Cast: Molly Parker (link), Angela Parker (link)

Scene: Hyle (link)

INT. PARKER HOUSEHOLD - AFTERNOON

Angela Parker is sitting at a desk in her study, typing away on a typewriter. As she writes, she thinks aloud to herself.

ANGELA: "Once upon a time..." No, that doesn't work. "A long time ago..." No...

She shakes her head, trying to think of a better opening to her story, then looks around the room for inspiration. On the desk, just to the side of the typewriter, she sees a framed photograph of herself giving her daughter, Molly Parker, a piggyback ride. Just then, inspiration strikes her.

ANGELA: How about... "In a town on the edge of the woods, there lived a young girl, and her name was..."

EXT. WOODS - AFTERNOON

JACOB: Molly!

A young Molly Parker is exploring the woods alongside her friend Jacob. Jacob is visibly distressed and calls out to Molly, who turns around to face him.

MOLLY: What is it, Jacob?

JACOB: Are you sure this is a good idea?

MOLLY: Relax, Jacob. I've been to these woods a bajillion times!

Jacob stammers, trying his best to hide his anxiety.

JACOB: B-But it's getting dark... I think we should head back.

MOLLY: Oh, come on! Quit being such a crybaby!

Jacob steps back, upset by the words of his friends. His eyes begin tearing up, and he runs off into the woods sobbing.

MOLLY: Jacob, wait!

Molly takes off after Jacob, but he loses her. A while later, while searching the woods, she hears the sound of sobbing coming from behind a log.

MOLLY: Jacob?

JACOB: Molly?

MOLLY: There you are.

The two of them share a caring hug.

JACOB: Sorry for being such a crybaby.

MOLLY: No, you're right. We should be heading back now. Sorry that I yelled at you.

With that, the two begin to make their way back to town.

EXT. PARKER HOUSEHOLD - EVENING

Back at home, Molly finds her mother waiting patiently outside to greet her.

ANGELA: Welcome back, pumpkin! Did you have fun on your adventure?

MOLLY: Yeah!

ANGELA: I'm glad to hear it. Now, why don't you come inside? I'm making those mini pies that you like.

MOLLY: You're the best, Ma.

INT. PARKER HOUSEHOLD - NIGHT

ANGELA: "She was a kind soul with a brave heart, but in every other sense was just like anyone else. And, while nobody knew it just yet, one day, she was destined for great things."

Angela is putting the finishing touches on her story when she hears Molly calling from her bedroom.

MOLLY: Maaaa!

Angela walks into the bedroom, where Molly is lying awake in bed.

ANGELA: What's wrong, pumpkin?

MOLLY: I can't sleep.

ANGELA: Oh, you poor thing! Want me to read you a story?

MOLLY: Yes, please.

Angela reaches for the bookshelf but then stops, having had another idea. She sits herself just next to Molly on the bed and begins to tell a brand new story.

ANGELA: Right, let's see... "Once upon a time..."

The Hero's Bride

...there lived a hero. He wasn't a charming prince or a noble knight (although he was no less noble and no less charming), but he was a hero all the same. And while everywhere he went the Hero was loved and adored by all, none could have him to their own, for none could tame his wild heart which longed only for the horizon.

Until that is, he met a young woman living in a town on the edge of the woods. She worked as a pawnbroker, running her father's shop that he had grown too old to run himself, but her true passion was to be a storyteller. The two spoke for hours and hours, and by the end of the day the hero knew that she was to be his bride, and she knew it too.

So, one day, as the sun was setting, the hero bent his knee to her and presented her with a beautiful golden ring that sparkled in the twilight.

"Will you marry me?" the hero asked. "Will you be mine, and let me be yours, forever until the end of time?"

The woman hesitated for a moment, then gave her answer. "No," she said. "As much as my heart longs for you, yours is a wild heart, and I must first be sure that it longs only for me."

"Then let me prove my love to you," the proclaimed. "Let me slay a dragon in your name, and bring you its hoard as a token of my love. Whatever you ask of me, I shall do for you."

"Then come to me tomorrow at the break of dawn."

And so, as the sun rose the next day, the hero came to the home of his bride-to-be, where she was waiting for him in her garden.

"This is the garden, where I grow my fruits and vegetables," she said. "But, as of late, it has been overrun with weeds. Would you be so kind as to remove them for me?"

"Are they man-eating weeds?" the hero asked. "The kind that bites your fingers off if you aren't careful?"

"No," the woman answered, "just pigweeds."

The hero was puzzled, but he got to work nonetheless. He dug, and he cut, and he pulled, until at the end of the day there was not a single weed to be found in that garden.

"So," said the hero, wiping dirt from his hands, "have I proven my love to you yet?"

"Not yet," the woman replied. "Come back tomorrow at the break of dawn."

And so, as the sun rose the next day, the hero came to the home of his bride-to-be, where she led him inside and into the cellar.

"This is where I store the stock for my father's shop," she said. "However, as of late, it has been overrun by rats. Would you be so kind as to get rid of them for me?"

"Are they giant rats?" the Hero asked. "As big as house cats with teeth and claws like sharpened knives?"

"Just regular rats," the woman answered. "Although some of them might have ticks."

The hero was bemused, but he got to work nonetheless. He trapped, and he chased, and he caught, until at the end of the day there was not a single rat to be found in that cellar.

"So," said the hero, pulling a tick from his arm, "have I proven my love to you yet?"

"Almost," the woman replied. "Come back tomorrow at the break of dawn."

And so, as the sun rose the next day, the hero came to the home of his bride-to-be, where she gave him his final task.

"My father has a package for me," she said, "however, he lives so far away, and we have no money for a courier. Would you be so kind as to deliver it to me?"

"Will it be a long and arduous journey?" the hero asked. "Will I travel for days and nights both there and back?"

"No," the woman answered. "It's just a few hours north of here."

The hero was perplexed, but nonetheless, he got on his horse and began his journey. He rode until the sun was shining high in the sky, but eventually came to the home of the young woman's father.

"So," said the old man, handing over a small box wrapped in parchment paper, "you must be the man to whom my daughter will be wed."

"I hope to be,"

"Well, for what it's worth, young man, you have my blessing."

"Thank you," said the hero, before getting back on his horse.

The sun was setting by the time he made his return and, though his heart was racing with anticipation, his mind was racked by a single burning question.

"Why?" the hero asked his love. "Why did you ask me to prove my love, only to give me such menial tasks?"

The woman smiled as she took the package from his hands. "If I had sent you on some grand adventure to prove your love, it would only prove that you love adventure. Only a task without glory or danger would prove your love for me. And now, it has."

As she spoke, she began to unwrap the package, revealing a small wooden box. She bent her knee as she opened it, presenting the hero with a plain copper ring that glimmered in the twilight.

"Will you marry me?" she asked. "Will you be mine, and let me be yours, forever until the end of time?"

The hero laughed as he took the ring from the box, and placed it on his finger. "Yes. Yes, I will."

INT. PARKER HOUSEHOLD - NIGHT

ANGELA: "...and they lived happily ever after. The end."

Molly is now fast asleep. Angela kisses her on the forehead as she tucks her in.

ANGELA: Good night, pumpkin. I'll see you in the morning.

Angela leaves the room, turning back to get one last look at her slumbering daughter before closing the door.

EXT. CEMETERY - NIGHT

MOLLY: "Happily ever after?" Yeah, right. We both know how that story really ended.

In the present day, the crackle of thunder fills the air as the rain pours down heavily. Molly, now a young adult, sits crosslegged at the foot of a recently filled grave. She is wearing a traveler's cloak and has a knapsack slung over her back. The epitaph on the gravestone reads:

Angela Parker

Tamer of Wild Hearts

Molly addresses the gravestone.

MOLLY: Hey, Ma. It's me, Molly. Just thought I'd pop in. Say goodbye one last time.

The gravestone does not respond.

MOLLY: I'm leaving. Hyle... it just doesn't feel like home anymore. Not without you.

The gravestone remains silent.

MOLLY: I haven't figured out where I'm going yet. But I don't think I can stay here.

Molly wraps her arms around the gravestone, as if in a hug, and begins sobbing. She stays there for a while, tears running down her cheek and mixing with the rain. Finally, she whispers:

MOLLY: I miss you, Ma,

before getting up and walking away.

As Molly approaches the edge of the woods, she takes one last look at the small town she used to call home.

MOLLY: (thinking) This is probably a bad idea. But, it's the only one I've got.

With that, she takes her first step out of the known world and into the unknown.

END.