SCENE 8 ST. PAUL ISLAND 1942
CAST:
JARED: 15-year-old begins every scene with family basket.
DR. LEE: art director hearing stories about basket.
IVAN: (youth in Scene 7) has wife and 2 children
NATASHA: 14-year-old girl in village
LUKENIA: Ivan's wife, mother of two.
GRANDMA EVA: Lukenia's mother who is Russian born
ANTON: 15-year-old friend to Natasha
ARMY SOLDIER: on duty soldier on Island and ship
A SOLDIER: on duty soldier on Island and ship
ANOTHER SOLDIER: a second on-duty soldier on ship

FADE INTO FAIRBANKS UNIVERSITY OFFICE
INT. DR. LEE'S OFFICE -LATE AFTERNOON IN 2015

From the tall basket, Jared's fingers touch an emblem marked U.S. Army.

DR. LEE
Well, did Ivan make his way all the way south to the Aleutian Islands?

JARED
Yeah and after lots of years on fishing boats that travel, he got married on Saint Paul Island. Lukenia was Russian and she named daughters Natasha and Alice.

DR. LEE
During World War II, Japanese ships reached several islands. I think it was in 1942 when they took over land in Alaska.

JARED
(Holds up an emblem)
That's when my family fell into the war. Ivan won this emblem for helping in the war. He was proud but not his wife. She would never sew it on his shirt.

INT: INSIDE WOOD-FRAMED HOME -EARLY MORNING IN 1942

Loud knock on door. Natasha opens to two American Army soldiers, who stomp in.

ARMY SOLDIER
(Taps his rifle butt on the floor)
Japs are going to bomb both Pribilof Islands. People in St. Paul and St. George must leave immediately.

IVAN
How much time to prepare and pack things?

ARMY SOLDIER
Immediate means now!
(Load voice)
Only one bag each person. There's no room for much aboard the Delarof. Get down to board the ship before noon.

2ND ARMY SOLDIER
Japanese cannons can blow this place to smithereens like they did in Attu.

NATASHA
How long will we be gone?

ARMY SOLDIER
Who knows?
(Both soldiers shrug, step out the door)
Who knows?

IVAN
(Sighs)
The world war is coming to our island. Quickly Daughter, put things for baby and you into the Spirit Basket.

NATASHA
(Picks up big basket)
You mean this basket you carried from far-away Seward?

IVAN
Yes, it once held sacred family ashes. When I was your age, I found the grounds my father and long-ago grandfathers named for burial. Now bombs are hitting in the Aleutians.
(Turns away)
I'll tell your mother about it, and Grandmother Eva.

INT. NATASHA'S SMALL BEDROOM -MORNING

Natasha wraps dresses, sweater and hairbrush in towels. Puts all in the basket. Then she arranges her Shirley Temple doll on her bed, closing its eyes.

NATASHA
Go to sleep Shirley Temple, I will be home for you soon.

INT. KITCHEN WITH TABLE CLUTTERED -MORNING

Natasha hears loud cries from her mother and grandmother as she enters the kitchen.

GRANDMA EVA
(Russian accent)
No soldiers can make me leave home. I stay!

IVAN
People in Attu were captured and taken away to be prisoners in Japan. That will happen here too.

LUKENIA
(Holding baby Alice)
Wherever the ship will take us, we must stay together.

NATASHA
We love you Grandma Eva. Our hearts would break to leave you behind.
(Gives a hug)

IVAN
Get packed quickly. It's time we must go.

The basket and two boxes are packed. Family exits with plates, bowls, cups still on table. Door closes.

EXT: AT SEASHORE FAMILY WITH NEIGHBORS -MORNING

NATASHA
(Arm around Grandma)
What are you holding in two bundles?

GRANDMA EVA
(Arms hold a wooden egg crate)
In 1862 my mother brought this samovar from our Russian home for tea. We must keep it. That and special dishes.

A SOLDIER
(Shouts at crowd)
This boat takes you out to the ship, everyone must get in. Fill the seats.

IVAN
(Holds baby Alice)
I will seek permission to stay a few days here. I'll get our home prepared and store the bidarka.

LUKENIA
Yes, you need the bidarka to get fish at sea, but it's too dangerous to stay here.

IVAN
There's underground shelter, hiding places. If I stay a while, I can harvest seals for winter. Don't worry, my love, I will catch up with you.
(Hands baby Alice to Lukenia, then walks away)

Soldiers push skiff into water off gravel shore. With oars two soldiers paddle into bay. Skiff pulls up against ship where a boarding ladder is against it.

A SOLDIER
(Shouts from aboard ship)
Step up quick now. Come on, get up here. We ain't got all day.

Natasha begins climb with tight hold on Spirit Basket, she leans down to help Grandma Eva step on the ladder.

ANOTHER SOLDIER
(Shouts at Grandmother)
Hey, old woman, there ain't room for all that junk you're carrying?
(Grabs tea samovar, tosses it into bay)

NATASHA
Quick, Grandma Eva, you must climb up with me.

EXT. ON BOARD CROWDED US ARMY SHIP -MORNING

GRANDMA EVA
(Tumbles on deck, drops dishes bag, cries out)
Everything breaks.

ANOTHER SOLDIER
Keep moving. Get on over there.

NATASHA
(Arm around Grandma Eva)
Mother and baby Alice are this way. Don't worry, I'll pick up broken pieces.

Natasha gets Grandma Eva seated beside her mother. She hurries back to where bag lays.

ARMY SOLDIER
(Kneels by broken glass)
Don't let the Sergeant get to you. He's touchy about this assignment. Thinks ships are for swabbies, not dirt soldiers. He gets seasick.
(Chuckles. Carries off some glass)

NATASHA
(Calls after him)
Thank you.

ANTON
At least everything is not broken.
(Teen boy hands her a cup)
I am Anton from Saint George Island. When we left home, I thought the deck was filled up. But now, it's really getting crowded.

NATASHA
I am Natasha. Thank you for helping me.
(Holds cup in trembling hand)

Natasha moves to where her family is together.

NATASHA
Grandma Eva, here's a cup that's as lovely as ever.
(Hands her the cup, turns away from Grandma's bewildered look)
Mother, look. In the crowd I see Father comes here to be with us.

IVAN
(Reaching out to Lukenia)
I'm with you. They won't let me stay. How is our baby Alice?

LUKENIA
(Turns to show baby strapped on her back)
Ivan, thank God you stay with us. Alice still coughs. Is a doctor on this boat?

IVAN
Don't worry. I'll check on that.

NATASHA
(Slips trembling hand inside her Father's)
A soldier was mean to Grandma Eva. Why is that, Father?

IVAN
The soldiers' job is big. But I also do not understand their ways. They have destroyed all the boats in our village. No one is allowed to stay.

LUKENIA
They treat us like little dogs!

IVAN
It is the war, my dear. Do not be bitter.

NATASHA
(Covers basket with long skirt she wears)
I won't let them throw our basket into the bay.

INT: INSIDE DELAROF SHIP - afternoon

For over ten days, about 500 people were cramped in bunkbed areas, had slow-moving lines to the mess hall. Ship stopped on dock at abandoned cannery on Admiralty Island in southwest Alaska. Passengers are placed in old buildings.

EXT: OUTSIDE OLD ABANDONED BUILDING - morning

NATASHA
We've been away for weeks. What makes it strange here is to have trees everywhere. It is also strange to share home with neighbors. We are all together in a building with only blankets hanging for our walls.
(She sighs)
How I wish we had a school. And I also miss hearing records and seeing my Shirley Temple doll.

IVAN
Your phonograph and doll will be waiting for you when we return.

LUKENIA
(Frowns)
No need for a doll, Natasha. You must now use a scrub board for clothes, wash dishes, and take baths in that cold, cold creek.

IVAN
Home is not easy with only a ten-foot cube for us and not a good way to heat much water on that barrel stove. But war is here. We all must work hard.

NATASHA
I can still do is homework.
(Looks inspired)
I could teach too. Other kids need to learn to read, and to add and subtract.

LUKENIA
No help from me, Natasha. My energy is to console your unhappy grandmother and care for little Alice.

EXT: ON ROCKY BEACH ABOVE OCEAN -MORNING

After first week, Natasha walks along rocky beach. She sees an artist sketching in a tablet, using charcoal for ink.

NATASHA
I remember you, Anton. You helped me pick up the broken china cups.

ANTON
(Handsome smile)
I remember the fear that was on every face that day. On yours, too, Natasha.

NATASHA
It does feel safe here. But air looks so dark in all that forest.

ANTON
This coast looks different with tall trees but I like the bushes with berries and flowers.

NATASHA
With a million trees this place is full of strange noises. My father tells of how wolves howl at the moon in the north. Once he had lived far from the sea before he rode away in a railroad train. Then he sailed to Attu. I love hearing his story.

ANTON
(Points around)
No trees on St. George or St. Paul islands. But this is the same ocean touching there.

NATASHA
I wish the ship would come for us someday soon.

ANTON
Things are rough here, aren't they?

NATASHA
(sighs)
There is one thing that makes me glad.

ANTON
(Slaps down his burned stick)
What are you glad for?

NATASHA
Seeing you draw wonderful pictures. You could teach all the children to draw.

ANTON
The cannery caretaker asked me to draw a picture of him yesterday. I drew him sitting in his living room. He liked it.

NATASHA
(Surprised)
Mr. Porter? You were in his big house?

ANTON
Yeah, beautiful inside. Much better than any house I ever saw. That man lives like a king.

NATASHA
That's not fair. Our lives here will be more difficult if we stay in winter snow. Now my father has to go hunt at sea for the army.

ANTON
My father too for summer months and maybe next spring. He won't let me go with him. Mother needs help with our little kids. Armed forces need harvest of fur seals.

NATASHA
Well then, we can be teachers together all winter.
(Both laugh)

INT: FAMILY SPACE IN BUILDING - morning

Ivan entered home after being gone four months.

LUKENIA
(Embraces, tears)
All you men were taken away. No one here to repair buildings. Then, Ivan, after four months you return with only nineteen dollars earned?

IVAN
That was our way to help with the war. Fur was needed for men fighting in faraway land.

NATASHA
(Wiping at tears)
You weren't here when Grandma Eva got sick.

LUKENIA
(Sobbing)
She died of a broken heart.

NATASHA
Anton's little brother died of pneumonia too. But Alice and I got over the measles.

IVAN
I'll be here to get us through the winter. We will work together.

EXT: DELAROF IS DOCKED BEFORE CROWD - LATE AFTERNOON IN 1944

At the beach people carry bags and celebrate with songs as they head aboard the ship.

NATASHA
It is over. The war is gone after our two years together. Everyone is singing.

ANTON
Dark nights are gone. At last, everyone is happy to come on board the ship.

NATASHA
(Leans into wind)
Anton, what is the first thing you will do when you reach your home on St. George?

ANTON
Before we land, I will look into the cliffs to see if the spirits welcome us home.

NATASHA
(Smiles)
The first thing I shall do is hug my Shirley Temple doll. Then I'll play my Ella Fitzgerald record and lie down on my very own bed.

ANTON
(Laughs)
I hope you will get up and write a letter sometime.

NATASHA
(Giggles)
You shall get lots of letters.

Days on board pass by. After passengers debark at St. George Island, ship moves on to St. Paul Island.

EXT: PEOPLE ON SHORE AT ST. PAUL -MORNING

Full load of people on the skiff step on shore, then stand still, looking at the village.

LUKENIA
(Holds two-year old Alice)
Everything is neglected.

NATASHA
(Fading smile)
Our Island missed us as much as we missed it.
(Runs toward home)

INT: KITCHEN WITH SCARED WALLS -MORNING

LUKENIA
What has become of it all? Pictures gone from the walls. Closets empty!

NATASHA
(Spins around in her room)
I have no phonograph. No bureau? My Shirley Temple is gone.

IVAN
(Rubs hand over wall)
Nails to hold their riffles. Linoleum I laid on the floor is broken.
(Gives a sigh)
The soldiers saved us from Japanese bombs, but they forgot this house was somebody's home.

EXT: KNOLL ABOVE VILAGE - MORNING

Natasha runs through village and reaches top of knoll above sea wall.

NATASHA
On the cliff, a thousand of bird. No trees hide the hills. Seals barking on shore. Open sky has tumbling clouds. Wind sweeps the endless ocean. This was my dream.
(Raises arms high and shouts)
It is good that soldiers saved us from the evil war. Now we are home.