Kaji: Still Their Girl
FADE IN
Act 1
INT. LIVING ROOM/CORRIDOR - MORNING
Sunlight pools on the floor. KAJI sits posed by her now-emptied food bowl. She gives it one last lick.
She trots towards the bedroom.
KAJI (V.O.): It's a sanctuary of cool air and human warmth.
PETER holds the bedroon door for her.
PETER: Come back in, girl? One last snooze?
KAJI (V.O.):It's a clear invitation.
Kaji takes a step forward, then stops.
KAJI (V.O.) (Cont'd): The bedroom is a closed-off world. The living room, though warm, is the place where things happen.
She looks from Peter's expectant face to the empty sofa, then back to the dark bedroom. She turns.
Peter watches, a little confused, then shrugs and gently closes the bedroom door.
Act 2
INT. LIVING ROOM - AFTERNOON
The light has shifted. Kaji has been dozing, but her ears are always alert.
Footsteps. The sounds of keys jingling. Kaji's head snaps up. The PACK LEADER and Peter are at the door.
KAJI (V. O.): Stay home. Be a good girl.
The door opens. They step out.
KAJI (V.O.) (Cont'd): The house is silent again. But this is a different silence. It's a waiting silence.
MONTAGE: Kaji waits.
A. The patch of sunlight from the window moves across the floor.
B. She changes positions. From the sofa to the door. From the door back to the sofa.
C. Her ears perk up at every distant sound. Every footstep from the lift lobby.
END MONTAGE
Later, the key turns in the lock. Kaji scrambles to her feet. The Pack Leader and Peter walk in. They pet her warmly.
KAJI (V.O.) (Cont'd): My world is made of smells and sounds and the weight of their hands on my fur. When those things disappear-even for awhile - I feel it like a storm...
But then they drift. The Pack Leader goes to the kitchen. Peter walks to the piano in a corner and begins to play.
KAJI (V.O.) (Cont'd): The piano plays. The kitchen smells of garlic. I understand that I'm not the only one making the rules. I never was.
Kaji stands by the front door, her leash hanging on its hook. She trots to the kitchen. The Pack Leader is chopping vegetables with intense focus.
KAJI (V.O.) (Cont'd): I can't ask questions. I can't demand answers. I can only stare at humans with hopeful eyes and hope they understand...
PACK LEADER: Not today. I'm busy.
KAJI (V.O.) (Cont'd): And somehow, they always do understand.
Kaji looks very disappointed.
KAJI (V.O.): I also understand. The riverside park isn't happening. The evening walk is cancelled. They're going to a dinner party next door.
Later, the Pack Leader and Peter leave, without taking Kaji with them.
KAJI (V.O.) (Cont'd): They leave. They return. They leave again. I've learned that coming back is the truest proof of love. Anyone can walk out the door. Only the devoted find their way back.
Later, the Pack Leader and Peter return, carrying something.
KAJI (V.O.) (Cont'd): There's a faint scent. Milk.
Her curiosity overrides her earlier gloom.
KAJI (V.O.) (Cont'd): Something new.
Kaji approaches that something new, her nose working overtime.
KAJI (V.O.) (Cont'd): Is it for me?
PACK LEADER: Oh yes! She hasn't met our grandchild before.
KAJI (V.O.) (Cont'd): It smells something human...
The Pack Leader scoops up the baby and moves swiftly out of Kaji's reach.
PETER: Just a brief visit.
KAJI (V.O.) (Cont'd): Not everything that enters home is meant for me.
Pausing.
KAJI (V.O.) (Cont'd): More importantly, am I still their girl?
Act 3
INT. HOME - NIGHT
After dinner, Kaji retreats to her bed.
KAJI (V.O.)(Cont'd): The baby visited, The party happened, The riverside park walk didn't. And yet here I'm, curled in bed, warm and fed and loved.
Kaji takes a look of the Pack Leader.
KAJI (V.O.)(Cont'd): I'm a Shiba. I'm the one who waits. No matter who visits, no matter what changes, no matter how long the day-I'm still their girl. I'll always will be.
Kaji glances at Peter.
KAJI (V.O.)(Cont'd): I'll wake tomorrow. I'll eat my breakfast. I'll follow them to the bedroom door and decide, once again, whether to stay or go. And whatever I choose. I know this: they'll love me either way. That's the way of being theirs.
FADE OUT
THE END
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