The Story of Mirabelle and The Beet

Chapter 3

Tomorrow afternoon

Finnigan: Hello Mirabelle.

Mirabelle: Hi.

Finnigan: You. .ready to go?

Mirabelle: Yep.

Finnigan: Great. Follow me.

(They walk into the woods)

Mirabelle: Wow. It's so beautiful here.

Finnigan: Yeah it is. I love it out here.

Mirabelle: I can see why. It's so peaceful here.

Finnigan: I sometimes come out here to talk to God. Also to clear my head, or just get away for a little while.

Mirabelle: Well, I think it's amazing. I used to have a certain place I could go to when I wanted to be alone.

Finnigan: You did?

(Mirabelle nods)

Mirabelle: Yeah. But ever since we became this family band, we started  traveling a lot and I never got to see that place again.

Finnigan: Where was this place?

Mirabelle: I don't really remember.

Finnigan: What do you mean?

Mirabelle: I. .was. . .involved in an. . .accident that put me in a coma.

Finnigan: What kind of accident?

(Short pause)

Mirabelle: Oh, this tree looks good.

(Mirabelle walks over to the tree)

(Finnigan puzzled)

Finnigan: Yeah it does. . . Alright, I'll just tie this ribbon to it branch and get Manuel to chop it down for us.

Mirabelle: Great. Well, I should head back. I got to get ready for the show tonight. I'll see you later.

Finnigan: Sure, but Mirabelle. . . .

(Mirabelle walks away)

(Finnigan sighs)

Finnigan: (to himself) What was the accident? I better talk to Mr. Dill.

(Finnigan ties the ribbon and walks back to the inn)

(Knock on the door)

Finnigan: Come in!

Mr. Dill: You wanted to see me Mr. Beet?

Finnigan: Yes. Can you close the door please?

Mr. Dill: Of course. (Closes the door) What can I do for you?

Finnigan: I need to know about Mirabelle's accident.

Mr. Dill: (Shocked) Who told you about that?!

Finnigan: Mirabelle mentioned it when we were looking for a tree together.

Mr. Dill: I see. What did she say exactly?

Finnigan: She said that she was in a coma. Is that right?

Mr. Dill: Yes. For 3 months.

(Finnigan surprised)

Finnigan: I need to know what happened. Please.

Mr. Dill: It's a long story.

Finnigan: Please.

Mr. Dill: Alright. I'll tell you. But first we need to sit down. I'm not getting any younger.

Finnigan: Of course.

(They sit down)

Mr. Dill: (Sighs) The accident or should I say incident happened 3 years ago, before she met you. She was just walking down the street when, all of a sudden, someone came up behind her, pulled her into an alley and attacked her.

Finnigan: What do you mean, "attacked her"?

Mr. Dill: A man she thought was a friend raped her.

Finnigan: What?! You can't be serious!

(Mr. Dill nods)

*Warning* Anyone who is sensitive to this topic, please go right ahead and skip it.

Mr. Dill: I'm afraid so. After he was done with her, he ran away and Mirabelle was unconscious. A woman found her in the alley and called an ambulance.
When the ambulance got her to the hospital, the doctor called me. I went to the hospital and I brought her siblings with me. When we got to her room, she was already in a coma. The doctor's told us that her brain was swollen because of the beating—

Finnigan: Stop! I'm sorry, I can't.

(Silence)

Mr. Dill: I'm sorry Mr. Beet.

Finnigan: I can't believe this. Why? Why would anyone want to hurt her?!

Mr. Dill: We don't know. But right now we're just thankful that she's alive.

Finnigan: Did the doctor say anything about memory loss?

Mr. Dill: He told us that she would have problems remembering things. So, yes.

Finnigan: Thank you Mr. Dill for telling me. Excuse me.

(Finnigan gets up)

Mr. Dill: Of course.

(Finnigan walks out of the room)