How-to

 INT - NIGHT

Abby (30, F) Sits on the couch at home surfing the web while sipping a glass of wine. The TV is on, but she’s really got her focus on a “how-to” style video on youtube about how to deal with grief. Realizing its getting late, she pauses the video and gets up to go to the bathroom, She stumbles her way through the living room, keeping just enough balance to get her to the next room. As she’s finishing up washing her hands, she takes a moment to check her teeth for wine stains. This brief look in the mirror makes her pause, now staring straight into her own soul through the reflection. As soon as she notices herself doing this, she shuts the light off in the bathroom and stands still in the darkness for a second. She walks back into the living room to collect her things and start getting ready for bed. She finishes the glass of wine, shuts the laptop, and turns the TV off.

Abby tidies up around the house, taking her time making sure all of the lights are shut off around the house. As she walks towards her bedroom, she notices that the door to her spare room is slightly cracked. Abby cant help but pause and stare into the room for a bit. It’s hard for her to even look at first, but once she does, it’s even harder to look away. She gets caught in a daze staring in the vertical black strip. She comes back to reality and quickly shuts the door. She hops into her bed and falls asleep.

In the middle of the night, her phone rings a few times, eventually waking her up from her wine-induced snooze. She collects herself and answers half asleep. “Hello.” No response. Just static on the other line. Trying to wake herself up a little more, she speaks again, a little louder this time. “Helloooo?” Still no response. She hangs up, puts her phone on the nightstand, and gets comfortable under the covers again. A few seconds pass, the phone rings again. She answers this time, now frustrated and annoyed.

Abby

Stop fucking calling me.

This feels a little out of character for Abby, so she takes a beat and listens for a response. Through the static, she hears faint sounds. Is it just a different frequency of static? Is it a voice? Abby calls out again. “Hello?”. This time, the response comes in a little more clearly. What Abby hears now catches her attention. She sits up.

Abby

I can’t really hear you.

She pauses and listens closely this time, pressing the phone closer to her hear. The static increases, until a voice slowly emerges from the noise. It’s her own voice repeating back to her: “Stop fucking calling me.” but with a different tone and inflection this time, as if a different version of her is on the other line. This sends chills down Abby’s spine. She looks around the room, confused if this is even real or not. Before she can make sense of whats happening, the voice speaks again. This time repeating the last words from the video she was watching earlier. Almost as if its mocking her.

Voice

Grief is a natural response commonly triggered by trauma, loss, death, or any other major life altering- I can’t really hear you- events that rid you of something you once loved. Although it may seem hard, you can always remind yourself that it is completely natural to feel these emotions and is healthy to express them to your friends and famil-

Abby

Stop fucking calling me!

Abby slams her phone down on the nightstand, causing all of the lights begin to flicker in the room and the TV lighting up with nothing but a bright black screen. Abby screams in fear, having no idea what is going on. If this is a dream, it feels way too real.. The voice now comes through the speakers of the TV at full volume.

Voice

Family. Having a network who can act as a shoulder to lean on when you’re feeling blue can be- Leave me the fuck alone- really helpful in those dark, dark times. Go to a park! Warm sunshine and and wind in your hair has been clinically proven to help reduce stress and depression.

As this is happening, Abby is crying and begging for this thing to stop now. She tries to interrupt the voice - no success. She tries to unplug the TV - doesn’t work. Drained of energy, she weeps and pleads for it to stop, falling to her knees.

Voice

Time will pass regardless of- Please stop!- what you do, so ask yourself; Do you really want to live your whole life like this? Of course not! I’m living proof that time heals all wounds. You just need to enjoy things again! Get out there and- Please please please please- spark up a conversation with a random person, go to a movie alone, or do something that just gets your mind off things for a little bit.

Suddenly, everything stops. The lights shut off with the TV, and the silence sets back in, bringing her attention back to her own cries. She looks around in horror realizing the state she’s in as tears finish falling from her face. She curls up into a ball where she is and lies on the ground and tries to go back to sleep.