You're not shy, are you?

PASCALE (V.O.)

Life is short, and I am flying tomorrow.  Don't tell me you forgot.  I told you I won't be back for two weeks.

X

I remember.  Look, why don't you come over to mine when you're ready?  We'll go from there.  You do remember where I live, don't you?  Come any time after 6.

PASCALE (V.O.)

What's the number?

X

3W0H.  Building 3, West block, apartment H on the ground floor.  Sorry, I have to go now - I'm giving someone a lift home.

X and Rollo arrive at X's car.

PASCALE (V.O.)

Okay.  I'll see you soon.

X

Good.

(beat)

Bye.

(makes a kiss noise)

X and Rollo arrive at X's car, and get in.

INT. Inside the Car - day

X places his mobile phone in a cubby beside him.  As X starts the car, the stereo comes on.  He puts on his sunglasses, using the rear view mirror to check how he looks and to adjust his hair.  We see a close-up of his face in the mirror.  We look at X and Rollo from behind, seeing the road ahead from over their shoulders.

Rollo slaps him on the back.  As Rollo starts to speak, X turns down the stereo.

ROLLO

One week you've been in this country, and you've already found a girl.  Do you know how long I've been here?

X

Like Pascale just said, life is short.

X receives another text message from a number that he does not recognize.  The camera zooms in to read it.  It reads "you need someone you can trust".  X looks perplexed.  He decides to call the number to find out who is texting him.

X

(to Rollo)

Excuse me.

The number dials through to an answering machine.

Answering Machine (V.o.)

You're through to Lone Wolf Maid Services, the all-inclusive maid service for the discrete and discerning single man.  Our office hours are 7am to 5pm Saturday to Thursday.  Please leave your name and number...

X hangs up.

X

Are maid services popular round here?

ROLLO

Yeah, I guess so.  Are you looking for one?

X

No.  But it feels like they're looking for me.  I wonder how they got my number.

ROLLO

You'll get used to that...

X looks in his rear view mirror.  He stops listening to Rollo.  In the mirror, X can see the oriental girl sitting on the back seat of his car.

ROLLO

I've had so many spam SMS's since I arrived here, you wouldn't believe...

X turns around in his seat, looking over his shoulder.  The back seat of the car is empty.

ROLLO

Hey, careful.

X momentarily loses control of the car around a bend, and has to fight the steering wheel to recover control.

X

Sorry about that.

ROLLO

Are you alright man?

X

Sure.

(pause)

Sure, I just got distracted.  Stupid text messages.

ROLLO

So, how's the unpacking going?

X

Pretty good.  I haven't finished but it's getting there.  I've got a feeling that some of my boxes have gone missing.  It's hard to tell, there's so many of them to unpack.

ROLLO

Yeah, the same thing happened to me.  The relocation firm forgot to load them on the truck from the local storehouse.  I had to wear same suit every day for three weeks, waiting for them to send my missing stuff over.

INT. Car PARK

The car pulls into an underground car park of a residential complex.  The car park, like all the interior corridors and stairwells of this building, is lit by artificial light, with no signs of daylight.  We see the car and the characters as if on CCTV.  X and Rollo get out, walk to the stairs, then walk up them.

ROLLO

Don't forget, you left your sports gear in my car.  I've got it upstairs.

X

Sure.  I'll come up and collect them in ten.  I just want to change out of these work clothes first.

ROLLO

No problem.

X steps out of the stairwell on his floor, the ground floor.  Rollo continues up.

int. Corridor of Apartment Building

X walks to his door from the stairwell, pulls his keychain from his pocket and tried to open the door to his apartment.  The sign next to the apartment reads '3W0H'.  The key does not turn.  The camera pulls back, showing a note pinned to the door, which X then looks at properly.  It reads: "Your new lock has been fitted.  The keys are at reception."

X walks along the corridor, passing through fire doors, to the ground floor reception.  We see him as if on CCTV.

There is a security guard at reception.

X

Do you have some keys for me?  Apartment 3-W-0-H.

The guard looks in the drawers behind his desk.

Guard

Yes sir.  We have been keeping them safe for you, like you asked.

The guard hands X a sealed envelope.  X takes the envelope and walks back, opening it as he does.  We follow X as he walks, from behind and to one side.  In the envelope there are two similar-looking keys and a flyer.  X pulls out the flyer to look at it.  He looks at the flyer; we see it over his shoulder.  The flyer, which is a cheap photocopy on white paper, is promoting Lone Wolf Maid Services.  In the middle there is a photograph of an asian maid in a suggestive uniform.  The photograph is encircled with words in large hand-written capitals: “COME TO LONE WOLF”.  Underneath it reads, in similar hand writing: “Turn over to find all the solutions for all your domestic needs”.  X looks at the reverse side.  On the back is a typed list of services they provide "for the single man".

Back at his apartment door, X takes one of the new keys from the envelope.  It does not turn.  X looks mystified.  He tries the other key, which does work.

INT. Apartment - DAY

Inside X's apartment there are half-unpacked boxes scattered around, and a pile of empty boxes in one corner.  The boxes are covered with the logos of a relocation company.  The apartment is spartan in its furnishing.  X tosses the flyer on to the coffee table, puts the envelope in his back pocket, turns the television on, and walks around to the kitchen to pour himself a drink of a clear liquid.  We do not see the bottle, so do not know what exactly he has poured; it may be water.  We vaguely hear the television in the background wherever X is in the apartment.

X walks to his bedroom which is bare, apart from a king size bed in the middle and a fitted wardrobe.  He hangs up his jacket, and takes off his tie and his shirt.  X puts on a casual but smart polo top.

X is back in his living room, sitting and watching television whilst he sips at his drink.  The glass is still half full.  The camera moves so we see both X and what he is watching on the screen.  The television is playing gentle music, a waltz.  On the television, X sees himself in a close embrace with the oriental woman from his earlier dream.  She is wearing a flowing black evening gown with long sleeves.  It complements her long black hair.  The two of them are engaged in a slow dance.  There are other people dancing in the background, but out of focus.  We zoom in to the screen.  The viewpoint of the television camera revolves around the dancers, finally settling on and zooming into to the oriental woman's face.  She talks over her dance partner’s shoulder to the camera, as if she is talking to the X who is in the apartment, watching the television.

ORIENTAL WOMAN

We can’t go on meeting like this.

X is awoken from sleep by the sound of banging from the neighbours.  X is still sitting on the couch in his living room, as he was before.  In the background, the news is on the television.  X turns up the volume of the television using the remote control.

Male Newsreader (V.o.)

(louder)

... the US Ambassador had been called to meet with the Foreign Minister following allegations of commercial espionage.  The allegations were made after a local businessman...

X is further distracted by the sound of children playing in the corridor outside his apartment.  We see X sitting and trying to concentrate on the TV, as he finishes his drink, with the door of his apartment in the background.

CHILDREN (O.S.)

(singing, running, laughing, and the sound of a bicycle being ridden)

Neither X nor we can hear the news over the noise of the children.  X turns his head away from the TV towards the door. There is the sound of an accident in the corridor, of somebody falling from their bike outside X's door.

CHILDREN (O.S.)

(screaming, crying)

X quickly gets up and hurries to the door to see what has happened outside.  We follow X from behind.

int. Corridor of Apartment Building

We are looking down the corridor.  All noise stops the instant that X opens his door.  He looks outside, but there is nobody in the corridor.  There is no bicycle, nor evidence that any children were there.  X turns his head to look up and down the corridor.

SERIES OF SHOTS:

A: The camera sees the corridor from X's perspective, rapidly panning to look in each direction.  The corridor is empty in all directions.

B: X turns back to his apartment door.  We see him in the corridor, pulling his door closed from the outside, and locking it.

C: X walks towards the stairwell he came out of earlier.  We see him as if on CCTV.

D: X walks along a winding path of corridors, passing many apartments and walking through several pairs of fire doors.  We see him as if on CCTV.

E: X comes to an apartment door and knocks on it.  A sign saying that the apartment number is '3S17' is plainly visible on the wall.  A tall pot plant, a palm, sits outside the apartment.  X waits.  Loud music can be heard playing behind the door.  The music is similar in style to that which played on X's car stereo before.  X puts his ear to the door, then bangs it again.  Then X tries to look the wrong way through the door's peephole.

F: We see X's eye from the side, in close-up, trying to look through the peep-hole.

G: We see the peep-hole from X's perspective.  A bright light comes through the peephole.  Everything is blurred, making it impossible to see any detail.

H: We see X from behind.  X loudly bangs the door with the palm of his hand, and shouts.

X

(shouting loudly)

Hello?  Hello?  Are you in there?  Can you hear me?

I: Close-up of X's face as he, disappointed, shakes his head and walks away.

int. Corridor of Apartment Building

X walks back down the corridor.  The camera continues to follow him from behind.  As X walks, he receives another text message from an unrecognized number.  It reads: "To find solutions, first turn around".  X tentatively looks back over his shoulder, towards the camera which has been following him.  We then see the empty corridor from X's perspective.  X laughs to himself and shakes his head because there is nobody there.

As X passes through another pair of fire doors, his mobile telephone rings.  X stops.  He takes his mobile telephone out of his pocket, and answers it.

Rollo (V.O.)

Hey man, where are you?  I thought you said you were gonna be ten minutes?

X

What do you mean: "where am I?"  I was pounding your door just thirty seconds ago.  Didn't you hear me?

Rollo (V.O.)

Sorry man.  I guess I must have my music on too loud.  I'm going deaf in my old age (laughs).  I swear I didn't hear a thing.

X turns around and walks back towards the camera, back up the corridor.

INT. Corridor Outside of Apartment 3S17

The same style of loud music continues to play behind the door of 3S17.  X bangs loudly on the door.  We see X from behind, as he stands facing the door.

X

Okay, I'm here!  Open up.

There is no answer.  He rings the bell repeatedly and then bangs again.

X

Hey!  Open up!

X stops, takes a breath, and waits.  As he does, he reaches for the plant sitting outside the apartment, touching one of the leaves of the palm.  He rubs the leaf between his fingers.

X pulls out his mobile phone, still rubbing the leaf of the palm with his other hand.  He calls Rollo.  He turns a little more sideways and away from the door so we can see X's face in profile.

X

You really need to turn that music down.  Can't you hear me knocking?

rollo (V.O.)

Man, I don't know what you're talking about.  I'm standing at the door now, waiting for you.

X

(confused)

What?

Rollo (V.O.)

Have you got the right apartment?

X

Is this a joke?  Of course I've got the right apartment.

Rollo (V.O.)

I'm just saying all those corridors can be kinda confusing.  I'm in apartment 3-S-1-7, yeah?

We can see that X is standing right by the sign that says '3S17'.

X

If this is a joke, I don't think it's funny.

(bangs door once with closed fist)

Rollo (V.O.)

Man, I don't know what the problem is.  I'm standing right here.

We hear a disconnected tone.  X looks at his phone, then puts it in his pocket.

SERIES OF SHOTS:

A: X walks quickly back down the corridor.  We follow from behind.  He passes through fire doors.

B: X walks up the corridor towards and then past the camera, as if on CCTV.

C: X walks towards the camera and towards his apartment door.  He turns and unlocks his door and is about to go back into his apartment.  Then he stops and looks down the corridor, roughly in the direction of the camera.  The camera pulls back and up to reveal what X is looking at: a small children's bicycle is lying on the floor; it was not there before.

INT. APARTMENT - DAY

X gets himself another drink, then motions to sit back down, putting the full glass on the coffee table and intending to watch television whilst waiting for Pascale.  Just as X sits, there is a knock at his door.  We follow from behind as X gets straight back up, goes to the door and looks through the peephole.

We see X's eye from the side, in close-up, as he looks through the peep-hole.  X blinks.

We see from X's perspective through the peephole.  There is nobody outside; the corridor looks empty.

We see X's eye from the side, in close-up.  He rubs his eye and looks again.

We see from X's perspective through the peephole.  As before, there is nobody outside; the corridor looks empty.

X turns back to sit down but as he does, there is the sound of knocking at the door.  X instantly flings open the door.  There is nobody there.  X looks down the corridor again.  The corridor is empty, except for the bicycle.  X closes the door and goes back into the apartment.  His mobile phone rings and he answers.

Pascale (V.o.)

Hi, it's me.  Where are you?  I'm waiting for you at your place.

X

Sorry?

Pascale (V.O.)

Yeah, I know, I'm early.  Did you get stuck in traffic or were you being naughty - stopping for some smokes on the way home?  Anyway, how long will it be before you're back home?

X

I'm home already.

Pascale (V.O.)

(puzzled)

You are?  Then let me in.  I'm right outside.

X opens the door.  The corridor is empty.

X

Where outside?  Are you outside the building?

Pascale (V.O.)

Outside your front door.  Listen - this is me ringing the bell.

The doorbell rings.

Pascale (V.O.)

(teasing)

So come and open the door please!

(beat)

Don't tell me, you're such a man.  You're in the bathroom.

(jokingly)

I hate it when people answer their phone whilst... you know.

X

I don't understand.  I'm at my door, looking down the corridor.  There's nobody here...

Pascale (V.O.)

Darling?  What are you talking about?

X

Is this a prank? (laughs nervously)  It's pretty clever.  How did you manage to make the bell ring?

X looks at the button for the doorbell and presses it as he speaks, making it ring again.

Pascale (V.O.)

What's wrong, darling?

(beat)

You sound... I mean you don't sound very happy.

X

I'll leave the door unlocked.  You just come straight in when you get here.

X allows the arm holding his phone to drop to his side.  He lets the door swing closed behind him, and he steps back inside the apartment.

Pascale (V.O.)

(worried)

Darling, darling, is there something the matter?  If there's...

(disconnected tone)

X hangs up, cutting off Pascale mid-sentence.  He goes back to sit in front of the television.  The camera moves so we see both X and what he is watching on the screen.  On the television, the oriental woman and the oriental girl are pinning up a picture the girl has drawn.  They pin it to the wall, next to a framed painting.  We zoom in to the television screen.  The girl turns towards the viewer and has a delighted expression.  The girl turns to come towards and embrace the viewer, but the woman holds her back, crouching behind her daughter and wrapping both arms around her.  The woman speaks to the viewer in a sombre tone.

ORIENTAL WOMAN

(concerned)

I don't think you should come here again.

INT. APARTMENT - Day

X is asleep in front of the television.  For once, there is no drink in front of X, and the flyer is not there either.  In fact, there is no coffee table, not that X notices that.  It is still day, but the evening light is starting to fade.  A man is reading the news.  X is startled awake by more hammering on the wall.  He gets up and goes to the door.  We follow from behind.

int. Corridor of Apartment Building

X goes to his neighbour's apartment.  We see him as if on CCTV.  The hammering noise continues.  X rings the bell of his neighbours.  The hammering stops.  X knocks on the door.  He waits.

X

(shouting)

Hello?  I know you're in there.  Can you just keep the hammering to daylight hours please?

We see X from the perspective of the neighbour's peephole.  X stands with his hands on his hips.  He is impatient.  He knocks on the door again.

X

Look, I just want to get along, OK?  Would you just open the door so we can talk like civilized people?

X waits, then gets frustrated and leaves.

x

(sighs)

Suit yourself.

As X walks away, the banging starts again.  X returns to his own apartment, and puts his key in the door.  It does not turn.  He is confused.  The camera pulls back, showing a note pinned to the door, which X then looks at properly.  The note is written on similar paper to that which was on his door before, but it has a different message, written in a different hand.  The note reads: "don’t give up so easily".

X stops for a moment, and thinks.  He is agitated.  X looks down the corridor, we cannot see what he is looking at.  He pauses, and then walks with urgency in the direction he is looking, towards the camera.  It pulls back as he walks towards to it.  There is a manually-operated fire alarm set into the wall, which comes into view as the camera pulls back.  X pulls the alarm switch, then walks back towards his neighbours' apartment.

The neighbours' front door opens, with X waiting outside to confront them.  A small man hastily comes out, followed by a woman and three children.  The woman is talking to the children in an unfamiliar language.  X steps towards the man, trying to block his path.

X

(aggressive)

So you can open the door, after all?

The man looks at X, and acts like he does not understand him.  X continues to step across his path, not letting him leave.

X

Can we talk now?

The man pushes X to one side, then turns his shoulder towards X.  X does not step back, leaving X towering over the man.  The man speaks to the woman in their language, seemingly insisting that they hurry and gesticulating that they go ahead, whilst he stands between them and X.  As the woman and the children scurry down the corridor, the man turns back to X, and shakes his head, as if in disbelief at X's behaviour.  He then takes some steps backwards whilst looking at X, and then hurries to catch up with the woman and the children.  From X's perspective, they are soon out of sight, passing through a pair of the fire doors.

X looks back at his neighbour's door.  They did not lock it in their rush to leave.  X pauses, then lets himself in to the neighbours' apartment to see what they were doing.

int. neighbours' apartment - Day

In contrast to X’s own apartment, the neighbours' apartment is that of a settled family home, cluttered and with toys lying around the floor.  X stands and looks around.  There is no sign of any tools that might have been used to make the banging noise that X heard.

On a table, there are half-eaten meals; they may have been eating a family dinner when the alarm interrupted them.  On the wall that adjoins X's apartment, there are many neatly arranged photographs, mostly showing the family on holidays and outings.  X walks up to them and looks at them closely, and then starts to peel the edge of one.  X realizes it is attached to the wall by adhesive.  He smooths the photo back into place.

A girl can be heard faintly from another room.  She sounds scared; she is crying quietly.  X instantly looks up and around, towards where the noise is coming from.  He explores the rest of the apartment to find it.  X opens a door to reveal a children's bedroom.  The figure of a small girl is hidden underneath the bedclothes.  X adopts a reassuring manner, and moves to sit on the edge of the bed.

X

Hey, it's okay.  There's nothing to be frightened of.

The girl continues to whimper.  X gently lifts the corner of the bedclothes, wanting to look at the girl underneath.

X

It's okay.

We see over X's shoulder as he very slowly lifts the bedclothes.  We can see the top of the head of a girl with straight dark hair.  The girl looks up towards the crack in the bedclothes.  We can now see she is the oriental girl from X's dreams.

X throws the bedclothes back in shock.  With the bedclothes thrown aside, we see the bed is actually empty.  X is alone in the room.

X turns pale.  He looks around and hurriedly leaves the neighbours' apartment.

Int. Stairwell

X runs up the stairs to Rollo's apartment.

INT. CORRIDOR OUTSIDE OF APARTMENT 3s17

As X comes out of the stairwell, he sees Rollo with Pascale.  He is surprised to see them together.  He steps back, hiding around the corner with his back to the wall, so they do not see him.  X looks around again, and sees them entering Rollo's apartment.  Rollo ushers Pascale inside; both Rollo and Pascale look furtive.

We see X's face in close up, with his back to the wall.  Down the corridor, the door to Rollo's apartment closes.  This time, there is no palm plant outside Rollo's apartment, not that X notices.  X leans his neck back, resting the back of his head against the wall, and closes his eyes momentarily.  After a moment stood motionless in that pose, X stands upright, turns around and walks down the corridor to Rollo's apartment.

Outside Rollo's apartment, X knocks on the door.  The exterior looks as before, except that there is no palm plant outside the apartment.  There is no music coming from inside the apartment either.  Rollo answers the door.

ROLLO

Hey man, where have you been?  Come in.

Pascale also comes to the door.

X

What are you two doing together?

Rollo looks at Pascale, and she looks back.  Rollo's expression changes as he realizes what X is implying.

ROLLO

It's not what you think.

PASCALE

Darling, what's got you so upset?  We were worried.  I was waiting for you.

X storms away, back down the stairs to his apartment.  Rollo and Pascale follow at a distance.

INT. APARTMENT - NIGHT

X switches on the light and locks the door behind him.  We can hear the television is still on, in the background.  He stands with his back to the door.  Soon afterwards, there is a knocking at the door.

ROLLO (o.S.)

Let us in.  We want to know what's wrong.

X

Go away.

ROLLO (O.S.)

No, we're not going away.  Let us in.

X walks back to the drink he left on the coffee table earlier.  It is full.  As he reaches across to pick it up, he notices the flyer he also left there earlier.  He stares at the woman in the photograph.  The woman in the photograph looks like the oriental woman in his dreams.  In the background, we can hear Rollo is knocking on the door again, but we cannot clearly hear what he is saying.

X lifts up the flyer, and keeps staring at it.  He eyes follow the words that surround the woman's photograph: "COME TO LONE WOLF".  Then he starts to re-read the words beneath: "Turn over to find all the solutions..."  X turns the flyer around in his hands.  He looks at the word "LONE" written upside down, and then he drops the flyer back on to the table.  He looks shaken.  X closes his eyes, then composes himself.

X walks back to his front door.  He opens it; Pascale and Rollo are still waiting outside.  They look up at X, waiting for him to speak.

X

Maybe you should come with me.

INT. CORRIDOR OUTSIDE OF APARTMENT 3N07

X, Pascale and Rollo are standing outside of an apartment where the sign reads '3N07'.  They stand in silence.  In the corridor outside of the apartment there is the children's bike that X saw before.  The palm that X thought was outside Rollo's apartment is standing by the apartment's door.

ROLLO

What now?

X reaches into his back pocket, and pulls out the envelope.  He removes the second key, and puts it into the lock.

PASCALE

Whose apartment is this?

X

Mine.  It was.  It was going to be.

INT. Bare APARTMENT - Night

X leads Pascale and Rollo inside.  Pascale and Rollo stand by the door as it closes, whilst X walks into the middle of the room.  The apartment is completely bare, with no furnishings.  Four boxes stand in the middle of the room.  The boxes display the logos of the same relocation firm as the boxes that were in X's apartment.  The walls are bare apart from a framed painting and a children's drawing.  They are the same framed painting and drawing from X's dream involving the oriental woman and the girl.

X walks up to the boxes.  He crouches down and puts his hands on top of one of them.

X

They give you a bigger apartment, if you've got a family.  It was going to be our home.

Rollo and Pascale stay back, standing in silence because they do not know what to say.  The camera slowly turns from them to X, and then keeps turning to reveal the oriental woman and girl, his wife and daughter, now standing alongside him.  The woman is wearing the black evening gown, and the girl is in her pyjamas.  X embraces them both.  Music faintly starts to play.  It is the same music as was playing on X's car stereo.

X is distracted by the sound of hammering at the wall.  He looks up towards the painting.  The camera zooms into the painting, and then pulls back to reveal X standing by its side, with a hammer in hand.  He nudges the corner of the painting, trying to hang it straight.

X

Is it straight?

The camera pans and pulls back to show the oriental woman, standing the other side of the painting from X.

ORIENTAL WOMAN

It's straight.  But you need to take it down now.

(turning to the girl)

And it's your bedtime.

ORIENTAL GIRL

Can I stay longer?

ORIENTAL WOMAN

No, my dear.

X

(to the woman, referring to the music)

They're playing your song again.

ORIENTAL WOMAN

Let's change it, shall we?

The music fades out, and a new song begins, as the oriental woman steps towards X.  The new music is the opening bars of the waltz that X and the oriental woman had danced to previously.  They embrace, and start to dance.  The camera revolves around them, turning in the same direction as the dancers.  The girl dances around the two of them, moving in the opposite direction, playacting at dancing with an imaginary partner.  As the camera turns, we occasionally catch a glimpse of Rollo and Pascale, still standing by the door.  The camera continues to turn and increasingly zooms in on X's face, until the close up fills the screen.  X seems happy.  It pulls back again, and the woman and girl are gone.  X is holding his wife's dress, clutched to his chest, and with the end of one sleeve in his hand.  X stops turning, and looks at the dress, with sadness.

Fade To Black

Credits as the waltz continues to play.

Fade IN:

INT. Bare APARTMENT - Night

X folds the dress back into its box.  In the background, Pascale and Rollo leave the apartment, carrying boxes.  With a box under one arm, and as the music reaches its closing bars, X walks out the door, leaving an empty apartment behind him.  As the door closes, he switches off the light with his outstreched hand.

THE END