Logline
On the eve of a global ecological collapse, two gardeners tending the last known moonflower must decide whether to protect their fragile sanctuary from a desperate populace or open the gates to a world that has already lost hope.
Characters
ANNA (60s): Practical, resilient, and fiercely protective of the garden. She believes in rules and order above all else.
LEO (30s): Idealistic, pragmatic, and haunted by the world outside the walls. He believes the beauty they preserve must be shared.
Setting
A beautiful, walled botanical garden, illuminated by artificial moonlight and star-lights. It is the only place left with thriving plant life. Center stage, under a spotlight, is the large, unopened bud of a rare moonflower (Ipomoea alba). Outside the high walls, the faint red glow of a ruined, polluted city is visible.
(The lights come up on the garden sanctuary. The air is clear and smells of rich soil. ANNA is meticulously tending to a row of exotic plants. LEO is watching the gates from a small observatory platform, a pair of binoculars around his neck.)
LEO
They’re restless tonight. Must be another dust storm coming in from the East Sector.
ANNA
(Without looking up)
Let them be restless. We have our orders. The sanctuary is locked down. The Protocol is absolute.
LEO
The Protocol was written twenty years ago, Anna, when people still had hope. Now they just have shovels and hunger. They're just people.
ANNA
They are the people who burnt down the last remaining Redwood grove for firewood last winter. They are the people who looted the seed banks. We are all that’s left of the living world. The rules stand.
(Anna crosses over to the central focus: the moonflower bud.)
ANNA
It's going to bloom tonight. The atmospheric pressure is perfect.
LEO
(He comes down from the platform, joining her)
It's beautiful. The last one on Earth.
ANNA
(Standing up straight, her face stern)
We are saving the future of biology, not running a public charity. The agreement we signed with the Global Council was clear: protect the specimens at all costs.
(A loud banging sound echoes from offstage—from the main gates.)
(More banging, louder this time. A few desperate shouts are faintly audible.)
VOICES (O.S.)
Let us in! We want to see it! Open the gates!
ANNA
(Her stance hardens)
Ignore them. They'll give up when they realize we aren't opening.
LEO
They didn't give up on the Redwood grove. They only stop when they get what they want.
(He runs to a control panel near the gate entrance. He checks the security monitors.)
LEO
There are hundreds of them, Anna. They have tools. They’re starting to compromise the outer lock.
ANNA
Activate the deterrent system. Non-lethal gas. Standard procedure.
LEO
(Hesitates, hand hovering over a large red button)
It’s a mother and two kids down there, Anna. They just want to look through the bars.
ANNA
It starts with looking. It ends with them trampling the rare orchids and poisoning the irrigation system. Follow the Protocol, Leo. We made an oath.
(Anna activates the gas system herself from her own wrist-tablet. A loud whirring sound begins, followed by the faint sound of coughing and retreating shouts outside.)
LEO
(Turning away, his face a mask of disappointment)
Happy now? We saved the purity of the garden, Anna. We kept the beauty to ourselves.
ANNA
(Quietly, watching the moonflower bud)
We preserved hope for a time when humanity deserves it again.
(Suddenly, the moonflower bud twitches. It begins to slowly, majestically unfurl its brilliant white petals in the artificial moonlight.)
(It is stunningly beautiful, the only pristine thing left in the world.)
LEO
It’s open.
(A profound silence falls over the garden as they both stare at the perfect flower. Outside the walls, the sounds of the dying city fade away for a moment, replaced only by the quiet majesty of the bloom.)
(Anna reaches out a hand to touch a petal, her resolve slightly shaken by the sheer beauty she is protecting so fiercely.)
(FADE TO BLACK.)
ANNA
It’s a symbol, Leo. Not a resource. It proves that life can still thrive, given the right conditions and protection.
LEO
Who are we proving it to? Just us? There are thousands outside the gate who deserve to see something beautiful before they choke on the dust.
LEO
(Jumps, looking back toward the gates)
They’re early tonight.
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