Wonderful

Wonderful

I close my eyes when I get too sad
I think thoughts that I know are bad
Close my eyes and I count to ten
Hope it's over when I open them



The scene opens on a man and a woman arguing heatedly inside a fairly modern kitchen. The stars visible through a small window framed by straight, plain white curtains above a spotlessly clean sink indicate that it is late at night. A small movement under the sink, although unnoticed by the couple, draws our attention. Zoom in past the silhouettes of the man and woman to focus in on a pair of Prussian blue eyes and a shock of moss green hair, just barely visible through a small crack formed by the white particle board cabinet door.



I want the things that I had before
Like a Star Wars poster on my bedroom door
I wish I could count to ten
Make everything be wonderful again



Fade in on the same moss green hair and Prussian blue eyes, they belong to a small boy of about five. He is outside running between patches of sunlight and shade formed by the large oak trees. He laughs and his eyes light up with the innocence only capable of the very young. Sunlight filters through the leaves, spattering his face and small arms and legs with splashes of luminescence as he spins around in circles. He stops suddenly, pulls a small watergun from behind his back, and shoots a nearby offending leaf with deadly accuracy. A human shadow overcomes the boy and he turns to face its owner, the smile on his face melting away.



Hope my mom and I hope my dad
Will figure out why they get so mad
Hear them scream, I hear them fight
They sad bad words that make me wanna cry



The shadow belongs to the woman of before, her cobalt blue eyes flashing angrily. She snatches the toy gun from the child's small fingers, causing him to flinch visibly. Another shadow joins the first, effectively eclipsing the small boy. The woman turns to the man violently, brandishing the newly acquired weapon. A flash sequence starts; alternating between shots of the angry woman, the equally enraged man and the young boy. The sequence becomes steadily faster as the argument between the two adults becomes more heated and the boy slowly shrinks away from them into the safety of the bush he'd been assaulting earlier.



Close my eyes when I go to bed
And I dream of angels who make me smile
I feel better when I hear them say
Everything will be wonderful someday



The flash sequence stops on a scene of the young boy, curled up under a thick comforter on a small bed in an otherwise plain room. The rays of moonlight filtering through the plain white curtains bordering a single window, the only light in the room, glitter on the singled small river present on one of the boy's cheeks. He rolls over and buries the damp cheek in the cool material of his pillow.



Promises mean everything when you're little
And the world's so big
I just don't understand how
You can smile with all those tears in your eyes
Tell me everything is wonderful now
Na na na na na na na
Please don't tell me everything is wonderful now



A streak of light invades the dark room as the door is pushed open. The woman walks in and sits on the bed. She reaches forward and gently brushes a lock of the boy's hair out of his eyes. He sits up and stares at her for the briefest of moments before wrapping his slim arms around her and burying his face in the soft fabric of her shirt.



I go to school and I run and play
I tell the kids that it's all okay
I like to laugh so my friends won't know
When the bell rings I just don't wanna go home



Zoom in on the lone tear on the boy's only visible cheek; a scene is visible in the tear. Zoom in on the scene inside the tear. The boy is running around a playground, trying to avoid capture by the little girl who is obviously It. The boy turns to check on the progress of his pursuer, and he runs straight into a human wall. The boy gazes fearfully up at the man with the thick moss green hair from his spot on the dusty ground. The man scowls at the boy until he picks himself up off of the ground and follows him to the car that is waiting for them at the curb.



Go to my room and I close my eyes
I make believe that I have a new life
I don't believe you when you say
Everything will be wonderful someday



Shot of the boy lying on top of the thick coverlet on the small bed in the dark room. He stares at the ceiling and then suddenly, he squeezes his eyes shut as though his body has just been racked by the most horrible physical pain. After a moment, he sits up and makes his way to the lone window. He pulls aside the curtains, revealing that it is indeed mid-afternoon. The boy stares stonily down at the slim form of the man as he talks to someone in a limousine idling on the side of the street.



Promises mean everything when you're little
And the world is so big
I just don't understand how
You can smile with all those tears in your eyes
When you tell me everything is wonderful now
I don't wanna hear you tell me everything is wonderful now



The woman comes to stand behind the boy and places her hands reassuringly on his shoulders, as they both gaze through the transparent crystal of the window.



I don't wanna hear you say
That I will understand someday
No, no, no, no
I don't wanna hear you say
You both have grown in a different way
No, no, no, no
I don't wanna meet your friends
And I don't wanna start over again
I just want my life to be the same
Just like it used to be
Some days I hate everything
I hate everything
Everyone and everything
Please don't tell me everything is wonderful now



A series of still shots. The woman hugging the boy beside an open car door. The boy waving excitedly out of the window of the car as it starts to drive off. The woman turning away from the departing car tears flowing down her face. The boy turning to the driver of the car, a huge grin plastered across his face. The driver of the car, turning a cold glare upon the boy, so hateful that the boy's smile instantly melts away. The boy staring up at the huge building they have stopped at. The man and the boy inside a cold metallic elevator. The boy staring, frightfully, at a figure in front of him; only a silhouette of what appears to be a three-pronged artificial hand is visible. The man walking away. The boy chasing after him. A man in a long, white lab coat, stopping the boy. The boy, crying and reaching out desperately for the departing figure from the iron grip of the arms that hold him captive.



I don't wanna hear you tell me everything is wonderful now



The boy again, he looks to be older, perhaps fourteen. He stands, clutching the limp corpse of a small dog to his chest.