MAILMAN

A MAILMAN THAT HAS JUST BEEN MOVED TO A NEW ROUTE JUMPS OUT OF HIS TRUCK AND SLINGS HIS BAG AROUND HIS SHOULDER EARLY IN THE EVENING ON A FALL DAY. HE BEGINS TO WALK UP THE STEPS OF A SMALL, LEANING HOUSE WITH SHINGLES SLIDING OFF OF THE ROOF. THERE ARE NO CARS IN THE DRIVEWAY, AND THE HOUSE ITSELF IS AN UGLY SHADE OF COFFEE BROWN. HE CLIMBS UP THE WOBBLY STEPS AND REACHES FOR THEIR MAIL IN HIS BAG.

MAILMAN: Good God. (He sees the mailbox is overflowing with letters, magazines, and packages, from Women's Weekly to the local newspaper). How do people live like this?
(He reaches into his bag and pulls out a couple knitting magazines, stuffing them into the mailbox, and quickly leaves the broken down house.)

THE MAILMAN FINALLY FINISHES WITH HIS SHIFT AND PULLS INTO HIS DRIVEWAY. THE SUN IS STARTING TO SET, AND HE CAN SEE HIS WIFE IN THE KITCHEN WINDOW AND HIS DAUGHTER BESIDE HER. HE UNLOCKS THE DOOR AND DROPS HIS EMPTY BAG TO THE FLOOR.

WIFE: Steven, is that you? Oh, finally. We were starting to wonder if you were ever going to make it home.
STEVEN: (chuckling, giving her a quick kiss). I was beginning to wonder that myself.
(His daughter, just six years old, flings herself at her father.)
GENEVIEVE: You're home! How was your new neighborhood?
STEVEN: Hey, munchkin! (He wraps her into a big hug.) It was . . . good.
GENEVIEVE: Can I ride in the mail truck someday with you Daddy?
STEVEN: (suddenly, the image of the crooked house with the piles and piles of mail enters his mind). Maybe someday, peanut.

LATER, WHEN STEVEN AND HIS WIFE ARE LAYING IN BED. THE LIGHTS ARE DIMMED AND HE IS STARING AT THE CEILING.

STEVEN: You know, there was one strange house that I went to. I don't really know what to think about it.
LAYLA: (groggily). What do you mean?
STEVEN: (pausing). Well — it just gave off a bad vibe. I don't really know how to describe it.
LAYLA: (breathing slowly). Mhm.
STEVEN: I guess I'm just overthinking it. (He shuts off the light on his bedside table, and goes to sleep.)

A FEW WEEKS PASS. IT IS EARLY IN THE MORNING. STEVEN HAS ADJUSTED TO HIS NEW ROUTE BUT, EVEN AS THE SEASONS PASS, THERE IS STILL NO CAR IN THE CROOKED HOUSE'S DRIVEWAY. THE LETTERS HAVE REACHED THE POINT WHERE HE HAS TO PUT THEM ON THE PORCH BECAUSE HE CANNOT FIT THEM IN THE MAILBOX.

STEVEN: (muttering to himself). What in the world? Should I notify somebody, is this even part of my job? I . . .
(He notices that the door is slightly ajar, something he's never noticed before. After a moment of hesitation, he clutched his mail bag and reached for the door.)
STEVEN: Hello? Is there anyone here?
(A soft, scratchy record is playing somewhere in the distance above him. It is an old song, an Elvis song he recognizes as Love Me Tender, and as he continues to walk into the house and up the creaking stairs to the second floor, the sound grows stronger - along with a soft humming coinciding with it.)

THE INSIDE OF THE HOUSE IS SPOTLESS. THE FLOORS LOOKS AS IF THEY'RE POLISHED AND WAXED, THE COUNTERTOPS SHINY, AND CARPETS LOOK NEW. THE WALLPAPER IS A DARK GREEN AND BROWN COLOR, PATTERNED AND SUFFOCATING. THE CLOCK ON THE WALL IS FROZEN AT 2:53, AND THE ONLY THING NOT PUT AWAY IS A SET OF TEACUPS ON THE LARGE, WOODEN TABLE.

STEVEN: Is somebody there?
OLD WOMAN: (singing). love me tender, love me dear, tell me you are mine . . .
STEVEN: Hello?
OLD WOMAN: (still singing). I'll be yours through all the years, 'til the end of time.
(Steven freezes and peers into the large bedroom at the end of the hall at the top of the stairs. He sees a frail old woman with thin, pulled back gray hair, clutching a doll, humming and stroking it's face. She is wearing a large sweater, and has not noticed Steven yet. He walks closer, and suddenly the floor creaks below him.)
OLD WOMAN: (croaking out). Eleanor, is that you?
(Steven steps into the bedroom and enters the frail woman's vision for the first time.)
OLD WOMAN: (with a blank look of confusion, scanning Steven up and down, starting to yell). HELP! HELP ME!
STEVEN: Woah, I'm not going to hurt you, I was just making sure you were safe, I saw your mail -
OLD WOMAN: ELEANOR! HELP ME!
STEVEN: (beginning to panic). No, ma'am, it's alright, I'm not going to hurt you! (He takes a step closer to her, unsure of what to do.)
OLD WOMAN: ELEANOR, HELP ME! HE IS TRYING TO TAKE MY BABY! ELEANOR, ELEANOR, PLEASE, HELP ME!
(Steven starts to run down the stairs, instantly regretting his decision to check on the house. He sees the old woman's neighbor in pajamas and a bathrobe with a phone in her hands, staring right at him.)
STEVEN: (nervously shouting, leaving the house). I'm- I'm sorry, I've been delivering mail to this house for a few weeks and I've seen all the mail just keep piling up, and then the woman started screaming, and I didn't know what to do-
(The neighbor walks towards him).
NEIGHBOR: I'm sorry, I already called the cops. I saw the door was open and I was afraid Gloria had left again.
STEVEN: Gloria? Is that the old woman?
NEIGHBOR: Yes, Gloria lives there. She's lived there for as long as I can remember.
STEVEN: I'm sorry, I didn't realize, there were no cars in the driveway and the mail just kept piling up.
NEIGHBOR: It's alright . . . After she lost her husband, she shut herself in that house. I haven't seen her in years . . . Sometimes her sister comes to check on her. I actually haven't seen her in a long time . . .
(A cop car speeds into sight, lights blazing.)
COP: What's the problem here? Has Gloria left again?
NEIGHBOR: No, she's fine. She has a new mailman and he thought something was wrong, I called you because I thought she'd left again too.
STEVEN: I'm sorry, I should've called the cops first, this is my fault-
NEIGHBOR: It's fine, it's just a good thing she didn't escape.
STEVEN: Escape?
NEIGHBOR: Well . . . Before her husband died, Gloria ended up getting diagnosed with alzheimer's. She tried to leave so many times and would just wander the streets, lost and alone.
COP: I got to know Gloria a lot when she started her wandering. I usually led the searches. Her sister used to care for her and grocery shop for her after Gloria's husband died, but I just saw a eulogy in the paper for Eleanor a few months ago.
NEIGHBOR: That poor woman. I didn't know her sister died.
COP: I believe there's a woman that now brings her food and checks in on her now and again. She really should be put in a nursing home, but she has no one left to do it.
STEVEN: She was yelling for Eleanor to help her, but . . . She kept saying "don't take my baby?" What the hell was that about?
NEIGHBOR: When she was younger, she lost her daughter. The poor girl was only a child.
COP: Had the whole town looking for her. An abduction case. We never found her.
STEVEN: Oh. (He glances back at the tilting house). I'm sorry about the whole situation, I just grew worried about it all. I should've called the police earlier, I apologize.
GLORIA: (weakly from the front steps of the house). Harold?
NEIGHBOR: (in a whisper). I haven't seen her in years. (she pauses.) Harold was her husband's name.
COP: Ma'am, everything's alright, you can go back inside.
Gloria: (walking closer to Steven, doll in her hand). Harold, is that you?
STEVEN: Uh, I'm- I'm n-
GLORIA: (tears forming). Harold, I've missed you. Where have you been?
STEVEN: (nervously glancing at the Cop and the neighbor, unsure of what to do). Gloria, Harold is d-
NEIGHBOR: Right here! (giving Steven a little push towards her, starting to whisper to Steven). Just go with it, maybe have tea with her. I think that'd make her really happy.
(Steven agrees, and gives Gloria a hug, her tears soaking through his mailman uniform. He sees the doll she had been cradling was left on the steps.)

A FEW MORE WEEKS GO BY. STEVEN HAS BEGUN GREETING GLORIA AND BRINGS HER MAIL IN FOR HER. OCCASIONALLY SHE MAKES HIM A CUP OF TEA.

STEVEN: (knocking). Gloria, are you there? It's Harold.
GLORIA: Oh, Harold, there you are! (welling up with tears). I had started wondering where you'd gone! Let me get you some tea, you must be freezing.
STEVEN: I'd love some tea. Here's some mail I picked up from outside, and it looks like you've gotten a few christmas cards.
GLORIA: Oh, goodness, I just love seeing those. Dear, could you help me hang some of my lights up? I have a hard time carrying it all, and I can't remember where I put my tree . . .
STEVEN: Of course, here, let me go look in the attic right now. (He goes through some boxes and pulls out a fake tree, setting it up in her pristine living room. He glances at a few of her photographs on the mantle).
GLORIA: Thank you, Harold.
STEVEN: These pictures are . . . (He picks up a frame, glancing at a younger Gloria with her arms around the real Harold, her eyes lighting up). They're special.
GLORIA: That's when we went to that, uh . . . Oh, gosh, it's on the tip of my tongue.
STEVEN: I love that picture. Hey, Gloria, I haven't seen your baby in a while, where is she?
GLORIA: What baby? (blankly.) Your tea is on the table.

A FEW MONTHS LATER. STEVEN IS DROPPING THE MAIL OFF ONCE MORE AND HEADS INSIDE TO SEE GLORIA.

STEVEN: Hey, Gloria?
GLORIA: (in a croaky voice). Who is that? Eleanor, is that you?
STEVEN: No, it's me, Harold.
GLORIA: (coming into sight, a cane in her hand, her eyes glassy and looking lost). Who?
STEVEN: (glancing at the nurse, who is now with Gloria 24/7). How is she today?
NURSE: Not as bad. She didn't refuse breakfast this morning.
STEVEN: That's an improvement. (To Gloria.) Gloria, it's Harold, you don't remember?
GLORIA: I - I don't . . .
STEVEN: (grabbing the picture on the mantle of Harold and Gloria). Gloria, look, it's you and Haro- I mean, you and me. Do you remember?
(Gloria just looks emotionless at Steven, then at the nurse, and then finally at the picture. Her eyes seem to slightly well up in tears, but it doesn't seem like she knows why.)

STEVEN PULLS THE MAIL TRUCK UP NEXT TO THE TILTED HOUSE OVER A YEAR AFTER HE STARTED HIS NEW ROUTE. HE NOTICES A FORECLOSURE SIGN ON THE FRONT LAWN. HIS HEART SINKS. HE SEES GLORIA'S NURSE, AND RUSHES TOWARDS HER.

STEVEN: Where's Gloria? Is she okay?
NURSE: She left this for "Harold" . . . (points).

Steven glances to where the Nurse was pointing to see Gloria's doll sitting by the mailbox.

THE END