Slow Day In Darling

 

Exterior, daylight. Darling's main street baking in the heat of the midday sun on a Sunday between Christmas and New Year.

No shops are open, except perhaps Dinkie's Café, and there are no pedestrians or any idle layabouts lounging on the sidewalks. It is hot and quiet and silent. Even the town dogs are elsewhere.

POV looking east along the street, which rises slightly away from the camera, until it vanishes over the horizon, perhaps six hundred metres away.

At the extreme edge of the frame a dot becomes visible, approaches, slowly increases in size to be identifiable as woman slowly walking towards us.

Shortly after we identify the approaching figure as a woman, a man walks past the camera, on the right hand side of the frame, and in the direction of the approaching woman who is in the left hand side of the frame.

For a long, few minutes we watch the two people approaching each other.

The woman wears a cream coloured blouse and ankle length chiffon skirt with a flower pattern, which could well be her slightly faded Sunday best. Her head is covered by a scarf. Her face is round and smooth and laughter lines accentuate her large eyes and wide mouth.

The man wears a bright red shirt and black pants. He is extremely thin, almost emaciated, and his clothes hang on him. He wears a baseball cap.

They meet at an intersection. For a brief moment they pause next to each other. The man leans towards the woman and says something to her. She appears to be affronted by what he says to her and from her tense body language her inaudible reply must have been sharp.

After yet another moment they continue walking, the woman still walking towards the camera while the man recedes into the distance.

Approximately ten paces beyond the intersection the man turns around to face the woman's back, stands with hands on hips and shouts at her.

MAN

"My Ma se wat?"

The woman's eyes tighten perceptibly and she clearly makes an effort not to rise to the bait. She says nothing and continues walking. The man turns around and walks on for a few paces, then turns around and again shouts at the woman, this time a little louder.

 

MAN

"My Ma se wat?"

The woman still ignores the man though her eyes are now two hot coals of anger, and she walks stolidly towards the camera. Once again the man turns to walk on, then stops, turns around and shouts again.

MAN

"My Ma se wat?"

The woman straightens her back and keeps walking in forbearing silence.

For as long as it takes the man to disappear out of the frame he turns around every few paces to shout at the woman until we can no longer even hear what he says. He keeps doing his even though the woman has long since disappeared from the frame as well.