Where the Crawdads Sing_2022

o
    WHERE THE CRAWDADS SING
    Written by
    Lucy Alibar
    Based on the novel by Delia Owens Hello Sunshine/3000 Pictures (310)244-3000 o EXT. MARSH - WATER - DAY A boat drifts out in the water. Old, gnarled hands open a sketchbook.
    KYA (V.O.)
    The marsh is not a swamp. The marsh is a space of light, where grass grows in water and water flows into the sky.
    AERIAL SHOT:
    THE MARSH
    We wind down through the sky, past gulls surrounding a FIRE TOWER. We continue along the rugged Carolina coast . To the houses on the edge of Barkley Cove . To Jumpin's Bait & Gas ... Down the cove to Point Beach .... Past more coast, over scrappy pines and grass ..
    EXT.
    MARSH - DAY (1969 AFTER DEATH)
    HEADING:
    BARKLEY COVE, 1969
    BENJI and STEVEN (both 10), crash through the marsh, pretending to shoot each other. They stumble over a body, whose face we're unable to make out.
    KYA (V.O.)
    A swamp knows about death, and doesn't define it as tragedy. Not as a sin.
    EXT.
    MARSH - DAY - LATER
    The burly, confident SHERIFF ED JACKSON (50s) and DEPUTY JOE PERDUE (20s) study the body. Benji and Steven huddle together, trying to hide their fear.
    SHERIFF JACKSON
    How many times I told folks in this town something like this was bound
    o to happen? o DEPUTY PERDUE Thought Chase Andrews would have more common sense. Deputy Perdue shines his light around the mud. Two sets of small footprints.
    DEPUTY PERDUE
    Boys, are these your footprints here?
    The boys nod. And now Sheriff Jackson shines his light towards the fire tower, looming ahead.

EXT. FIRE TOWER - DAY
    Sheriff Jackson and Deputy Perdue climb the ladder in the FIRE tower.
    DEPUTY PERDUE
    Some kids just get crazy ideas in their heads. They drink and think they're invincible.
    When they reach the last step, Sheriff Jackson lifts his hands and pushes open an iron grate.
    INT.
    FIRE TOWER - PLATFORM - DAY
    The men crawl up through the open grate to the platform. There are wooden planks all around the perimeter, but the floor is a series of see-through square grates that can be opened and closed.
    DEPUTY PERDUE
    Hey, look at that.
    He points to the far side of the platform, where one of the grates is wide open. They go to the grate and peer down. The body, misshapen, is below.
    SHERIFF JACKSON
    Did he open that grate himself?
    They stare down at the marsh below.
    DEPUTY PERDUE
    Could have been an accident, all the same.
    o o SHERIFF JACKSON How did Chase Andrews walk down the path, cross this muck to the stairs so he could climb to the top, and not leave any footprints behind? Did the man levitate?

EXT. KYA'S HOUSE - DAY (1951)
    HEADER:
    1951
    A green saltwater lagoon, pristine and seething with life, laps at clusters of oaks and palmettos on the shore. Standing with her bare feet in the lagoon, LITTLE KYA CLARK, 7, holds a sea gull feather up to the sunlight.
    MA (O.S.)
    Kya, you better not get too far out!
    Behind Little Kya is the Clark house: A screened-in shack, hiding behind a cluster of palmettos. MA (20s), Kya's young, pretty mother, smokes mussels over a smoker in a yard. Dogs and chickens run wild. Little Kya's brothers and sisters (MURPH, 17, LITTLE JODIE, 8, MISSY, 14, and MANDY, 10) are coaxing CHANEL, the resident skunk, out from under the house.
    LITTLE JODIE
    Come on, Chanel! There's a pretty girl!
    But Chanel won't budge. Little Kya stares at an overhead flock of seagulls, lost in her own world.
    INT.
    KYA'S HOUSE - NIGHT
    The house has dirt floors and bare walls. Ma and the children have taken pride in keeping their home clean and tidy. Ma curls up with a beat-up encyclopedia, "B". Little Kya relaxes on her lap. Ma reads aloud as Little Kya traces her fingers over pictures of beaches, trees, flowers. o o MA (reading) "Bora Bora, surrounded by coral reef, hosts thousands of species of marine and bird life ... "
    EXT.
    KYA'S HOUSE - DAY
    Chanel waddles out from under the house. Little Kya holds a biscuit in front of the skunk's curious nose.
    LITTLE KYA
    Here you go, Chanel.
    Chanel grabs the biscuit from Little Kya's hands and waddles back under the house. Little Kya's siblings squeal with delight.
    EXT.
    KYA'S HOUSE - DAY - LATER
    Ma paints with a five-and-dime watercolor set. The trees outside, the water. Little Kya is set up with her own paper next to her. Little Kya copies all of her mother's movements, clumsily painting the marsh.
    INT.
    KYA'S HOUSE - DAY
    Ma, face bruised, counts out money for Little Kya. She manages a smile for the fearful little girl.
    MA
    I'm busy with chores, if anyone asks. "Yes sir, yes ma'am." Don't run in town or they're gonna think you stole something.
    Little Kya takes the money Ma counts out for her.
    EXT.
    THE ROAD TO BARKLEY COVE -
    Little Kya trudges through black mud to town.
    KYA (V. O.)
    It was four miles into town. Barkley Cove used to all be underwater. People like to act like we come a long way, but ... we
    o still pretty much ancient creatures, if you want to know the truth. o But the distance doesn't bother Little Kya. She's absorbed in the salty haze, the gulls and sparrows, the snakes. Little Kya makes her way out of the Everglades ...
    EXT.
    BARKLEY COVE - PIGGLY WIGGLY - DAY
    And into the single lane highway of Barkley Cove. The town is a shocking contrast to Little Kya's home in the marsh. Everything is clean, orderly, muted. The colors are beige and army green. A swarm of BOYS ON BICYCLES zooms past Little Kya, almost knocking her over. A well-dressed woman, MISS PANSY (20's), yells at them from the pay phone on the side walk.
    MISS PANSY
    Boys! I'm'll tell y'all's maromas about this. Better yet, y'alls papas. What ya got to say for yourself, Chase?
    Tan, dark-haired LITTLE CHASE ANDREWS (8) looks back at Little Kya and smiles. Little Kya sees he's got the nicest bike of any of them.
    LITTLE CHASE
    Just surprised to see that girl there, is all.
    Miss Pansy sees Little Kya for the first time. She sucks her teeth and leans in, speaking low to the boys, but Little Kya hears it all the same.
    MISS PANSY
    Boys, you gotta stay away from girls like that. She's trash from the swamp, you understand? They eat cockroaches.
    BOYS
    Yes, ma'am.
    Little Kya watches this flock of boys laughing together. Little Chase turns around. Steals a look in Little Kya's direction before joining the rest of the boys as they ride off.
    INT.
    BARKLEY COVE - PIGGLY WIGGLY - DAY
    o Little Kya's eyes are wide as she beholds the food of Piggly Wiggly. She sways, weak with hunger. o She can't read, and relies on the pictures on the boxes to tell her what's what. She arrives at a giant bag of grits. She takes it to the counter. The cashier, MRS. SINGLETARY (50s) looks Little Kya up and down.
    MRS. SINGLETARY
    Where's your mamma at?
    LITTLE KYA
    Busy with chores.
    Kya pulls out all the money from her pocket and puts it down on the counter. Mrs. Singletary softens, then counts out the money.
    MRS. SINGLETARY
    Twenty five, fifty, sixty, seventy, eighty, eighty-five and three pennies.
    She's trying to teach Little Kya to count money, but sees it's not sinking in.
    MRS. SINGLETARY
    Because the grits was twelve cents.
    Little Kya blinks. Mrs. Singletary pushes the rest of the money towards her.
    MRS. SINGLETARY
    You gotta get someone teach you to count. You can't go throwing your money around like that. You hear? You especially, need to be careful.
    Little Kya nods, shaking, and walks carefully out the door with her bag of grits hugged to her stomach.
    INT.
    KYA'S HOUSE - DAY (1952)
    HEADING:
    1952
    Little Kya stands on a stool over a basin, where she scrubs a pot crusted in leftover grits. Pa is passed out at the kitchen table, his snoring breaks through the birdsongs and gentle breezes outside. Little Kya stifles a laugh. Suddenly, a door slams. Little Kya jumps. Then carefully, o carefully she returns her pot to the basin. Pa and opens the screen door .... She tiptoes past o EXT. KYA'S HOUSE - DAY Ma, frail and in her own world, walks one foot in front of the other, as if on a tightrope. Ma holds a blue train case so hard her knuckles are white. She has a white scarf wrapped around her head that doesn't do a good job of covering yellow bruises. She's wearing her nicest fake-alligator shoes, and the kitten heel looks wrong in the white dirt. Little Kya stares after her mother, mouth agape. Ma walks unsteadily. Little Kya begins to sprint, faster and faster, but Ma keeps walking. Little Kya finally stops. Stands still. Waits for Ma to turn around. Ma keeps walking down the sandy lane that leads to town, disappearing into the woods. Little Jodie appears behind Little Kya.
    LITTLE JODIE
    Ma'll be back.
    LITTLE KYA
    I dunno. She's wearing her gator shoes. Her goin' out shoes. Carrying her blue case like she's going somewheres big.
    LITTLE JODIE
    A ma don't leave her kids. It ain't in 'em.
    But he stares down the path uncertainly.
    INT.
    KYA'S HOUSE - NIGHT
    Mandy has boiled a big pot of beans on the stove. The rest of the children stand on the counter or under the pot with pieces of bread, dipping the bread into the beans and eating silently.
    EXT.
    KYA'S HOUSE - NIGHT
    Little Kya sits on the screen porch, staring at the path. Waiting for Ma. o o EXT. KYA'S HOUSE - DAY Little Kya has fallen asleep on the porch. Little Jodie shakes her awake. He puts his finger to his lips. Pa's drunk snoring saws through the air, thick and dangerous.
    EXT.
    MARSH - DAY
    Little Jodie and Kya fight with wooden sticks in the marsh.
    LITTLE KYA
    TAKE THAT, SPANIARDS!
    She lunges at Little Jodie, who gracefully sidesteps.
    KYA (V. O.)
    Everybody else was quick to get out, same way.
    In a SERIES OF SHOTS, Little Kya sits by the chickens and watches her brothers and sisters leave. And here comes Little Jodie. He's got a black eye and swollen jaw. He heads straight to Little Kya, who's cradling a chicken in the yard.
    LITTLE JODIE
    Kya.
    Little Kya stares at her chicken, cooing to the bird and ignoring Little Jodie.
    LITTLE JODIE
    Kya. Listen. Even when you think you're gonna cry you still have to look at people.
    LITTLE KYA
    (through tears)
    That's a dumbass rule.
    LITTLE JODIE
    I have to go, Kya. Can't live here no longer. You're smart. You know that, don't you?
    LITTLE KYA
    I know. You could take me with you?
    o Little Jodie's downcast eyes say it all. Little Kya is devastated. o LITTLE JODIE Kya, you be careful, hear? If anybody comes, don't go in the house. They can get you there. Run deep in the marsh, way out where the crawdads sing. Like Ma always says. Always cover your tracks; I learned you how, remember? Little Kya nods. He embraces her. She holds him tight. They both hear Pa shouting and throwing furniture, drunk, inside the house. Little Kya pulls away, aged twenty years in a few seconds.
    LITTLE KYA
    Run.
    Little Jodie nods and runs away, leaving Little Kya standing in the dirt as her raging father breaks the whole house.
    EXT.
    MARSH - WATER - DAY
    Little Kya wades through the water, staring at fish. She's as gentle as the egrets cooling themselves in the water and paying her no mind.
    KYA (V. O.)
    Learned from the minnows to keep out of the way. Don't let anyone see me. Dart from sunspots to shadows.
    INT.
    JUMPIN'S SHOP - DAY
    Pa slaps money down on the counter, in front of JUMPIN (50's, black, constantly on his toes) and his wife MABEL (50's, black, kind) .
    JUMPIN
    Hey, Jake! How are you?
    PA
    Well, I woke up on the right side of the dirt. This here's my daughter, Kya Clark.
    JUMPIN
    o
    Hello, Kya. Good to know you. Kya stares at her toes. o PA (nodding to Little Kya) She steered us here herself. How 'bout that?
    JUMPIN
    Good on you!
    PA
    And I tell her, stay away from everybody. Don't be no little girl. Dangerous world, ain't it?
    JUMPIN
    It is, it is.
    MABEL
    You helping out your Pa while your Ma's gone?
    KYA
    Yes ma'am. Keeping the house clean for her and everything.
    PA
    Let's go.
    Mabel slides a Sugar Daddy candy to Little Kya, with a sly wink. Little Kya smiles.
    EXT.
    JUMPIN'S WHARF - DAY
    Pa and Little Kya walk down the wharf to their lone boat.
    PA
    We don't talk about her, hear?
    Little Kya nods.
    EXT.
    MARSH - WATER - DAY
    KYA (V. O.)
    Pa would drift in and out. Easier when he was out.
    Little Kya drifts along in Pa's boat, past deer, salt grass ... She goes through dark lagoons. This is magical, and she's a o part of it. Little Kya looks up to the darkening sky and carefully turns the motor on. But which way is home? Little Kya looks around. She's lost and the clouds are gathering on the water.
    LITTLE KYA
    Don't be no girl.
    She almost bumps into LITTLE TATE WALKER, 8, thin and dark- haired, fishing from a boat. He smiles at her and touches the brim of his hat. Little Kya, terrified, motors around him without as much as a smile.
    LITTLE TATE
    You okay?
    Little Kya can't answer.
    LITTLE TATE
    You're Jodie Clark's sister.
    LITTLE KYA
    Used to be. He's gone.
    LITTLE TATE
    Well, you're still his ...
    He lets it drop.
    LITTLE TATE
    You don't have nobody looking after you?
    LITTLE KYA
    I don't need nobody.
    Little Tate nods. He can't stop smiling when he looks at Kya. He tries to look away. Lets out a small laugh.
    LITTLE KYA
    What's funny?
    LITTLE TATE
    I just laugh when I'm happy.
    LITTLE KYA
    I never heard of that.
    LITTLE TATE
    You know your way home?
    o Yeah ...
    LITTLE KYA
    o Then, worried her one shot out of here might leave ...
    LITTLE KYA
    Oh, you mean from here?
    LITTLE TATE
    Follow me.
    And Little Tate leads Little Kya back home, through the lagoons, twisting and turning. She studies the way with wide eyes, making sure never to get lost again. They finally arrive in front of Little Kya's house. She leaps out and ties her boat to the waterlogged pine. He watches.
    LITTLE TATE
    Well, storm's coming, I better git. My name's Tate, case ya see me again.
    Little Kya says nothing.
    LITTLE TATE
    Bye, now.
    EXT.
    KYA'S HOUSE - DAY (1953)
    HEADER:
    1953
    A truancy officer, MRS. CULPEPPER (30s and no-nonsense) knocks on the door to Little Kya's house.
    MRS. CULPEPPER
    Yoo-hoo, anybody home? Truant officer here. I've come to take Catherine Clark to school.
    No answer.
    MRS. CULPEPPER
    It's the law, hon. You gotta go to school. You get a hot lunch every day for free. I think today they're having chicken pie with crust.
    The door opens and Little Kya peers out. She's wearing Little Jodie's pants tied around with rope. No shoes. o o MRS. CULPEPPER Hello, dear. It's okay to go barefoot, other children do, but because you're a little girl you have to wear a skirt. Do you have a dress or skirt, hon? Little Kya disappears again into the house.
    MRS. CULPEPPER
    Hurry up, hon. You're not just late today, you're a year late, so let's--
    She stops when Little Kya rushes back to the door, breathing hard. She's wearing one of Ma's skirts, pinned tightly around her tiny waist. Mrs. Culpepper manages a smile.
    INT.
    SCHOOL - DAY
    Little Kya stands in front of the class, ramrod straight in her pinned up skirt and bare feet. Two little girls, TALLSKINNYBLONDE and ALWAYSWEARSPEARLS, snicker at this dirty, skinny little waif. The teacher, MISS ARIEL, (19 and doing her best) tries not to laugh along.
    MISS ARIEL
    Do you want to tell us your name?
    LITTLE KYA
    (carefully)
    Catherine Danielle Clark.
    The room bursts out laughing.
    MISS ARIEL
    Now, children, we don't laugh! We never laugh. Miss Catherine Danielle Clark, why don't you spell "Dog?"
    LITTLE KYA
    G-0-D.
    The class laughs again.
    ALWAYSWEARPEARLS
    Swamp trash.
    Little Kya looks around desperately. Little Tate and Little o Chase both look down at their desks. not laughing. They're the only ones o MISS ARIEL You can go ahead and sit down, Miss Catherine Danielle Clark. Little Kya makes her way through the sea of contemptuous faces and finds a seat in the back of the room.
    INT.
    SCHOOL - CAFETERIA - DAY
    Little Kya watches the LUNCH LADIES heap her tray with collard greens, mash potatoes, some kind of meat situation, green beans, and corn bread. A sympathetic LUNCH LADY hands her a tray piled high with food. The other GIRLS in line pull back, disgusted. Little Kya takes her tray to a table in the corner, sits alone, and digs in. The entire cafeteria watches as Kya eats VERY carefully and slowly from her tray. She's starving, and nobody ever taught her how to use utensils, but she's doing her best. Little Kya takes a few bites. Drinks her milk. Then she opens up her milk container and gently forks the rest of her food into the container. She folds it back up. It's comical and just a little heartbreaking. Finally Little Kya looks up from her feast. The children and adults are all looking at her the way you would an elephant or a Komodo dragon. They've never seen anything nearly as strange as Little Kya before. Little Kya looks them all back in the eye, one by one by one. Little Tate can't meet her gaze and looks down. Little Chase stares right back. His expression is unreadable. Little Kya stands up and walks out of the cafeteria with her head held high. As she leaves, she hears the children burst into cruel laughter. The adults do nothing to stop them.
    CHILDREN
    Swamp rat! Swamp Rat! Swamp Rat!
    EXT.
    SCHOOL - DAY
    Little Kya keeps walking as the voices of the children fade.
    EXT.
    KYA'S HOUSE - DAY
    o Mrs. Culpepper knocks on Kya's door again. door. Pa opens the o PA Get the hell out!
    INT.
    KYA'S HOUSE - DAY
    The voices of Pa and Mrs. Culpepper fighting fade out as Little Kya climbs out the window ....
    EXT.
    MARSH - WOODS - DAY
    ... and runs deep into the woods. She cornes to the water and stops. Looks longingly at the boats out on the water.
    INT.
    KYA'S HOUSE - BACK ROOM - DAY
    Little Kya sleeps on a pallet on the floor. Pa snores in the next room. Kya wakes up to the clanging of pots and pans. She sits straight up.
    LITTLE KYA
    (delighted whisper)
    Ma!
    Kya slips out of bed and runs to the kitchen.
    INT.
    KYA'S HOUSE - KITCHEN - DAY
    Little Kya runs into the kitchen and stops dead. Her face falls. A CHICKADEE has flown into the house and is trying desperately to escape the cold, empty kitchen. It bangs on pots and pans as it flutters through the air. Little Kya opens the door for the bird and watches it fly off into the marsh.
    INT.
    KYA'S HOUSE - DAY (1954)
    HEADER:
    1954
    Little Kya makes breakfast for Pa. Harn, bacon, grits, eggs. She sets the table. Plates the food. Pa wanders in.
    PA
    Ah swannee, girl, what's a' this?
    o Looks like ya went and got all growed up. Cooking and all. o LITTLE KYA Yessir. I fixed cornbread too but it didn't come out.
    PA
    Well, I thank you. That's a mighty good girl. I'm plumb wore out and hungry as a wallow-hog.
    Little Kya sits with Pa at the table. He eats everything.
    PA
    This here's better'n a cold collard sandwich!
    LITTLE KYA
    I wish the cornbread'd come out. Maybe shoulda put more soda in, less eggs. Ma made it so good but I guess I didn't--
    She stops talking when Pa's face clouds over at the mention of Ma.
    PA
    Hold up.
    He gets up and goes to the closet. Rummages around and comes back with a World War Two issue knapsack.
    PA
    Thought you could use it for your feathers, bird nests, all that other stuff you collect.
    Little Kya smells the knapsack and holds it close.
    LITTLE KYA
    Can I go fishing with you sometime?
    PA
    You're a girl.
    LITTLE KYA
    Yessir. I'm your girl.
    EXT.
    MARSH - WATER - DAY
    Little Kya and Pa boat down the river. She reaches into the water and pulls up some feathers. Holds o them up to Pa. o LITTLE KYA Great horned owl, probably. She pockets them.
    PA
    My folks wasn't always poor, you know. Had rich land, raised tobacco and cotton and such. Over near Asheville. We lived in a house with a veranda that went all the way around. It was fine, mighty fine. Then it all went wrong together. Depression, cotton weevils. I don't know what all, and it was gone Only thing left was debts.
    They fish in silence.
    PA
    I don't want you needing anything from anybody. One day you'll understand, Kya. With the money the Army owes me, you know what I could have done? But I own this land, at least. And one day you will, too.
    LITTLE KYA
    Yes, sir.
    PA
    I want you to stay careful. In this world you can't be no goddamn girl, you understand?
    Little Kya nods.
    EXT.
    MARSH - WATER - DAY - LATER
    Little Kya casts a line. Little Tate motors by. He waves at Little Kya and Pa. Little Kya waves back, and Pa punches her shoulder. He glares at Little Tate, who motors quickly away.
    PA
    You gotta be careful. Woods are full of white trash. Folks tell you they got your best interest at heart. They're all liars.
    Ain't no one out for no one but theyselves. Better just to be alone. They keep fishing as the sun sets on their bare shoulders.
    EXT.
    KYA'S HOUSE - DAY
    Kya and Pa walk up to the house with a line full of fish. The flag is up in the mailbox, and Kya runs to it. She pulls a letter out of the mailbox. "CATHERINE DANIELLE CLARK".
    LITTLE KYA
    That's Ma's handwriting!
    PA
    Give me that.
    He snatches the letter.
    LITTLE KYA
    Ma's alive! Living somewhere else. Why doesn't she come home?
    Pa grabs the letter. Opens it and reads. His face clouds over.
    LITTLE KYA
    What's she say?
    Pa fishes into his pocket for a lighter. He sets the letter on fire.
    LITTLE KYA
    Pa, stop! STOP THAT'S MINE! THAT'S FOR ME!
    But the letter is ash.
    PA
    She ain't never coming back.
    Pa drops what's left and walks back inside. Little Kya runs to scoop up the hot ash.
    LITTLE KYA
    AIN'T ISN'T EVEN A REAL WORD!
    o o EXT. KYA'S HOUSE - DAY Little Kya pours her handful of ash into an empty bottle. She cradles it to her chest.
    INT.
    KYA'S HOUSE - DAY
    Little Kya has fallen asleep on the floor, holding her bottle. She awakens to Pa tiptoeing around, collecting his things. She sits up. Pa sees her.
    PA
    Going to Asheville. Army's holding onto my damn disability pay and hell if government's gonna rob my own daughter the way they robbed me. I'll be a week at most. I ain't leaving 'til they pay me what they owe me. Understand?
    LITTLE KYA
    Yes, sir.
    Pa tries to say something more, but can't. He heads out the door. She stays on the floor, frozen.
    KYA (V.O.)
    Always had a talent for knowing when someone's gonna be gone. Even before they did.
    INT.
    SHERIFF'S OFFICE - DAY (1969 AFTER DEATH)
    Deputy Perdue taps on Sheriff Jackson's door.
    DEPUTY PERDUE
    Got the first of the lab reports.
    Sheriff Jackson waves him in. The two men sit, looking through the papers.
    DEPUTY PERDUE
    Time of death, between midnight and 2 AM, just like we thought.
    They keep reading.
    DEPUTY PERDUE
    Damn.
    o o SHERIFF JACKSON Negative data. Ain't a thing here. Except the two boys going up to the third switchback, no fingerprints on the railing, the grates, nothing. None from Chase or anyone else.
    DEPUTY PERDUE
    What does that ...
    SHERIFF JACKSON
    What it COULD mean is, someone wiped them clean.
    DEPUTY PERDUE
    So you thinking no accident?
    SHERIFF JACKSON
    No accident.
    INT.
    KYA'S HOUSE - NIGHT
    Little Kya traces through her mother's encyclopedias, pretending to read to herself.
    LITTLE KYA
    "Bora Bora is an island, far away, filled with many magical creatures."
    She takes a colored pencil and draws a blue heron in the margins of the encyclopedia.
    INT.
    KYA'S HOUSE - NIGHT
    Kya tries to sleep on her mattress on the floor. Outside, she hears the lapping of water and the roar of crickets. The music of the marsh. She sits up in bed.
    EXT.
    KYA'S HOUSE - PORCH - NIGHT
    Kya drags her mattress out to the porch. Wraps herself in a blanket and falls asleep, peaceful and calm.
    EXT.
    KYA'S HOUSE - DAY
    Little Kya picks scuppernongs from the vines around her o mother's overgrown, weeded-out vegetable garden. hungrily. Eats o EXT. MARSH - DAY - LATER Little Kya digs mussels.
    EXT.
    KYA'S HOUSE - DAY
    Little Kya smokes mussels in the smoker.
    INT.
    KYA'S HOUSE - DAY
    Little Kya stands on the counter and watches the scuppernongs boil on the stove. A row of jam jars are lined up on the counter.
    EXT.
    BARKLEY COVE - WATER - DAY
    Little Kya motors out of the marsh with her pack of freshly smoked mussels and bag of scuppernong jelly jars.
    EXT.
    JUMPIN'S SHOP - DAY
    Little Kya makes her way shyly into Jumpin's shop. Jumpin and Mabel peer down at this dirty, barefoot little girl with a giant bag.
    JUMPIN
    Good morning, Kya.
    LITTLE KYA
    Good morning, Mr. Jumpin. Mrs. Mabel.
    She tries to talk but her mouth is dry.
    JUMPIN
    You needing some gas?
    LITTLE KYA
    I hear tell y'all buy mussels? I got some here. And some scuppernong jam.
    Jumpin starts to say something, but Mabel cuts him off.
    MABEL
    Yesiree, we sure do. They fresh?
    o She looks through Kya's bag.
    LITTLE KYA
    I dug 'em before dawn. Just now.
    MAB EL
    Well then, we can give you fifty cents for one bag, a full tank of gas for the other.
    LITTLE KYA
    How many bags y'all need a week?
    JUMPIN
    How about we strike up a business deal? I buy about forty ponds every two-three days. But mind, others bring them in too. If you bring them and I already got sorne, well, you'd be out. It's first corne, first serve. No other way of doing it.
    LITTLE KYA
    That's fine. Thank you. Can I, uh ...
    She grabs a candle, matches, and more grits. She stops her hand above a Sugar Daddy candy. Mabel rings her up.
    MAB EL
    Corne by next time and I'll measure your feet. Sure we can find sorne shoes in our church donation bin for you.
    LITTLE KYA
    I'll be by first thing.
    INT.
    KYA'S HOUSE - DAY
    Little Kya, safe and warm in her house, walks over to the record player. Dusts it off. No one's played it since Jodie left. She puts on a record: Mississippi John Hurt. "You Got To Walk that Lonesome Valley" begins to play, and she sways back and forth.
    INT.
    JUMPIN'S SHOP - DAY
    o Mabel measures Kya's feet by outlining them on butcher paper. A FISHERMAN walks into the door holding a bag of mussels.
    MAB EL
    We're full for the day, but thank you!
    She winks at Little Kya, who beams.
    MAB EL
    If you outwork 'em, you can beat 'em.

INT. JUMPIN'S SHOP - DAY
    Little Kya leans over the desk and several packs of seeds as Mabel sketches out diagrams of how to plant corn.
    EXT.
    KYA'S HOUSE - DAY
    Little Kya hoes in her garden under the hot sun.
    EXT.
    BEACH - NIGHT
    Little Kya digs mussels at night.
    INT.
    JUMPIN'S SHOP - DAY
    Little Kya looks through the box. Dresses ... and a bra. She pulls it out and wrinkles her nose.
    MAB EL
    Come around back. I'll show you.
    EXT.
    MAR SH - WATER - DAY
    The music continues as Little Kya, now more confident, boats through the marsh, casting a line. Her boat drifts into some weeds •..
    EXT.
    MAR SH - WATER - DAY (1959)
    HEADER:
    1959
    The boat drifts out, five years later. Kya, 14, casts a fishing line with grace and ease. o o EXT. MARSH - CLEARING - DAY Kya walks home with a bucket of fresh mussels. She stops when she sees the tree stump in the middle of the clearing. There's a six inch long, thin black feather sticking straight out of it. Kya picks it up. Kya begins to walk back home, then doubles back. She snatches the feather out of the stump.
    EXT.
    KYA'S HOUSE - DAY
    Kya's house is neater, clean, from the outside. There's a carefully tended garden, with tornato plants crawling up stakes, red peppers, okra, and melon. And of course, her porch bed, which is surrounded by shells and feathers. Kya's bed has the look of a shrine, or maybe a fortress.
    EXT.
    BARKLEY COVE - DAY
    Kya walks into town. She's wearing the feather of the white tropic bird in her hair.
    EXT.
    MARSH - CLEARING - DAY
    Kya cornes out of her house to find another tail feather on the stump. She smiles.
    INT.
    KYA'S HOUSE - DAY
    Kya opens her mother's drawer and paws through her old make up. Kya paints her face. Finds a pair of scissors and cuts her hair. She finds a bottle of her mother's pink nail polish.
    EXT.
    KYA'S HOUSE - PORCH - FLASHBACK
    Little Kya sits on the porch with her sisters, laughing as Ma paints their nails.
    MA
    o Don't move, you'll mess it up! o LITTLE KYA
    It's so PINK!
    MA
    It'll look good on your pretty olive skin.
    END FLASHBACK.
    INT.
    KYA'S HOUSE - DAY
    Kya paints her fingernails carefully with Ma's pink nail polish.
    EXT.
    MARSH - CLEARING - DAY
    Kya finds a small red and white milk carton, and next to it, another feather. She smiles. Picks up the feather first. Then looks inside the milk carton. Packages of seeds (turnips, carrots, green beans). A spark plug for her motor boat engine. At the bottom of the carton is a note. She picks it up and traces her fingers over it. She can't read. No matter. She runs back into her house ...
    INT.
    KYA'S HOUSE - DAY
    ... and grabs the tail feather from a tundra swan off her wall.
    EXT.
    MARSH - WOODS - DAY
    Kya makes her way through the woods, where she runs smack into Tate. They stare at each other for a moment.
    KYA
    Oh. You.
    Kya pulls the tundra swan feather from her pocket. Hands it to him without a word.
    TATE
    Tundra swan!
    KYA
    Who taught you birds?
    o My dad.
    TATE
    o Oh.
    KYA
    More awkward silence.
    KYA
    I can't read your note.
    She pulls the note out of her pocket and hands it back to him.
    TATE
    All I said was, I saw you a couple of times when I was fishing, and it got me thinking that maybe you could use some seeds and the spark plug. I had extra and thought it might save you a trip to town. I figured you'd like the feathers.
    Awkward pause.
    TATE
    Well, I'd better be going, getting late.
    Kya says nothing. Tate nods. He makes his way out of the woods ... then turns.
    TATE
    I could teach you to read.
    EXT.
    MARSH - SHORE - DAY
    Kya sits on a driftwood log while Tate pulls out a paper and pencil.
    TATE
    I thought you may as well learn to write at the same time. So we start with "A". "A". Just draw that shape.
    Kya writes out a letter "A" on her paper.
    TATE
    Good! Now I'm gonna show you something kind of neat. Here's "B", here's "C".
    Kya draws out "B" and "C". o o TATE Now write "C, A, B". Kya does.
    KYA
    (sounding it out)
    "Cuh-ah-buh".
    TATE
    Cab! Cab! See, you already can write a word! C-A-B. You can write the word "cab"!
    KYA
    What's "cab"?
    TATE
    Don't even worry about it! Now "D" and you can write "D-A-D". "Dad!"
    Kya begins to write.
    TATE
    Oh my gosh. Oh gosh. Kya, I'm so sorry.
    KYA
    "Dad" . No big deal. What' s this?
    TATE
    "E".
    Kya writes out "E".
    KYA
    Rather you say something about it. Everyone else don't talk about it none. Look right through me.
    EXT.
    KYA'S HOUSE - PORCH - NIGHT
    Kya lays on her porch. In the porch light, she writes "FINCH" beneath one of her drawings of a finch.
    EXT.
    MARSH - WOODS - DAY
    Kya stands in front of an old, windy oak tree and we see that she's sketched it almost identically. She writes "O" at the bottom and stops. o o KYA Don't tell me. Kya writes "OKE".
    TATE
    Gettin' there.
    KYA
    Don't help me.
    TATE
    Sure, I got all day.
    But he's smiling.
    INT.
    KYA'S HOUSE - DAY
    Tate sits at the table, finishing a plate of mussels and bread, as Kya leans over him reading from "Sands County Almanac"
    KYA
    (reading from Sands County Almanac)
    "There are some who can live without wild things," comma, "and some who can not."
    She pulls back.
    KYA
    Oh. Oh.
    Tate jumps out of his chair.
    TATE
    That's what I'm talking about Kya! Wooo! Now there'll never be a time again when you can't read!
    KYA
    All right, all right.
    But she's smiling, too.
    KYA
    I didn't know words could hold so much. I didn't know a sentence could be so full.
    o TATE Not all words hold that much. o A SERIES OF SHOTS where Tate brings Kya more and more books. Zoology, Biology, Botany. measure. A Strunk and White for good
    INT.
    KYA'S HOUSE - NIGHT
    Kya, with a children's science book, practices diagramming a plant cell.
    KYA (V.O.)
    We went through the whole library, Three times a week, summer into winter.
    EXT.
    MARSH - DAY
    Kya and Tate tramp through the marsh, laughing and talking. Tate freezes. He's right in front of an alligator, panting heavily. Kya pulls him away.
    KYA
    Aw, relax. They don't attack unless you're right up on em.
    EXT.
    MARSH - WATER - DAY (WINTER 1959)
    It's winter, and Tate motors up with Kya waiting for him. Tate beams upon seeing her. He's carrying a picnic basket.
    INT.
    KYA'S HOUSE - DAY
    There's a makeshift Christmas tree on Kya's table. Tate pulls out Christmas leftovers from the basket and a wrapped book, which he hands to Kya.
    TATE
    I'm sorry I couldn't invite you over for Christmas. My whole family--
    He stops himself. Kya sees his embarrassment.
    KYA
    Don't worry about it.
    Tate plates the food as she unwraps out a used Webster's Dictionary. She opens it to .... o A Pelican feather under "P" o A Mushroom under "M" And a bunch of forget-me-not blossoms under "F". Kya pushes forward a head tuft from a male cardinal.
    TATE
    Head tuft from a male cardinal! Cool! I don't have one.
    He wants to hug her. She wants to hug him, too. They don't.
    TATE
    Thank you!
    KYA
    Yeah.
    EXT.
    MARSH - WATER - DAY (1960)
    HEADER:
    1960
    Kya guns her boat and takes off into the marsh, towards the setting sun.
    EXT.
    MARSH - WATER - DAY - LATER
    Kya kills the motor and allows the boat to be carried through the gentle current. A flock of seagulls flies around Kya, dipping and calling out for food. She obliges, pulling out old crackers and feeding them from her hands.
    INT.
    SHERIFF'S OFFICE - DAY (1969 AFTER DEATH)
    Deputy Perdue is holding a plastic bag full of the red fibers up to the light while the Sheriff study's a report.
    SHERIFF JACKSON
    "Cause of death: sudden impact on occipital and parietal ... "
    He keeps reading.
    SHERIFF JACKSON
    He fell off the tower. So somebody did destroy all the foot and fingerprints.
    o o And look.
    DEPUTY PERDUE
    He hands the Sheriff the plastic bag.
    DEPUTY PERDUE
    Didn't come from any of his clothes. And they were all over his body. Wool, it says.
    SHERIFF JACKSON
    Could be a shirt, skirt, socks, cape. Hell, it could be anything.
    INT.
    TATE'S HOUSE - NIGHT
    Tate's house is filled with pictures of his pretty MOTHER (mid-20s) and sister CARIANNE, 8. SCUPPER (40), a big, boisterous man with red knuckles, is cutting tomatoes while Tate fries burgers for dinner. Miliza Korjus sings from a record player. The house is neat, but there's something still and sad in the air. Scupper sings along to dissolve it.
    SCUPPER
    How's school?
    TATE
    Good, good. They're letting me sit in on ninth grade biology.
    As he talks, he shapes an extra burger with his hands and puts it in the pan. Scupper pretends not to notice.
    INT.
    TATE'S HOUSE - TATE'S ROOM - DAY
    Morning light streams through the window as Tate sneaks out of bed •..
    INT.
    TATE'S HOUSE - KITCHEN - DAY
    Tate tiptoes to the refrigerator and takes bread, the hamburger patty, and a bottle of ketchup out and puts them in a paper bag. He quietly slips out the front door.
    INT.
    TATE'S HOUSE - SCUPPER'S ROOM - DAY
    o Through his window, Scupper watches Tate tiptoe towards water with his paper bag of food. Scupper smiles. o EXT. KYA'S HOUSE - DAY Kya leaps up from her porch bed as she hears Tate's motor approaching. She leaps to her feet, beaming as he walks through the trees to her.
    KYA
    I thought you'd forgotten.
    Tate looks Kya straight in the eye.
    TATE
    How could I?
    He hands her a carefully made hamburger.
    EXT.
    BARKLEY COVE - DINER - NIGHT (1969 AFTER DEATH)
    Sheriff Jackson parks his car in between the trucks that are squeezed together in front of the very popular Barkley Cove Diner. The diner overlooks the harbor, and mollusk shells litter the sidewalks.
    INT.
    BARKLEY COVE - DINER - NIGHT
    Deputy Perdue and Sheriff Jackson weave between crowded tables to find a seat at the bar. A drunk MR. LANE (60) is talking to the WAITRESS (20s) behind the counter.
    MR. LANE
    I reckon it was Lamar Sands. He caught his wife doing a number with Chase right on the deck of that fancy ski boat.
    WAITRESS
    That's a motive.
    MR. LANE
    Also Lamar was with that bunch that slit the sheriff's tires.
    The Waitress, recognizing Sheriff Jackson and Deputy Perdue, tries to save it.
    WAITRESS
    They were just kids back then.
    MR. LANE
    There was something else too, I
    o just can't remember. o Miss Pansy Price, picking up a to-go order behind Mr. Lane, pipes up.
    MISS PANSY
    (to Mr. Lane)
    It coulda been that woman lives out in the marsh. Crazy enough for the loony bin. I just bet she'd been up to this kind of thing.
    MR. LANE
    That one?
    MISS PANSY
    Well, for a while she got herself involved with--
    She stops when she sees Deputy Perdue and Sheriff Jackson.
    INT.
    KYA'S HOUSE - NIGHT (1960)
    Kya, curled up in her cot, sketches a shell that she balances on her knee.
    INT.
    KYA'S HOUSE - NIGHT - LATER
    Tate and Kya sit on her bed, holding her tattered family Bible. Ray Charles spins on the record player. Kya has the Bible opened to the family tree page, where she traces her fingers along the names.
    KYA
    (sounding out the words)
    "Miss Catherine Danielle Clark. October 10, 1945."
    TATE
    All right then, Miss Catherine Danielle Clark.
    KYA
    (reading)
    "Master Jeremy Andrew Clark, January 2 ... " That's Jodie! "Miss Amanda Margaret Clark. Master Napier Murphy Clark. Miss Mary Helen Clark."
    She traces her fingers to the two names above. o
    KYA
    This means ... these are my parents. "Mister Jackson Henry Clark married Miss Julienne Maria Jacques, June 12, 1933."
    She chokes back tears and looks out the window.
    KYA
    This used to be all ours. Pa said, we used to own all this land, generations back. We wasn't always like this.
    She motions to the shack.
    TATE
    Weren't always like this.
    KYA
    Weren't always like this.
    She tears up.
    TATE
    (panicking)
    Oh, no! Oh no. I made you cry. I'm sorry, Kya.
    KYA
    You didn't make me cry. I miss them.
    She traces her hand over the names on the family tree.
    KYA
    Jodie. Ma. I had forgot how much I feel them not here. But I feel them, not here, right now. I feel them not here all the time. And most of the time I forget that I'm feeling it. I am so damn alone, Tate. I am so damn alone. It's there all the time. This hole in my chest that's them being gone. And I can't fill it up.
    Tate reaches out and puts his hand on Kya's shoulder.
    KYA
    I just wanted you to hear me. Sometimes I feel so invisible I
    o wonder if I'm here at all.
    TATE
    You are.
    Kya laughs, then flips a page. A handwritten poem falls out. Kya picks it up.
    KYA
    This is Ma. She used to write down poems she liked.
    KYA
    (reading)
    "I did care ... I did say everything I thought/In the mildest words I knew. And now/I have to say I am relieved it is over;/At the end I could feel only pity/For that urge toward more life."
    EXT.
    JUMPIN'S WHARF - DAY
    Kya ties her boat up in the dock as Jumpin hurries out to meet her.
    KYA
    Hey, Jumpinl I got the rest of the mussels for ya!
    JUMPIN
    Kya, there were some men poking around here this morning, asking about you.
    It's as if Kya has been struck by lightning. She looks right at Jumpin, suddenly an adult.
    KYA
    Who? What did they want?
    JUMPIN
    Social Services. Asking is your Pa still around, where your ma is, if you're going to school this fall. And when you come here. They especially want to know what times you come here.
    Kya's too afraid to breathe.
    JUMPIN
    So I told them, your Pa's just
    o fine. Out fishing is all. And I never know when your boat is here. o JUMPIN I'll send them on a snipe hunt if they corne again. But, be careful.
    EXT.
    KYA'S HOUSE - DAY
    Tate motors up to Kya's house as she waits for him on the shore.
    KYA
    (nervous)
    Can we meet sornewhere's else, 'sides here?
    TATE
    It's besides, not 'sides, and it's polite to greet people before asking a favor.
    She gives an elaborate curtsy.
    KYA
    Good afternoon, Mr. Tate. Can we go somewhere besides here? Please. Jurnpin said the Social services are lookin' for me. They're gonna pull me in like a trout, put me in a foster home.
    TATE
    Well, we better hide way out where the crawdads sing. I pity any foster parents who take you on.
    KYA
    What do you mean, where the crawdads sing? Ma used to say that.
    TATE
    I mean, far out in the marsh, where critters are wild. Still act like critters.
    EXT.
    MARSH - WATER - DAY
    Kya stands in the boat. They're motoring deeper and deeper into the marsh. As Kya stands up, a hunting knife falls out of her pocket. Tate picks it up. o o TATE You carry this with you?
    KYA
    (shrugging)
    It's dangerous for me. You didn't bring any food, did you?
    TATE
    I knew I was seeing you, so I always bring food.
    He hands her a sandwich from his jacket.
    KYA
    I'm not poor, you know.
    TATE
    Didn't say you were. Girls just eat a lot.
    KYA
    (mouth full of sandwich)
    Really?
    TATE
    Have you ever thought of going back to school? It wouldn't kill you.
    KYA
    They'll grab me and put me in a home.
    TATE
    What, so you plan to live alone in the marsh forever?
    KYA
    Better than going to a foster home.
    TATE
    Might be nice people who like kids.
    KYA
    You're saying you'd go live with strangers before you'd live in the marsh?
    TATE
    Well you can't just live like this forever!
    o Why not?
    KYA
    o Because!
    TATE
    He searches for a reason.
    TATE
    There are bears out there.
    KYA
    I ain't afraid of bears.
    TATE
    I'm not afraid of bears.
    Kya laughs.
    TATE
    I'm just saying, it's not good for a woman to live alone.
    Kya shrugs.
    KYA
    Watch me.
    TATE
    All right.
    A moment of unexpected intimacy.
    KYA
    Come on. Hide with me just a few hours.
    EXT.
    MARSH - WOODS - DAY
    Kya and Tate sit on a log, with Kya silently sounding out words in a biology book.
    KYA
    You can go on.
    TATE
    In a minute.
    KYA
    Tate? I appreciate you teaching me to read and all the things you gave me. But why do you do it? Don't you have a girlfriend or something like that?
    o
    TATE
    (posturing)
    Well, sometimes I do.
    KYA
    Sometimes?
    TATE
    I mean, I had one, but not now.
    Kya laughs. Tate relaxes a little.
    TATE
    I guess, I like the marsh. I like the way you're so interested in it. Most people don't pay any attention except to fish. They think it's wasteland that should be drained and developed. An d ...
    He can't say the rest. He shrugs.
    KYA
    Where's your ma?
    Tate doesn't answer.
    KYA
    You don't have to say nothing.
    TATE
    My mother and little sister died in a car wreck over in Asheville. My sister's name was Carianne.
    KYA
    Oh, I'm sorry Tate. I'm so sorry. I bet your ma was nice and pretty.
    TATE
    They both were.
    KYA
    My ma walked off one day and didn't come back. The mama deer always come back.
    TATE
    Well, at least you can hope she does. I think ...
    KYA
    o What? You think what?
    anything to me. You can say o TATE I think they went to Asheville to buy my birthday present. There was this bike I wanted. Western Auto didn't carry it, so I think they went to Asheville to get that bike for me. I don't even remember what kind of bike it was. Kya goes to touch Tate, then pulls back.
    TATE
    And I been scared ever since, of doing the wrong thing. Stepping in the wrong place. Letting myself want something.
    Kya leans in closer to Tate. And then, the wind picks up, and thousands of yellow sycamore leaves break from their life support and stream across the sky. The leaves hit them both full on in the face, breaking the tension. Suddenly kids again.
    KYA
    See how many leaves you can catch before they hit the ground!
    They run through the swirling leaves, laughing and catching them. They bump into one another. They freeze. Stop laughing. Tate takes her shoulders and kisses her lips as the leaves rain down. She pulls back. Softens. Now she kisses him. The two of them slowly figure it out. Then break away. Tate pulls a leaf out of her hair.
    KYA
    Am I your girlfriend now?
    TATE
    Do you want to be?
    Kya kisses him again to answer.
    EXT.
    MARSH - WOODS - DAY (FALL 1960)
    Kya and Tate race through the colored leaves, shrieking with laughter. o
    EXT.
    MARSH - TATE'S BOAT - DAY
    Kya sits in Tate's boat and opens the basket. A Winn-Dixie cake with "Kya" written on it, surrounded by wrapped packages. Kya gasps.
    TATE
    Happy birthday, Kya!
    KYA
    What? No! How'd you know it was my birthday?
    TATE
    It was in your Bible.
    Tate cuts the cake.
    KYA
    Not my name! Don't cut my name!
    TATE
    Yes ma' am.
    Tate cuts the cake and they drift through the marsh, eating cake and laughing. Kya unwraps her presents. The first is a small magnifying glass.
    TATE
    So you can see the fine details of insect wings.
    Kya beams and unwraps the second. It's a plastic clasp, painted silver and decorated with a rhinestone sea gull.
    TATE
    For your hair.
    He pulls some locks behind her ear and clips the barrette in place. Kya smiles. The last present is a larger box, and Kya opens it to find ten jars of oil paint, tins of watercolors, and different sized brushes.
    TATE
    For your painting.
    Kya picks up each color. Each brush. o
    INT.
    KYA'S HOUSE - DAY
    Tate helps Kya tape up more drawings of her labeled shells and feathers.
    EXT.
    MAR SH - WOODS - DAY
    Tate and Kya sit on a blanket on the forest floor, eating biscuits under a shared blanket. She leans into him, giggling. There's a sound of a roar, like cannons.
    TATE
    Here they come.
    An d just like that, hundreds of thousands of white snow geese fly up and through the air, towards them, landing just feet away. The entire world is blanketed in white. Kya and Tate are speechless. Kya watches Tate laugh amidst the geese and sunlight. He and the marsh are suddenly one.
    EXT.
    PETE'S BOAT YARD - DAY
    Scupper and Tate hack barnacles off of Scupper's boat, "The Cherry Pie."
    SCUPPER
    I'm too tired to cook. Let's grab something at the diner on the way home?
    Tate nods and keeps hacking.
    INT.
    BAR KLEY COVE - DINER - NIGHT
    Scupper and Tate nod to the WAITRESS as they make their way into the crowded diner and find seats at the bar.
    SCUPPER
    (to the Waitress)
    Two chicken fried steak specials, please. Extra biscuits for that one.
    He nods to Tate. Tate is watching a FAM ILY OF FOUR say grace in a corner booth.
    SCUPPER
    o We're celebrating tonight. o What?
    TATE
    Why?
    SCUPPER
    Because I'm proud of you.
    TATE
    I didn't do anything.
    SCUPPER
    All on your own, you studied the marsh life, straight A's, full scholarship to Chapel Hill. I'm not the kind to speak on such things much. But I'm mighty proud of you, son. All right?
    TATE
    Yeah. All right.
    SCUPPER
    But we'll never talk about it again, how's that?
    TATE
    Great.
    SCUPPER
    I know there's that big dance at the pavilion corning up. You taking anybody?
    TATE
    Nah. I may not go. Nobody I want to ask.
    SCUPPER
    Now, son, I don't pay much attention to idle talk. Never have done. But there's a regular riptide of gossip saying you've got something going on with that girl in the marsh?
    Tate throws up his hands.
    SCUPPER
    Now, I'm not saying I believe those stories about her--
    o o TATE I'm teaching her how to read because the people in this town are so mean to her she couldn't even go to school. The Waitress plops down two heaping plates of chicken fried steak, collard greens, biscuits, and mash and gravy. A welcome distraction.
    SCUPPER
    Hey, it's my job to say all the things we don't like to talk about. Don't get huffy about it.
    He butters a biscuit.
    SCUPPER
    So are you gonna get any field work freshman year, or is just books.
    TATE
    I applied for a couple of internships, but I probably won't get any.
    SCUPPER
    I never underestimate you, Tate.
    Tate laughs. The two continue to chat and eat. INT. KYA Is HOUSE - NIGHT Kya and Tate make out on her bed. She takes his shirt off.
    KYA
    Okay?
    TATE
    Yeah.
    He kisses her more, then stops.
    TATE
    We shouldn't.
    Kya doesn't say a word, but she takes Tate's shirt. She buttons his shirt over her own, staring at him the whole time. o o EXT. MARSH - WOODS - DAY Tate strokes Kya's hair as she sketches geese.
    TATE
    Lemme see that notebook.
    Kya hands Tate her notebook. Tate leafs through the pages of Kya's notebook. A scallop shell, labelled with a water color of the beach and insets showing the creature eating smaller creatures of the sea. There are hundreds of pictures. Tate whistles as he traces his fingers over the illustration.
    TATE
    These are wonderful. Beautifully detailed.
    KYA
    So?
    TATE
    So I think you're the smartest person I know.
    KYA
    What do you need to go to college for, then? Stay here. Ask me whatever you wanna know.
    TATE
    You could publish these, if you want to.
    KYA
    Naw.
    TATE
    You could.
    KYA
    I can't.
    TATE
    Why not?
    KYA
    From the Marsh Girl?
    Tate starts to object and she cuts him off. o o KYA It's what I am because it's what they say I am. I can't do anything about it.
    TATE
    Maybe here, where all these narrow- minded people think they're the whole world. They're not. You can introduce yourself to the world. Catherine Danielle Clark isn't a Marsh Girl name. Not to them. Not to me.
    Now Kya kisses Tate. He takes her shirt off. Stares at her breasts. He unbuttons her shorts. She lets him. Now they're naked, vulnerable. Kya turns away in shyness.
    TATE
    Kya, look at me.
    She does. And now she's on him, hands gliding over his chest ... Kissing her, his hands travel up her thighs ... she gasps ... he begins stroking her and she throws her head back ... And then Tate stops.
    TATE
    God, Kya, I'm sorry. I'm sorry.
    KYA
    Tate, please. I want to.
    Tate shakes his head, and picks up her clothes. Tenderly dresses her again. Not touching her the way she wants.
    KYA
    Why not?
    TATE
    Kya, I want you more than anything. I want you forever. But I can't get pregnant. I can't be damaged as easily. I won't do it, Kya, because I love you.
    Kya pulls back at the word "love". He wraps himself around her.
    KYA
    o When, then? When can we?
    o TATE Just not yet.
    KYA
    How did you know what to do?
    TATE
    Sarne way you did.
    EXT.
    MARSH - WATER - DAY
    Kya boats past a giant machine cutting several oaks at once on the bank. She turns her head away.
    EXT.
    WOODS - DAY
    Kya and Tate stand side by side as she sketches and labels a butterfly resting on a tree trunk. The butterfly finally flies away.
    KYA
    NEXT!
    She laughs and they walk on into the woods.
    TATE
    I'm going to Chapel Hill sooner than I thought. I got a job in a biology lab on campus. Starting summer quarter.
    Kya forces a smile and nods. Tate sits up. Pulls an envelope out of his pocket and hands it to her. She opens it.
    TATE
    It's a list of publishers I went through with my advisor.
    KYA
    What do I do with this?
    TATE
    Write them! You can write better than I can. Tell them you have books. They'll pay good money.
    KYA
    I don't know what to say to these people. Look at me. I'm not a
    o writer. o You are.
    TATE
    KYA
    You think someone's gonna look at me, give me money, read what I have to say?
    TATE
    If they're smart. And there are a lot of smart people in the world. You can teach them what's special about this place. Just like you taught me.
    KYA
    Do it with me.
    TATE
    Fine. I'll help you when I'm back. But look.
    He motions to Kya.
    KYA
    What?
    TATE
    Look how much you've already done on your own.
    KYA
    What? What have I done?
    She runs away from Tate.
    TATE
    Kya, wait.
    KYA
    You're gonna stay gone. There's no jobs here.
    TATE
    I won't leave you, Kya, I promise. I'll come back to you.
    KYA
    You won't.
    o o TATE (calling after her) You can't run away from every whipstitch. Sometimes you have to discuss things. Face things. But Kya's already gone.
    TATE
    (calling)
    Damn it, Kya! Why are you like this?
    INT.
    TATE'S HOUSE - TATE'S ROOM -
    Tate lies in his bed, not able to sleep. Finally sits up. He opens a window and hops out.
    EXT.
    KYA'S HOUSE - PORCH - NIGHT
    Kya, on her bed on the porch, wakes up to the sound of a motor boat. She sits up. It's Tate.
    TATE
    One more night.
    KYA
    One more night.
    EXT.
    KYA'S HOUSE - PORCH - DAY
    Morning light pours over the two lovers. They're fully clothed, sleeping on Kya's porch bed.
    EXT.
    MARSH - LAGOON - DAY
    Tate stands on the shore with Kya. Morning light pours over them. He hands her the envelope.
    TATE
    The best bet is probably gonna be University of North Carolina press. They just got a big grant and did a hire from Cornell to run the grad program. And then after that, there's University of the South at Sewanee ... Kya? Are you listening?
    o o KYA (exploding) You're going to forget me, up at Chapel Hill. When you get busy with all that college stuff and see all those pretty girls.
    TATE
    I could never forget you, Kya. Ever. You take care of the marsh 'til I get back. You hear? And be careful.
    KYA
    I will.
    TATE
    I mean it. Watch out for folks. Don't let strangers get near you. I'll come home in about a month, I promise. For Fourth of July. I'll be back before you know it. Kya, write those publishers. Don't let them tell you no. Someone will tell you yes.
    Then he kisses her. She kisses him back. The most passionate and committed we've seen them so far. Tate gets back into his boat and motors away. From the horizon, he waves goodbye to her. She waves goodbye and places her hand on her heart.
    INT.
    UNC PROTOZOOLOGY LAB - DAY
    Tate puts a bus ticket, CHAPEL HILL to BARKLEY COVE, safe in his chest pocket and hides a smile. He busies himself in the lab, alongside other clean cut SCIENCE STUDENTS. DR. BLUM, 40's and kind, taps Tate on the shoulder.
    DR. BLUM
    How are you settling in so far, kid?
    TATE
    Just trying hard to not blow it all to hell, Dr. Blum.
    o o DR. BLUM There's a birding expedition this weekend that my colleagues from Duke and Vandy are putting together. I have room for one student, and I thought of you. The nearby students eye Tate jealously. He notices.
    TATE
    Yes! Absolutely. I'll be there.
    DR. BLUM
    Good. Friday morning, get back Sunday afternoon. I've told some of them about you. The boy from the swamps! Ha!
    He claps Tate on the back and leaves. Tate tries to smile at the student next to him, who glares right back.
    EXT.
    UNC BUS STATION - DAY
    Tate stares at the bus station from the passenger seat of the car driven by Dr. Blum. His jaw clenches. His hand goes to the car door ... And he can't. He leans back as the radio plays Roy Orbison.
    INT.
    KYA'S HOUSE - DAY
    Distant fireworks go off as Kya puts on a too small chiffon dress as her Roy Orbison's "Only the Lonely" plays on the radio.
    EXT.
    MARSH - DAY
    Kya waits for Tate on the banks of the marsh. And waits. A day passes. The sun sets. Kya walks inside.
    EXT.
    MARSH - DAY - LATER
    The next day. Kya sits on the marsh, her smile gone, waiting. The sun sets again. o EXT. MARSH - DAY - LATER The next day. o Kya watches the sun rise on the marsh. knees. She sinks to her
    KYA
    No, Tate. No, no no no no.
    She heaves in sobs.
    INT.
    KYA'S HOUSE - DAY
    Kya lays in bed, glassy eyed. The birds call outside, but she doesn't stir.
    KYA (V.O.)
    For three days after giving up on Tate, I didn't get out of bed.
    INT.
    KYA'S HOUSE - NIGHT
    Kya lays in bed, holding one of Tate's shirts.
    KYA (V.O.)
    Tate and life and love. Those were all the same thing.
    INT.
    KYA'S HOUSE - DAY
    Kya wakes up to a beating sound at the screen door. She sits up. Through the screen door, a raven-sized Cooper's hawk peers in. Kya slowly gets out of bed. The hawk takes flight.
    KYA
    Nol Wait.
    But the hawk is gone. Kya rushes to the pantry and grabs the last of the grits. Gets to work boiling water.
    EXT.
    MARSH - SHORE - DAY
    Kya carries her huge pot of grits to the birds on the shore, swaying under the bucket's weight. Kya feeds the birds in the marsh. They flutter and land on her arms, eating the grits. Kya closes her eyes and lets the birds envelop her. BIG RED, o a giant red seagull, lands right in front of her, standing watch. Kya laughs, tears running down her cheeks. o INT. JUMPIN'S SHOP - DAY Kya, her face drawn, pays Mabel. Mabel searches Kya's face for signs of her old, lively self. Nothing.
    EXT.
    JUMPIN'S SHOP - DAY
    Kya walks outside with her full oil can. She looks at the FAMILIES around her. The groups of WOMEN leaning into each other, laughing with the familiarity of old girlfriends. The MEN putting their arms around their GIRLFRIENDS and WIVES. She walks back to her boat. Guns the motor and heads back towards the marsh.
    KYA (V.O.)
    Every species has a method of surviving the big ice storm. The meteor that wipes everyone out.
    INT.
    KYA'S HOUSE - DAY
    Kya rolls out the list of publishers on her desk.
    KYA (V.O.)
    Every living creature tries to leave some kind of legacy. So in that way, I'm just one more, aren't I?
    INT.
    KYA'S HOUSE - DAY
    Kya sits at her desk, a stack of manuscripts in manila envelopes piled on her desk.
    KYA (V.O.)
    Dear Publisher, I am following up with more pages, these rare birds of the Carolina marsh that have not been detailed in any publication thus far. In fact, as far as I understand, there has been no in depth publication of the wildlife in our marsh. Shouldn't there be? Yours, Catherine Danielle Clark.
    o o INT. SHERIFF'S OFFICE - DAY (1969 AFTER DEATH) Deputy Perdue pushes open the door to the Sheriff's office with his foot and steps inside. He's holding a big greasy bag of doughnuts in his teeth and two coffees. Sheriff Jackson takes the bag and coffee. Hands Deputy Perdue a doughnut. The two take big bites. Heaven.
    SHERIFF JACKSON AND DEPUTY PERDUE
    (simultaneously, with full mouths)
    Well, I got something.
    Deputy Perdue nods to Sheriff Jackson.
    SHERIFF JACKSON
    Mine's probably nothing. Poor Patti Love Andrews called, carrying on about some necklace. I don't understand what she's going on about but she says it's important about the case. She'll be around later on.
    DEPUTY PERDUE
    I got it from several sources that Chase had something going on in the marsh.
    Sheriff Jackson chews thoughtfully.
    EXT.
    MARSH - WATER - DAY (1960)
    Tate's boat motors through the lagoon, towards Kya. Tate turns the channel. He sees Kya, kneeling on a sandbar, staring at something in the grass. Whispering to it. She doesn't see Tate. Tate turns into some reeds, hidden from view, and kills the motor. Tate watches Kya, gently whispering to some crustaceans. And then, the roar of a motor. Kya hops up, grabs her bag, and hightails it into the tall grass. She's closer to Tate now, and as she crouches in the grass, he sees her wide eyes. Crazed with fear. A KINDLY OLD MAN boats past. When he's gone, Kya creeps out of the grass again. Tears stream down Tate's face. o o TATE (whispering) Kya, I can't. I'm a coward. I'm sorry. As Kya runs back towards her house, Tate motors his boat back towards the ocean.
    EXT.
    MARSH - DAY
    Kya, Big Red circling over her, smokes mussels on the shore. She watches a backhoe digging channels to dry the marsh. She collects her mussels and turns back to her house ...
    EXT.
    POINT BEACH - DAY (1964)
    HEADER: 1964 Kya, now 19, sketches sand crabs as they bury themselves beneath the lapping waves. Kya's drawings are spectacular, and here we see how much they've grown in her years apart from Tate. Refined and detailed, with each appendage numbered and colored. Kya hears laughing and looks up. It's Chase Andrews, older, even more strong and handsome, tossing a football back and forth with a group of friends. AlwaysWearsPearls and TallSkinnyBlonde are there, too, rolling their eyes at the boys and giggling. The group is corning closer and closer, laughing and calling. Chase runs towards Kya to gracefully catch the football. Then he turns and looks right at Kya. Smiles. And Kya can't help it, she smiles back. Chase holds her gaze another moment, then runs back to his friends. Kya gathers her sketchbook and tries to collect herself.
    EXT.
    KYA'S HOUSE - DAY
    Kya walks to her house, carrying a basket of shells, feathers, and leaves. She stops dead. There's a MAN IN A SUIT standing in front of her house, holding a carnera. He's taking pictures of the house from all sides. Light as a feather, Kya slips behind a tree. She presses o herself up against the tree trunk, trying to contain her breath, as the Man in a Suit snaps more photos. o EXT. JUMPIN'S WHARF - DAY Kya motors into Jumpin's wharf and hops off, with arms full of mussels. She struggles under the weight. One of the bags suddenly leaves her hands-- It's Chase Andrews.
    CHASE
    Can I carry this for you?
    KYA
    I got it.
    CHASE
    Please.
    He takes the bags out of her arms and follows her into Jumpin's shop.

INT. JUMPIN'S SHOP - DAY
    Jumpin and Mabel stare as Kya leads in this well-dressed, handsome young man. o KYA Right up here on the counter is fine. Chase deposits the bags on the counter. His shirt is stained with mussel juice. He winks at Kya, tips his hat, and leaves without a word. Kya and Mabel stare after him. Jumpin rolls his eyes.
    KYA
    Hey, I need help. Somebody's been taking pictures of my house.
    MABEL
    They've been all over. Developers. Want to drain the "murky swamp" and build hotels.
    JUMPIN
    They'd probably offer you a good amount of money for your land.
    MABEL
    Jumpin!
    JUMPIN
    o Nothing wrong with money. o MABEL
    You do own that land, don't you? Your daddy? You own that house?
    JUMPIN
    (off Kya's blank look)
    Family bible, well, anything like that? Might be good to know what you own.
    KYA
    Me? I don't own anything.
    EXT.
    JUMPIN'S SHOP - DAY
    Kya comes out of Jumpin's shop, rattling her coins and fixing her hair. She stops dead. Chase is standing on the dock, waiting for her.
    KYA
    Thanks for helping me.
    CHASE
    You're welcome, Kya. They call you Marsh Girl, but I remember your name. Kya. You wanna go for a picnic? In my boat, this Sunday?
    Kya's taken aback. Chase smiles.
    EXT.
    BARKLEY COVE - SHORE - DAY
    Kya sits with Chase, having finished a fried chicken picnic on the beach. Their arms keep almost touching. The space between them is electric. Chase is playing "Shenandoah" on his harmonica. Kya tosses a piece of chicken to a pelican, who catches it easily in it's floppy beak. Chase laughs through his harmonica and puts it down.
    KYA
    (laughing)
    Seagulls get the bad rap, but it's pelicans that are greedy.
    Chase picks up a shell. It's creamy with bright splotches of o red and purple. Kya grabs it from him, eager and impulsive.
    CHASE
    You like shells?
    KYA
    This is an ornate scallop. Pecten ornatus. Many many of that genus here but this particular species usually inhabits south of this latitude because these waters are too cool for them.
    Chase is staring at her.
    KYA
    What?
    CHASE
    (laughing)
    The Marsh Girl, who can't read, knows the Latin name of shells, and where they "inhabit", and even why, for Chrissakes. Here, you keep it.
    He hands her the shell. She smiles and pockets it. He kisses her. She kisses him back. Things escalate quickly. She enjoys it ... he reaches for her breast ... And she pushes him away.
    KYA
    I'm worth more than fried chicken.
    She gets up and heads back towards her house in the marsh.
    CHASE
    Kya! Kya, wait! I'm sorry! You're right!
    She turns.
    CHASE
    Let me make it up to you.
    EXT.
    MARSH - DAY
    Chase boats with Kya through the marsh as she points to various landmarks.
    KYA
    That was where the Creek used to
    o live. This was all theirs. o CHASE Ours now, huh? Hey. He tucks her hair behind her ears.
    CHASE
    There!
    Kya smiles, shy.
    KYA
    Look. See that?
    She points to Big Red, swooping gallantly overhead.
    KYA
    That's Big Red. He's in my book.
    CHASE
    A lady writer. I'll be damned.
    He laughs. She laughs along.
    CHASE
    It's wonderful, Kya. Truly. Would you show me your book sometime?
    KYA
    It's still a mess.
    CHASE
    I like a mess.
    KYA
    I can't.
    Chase evaluates this strange girl.
    CHASE
    All right. The fire tower?
    KYA
    What?
    EXT.
    FIRE TOWER - DAY
    Chase leads Kya towards the tower.
    CHASE
    Can't believe you never left the
    o marsh and you never been up the fire tower! It's a great way to see the whole marsh from above. o INT. FIRE TOWER - DAY Chase and Kya climb the ladder to the top of the fire tower.
    CHASE
    I just need to know ... don't you ever get lonely?
    KYA
    I'm not alone.
    CHASE
    People lonely?
    Kya doesn't answer. She looks through the windows of the fire tower. The rounded oak forest stretch out as far as the eye can see. She stops dead.
    CHASE
    You can tell me. I won't laugh at you.
    KYA
    It's like having a friend your whole life but you never saw their full face. And now I see the full face.
    She gestures to the marsh. All the slipstreams, lagoons, creeks and estuaries weave through brilliant green grass to the sea.
    CHASE
    Come on.
    They climb to the last step. Chase pushes open the iron grate covering the stairwell. After they climb on to the platform, he eases it down again. Kya's afraid to step on the grate and she taps it with her toes.
    INT.
    FIRE TOWER - PLATFORM - DAY
    Chase leads her to the railing and they look over the marshland.
    CHASE
    Take me to your house.
    KYA
    o It's far. o CHASE
    I like far. And I don't care what it's like, if that's what you're worried about. He cornes to her and embraces her from behind. She lets him.
    CHASE
    Let's go.
    EXT.
    KYA'S HOUSE - DAY
    Kya and Chase motor up to Kya's lagoon and Chase hops out. Kya ties up the boat, suddenly a mess of nerves. Chase looks around at the overgrown vegetable garden, the overalls and shirts hanging on the clothes line.
    CHASE
    How long you lived out here by yourself?
    KYA
    Probably ten years?
    CHASE
    Neat. Living out here with no parents telling you what to do.
    His eyes catch a glimmer of light on the porch and he starts walking towards her porch steps.
    KYA
    There's nothing to see inside!
    INT.
    KYA'S HOUSE - PORCH - DAY
    Chase steps into the screened porch and picks up the jars of butterflies, leaves, and feathers that line the walls.
    CHASE
    You did all this?
    KYA
    Yes.
    Chase walks inside the house uninvited, and Kya follows. o o INT. KYA'S HOUSE - DAY Kya watches Chase take in the ratty couch and the kerosene lamps. He cranks the water pump and lets the water pour out onto his hand.
    KYA
    I wasn't ready for guests.
    Chase looks over and sees the shame burning on her face. He goes to her and wraps his arms around her.
    CHASE
    Kya, there's nobody I know who could live out here alone like this. Most guys would be too scared. You're something else.
    KYA
    What do you want with me?
    CHASE
    Look, I'm not gonna lie. You're gorgeous, free, wild as a dang gale. I'm sorry I came on like that. I just want to be with you, all right? Get to know each other. I won't do anything unless you want me to, how's that?
    EXT.
    KYA'S HOUSE - DAY
    Chase motors towards Kya's lagoon, holding up a picnic basket. Kya smile and waves.
    KYA (V.O.)
    Every day after Chase got done with work at Western Auto, we'd explore the coast.
    EXT.
    BEACH - DAY
    Kya throws scraps of cornbread to the seagulls and they envelop her. Chase watches, laughing, as Kya disappears into the sea of birds.
    EXT.
    MARSH - WATER - DAY
    Chase plays the harmonica while Kya lets the boat drift under o low hanging cypress trees. A great horned owl stares at her as she sketches it. o INT. KYA'S HOUSE - DAY Chase watches Kya carefully put up one more watercolor of sea grass.
    EXT.
    WOODS - DAY
    Kya and Chase crouch close to a mother deer and her fawn. Kya sketches the mother. Chase looks bored.
    EXT.
    KYA'S HOUSE - NIGHT
    On her porch bed, Kya weaves a hemp necklace around the shell Chase gave her.
    EXT.
    BEACH - NIGHT
    Kya and Chase sit under the stars on a blanket. A small fire burns in front of them.
    CHASE
    I wonder what makes stars twinkle.
    KYA
    Disturbance in the atmosphere. You know, like high atmospheric winds.
    CHASE
    Huh.
    They watch the stars.
    CHASE
    Is it okay if I kiss you now?
    Kya nods. Chase leans over and kisses her. Pulls her body towards him. They lay like that, staring up at the stars, without moving.
    EXT.
    MARSH - WATER - DAY
    The spring sun shines bright on the water as Tate, now older and more filled out, races his boat towards Kya's marsh channel. Kya's boat zooms out of her channel, towards the open water.
    TATE
    o Kya!
    Tate keeps calling her name and waving his hands, but she doesn't hear him over the roar of the motor.
    TATE
    Kya! KYA!
    Now there's another boat, shiny and new, coming towards her. It's Chase. Tate kills his motor and watches, unseen, as Chase and Kya circle around each other in their boats. Like birds courting in the sky. They both look giddy as they reach their hands out to touch, laughing and jostling in the water. Chase leans in to kiss Kya. Tate is crushed. He turns his motor back on and turns back towards the town harbor.
    EXT.
    MAR SH - WATER - DAY
    Chase and Kya drift along in her boat.
    KYA
    Tell me about your friends.
    CHASE
    Oh, I don't really have friends.
    KYA
    I see you with people all the time.
    Chase waves his hands and looks for a way to change the subject.
    CHASE
    It's hot! Let's go swimming.
    KYA
    I don't have anything.
    CHASE
    I won't look. Take off your clothes and jump in, and then I will.
    Kya nods. She stands up and takes her shirt off, then her pants. Chase doesn't look away. He reaches out and strokes her breasts. She doesn't stop him. Kya enjoys this, but it's moving so fast ... Chase kneels before her and runs his fingers from her ankle o all the way up her leg. She leans into him. He kisses her stomach, and then slowly begins to pull her panties down . Kya puts her hands over Chase's hands.
    CHASE
    Kya, please. We've waited forever.
    KYA
    How do I know you won't ...
    But she can't finish.
    CHASE
    Kya, I'm falling in love with you. I want to be with you all the time. What else can I do to show you?
    Kya stares into Chase's eyes for some kind of reassurance.
    KYA
    Soon, okay?
    Chase nods. Tries to laugh it off.
    CHASE
    Come on.
    And with that, he strips off his clothes and jumps into the water. Kya follows suit, and the two lovers laugh and splash in the cold water.
    EXT.
    KYA'S HOUSE - DAY
    Kya, boating home from the marsh, sees a MAIL CARRIER gingerly putting a letter in her mail box. When the mail carrier leaves, she docks her boat and pulls the letter out. Reads the letter. Screams.
    KYA
    OH!
    DR. FOSTER (V.O.)
    Dear Miss Clark, we were fascinated by your preliminary pages of the various flora and fauna of the Carolina coast. We're intrigued at the idea of a book, but we'd love a focus. Birds? Shells? Plants? Pick one, please, and let's talk further. Would love for you to come to the office. Information is
    o below. o KYA (V. O.) Dear Dr. Foster, how 'bout birds? Yours truly, Catherine Danielle Clark.
    DR. FOSTER (V.O.)
    Dear Miss Clark, birds it is. Thirty thousand word minimum.
    EXT.
    VARIOUS LOCATIONS IN THE MARSH
    Kya boats through the marsh ... She collects shells, bones, feathers ...
    KYA (V .O.)
    Dear Dr. Foster this will be a lot of work. Maybe years. Do I get money? Thank you, Catherine Danielle Clark.
    DR. FOSTER (V.O.)
    Dear Miss Clark, of course.
    INT.
    KYA'S HOUSE - DAY
    Kya, now more mature, sits at her desk and sketches a feather in a book. Bob Dylan's "Highway 61 Revisited" howls from the record player. Kya's walls are lined with more shells, more bones. Charts of the evolution of birds. Pull back to reveal that Kya's house is full of these books. They pile on the table, the counters •..
    KYA (V. O.)
    Dear Dr. Foster, "Seabirds of the Eastern Seaboard" is coming along slowly but surely. I'd like six months before I send you what I have.
    DR. FOSTER (V.O.)
    Dear Kya, seeing as lady scientists are a rarity in publishing, and in the world, would you like to meet?
    KYA (V. O. )
    o Dear Dr. Foster, I prefer the marsh
    and my own company. o EXT. MARSH - WATER - DAY Chase motors towards Kya's lagoon. In a nearby boat, Two nearby FISHERMEN watch him zoom past. One Fisherman nudges the other.

INT. KYA'S HOUSE - DAY
    Kya serves Chase molasses ham and sour-cream biscuits with blackberry jam. She watches, delightedly, as he licks his fingers.
    CHASE
    Unbelievable.
    Kya shrugs.
    CHASE
    I'm gonna build you a two story on the beach with a wraparound veranda, when we get married.
    Kya tries to hide her delight.
    CHASE
    I don't think we should live right in town. That'd be too much of a jump for you. But we could build a place on the outskirts.
    KYA
    What about your parents? Have you told them about me?
    But Chase barrels on as if he didn't hear.
    CHASE
    I'll build a studio for all your stuff. With big windows so you can see the details of all those dad- burned feathers.
    He laughs into his coffee. Kya is overcome with emotion.
    CHASE
    Oh, by the way, I have to drive over to Asheville in a few days to buy goods for my dad's store. I was thinking, why don't you come with me?
    o KYA There'd be lots of people. o CHASE Look, if we're gonna get married, you gotta start getting out in the world a bit. Spread those long wings of yours.
    KYA
    All right.
    CHASE
    It's a two day job, so we'll have to stay overnight.
    KYA
    Oh. I see.
    EXT.
    HIGHWAY - DAY
    Chase drives as Kya stares at the neat houses lined up alongside the highway. Women hang sheets on clotheslines as children run about.
    CHASE
    There's a lot more world than the marsh, Kya Clark. Beautiful, huh?
    Kya's eyes narrow. The dead grass, the paved roads. Nothing beautiful about this highway.
    EXT.
    HOTEL - DAY
    Chase pulls into the parking lot of a cheap hotel. Kya looks at him.
    CHASE
    Long drive back.
    INT.
    HOTEL - NIGHT
    Kya and Chase burst into the hotel room, kissing passionately. He picks her up and tosses her on the bed. She laughs. He climbs on top of her. And then, he undresses her. They start having sex. Quick, no foreplay, and frantic. She grimaces. Chase finishes and rolls off her. Kya sits up. Confused. Was that what all the fuss was about? o o CHASE It'll feel better for you later. The more you do it.
    KYA
    Oh.
    Chase pulls her in close.
    CHASE
    I never want to lose you.
    KYA
    Yeah?
    CHASE
    I think about it a lot. Sneaking out at night to corne see you. Wrapping up around you.
    Chase starts singing (from "Long Black Veil") and playing with Kya's hair.
    CHASE
    "Nobody knows, nobody sees, nobody knows but me ... "
    Kya laughs.
    CHASE
    I love you, Kya.
    Kya gasps. Chase plays with her hair.
    KYA
    Yeah?
    CHASE
    Of course.
    But Kya can't say it back. Something in her won't give.
    KYA
    I made you something.
    She gets up, nude, and goes to her bag. Fishes out the hemp necklace. She ties it around Chase's neck.
    CHASE
    I'll never take it off.
    o KYA Good. Maybe, this weekend, you want to spend two nights? o CHASE Oh, Kya, Christmas is gonna be so rough. SO rough.
    KYA
    Yeah, I know.
    CHASE
    So much family to pretend for. You don't know how lucky you are.
    KYA
    Pretend what?
    CHASE
    Oh, Kya. Everything.
    He sits up.
    CHASE
    After Christmas? We can open presents week after?
    Kya nods.
    INT.
    SHERIFF'S OFFICE - DAY (1969 AFTER DEATH)
    Deputy Perdue hands Chase's exhausted mother, PATTI LOVE ANDREWS (45) a plastic ziplock bag of Chase's possessions. She opens it. Takes out each item one by one. A wallet, keys, lighter. Sheriff Jackson and Deputy Perdue stand, side by side, eyes respectfully downcast.
    PATTI LOVE
    This is it?
    DEPUTY PERDUE
    Yes, ma'am.
    Patti Love takes this in.
    SHERIFF JACKSON
    Once again, you have our deepest condolences, Mrs. Andrews. And we're going through every detail with a fine tooth comb.
    Patti Love puts each item carefully back in the bag, and puts o the bag into the giant purse by her side. o PATTI LOVE Chase would have never just fallen off the tower by himself. You know what an athlete he was. And smart.
    SHERIFF JACKSON
    It's of course an ongoing investigation--
    PATTI LOVE
    (interrupting)
    His necklace is missing.
    SHERIFF JACKSON
    I beg your pardon?
    Patti Love is working hard to hold it all together.
    PATTI LOVE
    I think it's important. He had this necklace on when he had dinner with us that night. Pearl couldn't come, it was her bridge night ...
    She's falling apart. Steadies herself and tries again.
    SHERIFF JACKSON
    Keep going.
    PATTI LOVE
    It was a single shell hung on a piece of rawhide that wasn't loose, and it was tied in a knot. I just don't see how it could have flung off. And it was gone. From his body. And what I'm saying is, he never took it off.
    SHERIFF JACKSON
    Why did he wear it all the time?
    PATTI LOVE
    That Marsh Girl, who boats around in that old rattletrap boat. She made it and gave it to him when they were seeing each other for a while.
    Sheriff Jackson and Deputy Perdue exchange glances.
    SHERIFF JACKSON
    o The Clark woman?
    o PATTI LOVE I don't know her name, or if she even has one. But, what I'm saying is ... she's the only one who'd have any interest in taking it.
    SHERIFF JACKSON
    So were these two an item?
    Patti Love reaches into her purse and pulls out a journal, filled with watercolors and sketches. Unmistakably Kya's work. There's a picture of Kya and Chase on the fire tower.
    PATTI LOVE
    I thought I bonded with my son more than any of the other mothers, that's what I told myself. But I found this, in his room.
    Sheriff Jackson and Deputy Perdue study the journal.
    PATTI LOVE
    I'm so embarrassed. It's strange, the things that you feel when ... The night Chase died, he had dinner with us. He didn't leave our house until after eleven, and he was wearing the necklace. When I went to the clinic the next day, to identify him, the necklace was off. It was gone. Do you understand? She climbed that fire tower with Chase at least once. At some point, she gave that ugly necklace to him. And he wore it continuously until the night he died. After which time, it disappeared. So I'm telling you this because I want to know, is there something there? Because I think there's something there.
    Sheriff Jackson doesn't answer. He keeps staring at the painting.
    EXT.
    BARKLEY COVE - NIGHT
    Tate nurses a beer at a wild party in town. He watches Chase laughing ugly with a few FRIENDS. He can only hear pieces of the conversation. o o CHASE Wilder than a minx and worth every bit of the gas money! Out on the porch like animals! His friends laugh. Tate seethes.
    INT.
    KYA'S HOUSE - NIGHT
    Kya sits working at her desk. The sound of a motorboat. She leaps up, fixes her hair. Rummages for Ma's lipstick and hastily puts it on.
    EXT.
    MARSH - SHORE - NIGHT
    Kya runs to the shore, beaming as the boat comes into view. But it's not Chase. It's Tate. Her face falls as he pulls into the lagoon. Then she bends down, picks up a rock, and throws it right at his face.
    TATE
    Shit, Kya! What the hell?
    She picks up another rock.
    TATE
    Wait!
    She hurls another rock.
    TATE
    Please! Can't we talk?
    KYA
    Why don't we talk? GET OUT OF MY LAGOON YOU LOW DOWN DIRTY CREEP!
    A rock hits Tate hard on the shoulder.
    TATE
    Kya, please, I just want to--
    Another rock.
    KYA
    I never want to see you again EVER.
    Another rock. When Tate dodges he falls out of his boat. o o TATE There's things you should know about Chase! He's not good! He's not good enough for you.
    KYA
    You never came back. You never wrote to explain, or even to say if you were alive or dead. You were not man enough to face me. You disappeared. And now you come floating in here after all these years. You're worse than he is. He's not perfect, but you're worse by a long shot.
    TATE
    You're right about me, Kya. Everything you say is true. I've been sorry for years. Please.
    Kya exhales, as if she's been holding her breath this entire time.
    TATE
    Look at you. Beautiful. You doing okay? Still selling mussels?
    Kya nods.
    TATE
    I brought you something.
    He pulls a feather from his pocket. A northern flicker. He hands it to Kya. She almost throws it away ... Then realizes she hasn't seen a Northern flicker feather before. Curious in spite of herself, she pockets the feather.
    TATE
    Leaving you was not only wrong, it was the worst thing I have ever done and will ever do in my life. I will always regret it. I think of you every day. I didn't think you could leave the marsh and live in the other world, so I didn't see how we could stay together. But that was wrong that I didn't come back and talk to you about it. The truth is, I didn't want to see how
    o badly I hurt you. I was not man enough. Just like you said.
    KYA
    What do you want now, Tate?
    TATE
    What I want? If you could, in some way, forgive me?
    KYA
    Seems like all the wrong people talk about forgiveness, don't they?
    TATE
    You're right. I understand. I'm in graduate school. Zoology. You'd love it. Could I see your collection?
    Kya starts.
    TATE
    And then I'll be gone. Promise.
    Kya turns and walks towards her house. Tate follows.
    EXT.
    KYA'S HOUSE - PORCH - DAY
    Kya's porch is lined with shells and feathers, which lean on delicate, intricate watercolors of the beaches of origin. There are thousands of them. Tate picks up a shell. Looks at the watercolor next to it. Whistles.
    TATE
    Kya, these are ...
    He looks at her. She's smiling with pride.
    TATE
    You're incredible.
    Kya laughs.
    KYA
    You can have one.
    TATE
    Really?
    KYA
    Something to remember me by.
    o o Tate looks across the watercolors, the shells, the feathers ... He finally lifts the painting of a great blue heron feather. It's the first feather he ever gave her. He looks up and catches her eye. There's an undeniable pull. ..
    TATE
    Kya, I'm so sorry. Can't you forgive me?
    KYA
    I don't know how.
    Tate nods.
    TATE
    Thanks for listening. For giving me the chance to apologize.
    He waits, but she says nothing.
    TATE
    Goodbye, Kya.
    She turns away. He walks out the door towards his boat.
    INT.
    KYA'S HOUSE - DAY
    Kya watches Tate go, hidden behind her window. She chokes back tears.
    EXT.
    BARKLEY COVE - DAY (1966)
    HEADER: 1966 A few weeks later, early January. The streets of Barkley Cove are lined with discarded Christmas trees. Kya hurries through town, in cutoff denims, holding Tate's thin shirt for warmth around her narrow frame. Ahead of her she sees Chase, with a GOONISH MAN, TallSkinnyBlonde and AlwaysWearsPearls. His arm is around AlwaysWearsPearls. She stops. They see her. There's no getting out of this.
    CHASE
    o Oh, Kya! Hi! o KYA
    Hey, Chase.
    CHASE
    Kya, you remember Brian, and Tina, Pearl.
    (to his friends)
    And this is Kya Clark.
    BRIAN
    Hello.
    TALLSKINNYBLONDE (TINA)
    Hello, Kya.
    Kya smiles awkwardly. Alwayswearspearls (Pearl) nods with a tight smile and turns abruptly away. The rest of Chase's friends follow. Chase and Kya are left alone.
    KYA
    I don't want to interrupt anything.
    CHASE
    You're not interrupting. I just ran into them. I'll be out on Sunday, like I said.
    KYA
    I'm making you a birthday dinner.
    CHASE
    What?
    KYA
    For your birthday! In two days. Picnic and I thought I'd make you a caramel cake. Men like caramel cake.
    Chase fingers his necklace.
    CHASE
    They do. I do. Maybe I'll steal away later on today, huh?
    KYA
    (beaming)
    That's fine.
    And just like that, Chase is gone, after his friends. Kya continues to walk through town. o
    EXT.
    PIGGLY WIGGLY - DAY
    She stops when she sees Mrs. Culpepper, a little older, smoking a cigarette in front of the Piggly Wiggly.
    MR S. CULPEPPER
    Don't be scared. Ain't nothing I can do to you now, is there?
    KYA
    No, ma' am.
    Mrs. Culpepper nods and keeps right on smoking.
    INT.
    KYA'S HOUSE - DAY
    Kya unloads French bread, cheese, butter, sugar, eggs, and a newspaper. She eyes the French bread but goes to the stove to get a piece of day old cornbread and read the newspaper. She eats with one hand and turns pages with the other. Her fingers trace pictures of the new biology lab outside of town . The headline reads ECOLOGY LAB IN SEA OAK S. Kya turns the page to finish reading, and she jumps back out of her chair. Spits out her cornbread. There's a big picture of Chase and Pearl. It's a wedding announcement. "AN DREWS-STONE". Kya tries to catch her breath as she hears the roar of a motor outside. She leaves the paper unfolded to the engagement announcement and bolts out the door.
    EXT.
    KYA'S HOUSE - DAY
    Kya runs out the door, into the woods, away from the lagoon.
    EXT.
    MARSH - WOODS - DAY
    Kya squats in the palmettos, watching as Chase goes into Kya's shack.
    CHASE
    Kya! Where's my Marsh Girl at?
    He goes inside. From inside, she hears him calling, until quickly he goes silent. Chase bursts out of the house again. o o CHASE Aw, hell, Kya. I can explain. Kya! Kya! He continues to call her name, crazed and angry. Finally he kicks her porch several times, gets into his boat, and motors away.
    EXT.
    MARSH - WATER - DAY
    Kya motors out in her boat, with the bread and cheese next to her. The sea is churning.
    KYA
    SUMBITCH!
    The winds are picking up and Kya boats right into the riptides and back currents. It's a game of Russian roulette, a heartbroken woman versus the sea. The sky is black and Kya's boat is pulled into a rip. A wave crashes over her.
    KYA (V.O.)
    Have you ever wanted to feel terrified, just so you can't feel anything else?
    Another wave rocks the boat and Kya is knocked, hard, onto the bottom. She picks herself up. The boat is spinning, out of control. Lightning slices the air.
    KYA (V.O.)
    Because the truth is, some of us are meant to be alone our entire lives. Whether we want it or not.
    Kya is thrown again. Six inches of freezing water flood the boat.
    KYA (V.O.)
    But in spite of everything trying to stomp it out, life persists, doesn't it?
    Kya returns to the wheel of the boat. She's no longer steering against the current. Now she's just moving with it.
    KYA (V.O.)
    I have to do life alone. But I knew this from the beginning. I've
    o known for a long time that everyone leaves you one way or the other. o The waters are calming. Kya sees a sandbar and steers towards it. She jerks the tiller to beach against the shining shells. She climbs out onto the sandbar, holding the soaked French bread. She sinks into the sand. Gulls circle her and she pulls apart pieces of bread to feed them.
    KYA (V.O.)
    I must let go now. Love is too often the answer for staying. Too seldom the reason for going.
    INT.
    KYA'S HOUSE - NIGHT
    Kya lays out illustrated pages of her book and puts note cards next to the illustrations.
    KYA (V.O.)
    And so it was another year, just me and Dr. Foster.
    EXT.
    KYA'S HOUSE - DAY (1967)
    HEADER: 1967 Kya opens a package from her mailbox. It's a stunning colored proof of useabirds of the Eastern Seaboard." Kya opens the pages and traces her fingers along the illustrations. Her shells, feathers, and leaves are all there, vivid and polished. Kya beams. Reads the letter.
    DR. FOSTER (O.S.)
    Dear Miss Clark, please review the enclosed contract. Five thousand dollars, plus royalties up and down the coasts of your Eastern Seaboard. While you're at it, review this proof at your convenience. I hope you're pleased. Sincerely, Robert Foster.
    Kya traces her fingers on the number 5,000 and chokes.
    INT.
    KYA'S HOUSE - DAY (1969 BEFORE DEATH)
    Kya rummages through her family books. Opens the Bible. o Searches through until she finds what she's looking for. o INT. COURTHOUSE - DAY Several maps are spread out over the desk of an elderly COURT CLERK. Kya traces her finger along the coast line. Her family bible, with all the names listed, lays open in front of him. Her only identification in the world.
    CLERK
    Mr. Napier Clark looks like ... yes ma'am. Never been sold, so yessiree bobtail I reckon it belongs to you.
    Kya sags in relief.
    KYA
    Can I get something in writing that says so?
    CLERK
    Well, there's a little problem ••.
    He looks through his papers.
    CLERK
    Looks like you gotta pay some back taxes, you wanna keep it, Miss Clark. In fact, ma'am, the way the law reads, whoever comes along and pays off them back taxes owns the land even if they ain't got no deed.
    KYA
    How much?
    He fiddles around with a clunky calculator.
    CLERK
    Looks like about eight hundred dollars total. Whoever's first to pay. Put the land free and clear.
    Kya nods and reaches into her bag. Pulls out eight hundred dollar bills and lays them in front of the shocked clerk.
    EXT.
    KYA'S HOUSE - DAY
    Kya watches a group of FIX IT MEN descend on her house with brand new equipment. A toilet, a sink, a refrigerator. She o can't believe it. They all give Kya's porch bed the side- eye. o KYA (V .O.) Full deed for Catherine Danielle Clark for three hundred ten acres of lagoons, marsh, oak forests, and a long private beach on the North Carolina Coastline. "Murky Swamp".
    INT.
    KYA'S HOUSE - DAY
    The Fix-It Man (JERRY) installs in a giant claw-foot bathtub in the back bedroom. Kya beams.
    JERRY
    I could put in a new stove, if you like. Get rid of that wood-burning dinosaur.
    KYA
    My Ma might corne back and ask where her stove went.
    JERRY
    At least let me put in a real bed. You don't have to sleep in it every night, but when it's cold you're gonna want options.
    KYA
    Fine.
    INT.
    KYA'S HOUSE - NIGHT
    Kya looks around her newly renovated house. She turns off the new electric switch, then turns it on and floods the house with light. Looks at her sofa, chairs, her bed and mattress. She smiles. Then she turns the lights off and walks out onto the porch.
    EXT.
    KYA'S HOUSE - DAY
    Kya sits near her bed on the porch, sketching an intricate orange and red toadstool. Her porch has even more jars of nests, toadstools, moss. It looks like a fabulous natural history museum.
    KYA (V. O.)
    I finished "Seabirds", and was working on a guide to mushrooms.
    o Already had plans for another on butterflies and moths. o A red pickup truck crawls over the sand out of the narrow path in the woods. Kya stands up, panicked. But she stays put. The truck parks. A YOUNG MAN steps out. Tall, dark haired, in an army uniform. He smiles at Kya.
    YOUNG MAN
    Kya.
    KYA
    Jodie.
    INT.
    KYA'S HOUSE - DAY
    Kya pours Jodie more tea as he stares at all her jars on the wall.
    JODIE
    I had two weeks off every year, I would go through any lead I could. After twelve years, I finally found her in New Orleans. She was sick already. But Kya, she tried to get back to you. Pa told her he'd kill us if she tried to come back, and she saved up for lawyers, for any kind of help, but ... And then she got sick.
    Kya nods and sips her tea.
    JODIE
    I think I signed up for my second tour as a kind of punishment for leaving you alone with that monster.
    KYA
    You were a kid, yourself. What could you do?
    JODIE
    And then I graduate from Tech, and I see your book in a shop. Catherine Danielle Clark. My heart just broke and leapt for joy all at once. I knew I had to find you, and I was gonna start here, but I didn't think you'd still be here.
    KYA
    o I'm always here. o JODIE
    Come outside, I wanna show you something.
    EXT.
    KYA'S HOUSE - JODIE'S TRUCK - DAY
    Jodie and Kya sit in the bed of Jodie's truck. A cardboard box is open on the bed of the truck, and Jodie pulls out oil painting after oil painting.
    JODIE
    She kept painting, even after her mind started to go.
    Kya holds up a picture of her and her sisters, standing by the lagoon, reaching up at a swarm of dragon flies. Another of Little Jodie and Murph holding a string of fish. And then ... Kya pulls out a painting of her and Little Tate, standing in the grass. His hand is on her arm, and he's pointing at a butterfly.
    KYA
    Is that ...
    JODIE
    Think it's Tate Walker. He and I would go fishing, remember? I don't know if you remember the time he came by, and Pa smacked you upside the head, and he yelled at Pa he better not touch you again. So Pa smacked him upside the head, and told him he'd shoot him, but Tate made sure you were all right. Picked you up and handed you to Ma. You don't remember that? Musta been too little.
    KYA
    Guess so.
    JODIE
    I'm stationed at Fort Benning for a while yet, so I can't stay long now, but ... knowing you're ok is all I wanted in my life. And I'd like to see you as much as I can get up here. You don't have to be alone anymore.
    o o Yeah.
    KYA
    I'd like that. Come
    whenever you want.
    INT.
    JUMPIN'S SHOP - DAY
    Jumpin displays Kya's book in the window of his store. Proud, like a father. She slips a plain white envelope to Jumpin. TATE is written across the envelope in neat cursive. She shrugs. Jumpin smiles.
    KYA (V.O.)
    Dear Tate. If you're near my place sometime, I;d like to give you a copy of my book.
    EXT.
    MARSH - SHORE - DAY
    Tate leafs through Kya's proof on the shore.
    TATE
    Kya.
    He goes to hug her, but she moves away.
    TATE
    Sorry! I'm so happy for you. Nothing like this has ever been published. I'm sure this is just the beginning for you.
    Kya beams.
    TATE
    Hey, you haven't signed it. Can you inscribe it for me?
    He takes a pen from his pocket and hands it to her. Kya writes, "To the Feather Boy. Thank you. From the Marsh Girl." Tate takes his proof back. Reads it. He bursts out into his signature nerdy, joyous laughter. Wipes tears from his eyes.
    TATE
    Thank you, Kya.
    He waits for more, but she says nothing. o o TATE Hey, when you see me out in the marsh, please don't hide in the grass like some spotted fawn. Just call out to me. We can do some exploring together. Okay?
    KYA
    All right.
    TATE
    And thanks for the book.
    He holds it to his chest.
    KYA
    Good bye, Tate.
    Tate gets back into his boat, and she watches him disappear over the horizon.
    INT.
    BARKLEY COVE - DINER - DAY (1969 AFTER DEATH)
    Tate's hands shake as he tries to drink his coffee. But he meets the Sheriff's eye.
    SHERIFF JACKSON
    I understand you saw Miss Clark the night before Chase's death?
    TATE
    Yes, sir. I told you already.
    SHERIFF JACKSON
    I need to understand it again.
    TATE
    Is she in trouble?
    SHERIFF JACKSON
    Maybe not. Maybe not. But does seem like that girl is always in trouble, doesn't it?
    EXT.
    MARSH - SHORE - DAY (1969 BEFORE DEATH)
    HEADER: 196 9 Kya sits on the banks of the marsh, clutching a knife in her o hand. It's dark, and we can't see her face. o She hears a motorboat approaching. She stands up and brandishes her knife. And Tate steps off his boat. He's wearing a red wool cap.
    TATE
    Hey ...
    KYA
    Go away.
    TATE
    What happened to your face?
    KYA
    That's none of your business, either. Stop looking at me.
    Tate laughs, softly.
    TATE
    How could I stop.
    He tries to comfort her but she holds her hands up. She can't be touched. Kya smiles in spite of herself. Tate looks Kya up and down. His eyes don't miss a single bruise.
    KYA
    Quit looking at me.
    Tate mulls this all over. Then:
    TATE
    You met the publisher yet?
    KYA
    Don't need to.
    TATE
    Can I suggest something? You should go meet them. This week, if you can. Soon as possible. It'll be good for him to see you. Good for you, too. Go on up. Let them put you at a nice hotel. Eat some hot restaurant food you didn't have to make. Take it easy, Kya. You earned it. Stay a week, if you can.
    o He's looking deep into Kya's eyes now. o TATE I don't think it's good for you to stay here. You should go on up to Greenville.
    KYA
    All right.
    TATE
    Good. Tomorrow, if you can?
    KYA
    I'll see.
    TATE
    Good. Hey, aren't you freezing?
    KYA
    I'm fine.
    TATE
    Here, take my hat.
    And he takes off his cap and tosses it to her. She catches it. Tate gives her one last wave and gets back into his boat. Turns on the motor.
    KYA
    (screaming through sudden tears)
    I STILL HATE YOU!
    TATE
    I COMPLETELY UNDERSTAND.
    He motors away, and then he's gone from sight, leaving Kya holding the red cap to her face. Breathing him in.
    INT.
    BARKLEY COVE - DINER - DAY (1969 AFTER DEATH)
    Sheriff Jackson finishes taking notes.
    SHERIFF JACKSON
    You want some advice? Walk away from all this. And run away from her.
    He gets up, leaving Tate with his coffee. o o EXT. KYA'S HOUSE - DAY Sheriff Jackson knocks on the door. No answer. nods to his deputies. They kick in the door. The Sheriff
    INT.
    KYA'S HOUSE - DAY
    Sheriff Jackson, Deputy Perdue, and the mean-eyed DEPUTY CHAMBLISS search Kya's house. There are piles of papers, shells, and leaves in every nook and cranny. Jars of snake skins and sharks teeth. But everything is organized and clean.
    SHERIFF JACKSON
    First order of business is that necklace Miss Patti talked about. Anything.
    DEPUTY PERDUE
    Ed, look at this stuff!
    DEPUTY CHAMBLISS
    Almost like a shrine in here. Half of roe's impressed, other half's got the heebie-jeebies.
    DEPUTY PERDUE
    Hey! Check this out!
    They turn to look at Deputy Perdue, who's studying one of the manuscripts and holding a giant peacock feather. Sheriff Jackson begins carefully opening drawers and cabinets, lost in his own world.
    DEPUTY PERDUE
    "Over eons of time, the males' feathers got larger and larger to attract females, until the point that males can barely lift off the ground and can no longer fly."
    The other two men stare at him blankly.
    DEPUTY PERDUE
    Well isn't that INTERESTING?
    DEPUTY CHAMBLISS
    Are you finished? We have a job to do.
    o o DEPUTY PERDUE Well, I think it's very interesting. And now Sheriff Jackson picks up a knit red ski cap, nestled in a dresser drawer. He holds it to the light.
    EXT.
    MARSH - WATER - DAY
    Kya drives her boat through the marsh, towards Jumpin's wharf.
    EXT.
    JUMPIN'S WHARF - DAY
    Kya approaches the wharf. Jumpin sits on the dock, staring past her. Kya waves. Jumpin doesn't move. Kya turns around ... Three large police boats emerge from the fog and corner her. Like an animal. Kya guns her engine and cuts backwards towards the marsh. Sheriff Jackson cuts her off in his boat. She jumps out and begins to swim. She makes it to dry land and begins to run ...
    EXT.
    MARSH - DAY
    ... through scuppernong vines, circling scrawny pine trees, through a run-off creek .•. She charges into the marsh. She submerges herself up to her neck. There's a boat motoring towards her. Kya looks to the sky, mouths a silent prayer, and submerges herself under the water.
    EXT.
    MARSH - UNDERWATER - DAY
    Kya expels all her breath underwater. Her heartbeat slows. She kicks down further, determined to drown ... A hand breaks the surface of the water and pulls her up. o EXT. MARSH - WATER - DAY Deputy Perdue throws Kya into his boat, not caring that he outweighs her by a hundred pounds. She tries to leap out and he tackles her.
    EXT.
    MARSH - SHORE - DAY
    Deputy Perdue tosses Kya over his shoulder and carries her to his truck. She's screaming, clawing, like a wild animal.
    EXT.
    BARKLEY COVE - MORNING
    Deputy Perdue's truck drives slowly through the town of Barkley Cove. It's like all of Barkley Cove is lined up to watch The Marsh Girl taken to jail.
    EXT.
    JAIL - DAY
    Kya is fingerprinted and photographed.
    INT.
    JAIL - KYA'S CELL - DAY
    Kya stands on her cot, trying to get a glimpse out the tiny window in her cell. A stirring behind her. She turns to see a black cat, SUNDAY JUSTICE. Two unseen INMATES banter back and forth in their own cells.
    INMATE 1
    They ain't given the death penalty in twenty years, and hell if a woman is gonna break that streak.
    INMATE 2
    (calling to Kya)
    We're proud of you, Marsh Girl!
    Kya winces. The black cat winds it's way through the halls. He sees Kya and slinks into her cell. Leaps on her lap and begins to purr.
    JACOB (O.S.)
    Sunday Justice, are you bothering people again?
    JACOB, (black, 60's), the longtime jailor of Barkley Cove, pokes his head into the hallway. He sees Sunday Justice cuddled on Kya's lap. She puts her arms around the cat o protectively. o Jacob's face tries to hide his sympathy.
    JACOB
    He turns away.
    Sunday Justice? Sunday Justice, I don't see you anywhere! Kya sags in relief.
    INT.
    JAIL - KYA'S CELL - DAY
    Morning light streams through the tiny window. Sunday Justice is sleeping on Kya's stomach. A knock on her cell door. Jacob leads TOM MILTON, 50s, tall in a linen suit, into Kya's cell.
    JACOB
    You don't need to keep sharing your food with Sunday Justice. He always takes half of mine and it shows. Loves his po'boys.
    He pats Sunday Justice's fat belly. Sunday Justice leaps off of Kya's stomach, indignant, and slinks through the cell bars. Jacob nods to Tom and leaves the two alone.
    TOM
    Good morning, Miss Clark? My name is Tom Milton. Thought you could use some help.
    KYA
    How much?
    TOM
    Pro bono. That means--
    KYA
    I know what that means.
    He pulls a book out of his bag and hands it to her.
    TOM
    I know you like shells. This probably won't teach you anything you don't already know.
    Kya opens the book: The Rarest Shells of the World. Each page is a life sized oil painting of beautiful shells. Kya becomes engrossed in the pages. o o TOM I used to see you out on the water. You always reminded me of a bird. Everyone else on boats looks like they fall in, they'll drown, but you always seemed like you were just as much a part of the marsh as cypress trees or egrets. But no one could tell me your name. They just called you "The Marsh Girl." Kya winces.
    TOM
    And I think they deserve to know you better.
    Kya looks at him. Respect and warmth aren't what she was expecting at all.
    TOM
    I know you've never been in trouble before, so I thought I'd take you through the trial.
    Kya nods, trying to choke back tears.
    TOM
    So, there's going to be a jury, and here's the bailiff, and the judge ...
    He draws this all out for her on a notepad.
    INT.
    COURTHOUSE - DAY
    Kya sits with Tom in the courthouse and looks around. A portly JUDGE SIMS (40s) shuffles through a mound of papers. ERIC CHASTAIN, 35, makes notes in his legal pad without once looking at Kya. The JURY--all twelve of them, all white--stare at Kya as if looking at a dangerous animal in a cage. Mr. Andrews and Patti Love sit stone-faced. And then there's Tate, all alone in the very back of the courtroom. He smiles at Kya when she catches his eye. She whips back around and stares at her hands.
    TOM
    (quietly, to Kya)
    o Don't look at the jury, trust me.
    o TOM That's Eric Chastain, acting for the state.
    KYA
    Against me.
    TOM
    Against us.
    JUDGE SIMS
    Catherine Danielle Clark of Barkley County, North Carolina, you are charged with the murder in the first degree of Chase Andrews. The State has announced that they will seek the death penalty if you are found guilty.
    Tom reaches out to touch Kya's shoulder in comfort, then thinks better of it.
    INT.
    COURTROOM - DAY
    Kya watches Sunday Justice as he licks his paws on the window ledge. She seems oblivious to her own trial, a fact that's not lost on Tom. Eric is cross examining an earnest DR. CONE, (50s) on the stand.
    ERIC
    ... But when I step forward, my head ends up slightly ahead of my body. The momentum and the weight of my head would pitch me forward. Chase Andrews would have hit his forehead on the beam, not the back of his skull, if he was just stepping forward by accident. So isn't it true, Dr. Cone, that the evidence suggests that Chase was going backwards when he fell?
    DR. CONE
    Yes, the evidence would support that conclusion.
    ERIC
    And is it correct that you found red wool fibers on Chase's jacket, the night he died?
    DR. CONE
    o Yes, that's true.
    o Eric holds up a clear plastic bag with the red wool fibers found by Sheriff Jackson.
    ERIC
    And isn't it true that the red wool fibers found on Chase's jacket match those on this red cap?
    He holds up the cap Sheriff Jackson found in Kya's house.
    DR. CONE
    Yes. These are my labeled samples, and the fibers from the cap and jacket matched exactly.
    ERIC
    Where was the cap found?
    DR. CONE
    It was found in Miss Clark's residence.
    Torn nudges Kya and leans in.
    TOM
    You need to be here. Don't check out. If you're scared, let them see how scared you are.
    EXT.
    JAIL - DAY
    Tate, cradling books, negotiates with Jacob.
    JACOB
    She still says no. Try again tomorrow, son. If you're feeling lucky.
    TATE
    Will you see she gets these?
    He hands Jacob the books.
    INT.
    COURTROOM - DAY
    Kya sketches Sunday Justice on her legal pad as Torn cross examines Dr. Cone. o o TOM Isn't it true that if he stepped backward on his own and fell through the hole by accident, the results of hitting the back of his head would have been exactly the same?
    DR. CONE
    Yes.
    Torn continues to cross examine Dr. Cone as Kya buries herself in her drawing. The sketch of Sunday Justice is, like all her sketches, remarkably detailed down to the last whisker. Torn shows the court the plastic bag with the red fibers.
    TOM
    So you're saying that anytime during the four years the defendant knew Chase Andrews, when they met wearing those items of clothing, it's possible the fibers were transferred from the cap to the jacket.
    DR. CONE
    From what I have seen, yes.
    TOM
    Was there any evidence at all that Miss Clark was in close proximity to Chase Andrews that night? Skin, fingerprints, hair?
    DR. CONE
    No.
    INT.
    JAIL - KYA'S CELL - DAY
    In her cell, Kya stares at a plate of butter beans and meat.
    TOM (O.S.)
    So, in fact, since the red fibers could have been on his jacket as long as four years, there's no evidence whatsoever that Miss Catherine Clark was near Chase Andrews the night of his death?
    DR. CONE (O.S.)
    o No. o Jacob unwraps Tate's parcel and hands it to her. Its
    periodical; Fish of the Indian Ocean. Kya's eyes light up.
    JACOB
    And from Jumpin and Mabel.
    He hands her some cookies.
    JACOB
    Just don't feed those to the cat. I've got enough problems.
    He nods, leaving Kya alone. Kya puts her dinner down on the floor and watches with happiness as Sunday Justice eat every last bite.
    INT.
    COURTROOM - DAY
    ERIC
    The People call Rodney Horn.
    RODNEY HORN (40s), a bespectacled, eager man, sits on the stand, eager to please. Kya jolts when she sees Rodney, then stares down at her hands.
    ERIC
    Rodney, I believe you were fishing near Cypress Cove the morning of August 30, is that correct?
    RODNEY
    That's correct. Been there since dawn.
    ERIC
    All right. I would like you to tell the court what you saw that morning.
    RODNEY
    Well, like I said, been there since dawn, and was about to pull my line and head out ...
    EXT.
    CYPRESS COVE - DAY
    Kya sits cross legged, drawing a formation of rare toadstools. Her boat is beached on the nearby shore.
    CHASE (O.S.)
    o Well, look who's here.
    Girl. My Marsh o Kya jerks up. Chase stands over her, smiling. the shell necklace Kya gave him. He's wearing
    KYA
    Please, just go.
    She hides her drawings protectively.
    CHASE
    I'm sorry about how things turned out.
    He leans in. She pulls away. His breath smells like bourbon.
    KYA
    Please.
    CHASE
    You knew we couldn't get married. You never could have lived near town. But, Kya, there'll never be anyone else like you. And I think you love me too. Let's go back to what we had. You can stay here. We can have our life together. Right out here.
    He reaches towards her shoulders and pulls her towards him.
    KYA
    Let go of me! I don't wanna be a secret.
    CHASE
    You don't think I'm a secret? You don't think I have to hide things, who I really am, out there? I keep so much of myself a secret, Kya, they don't even know me out there. You do. It's just the way things are. You think you're poor and all that but you don't know how lucky you are, to have no one to actually please. To have the luxury of hiding away without anyone caring.
    KYA
    I'm not your secret.
    Chase pulls back, shocked. Then he slaps her. She punches him. He smirks. o o CHASE Wilder than ever. He grabs her shoulders and clips the back of her knees with one of his legs. He pushes her to the ground. Her head bounces hard on the dirt.
    CHASE
    No one knows me out there, Kya. You're the only one who ever loved me for me.
    He pins her down and unzips his jeans. She squirms away, and he punches her in the face. She reels back as he unzips her shorts and rips off her panties. He flips her over on her stomach.
    CHASE
    I'm not letting you go this time. Like it or not, you're mine.
    Kya reaches for a rock and grabs it. Swings around and smashes Chase in the face with the rock. As he pulls back, she pulls up a fist full of dirt and flings it into his eyes.
    INT.
    COURTROOM - DAY (1970)
    RODNEY
    By the time I got closer, I seen the woman fightin' someone, and she kicked him right in the--
    EXT.
    MARSH - DAY (1969 BEFORE DEATH)
    Kya kicks Chase in the balls. Chase moans. She kicks him in the back several times. Kya pulls up her shorts, grabs her knapsack, and runs to her boat. She snaps the motor until it cranks. Turns the tiller sharply and accelerates away from the bank just as Chase gets to his feet.
    KYA
    Leave me alone, you bastard! You bother me again, I'll kill ya!
    o Wild-eyed, she looks out to the sea, and sees Rodney Horne in his fishing boat. Rodney stares. o INT. COURTROOM - DAY
    RODNEY
    Something about, nif you bother be again, I'll kill ya.u
    ERIC
    Do you recognize the woman? Is she in the courtroom today?
    RODNEY
    It's that 'un there, the defendant. The one folks call Marsh Girl.
    JUDGE SIMS
    Mr. Horn, the defendant's name is Miss Clark. Do not refer to her by any other name.
    But the damage has been done. The members of the jury shake their heads. Members of the audience whisper nervously to each other. Tate stares at Kya, but she doesn't turn around.
    EXT.
    KYA'S HOUSE - DAY (1969 BEFORE DEATH)
    Kya sits on her porch, head bowed. Her face, arms, and legs are smeared with bloody grit. She spits out blood and dirt.
    KYA (V.O.)
    Ma. Finally I understand why you had to leave and never come back. I'm sorry I didn't know. I'm sorry I couldn't help you. I will never live like that. A life wondering when the next fist will fall.
    EXT.
    MARSH - WATER - DAY (1969 BEFORE DEATH)
    Kya has her boat docked behind some sea oats. Kya's bruises have gone down enough to show that a few days have passed. She ventures out into the marsh. She hears a screech behind her. She turns ... it's just Big Red. She relaxes and gives him some bread crumbs. And then, Kya hears a motorboat. Through the sea oats, she o spots Chase's ski boat racing towards her channel. She lays flat in the boat, her head to the side so she can watch him. Chase looks angry and determined.
    KYA (V.O.)
    One thing I learned over and over from Pa: These men have to have the last punch. These men, they need to see us taught a lesson.
    Kya lays down in her boat as the sun sinks lower. Finally, Chase motors out of the marsh, spitting in the water. Kya docks on the beach ...
    EXT.
    MARSH - WATER - KYA'S BOAT - NIGHT (1969 BEFORE DEATH)
    Kya drifts to sleep in the belly of her boat, curled in a ball.
    EXT.
    MARSH - WATER - DAY (1969 BEFORE DEATH)
    Kya wakes up, surrounded by gulls. Big Red hops onto her legs. She smiles, until she hears the motorboat again. She starts up and dives into the sea oats as she sees Chase, again, motoring towards her shack.
    KYA (V.O.)
    He will never let me go.
    INT.
    COURTROOM - DAY
    A SKINNY MAN sits on the stand, avoiding Kya's eyes.
    SKINNY MAN
    Maybe Wednesday, I don't remember, I heard her at Jumpin's asking about the bus schedule. And she looked like she been fighting somebody.
    ERIC
    Let the record show that this is going to be Wednesday, September 3, 1969. Three days after Chase Andrews announces his wedding in the paper.
    o
    INT.
    JUMPIN'S SHOP - DAY (1969 BEFORE DEATH)
    Kya, covered in bruises and cuts, browses cans of beans in Jumpin's shop as she waits for several CUSTOMERS to leave. The Skinny Man is sneaking a bottle of coke from the cooler behind the chips aisle. Neither Jumpin nor Kya see him. When the other customers have cleared out, Kya approaches Jumpin.
    KYA
    I need to write down the bus schedule. You have a copy, right?
    Jumpin taps at a battered bus schedule taped to the wall.
    JUMPIN
    You wanna tell me what happened to your eye?
    KYA
    Nothing.
    JUMPIN
    What else he done?
    KYA
    If I tell they're gonna drag me into the sheriff's office and make me tell what happened to a bunch of men. And then they're gonna write me up in the papers. Call me a liar. Accuse me of whorin'. You know how it goes.
    JUMPIN
    How do you know he ain't coming after you again? And you're always on your lonesome out there?
    KYA
    I always protected myself before.
    JUMPIN
    You let me know when you're going over there and when you get back. You hear? I gotta know if you're out of town. Because, if I don't see you more than a day or so I'm going over to your place myself. Bring along a posse if need be.
    o
    KYA
    I will. Thank you, Jumpin. I'm leaving tomorrow.
    JUMPIN
    Good. Good.
    The Skinny Man finishes his stolen coke and chips as he stares after Kya.

EXT. JUMPIN'S WHAR F - DAY (1969 BEFORE)
    Kya eases her boat into Jumpin's wharf. She sees the town speople staring at her. Kya lets them stare. Her hair is comb ed, she's wearing makeup and the nicest assortment of Ma's clothes she could find.
    TOM (O.S.)
    Miss Pansy Price, will you tell me what you and your employees saw the day of Septemb er 4, 1969?
    Kya walks up to Jumpin's store, and sees the line of customers is too long. They all get a good look at her. She turns and walks back ...

EXT. BAR KLEY COVE - BUS STOP - DAY (1969 BEFORE DEATH)
    ... to the bus stop. Kya waits for the bus. Looks around to see more town speople watching her. The bus pulls into view.
    MISS PAN SY (O.S.)
    I saw the Marsh Girl wearing a yellow dress, hair comb ed, leave on the 2:30 bus.
    TOM (O.S.)
    That's a sharp memory.
    MISS PAN SY (O.S.)
    We all talked about it because we never seen her cleaned up like that.

INT. COURTROOM - DAY
    PAN SY PRICE tremb les on the stand. Her turban hat glistens in the light. Eric takes the floor, holding a bus schedule.
    ERIC
    She was wearing a yellow dress?
    MISS PAN SY
    Bright yellow.
    ERIC
    Almost like she wanted you to notice her.
    MISS PAN SY
    I don't think she--
    ERIC
    She picked the bus stop right in the middle of Main Street even though there's one more closer to the marsh. Why do you think that is?
    MISS PAN SY
    I couldn't--I don't know.

INT. BUS - DAY (1969 BEFORE DEATH)
    Kya surveys the people on the bus. Picks an empty seat near the back.
    ERIC (O.S.)
    I'm not a terribly clever man, but I do reckon that if someone can bus over to Greenville by day, they can bus back here at night. Bus back to Greenville. Nobody the wiser.
    Kya sits and watches Barkley Cove disappear out the window.

INT. COUR TROOM - DAY
    Kya is led into the courtroom, hands cuffed in front. As if she's praying. Behind her are Tate, Jumpin, and Mabel. There's a murmer from the crowd. Mr. An drews wrinkles his nose, and Patti Love pretends not to see a thing. Mabel looks around for a place to sit. She's scared of this hostile room.
    JUDGE SIMS
    Anybody of any color or any creed can sit anywhere they want in my courtroom.
    JUDGE SIMS
    Anybody who doesn't like it is free to leave, and in fact I'll make sure you do.
    Mabel, Jumpin, and Tate all file in to sit directly behind Kya. She doesn't turn around, but smiles, and sits up straighter.

INT. COURTROOM - DAY
    DR. FOSTER, who we see for the first time, is gentle and professorial, smoothes his tie for the fifth time on the stand. It's Tom's turn.
    TOM
    What was your first impression of Miss Clark, when you sat down with her.
    DR. FOSTER
    My first impression was ... that she is ...
    He thinks.

EXT. HOTEL - NIGHT (1969 BEFORE DEATH)
    Kya sits at a table flanked by her publisher, Dr. Foster, and several of his COLLEAGUES. They're pouring over sample pages of Kya's book. Shells, toadstools, minnows, all detailed and labeled, all beautifully colored in vivid reds and yellows.
    DR. FOSTER
    Astounding. Simply astounding. These illustrations are pleasing to the eye and so precisely detailed. The collection is a textbook that's a joy to read. Instructional and you see the beauty of creation, all in the swirl of a shell. There's a real appetite for this, you know, Miss Clark. After all of the exploration under the sea, Oceania, the Himalayas ... people want to know what's right here, under their noses, that they never thought was special or extraordinary.
    COLLEAGUE 1
    And your story! My god!
    DR. FOSTER
    Miss Clark, truly, we are honored.
    They all raise a toast to Kya. She takes it all in.

INT. COURTROOM - DAY
    LAR RY PRICE (60s), the bus driver Barkley Cove to Greenville, peers at Kya from his place on the witness stand.
    ERIC
    So it is possible for someone to take a bus from Greenville to Barkley Cove and back again on the same night?
    LAR RY PRICE
    I suppose it's possible, yes, but--
    ERIC
    Then--
    Larry barrels forward, determined.
    LAR RY PRICE
    But I rememb er that girl getting on my bus to Greenville and there was nobody close to looking like her on the ride back that night. I would have rememb ered.
    ERIC
    You did tell the sheriff during his investigation that there was a skinny passenger on that bus you didn't recognize.

INT. BUS - NIGHT (1969 BEFORE DEATH)
    Larry Price, driving the bus, glances in his rearview mirror to see a vague, thin figure sitting all the way in the back. The figure is wearing a bulky, blue cap.
    ERIC (O.S.)
    Could have been a tall woman disguised as a man. Could you please describe that passenger?
    LAR RY PRICE (O.S.)
    Young white man. He wore a big bulky cap, blue. Kept his head down , didn't look at anybody.
    LAR RY PRICE (O.S.)
    Figured he was high on that marijuana.

INT. COURTROOM - DAY
    Eric turns to Kya. Kya stares right back.
    ERIC
    Could Miss Clark please stand?
    Kya looks to Judge Sims, who nods at her. She stands in her seat. A thousand eyes bore into her.
    ERIC
    Would you say the young man on the bus was the same height and stature as Miss Clark?
    LAR RY PRICE
    Could have been.

INT. BUS - NIGHT (1969 BEFORE DEATH)
    Larry Price watches the figure. The figure is stock still, sitting with his head bowed to conceal his face.
    TOM (O.S.)
    Mr. Price, tell us how you're sure the thin man was on the 11:50 PM bus the night of October 29? Did you take notes, write it down ? Maybe it was the night before or the night after? Are you one hundred percent sure it was October 29?
    LAR RY PRICE (O.S.)
    When the Sheriff was joggin' my memory, it seemed like the man was on that bus but now I reckon I can't be one hundred percent sure.

INT. COURTROOM - DAY
    TOM
    Also, Mr. Price, wasn't the bus very late that night? In fact, it was twenty-five minutes late and didn't arrive in Barkley Cove until 1:40 in the morning. Is that correct?
    LAR RY PRICE
    Yeah.
    He looks from Eric to Tom and back again.
    LAR RY PRICE
    Look, I'm just trying to help out here, do the right thing.
    INT.
    HOTEL ROOM - NIGHT (1969 BEFORE DEATH)
    Kya lays in bed, staring at the ceiling.
    TOM (O.S.)
    Let the record show that a 1:40AM arrival time would have given the defendant less than an HOUR to track down Chase An drews, lure him to the tower, murder him, hide AL L evidence, and get back onto the 2:30 bus in order to meet her publishers the next morning.
    INT.
    HOTEL RESTAURA NT - DAY (1969 AF TER DEATH)
    Kya sits at breakfast with the publishers. She's more relaxed, easy. The men are charmed.
    DR. FOSTER
    I think you have a dozen more in you.
    COLLEAGUE 1
    Would you be open to being sent elsewhere?
    DR. FOSTER
    Or just focusing on the animals. Just focusing on the flowers, something for the ladies. Sorry. Oh, and ... as promised.
    He hands her an envelope. Kya opens it. It's full of crisp, hundred dollar bills.
    DR. FOSTER
    We'll deduct it from the royalties, which we're expecting to be very generous. We can't wait to see what's in store for you, Catherine
    o Danielle Clark.
    INT.
    COURTROOM - DAY
    Mr. JOHN KING (65), the Greenville to Barkley Cove bus driver, is on the stand.
    ERIC
    Mr. John King, you drove the 2:30AM bus from Barkley Cove to Greenville on the morning of October 30?
    JOHN KING
    Yes sir, I did.
    INT.
    HOTEL RESTAURA NT - DAY (1969 AF TER DEATH)
    Kya talks with the publishers, growing more confident with every word.
    ERIC (O.S.)
    An d did you see anyone who looked like Miss Clark on that bus?
    JOHN KING (O.S.)
    I don't think so, sir. Except there was this older lady, tall like Miss Clark, had gray hair, short with curls.
    ERIC (O.S.)
    So it's possible that if Miss Clark had disguised herself as an older lady, she would have looked similar to the woman on the bus?
    JOHN KING (O.S.)
    Well, it's hard to picture. Maybe.
    ERIC (O.S.)
    So it's possible.
    JOHN KING (O.S.)
    Maybe.
    INT.
    COURTROOM - DAY (1970)
    Eric nods to Tom, who pops right up.
    TOM
    We cannot accept the word "maybe" in a murder trial.
    TOM
    Did you see the defendant, Miss Clark, on the 2:30AM bus from Barkley Cove to Greenville in the early morning of October 30, 1969?
    JOHN KING
    No, I did not.
    EXT.
    BAR KLEY COVE - BUS STOP - DAY
    Kya steps off the bus. She checks the clock: 1:16 PM. She looks around at the villagers staring at her and tosses her hair. Walks with her head high towards Jumpin's.
    INT.
    COURTROOM - DAY
    Kya sits in the courtroom, her eyes dead as Sheriff Jackson takes the stand. As Sheriff Jackson is sworn in, there's a quiet shuffling of people standing to make way for one more person in the first row. It's Scupper, in his overalls and yellow marine boots. He sits next to Tate.
    SHERIFF JACKSON
    Well, one of the first things I noticed was there weren't any footprints around Chase's body, not even his own . So I figured somebody had destroyed them to cover up a crime.
    ERIC
    Isn't it also true, Sheriff, that there were no fingerprints and no vehicle tracks at the scene?
    SHERIFF JACKSON
    Yeah, that's correct. Not even on the grate which somebody had to open. My deputy and I searched it for vehicle tracks, and there weren't any of those either. All this indicated that someone had destroyed evidence.
    ERIC
    No more questions. Your witness.
    o
    TOM
    Sheriff, it's a physical characteristic of the marsh that as the tides come in and out, the groundwater goes up and down. In many places, as the water rises it soaks the area, wiping out any marks in the mud, such as footprints. Clean slate. Isn't that true?
    SHERIFF JACKSON
    Well, yeah it can be like that.
    TOM
    You know who taught me that? Catherine Danielle Clark. Fine scientist herself.
    He pulls out some papers.
    TOM
    I have here the tide table for the night of September 4 and the morning of September 5, and see, Sheriff Jackson, it shows that low tide was around midnight. So at the time Chase arrived at the tower and walked to the steps, he would have made tracks in the wet mud. Then when the tide came in and the groundwater rose, his tracks were wiped out. Do you agree that this is possible?
    SHERIFF JACKSON
    Well •..
    He doesn't want to say it.
    TOM
    Here we are in court, and you have no proof whatsoever that a person wiped away footprints to cover a crime. And if some friends had been with him, their footprints would have been washed away as well. Under these very likely circumstances, there is no suggestion whatsoever of a crime. Isn't that correct, Sheriff?
    Sheriff Jackson says nothing.
    TOM
    Sheriff?
    SHERIFF JACKSON
    The absence of footprints does not, by itself, prove there was a crime.
    TOM
    Sheriff, isn't it true that those gates on top of the tower were left open quite often by kids playing up there?
    SHERIFF JACKSON
    Yeah, sometimes.
    TOM
    Isn't it true that the grates were left open so often and considered so dangerous that your office submitted a written request to the U.S. Forest Service to remedy the situation?
    Torn hands a document to the Sheriff.
    TOM
    Is this the official request to the Forest Service on July 18 of last year?
    SHERIFF JACKSON
    Yeah. That's it.
    TOM
    Who exactly wrote this request?
    SHERIFF JACKSON
    I did it myself.
    TOM
    So only three months before Chase Andrews fell to his death through the open grate on the fire tower, you submitted a written request to the Forest Service asking them to close the tower or secure the grates so that no one would be hurt. Is that correct?
    SHERIFF JACKSON
    Yeah.
    TOM
    Sheriff, would you read to the court the last sentence of this document that you wrote to the Forest Service? Just the last sentence, here.
    SHERIFF JACKSON
    (reading)
    "I must repeat, these grates are very dangerous and if action is not taken, a serious injury or even death will occur."
    TOM
    I have no further questions.

INT. JAIL - KYA'S CELL - DAY
    Kya strokes Sunday Justice as Jacob knocks on her cell.
    JACOB
    Got a visitor, Kya.
    Kya looks up to see Tate standing awkwardly in the doorway. Jacob beelines for his office. He doesn't want to get anywhere near this.
    KYA
    What?
    TATE
    I want you to know I'm in the back of that courtroom, every day. I'm here. I'm not going anywhere.
    KYA
    So what?
    TATE
    So I messed up in the past, and I'm sorry, but you can lean on me now.
    KYA
    Leaning on someone leaves you in the ground, doesn't it?
    TATE
    Tom Milton's very good, Kya. Probably the best lawyer in the state. He'll get you out of here, and we'll get back to exploring lagoons like the old days.
    KYA
    We're not, because I'm never getting out of here. You have to forget me.
    TATE
    I have never and will never.
    KYA
    You know I'm different. I don't fit with other people. I cannot be part of your world. Please, can't you understand?
    TATE
    I don't blame you, Kya, but-
    KYA
    (interrupting)
    Tate, listen to me. For years I longed to be with people. I really believed that someone would stay with me, that I would actually have friends and a family. Be part of a group. But no one stayed. And I finally learned how to protect myself. I appreciate your coming to see me in here, do. And maybe someday we can be friends, but I can't think about what comes next. Not in here.
    Tate tries again.
    TATE
    I been feeding your gulls. And yesterday, you won't believe it, but when I was at your place, a male Cooper's hawk landed right at your front steps.
    Kya laughs.
    KYA
    The Coop! I believe it. Yes.
    Jacob knocks on the door frame, averting his eyes from Kya and Tate.
    JACOB
    Time's up.
    TATE
    I'll keep feeding your gulls, Kya. And I'll bring you some books.
    But Kya is down on her cot, playing with Sunday Justice. Tate follows Jacob out of the jail.
    INT.
    JAIL - KYA'S CELL - NIGHT
    Kya shares her dinner with Sunday Justice as Tom eats a sandwich.
    TOM
    You need to engage, Kya. You have to look people in the eye.
    KYA
    If you had to say now how it's going to go for me ... how would you say it's going to go for me?
    TOM
    This jury, this town, I don't know. People make up their minds pretty quick.
    KYA
    So what do I do?
    TOM
    I do want to talk to you about the option of a plea bargain. If you're willing to say, yes, you did go to the tower that night, you met Chase there, you had a disagreement, and in a horrible accident he stepped backward through the grate, you'd probably get ten years and be out in six. I know that sounds bad but it's better than spending life in prison or, the other. Just take some time to think about it.
    KYA
    I will not go to prison. Please get me out of here. One way or-- the other.
    o

INT. COURTROOM - DAY
    Eric is standing before the jury, finishing his closing argument.
    ERIC
    ... We know from her lifestyle that she is very capable of boating at night. Of climbing that tower in the dark. The defense wants you to buy a meek, frail young woman who isn't capable of a violent crime. I believe you're smarter than that This woman is a menace, a threat, and has must be behind bars. It all fits together like clockwork. You can and must find the defendant is guilty of first degree murder. Thank you for doing your duty. The state rests.
    Eric sits and Tom stands. Goes to the jury box.
    TOM
    Ladies and gentlemen of the jury, I have lived in Barkley Cove my whole life, and I, like you, heard the tall tales about the Marsh Girl. That she was part wolf. The missing link between ape and man. That her eyes glowed in the dark. Yet, in reality, she was only an abandoned child. A little girl surviving on her own in the swamp. Not one church, not one community group offered her food or clothes. Instead, we labeled and rejected her because she was different. But I wonder, did we exclude Miss Clark because she was different, or was she different because we excluded her? The job of judging this shy, rejected young woman has fallen on your shoulders. But you must base that judgment on the facts presented in this courtroom, not on the rumors of feelings from the past twenty four years. The one physical piece of evidence the state is asking you to weigh, the red hat, could have come into contact with Chase anytime in the past four years.
    TOM
    I know most of you very well, and I know you can set aside any former prejudices against Miss Clark. Even though she only went to school one day in her life, she educated herself and became a naturalist and author. We called her the Marsh Girl; now scientific institutions recognize her as the Marsh Expert. I believe you can put all the rumors and tall tales aside. I believe you will corne to a judgement based on the facts you heard in this courtroom, not the false rumors you have heard for years. It is time, at last, for us to be fair to the Marsh Girl.

EXT. COURTHOUSE - DAY
    Break. Kya and Tate sit, side by side, on the bench. Tate starts to say something to Kya. He can't.

INT. COURTROOM - DAY (1970)
    Like a funeral choir, the jurors file into their boxes.
    BAILIFF
    All rise.
    Everyone rises as Judge Sims enters and takes the bench.
    JUDGE SIMS
    Please be seated. Mr. Foreman, is it correct that the jury has reached a verdict?
    The jury foreman, MR . TOMILSON, (50), rises.
    MR . TOMILSON
    We have, Your Honor.
    JUDGE SIMS
    Will the defendant please rise for the reading of the verdict.
    Torn helps Kya stand. She sways back and forth, about to faint. Mr. Tomilson passes a piece of paper to the Bailiff, who passes it to Judge Sims, who reads it, who passes it to MISS JONES, the recorder. Miss Jones unwraps the paper. She stands and faces Kya.
    MISS JONES
    (reading from the paper)
    We the jury find Miss Catherine Danielle Clark not guilty in the first-degree murder of Mr. Chase An drews.
    Kya collapses into her chair. The crowd bursts into angry whispers. "Did she say NOT guilty?" "This ain't right". Judge Sims hamm ers his gavel.
    JUDGE SIMS
    Silence! Miss Clark, the jury has found you not guilty as charged. You are free to go, and I apologize on behalf of this state that you served two months in jail. Court dismissed.
    A crowd has surrounded Chase's distraught parents. Patti Love is weeping openly. Mr. An drews stares straight at Kya, unflinching. Sarah Singletary breathes in a sigh of relief. Miss Pansy cracks her jaw, finally relaxed. Dr. Foster reaches out his hand to Kya. She shakes it, weak.
    DR. FOSTER
    You just forget about this nonsense and continue your work.
    Kya looks at Torn, at Tate. There is so much to say, and she can't say any of it.
    KYA
    Thank you.
    She catches eyes with Scupper, who squeezes her shoulder. Tate reaches out his hand to Kya. She reaches out ... An d Jodie, completely oblivious, wraps her in an emb race. Tate steps back.
    JODIE
    Oh, Kya. Kya, it's finally over. Can I drive you home?
    Kya nods, and he walks her towards the back of the courtroom. As she passes the windowsill, she reaches out and touches Sunday Justice's tail. Tate and Scupper make their way out of the courtroom. The door opens, and Kya is enveloped by light and sea air.

INT. JODIE'S TRUCK - THE MAR SH ROAD - DAY
    Kya stares out the window as Jodie drives her through the winding lane and up to her old shack, overgrown with weeds and Spanish moss. A heron stands on one leg in the lagoon, as if waiting for her. Jodie stops and she leaps out of the truck.

INT. KYA'S HOUSE - DAY
    Kya runs into her house, touching the bed, the table, the stove. Jodie stands in the doorway, holding a paper bag. He shakes it and holds it towards Kya. She grabs the bag and runs right back outside.

EXT. MAR SH - SHORE - DAY
    Kya stands on the beach, pouring crumbs from the bag into her hand. The birds surround her. Big Red lands and tramps around her.
    KYA
    Big Red! Hey, Big Red!
    She feeds the birds as Jodie walks up behind her. She doesn't even turn to look at him.
    KYA
    You can go now.
    JODIE
    I want to stay with you a few days. I could sleep outside. Would that be okay?
    KYA
    I don't need you.
    JODIE
    I don't want this to drive you further from people. I know you have every reason in the world to hate people--
    KYA
    That's what no one understands about me. I never hated people. They hated me. They laughed at me. They attacked me. They left me. Well, it's true, I learned to live without them. Without you, without anybody.
    JODIE
    You think you're the only one? I been duped, dropped, run over a few times myself, Kya. A lot of times love doesn't work out. But even when it fails, even that connects you to people. And in the end, that's all you have, is the connections. You're so brave in every other thing you've done. Why don't you take a chance?

EXT. BARKLEY COVE - DAY
    The sun shines bright, and the dress of the TOWNSPEOPLE speaks to a hot summer's day. Kya, in a well fitted skirt and combed hair, walks confidently along the streets of Barkley Cove. Townspeople stare and she holds their gaze. She stops in front of the local book store. "BUTTERFLIES OF THE EASTERN SEABOARD, BY CATHERINE DANIELLE CLARK", is displayed proudly in the window.

INT. COURTHOUSE - DAY
    Kya, clean and better fed, lays out money for Mabel. Cheese, bread, even a Cherry Coke.
    MAB EL
    Thank you, Kya.
    KYA
    Thank YOU.
    She begins to gather her groceries. Mabel takes her hand.
    MAB EL
    I'm sorry about Scupper.
    KYA
    What?
    MABEL
    Oh, you didn't? Heart attack.

EXT. BARKLEY COVE - GRAVEYARD - DAY
    Tate kneels in front of Scupper's grave. Right next to his mother's and sister's. He stands up and makes his way to his truck. And there, on the passenger seat cushion, is a small, brown feather. He picks it up. Looks around. Drives with newfound purpose to the dock.

EXT. BARKLEY COVE - DOCK - DAY
    Tate nods at the few awkward fishermen on the pier offering condolences. Jumps into his boat, guns the motor, and drives to the marsh.

EXT. KYA'S HOUSE - DAY
    Tate turns off his motor and jumps out of his boat. Makes his way to Kya's door.
    TATE
    Kya! Kya!
    Kya opens the door. Tate goes to her and hugs her close. She collapses into him.
    KYA
    I'm so sorry, Tate.
    Tate pulls away. Looks Kya right in the eye.
    TATE
    I need to say something to you. I love you, Kya. You know that. I've loved you for a long time.
    KYA
    I know. I always knew.
    TATE
    Do you ... do you think you love me, too?
    KYA
    I've always loved you. Even ... even in a time I don't remember, I already loved you.
    TATE
    Look at me.
    She meets his eyes. He cups her face in his hands.
    TATE
    I need to know that the running and hiding are over. I need to know you can love without being afraid.
    Kya meets Tate's eyes, then takes his hand and leads him into her house.
    INT.
    KYA'S HOUSE - DAY
    She kisses him and leaps on top of him. They rip off each other's clothes. The lovemaking is passionate, fiery, joyful, funny ... everything Kya's been missing up to now.
    INT.
    KYA'S HOUSE - DAY
    Kya makes scrambled eggs, biscuits, grits. She and Tate devour it all.
    INT.
    KYA'S HOUSE - DAY
    Kya sits at her desk, working on a new book. Tate leafs through the pages. Pictures of leaves, feathers, trees, each more stunning and detailed than the next. Tate bursts out laughing, uncontrollably.
    KYA
    What?
    TATE
    Will you ... Sorry.
    o He can't stop laughing.
    TATE
    Will you marry me? I mean, do you want to?
    KYA
    Aren't we already? Like geese.
    Tate can't stop laughing. Kya cracks a smile.

INT. KYA'S HOUSE - A SERIES OF MORNINGS
    Kya and Tate wake up in each others arms as the years pass. Each morning sweeter, more familiar, more tender than the last.

EXT. BARKLEY COVE - VARIOUS LOCATIONS OVER A YEAR -
    DAY/NIGHT

INT. JUMPIN'S SHOP - DAY
    Leaves change color. In Jumpin's shop, he displays Kya's books proudly, on the front counter. Then another, and another, and another.

EXT. MAR SH - WATER - DAY
    Kya and Tate, now older, boat through the marsh as she sketches.

INT. KYA'S HOUSE - DAY
    More mornings pass. The bookshelves that now line the walls are full of Kya's books, shells, feathers.

INT. KYA'S HOUSE - DAY - LATER
    Kya, now old, hands Tate her newest book. With trembling hands, he turns the pages. Fish. He kisses her hand. True love and peace at last.

EXT. MAR SH - WATER - DAY (1990)
    Kya, old, boats through the marsh, sketching in her notebook. An expensive looking camera beside her.
    KYA (V.O.)
    I always knew that I would leave quick and easy, without making too much noise. Always been my style.
    Kya looks to the shore, and gasps. There, on the shore, following the path she took so many years ago, is Ma. Or is it a vision of Ma? She's wrapped in her white scarf, but now there are no bruises. She's walking in her alligator shoes up the path, the way she did when she left Kya ... An d now Ma turns. She looks right at Kya. Smiles, and waves. Tears stream down Kya's cheeks.
    KYA (V.O.)
    There was so much love for me, right here, the whole time. Took me my whole life to see it. Took me my whole life to take it.
    EXT.
    MAR SH - DAY
    Tate looks out to the water to see Kya's boat floating through the water. She's nowhere to be seen. Tate wades into the water, to her boat ..• Kya lays stretched out in her boat, her notebook in her hand. She's gone. Tate picks the notebook and holds it to his chest. There's a feather sticking out of the notebook.
    INT.
    KYA'S HOUSE - NIGHT
    Tate sits alone in the bed, staring at the moon through the open window. He opens the notebook.
    KYA (V.O.)
    There is no real death in the marsh ...
    Tate looks through Kya's sketches. Trees. The water. A young Tate, motoring up to Little Kya in her boat. And Chase, falling. Another picture of Chase falling. Chase's angry face, close up and raging. Tate's hands shake. He turns the pages. There's a hollow, o cut into the back pages .... A hollow that holds Chase's shell necklace. Tate pulls out the necklace and holds it to the moonlight.
    KYA (V.O.)
    And now, I can finally admit this: It was the chance of seeing you, the hope of rounding a creek bend and watching you through the reeds, that had pulled me into the marsh every day of my life.

EXT. OUT ON THE WATER, WHERE THE CRAWDADS SING - DAY
    Tate stands in his boat. He looks once more through the pages of Kya's book. We see her words, written neatly in the pages.
    KYA (V.O.)
    I knew your favorite lagoons, your paths through quagmires, and I always followed you at a safe distance. Stealing love. Never sharing it. All those years I rejected you, I survived because you were somewhere in the marsh, waiting.
    Tate clutches the book close to him.
    KYA (V.O.)
    Because, my love, you, my marsh, my work, were all one and the same. It was you, Tate. It was always you. Scientists try to separate things so that we can look at them clearly. But I look at how it's all one thing. The sea. The birds. God. It was loving you, and letting you love me, that was my great work.
    Tate pulls out a match and sets the pages aflame. He pushes the boat further out into the marsh.
    KYA (V.O.)
    Keep my secrets deep. And you, my love, can walk back home peaceful. As long as you are here, remembering the best of me, you've never lost me. So you'll walk, past our lagoon, under our canopy.
    KYA (V.O.)
    You'll see hundreds of fireflies beckoning far into the dark reaches of the marsh. And that's how
    you'll know I watch over you still, my love. Way out yonder, where the crawdads sing.
    THE END

Summary: Kya's story begins when she lives in a shack with her poor family in a North Carolina marsh in 1953. As their abusive alcoholic father gambles their money away, and Kya's mother and older siblings flee one by one, leaving Kya alone with him until he too abandons her at the age of seven. She survives by selling mussels at Barkley Cove's general store, owned by Mabel and "Jumpin" Madison, who become Kya's good friends. The townspeople know her as the "Marsh Girl". Over the years, her slightly older friend Tate Walker lends her books and teaches her to read, write, and count. They share an interest in nature and begin a romantic relationship until Tate leaves for college and breaks his promise to return to her on the 4th of July. In 1968, Kya begins a relationship with popular local quarterback Chase Andrews, who promises her marriage. Chase gives Kya a small shell which she makes into a necklace and gives to him. A year later, Tate returns to Barkley Cove wanting to rekindle their romance, but Kya is unsure. Kya ends her relationship with Chase when she discovers he is already engaged to another girl. Kya has her nature drawings and writings published and the income helps her keep her home. Her older brother Jodie reappears and tells her their mother died before she was able to reunite her children. Jodie promises to visit when he can. Kya rebuffs Chase's persistent attentions and successfully fights off his rape attempt, vowing to kill him if he does not leave her alone. The threat is overheard by a fisherman. Chase returns and vandalizes Kya's home while she hides in the bushes. Days later, Chase is found dead at the bottom of a fire tower from which he had apparently fallen. The muddy bog floods at high tide, destroying any tracks from the killer, and no fingerprints are found in the tower. The shell necklace, which he had been wearing on the evening of his death, is missing from his body. Kya is charged with first-degree murder and prejudged by the suspicious townspeople. Despite knowing Kya had been meeting with a book publisher in Greenville at the time, the police and the prosecutor speculate she could have disguised herself and made an overnight round-trip bus ride to Barkley Cove, lured Chase to the fire tower during the brief layover and killed him. With only the unfounded theory, the missing necklace, and the fisherman's testimony, Kya is found not guilty at her 1969 trial, with the help of a retired attorney. Kya and Tate spend the rest of their lives together. Kya publishes illustrated nature books, and is frequently visited by Jodie and his family. While boating through the swamp in her 70s, she imagines seeing her mother returning to the cabin. Tate finds Kya lying dead in the boat at their dock. Boxing up Kya's things, Tate finds a passage in her journal saying that to protect the prey, sometimes the predator has to be killed. It is accompanied by a drawing of Chase. Tate then finds the missing shell necklace, which he throws into the marsh water.