Scene 4

[Neil and Eva reappear inside Mary's room. Ib is sitting upright on Mary's bed. The rose-patterned pillow is placed right behind her, and her handkerchief is resting on it, flattened and folded neatly. In her hands is a hard-covered black notebook. She is currently staring at the closed book with interest. Neil claps his hands together, clearing it of invisible dust.]

Neil: Alright! we're back in the twerp's room.

Eva: Come on. As far as we know, I don't think Mary's that bad to call her a "twerp".

[Neil huffs, looking away.]

Eva: Don't worry, icky Vicky, she's probably fine.

[Ib flips over the book to the back.]

Ib: I don't remember this notebook...

[Hunching over it, Ib opens the notebook. Inside, there are several paragraphs on each page, all in dainty handwriting. However, several ink blots are scattered across the pages. Oddly, none of the ink stains the opposite sides of the paper. Eva peers into the notebook, and Neil leans on her back, holding her left shoulder. ]

Eva: The penmanship in this notebook is quite impressive.

Neil: Eh, I could do better.

Eva: I doubt that. But I took a written linguistics class, and the handwriting seems like it was practiced quite a bit. Who knows? Maybe the author writes fanfict-

Neil: Don't even finish that word. I despise fanfiction.

Eva: Doesn't your game count as fanfiction?

[Eva turns towards him.]

Eva: Also, get off of me!

[Eva makes an elbowing motion towards his stomach, and he backs away. Ib solemnly begins to read the book's contents aloud.]

Ib: I am lost in this weird place... And I'm all by myself.

Neil: Well, I guess it's a good thing that she's a little girl who doesn't read in her head. Otherwise, I might have to have read the book myself.

[Eva shushes Neil. He rolls his eyes again.]

Ib: I was in the gallery with mom and dad... And I was separated from them. I don't know where I should go. But, I want to see them again. I'm scared to go forward. But I'm more scared to stay here. I want to go back home, no matter what.

[Ib pauses.]

Eva: A gallery. Where do you think they went?

Neil: [shrugging] Dunno.

Ib: This notebook is glued to the table... I can't remove it.

[Ib stares outwards, away from the book. Eva looks into the book.]

Eva: [exasperated] No wonder she's looking away! It literally has the words "this notebook is glued to the table." It even has an ellipsis!

Neil: That's kinda weird. Do you think she wrote it? Seems amateurish enough.

Eva: Don't know about that either. If you couldn't remember writing something, would you be able to recognize your own handwriting?

[Ib turns the page.]

Neil: Hmm... I don't know. Should you know, Mrs. Linguistics Major?

Eva: Not married, and not a linguistics major. Every part of that name was wrong! [sighs] Anyway, we can't make any assumptions. We need to figure this out, starting off with which gallery this is. I mean... if a little girl called it a gallery, you'd say it's an art gallery, right?

Neil: I suppose... but then again, there's a food gallery near work!

[Neil licks his lips. Eva shakes her head. Ib flips around in the notebook some more, before returning to the page she was on.]

Neil: But yeah, no assuming. You know what they say about assuming, right? Don't assume, otherwise you make an-

Eva: [interrupting] Anyway, is there any galleries around here?

Neil: If it's important, we'll see it here, right?

Eva: Yup, at least I hope so.

[Ib stares intently at the pages.]

Ib: This notebook again. It's the same notebook.

[She briefly pauses, brushing her hair out of her face.]

Ib: This place isn't safe. There are things trying to hurt me and break this rose I found. I managed to get away from everything. But the hands from the walls, and those things from clothing stores that started to chase me like the kids in the playground... This place is scary. There also was a drawing that played hide-and-seek, and I saw something. I saw me.

[Ib pauses, and closes the book, keeping her finger on the page. The doctors worriedly stare at her. Ib recomposes herself, and turns back to the page.]

Ib: It looked like a mirror, but... something wasn't right. I was upside down, on a rope. Why is something like that here? I don't understand anything. Why I am in this place and, why is this... mirror-painting thing here?

[Ib turns the page.]

Ib: And this rose... If it loses petals, it hurt me. I don't know what's happening anymore. Mom, dad, if you read this, please find me!

[Ib stops again, in grim contemplation.]

Eva: Whoever the writer is, whether it's Ib or someone else, I understand them. Being in a terrible place, with terrible sights, and experiencing terrible things... Almost wishing that you worked somewhere else-

Neil: You're referring to me, aren't you?

Eva: No. I'm referring to the idiot to my left.

[Trembling, Ib turns the page again. Neil looks at Ib.]

Neil: How cruel. You would call Ib a moron?

Eva: My left, not yours. And I said idiot, not moron... [shakes her head] At any rate, a lot of this stuff sounds fake, like some gruesome fairy tale. I mean, a rose that is connected to a person's life?

Neil: Hey, you never know. And I don't think you should blame Ib if she wrote this.

Eva: I'm not blaming her. I'd expect a little girl her age to write like this, even with the gruesomeness. It's completely exp-

[Ib abruptly starts reading.]

Ib: I met a person here. His name is Garry. And he's... He's nice! He's trying to take care of me, although I'm actually taking care of him. I don't think he understands where we are... but I definitely don't understand either. But he's still caring for me. I don't feel as alone. I feel comfortable with Garry around. He feels like someone I can trust. I'm going with him, so we can get out together. We're both stuck here, but we're stuck here together.

[Ib turns the page.]

Eva: [impactful] -pected.

Neil: I'm surprised you remember what you were saying. Nice repetition, by the way. You kept repeating-

Eva: Expected, yeah. I just said it twice for emphasis... or rather because you're as dense as a pile of bricks, and you clearly needed the help.

[Neil clutches his chest.]

Neil: [sarcastically] So cruel.

Eva: Let's see what else is written in this book.

Ib: Everything... everything became worse. Mom and dad... Even Garry...

[Ib turns the page.]

Ib: He's hurt, but he still tried to help me. When he fell on the ground from protecting me, I was scared of this place again. I don't want to be alone here, especially after finding someone like him. He's my friend! And he's such a nice person! I don't want anything to happen to me, but I don't want anything to happen to him either!

[Ib turns the page.]

Neil: I didn't realize how much paper space has been wasted. Yeesh, you could have fit all of this on one page!

Eva: I'll concede to that, whoever wrote this is definitely wasting the paper in this notebook.

Ib: I took him to a safe place. I took his jacket and covered him with it, like a blanket. He woke up later, and even though he had a nightmare, he understood that I was scared. He apologized and even gave me a lemon candy! He told me to eat it later, and then he talked about a lot of things. He's so smart! But just hearing him speak makes me feel better. We'll leave once he's ready.

Eva: It seems that Ib doesn't remember this. Is this what she meant?

Neil: Is this, like, Ib's diary or something? What's with girls and their diaries?

[Neil raises his eyebrows and smirks at Eva.]

Eva: [blushing] Shut up, Neil.

Neil: [chuckling] Hey, at least you didn't write about your love life or anything. It seems that Ib really likes this Garry... guy. Eva?

[Eva is oddly silent after Neil says that statement. Neil looks at Eva with idiotic ignorance. Ib turns the page again.]

Ib: I met another person. She-

[The room, along with Ib, vanishes. Nothing but Neil, Eva, and lucid whiteness and static remains. Eva snaps back into reality.]

Eva: [sighs] What's happening now? Again?

Neil: System, save state.

[Loud beeps can be heard echoing through the emptiness of the white void Neil and Eva are in.]

Eva: Neil, get out and-

[Neil grabs Eva's shoulders and stares her down.]

Neil: We are not having this fight again! Please, Eva. Please leave and check what's going on. I don't want anything to happen to us!

Eva: Neil...

[She remains silent for a brief moment.]

Eva: Okay, I'll be right back.

[Eva vanishes in an evaporating static. Neil is left all alone. Neil crosses his legs, and sits on the floor.]

Neil: [sighs] Especially you. [clears throat] System, status check.

[Loud beeps echo through the empty void. A white transparent screen appears in front of Neil. As he taps the screen, more loud sounds ring out. As the beeps continue, Eva reappears behind Neil, emerging from static. She seems noticeably distraught.]

Eva: Looks like you checked what was going on.

Neil: Yeah. You were quick to check up on Ib apparently. What happened?

Eva: You... You're right. Mary is a twerp.

[Neil grins slyly, but looks at the expression on Eva's face. He straightens his face and gets up from off the invisible floor.]

Neil: Mary was responsible for this?

Eva: Yeah. I saw her tampering with the helmet Ib was wearing.

[The two of them stay silent for a moment.]

Eva: By the way... you ARE the one who hates sentimental feelings, right? It sounded like you-

Neil: [nervously] I-I s-saved the state we were up to. [coughs] Want to safety shut down, and discuss the contract with Alaric and Sherry before we continue?

Eva: Please, let's do so. By the way, did you get a chance to look at the time?

Neil: [looking at his watch] It says that we were back three weeks and two days in time. How long do we have to go back?

Eva: [shrugging] Who knows? Ib might have met Mary as far back as toddlers. It didn't help that the system crashed while Ib was reading that book aloud. But if we can't find the answer...

Neil: Right. No paycheck.

Eva: No- that's... never mind.

[Eva shakes her head in slight disgust. The room slowly flashes back into its original state. Ib is still on the bed, her head resting on the rose pillow. Tears well up in her eyes, and a damp handkerchief was covering her nose. The book is lying next to her, but there are pages that appear to be hastily torn out.]

Neil: We should leave the system. We'll be able to return here later.

Eva: Right.

[Both Eva and Neil evaporate into a static mess before disappearing completely.]

Ib: [whimpering] Mary... J-just who are you?

[Ib wipes her face with the handkerchief in her hands before fading with the room to white.]