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DUMMY
by
Urko de los Ríos
A jammed commercial street at noon.
PEOPLE of all kinds walk trough it, minding their own businesses. Some throw change to one side, indifferent, without stopping. At their feet, a beggar rests in the sidewalk, against the wall. He is CLEMENTE, a middle-aged man to whom the bruises of time make look older than he is. He is wrapped in a dusty, over-spent raincoat and a hat covers his head, trimmed by a thin, grey-haired beard. He leans forward to gather some of the change that has fallen in the sidewalk and puts it in a plate of brass in front of him.
CLEMENTE gets up slowly, aiding himself by grabbing the oxidized handle of a supermarket cart that stands next to him, with a weariness expression in his face. He slides the currencies in one of his raincoat’s pockets and throws the plate into the cart, which is filled with useless trinkets found in the streets; an abraded blanket, a colourful deflated ball, broken toys… placed with meticulous affection in an order that only has sense in the beggar’s head.
CLEMENTE leaves, pushing the cart ahead.
CLEMENTE walks by the alley, his shoulders shrunk, merging with the crowd, which completely ignores him while he pushes his cart between them, crestfallen. Suddenly, he notices a blow.
CLEMENTE raises his head to find out that the cart’s front has hit against a leg coming out a sweepings container. CLEMENTE, intrigued, approaches it with caution. He opens the top of the container and discovers with ease that the leg belongs to a full-scale DUMMY, dressed in sport clothes. CLEMENTE takes the DUMMY and clears the dust out of it. After inspecting it for a second, he looks at its inexpressive face and smiles. Pleased, CLEMENTE places the DUMMY in the top of the cart and follows his way.
3.EXT./PARK/DAY
CLEMENTE sits on one of the park’s benches, leaving the cart next to him. He takes a wrapped sandwich from his pocket, clears the wrapper and starts eating, thoughtful. He turns his head towards the DUMMY, that seems to be looking at him too. After sharing a glance with it, he gets up, takes the DUMMY and sits it on the bench, placing it carefully so it seems like a real person, then he sits by its side and continues eating, with a smile in his mouth.
Same street, different PEOPLE. Like the others, they ignore CLEMENTE, who lays in his regular spot behind the plate of brass. The doll is seated by his side with its legs shrugged, like the beggar, and its head fallen over his chest.
CLEMENTE watches the people. They are too busy to even take a look at him. In the opposite sidewalk, he sees a DISABLED MAN in a wheelchair, carried by an OLD WOMAN, not very willingly. CLEMENTE follows them with his eyes, in them we see a shadow of sadness, it seems that he empathises with the crippled man as he stares at his eyes, lacking any resemblance of life.
The OLD WOMAN walks past a YUPPIE, who takes the attention of CLEMENTE. The YUPPIE stares alternatively to the road and to his clock, his legs shaking with impatience. He takes out a cigarette package and lights one. At that precise time, a car arrives. The YUPPIE gives one big breath to the cigarette while he shows the clock to the driver, clearly upset. The car stops in front of him, blocking the view of CLEMENTE, who stretches his neck, trying to see something, anxious for the car to get away. When it does, the yuppie has gone away, but, as CLEMENTE notices, the cigarette waits on the ground, barely consumed. CLEMENTE looks at the cigarette with anxiety, he takes a glance to the brass plate. Empty. There has been no luck yet. Resolved, he gets up and crosses the road as fast as he can get, avoiding a fast car that nearly hits him. When he arrives at the other sidewalk, he takes the cigarette and blows the filter to clear the dirt. Then, he returns to his spot, cool now. There, he realizes that in the brass plate, which was empty, now there’s a couple of small coins, but he wasn’t there, just the DUMMY, which CLEMENTE looks intrigued until a smile of understanding appears in his face.
5.EXT./BRIDGE/NIGHT
Under a bridge, between wastes, rises a fortress built on cardboard. Inside it there is nothing but a blanket over an old, small mat on which CLEMENTE sits, smoking a cigarette, slowly, enjoying each whiff of smoke, under the weak light of a rickety candle that rests on a cardboard shelf. He examines meticulously the DUMMY, which stands in front of him, with his hat in its head. CLEMENTE nods to himself with an approving smile.
PEOPLE walk by the street. At their feet rests the DUMMY, dressed in Clemente’s clothes, its legs partially hidden under the raincoat and its head covered by the hat.
From the end of the sidewalk, CLEMENTE watches the PEOPLE walking near the DUMMY. He is dressed in the sport clothes that the DUMMY was wearing. Some PEOPLE throw change to the DUMMY, without noticing anything weird. Pleased that the trick works, CLEMENTE walks away.
A young travelling VIOLIONIST dressed in a torn jacket and broken jeans, plays a pleasant melody. CLEMENTE walks past him, meditative, enjoying the music. A MAN hits against his shoulder and passes by without saying anything. CLEMENTE follows his way, indifferent, watching the faces of the SELLERS behind the blankets tended on the sidewalk that offer music, films and all kinds of cheap jewelry. Another MAN hits against him and, like the one before, his reaction is null. CLEMENTE turns forward him for a moment, but soon he continues, resigned.
CLEMENTE walks next to a MIME who leans on a small podium, unmovable, like a statue frozen in an impossible position. His painted face is a mask of sadness. CLEMENTE stops in front of him. Behind him, a LITTLE GIRL appears. She throws a coin to an earthen bowl next to the podium and waits. Suddenly, the MIME takes life and begins to move rhythmically, thanking the LITTLE GIRL for the gesture. During that brief moment, the MIME seems exultant, his mouth opened with a big smile. CLEMENTE follows his movements, fascinated, but as soon as the MIME returns to his unmovable state, he notices that the sadness returns, even greater than before.
8.EXT./PLAZA/DAY
Under the twilight, CLEMENTE watches the sight in front of him, melancholic.
A huge fountain is offering a great spectacle; the water flowing from its jets creates figures, dancing to the rate of the music and the colour lights projected on them. A BACKPACKER stood on a bench next to the fountain smiles to her comrade’s camera. It flashes.
The BACKPACKER that has taken the picture approaches his companion. They walk away together, looking at the picture. Next to the bench, a bulk in which neither they, nor we, have noticed, gets up. He is CLEMENTE, who turns towards them, watching how they leave. To his face comes a gesture of resignation, he turns away and leaves, shoulders shrunk.
CLEMENTE walks towards his spot, crestfallen. When he looks forward, he sees that the DUMMY remains there, behind the brass plate, next to the cart. PEOPLE walk past it without noticing the phoney. Suddenly, CLEMENTE stops, it seems that the DUMMY has moved slightly. Shaking his head, he rejects the absurd idea. But, with great astonishment, he sees it again, now there is no doubt. The DUMMY has come to life. It gets up, takes the plate with the change and pushes the cart towards him. CLEMENTE is too stupefied to react.
As the DUMMY approaches him, we realize that it has been transformed into CLEMENTE, who pushes the cart impassibly, as if nothing extraordinary had happened. When he walks by the spot in which Clemente was standing, we see the DUMMY resting against the wall where he was. CLEMENTE smiles, takes the DUMMY and places it upon the cart before walking away, losing himself in the crowd.