Slapstick

by Nelly Reifler

the girl slips on the slick tiled floor. she falls onto the wetness.
her white skirt absorbs the blood.
(soundtrack: laughter)
her hands are submerged in the thin blood that covers the tiled floor.
she tries to push herself up, using her hands for leverage.
her feet slip out from under her.
(soundtrack: laughter)
she brings a hand to her nostrils and sniffs.
voiceover: iron.
nearby: a counter. a white formica counter just out of reach. she struggles to move in the mess.
she raises an arm. it drips with blood. the blood runs from her raised hand, down her forearm; it drips into her armpit. she reaches for the edge of the counter. she grasps. she tries to grip. her fingers slip off the counter. again she tries to grip, again her fingers cannot find a hold. she tries once again, then collapses back onto the tiles.
(soundtrack: laughter)
voiceover: look at her: she wallows. she wallows like a sow.
(soundtrack: laughter)
cut to:
(aerial tracking shot: a silver automobile swoops and glides along a narrow road, over a gentle green mountain. the pavement, dark and wet, shines in the late afternoon light. clouds are breaking apart on the horizon: pulled apart by the wind, they become shreds, trails.)
i love you, a female voice says. then a few quick breaths. then the dead and empty sound of a cell phone disconnecting.
cut to:
the girl, on her hands and knees on the tiles, wringing the watery blood from her skirt.
cut to:
the silver automobile taking a curve, edging just a bit into the center of the roadway, that wet gray strip that divides the green mountain in two. a column of sunlight suddenly pierces the gray sky
(soundtrack: laughter)
voiceover: electronic all-wheel drive…
the automobile takes another curve, again edging into the center of the gray stripe, perhaps a little more boldly this time.
music swells: an upbeat rendition of  pachelbel’s canon
voiceover: five cd changer with suspension speakers…
a flock of birds flows across the sky in a v-shaped formation.  the graceful movements of their wings are perfectly synchronized with the music.
(soundtrack: gagging noises.)
(soundtrack: laughter)
voiceover: leather interior, gsm positioning with programmable lcd dashboard display…
for a moment, a prism of sunspots.
the automobile takes a third curve on the wet mountain road. it swings out recklessly. its rear end flies around the axis of its nose. it spins twice. black streaks on the pavement. it seems to recover for a moment, then
(soundtrack: laughter)
it careens over the opposite side of the road. haltingly, in a series of staccato motions, it flips, and it rolls. over and over, down the side of the hill until it is out of sight.
sound effect: a distant explosion.
cut to:
the girl wiping her hands on her skirt, then carefully rising to her knees as she reaches for the white counter. her knees slip out from under her. she falls back into the blood.
(soundtrack: gagging noises.)
(soundtrack: laughter)