Petals in December

The first scene: shows snow gently falling over a still hill. Out of season, a cherry blossom tree blooms. YUTO: It is said that memories perish over time; however, how can I forget someone who taught me how to live while they were still alive?

ACT I: The JournalSituation: School Library and Outside Rain Yuto looks through the filthy back shelves. A book bound in leather slips out. YUTO (reading):[If you’re reading this… thank you for noticing me. The majority do not] He flips through pages filled with drawings, poems, and memories.

[My name is Hana Mori. I love December, cherry blossoms, and sad endings. Also, I'm dying.] Yuto's eyes get bigger. His hands tremble. YUTO mumbles, "Hana...? The final page is addressed to him.

[Please complete my list, Yuto Arai—the boy who never smiled—if you are reading this. And maybe… smile once. For me.]

Cut to Yuto sitting silently on his bed, diary in hand. Thunder rolls outside.

2nd Act: Her List:yYuto stands at the top of a grassy hill under a starry sky.

YUTO (softly):[Item one: Watch the stars from the tallest hill in town…]

Alone, he lies on the grass. YUTO (closing his eyes):[If you were here… I went to what your favorite constellation was.]

(Imagined voice) HANA: [Asy. Orion. He’s always fighting for something.]

He opens his eyes startled. He briefly smiles after that. Scene: Train Station Piano Yuto

Yuto sits nervously before a public piano.

PASSERBY:Hey are you gonna play?

YUTO:Yeah.

He fumbles with the keys and plays "Clair de Lune." Flashback overlays of Hana humming the same tune in class.

(Thinking) YUTO: [Your favorite. Now I understand.] He concludes. The tinkering crowd cheers. Scene: Orphanage

A little girl stares at him.

GIRL:[Why is your face always so serious?]

[Because I'm a boring person] YUTO: Girl guffaws:) [as if she were a rock with homework] She laughs so hard she snorts.

For the first time, YUTO laughs: [I guess I deserved that.] Scene: Natsuki's confrontation [Why are you doing this?] NATSUKI You barely knew her.]

YUTO (hands her the diary):[I didn’t know her at all. And yet… I feel like I lost everything.]

Silence. All night, she reads the diary. Her eyes are red the next day. [She really had a lot of light, wasn't she?] YUTO:[She still is.]

Montage: Finishing the List Together

Hugging a stranger who lost her dog.

Putting a bottle in the water and saying, "Give up" to the next lost soul Under the snow, standing. [She would have loved this] NATSUKI: [She is present] YUTO: n

ACT 3: The Final Lesso

YUTO (reading last item aloud):[Teach someone how to live.]

He stares into space. Natsuki looks at him.

NATSUKI:She taught you didnot she?

YUTO (tears forming):Yeah. Additionally, I must now convey it. EPILOGUE: One Year Later

A girl in the library picks up the photo album titled “Petals in December.

Girl: This is... lovely. Yuto walks by, a bit older now. She holds up a photo of a starry sky.

GIRL:Did you live this?

YUTO (smiles gently):Not all of it. Just the part she couldn’t.

SECTION FINAL: The Blooming Tree Yuto sits under the cherry blossom in December snow.

He opens the diary's final page once more. HANA:If you remember mehen maybe I was never really gone.

Yuto receives a petal on the shoulder. YUTO (smiling through tears):Thank you… Hana.

As the petals are carried away by the wind, the screen turns white. THE FINAL