INT. SUBWAY - NIGHT

A man is sitting alone in the subway. It is the middle of the night, no one else is on the subway.

The man is wearing a large coat. His arms do not go in the sleeves, instead one hand is holding a beer bottle that is half empty, and the other hand pulling onto the shoulder of the coat to keep it rested on him. His head is leaning towards the window.

The carriage stops, and the door opens. After a while, the door closes. Suddenly, a hand holds the door, and TED gets in.

Ted is a middle-aged man, he is wearing a trench coat, and is holding a suitcase. He looks around and sits next to the man. He puts the suitcase on the ground. He sighs and takes off his trench coat.

                                                           TED

                                   Wow, almost didn't make it here.

The man doesn't respond.

                                                          TED (cont'd)

                                   Quite chilly today, right? Phew, the wind outside is unbearable.

No response.

                                                         TED (cont'd)

                                   Good thing is, they keep the indoor places warm. But then, I can feel                                     it's a bit too hot, don't you think?

Ted shoves the man with his elbow. No response.

                                                         TED (cont'd)

                                   Man, you're pretty silent. Come on, there's only the two of us here.                                         There's no shame. Just two dudes chatting. I must say, a man sitting                                     alone in the subway in the middle of the night does have a story to                                         tell. So, what's your story?

No response.

                                                         TED (cont'd)

                                   Seriously. Are you gonna just sit there and say nothing? Fine. If you                                       don't wanna talk, I'll do the talking.

Ted stands up and stretches. He looks back at the man.

                                                         TED (cont'd)

                                   Really? You gonna sit there silently forever? Fine, just rot there if you                                     want.

Ted sits back. The man says nothing.

                                                         TED (cont'd)

                                   Look, please forgive me. I don't know what got into me today. I just                                       really hope someone would talk to me. I mean, a man like you would                                     understand.

Ted pulls his trench coat onto his lap.

                                                         TED (cont'd)

                                   Look at me, assuming what kind of a man you are. I don't even know                                    you. This is ridiculous. Fine, I guess anyone will do.

Ted takes out two cigarettes and lights one. He looks at the man and hands the other cigarette to the man. The man doesn't respond.

                                                         TED (cont'd)

                                   I think smoking isn't allowed here, but screw that, right? No one's                                          around.

Ted offers the cigarette a second time. The man doesn't take it.

                                                         TED (cont'd)

                                   Following the rules type, huh? Well, your loss.

Ted puts the cigarette back and blows some smoke into the air.

                                                         TED (cont'd)

                                   You know what, you remind me of myself a couple of years ago. When                                    I had a purpose in life. You know that feeling, man? It's like you know                                    exactly what you need to do. Follow all the rules, yadda yadda. Don't                                      get me wrong, I actually miss that part.

Ted reaches inside his trench coat and pulls out his wallet.

He shows a picture of a baby to the man.

                                                         TED (cont'd)

                                   This is my daughter, Samara. It actually started as a joke, to be                                              honest. I thought we were gonna have a son, you see. I was gonna                                        call him Sam. So when I knew I had a baby daughter, we decided to                                      call her Samara. Isn’t she a cutie?                            

No response.

                                                         TED (cont'd)

                                   Anyway, that photo was taken a long time ago. Now she's an adult.                                        She's studying engineering. I'm very proud of her.

Ted folds up his wallet and puts it back into his trench coat pocket.

                                                         TED (cont'd)

                                   I miss the good old days, man. My wife told me to not drink alcohol                                        anymore back then cuz I was becoming a father. That's when I quit                                        drinking. Are you a father, dude? If you are, you would understand.                                        When you look at your own kid sleeping quietly in your arms, you                                           would swear to give your whole world to them, and you would do                                            anything for them. Ha, I remember when I heard a boy kissed her for                                    the first time, I completely freaked out. I swear, I was ready to                                              murder that kid. Well, not really, but it was what I thought.

Ted taps the cigarette.

                                                         TED (cont'd)

                                   Anyway, now she's not at home, I don't know what to do. I mean, I                                        have been caring for her for 18 years. It felt as if my whole life has                                        been dedicated to her. I just feel... empty. Before I became a father, I                                    didn't have a motivation in life. I certainly don't wanna go back, but                                        now, I just don't know what to do. My wife, she died, you see, a                                            couple of years ago. Now I'm alone in the house. Everything is                                              reminding me of their existence. Samara doesn't need me anymore,                                      she's a big girl now.

Ted throws the cigarette on the floor, and steps on it to put it out.

                                                         TED (cont'd)

                                   I don't want anyone to worry, so I have to put on the "I don't care"                                        face. But the thing is, man, I'm lost. I'm getting old. No one needs                                          me. I wake up with back pains. I forget things sometimes. Living is                                        just reminding me the fact that everything is gonna become worse                                          and worse. It's not like it's gonna get any better, right? Maybe it's just                                    me, but I'd rather die than continue living like a zombie. What good                                        does it do, if I have no purpose? It surely does everyone a favor if I                                        just die.

Ted stares at his feet for a while.

                                                         TED (cont'd)

                                   I guess, you can't say anything that comforts me now. But yeah, I do                                      have a job. Not very well-paid, but I can still make some money. God,                                    I wish to go back in time, when I was just a kid, playing with my                                            friends, and all we had in mind was having fun. Just plain and simple                                      fun. No goals, no purposes. Could I just, enjoy life again?

Ted looks at the man.

                                                         TED (cont'd)

                                   Yeah, why not? I'm free now! Took me a while to realize that. But I'm                                      free! I can do things I couldn't do for so long!

A pause. The train is coming to a stop.

                                                         TED (cont'd)

                                   Yeah, right! I've got it. Thanks so much, man!

The door opens. Ted grabs his stuff and stands up.

                                                         TED (cont'd)

                                   Thank you so much! I wouldn't have been able to figure it by myself!                                      See you!

Ted pats the man's shoulder, and leaves.

The door closes and the train sets off.

The man slides down onto the seat. Closeup shows that he is dead. The hand that was holding the coat slides down, and a bloody razor blade drops onto the floor. His neck has a small cut that shows his previous hesitation. On his other hand, the beer bottle drops and shatters, revealing a bloody gash on his forearm. The blood has already dried off.