Monday, March 7, 2016

Low Light Buddy of Mine - Get Free - Grant McLaughlin

Trying something slightly different here.  If the descriptions aren't clear, there should be no characters visible on the page - just their shadows.

1 - The entrance hallway of a well-appointed home.  It's night time and the light is off.  The front door is open, and while we can't see, Eric, the man entering, his shadow spills onto the floor in the light coming from the door.
LETTERING NOTE: All word balloons should be tailless.

ERIC: Katie, I'm home!

2 - On two pictures hanging on the hallway wall.  In the first, Eric and Kate are a young couple, posing in silly fashion on the beach.  Both look to have no cares in the world - Eric in particular has a wild beard and long hair.  They look happy.  In the second, Eric and Kate wear professional clothing and pose in an equally professional way.  Eric is clean-shaven and his hair is cropped close to his head.  He looks serious; Kate looks kind of sad.  The hall lights are on now, and Eric's shadow falls on the first picture, darkening it.

ERIC: I know, another late night, but the sacrifices are paying off.

3 - On a side table in the hallway.  A big glass jar with "VACATION FUND" written in tidy handwriting sits on the table.  There is not a lot of money in the jar.  Maybe it's dusty.  Eric's shadow falls on this, too.

ERIC: Mr. Peterson told me that another few months of this - a year or two, at most - and I'll make partner.

4 - In the living room.  The lights are off once again, although some spills in from the entrance hallway.  On the coffee table is a large, collage-style sheet of paper with all manner of notes written on it in that same tidy handwriting and related images glued to the paper.  The page reads as follows:
See friends on the regular when we can
Get a dog cat fish
Play soccer together
Weekly Biweekly Occasional Date nights
Start our life together

That final entry is written in different ink and underlined multiple times.  As I tried to demonstrate with the strikethroughs, entries have been changed and modified over time.  Another hint at the sheet's age is that it is yellowing, curling, and the glued pictures are coming off.  Eric's shadow spills over parts of this paper.

ERIC: Once I've done that, we can finally get going on everything else, you know?

5 - On the kitchen.  It's as well appointed as the rest of the house, but in the dark it looks kind of sparse.  The kitchen table is the focus of the panel - there's a note on it.

ERIC: Kate?

6 - Close on the note.  We're looking at the end of it.  Written in the same tidy handwriting is "I love you, but I can't keep waiting" and a fancy signature that reads "Katherine".  Below her signature is a wedding / engagement ring.  The kitchen lights are on, but Eric's shadow is not visible on this page.

ERIC: Honey?

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