“Wow congratulations, you can use Wikipedia! Cmon everyone let’s clap for Gregorio! Come on! I can’t hear you!!”
“Don’t patronize me.”
“How can I not? The deadline is in a few days and we have nothing.”
“We don’t have nothing. We have the setting; we have a script—”
“An unfinished script.”
“A useable script.”
“We need to start shooting yesterday.”
“You were the one procrastinating.”
“I thought we were waiting for you.”
“Look at what we have now.”
“Derivative.”
“We can change it. We can pull an all nighter and fix it!”
“Everyone knows about the story of the White Lady of Balete Drive.”
“But everyone can see it in a new light.”
“Why did I even let you talk me into this? Now we’re never going to get the grant.”
“I still stand by what I wrote.”
“At least one of us does.”
“Enough! Ok I know I screwed up and I know we have a lot of work to do, but we can make it about the White Lady.”
“What kind of story are we going to do then hmm?”
“I—”
“Don’t know.”
“Ok what do we know about the White Lady?”
“Well as her name suggests she is a woman.”
“Take this seriously.”
“Fine. There have been many variations on the legend.”
“What are their stories?”
“Where do I start?”
“Which one’s your favorite?”
“That’s incredibly macabre. Which tale of death resonates my soul?”
“Isn’t that the whole point of this idea?”
“Fair point.”
“Ok so which one?”
“The hit and run. Where she was a real person that was unidentified and run over on Balete street.?
“So what do we do from that?”
“Nothing. You forget that we don’t have a budget to rent a car.”
“What next?”
“There was one story— wait I can remember it.”
“—–”
“Oh yeah! The lady of the mansion. She was in one of the old houses along the street and was killed by her own family.”
“A psychological thriller?”
“Do you think we’re going to be able to get a cast on short notice?”
“We can try.”
“Wait I have more ideas!”
“Alright let it rip, we have all night anyway.”
=——————————-=
Written by Karl Gaverza
Copyright © Karl Gaverza
Illustration by Shiela Rae Co
IG: @naitinta
Inspired by the White Lady of Balete Drive urban legends