| YoruameBaroness | 05-31-2004 03:58 PM |
I've been meaning to finish the story but never got around to it.
(Manfred, Dorothy and Roger find themselves in the waiting room, which smells like smoke. Manfred paces up and down while Dorothy contents herself with looking at a magazine full of landscape photographs.)
Roger(slightly irritated): Herr Richthofen, please sit down.
Manfred: If that were Frau Waynewright in there instead of Yoruame, wouldn't you be as nervous as I am now?
Roger(caught off guard): Yes. I mean, no! I mean . . .
Dorothy: You really are a louse, Roger Smith.
Manfred: You know, Herr Smith, you amuse me.
Roger: I don't know if I should take that as a compliment or not.
(About two hours later, a doctor rushes out.)
Doctor(in perfect English): Hello, sir, madam. I am Eberhard Bäcker. The Baroness has regained consciousness . . .however, there's a bit of a small problem.
Roger: What is it?
Doctor: She appears to be suffering from amnesia. We can't pinpoint the cause, but my guess is the strain of a near-death experience on her nervous system was so great that it caused her to lose her memory.
Roger: She lost all of her memories?
Doctor: Well, she still retains general knowledge, like mathematics and what have you. But she hasn't a clue who she is nor what happened to her, nor any of her past.
Roger: Is this permanent?
Doctor: The only way I can think of to help her regain her memory is either a sudden blow or some sort of trigger from the past. Perhaps a loved one or something like that.
Roger: Well, damn. (pause) Can we see her?
Doctor: You may, but she more than likely will not recognize you.
(Manfred, who has been quiet all this time, looks as though he is about to vomit. All the color has drained from his face.)
(Roger, Dorothy, and Manfred quietly enter Yoruame's room. Her throat is bandaged tightly and her eyes are blank.)
Yoruame: Who are you?
Roger: Oh, come on, Yoruame. I know you remember Herr Richthofen.
Yoruame(slowly and thoughtfully): Richthofen . . .
Manfred: ME? You know, your husband?
Yoruame: Husband? I'm married? How come I can see straight through your body?
(Manfred turns and hurries from the room)
Roger(rushing after Manfred): Herr Richthofen! (Roger and Dorothy run after Manfred. Manfred runs to the nearest exit, down the steps and to the car. He leans against the top of the car and begins to sob loudly.)
Roger: Herr Richthofen?
Manfred: She doesn't . . .she doesn't . . .remember me . . .how could she forget all that happened to her . . .that damn Reichsführer and all the trouble he caused . . .I came back from the grave to be with her . . .
(Roger blinks and remembers his handshake with Manfred, and recalls that his hand appeared to go through Manfred's.)
Roger: The living and the dead cannot interact physically, right?
Manfred: Physically? Yes. I have no solid form.
Roger: Hmmm . . .
Manfred: I need to go talk to my brother . . .(he hands Roger the keys to the car) You can go to the mansion if you like. I just . . .I need some time alone. I'm sorry. (He slowly walks away.)
(At Südfriedhof Cemetery in Wiesbaden)
Heydrich(sitting on his tombstone): Damn, look what that damn Baroness did now. I KNEW she was trouble, I KNEW it, but no, no one listened to me . . .
Rommel(sitting in the tree): Shut up, Die Hard.
Heydrich: Dammit my name is Reinhard! NOT Die Hard!
(Rommel and Heydrich turn as Manfred approaches the Richthofen grave)
Heydrich: Well, well. If it isn't the Red Baron who isn't content with eternal sleep.
Manfred: Shut up, Heydrich. I'm in no mood for your jokes. (to the grave) Lothar? Are you there? I need to talk.
(Lothar appears on the bush)
Lothar: Yes, Manfred. What's troubling you?
Manfred(rushing into Lothar's arms): Oh, Lothar!
Lothar: Manfred?
Manfred: Yoruame . . .she lost all her memory. She has no idea who I am anymore.
Heydrich (sneering): Which means you went back to the world of the living for nothing.
(Rommel slaps Heydrich)
Rommel: Do shut up! I've had enough of your arrogance! (to Manfred) Rittmeister. (gives a polite nod)
Manfred: Generalfeldmarshall. (nods back) Thank you.
Lothar: What happened, Manfred?
Rommel: Yes, Rittmeister, do tell. (pause) Oh wait. Someone else should hear this. Where's Boelcke?
Boelcke: I'm right here.
Manfred(turning): Mentor! (rushes into Boelcke's arms) It's so good to see you!
Boelcke: I can tell by the look on your face that something's not right. Sit down, you've got a tale to spin.
Manfred: Well . . .it all started when Yoruame killed the Führer. She shot him.
Rommel: As we're all aware of. It's been the talk of the whole country for quite some time.
Heydrich: Supposedly the Reichsführer had her executed.
Manfred: Well, he tried. He tried to have her hanged. But . . .(recalls the giant humanoid thing, which was Big O) something of sorts happened, and Yoruame was spared. However . . . she went into shock. When she regained consciousness, she lost all her memory.
Lothar: Ohh . . .that's not good.
Heydrich: Stupid woman.
(Rommel slaps Heydrich again)
Rommel: Would you hold your tongue, for Christ's sake!
Manfred: She saw me, yes. But she doesn't remember me. She doesn't even know who she is!
Boelcke: Manfred, I know you well. You want us to help you help her, don't you?
Manfred: . . .Yes, if you don't mind.
Lothar: We're your comrades. Why wouldn't we help you? (pause) Well . . .except for Die Hard over there.
Heydrich: Would you stop calling me that?!
Rommel: Yes, but what power have we? We cannot interact with the living! The only way we could really make a difference is to kill Frau Yoruame or to . . . (pause) That's what you're thinking, isn't it, Lothar?
Lothar: Yes, that's exactly what I'm thinking.
Manfred(totally clueless): What?
Lothar: Manfred, you do realize that you can re-enter the world of the living, right?
Manfred: That's impossible!
Rommel: No, he's right. There's an unwritten rule forbidding it, but in your case . . .
Lothar: Right. The rules can be bent.
Heydrich: Bah! You're all wasting your time.
Boelcke: Shut up, Die Hard.
Manfred: You're serious, aren't you?!
(They all nod except for Heydrich)
Manfred: How?
Lothar: All you have to do is take someone else's life force.
Manfred: But what about my body? All that is left of me is a skeleton.
Lothar: Once you take a person's life force, your physical body is restored, because you are a living thing once again.
Manfred: But what about the other person?
Boelcke: They die, of course.
Manfred: I couldn't do that! Why would I want to take someone else's life for my own selfish purposes?
Rommel: The Reichsführer is still alive, Rittmeister.
Lothar: Yes, brother. What better person for you to kill than Himmler? He is the cause of all your troubles, is he not? Think of it as payback. Revenge, even.
Boelcke: And he doesn't deserve to live anyway.
Lothar: And if she could see you again, if she could hold you in her arms . . .that could possibly make a difference. And if you're alive, then your plane won't be a ghost plane anymore . . .she can touch that, and remember . . .
Manfred: I don't know . . .
Rommel: Tell me something, Rittmeister. When was the last time you kissed Frau Yoruame?
Manfred: Oh, it was so long ago . . .Christmas of 1917 . . .in fact, that was the last time I saw her before I died . . .
Boelcke: And don't you wish you could kiss her again?
Manfred: I wish every day.
Lothar: Well, here's your chance.
Rommel: We're not asking you to make your decision now, Rittmeister. You should have plenty of time to think it over. Come back when you've made your decision. We'll all be waiting.
Heydrich: Dumbass.
Lothar & Rommel: SHUT UP DIE HARD!!!
(Back at the hospital)
Yoruame: Why is my throat bandaged? (She looks around the room. The walls are a bare white, with the exception of a rather large and disturbing portrait of Hitler in the center of the room. Yoruame stares at the portrait.)
Yoruame: That man . . .(she gasps as a glimpse of her memory passes through her mind)
[flashback]
(Hitler is making one of his speeches to the German people. A large crowd has gathered in front of the podium, draped with Nazi flags.)
Hitler: This is the beginning of the dawn of a new age! The age where the German people shall rightly rule supreme and all races shall bow down to us!
People: Heil Hitler! Heil Hitler! Heil! Heil!
(Yoruame, who is in the crowd, scowls.)
Yoruame: Bah. I guess common sense went out the window when he came to power.
[end flashback]
Yoruame: Hit . . .ler . . .(she goes over to the window just as a Supermarine Spitfire flies overhead. She looks up at the Spitfire.) An airplane . . .(She blinks again as another glimpse of memory comes back)
(Manfred, Dorothy and Roger find themselves in the waiting room, which smells like smoke. Manfred paces up and down while Dorothy contents herself with looking at a magazine full of landscape photographs.)
Roger(slightly irritated): Herr Richthofen, please sit down.
Manfred: If that were Frau Waynewright in there instead of Yoruame, wouldn't you be as nervous as I am now?
Roger(caught off guard): Yes. I mean, no! I mean . . .
Dorothy: You really are a louse, Roger Smith.
Manfred: You know, Herr Smith, you amuse me.
Roger: I don't know if I should take that as a compliment or not.
(About two hours later, a doctor rushes out.)
Doctor(in perfect English): Hello, sir, madam. I am Eberhard Bäcker. The Baroness has regained consciousness . . .however, there's a bit of a small problem.
Roger: What is it?
Doctor: She appears to be suffering from amnesia. We can't pinpoint the cause, but my guess is the strain of a near-death experience on her nervous system was so great that it caused her to lose her memory.
Roger: She lost all of her memories?
Doctor: Well, she still retains general knowledge, like mathematics and what have you. But she hasn't a clue who she is nor what happened to her, nor any of her past.
Roger: Is this permanent?
Doctor: The only way I can think of to help her regain her memory is either a sudden blow or some sort of trigger from the past. Perhaps a loved one or something like that.
Roger: Well, damn. (pause) Can we see her?
Doctor: You may, but she more than likely will not recognize you.
(Manfred, who has been quiet all this time, looks as though he is about to vomit. All the color has drained from his face.)
(Roger, Dorothy, and Manfred quietly enter Yoruame's room. Her throat is bandaged tightly and her eyes are blank.)
Yoruame: Who are you?
Roger: Oh, come on, Yoruame. I know you remember Herr Richthofen.
Yoruame(slowly and thoughtfully): Richthofen . . .
Manfred: ME? You know, your husband?
Yoruame: Husband? I'm married? How come I can see straight through your body?
(Manfred turns and hurries from the room)
Roger(rushing after Manfred): Herr Richthofen! (Roger and Dorothy run after Manfred. Manfred runs to the nearest exit, down the steps and to the car. He leans against the top of the car and begins to sob loudly.)
Roger: Herr Richthofen?
Manfred: She doesn't . . .she doesn't . . .remember me . . .how could she forget all that happened to her . . .that damn Reichsführer and all the trouble he caused . . .I came back from the grave to be with her . . .
(Roger blinks and remembers his handshake with Manfred, and recalls that his hand appeared to go through Manfred's.)
Roger: The living and the dead cannot interact physically, right?
Manfred: Physically? Yes. I have no solid form.
Roger: Hmmm . . .
Manfred: I need to go talk to my brother . . .(he hands Roger the keys to the car) You can go to the mansion if you like. I just . . .I need some time alone. I'm sorry. (He slowly walks away.)
(At Südfriedhof Cemetery in Wiesbaden)
Heydrich(sitting on his tombstone): Damn, look what that damn Baroness did now. I KNEW she was trouble, I KNEW it, but no, no one listened to me . . .
Rommel(sitting in the tree): Shut up, Die Hard.
Heydrich: Dammit my name is Reinhard! NOT Die Hard!
(Rommel and Heydrich turn as Manfred approaches the Richthofen grave)
Heydrich: Well, well. If it isn't the Red Baron who isn't content with eternal sleep.
Manfred: Shut up, Heydrich. I'm in no mood for your jokes. (to the grave) Lothar? Are you there? I need to talk.
(Lothar appears on the bush)
Lothar: Yes, Manfred. What's troubling you?
Manfred(rushing into Lothar's arms): Oh, Lothar!
Lothar: Manfred?
Manfred: Yoruame . . .she lost all her memory. She has no idea who I am anymore.
Heydrich (sneering): Which means you went back to the world of the living for nothing.
(Rommel slaps Heydrich)
Rommel: Do shut up! I've had enough of your arrogance! (to Manfred) Rittmeister. (gives a polite nod)
Manfred: Generalfeldmarshall. (nods back) Thank you.
Lothar: What happened, Manfred?
Rommel: Yes, Rittmeister, do tell. (pause) Oh wait. Someone else should hear this. Where's Boelcke?
Boelcke: I'm right here.
Manfred(turning): Mentor! (rushes into Boelcke's arms) It's so good to see you!
Boelcke: I can tell by the look on your face that something's not right. Sit down, you've got a tale to spin.
Manfred: Well . . .it all started when Yoruame killed the Führer. She shot him.
Rommel: As we're all aware of. It's been the talk of the whole country for quite some time.
Heydrich: Supposedly the Reichsführer had her executed.
Manfred: Well, he tried. He tried to have her hanged. But . . .(recalls the giant humanoid thing, which was Big O) something of sorts happened, and Yoruame was spared. However . . . she went into shock. When she regained consciousness, she lost all her memory.
Lothar: Ohh . . .that's not good.
Heydrich: Stupid woman.
(Rommel slaps Heydrich again)
Rommel: Would you hold your tongue, for Christ's sake!
Manfred: She saw me, yes. But she doesn't remember me. She doesn't even know who she is!
Boelcke: Manfred, I know you well. You want us to help you help her, don't you?
Manfred: . . .Yes, if you don't mind.
Lothar: We're your comrades. Why wouldn't we help you? (pause) Well . . .except for Die Hard over there.
Heydrich: Would you stop calling me that?!
Rommel: Yes, but what power have we? We cannot interact with the living! The only way we could really make a difference is to kill Frau Yoruame or to . . . (pause) That's what you're thinking, isn't it, Lothar?
Lothar: Yes, that's exactly what I'm thinking.
Manfred(totally clueless): What?
Lothar: Manfred, you do realize that you can re-enter the world of the living, right?
Manfred: That's impossible!
Rommel: No, he's right. There's an unwritten rule forbidding it, but in your case . . .
Lothar: Right. The rules can be bent.
Heydrich: Bah! You're all wasting your time.
Boelcke: Shut up, Die Hard.
Manfred: You're serious, aren't you?!
(They all nod except for Heydrich)
Manfred: How?
Lothar: All you have to do is take someone else's life force.
Manfred: But what about my body? All that is left of me is a skeleton.
Lothar: Once you take a person's life force, your physical body is restored, because you are a living thing once again.
Manfred: But what about the other person?
Boelcke: They die, of course.
Manfred: I couldn't do that! Why would I want to take someone else's life for my own selfish purposes?
Rommel: The Reichsführer is still alive, Rittmeister.
Lothar: Yes, brother. What better person for you to kill than Himmler? He is the cause of all your troubles, is he not? Think of it as payback. Revenge, even.
Boelcke: And he doesn't deserve to live anyway.
Lothar: And if she could see you again, if she could hold you in her arms . . .that could possibly make a difference. And if you're alive, then your plane won't be a ghost plane anymore . . .she can touch that, and remember . . .
Manfred: I don't know . . .
Rommel: Tell me something, Rittmeister. When was the last time you kissed Frau Yoruame?
Manfred: Oh, it was so long ago . . .Christmas of 1917 . . .in fact, that was the last time I saw her before I died . . .
Boelcke: And don't you wish you could kiss her again?
Manfred: I wish every day.
Lothar: Well, here's your chance.
Rommel: We're not asking you to make your decision now, Rittmeister. You should have plenty of time to think it over. Come back when you've made your decision. We'll all be waiting.
Heydrich: Dumbass.
Lothar & Rommel: SHUT UP DIE HARD!!!
(Back at the hospital)
Yoruame: Why is my throat bandaged? (She looks around the room. The walls are a bare white, with the exception of a rather large and disturbing portrait of Hitler in the center of the room. Yoruame stares at the portrait.)
Yoruame: That man . . .(she gasps as a glimpse of her memory passes through her mind)
[flashback]
(Hitler is making one of his speeches to the German people. A large crowd has gathered in front of the podium, draped with Nazi flags.)
Hitler: This is the beginning of the dawn of a new age! The age where the German people shall rightly rule supreme and all races shall bow down to us!
People: Heil Hitler! Heil Hitler! Heil! Heil!
(Yoruame, who is in the crowd, scowls.)
Yoruame: Bah. I guess common sense went out the window when he came to power.
[end flashback]
Yoruame: Hit . . .ler . . .(she goes over to the window just as a Supermarine Spitfire flies overhead. She looks up at the Spitfire.) An airplane . . .(She blinks again as another glimpse of memory comes back)