Dreaming: A Fairy Tale Inspired by the Story of Sumi Jo

By Josephine deBois

Sumi Jo is one of the greatest singers of our time. The ultimate beauty of her singing is admired and enjoyed by millions across the world and continues to capture, inspire and enrich an ever increasing audience. But Sumi Jo is more than a singer. She cares deeply for her country and its people, and is committed to bringing a brighter future to the country, its people and their companions. This deep commitment, which makes Sumi Jo more than a brilliant artist and singer, is what has inspired the script on the following pages. It tells the story of fulfillment of Sumi's dreams in an imaginary story, a dream like a fairytale that flows with the beauty of her singing, and with the intension of bringing her dreams to an even broader audience, and thereby contribute to their fulfillment. Stories of love and faith flow throughout the fairy tale intertwined with deeply symbolic stories of rape and atrocities while also providing glimpses of love and faith at the edge of humanity in the sphere of modern biologic sciences leading to the perfectly designed woman and the likewise perfect human doll. At the end, faith trumps chance and we follow the breathtaking, symbolic unification of the most unsophisticated and sophisticated of worlds driven by love and inspired by the beauty of the arts as Sumi reaches out for Samuel's hand – "love is not a lottery; our love is our faith."

• Language: English
• Publisher: Page Publishing, Inc.
• Release date: Oct 11, 2019
• ISBN: 9781645846468

Book preview

Episode 1

A Magic Touch

New York, Manhattan, Early Evening

From high, high up in the air we see Manhattan as on a map. As we zoom in, and as we get closer and focus on the area around Central Park and continue to zoom in, we see the busy bustle of the early New York evening and we hear the intense noise of the typical early evening Manhattan rush hour traffic jam. Our attention goes to a police car inching down the avenue closest to the park in the dense, slow-moving traffic. As it stops by a traffic light close to the corner of the park, time seems to stand still, with nothing except a few pedestrians moving. The sound of the traffic fades away and a soft Korean lyric song breaks through to gradually fill the space (If You Come). We take a seat at one of the benches by the walkway and enjoy the soothing music while we watch the police car and the stalled traffic waiting for the light to change. The sound of the traffic gradually picks up and overshadows the soothing Korean song. The traffic light changes and we watch the police car turn the nearest corner.

New York, Police Car, Early Evening

SAMUEL, a good-looking, attractive police officer of about forty years of age, Caucasian with slight but evident Korean traits, slim, of average height, fit, fast-talking with strong body language, tight lips, burning intelligent radiating from warm and compassionate eyes, dressed in his New York police uniform, is by the driver’s seat in the police car heading down the New York City avenue. His black, filling, backcombed hair easily falls forward to instantly be pushed back, again and again, in apparently endless circles of unconscious movements. Next to Samuel in the passenger seat is HUANG CHU, a police officer of Chinese descent, about forty-eight years old, trending towards slight overweight, with thinning black hair and of medium height; a very friendly and jolly fellow always in a good mood. It is late in the day, with darkness spreading and street lamps turning on. Huang is busily filling out a handful of lottery coupons, holding the coupons up one by one to the side window for light from the street lamps. Samuel watches Huang from the corner of his eye with a gentle, lenient smile.

SAMUEL. What on earth are you doing?

Huang, totally focused on filling out the lottery coupons, does not respond. When his pen stops working, he almost panics, but is relieved to find a new pen in the glove compartment and finally completes the last coupon. He stacks the coupons carefully and browses through them one by one, clearly leaving nothing to chance. Samuel continues to watch with amusement as Huang finally leans back in the seat and, with limited interest, watches the dense traffic around them. It starts raining. Samuel starts the wipers and we hear their rhythmic click and swish through the pouring rain.

SAMUEL. So, Hu. What were you doing?

HUANG. My lottery coupons. We have to hurry up and find a kiosk to get them in. We’re almost at the deadline.

SAMUEL. Deadline?

HUANG (excited). Yes, deadline. If you miss it, the opportunity is gone. The prize is huge this time.

SAMUEL. You know this is a waste of money, right? I once saw a calculation. You need millions of years playing weekly just to have a small chance—and you may still miss.

HUANG. I know, I know. But this is different, Sam. I have faith.

SAMUEL (scoffing). Faith. Come on, Hu.

HUANG (reproachful). Yes, Sam. Faith is beyond numbers. Nothing happens by chance. There is a purpose. That’s just how it is. (pauses) You know where I go every week. Sunday Mass with the whole family. It’s so beautiful. Peace of mind, no worry. Faith, Sam.

SAMUEL (smiling while pointing at the pile of coupons). Why do you need so many coupons, then? Why not just a single one?

Huang ponders but is distracted as he sees a kiosk down a side street. The rain has intensified. It is pouring over the empty sidewalks.

HUANG. Down there, Sam. Turn around. You see it?

Samuel turns the car around with an, evidently, pretty illegal U-turn and parks, illegally, in front of the small kiosk. Huang exits the car and runs through the pouring rain to the kiosk. Through the rain, Samuel watches Huang meticulously handing the coupons one by one to the shopkeeper. Finally, the soaked Huang re-enters the car and, happily relieved, buckles in. Samuel hands Huang a not too clean towel and watches with a smile while Huang happily dries his face, mission accomplished.

SAMUEL (smiling). So, this rain is part of our fate, I guess?

HUANG. Listen—everything has a purpose. And we are part of it. That’s our faith. It is what it is, Sam! Even this rain has a purpose. For you, too. I swear!

SAMUEL. Well, we better become a little practical here. We haven’t written a single parking ticket today. You know what will happen, right? Jack will be annoyed, very annoyed—faith or not—and all the faith in the world won’t help us out of that.

HUANG. Head for Lincoln Centre, Sam. Rain plus performances tonight; we can write a pile of tickets in a heartbeat. Let’s move!

Samuel turns the car around and starts driving to the Upper West Side. The car fades away in the pouring rain.

New York, Upper West Side, Late Evening

The rain has stopped. Huang is in the driver’s seat while Samuel is busily browsing through and counting a significant pile of parking tickets. Huang turns and drives down a narrow, poorly illuminated side street.

HUANG. Let’s get a couple more down here. Then we should be done.

SAMUEL. Sounds good. By the way, you can have the car tonight.

HUANG. Great.

Huang stops behind an illegally parked car, steps out of the police cruiser and goes to the front of the illegally parked car to record its license plate number. Inside the police car, Samuel organises the pile of parking tickets, places the neatly ordered tickets by Huang’s seat, and steps out of the car to assist Huang. A person, medium height, is walking alone on the pavement on the opposite side of the street behind Huang and Samuel. As the person passes a parked car, the car door suddenly opens and a person in a black coat jumps out, grabs the individual on the sidewalk, and attempts to push the person into the back seat of the car, where another attacker attempts to grab the victim and pull them inside. A violent fight erupts. A loud scream of a woman rings out. Samuel and Huang turn around, astonished, and immediately run to the rescue while shouting. As the man in black sees Samuel and Huang, he pushes the victim violently to the ground and rushes into the car, which instantly starts driving away with squeaking tires. Samuel runs to the motionless woman on the ground, drops on his knees next to her, turns her head very carefully to avoid injuries, and places his ear close to her mouth, listening for breathing. Huang runs after the fleeing car but stops in the middle of the wet, dark street and tries to take a photo of the car as it swiftly turns around the nearest corner and disappears. Samuel, still on his knees next to the woman, carefully turns her to lie on her side and gently moves her hood. The face of Sumi becomes visible. Her eyes are closed and her face is mostly covered by her long hair. Huang runs over to Samuel and stands behind him as Samuel gently moves the hair to the side, fully exposing Sumi’s face. Huang calls an ambulance on his police radio. Sumi opens her eyes and, disoriented, looks around. Her eyes meet Samuel’s while he gently holds her arm with one hand and her back with the other, keeping her on the ground to prevent potential injuries by Sumi moving. For a moment, Sumi panics and violently tries to get loose, slightly scratching Samuel’s hand, until she registers his police uniform and calms down.

SAMUEL. You are okay. Just don’t move. Stay exactly as you are.

SUMI (in Korean). Where am I? What happened?

SAMUEL (in English, smiling with a tranquillity that would calm anyone down in any situation). You are fine. Just don’t move, please. We’ll have an ambulance here in a sec.

SUMI (swiftly regaining her senses and speaking in English). Who are you?

SAMUEL. I’m with the police. My name is Samuel. We’ll take care of you now. Don’t worry. Just don’t move before we have checked everything out, okay?

Sumi weakly tries to reciprocate Samuel’s smile. An ambulance arrives at the scene. With flashing lights in the background, the emergency staff gets to Sumi, gently places her on a stretcher, and carries her into the ambulance. A young medic instantly starts checking her vitals with Samuel anxiously watching.

SAMUEL (to the medic). I better join them. She was assaulted. I have to report it.

HUANG (looking into the ambulance and addressing Samuel). Do you want me to follow with the car?

SAMUEL. It’s fine, I can walk home; the hospital is close to my place. I can take care of it.

HUANG. See you tomorrow, then.

SAMUEL (addressing Sumi while smiling, trying not to make her nervous or trigger her to move). Did you touch them? I see your nail is broken.

SUMI. I think so. Tried to hit, maybe scratched.

SAMUEL. Okay, I will call our forensic folks to get them in the loop. (Samuel holds Sumi’s hand.) Please just relax now, don’t move. We will be there in a bit.

Samuel makes a brief call from his cell phone. The doors close and the ambulance starts driving away from the scene with flashing lights. Inside, the medic radios ahead to the hospital. Samuel holds Sumi’s hand to keep her calm. In the safe environment, Sumi relaxes slightly, relieved.

New York, Hospital, Emergency Room, Midnight

The ambulance crew rolls the stretcher carrying Sumi into the emergency room. Two nurses are standing ready alongside LOUIS FISCHER, the male emergency room doctor on call, about forty-five years of age, with Caucasian traits, of medium height, with black backcombed thinning hair, and wearing glasses with a heavy black frame. Samuel stays close by Sumi, holding her hand to comfort her. With the utmost care, the two ER nurses lift Sumi over to the bed, keeping her neck and back perfectly straight. They gently remove her coat and hood. Louis immediately starts examining Sumi while the nurses hook her up to the many instruments around and take blood samples. The forensic expert JOHN DJERASSI, a male Caucasian of about thirty years of age, medium height, with red curly messy hair, and with eyes and body language radiating energy and enthusiasm of a true nerd, enters. He immediately unpacks probes for sample collection and stands impatiently waiting next to Louis.

LOUIS (looking Sumi in the eyes while carefully examining her). Tell me if it hurts when I touch you.

Sumi. I don’t feel any pain.

LOUIS (continuing the physical examination). I don’t think anything bad has happened. (He looks at the various instruments and recordings.) Seems to be your lucky day. (to John) Please, go ahead.

JOHN. Tell me where you touched them or were touched.

Sumi. My nails. One is broken. My hands and arms. My neck and face, too.

John carefully gathers samples from Sumi’s nails, face, neck and arms. He finally takes a swab from her mouth. A nurse hands him a tube from the blood draws.

JOHN (smiling as he calmly explains). This blood sample and the swab will help me to know who is whom when I analyse the other samples. I’ll be able to tell what is from you and what is from somebody else. (to Louis) I’m done.

LOUIS (to Sumi). There is nothing wrong with you. We just have to ask a few questions for the records. Then you can leave. (He looks at Samuel.) Unless, of course, the police have some questions for you too.

Sumi (still slightly disoriented). But all my papers are in the hotel.

LOUIS. In that case, I’ll leave the ID part of the story to the police. (He smiles and gives Samuel a friendly nod.) He will follow up with us later to complete the paperwork. (He puts a comforting hand on Sumi’s shoulder while bidding a friendly goodbye.) Just in case, here is my card. (He hands Sumi his business card.)

Louis shakes hands with a relieved Sumi. John swiftly leaves the room, waving enthusiastically, to get analyses of the samples rolling in the laboratory as fast as possible. The nurses unplug Sumi and exit together with the ambulance crew, leaving Samuel and Sumi alone. Samuel finds a chair and takes a seat next to the bed. They sit in silence for a moment while Samuel takes a small notepad from his uniform pocket.

SAMUEL. Is it okay if I ask you a few questions?

Sumi rises in the bed, sits at its edge for a moment, hops onto the floor, takes a chair from a small desk in the room, carries it over to the bedside, and takes a seat face to face with Samuel. He takes note of the woman’s eye-catching appearance—about forty-five years old, attractively and beautifully shaped, slim and fit, Korean—as she tries to compose herself and deploys a smile while she, still slightly fearfully, looks around the room. Samuel reciprocates her gentle smile while lifting his hands in a questioning motion, looking for an okay to proceed. Sumi folds her hands on her lap and looks Samuel in the eyes, ready to roll through the questions.

Sumi. Please.

SAMUEL. Okay. So—your name, please.

Sumi. Sumi Jo.

SAMUEL (writing). And your last name?

Sumi. Jo! It is Sumi and then Jo. I am a singer.

SAMUEL. Okay, sorry, got it. And where are you from?

Sumi. Korea. But I live in Europe—in Italy.

In a flash, Samuel’s face goes blank as he is captivated by Sumi’s Korean beauty and poise, feeling an inexplicably deep attraction to her. He is on the verge of expressing his sentiments, but immediately composes himself, smiles friendly to Sumi, and returns to the reality of an appropriate and factual questioning—first things first.

SAMUEL. And what do you do for a living?

Sumi (slightly forcefully). I sing. I am a singer.

SAMUEL. (Realising attraction has led to distraction and a total blunder, he wipes the positive sentiments and smiles excusing to Sumi.) Sorry, I was on autopilot. Got it now. Do you have ID?

Sumi. It’s all in the hotel. I am sorry.

SAMUEL. You must have something. Something from your hotel, perhaps?

Sumi. I have the key card and—wait a minute; there is this small folder around the key card.

Sumi takes her windbreaker from a hanger by the exit, searches the pockets, finds the key card in a small folder from the hotel, hands it to Samuel, and again takes her seat by the bedside facing him, hands on her lap and back straight.

Sumi. This one.

SAMUEL (reading the text on the folder). Well, at least it’s a start. It’s near where we found you.

Sumi. Sure—that’s why I was just walking back.

SAMUEL. And what were you doing over there?

Sumi. We were rehearsing. The concert hall and studios for rehearsal are close by.

SAMUEL. Rehearsing?

Sumi. Yes, we rehearse, practice. (smiling) I have a concert in a few days.

SAMUEL. That’s what you are here for?

Sumi. Yes—well, I have a meeting, too.

SAMUEL. Meeting about music or—

Sumi. Something else, different. Down by the UN. An organisation I support. Protection of animals. Dogs, for example. We should treat them well—and we do not in my country. Some people even eat them, instead of treating them as what they are—our most lovely companions, (pauses and smiles) a gift from God. (continuing in a neutral and factual tone) That kind of stuff. It has to stop. That’s what I support.

With two fingers outstretched, Sumi imitates cutting her throat and displays the brutal slaughter of a dog while talking.

Sumi. A million!

SAMUEL. A million?

Sumi. Every year.

Sumi again cuts her throat, fingers outstretched.

Sumi. It has to stop. God gave us faith, and he gave us dogs. They are our bridge between faith and God. (pauses and smiles) That’s how I feel it. (pauses) And then—

Sumi shakes her head, briefly hides her face in her hands, composes herself, straightens up in the chair, folds her hands on her lap, and smiles the best she can to Samuel, ready for more questioning by the touched Samuel.

SAMUEL. How beautiful what you do. (Smiles to keep Sumi calm, knowing what he must ask next.) Now, tell me what happened, please.

Sumi (resolute). I was grabbed from behind. Suddenly, violently, with huge force, and pushed towards a car. Somebody was in there holding the door open. I resisted as hard as I could. I know self-defence.

SAMUEL (with one eyebrow raised). Like a kidnapping.

Sumi. Yes, exactly, a kidnapping. It has happened before.

SAMUEL (surprised). It’s happened before?

Sumi. Yes, in a way, but that was different.

SAMUEL. Why different? Kidnapping is kidnapping.

Sumi (losing her focus). It was so long ago. Someone who fell in love with—(pauses briefly) with an illusion.

SAMUEL. An illusion?

Sumi. When you are on stage, like when I sing, giving a performance people love, there can be some who fall in love with the person they imagine is up there. You understand?

SAMUEL. Well, sort of, perhaps.

Sumi (forgetting her troubled situation in the moment). Acting is about being someone else and, even so, being yourself. Singing—performing of any kind—is just the same.

SAMUEL. Well, I sort of follow you. It’s a bit beyond me, I’m afraid.

Sumi. Since that moment—when the kidnapping happened, I mean—I became afraid. Never before.

SAMUEL. No wonder. Please, let’s talk about what just happened, if you don’t mind.

Sumi (again pretty shaken). Sure. (folds her hands more tightly on her lap)

SAMUEL. Did you see any of them—whoever grabbed you or the person inside the car, or anything?

Sumi. No, not at all. (pauses) Perhaps—

SAMUEL. Perhaps?

Sumi (looking around the room). Somehow, perhaps I saw some of the—some of these things the nurses used (waves her hand around the room to encompass the IVs and instruments). I don’t know what these things are called.

SAMUEL. You mean the tubes or the instruments over there?

Sumi. Maybe the, what did you call them, ‘tubes’.

SAMUEL (reaching out for a tube and briefly holding it). You mean this thing?

Sumi. Could be. Not sure. Maybe I just mix things up.

The sound of the conversation fades away while Samuel continues his questioning and Sumi, increasingly nervous to the point of fear, folds her hands tighter and tighter on her lap. Finally, the sound of the conversation is again heard.

SAMUEL. I think we have done what we can do now. But I’ll need to have somebody follow up with you tomorrow. We need to get your ID, and maybe you’ll remember something after a good night’s sleep.

Sumi. Okay.

SAMUEL. You can go back to your hotel; there are probably cabs outside of the hospital.

Sumi (totally panicking and close to tears). No, no, no, no. Please don’t leave me.

With both hands, Sumi holds Samuel’s arm and moves close. As their eyes meet, Samuel realises Sumi’s traumatised state while, at the same time, her touch conveys to him a deep serenity. He avoids answering Sumi for a brief moment to keep the feeling of this deep and magical tranquillity before he clears his mind and resumes his police officer role, and smiles encouragingly at Sumi.

SAMUEL. Don’t worry. I will walk with you. It’s close by.

They rise. Samuel helps Sumi put her windbreaker on while they stand face to face by the door. She pulls the hood over her head. As they exit the emergency room, Samuel briefly looks back into the room as a goodbye and final check before he switches the light off and leaves.

New York, Hospital, Main Lobby, Midnight

The main lobby is empty, except for a large, friendly, uniformed male guard standing by the main entrance and watching the pouring rain. Samuel and Sumi walk across the large lobby towards the exit. Sumi holds Samuel’s arm tightly with both hands and walks close to him. As they reach the exit, they see and hear the pouring rain. At the late hour, there are no taxis outside.

GUARD (smiling). There are some large umbrellas over there, if that can help you.

SAMUEL (looking at Sumi). Shall we give it a try?

Sumi nods without loosening her grip on Samuel’s arm. The friendly guard hands Samuel the largest umbrella he can find and opens the front door. Samuel and Sumi exit. Samuel opens the umbrella; Sumi squeezes as close as possible to Samuel as they walk out in the darkness. The sound of the hammering rain on the umbrella totally fills the scene.

New York, Upper West Side, Past Midnight

Sumi and Samuel walk down the dark street in the pouring rain with Sumi pressed as tightly as possible against Samuel. Their environment is barely visible through the water flooding down the sides of the umbrella. As they walk, Sumi regularly looks up at Samuel’s face. He smiles to encourage and calm her. As we see them walk down the street, the sound of the rain softens while the sound of Sumi singing a soothing song of devotion and love (All by Myself) gradually swells to fill the space and the scene. Finally, Sumi and Samuel fade away down the pavement in the rain and the darkness.

New York, Hotel lobby, Past Midnight

Sumi and Samuel approach the entrance of a luxurious hotel. As they are about to enter, the soothing song fades away and the violent sound of the hammering rain again fills the space. A friendly, uniformed male doorman opens the door to the hotel for Sumi and Samuel. Sumi loosens her firm grip on Samuel’s arm and takes off her hood as they stand face to face inside the lobby and shake the water off their clothes. In a moment of silence, Sumi is seeking words as she attempts to come to terms with her emotions. Samuel, sensing Sumi’s evidently still shocked state, smiles to defuse the situation.

SAMUEL. So—we made it.

Sumi. Thank you so much.

SAMUEL. Hope you get some sleep. I will have somebody follow up with you tomorrow.

Sumi. Sure, I will be here.

SAMUEL. These, what was it, rehearsals—and your concert. When is it?

Sumi. Tomorrow is free. I mean, I have a day off. I hope my voice is still there after all this. Then it all starts—the concert and the events around it. It’s a recital.

SAMUEL. A recital?

Sumi. Just a piano accompaniment and me. But, you know—

Out of the blue, Sumi, still scared and shocked, starts crying. To hide her desperation, she hugs Samuel while hiding her face in his shoulder. Samuel is about to slip his arm around Sumi but holds back. Feeling terribly inappropriate, Sumi composes herself and steps back, pushing herself away from Samuel with a bit of force. Again, they stand face to face.

SAMUEL. You will be fine. Just in case, here is my card (He hands Sumi his business card.) You can call any time.

Sumi. Thank you.

SAMUEL. If you have a cell phone here, please send a text so I have your number.

Sumi (nervous). Yes. Let’s check it out. Good to be sure.

SAMUEL (lifted eyebrow). No ID, but a cell phone?

SUMI. Well, with the pressure of a concert anything can happen.

SAMUEL (smiling). No worry.

Sumi finds her cell