"Breaking Point"
{In the middle of the night, a shadow looms awake, waiting for the perfect moment to act. Mercy slowly and quietly creeps out of bed, careful not to wake her sister, a light sleeper. She stylishly reaches for her hidden, packed small bag.
It has been only a few days since the incident with Georgina, and already the neighbors talk about them endlessly. Three days after Georgina's visit, some goons stormed their home, demanding Mercy return to her father's house—apparently, he wanted to see her.
Her mother was not home that day, and thankfully, her sister Rebecca had stubbornly followed her mom to the shop. Mercy made a desperate run for her life. She didn't even know how she managed to reach the police station on the next street, but she did—barefooted, exhausted, and aching all over.
The goons left when they saw her run into the station, promising they would "get her another day." When the neighbors told her mother what had happened, she ran to the station that evening, both worried sick and thanking her stars for sparing her child.
Mercy, however, was consumed with guilt. She believed it was all her fault, and that if she truly wanted peace for her mother, she had to leave. She promised herself she would return ten times stronger. In this wicked world, she realized, power, money, and position were the keys that made people bow. All she prayed for was that her small family would not suffer for her absence.}
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REBECCA
(Half-awake, feeling someone move around)
Mercy?
MERCY
(Silently cursing her own loudness but mostly the girl's mocking sleepiness)
Rebecca, sleep. I'm here.
REBECCA
(Half-awake, sits up on the mattress and looks at her sister dimly. Her eyes barely open, she whispers.)
Are you… really leaving?
MERCY
(Whispers back, almost choking on silent tears)
What do you mean? I'm not going anywhere. Why would you imagine that?
REBECCA
I saw your packed bag the other day, Mercy.
It wasn't filled with books like it used to be. Only your four important subject textbooks and other things that look like you're traveling tomorrow.
MERCY
(Strokes Rebecca's cheeks fondly)
You've always been too smart for your age. Come, sleep next to me.
(Lays back on the mattress, holding her close and softly caressing her cheeks.)
REBECCA
(Half asleep)
Don't leave me, Mercy. You're my rock, the person I look up to. I love you, Mercy. Please stay with me and don't leave.
MERCY
(Silent tears roll down her face)
I'm not leaving you, Rebecca. I'm just going on a small treasure hunt. I promise you—I'll come back with gold.
(Sniffs softly.)
REBECCA
(Sleepy, mumbling as she drifts off)
Don't leave, Mercy… Mom will be very sad.
(She falls asleep.)
MERCY
(Wipes her tears, kisses Rebecca's forehead, and stands up)
I love you too, my boy.
---
{Mercy dips her hand into her bag and gently lays a letter on her side of the mattress. She tiptoes into the sitting room, where her mother lies asleep on the ripped, thatched couch. Holding back her tears, she places another letter on the small table, then leans close to kiss her mother softly on the head.}
MERCY
(Whispers)
I promise you, Mom… I'll make you proud. Please, hold on for me.
{She opens the door quietly but quickly. Her mother, a deep sleeper from long, exhausting days of work, doesn't stir. And just like that, Mercy leaves—stepping into the wicked world.}
---
MERCY
(To herself, fiercely)
From this moment… I leave it all behind.
No turning back.
No regrets.
No more begging to belong.
I'll write my story—even if it's with my own blood.
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Voiceover / Closing Narration:
"Every ending births a beginning.
Every goodbye carves a space for hope.
And every runaway carries the weight of what they left behind."
In the silence of night, a girl chooses herself.
In the hush of slumber, a home is left waiting.
And as dawn creeps, life begins again—
for those who left, and for those who were left behind.