Here it was, the villain monologue. I had seen them before but never like this.
But this time, something was different. We were not consistently On-Screen as she spoke, and more than that, it felt like her speech was not happening in the moment despite the words coming from Lillian’s mouth. It reminded me of the cutscene that had occurred with the mayor and the time capsule.
The audience was not seeing the scene as it was happening. Lillian was narrating.
She started to speak, and for the first time, I saw something on the red wallpaper I had only been told about.
The script.
It was like a piece of paper in my head that scrolled as she spoke. The scene was titled “SECRET LILLIAN GEIST REVEAL.”
The script had instructions that said, “Everyone watches as the newly revealed Lillian Geist explains her torment in Carousel. No one interjects except Dr. Halle if prompted.
Lillian’s speech started to scroll up, but far from the structured lines of text I had seen in actual scripts, it was an outline with checkmark boxes and sentences like “THE MANSION FIRE BACKSTORY.”
Most of the monologue didn’t appear on the script in any form, and when she spoke, the word “Ad lib” would appear in bold instead of the checkbox.
----------------------------------------
Lillian took a deep, troubled breath. She was trembling with rage and trying not to cry. Somehow, she found the strength to calm herself and speak, shaking with every word.
AD LIB.
"Everything that is happening is happening to punish us. I know it’s true. My cousins and I all talked about it. For as long as I remember, I remember people talking about the Geist Curse," she said. "When I was a girl, I heard servants saying that Geists always get more than they deserve, but in the end, they get exactly what they deserve. Always, little quips like that, and only when I was there to interrupt them. One day, I listened by the door while my nanny talked to her sister on the phone.”
FIND CLIP.
BEGIN FLASHBACK.
Suddenly, as she spoke, I saw a movie screen on the red wallpaper. A scene was playing on it. I saw the nanny; I saw a curious little girl sneaking outside of a large, wooden door in what must have been inside one of the Geist Mansions.
“They were talking about a casserole recipe, but when I entered the room, she suddenly changed the topic of conversation to us, the Geists. I don’t remember what she said, but it was something I thought was mean. It was like everyone knew what was happening to us, dying off one by one, but no one cared because everything we ever tried succeeded. Every business flourished; every venture was tremendous… at first.”
END FLASHBACK.
FIND CLIPs.
BEGIN FLASHBACK.
The flashback changed. I saw car dealerships filled with customers. I saw movie audiences packed into a theater screaming at one of the Geist horror movies. Then, there were ribbon cuttings, fancy cars, tuxes, and several mansions, all flashing before my eyes.
END FLASHBACK.
“I thought they were jealous of us growing up. Now, I wonder if they knew we were just being set up to fall further, that there was a conspiracy of whispers, and everyone was in on it.” She broke away for a moment and grabbed her head in frustration. “Everyone knew who I was just by looking at me. Even as a child, before I was in the tabloids. Even when I disguised myself. How was that possible?"
FIND CLIP.
BEGIN FLASHBACK.
I saw her dressed in full winter gear at a ski resort. Not an inch of skin was showing, yet a chipper young woman asked if she was Lillian Geist.
END FLASHBACK.
"I woke up and found myself walking to the opening of a hospital wing today where no one looked at me. They stopped looking at me a long time ago. Where was I before the party started? I don't remember. It's all the fog. Is it the drugs, that damn sedative, or was it the town itself? I swear the town moves me from room to room, from party to party, from hopeless situation to hopeless situation without my knowing. I know how this must sound, but I swear it’s like every moment of my life is a set."
END AD LIB.
☐ THE MANSION FIRE BACKSTORY.
BEGIN FLASHBACK.
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The flashback on the red wallpaper changed. Suddenly, I saw a beautiful woman in her late twenties walking down a large, ornate set of stairs toward what appeared to be a party of some kind. I recognized the woman as Lillian Geist from her picture in Halle’s office.
"I don't even remember the party where I got the burns. It was a big event—lots of people. For being a family everyone hated, people never failed to attend our parties. I don't know how the event started, and I don't remember getting ready for it. Has my memory merely faded, or was it ever there? I just woke up walking down the stairs. All eyes were on me. I was called beautiful no less than a hundred times."
BEGIN FLASHBACK.
I saw scenes of people greeting Lillian. She looked uncomfortable. As she crossed a room, eyes followed her. People blocked her path wherever she went, greeting her dully.
Then, there were flashes of red and orange.
END FLASHBACK.
"After that, all I remember is the burning. Someone said there was a fire, and everyone looked scared, but no one looked surprised. If my life has taught me anything, it’s the difference between afraid and surprised on a person’s face. The townspeople are never surprised, not really. Just like you don’t look surprised right now, Howard."
Dr. Halle didn’t look surprised. He looked like he was waiting to get things over with.
"Is it insane to say that I think that entire party was for me? For my benefit. For my destruction. Hundreds of eyes watched me, waiting to see what was going to happen, and when it did, it was like they always knew. Their words were wooden. Most didn’t even try to escape except to block my path."
Lillian must have been trying to cry, but no tears came. She might not have been able to produce tears.
"By the time the entire place was ablaze, no one was watching anymore because Lillian Geist was dead in all ways that mattered. No one called me Lillian until Doctor Hale found me among the wounded. He treated my injuries. He took me to the only person I had left alive who cared about me, my uncle Jedediah.
☑ THE MANSION FIRE BACKSTORY.
AD LIB.
“A nurse called me Cecilia once. Then she covered it up like it was a mistake. That was before Dr. Halle suggested the name as my alias. How did she know who I was before I did?"
END AD LIB.
She might have just been a phenomenal actor, but her speech felt unrehearsed.
BEGIN FLASHBACK.
The flashback changed to show Lillian with horrible burns covering much of her face and head. She was bandaged up and unrecognizable. Days passed, and she went through multiple surgeries.
☐ BACKSTORY OF CECILIA TRANSFORMATION.
"I never wanted anyone to know what had happened to me. I couldn't stand the idea of people looking at me without calling me beautiful. That was my shield. When the people were staring at my beauty, it was like they weren't looking at me. I was hidden, even in a crowd of people. Somehow, I thought once people stared at my scars, it wouldn't feel the same."
"It took a long time for the burns to heal. Infection nearly took me so many times, but the town wouldn't let me die. Uncle Jed called me a survivor, but I don't think that's why I lived. It wasn't my time to go."
"The pain was like you couldn’t imagine—chronic, unceasing. Things never changed unless they were getting worse. I turned to the pills to block the pain, both inner and outer, but soon enough, my tolerance grew; the pills never could help anymore."
The flashback changed to show little snake worms—caecilians, wriggling around in a container filled with Halle’s Ichor.
"Then, Doctor Hale had an idea, a treatment that he said would take no more than a year. A revolutionary new substance that he had discovered could be used to not only stop the pain but to build me a new face. I was overjoyed. A new face. A beautiful face that people could look at instead of looking at me. No one would know who I was. But he had to do research, and then he said he needed to examine more patients. He told me to pick out what features I wanted. If I could find him someone to study, he would have the data to finish my treatment.
END FLASHBACK.
☑ BACKSTORY OF CECILIA TRANSFORMATION.
AD LIB.
"For years, Howard, you had breakthrough after breakthrough, but each one only hurt me in new ways until, eventually, you put these things on me. You said it was a temporary measure, but by then, I knew that you were part of the conspiracy. I had known for a long time that you weren't trying to help me. You were part of my punishment. Every new thing you tried failed. Success was always a year away."
"I couldn't stand these creatures you sewed onto that you said would bring me closer to being finished. I knew it was a mockery. You didn't have to do this, but you did anyway."
END AD LIB.
☐ BACKSTORY OF JED GEIST MURDER.
BEGIN FLASHBACK.
I saw a dark, rainy night. I saw Jed Geist’s house.
"One night, when you left for an emergency surgery, I started to run low on the sedative. I began to wake up. I rushed to Uncle Jed's house, but when he saw me, there was fear again, but still no surprise.
AD LIB.
“He must have known what was happening, but he wouldn't say. Why wouldn't he tell me why every Geist but him was subjected to such horrifying fates?”
END AD LIB.
I saw Lillian in her current state, staring at an older man whom I knew to be Jed.
“Anger overtook me, and I could feel a dark voice inside my head wake up for the first time. I took the fire poker, and I beat him with it. The treatment didn't make me beautiful, but it did make me strong.”
☑ BACKSTORY OF JED GEIST MURDER.
AD LIB.
“I had nowhere to go and no allies anywhere. Somehow, I woke up here, back in a painless stupor. I don’t remember coming back. How did I get back here? Everything continued as normal. You constantly had breakthroughs and promises, but each one took us in circles. So tell me, Howard, are you in on it? Do you know why all these things keep happening to me? Who is putting you up to it?"
The script continued scrolling, and the words, “Players react to the reveal and try to survive the incoming horde. If Lillian attacks Halle, go to Scene: DR. HALLE STAIR DEATH. If she does not—”
The script disappeared. I could see it while it had instructions for me (to stay still and not say anything), but it was gone once that was done.
Lillian stepped around the desk toward Halle and asked, “So, Howard, are you going to answer me, or are you just going to keep up the ruse.”
Halle almost rolled his eyes. He simultaneously appeared annoyed and terrified.
“Cecil—Lillian,” he said. “I have devoted my life to helping those with life-altering conditions like yours live normal lives. We are at the forefront of the current technology. The best I can do is make educated guesses about how long your treatment will take. Let’s not forget that you volunteered for this. You chose this.”
Lillian was enraged. “I didn’t choose this,” she said, gesturing toward her body. “You said it was revolutionary and would heal me completely. You said it would take months, and then I could have a new life.”
She stepped further toward him. “You aren’t going to tell me the truth, are you?”
Halle didn’t respond. Instead, he took in a breath. He knew what was coming.
After all, he could see the script.