EXT. LAKE - DAWN - WIDE
A single CANOE bobs back and forth in the rolling mist covering gentle waves. The surrounding forest is a single green entity, intimidating in its entirety.
CLOSE ON CANOE
Scrappily carved runes line the exterior of the wooden canoe. Centered between the writing on each side are symbols of a left-facing crescent moon and a full moon.
A GASP and the sudden breaking of a WAVE on the side of the canoe. The gasp leads to a series of shaky breaths coming from inside the canoe. The trees surrounding the lake move in the wind as if dancing along to the orchestration of the breathing.
The dull blue light of the sky is interspersed with the glowing orange of sunrise. A HAND caked in blood erupts from the opening of the canoe.
ALYS (O.S.)
(humming deeply)
Hmm. HMM. HEE. Ah. AH. AHH. HM. Ah. AHH. HM.
ALYS (20s, frantic) sits up and cradles her hand to her bare chest. Her hair is limp and sticking to her head. She is covered in bruises and her skin is sallow. Her features are obscured by the blood coming from an exposed wound on her head.
Alys's turns carefully, studying the wilderness she finds herself in.
ALYS
No. He- I got out.
She gingerly touches the wound. Her fingers find an exposed portion of her skull.
A crow rushes past her face. Alys shouts. A single black feather falls beside her thigh. An inch of musty water floats at the bottom of the canoe. She moves, unsticking herself from the seat, revealing two more black feathers beneath her.
Alys turns in the direction the crow flew. A melodic humming draws her attention back to the feathers.
In the trees and the waves, the wind creates strange shapes and faces -- like when one stares too long at patterned wallpaper.
A broken OAR lays beside the feathers. Alys takes the feathers and tosses them into the water around her. She grabs the oar and reaches it outside the canoe.
A large gust of wind redirects the boat. HUMMING grows louder, more orchestral.
Alys grips her bloody, sunken waist and leans her body half out the boat. She paddles on one side with the oar, the other with her arm.
CLOSE UP ON ALYS
Alys's face is crooked, rested on the side of the canoe. Her expression is unbreaking, unlike the SOUND of the water surface as she makes her way across the lake. She breathes in and out through her nose. Her eyes dart for a moment and then become expressionless once again.
A flock of birds passes overhead. Alys looks up and howls. The caked blood on her face cracks.
The canoe finds a rocky shore. Alys pulls herself out with one arm and collapses onto the jagged floor.
ALYS
Hee. Aw. Aw. Aw.
The sun is now fully risen.
Waves crash over and over again onto Alys's feet. Her leg jerks as she is pulled into the water again. Alys gasps and runs back to the shore. She stands up for the first time and washes off the blood.
Wind howls through the trees. She hears her name in the "SSSSSSSS" melody of the forest.
Alys steps onto a sand path between the shore and the forest. The MELODY grows louder. Alys disappears into the brush.
The WAVES overtake the shore, pulling the canoe back into the lake. It bobs out to the center of the water, overturns, and sinks.
EXT. FOREST - MORNING
Alys hikes carefully, her bare feet stepping over fallen logs and exposed rock. She grips her left arm to her stomach and walks with a hunch and slight limp.
The paths wind around and repeat. The MELODY is faint.
Alys breathes shakily in and out, glancing over her shoulder. She steps forward and trips over a BRANCH in her path. Alys lands on her right shoulder.
ALYS
(whispering)
Ah! Help. If you can hear me, help me. Can the fairies hear me? They're after me. What can you do. Am I me. I'm in the skids.
Alys shoves herself onto her stomach. She sticks her face into the mud below.
When she pulls her face up, she is holding a RUSTED TACKLE between her teeth. The force of her sudden laughter makes her head wound bleed lightly.
A cacophony of cooing crows, windchimes, and
faint singing grow louder. Alys spits out the tackle and pushes herself to stand.
ALYS
Ee. Gug. Guck.
She follows the sound of the singing. She glances around at each tree as if it is the source of the noise.
A branch snaps behind her. She stops walking. The MELODY surrounds her, disorienting her. Alys faces the sound of the broken branch where a SHACK now stands.
ALYS
You weren't here. Is this new.
The shack is the size of a wooden outhouse. The siding looks as if it was long-infested by termites. Moldy BUOYS and HOOKS hang from fishing line across the roof.
Alys looks down at herself. She considers covering up her naked body. She shakes her head, looks forward, then grunts loudly as if stating her presence. She steps toward the abandoned shack.
INT. ABANDONED SHACK
The door creaks open. Alys shoves it open fully, allowing the morning light to fill the window-less shack. The floor is covered in dirt and cobwebs. A shelf hangs on the side wall -- once a spot for fishing poles, now empty. A vanity covered in moss sits in the back corner.
The SINGING is loud, but the MELODY obscures the lyrics.
On the back wall hangs a large, circular mirror. On its left side is a left-facing crescent-shaped mirror. The right side is empty.
ALYS
Kree. Ya.
The light reflects off the mirrors, creating the appearance of a sunny world on the other side of the frame. Alys limps to the full moon.
ALYS
I'm looking. I'm. There's something for me. I just. I was alone.
Her hair still hangs limply against her, the blood fading away, but still stained red on her skin.
She reaches the mirror. She looks back at herself.
In the reflection, Alys is standing up straight. She has an innocent smile, and her hair hangs in curly locks framing her face. Her mouth moves with the melody.
The bloody Alys cries out. Her reflection dances in place and grabs an OAR from beyond our sight.
The clean, smiling Alys erupts into a frantic cawing. She brings the oar down upon her head.
The two women both sing along to the melody. The SOUND of metal and wood cracking. Then darkness.
EXT. CANOE - LAKE - NIGHT
The wooden canoe bobs back and forth in the silver moonlight. Carved on each side is a full moon surrounded by two crescents. A crow rests on the side of the boat.
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