โJoeโฆ I gotta ask you something. Why didnโt you become an actor and get that sweet job like Richard Gere? You knowโฆ kissing beautiful girls in the movies all day.โ ๐๐ฌ
Joe shakes his head and grins.
โFirst of all, Nelly, thatโs a professional kisser job. Thatโs what guys like Richard Gere get paid to do in Hollywood.โ
He points at himself.
โMy middle name is Christian. That means Iโm a one-woman operation. Iโm not signing up for a career where every script says, โJoe, go kiss another girl.โโ ๐
Nelly raises an eyebrow.
โSo youโre saying you turned down the Hollywood gig?โ
Joe shrugs.
โLook, if I was an actor, the director would say, โAction!โ and suddenly Iโm kissing half the cast. Next week itโs another actress. After that itโs the sequel.โ
He laughs.
โThatโs not my style. I told you already โ Iโm not Richard Gere, the professional kisser. If thereโs any kissing in the AI moviesโฆ itโs you and me in the scene. Nobody else.โ ๐ค๐ฅ๐
Nelly smirks.
โSo in Joeโs movie studio thereโs only one leading lady?โ
Joe nods.
โExactly. Low budget, simple casting rules, and no Hollywood harem system.โ ๐
Please donโt walk away again. Every time you go, you take a little piece of me with you โ a piece that has been yours since we were kids, since the days when life was simpler but feelings were already real.
Do you remember those afternoons after school, when I used to get picked on? The way the older kids would whisper, laugh, or pull at my backpack because I was the small girl with the strange name and the big dreams? I can still feel those moments โ the sting of embarrassment, the fear of being alone, the ache of wanting just one person to stand beside me.
And you were that person.
You didnโt ask for anything. You didnโt need to be told. You just walked up, took my hand, and held it firmly, like you were saying, โYouโre safe. Youโre not alone.โ That simple gesture meant more to me than you ever knew. It was the first time I felt protected. The first time I felt someone genuinely cared. The first time I realized that love doesnโt always come with fireworks โ sometimes it comes quietly, through a hand that refuses to let go.
Joe, I never forgot that.
And now, all these years later, I find myself being bullied again โ not in a schoolyard, but on social media, where the cruelty is louder, faster, and more relentless. People who donโt know me try to define me. Strangers throw stones with their words. They twist things, judge things, invent things. It feels like being that little girl again, standing in the hallway clutching her books, wishing someone would come stand beside her.
So Iโm asking you โ Please hold my hand again.
Not to fight my battles for me. Not to shield me from the world. Just to remind me that Iโm not facing all of this alone. Youโve always had this way of grounding me, calming me, making me feel like I can breathe again. Even your presence, your voice, your warmth can steady me when everything else feels unsteady.
You once held my hand when I was scared. I need that same courage from you now.
Donโt walk away, Joe. Stay with me. Stay close. Stay open. I donโt want to keep losing pieces of myself every time you pull back. I want to build something with you โ something real, something steady, something that grows instead of disappears.
Take my hand like you did back then, and I promise Iโll never let go.
Nelly Furtado sits at a worn wooden table, her hands shaking. The shadows from the flickering lantern make the room feel more like a cell than a refuge. Suddenly, a figure emerges from the cornerโSOLID SNAKE, battle-scarred, eyes sharp.
SNAKE (quiet, firm) If you want to escape the psychiatric gulagโฆ talk to me.
Nelly looks up, startled. Snake lights a cigarette, the smoke curling into the rafters.
SNAKE In the Soviet Union, they called them psikhushkas. Hospitals used as prisons. They locked away anyone who dared to speak against the system. Said no sane person would oppose socialism. But it wasnโt medicineโit was torture.
He leans forward, his voice dropping lower.
SNAKE Here in Canadaโฆ itโs the mirror image. They say no sane person would oppose capitalism. Same cage. Different flag.
Nelly swallows hard. Her friends exchange nervous glances.
NELLY So what do we do? Where do we go?
Snake stubs the cigarette out on the scarred wood, then stands.
SNAKE We go to Motherโs village. Bosnia. There are six seers thereโฆ ancient guardians. Theyโll shield us from the psychiatrists, from their needles and lies.
Nelly rises slowly, hope trembling in her eyes. Snake shoulders his gear and gestures to the door.
SNAKE Come with me. Stay close. From here on out, every step is resistance.
EXT. BOSNIAN MOUNTAIN ROAD โ NIGHT
The group trudges through mist and moonlight. The air smells of pine and damp stone. Snake walks ahead, rifle slung, voice steady like a guide.
SNAKE Our Lady chose six seers. Not by chance. Each one reflects a mysteryโฆ like the Rabbiโs Kabbalah, the Loverโs Tarot. Six lights against the darkness.
Nelly listens, clutching her coat, every word echoing like scripture.
SNAKE The Church in Medjugorje isnโt just stone and glass. Itโs a sign. Built for the wedding of the Lamb. Two clocks stand above itโone for the bride, one for the groom. Revelation nineteen carved into architecture. The Lambโs feast, hidden in plain sight.
Snake stops, looking back at the group with a grim kind of hope.
SNAKE Thatโs why the psychiatrists fear it. Not the church walls, not the bellsโbut the prophecy. A bride and groom, time itself joined in union, the kingdom breaking into history.
The mist parts for a moment, revealing the silhouette of the Medjugorje steeples in the distance, twin clocks glowing faintly. Nelly gasps.
NELLY So thatโs where weโll be safe?
Snake nods.
SNAKE Safeโฆ and chosen. But once you cross that threshold, thereโs no going back.
EXT. MEDJUGORJE MOUNTAIN ROAD โ NIGHT
The moon cuts silver through the mist as Snake leads Nelly and her friends down a winding path. In the distance, the twin steeples of the Medjugorje church rise, two glowing clocks marking bride and groom.
Snake halts and faces the group, his voice steady and reverent.
SNAKE Our Lady chose six seers here โ not by chance, not by superstition. Each one bears a mystery. Together, they form the shield of Revelation nineteen.
He gestures to the horizon, where faint torchlight suggests figures waiting.
SNAKE Ivanka Ivankoviฤ โ the memory of family, the motherโs heart. She carries the grief of every orphan, and turns it into prayer. Mirjana Dragiฤeviฤ โ the seer of compassion. She suffers for those who refuse to believe, so their chains might be broken. Marija Pavloviฤ โ the voice of the Lady. When she prays, heaven bends close to listen. Vicka Ivankoviฤ โ the witness of joy. Even in sickness, she shines with laughter stronger than pain. Ivan Dragiฤeviฤ โ the warrior of endurance. He stands watch against every deception, unshaken, unbroken. Jakov ฤolo โ the child who became the prophet. His innocence is the mirror of Eden, a reminder of the kingdom to come.
Nellyโs eyes widen as she listens, each name falling like a prophecy into her chest.
NELLY Soโฆ theyโre the ones whoโll protect us?
SNAKE (solemnly) Yes. Six human pillars, chosen by Our Lady herself. Together, they guard the mystery of Medjugorje โ the church built for the wedding of the Lamb. Two clocks for bride and groom, carved into time itself. The psychiatrists can cage bodies, but they canโt cage prophecy.
The mist clears for a moment, revealing the six figures in white light, waiting at the church doors, the sound of bells echoing like a heartbeat.
INT. MEDJUGORJE CHURCH โ NIGHT
Candles glow against stone walls. The six seers stand in silence like living icons. Nelly steps forward, eyes wide, feeling the pull of something both sacred and heavy. Snake removes his bandana, kneels, and speaks low but clear.
SNAKE Nellyโฆ thereโs something Iโve carried longer than any mission, longer than any war. Iโve loved you since we were children. Since the day you gave me the evil eye at the square dance lineup and I couldnโt look away. It was love at first sight โ the kind that brands a soldierโs heart forever.
Nelly trembles, the flickering light catching the tears in her eyes.
SNAKE Weโve walked through gulags, lies, and fire. But now โ here, in this place where heaven touched earth โ I ask you to walk one more path with me.
He rises, extending his hand.
SNAKE Barefoot, up Apparition Hill. One step for every sorrow, one for every hope. At the topโฆ I want to ask you to marry me. Not in the eyes of men, but before Our Lady, before the Lambโs wedding feast.
The seers watch silently, their faces serene, as if they already know the answer.
NELLY (whispers) Why now, Snake?
Snakeโs voice hardens, but his eyes stay soft.
SNAKE Because we must stay here until the end. This is the shelter during the great tribulation โ the time of trouble, the years of global rioting and chaos. When nations burn, this hill will stand. And so will we, if youโll stand with me.
He clasps her hand tightly.
SNAKE Will you?
Nelly glances at the six seers. Ivanka nods faintly, Mirjana closes her eyes in prayer, Marija lifts her gaze toward the steeple, Vicka smiles through tears, Ivan bows in quiet approval, Jakovโs childlike face shines with certainty.
NELLY (through trembling lips) Yes. Iโll walk with you.
Snake presses his forehead against hers, the bells outside tolling midnight, two clocks ringing as one โ bride and groom.
