Short Film Made up of Awkward Pauses

   Short film made up of awkward pauses:

   ‘A masterpiece of modern angst.’

Scene One: Man enters empty room;

surveys its four-walled nothingness.

He checks his watch; we see the time:

four thirty-seven, afternoon.

A woman enters. ‘You!’ she says.

He turns. We see his face close-up.

Unspoken words fill the space.

‘I…’ he begins, followed by silence.

‘I thought…’ he says. She leaves the room.

Scene Two: Some people round a table.

Embarrassed coughs. The minutes pass.

Shifting in seats; glances exchanged.

More minutes pass. The silence grows.

A woman speaks. ‘Well, this is nice,’

she says. ‘We thought that you were dead.’

A man stands up; walks to the door.

‘I never left,’ he says, and leaves.

Scene Three: Two lovers kiss, then stare

into each other’s eyes. The spell

is broken when she starts to whisper.

‘I love you Steve,’ she says, but he

does not reply. She moves her head

away, a look of hurt across

her face. ‘Say something, then!’ she says,

but he does not. More silence follows.

‘I’m… I’m…’ he says. ‘You’re what?’ she snaps.

‘…not Steve.’ She puts her glasses on.