From Point “A”
Book script for a movie about time travel
Anna Knyazhikh

© Anna Knyazhikh, 2024

ISBN 978-5-0062-4045-2

Created with Ridero smart publishing system

Chapter 1

“Stop!” Alexey shouted, but Kira couldn’t hear him. She ran along the road, past huge multi-storey buildings, not looking back. She knew that exciting events awaited her there. Alexey ran after her.

“Where are you going?” he grumbled under his breath, not stopping, trying to catch up with Kira.

“I will do it!” Kira shouted loudly to him.

“Stop! Don’t do it! It could be dangerous!”

But Kira didn’t stop. She reached her studio, quickly opened the huge heavy door with her key, rushed inside and locked the door.

“It’s okay, I can handle it myself,” Kira thought. She couldn’t miss such a chance. Scientists all over the world have been trying to invent a time machine for so many years, and it turns out it’s so simple. Kira was filled with anticipation – to peek into the future, what could be more interesting?

2018

Kira is 17 years old. She has short, light-colored hair, blue eyes, a delicate figure, and thin long fingers. Kira appeared to be a delicate and fragile girl, but she had a strong character. Nothing could deter Kira from her path once she set her mind on something.

Since the age of 6, Kira has been writing songs. Melodies and lyrics come to her mind naturally. Her parents organized a small studio for her in the basement of their new brick house. They brought in materials, soundproofed the space, and purchased equipment. Now Kira loves spending entire days in her studio. She is grateful to her parents for understanding her creative soul.

And Alexey is her former classmate, a blue-eyed blond boy whom she has been friends with since the first grade. Alexey always cared for and protected Kira. He was an excellent student, graduated from high school with a gold medal, and got accepted into a university to study nuclear physics. In his free time from studies, he was always by Kira’s side because he had developed a habit of taking care of her since their school days. Whether it was love or friendship, they never knew, but they have been together for almost 10 years. Kira felt good with Alexey; she was accustomed to him always being there.

And it all started on one beautiful day, or rather, one night…

One late evening, Kira entered her studio. She felt a strong desire to start working on her new song that had emerged in her mind today. The lyrics and the melody. She immediately knew what arrangement was needed and decided to try and do it herself, to the best of her ability. She would play the guitar, the bass, and the keys herself, as her studio had everything necessary. And she had already learned how to work with the special music software.

“The dawn of lonely planets,

Where you and I are not present…”

Kira approached the keys and started to craft the harmony. Several hours passed before she finished recording the drums, guitar, and bass. Kira had perfect pitch, and she began playing the chords.

“We are not alone, the days are stretching with us,

Everything begins only now…”

She found the harmony, recorded the chords on the keys, and now merged all the instruments – drums, guitar, bass, and keys. She processed everything in the special music software. It took her the whole night. Kira didn’t even notice how quickly the time flew by. And she didn’t feel like sleeping. The only thing left was to record the vocals. Kira played the finished version of her arrangement and started recording her voice.

“Wet asphalt of empty streets,

Every word responsible for us…”

That’s how the song began.

She closed her eyes. Standing by the microphone, she continued to sing.

– The dawn of lonely planets!

Kira sang the first verse and chorus. That was enough for now. She would sing the next verse and chorus later. First, she needed to listen to what she had accomplished.

Kira opened her eyes and saw a bright golden light streaming down from the ceiling right in front of her. She blinked, shook her head, and opened her eyes again. Once again, bright golden light. It was a massive golden pillar of light. Kira stared at the light with wide eyes while the music continued to play. She felt the urge to take a step forward, so she stepped into the golden pillar of light and noticed that inside, the light became less intense and slightly warmer and softer. She squinted and saw a huge blue screen hanging in weightlessness right in front of her, displaying numbers at the bottom. The inscription on the screen read: “Select four numbers and one letter.” Kira randomly chose her birth year, 2001, and she chose the letter “A”. It looked like this: 2001A. The only thing left was to press one of the three buttons located below the numbers. The first button was labeled “Find Yourself.” The second button – “Your World.” The third button – “Enter.”

Kira pressed the first button – “Find Yourself.”

The lights flickered, the numbers started flashing on the screen, displaying various mathematical combinations, and suddenly everything aligned. Finally, everything settled down, and a city appeared on the screen. Kira recognized it. It was her small Siberian town where she was born. There were the streets, the trees, and the small houses. And there were her parents pushing a baby stroller while taking a walk. But they were young, not much older than Kira herself is now. And their clothing seemed strange, outdated maybe? Her mother had long black hair. She was so beautiful and young. But now she had a short haircut and light hair. And her father wore a checkered shirt. He looked thin and tired. It was evident that they had a tough time. But their faces were happy. Kira held her breath. Her father took the child out of the stroller and happily said,

– “My little daughter, I want you to be the happiest. And her mother added, – — “She will be! After all, she was born in love.”

Dad carefully returned the bundle with the baby to the stroller, then hugged Mom and said that he would be working late tonight because they needed to unload a truck full of groceries and earn some money so that his beloved daughter and her mom would have something to eat. Kira was surprised that her father, a well-known businessman who managed a whole team of employees in an advertising company, used to unload trucks in his youth?

So now she saw herself in a baby stroller on the screen? Kira couldn’t believe her eyes. This couldn’t be real. Was it a prank or was she dreaming?

Then the music stopped playing – it was the song Kira was recording, and it ended, and everything disappeared immediately. As soon as the sounds of the melody ceased, Kira found herself back in her studio, with normal lighting. There was no more golden glow. There was nothing that reminded her of what she had just seen.

Kira walked up to the table, turned on the kettle – “I need a cup of tea,” she thought, “to calmly think through and process everything I just saw.” What was that? She looked up at the ceiling again. There was nothing. Just a regular ceiling. Not a single crack, nothing that reminded her of the golden pillar of light. She felt scared. The kettle boiled and made a loud clicking sound, turning off. Kira flinched. Then she stood up, took a cup, put a green tea bag with jasmine in it, poured boiling water, and after waiting for the tea to steep a bit, she took a careful sip of the hot drink to avoid burning herself.

“Am I going crazy?” Kira thought. “Did I really see all of this?” She remembered the blue glowing screen, the buttons, the numbers, and the letters. What was written there? Pick four numbers and one letter. She chose her birth year and saw herself in a baby stroller. “What does this mean?” she wondered. “I chose my birth year and traveled back in time? Wow! No one will believe it if I tell them. And Alexei?” Kira grabbed her phone and dialed her friend Alexei’s number.

“Hello,” Alexei answered sleepily. “Kira, hey, why are you calling so early?”

“Alex, first of all, it’s not early anymore. Look at the time – it’s 7:00, time to wake up. And secondly, something incredible just happened to me… I really need to tell someone. You’re my friend, right?”

“Yes, Kira, of course, you can count on me.”

“Then wake up quickly and come to me at full speed. I can’t be alone here. I’m scared. There was a golden pillar in my studio, and the whole screen was blue, and I was there, just a baby in a stroller, can you imagine?”

Alexei quickly jumped out of bed.

“Where are you? Are you okay? What screen are you talking about? He didn’t fully understand in his drowsy state.

“I’m at the studio. My studio on the Embankment. I’m fine, but I need you urgently.” Kira decided that explaining over the phone would take too long.

“Understood. I’ll be there soon,” Alexei replied quickly and hung up the phone.

Kira took a sip of warm tea and calmed down a bit. She began to remember how that light appeared. She was singing into a microphone, her eyes closed. And when she opened her eyes, that light was shining from the ceiling.

Kira started singing the lyrics from the song “The Dawn of Lonely Planets” aloud. Then she fell silent and listened. Silence. Nothing happened. Then she continued, “Where we are not…” And again she fell silent. Still quiet. Nothing happened. Kira felt a bit relieved. She couldn’t wait for Alexei to arrive so she could tell him everything. He was a true friend.

There was a knock on the door. Kira approached the door and looked through the peephole. There stood a excited Alexei. She opened the door and said, “Come in!”

Alexei entered, quickly glanced around the studio, closed the door behind him and asked, “What happened? What screen? I had so many thoughts running through my mind while running to you.” He looked slightly disheveled. He didn’t even have time to drink his coffee before rushing off to study. He quickly put on jeans, a shirt, grabbed his bag with textbooks, and hurried to Kira.

“Alex, you won’t believe what just happened,” Kira began her explanation in a jumble. “I was singing my new song with my eyes closed, and then when I opened them, it was there, you know?”

– Who? – Alexei tried to understand what Kira was telling him, but he didn’t understand anything yet.

– Well, a column, how can you not understand. Bam, and a column appeared. All golden – golden. I stepped into it, and there was a screen with numbers and letters, and then – bam, that’s it!

– What’s it? – Alexei asked suspiciously.

– Well, how can you not understand, bam, and I’m in the past, whew, – Kira exhaled. – I’m in a baby carriage. Got it?

– Kira, wait. Let’s go through everything in order. I don’t understand anything. A screen, the past, a golden column, a carriage…

– Fine. I’ll tell you again. I ju – mped! – Kira said slowly and deliberately.

– I understood that, what happened next?

– Then I open my eyes and see a bright golden light coming straight from the ceiling. It was a light column. Do you understand now?

– I think I understand. Go on!

– Well, then. I decided to step into this glowing light.

– You stepped in?

– Yes!

– And what was there?

– There was a screen. Blue in color. And on the screen, there were numbers and letters. And a huge inscription right in front of me, – Kira switched to a conspiratorial whisper, – “Choose four numbers and one letter.” I chose my year of birth! 2001. And I chose the letter “A” – the first letter of the alphabet.

– Interesting, – said Alexei, looking at Kira with particular interest. Kira noticed this strange expression on Alexei’s face, as he began to look at her suspiciously.

– Lesha, I beg you, don’t look at me like that, otherwise I won’t tell you anything else. Kira pouted her lips slightly in a hurt manner. I also thought at first that I was going crazy. But no. I’m fine, Lesha. I think clearly, even though I didn’t sleep all night, but I’m not crazy. Just try to believe me. Will you try? Lesha thought that he could trust Kira. She had never had such fantasies and inventions before. She always told the truth. That’s why Alexei liked her, because she was sincere and had never deceived him. She didn’t have a hint of coquetry that other girls have. Kira was beautiful, but she never boasted about her beauty.

After thinking, Alexei nodded:

– Okay. You can fully trust me. Go on.

– Thank you for believing me, – Kira smiled. – I chose my year of birth and then I saw my city, my mom and dad, when they were young. They were right next to me, just like you are now. But it was all on the screen. And I had just been born. I was in a baby carriage.

– Are you sure it was you?

– Of course I’m sure. Dad said, “My little daughter!” And they only have one little daughter – me! So, think about it!

– Strange, – Alexei pondered. So, you chose your year of birth? What if you had chosen another year? And what does the letter “A” have to do with it? – Alexei asked skeptically again.

– I don’t know, Lesha. I’m lost in conjecture myself.

Alexey paced from one corner of the studio to the other, contemplating like a great thinker, then he sat on the neighboring stool, swaying slightly, and finally expressed his next thought:

“We need to try to bring back that golden pillar and screen. How can we do it? Remember, how did it appear?”

“I don’t know, I just recorded the voice. I only managed to record the first verse and chorus. I was standing and singing with my eyes closed, and when I opened my eyes, I saw that light. But I was already thinking about it. I tried to sing again, but nothing else happened.”

“Think, Kira, think. When did the light disappear? What preceded it? Why did it disappear?”

Kira pondered.

“It disappeared when the recorded song ended. I only managed to record one verse and the chorus.”

“That’s it! Eureka! Your song! The whole secret lies in that. You composed a song that opens the doorway to the future and the past! You invented a time machine!” Alexey exclaimed excitedly. “We just need to test it all again in practice!”

“Do you think I should turn on the recording?” Kira whispered again, her big blue eyes widening in surprise.

“Definitely!” Alexey responded eagerly. “Turn on the recording!”

Kira cautiously approached the control panel and pressed the Play button on the computer. The music started playing. Alexey had never heard this song before. He knew all of Kira’s songs and adored them. Now he was listening to a novelty. Whenever Kira wrote a new song, the first person she would let listen to it was Alexey. He always eagerly listened and praised Kira. She knew that he loved all of her songs. They especially loved gathering in Kira’s studio with friends, having evening sessions with a guitar, tea, and candies. Kira would sing, and her friends would listen. It was Leshka’s happiest time. All their friends eagerly awaited the invitation from Kira to her next concert at her studio. Only the chosen ones were invited. Only those who were true fans of her work. And Alexey brought them along. He wanted Kira to be able to somehow express her talent. Knowing Kira’s character, he understood that she didn’t need a producer simply because she wouldn’t listen to them. Kira couldn’t stand it when someone wanted to change the harmony or make the song different or alter the lyrics; she would immediately stop communicating with such a person. If they didn’t understand her, it meant they were not on the same page. That’s how Kira was. Therefore, Alexey no longer approached her with conversations about big concerts and performances in stadiums. They didn’t carry their CDs with Kira’s songs anywhere. Not to the radio, not to producers. Only the internet. There, Kira periodically released her songs. The two of them decided that their small studio was enough to record songs and perform them for a small circle of friends. But those were true appreciators of Kira’s songs.

And now Kira and Alexey played the recording of their new song. The music started playing. Kira’s voice could be heard. The first verse sounded, at first as if nothing was happening, and then suddenly a golden light began to appear from the ceiling, transforming into a bright column of light.

Kira and Alexey exchanged glances and, silently, holding each other’s hands, entered the golden circle. The warm golden light seemed to envelop them with its incredible radiance. Right in front of them hung the very screen that Kira had told them about. The same one. Alexey gasped.

“So it’s all true…” he said.

“And you didn’t believe me,” Kira replied, sounding a little offended. She approached the screen, squinting at the numbers and letters. The same buttons, the same inscriptions were there.

“Listen, Kira! Last time you entered four digits – it was your birth year. How about we try to peek into the future?”

“What year do you have in mind?” Kira asked.

“I suggest 2020,” Alexey confidently answered. “Because it will be two years from now. And by then, in 2020, we won’t forget what we saw now. But if we look far into the future, who knows what will happen to us? Will we remember what happened today?” Alexey scratched his head. “Just take your time.”

Kira entered 4 digits, as requested on the screen. She typed 2020. Nothing happened at first, because a message appeared asking her to choose a letter. Last time, Kira chose the letter “A”.

“Wait,” Alexey said, “we need to choose the letter ‘A.’ After all, it will be the same timeline. You saw yourself in the past with the letter ‘A,’ so now we have to choose the letter ‘A’ as well.”

“But how will I know what the letter ‘B’ means?” Kira asked. “Let’s take a look at the letter ‘B’ instead. I’m curious to see the options.”

“Okay,” Alexey agreed, “but later. First, let’s find out what awaits us on our timeline. I understand that ‘A’ represents your dimension. It’s a shame that I haven’t read much science fiction. I don’t understand any of this. But I still understand some details. If we have multiple possibilities of fate, then we choose our own version. What if each person chooses their own dimension? Each choice has its own path that it follows. You can go in one direction or another. And like that, every time, every day, we choose our path and destiny.”

“Interesting train of thought,” Kira said thoughtfully, “so you mean to say that every day we make our own choice, and our future depends on that choice?”

“I don’t know, Kira, but we can check if I’m guessing right,” Alexey replied.

“Alright, so I choose the letter ‘A’?”

Alexey nodded in agreement, and Kira pressed the letter “A”. Buttons appeared – “Find Yourself,” “Your World,” “Enter.”

“Press ‘Find Yourself’, ” Alexey said.

Kira pressed the “Find yourself” button. The screen started spinning and swirling, numbers and letters flickering. Exactly one minute later, everything settled down, and an image began to appear. They saw Kira on the screen, sitting by the window, just like in a movie. She was in her room, but the decor was slightly different: there was a new sofa against the wall, and a new computer on the table. Kira had a sad expression on her face. But the most surprising thing was that outside the window, where there used to be bustling life, it was now quiet. Not a single car or trolleybus passed by, only the sound of an ambulance siren could be heard.

The door opened, and Kira’s mother entered the room, saying, “Someone else fell ill again.” Her mother approached the window and closed the curtain. She gently stroked Kira’s head and invited her to the kitchen for dinner.

– I’ll be there in a moment,” Kira promised her, but then the phone rang.

– Hey, Leshka, hi,” she happily answered the phone. “How are you? Alive and well? Everything is fine? I’m glad, Lesh. Take care of yourself. And maybe we can meet today? I have something for you! How about meeting at my studio?”

– Kira, there’s a police presence around. I wanted to come to you today, but I was stopped. Thank God they didn’t give me a ticket. They showed some mercy. But I’ll try to get to you in the evening, when it gets dark. I’ll take the backyards. First, I’ll come for you, and then together we’ll try to get to the studio.

– Agreed. Don’t forget your mask.

The music stopped, the screen disappeared, the light vanished. Kira and Alexei looked at each other with surprise and fear in their eyes.

– What was that? – Alexei was the first to gather his thoughts. “What mask?”

– What a nightmare,’ Kira regained her composure. ‘What awaits us in two years? Just two years, and our lives will change so much. It can’t be true. It’s nonsense. Were they trying to fine you for wanting to come to me? What does this mean, Lesh? Did I do something illegal and get arrested? “Oh my goodness!” Kira screamed. “Did I kill someone?”

Kira shuddered. “We need to do something, we need to do something,” she rambled like a parrot.

– But why did Mom say that someone else got sick again? – Kira said, slightly calming down as she took a big sip of warm tea. – And why the mask?

– I don’t understand either, Kira,” Alexei sat down on a chair, took a notebook and pen from Kira’s table, and started scribbling something. Then he wrote: “2020A” – you can’t go outside. “2020B” – he put a question mark.

– But I have a suggestion,’ he continued, ‘play your song again. Because we chose the wrong letter. What if you choose the letter “B”?

– Well, I think we should choose the letter “A” again and see the world. Remember, there was a choice! Find ourselves or explore the world. Let’s see what the world was like in 2020. Let’s take a look, and then we can choose the next letter.

– Makes sense,” Alexei replied. And they started playing another song by Kira. The melody played, then the song itself began. When it came to the chorus, the familiar golden pillar appeared before their eyes once again. Kira and Alexei stepped inside. Dialing the numbers 2020 and the letter “A,” Kira pressed a button on the screen labeled “Your World.” After a while, the world opened up. Their city appeared on the screen, Kira and Alexei together. Empty streets, empty sky, only police cars and occasional ambulances on the roads. There were hardly any people. And the few individuals who hurriedly went somewhere were wearing medical masks. Then the image changed, and the friends saw different cities that first approached, showing empty streets, then moved away, and approached again. They swiftly passed Paris, Milan, Moscow, New York, the images succeeding one another. After the stream of images with empty streets, other pictures started to appear: riots, shootings, chaos, and confusion.

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