Heartless

A short animation script about the desperation of a lonely man.

EXT. FOREST - NIGHT

 A MAN stands alone in the woods, weeping. 

BOY (V.O) 

Once upon a time there was a sad lonely man.

EXT. GRAVEYARD - NIGHT

 The man kneels beside two fresh graves. 

BOY (V.O) 

The lonely man wasn’t always sad.

 

EXT. FIELD - DAY

 Two bright figures dance and run with the man. 

BOY (V.O) 

He had a happy family once.

EXT. GRAVEYARD - NIGHT

 The man knells over two hallowed graves, weeping.

 BOY (V.O) 

But they were all gone now. 

INT. DINNING ROOM - NIGHT

 The man sits at a table set for three, alone. He stands in a sudden rage and pushes the dinnerware off the table. It smashes on the stone floor.

 BOY (V.O)

 The lonely man couldn’t bare his lonely life. 

INT. DINNING ROOM - DAY 

The house is bright and cheery, a bright female figure stands by the door, the man approaches and wraps his arms around her.

 BOY (V.O)

 The lonely man missed his wife. 

A small childlike figure runs into the door, clutching the man’s legs in a tight embrace. 

BOY (V.O)

 The lonely man missed his son.

INT. BEDROOM - NIGHT

 The man lies in an empty bed, clutching his chest. 

BOY (V.O) 

The lonely man was so lonely he decided that he couldn’t go on alone anymore. 

EXT. GRAVEYARD - NIGHT

 The man kneels before the two graves, holding something tightly to his chest. Slowly he opens his hands, a pair of red shards rest in his palms giving off a dull glow. He buries each one over the graves. 

BOY (V.O) 

So the lonely man took two pieces of his broken heart and buried them over his family... Then he made a quiet wish.

 

EXT. GRAVEYARD - NIGHT 

The man returns the next night and to his surprise two gray figures sit over the graves, a BOY and a WOMAN, their chests glow a bright red. The man joyously runs to them, embracing them both tightly. 

BOY (V.O) 

To his amazement when the lonely man returned his wife and son sat waiting for him. He happily embraced them, ignoring the stench of rot and death. 

INT. DINNING ROOM - NIGHT 

The man and his family sit happily at the table, though the woman and boy don’t eat.  

BOY (V.O)

 The man was finally happy again. But that happiness didn’t last.

INT. BEDROOM - DAY

 The man and the boy sit beside the large bed, in it lies the woman.

 

BOY (V.O)

 Soon the man’s wife grew ill. He could do nothing but watch as her glow faded and she grew sicker and sicker.

EXT. GRAVEYARD - NIGHT

 The man lies collapsed over a freshly dug grave, weeping.

 BOY (V.O)

 And so the lonely man watched his wife die once more.

INT. BEDROOM - DAY 

The boy now lies ill on the bed, the glow in his chest is dull, the man sits beside him, head bowed. 

BOY (V.O)

 When the Man’s son grew ill...

EXT. FOREST - NIGHT

 The man runs through the woods. 

BOY (V.O) 

He vowed that this time he would save him.

EXT. GRAVES - NIGHT

 The man sits by the two graves, digging with his hands.

BOY (V.O)

 So he returned to the graveyard and searched for the pieces of his broken heart.

The man pulls up nothing but dirt.

 

BOY (V.O)

 His wife’s shard was missing.

 

The man quickly goes to work on the second grave, digging until he comes upon a small red sliver, barely glowing at all. 

BOY (V.O)

 And his son’s was almost gone.

 The man ducks at the sound of cracking leaves and see’s another man walking through the graveyard.

 BOY (V.O)

 Suddenly... the lonely man had a despicable idea. 

The man attacks the second man. 

BOY (V.O)

 His son couldn’t live off only a piece of his broken heart.

 The man smiles, a small splash of blood staining his face. He slowly places a full beating heart into the ground with the sliver, it glows faintly. 

BOY (V.O) But what could a full heart do? 

EXT. FIELD - DAY 

The boy runs ahead of his father, chest glowing bright once more.

 BOY (V.O)

 When the man returned his son was healthier than ever.

 INT. DINNING ROOM - NIGHT 

The man eats dinner and watches his son across the table who still doesn’t eat, he frowns. 

BOY (V.O)

 But the boy still couldn’t eat, or sleep, or laugh. He still wasn’t truly alive.

 INT. BEDROOM - NIGHT 

The man lies awake in bed. 

BOY (V.O)

 The Lonely man wondered if just a heart could keep his son alive, what could more do?

 EXT. FOREST - NIGHT

 BOY (V.O) 

And so, each and every night the man went out to harvest. 

Begin Montage: 

--- The man chases a terrified figure through the woods 

--- The man stabs down into a victim, blood splatter covers him

. --- The man kills several more 

EXT. GRAVEYARD - NIGHT

 --- The man pushes more dirt over the small hole in the grave, he smiles 

End Montage: 

INT. DINNING ROOM - NIGHT 

BOY (V.O)

 With every new harvest the boy became healthier and healthier.

 The man smiles and ruffles the boy’s hair as the boy eats super. The man grabs a small knapsack and heads out the door. The boy frowns. 

BOY (V.O) 

But soon the boy began to wonder where his father went every night. 

The boy waits a few moments before getting up and peeking out the window, watching the man run into the woods. Quickly he sneaks out the door after him. 

 BOY (V.O) 

And so, one night, the boy followed him. 

EXT. GRAVEYARD - NIGHT

 The man crouched over a dead body, rummaging through the chest and neck. The boy stands hidden behind a tree a few feet away. Finally the man finds what he’s looking for and leaves with a bloody mass in his hands. The boy slowly follows.

 BOY (V.O)

 The boy watched as the man stole precious life...

 The man kneels beside the grave and digs, then satisfied drops the bloody mass into the hole before covering it once more. The boy watches soundlessly, then, confused, places a hand on his chest. The boy looks from his chest to the grave, the man stands and turns seeing the boy for the first time. 

BOY (V.O)

 And gave it to him. 

The man stands stunned as the boy approaches, speechless. The boy’s hand lurches forward, grabbing the man by the throat. He gasps in choked surprise before the boy yanks his arm back, tearing out the man’s throat. He coughs and chokes, stumbling to the ground. The boy clutches something in his hand, digging a hole over the grave before dropping it in and covering it with dirt. Slowly he stands and walks to the man’s side, crouching down beside him. As the man struggles for his last breath the boy leans in to whisper in his ear. 

BOY 

Once upon a time there was a sad lonely man... 

FADE OUT.

Author's Note

Wrote this for a class awhile ago, always liked it but never got it to final draft quality. Would really like to team up with an artist and make this someday, as unlikely as that is.

I'm thinking I'd like to have the boy mention the man didn't want the son to speak so he couldn't ask what was happening, but I'm not sure if I should or not.

Unfortunately despite having a screen writing genre option this site can't handle proper script formatting. I did my best copying from Celtix and editing in window, but those of you familiar with proper script formatting will have to bear with it.

Oh and (V.O) stands for voice over.

Reviews

[Leon C]

A really fantastic tale. Well done!

I'm not an expert on screenplays but I feel a little more description of the scenes is required. I think a line or two setting the scene might add some atmosphere.

[Coyote Poetry]

I'm not a expert on screen plays. I did like the story line. You create tempting situation and good characters.
Coyote

[Ghost]

this is an awesome screenplay. Keep it up!

[annalysiar]

Amazing. And real. The things we do for those we love. Great work.

[Rose Jaeger Kaneki]

wow, amazing! Love it!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

[McBear]

Hmm, this was very interesting. I liked it. Send out 35 read requests for this for you c: Thank you for sharing!