Orphan

Esther:
I like it when it's just the two of us. You don't know how long I've waited for a daddy just like you.

John Coleman:
Mommy too, right?

Esther:
I don't think Mommy likes me very much.

John Coleman:
Hey. That's not true, Mommy loves you.

Esther:
It's all right. It must be hard to love an adopted child as much as your own.

John Coleman:
Sweetheart, you're just as much part of this family as Danny and Max, okay? Why don't you do something nice for Mommy, show her how much you love her?

Esther:
That's a wonderful idea.

Esther:
I have a special surprise for you, Mommy!

Brenda:
Oh look, Little Bo Peep texted me - she wants her outfit back.

Kate Coleman:
[after Daniel had to be resuscitated when Esther tried to kill him] What did you do?

[Esther is shown walking innocently from the soda machine with a drink in her hand like nothing happened]

Kate Coleman:
What did you do to him, you b*tch?

[Kate slaps Esther]

[to Max, after smashing Sister Abigail in the head with a hammer]

Esther:
Stop crying. Grab a foot, and help me get her off the road. Now!

[Holding a big rock over an unconscious Daniel's head]

Esther:
Don't worry. You're going to Heaven.

[Esther and Max walk up after Daniel has shot a pigeon with his paintball gun]

Esther:
Did you kill it?

Daniel Coleman:
[crying] It was just a paintball, I didn't think it'd hurt him...

[She picks up a big rock and holds it out to him]

Esther:
Put it out of its misery.

[off his look]

Esther:
It's in pain. And it's your responsibility.

Daniel Coleman:
It was just an accident.

Esther:
If you walk away now, it'll starve to death. Is that what you want?

[pause]

Daniel Coleman:
I'm not doin' it...

[after a moment, she smashes the pigeon with the rock]

Esther:
[to Max] It's all right. It's in Heaven now.

Daniel Coleman:
What's wrong with you?

[Kate overhears Esther playing Tchaikovsky flawlessly on the piano]

Kate Coleman:
You told me you didn't know how to play.

Esther:
No, I didn't.

Kate Coleman:
Yes, you did.

Esther:
You offered to teach me, and I accepted.

Kate Coleman:
Okay... so, then, you were just... pretending, this whole time?

Esther:
I thought you would enjoy teaching me. It must be frustrating for someone who loves music as much as you to have a son who isn't interested and a daughter who can't even hear.

Kate Coleman:
What the f***?

Esther:
Please... don't let me die, Mommy! [holds knife behind her back, preparing to kill Kate]

Kate Coleman:
[pause] I'm *NOT* your *F***ING MOMMY!* [she violently kicks Esther's head]

Kate Coleman:
Esther? We have to talk about last night.

Esther:
Do we?

Kate Coleman:
Yes, we do... See, there are certain things that grownups do that children aren't supposed to see, and, uh... that was one of 'em.

[a pause; Esther keeps painting]

Kate Coleman:
Esther, listen to me.

[Esther turns to Kate]

Kate Coleman:
When grownups love each other very, very much... they want to show each other that love; they want to express it...

Esther:
I know. They f***.

[Esther holds a box cutter to a sleeping Daniel's neck; he wakes up]

Esther:
Shhhh...

[She grabs his hair and slams his head against the pillow]

Daniel Coleman:
Ah!

Esther:
Tell me what you saw.

Daniel Coleman:
What are you doing?

Esther:
What did you see?

Daniel Coleman:
[crying] I saw you and Max in the treehouse...

Esther:
[pulls his hair] What else?

Daniel Coleman:
What do you mean?

Esther:
What else did you see?

Daniel Coleman:
Nothing, I didn't see anything else, I swear!

Esther:
Did you tell anyone?

Daniel Coleman:
No... I didn't tell anyone.

[as he cries, she moves the box cutter down between his legs]

Esther:
If I find out that you're lying, I'll cut your hairless little prick off before you even figure out what it's for. Do you understand me?

Daniel Coleman:
Yes...

[a dark stain appears on his pants]

Esther:
You pissed yourself.

Daniel Coleman:
[watching Esther neatly cut up her food] Can you eat normal?

Esther:
I am eating normal.

Daniel Coleman:
Yeah, maybe in Transylvania or whatever country you're from.

Esther:
Incidentally, I'm from Russia. Transylvania isn't even a country. It's a part of Romania.

Daniel Coleman:
You're such a freak.

Kate Coleman:
Hey.

John Coleman:
Hey, Danny... I don't want any more talk like that, all right?

Daniel Coleman:
But why does she have to act like that? All my friends make fun of me because of her.

John Coleman:
Maybe you need some different friends.

Daniel Coleman:
Maybe you should send her back to the retard camp where she belongs.

Kate Coleman:
Daniel.

John Coleman:
Daniel! Apologize to your sister.

Daniel Coleman:
She's not my *f***ing* sister.

Kate Coleman:
I know what you're doing. I will not let you hurt my children.

Esther:
Me? I'm not the one who passed out drunk and let Max almost drown in the pond. If it wasn't for John, she'd be dead. And you'd probably still be in jail.

Kate Coleman:
...Who told you that?

Esther:
[holds up Kate's diary] It's very intimate. I learned so much about you.

Kate Coleman:
Give it to me.

Esther:
Jessica. Your cheating husband.

Kate Coleman:
Esther... give it to me.

Esther:
Where you hide your wine bottles.

Kate Coleman:
I'm - I'm warning you right now.

Esther:
[reading] "She was still kicking when the doctor told me it was something called phantom - "

[Kate angrily snatches the diary away]

Esther:
" - fetal movement. For sixteen days I carried - "

Kate Coleman:
Stop it.

Esther:
" - my dead baby inside me."

Kate Coleman:
Esther!

Esther:
"It was the cruelest torture I could imagine."

Kate Coleman:
Stop it! You stop it! What's wrong with you?

Grandma Barbara:
So... what are your plans?

Kate Coleman:
I'll get Esther settled, and, uh... then go back to teaching.

Grandma Barbara:
Thought they weren't gonna take you back.

Kate Coleman:
No, I'm not talkin' about Yale, I'm just... I'll probably give lessons from home.

Grandma Barbara:
That's too bad. That was a very good job.

Kate Coleman:
Yeah, well, I didn't quit 'cause I wanted to.

Grandma Barbara:
I know. You had to have your moment of clarity.

Kate Coleman:
That is an AA term. And I didn't go to AA; I just stopped drinkin'.

Grandma Barbara:
Same difference. We all need a wake-up call sometimes.

Trevor:
Your sister's a total spaz.

Daniel Coleman:
She's not my sister.

Esther:
Kate, it's too late. It's your own fault. You took your family for granted.

[She tries to leave; Kate grabs her]

Kate Coleman:
What do you mean?

Esther:
What are you going to do? Hit me?

John Coleman:
She could've picked it up anywhere. Hell, she probably picked it up at school.

Kate Coleman:
No, this wasn't something she overheard; I mean, she knew what it meant.

John Coleman:
Huh.

Kate Coleman:
And, and babe, the *way* she said it, is, I don't even think she expected to get in trouble over it.

John Coleman:
Well... we'll talk to her about it tonight.

Kate Coleman:
[sighs] Fine...

John Coleman:
Well, what did you have in mind?

Kate Coleman:
Thought we could take her to Dr. Browning.

John Coleman:
[chuckles] I don't think we need to take her to the shrink quite yet.

Kate Coleman:
Well, you know, we just don't know that much about her, I mean... for all we know the, the family she stayed with could've been like, "Pass the f***in' potatoes" at dinnertime.

[John laughs]

Kate Coleman:
I, just, that she's saying it to my face, what's she saying when we're not there? I don't want her exerting that kind of influence over Max.

John Coleman:
Anyway, I just don't wanna make a big deal out of one little dirty word.

Kate Coleman:
Fine... f***in' spend some time with her, then.

John Coleman:
A'ight, b*tch.

Esther:
I think people should always try to take the bad things that happen to them in their lives, and turn them into something good. Don't you?

Sister Abigail:
I'm afraid I... may have made a mistake. I think there could be something wrong with Esther.

John Coleman:
What? What do you mean? You told us that you never had any trouble with her.

Sister Abigail:
I didn't. But trouble does have a way of finding her.

Kate Coleman:
Go to your room.

Esther:
Honestly, we're past that now, aren't we?

John Coleman:
Where'd you get the idea for this one?

Esther:
My paintings always tell stories. This one's about a sad mother lion who can't find her cubs.

John Coleman:
She's smiling.

Esther:
She's dreaming about her babies. It's the only thing that makes her happy.

John Coleman:
I hope she finds them.

Esther:
She will. Look.

[She begins painting the cubs]

Esther:
They were lost in the jungle, and they were so scared because they didn't have a mother or father. But just when they thought they'd be alone forever, they found their mother asleep under this tree. Now when she wakes up, her dream will have come true. She'll have her family again.

Esther:
Going somewhere, Kate?

John Coleman:
She painted all these.

Kate Coleman:
Really?

John Coleman:
Yeah.

Kate Coleman:
These are fantastic. These are really wonderful.

Esther:
Thank you.

Kate Coleman:
Well, where did you learn how to do this?

Esther:
I've just had lots of time to practice, I guess. It's really boring here.

Kate Coleman:
It's boring here? Hey, if you're so bored, then why aren't you down at the party?

Esther:
I've never really seen the point of it. Nobody's ever talked to me before. I guess I'm different.

Kate Coleman:
There's nothing wrong with being different, you know.

John Coleman:
Well, you two have a lot in common.

John Coleman:
Kate... Kate. You can't get jealous of every woman that I talk to, right? It's been like, ten years.

Kate Coleman:
What does that mean, "It's been ten years"? You say that like it, it, it actually means something. It's only been two years since you told me.

John Coleman:
You know how sorry I am; I just feel like I've earned a little trust here. I gave you a second chance.

Kate Coleman:
That's not fair... that's not fair.

John Coleman:
Let me get this straight: We can talk about my mistakes, but not yours?

Kate Coleman:
I was sick! You're an a**hole who wanted to f*** somebody else!

Max Coleman:
[signing] You tricked me.

Esther:
That doesn't matter. They'll send you to jail just for helping me hide her. I had to kill her, because she was going to tell on me. You're not going to tell on me... are you?

[as Daniel rummages through his treehouse, Esther suddenly enters behind him]

Esther:
Are you looking for this?

[pulls the hammer and her bloody clothes from Max's backpack]

Esther:
Poor Sister Abigail. I couldn't have done it myself, you know. Max is just as guilty as I am.

Daniel Coleman:
Whatever Max did, you made her do it!

Esther:
Think about it.

[pulls Max's drawings from her pocket]

Esther:
How did she even know what was up here? It's always better to burn the evidence.

[begins spraying lighter fluid on the pile]

Esther:
If they find these things, they won't just be coming for me. They'll be coming for Max, too.

[lights a match]

Esther:
Is it really what you want?

Daniel Coleman:
Wait!

[She drops the match and sprays more fluid all over the floor]

Daniel Coleman:
What are you doing? Are you crazy?

[pointing a revolver at Max's head]

Esther:
Do you want to play?

Saarne Institute Orderly:
Hello?

Kate Coleman:
Is this the Saarne Institute?

Saarne Institute Orderly:
Yes.

Kate Coleman:
Yes, I, I need to talk to somebody about, uh, one of your children. She was adopted by an American family. It's a girl.

Saarne Institute Orderly:
She is not come from here...

Kate Coleman:
Well, I haven't even told you her name yet.

Saarne Institute Orderly:
You do not understand. Saarne Institute is not an orphanage, it is a mental hospital.

[whispering into Max's hearing aid]

Esther:
I'll shoot Mommy if you tell.

Grandma Barbara:
Esther and Maxine seem to be getting along well.

Kate Coleman:
Yeah.

Grandma Barbara:
How's she doing, Kate?

Kate Coleman:
Esther's fittin' right in.

Grandma Barbara:
I meant Maxine. She's playing by the pond like nothing ever happened. She doesn't remember anything, does she?

[first lines]

John Coleman:
Hang on. I know. You're doin' so good. You're doin' so good, honey. You all right?

Kate Coleman:
Yeah.

[last lines]

Kate Coleman:
[to Max] Baby, it's okay...

Kate Coleman:
[using sign language to read Max her favorite bedtime story] I waited all night to meet my new baby sister. But, when Mommy and Daddy came home, Mommy told me that my little sister went to Heaven. I'm glad that my little sister went to Heaven. [pause] But... I would have liked to have met her first.

Max Coleman:
[signing] Is baby Jessica an angel?

Kate Coleman:
[signing] Yes, a beautiful angel! [she kisses Max's head and pulls her body underneath the bed covers]

Max Coleman:
[signing] Am I going to get a new sister?

Kate Coleman:
[signing] I don't know.

Esther:
Stop talking to me like I'm a child!

Kate Coleman:
[Kate's cell phone rings as she is waking up after being sedated in the hospital; she answers the phone]Hello?

Dr. Varava:
Is this Katherine Coleman? [pause]Hello?

Kate Coleman:
[Gets out of the hospital bed]Yeah, this is she.

Dr. Varava:
My name is Dr. Varava. I'm calling from the Saarne Institute. I've just seen the picture that you sent to us.

Kate Coleman:
And do you recognize her?

Dr. Varava:
Where is she? Is she someplace where she can hear you?

Kate Coleman:
No, she's not with me. She's with my husband at home...

Dr. Varava:
Call your husband right now and tell him to get your family out of the house, then call the police.

Kate Coleman:
What? Why?

Dr. Varava:
Then tell him that the little girl in the picture is not really a little girl. She is a grown woman!

Kate Coleman:
What? What are you talking about? The picture that I sent you is of our adopted daughter. She's nine years old.

Dr. Varava:
No, she's not. She has a rare hormonal disorder. It's called Hypopituitarism. It causes proportional dwarfism. She only looks like a child. According to our records, Leena Klammer was born in 1976. She's 33 years old!

Kate Coleman:
[after being told the real truth about Esther]Oh my God! How could she fool us?

Dr. Varava:
She's been passing herself as a little girl for most of her life. She tricked the family here in Estonia. When she couldn't seduce the father, she killed him and his whole family...

Kate Coleman:
Then she burned the house down!

Kate Coleman:
[about Esther] Why was she at your hospital?

Dr. Varava:
She's dangerously ill. Violent. She's killed seven people that we know of!

Kate Coleman:
[after being told the truth about Esther]Oh my God! How could she fool us?

Dr. Varava:
She's been passing herself as a little girl for most of her life. [pause]She tricked a family here in Estonia into adopting her. When she couldn't seduce the father, she killed him and his entire family...

Kate Coleman:
Then she burned the house down!

Dr. Varava:
Yes! How did you know? [pause]She disappeared over a year ago and we lost track of her. [pause]If it is really Leena, you don't have much time! [Kate hangs up her cell phone and frantically runs out of the hospital to get to her car]

Dr. Varava:
Does she have the scars?

Kate Coleman:
What? I don't know, what scars?

Dr. Varava:
Leena was one of our *most* violent patients. When she here she was kept in a straitjacket to stop her from hurting our staff, she was constantly fighting to get out of it. It cut into her skin and left her with scars around her wrists and neck. There is no way you could have not seen them!

Kate Coleman:
Go to your room!

Esther:
Honestly Kate, we're past that now, aren't we?

[while Kate is preparing the food, Esther remain silent while John and Max are looking at her.]

John:
[while signing] Brenda's father says... that you pushed her.

Esther:
That's not true, We were just playing. I swear.

[Kate serves the dinner while John pauses; Kate turns to Max.]

John:
Okay.

Kate:
[to Max] And did you see what happened?

Max:
[signing] She slipped.

[As Esther walks to the door, she opens it and see Sister Abigail waiting.]

Sister Abigail:
Oh, Hello Esther.

Esther:
What are you doing here?

Sister Abigail:
[smiles] May I come in?

Sister Abigail:
I'm afraid I may have made a mistake. There could be something wrong with Esther.

John:
What? What do you mean? You told us that you'd never had any trouble with her.

Sister Abigail:
I didn't. But trouble does have a way of finding her.

Kate:
What kind of trouble?

Sister Abigail:
Two girls get into a fight, there she is. Someone gets caught stealing, there she is again.

John:
So, does that mean-?

Kate:
[to John] John, just let her finish.

Sister Abigail:
After you told me about the girl in the playground, I called her old school. While she was there, there was a boy who fell with a pair of scissors in his hand and accidentally stabbed himself through the jaw. And Esther was there again.

John:
I don't understand. He accidentally stabbed himself.

Sister Abigail:
But the most troubling thing is the Sullivan house fire. I checked into it further, it was arson. They have never found the person who did it.

[While Sister Abigail are talking to Kate and John, Esther looks]

John:
What are you suggesting here? That she had anything to do with any of this? It's ridiculous.

Sister Abigail:
That a child could commit such crimes. It just flies in the face of everything I believe.

John:
Oh... well, Yeah.

[while Max is drawing, Esther enters her room.; Max turns to Esther.]

Esther:
[while signing] There's a mean lady here. She's come to take me away. Will you help me?

Kate:
We've had some behavioral problems, but...

John:
Yeah, nothing like that. I mean, right?

Kate:
Yes, we have.

John:
Really, hon, think about it.

[Esther looks at the living room, while Kate, John and Sister Abigail are talking.]

Sister Abigail:
I've tried to reach the Russian orphanage where she was raised. I think we need to know what we're dealing with.

[John gets irritated.]

John:
Oh-uh, I'll tell you what we're dealing with. We're dealing with...

Kate:
N-no, you know what?

John:
[turns to Kate.] Stop. Listen. [turns back to Sister Abigail.] We're dealing with a 9-year-old girl who's an orphan,---

Kate:
Y-yeah, that's it...

John:
[to Sister Abigail] ...okay?

Kate:
We're taking her to Dr. Browning.

[John turns to Kate]

John:
We can take her to Dr. Browning.

[as Daniel looks for the evidence through his treehouse, Esther suddenly enters behind him.; Daniel turns to Esther.]

Esther:
Are you looking for this? [she pulls out the hammer from Max's backpack] Poor Sister Abigail. I couldn't have done it myself, you know. [pulls out her bloody clothes.] Max is just as guilty as I am.

Daniel:
Whatever Max did, you made her do it!

Esther:
Think about it. [she pulls out Max's drawings from her pocket.] How did she even know what was up here? [puts the drawing on the pile.] It's always better to burn the evidence. [pulls out the lighter fluid.] If they find these things, [begins spraying lighter fluid on the pile] they won't just be coming for me. They'll be coming for Max, too. [lights a match.] Is it really what you want?

Daniel:
Wait! [Esther drops the match and sprays more lighter fluid all over the treehouse.] What are you doing? [Esther keeps spraying the fluid all over the tree house.] Are you crazy?! [The fire ignites the fluid, setting the treehouse on fire.; Esther climbs down the lighthouse and closes the door as Daniel rushes through the door.] Let me out! [Esther locks the door from the treehouse.] Let me out of here!

[Kate's cell phone is ringing, Kate wakes up and answers it.]

Kate:
Hello?

Dr. Varava:
Is this Kate Coleman?... Hello?

Kate:
Yeah, this is she.

Dr. Varava:
My name is Dr. Varava. I'm calling from the Saarne Institute. I've just seen the picture you e-mailed.

Kate:
And do you recognize her?

Dr. Varava:
Where is she right now? Is she someplace where she can hear you?

Kate:
No, she's not with me. She's with my husband at home.---

Dr. Varava:
Call your husband right now, and tell him to get your family out of the house. Then call the police.

Kate:
He won't listen to me. Why?

Dr. Varava:
Then tell him the little girl in the picture, is not really a little girl. She is a grown woman.

Kate:
What? What are you talking about? The picture I sent you is of our adopted daughter, and she's 9 years old.

Dr. Varava:
No, she's not. She has a rare hormone disorder. It's called hypopituitarism, it causes proportional dwarfism. She only looks like a child. [checks on the records] According to our records, Leena Klammer was born in 1976. She's 33 years old.

[Kate gets up and dresses up in her normal clothing]

Kate:
This can't be. This is a mistake.

Dr. Varava:
I hope so, for your sake. Does she have the scars?

Kate Coleman:
What? I don't know. What scars?

Dr. Varava:
Leena was one of our most violent patients. When she was here, she was kept in a straitjacket to stop her from hurting our staff. She was constantly fighting to get out. It cut into her skin and left her with scars around her wrists and neck. There is no way you could not have seen them.

[Kate rushes through the hospital.]

Kate:
Why was she at your hospital?

Dr. Varava:
She's dangerously ill, violent. She killed seven people that we know of.

Kate:
Oh, my God. How could she fool us?

Dr. Varava:
She has been passing herself off as a little girl for most of her life. She tricked a family here in Estonia into adopting her. When she couldn't seduce the father, she killed him and his whole family.

Kate:
Then she burned the house down?

Dr. Varava:
Yes. How did you know? She disappeared a year ago, and we lost track of her. If it's really Leena, you don't have much time.

[Kate uses the stairs and gets out of the hospital.]

Esther/Leena:
Please... don't let me die, Mommy.

Kate:
I'm not your f***ing mommy! [kicks Esther in the face and sends her back into the pond to drown, her neck broken]

Esther/Leena:
I don't think Mommy likes me very much. It must be hard to love an adopted child as much as your own.

Esther/Leena:
[Threatening Daniel] If I find out you're lying, I'll cut your hairless little prick off before you even know what it's for. Do you understand? [...] [Looks down on Daniel's pants] You pissed yourself.

Esther/Leena:
[to Max after Esther kills a bird] It's alright, it's in heaven now.

Esther/Leena:
[To Kate] It must be hard, having such an ear for music as you, with a son who is not interested and a daughter who can't even hear.

Esther/Leena:
[Holding Kate's diary] Makes very interesting reading... I read about why Max is deaf. How you were drunk and drove the car into the lake? If John hadn't been there, she'd be dead now.