Jerome Bixby's The Man from Earth (11 page)

JOHN.
I’ll be back for the funeral.

(The
OFFICER
flips his note-pad shut, tips his hat to

SANDY
, and exits across the yard. We’ll hear his car drive away.
JOHN
steps onto the porch. Pauses to look up.)

(Icy wind ruffles John’s hair, his shirt. He doesn’t seem to notice, though
SANDY
is shivering.)

SANDY.
You never saw a grown child die.

(
JOHN
is silent. She starts to put a hand on his arm – )

JOHN.
No.

(
SANDY
winces back. She watches from the door, miserable but not objecting, as
JOHN
enters the house. He gathers up the CD-player. Turns off the lights, goes outside, and gets in his wagon. Starts it up. But he doesn’t drive off just yet.)

(SANDY
watches from the porch.
JOHN
turns to face her… he smiles, sadly. She smiles, too.)

(As
SANDY
goes down the steps to join
JOHN
, the lights slowly fade.)

The End

PRODUCTION STILLS FROM THE MOTION PICTURE JEROME BIXBY’S THE MAN FROM EARTH

Dr. Gruber (Richard Riehle), the bereaved psychiatrist, makes his point.

John (David Lee Smith) and Sandy (Annnika Peterson) share a romantic moment.

Tony Todd (“Dan”, the anthropologist) rehearses off-set.

Edith, the art professor (Ellen Crawford) examines John’s

“Van Gogh”.