Nothing Could Be Better

(Family, Drama, Light Comedy) - After achieving so much in life, a young

girl is called back to the family she left behind.

Characters:

Maria Salvador

Daniel Guillermo

Ignacio Salvador

José Nuñez

Belen Salvador

Isabella Dominguez

Alma Salvador

Faustino Lopez

Marisol Lopez

Hermosa Vidal

Dr. Gonzalo Hilario

Samuel Alvarez Jr.

Alphonso Suarez

Javier Ibarra
BEGINNING SCENES:

The sound of rushing wind through the farm plains.

The wind blows where it pleases, and you hear its

sound, but you don’t know where it comes from
or where it is going.

EXT. - DAY
Manila appears as a mountain from a distance.

EXT. MANILA - DAY

FADE IN:

The streets of Manila are teaming with life. People walk to and
fro on the sidewalks: some are yelling about sales, some talking
to others, and still others alone.

The stores and shops are booming with business. No sooner does
someone leave that another enters. They browse the selection of
clothes, jewelry, cosmetics, etc.

EXT. STREET - DAY

Outside a cafésomeone walks by.

EXT. STREET - DAY

A man [Alphonso] talking to himself waits for a ride but there

were no carriages.

EXT. PARK - DAY

At the park children run around and play hide-and-go seek as

their parents watch from the park benches. The trees are glow
like bright emerald green, a reminder that summer is right
around the corner, literally a week away.

DISSOLVE TO:

INT. BUILDING. MARIA’S OFFICE - DAY

Maria, a beautiful woman with jet black hair in her late

twenties, sits at her desk, reading intently the important
document that she holds. On the desk, files are neatly stacked
on one another, with a nameplate in gold lettering. The office
is neat and organized. Nothing is out of place. Only a red
umbrella gives the room any color.

Isabella walks through the office corridor where the ambient

sounds of paper rustling can be heard. She comes to the door of
Maria’s office and stops, leaning on the door. Maria is so
engrossed in the document she is reading that she doesn’t notice
her. Isabella knocks on the side.

MARIA

Come in. Oh!

ISABELLA
I’m surprised that got your attention.

MARIA
I’m sorry Isabella. I was going over this contract. Señor
Alvarez is expecting it later today. What is it?

Isabella steps into the office proper.

ISABELLA
Well, I just wanted to remind you to adjust the Rodriguez
account.

MARIA

Taken care of.

ISABELLA
And to get those invoices from Javier.

Maria takes two invoice slips and shows them to Isabella.

ISABELLA

And make sure to give those commission slips to Pablo.

MARIA

Already did.

ISABELLA
And to call and tell him, “everything is good to go”. He’ll
know what it means.
MARIA
He did know what it means. He told me, “thank you”. Anything
else?

Isabella is now at Maria’s desk, leaning on it.

ISABELLA
Just one more thing. That you have a meeting with one Alphonso
Suarez tonight at eighteen-hundred hours.

MARIA

I did forget that.

Isabella deflates like a balloon.

ISABELLA
Come on Maria, how could you forget?

MARIA

It slipped my mind.

ISABELLA
“It slipped your mind”. Hoy, you can’t keep doing this to
yourself. You’ve accomplished so much. You have a nice job;
you’re young, you’re smart, you’re beautiful; you have an
excellent fashion sense, which let me just say, I’m loving that
necklace.

MARIA Thank you!

ISABELLA
And yet you completely ignore your own love life. When are you
going to get married?

MARIA
I don’t ignore it. I prioritize. And everything is going
according to a well thought out strategy.

ISABELLA

Which is?

MARIA
Secure a financially viable job to propel you into your ideal
social standing, and use said status to procure your desired
love interest. It’s economics.

ISABELLA
Well, love doesn’t stand on economics.

Isabella paces back and forth.

ISABELLA

You need someone in your life. Someone who will do anything to

get the approval of your family. Someone who will play the
guitar and sing songs for you forever. Someone to share the good
times with and the bad. Someone you can talk to, laugh with, a
cry together. And let me tell you, this is opportunity knocking.
And when it knocks you better open that door because it doesn’t
like to wait. Wait too long and you’ll realize you can’t have
kids anymore.

MARIA
So?

ISABELLA
All I’m trying to say is that sometimes you need to throw
caution to the wind and take a chance to breath. Tell me, when’s
the last time you had a vacation?

MARIA

Last year -?

ISABELLA

Three years ago last May. And how many hours a week do you work?

MARIA

Must be about fifty.

ISABELLA

Including the work you take home?

MARIA

Must be about sixty.

ISABELLA

And how can you find love with that schedule? You need a break.
You need to live!

MARIA
And I will, Isabella, I promise.

ISABELLA

Good.

MARIA
After I’ve finished going over this.

Maria goes back to reading the document in her hands. Isabella

shakes her head in defeat.

ISABELLA
Hay naku, do you know what you are? A stick in the mud.

Maria rears up.

MARIA
Excuse me? I am not a stick in the mud!

ISABELLA

You’re stuck.

MARIA
I am not stuck. I’ve just been preoccupied lately. But you’ll
see. Tonight I’ll go out with Jonathan, he’ll sweep me off my
feet, and in a year we’ll get married and live happily ever
after. The end!

Javier peeks into the room and taps on the door.

TIM
Maria. Señor Alvarez would like to see you in his office.

MARIA

I’ll be right there.

ENDING SCENE:

EXT. RANCH - EVENING

Belen and Alma sit in the old rockers on the porch. Ignacio and
José are busy cutting pieces of wood into boards. They hear the
sound of footsteps. They look to see Daniel walking towards
them. But everyone notices someone’s with him. Maria emerges.
Everyone rushes to greet her and embrace her. She’s home!

FADE TO BLACK.

FADE IN:

INT. FARM HOUSE. ALMA’S ROOM - DAY

The room is still, almost frozen in the moment. A golden light

illuminates everything. The sound of wind rushing through the
farm plains can be heard. On the wall of pictures, there are new
ones that have been added over the years. There is a picture of
Maria and Belen in wedding dresses, with Daniel and José in
bridegroom suits standing next to them respectively. Ignacio and
Alma stand on either side of them. Isabella is also present. On
a chair a red umbrella has been placed, indicating occupancy. In
another picture Maria holds a baby in her arms while Daniel
stands proudly next to her. In another, Belen and José are
celebrating their daughter’s birthday. Another picture shows
Isabella at the farm, lifting her shoes out of a pile of manure
with a self conscious smile. In yet another, Maria and Daniel’s
son, about three years old, sits on their bed looking at books
in awe. In another Maria shows her son to Isabella. Another
picture shows Maria’s son swinging his grandfather’s red
umbrella. In the center is a picture of all of them, sitting
around the dining room table. They smile at the camera.

THE END

FADE OUT.