The Guild of Aeonic Alchemy

This is based on the Zen story with Haikun called "Oh is that so!" Original story down below followed by  the first draught of script:

Is That So?

The Zen master Hakuin was praised by his neighbors as one living a pure life.
A beautiful Japanese girl whose parents owned a food store lived near him. Suddenly, without any warning, her parents discovered she was with child.
This made her parents very angry. She would not confess who the man was, but after much harassment at last named Hakuin.
In great anger the parents went to the master. "Is that so?" was all he would say.
After the child was born it was brought to Hakuin. By this time he had lost his reputation, which did not trouble him, but he took very good care of the child. He obtained milk from his neighbors and everything else the little one needed.
A year later the girl-mother could stand it no longer. She told her parents the truth - that the real father of the child was a young man who worked in the fishmarket.
The mother and father of the girl at once went to Hakuin to ask his forgiveness, to apologize at length, and to get the child back again.
Hakuin was willing. In yielding the child, all he said was: "Is that so?"

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First draught of the script: OH IS THAT SO?

Characters: H  (person who plays a similar role as Haikun, maybe a respected male in this type of soceity?)
                   16 year old girl
                   Mother
                   Father
                   16 year old boy the girl slept with?
                   Baby

Setting, a Village, or suburban area:

Character Modled after Haikun, (H for short) is seen in a few different situations, showing him living a pure and virtorous life. Some “shots” of people praising him.

Cut to:

Two parents with a young attractive 16 year old girl in their living room. The girl has head down looking ashamed as her parents are questioning her:

Mother
So are the rumours true? Are you really pregnant?

Girl
Yes

The girl takes off her bulky overcoat jacket and goes to rub her tummy which has a bit of a bulge.

Mother (sighs)
Lisa-Marie, I thought you would of known better then that!

Father
Your only 16 years old! And barely able to look after your own pet! How do you expect to look after a child?

Girl (starts to get upset)
I know, I didn't mean for it to happen... it was an accident....

Father (angrily)
Some kind of accident!
(pause)
Who was the man that did this to you?

Girl
(remains silent)

We see a flash in the girls mind of an image of the boy she fornicated with ( a local restaurant waiter) as image of him flashes in her head.


Mother
Answer your father! Who was it!

The girl shakes her head defiantly, refusing to say who the man was.

The father walks towards the girl and grabs her by the shoulders.

Father (very irrate)
Who was it, who was the man... who did this to you?

Girl wont look her father in her eyes, she looks towards a newspaper article on the nearby table theirs a big picture of H with a heading of “Raising money for Homeless”)

Girl
(in desperation, blurts out)
H, It's H!

Cut to:

H doing some kind of good deed in his home. Looking peaceful, and content.

Suddenly there is a pounding bang upon his door, mainting his composure and not in the least bit ruffled, he goes to see who is at the door.

H opens the door and standing outside are the parents of the girl, looking furious at him.


Mother
We trusted you! You are supposed to be an upright honourable man! How could you be so irresponsible.

Father
I'm in half a mind to strike you down, H, what a disgrace you are!
(spits)
When the baby is born, expect it to be brought to you!

Mother
Pretty soon not one single person in this town will be able to still say they hold any respect for you whatsoever!

H
(not at all fussed by the scene)
Oh... is that so?


Infuriated the parents walk away.

Cut to

Three months later

H returns home, looks in his letterbox, someone has left some abusing words.

He continues towards his door, when suddenly the girls father appears beside him.

He hands the child too H.


Father
Here! He's your responsibility now!

The father angrilly storms away.

H looks towards the little baby grinning, and gently touches its face.

Montage sequence:

H goes about his daily life, caring for the baby, feeding it when its hungry with milk, changing its nappy etc. His reputation is ruined, newspaper article displays his disgrace, he is verbally abused when buying milk from the local shops etc..

Cut to: 1 year later

The girl is sitting in the park looking miserable, suddenly she see's H walking happily past with the baby, she see's some women nearby looking over disapprovingly at him, some hoons driving pass in the car try and throw something at him. But H walks on non-fussed.

The girl begins to feel guilty.

Cut to:

Girl sitting on the couch with her parents.

Girl
Mother, father... I have something to tell you, H, is not really the child's father...

Fade out..

Fade in.

H is in his house playing with the baby when he hears a knock at the door.

He goes to open it, and at the door he see's three shamed-face looking people, the girl and her parents.

Father
(clears his throat)
Lisa-Marie tells us that you are not actually the father of the child.

Mother nudges Lisa-Marie forward.

Lisa Marie
I'm so sorry... I didn't realise it would end up like this, and your reputation would be so ruined. (cries)... and I want to hold... my baby!

Mother
We are so sorry for all the trouble we have caused for you, if there is anyway we can make it up to you please let us know...

Father
(humbled)
I have said some  terrible things about you to people around town, I apologise, and will make sure that everybody knows that you were never really the father! Believe me!

H
Oh... is that so?

H hands the child to its biological mother.

The girl smiles down towards her baby.

The parents and girls leave... and H, walks back inside to continue his task.

---

So any comments. feedback? Its only rough at the moment. I thought we should set it in modern times, I mean we dont have the money to create an authentic ancient japan set, and also, if the script is only based on and inspired upon the old version, that would cover us from any potential copyright problems (if in the rare case their happens to be with old Zen tales!)

I think the trickiest part is trying to work out how the "oh is that so" line fits in with the other dialogue without sounding just out of place... perhaps the line could be changed to another such as "If thats what you think is best" or something like that????

- Emeera