Copyright by Amy E. Lilly 2025
Fade In:
EXT. BLACK CANYON NATIONAL PARK – DAWN
A large, new RV crawls along the empty road, headlights cutting through the pre-dawn mist.
INT. RV – CONTINUOUS
MARIE HENDERSON (56) hollow-eyed and pale, grips the steering wheel. Her wedding ring catches the dim light.
SCOTT (V.O.)
(memory)
Just think of it, babe. You and me visiting every national park in America. We finally get to be wandering nomads.Marie’s eyes drift to a carved wooden box secured in the passenger seat. A bottle of sleeping pills rests beside it.
She pulls into the deserted overlook and cuts the engine.
MARIE
(whispers)
We made it, Scott. You and me.A photograph falls from the visor: Marie and Scott (57), both smiling, him holding up RV keys. The photo hits the dashboard before tumbling to the floorboard.
INT. RV – DAY (MEMORY/FLASHBACK)
Scott guides Marie to the driver’s seat of the new RV.
SCOTT
Relax, babe. You've got this. Just remember it's wider and longer than you think.
MARIE
That's what I'm afraid of.
SCOTT
I'll be right beside you the whole way. Every park, every road. Even when you're cursing my name because I talked you into this crazy adventure.
MARIE
(softening)
Promise?
SCOTT
Till death do us part. And even then, I'll haunt this RV if I have to.INT. RV – PRESENT DAY – DAWN
Marie stares blankly at the fallen photograph. She doesn’t pick it up.
MARIE
(bitter whisper)
Liar.She gathers the wooden box, tucks the bottle of pills into the pocket of her jacket, takes one last look at the RV’s interior and steps out into the darkness.
Marie takes a deep breath and walks down the path to the canyon. She looks around and settles on a spot farther down the path away from the tourist overlook. She stops and clutches the wooden box to her chest.
She opens the box, revealing Scott’s ashes. With trembling hands, she stands and steps closer to the edge.
MARIE
(whispering)
Our last adventure.Marie tips the box forward and attempts to scatter the ashes over the canyon. A sudden gust of wind catches them and blows them back into her face and clothes. She stumbles backward, coughing.
MARIE
Damn it, Scott! Even now you're not making this any easier.She brushes at her clothes and tears form in her eyes-from ashes or emotions. She sits down at the cliff’s edge. She pulls out her bottle of pills and starts to open it.
A rock skitters across the ground near her. Marie looks up.
ELLIE (15) walks down the path and sits down. She’s dressed in black jeans and a black hoodie. She has a lip piercing and it’s clear from her blonde roots that she’s dyed her hair black. She kicks her legs and looks out across the canyon, oblivious to Marie’s distress.
Marie slips the bottle of pills back into her pocket.
MARIE
(grumpy)
Sunrise isn't for another twenty minutes or so.
ELLIE
(nonchalant)
I know. I like to get here before the tourists.
MARIE
There's plenty of canyon. About 30,000 acres of it.
ELLIE
Sure. But this is the only spot without safety rails.Marie’s head snaps toward Ellie, suddenly alert.
MARIE
That's a strange thing to say.
ELLIE
Just an observation. I come here a lot. But you. I don't think you're a regular.
MARIE
(a little annoyed)
I've come here before. A long time ago.
(sadly)
A lifetime ago.Ellie swings her legs around and moves closer to Marie. Marie gives her a sideways glance, clearly annoyed, but Ellie doesn’t seem to notice.
ELLIE
Did you come by yourself?Marie hesitates. Her expression indicates she wants to tell this teenager.
MARIE
Yes. No. I mean I came here a long time ago on my honeymoon.
(gestures to the wooden box)
Now it's just...what's left of him.
ELLIE
Oh. That's his ashes?Marie nods looking a little surprised by Ellie’s directness.
ELLIE
(fidgeting with her hoodie string)
How'd he die?
MARIE
A heart attack. Six months ago.
(defensive)
You ask a lot of questions.
ELLIE
(shrugs)
My mom says I have no filter.
(studies Marie's face)
You look super tired.
MARIE
(bitter laugh)
I haven't slept in days.
ELLIE
Insomnia?
MARIE
Something like that. I've always been a light sleeper. Scott snored like a chainsaw. I used to complain about it all the time. Tried wearing earplugs, but I could still hear him...
ELLIE
And now it's too quiet?Marie gives Ellie a sharp look.
MARIE
How old are you?
ELLIE
Sixteen. Almost seventeen.
(looks at her phone)
You traveling in that RV? Looks pretty sweet.Marie’s hand tightens around the wooden box.
MARIE
It was supposed to be our retirement. We were going to visit every national park. I always dreamed of traveling...
(bitterly)
He had a heart attack a month after we bought it.
ELLIE
(quietly)
That sucks.A silence falls between them as the sun rises and begins to touch the canyon walls.
ELLIE
(suddenly)
So what's your plan after this?
MARIE
Plan?Ellie gestures toward the ashes, then the canyon.
ELLIE
After you do this. Where you heading?Marie stares out at the canyon and avoids Ellie’s question.
ELLIE (CONT'D)
(pulls out a granola bar, takes a bite)
My mom's boyfriend makes these gross protein shakes every morning. Whole kitchen smells like rotten banana mixed with ass.
(rolls her eyes)
Had to get out before I puked.
MARIE
(surprised)
Your mom knows you're out here?
ELLIE
(snorts)
Naw. Mom's still passed out. Friday is her "wine night" with her boyfriend.
(with air quotes)
She won't even notice I'm gone till noon.Marie looks at Ellie more closely.
MARIE
You do this often? Come here by yourself?
ELLIE
(shrugs)
Beats listening to them fight. Or worse, making up.
(makes a gagging noise)
Our walls are super thin.
MARIE
Still... it's not safe--
ELLIE
When my brother died, I didn't eat for, like, three days.
(casual, but glances at Marie to gauge her reaction)
My mom totally freaked.Marie’s head snaps toward Ellie. She frowns.
MARIE
Your brother died?
ELLIE
(nods and looks out at the canyon)
Two years ago.Marie stays silent and waits for Ellie to continue, but Ellie munches on her granola bar and swings her legs.
MARIE
I'm sorry.
ELLIE
(shrugs)
It is what it is.
(beat)
So... your RV. Is it hard to drive? It looks pretty complicated.
MARIE
It... Scott taught me. Before.
ELLIE
That's cool. So you can just, like, go anywhere?
(wistful)
Must be nice to have an escape plan that actually works.Marie’s face tightens as she clutches the pill bottle in her pocket.
MARIE
Why are you really here?
ELLIE
(defensive)I told you. My mom’s boyfriend–
MARIE
No. This exact spot. Without railings.Ellie falls silent and her tough teen facade cracks slightly.
A PARK RANGER’s TRUCK appears in the distance. Its headlights are visible on the approach road.
ELLIE
(noticing the truck)
They do early patrols to check for overnight campers.Marie looking panicked, glances between the truck, the pocket where her pills are, and the box of ashes. She jumps up.
MARIE
(suddenly urgent)
I need to finish this.
ELLIE
(standing quickly)
Wait--
MARIE
I don't need an audience for this. Please.
ELLIE
(dropping the casual act)
My brother jumped from this exact spot.Marie freezes. The ranger’s truck parks. A door opens in the distance.
MARIE
(voice barely audible)
What?
ELLIE
(eyes fixed on the canyon)
Two years, three months, and six days ago. Right where you're standing.Marie instinctively takes a step back from the edge.
ELLIE
I found his note. He said the view was worth it. He wanted the last thing he saw to be beautiful.
MARIE
Jesus...
ELLIE
I come here a lot. Especially when I can't sleep.
(beat)
But I'm not the only one who can't sleep, am I?Marie’s hand moves to her pocket where the pill bottle is.
ELLIE
Those aren't just regular sleeping pills.It’s not a question. Marie doesn’t answer.
The RANGER appears in the distance and walks the path with a flashlight.
ELLIE
(quietly)
I know what an exit plan looks like.Marie sinks back down.
MARIE
(whispers)
How?
ELLIE
That bottle in your pocket. My mom has the same ones.
(bitter)
She started taking them after Aaron jumped. Mixes them with wine most nights.
(looks at the canyon edge)
They put warning labels on Tide Pods but they sell those over the counter.
MARIE
You don't understand--
ELLIE
(interrupting, suddenly intense)
I understand exactly. You think I haven't thought about it? Following him? My mom is drunk half the time. Her loser boyfriend is moving in. No one remembers Aaron even existed.
MARIE
(defensive)
It's different. I'm--
ELLIE
Older? So that makes it okay?The ranger spots them and changes direction.
MARIE
(desperate)
I have nothing left. No one waiting. No kids. The RV was our dream together.
ELLIE
(fighting tears)
Aaron said that nobody would miss him.
(voice breaking)
He was wrong.The sun breaks across the canyon and transforms the darkness into deep reds and oranges.
ELLIE
I started coming here to understand why. Then to be mad at him.
(looks directly at Marie)
Now I come because sometimes I see people like you.
MARIE
(stunned)
Like me?
ELLIE
People who think they're invisible. Who come to the spots without railings.
(beat)
You're the fifth person I've met here like this.
MARIE
(stunned)
Fifth?
ELLIE
The fifth person I've talked to who was thinking about...
(she glances at the edge)
...who changed their mind.
RANGER
(calling from a distance)
Morning, ladies! Beautiful sunrise today.Marie quickly wipes her eyes and clutches the wooden box tighter.
ELLIE
(to Marie, low and urgent)
Please. I can't walk away from you.The ranger approaches then turns off his flashlight.
RANGER
(friendly)
You folks are early birds! Are you here for the sunrise?Marie stares at the wooden box in her hands, then at Ellie, whose eyes silently plead.
MARIE
(finding her voice)
Yes. My husband always wanted to see it from here.She holds up the wooden box slightly. The ranger nods respectfully.
RANGER
I'm sorry for your loss, ma'am. It's a beautiful place to remember someone.
(to Ellie)
Are you her daughter?
ELLIE
Just a friend.The ranger tips his hat.
RANGER
I'll give you folks some space. Just stay behind the marker stones, please.He walks a respectful distance away but remains visible.
Marie looks at the canyon now glowing with morning light. She opens the wooden box.
MARIE
(quietly)
I don't know how to do this without you, Scott.
ELLIE
One day at a time. That's what my school counselor says.
(small smile)
She's kind of a walking bumper sticker, but sometimes she's right.Marie takes a deep breath and gently tips the box. This time, the ashes float beautifully away from her.
MARIE
(watching them go)
Goodbye, Scott.She turns to Ellie as she reaches into her pocket. She pulls out the bottle and stares at it for a long moment.
ELLIE
What are you going to do with those?
MARIE
I'm not sure I can sleep without them.
ELLIE
Maybe you're not supposed to. Not yet.Marie walks to the edge of the path and empties the pills into the dirt and then grinds them under her heel.
ELLIE
(relieved)
So... what are you doing to do now?
MARIE
(looking toward the RV)
I don't know. But I think Scott would be pissed if I didn't use that gas-guzzling monstrosity to see at least a few national parks.
ELLIE
Where will you go first?
MARIE
I was thinking Grand Teton. Scott always talked about it.
(hesitant)
Would you... would you want a postcard?
ELLIE
(surprised, then genuine)
Yeah. I would.They exchange information. Marie puts Ellie’s address in her phone.
MARIE
I probably won't sleep tonight.
ELLIE
Me neither.They stand together and watch the sun fully rise over the canyon.
MARIE
Maybe that's okay.
FADE OUT.: 