We open on a blurry, distorted image of an iris. It becomes more focused and it shows one hundred different versions of the same image through a kaleidoscope. It turns, the light bends, colors swirl.
We pull out to see VINCE looking through it, a mid 20's skinny man with red hair, peering out of his window with the kaleidoscope to his eye.
Other than an unmade mattress on the floor, moving boxes labeled "clothes" and "art supplies," the apartment is barren and modest.
Peering still through the kaleidoscope, he looks around some more and stops suddenly on a woman, one hundred different pieces of her turn in the view. She's smiling.
He raises slowly from the viewing hole, a love-at-first-sight look in his baby blue eyes.
He turns to look at himself in the reflection of the window, the glass is broken. Much like the kaleidoscope, he sees his all these different pieces of himself.
Vince reaches into his pants pocket and pulls out an orange pill bottle. He shrugs it off and puts it on the windowsill.
He then combs his hair back with his fingertips, stopping at his ears. The left one is notably larger than the right one. His face drops at the abnormality. He tries to cover it up with any excess hair on the side as much as possible.
Vince walks towards the stand, hands at his sides and pauses. Tapping his fingers anxiously on his leg, he exhales deeply with a breath of anticipation and walks over to the woman he saw from his window.
The woman from the window, classically beautiful, mid 20's, notices his nervous behavior. She's dressed in uniform with a name tag that says, RACHEL.
RACHEL
Looking for anything in particular?
1. INT. VINCE'S APARTMENT-DAY EXTREME CLOSE UP OF HIS BLUE EYE LOOKING THROUGH THE TUBE. 2. EXT. YELLOW HOUSE FLOWER STAND-DAYHe hesitates for a moment, stunned by her beauty. He looks to the nearest flower all flustered and panicky.
VINCE
Uh, I like these.
RACHEL
These ones? Irises.
He looks at them really this time and is taken aback by how much he actually likes them.
VINCE Irises.
RACHEL
Yes they are pretty, not for me though. I guess I’m picky like that.
She laughs to herself.
VINCE
Well, then, what do you like?
She tilts her head, smiling at the thought.
RACHEL
Sunflowers. Nothing beats them. They just...
She thinks about it and smiles.
RACHEL (CONT'D)
...make the days brighter.
He smiles at her, his eyes longing.
VINCE
I’ll take some of those then. And some irises.
He pulls tattered bills out of his pocket and hands them to her and she exchanges it for the flowers. They both smile. He scratches his hair behind his left ear.
3. VINCE'S APARTMENT-DAY
A small smile strewn across his face, he tosses the irises on his bed and props the sunflowers up on his windowsill, next to the ignored full pill bottle.
Looking into the reflection of the broken glass window again. He curiously brushes his ginger hair away from his left ear. He flinches.
Moving all his hair for visibility, he sees his ear is no longer there, instead a bud of sorts is. His eyes widen in confusion, not so much concern.
He shrugs it off and sets up his art supplies, brushing gold paint on the white canvas.
CUT TO
After some time, he finishes his first draft of the sunflowers. He takes it off the easel and pins it on the blank wall behind him.
He rests his chin on his hand, looking at it from a distance as if it were a piece in a museum. He scratches the left side of his ear, then shakes his head and heads back to the easel, unsatisfied.
BEGIN MONTAGE.
--VINCE PAINTING THE SUNFLOWERS
--THE SUNFLOWERS GOING BROWN, HAVING TO GET NEW ONES SO HE SEES RACHEL
--IGNORING HIS MEDICATION
--FIXING HIS HAIR OVER HIS EARS/FIDGETING WITH IT
--FREQUENT VISITS OF VINCE AND RACHEL, SHE SMILES AND TALKS WHILE HE LISTENS IN LOVE WITH HER AND GETTING TO KNOW HER
--THE BUD WHERE HIS LEFT EAR USED TO BE BEGINS SPROUTING INTO A YOUNG SUNFLOWER, BUT NOT FULLY BLOOMED.
END MONTAGE.
4. EXT. YELLOW HOUSE FLOWER STAND-DAY
Vince stands with his arms folded. Rachel smiles at his presence, head sweetly tilted to the side, more familiar than their first interaction.
RACHEL
Hey Vince!
VINCE Hi.
RACHEL
More sunflowers?
He nods, trying to hide his smile- a failed attempt. She grabs a bundle of them.
RACHEL (CONT'D)
I'm sure the painting's coming along beautifully. I can't wait to see it.
She hands him the flowers in exchange for the cash in his hand. He looks at her for a little bit, there's a slightly awkward pause.
RACHEL (CONT'D) (sweetly) Is that all?
Another pause, he looks down at his messy shoes and messes with the thick stems of the flowers.
VINCE
I was wondering...if you wanted sometime to...
She looks down to try and meet his low eyes.
VINCE (CONT'D) Maybe go out to dinner?
She's slightly taken aback.
RACHEL Oh. His faces drops.
RACHEL (CONT'D)
Look I've loved getting to know you these past couple weeks-
Her voice trails off, some unintelligible sweet nonsense about how amazing their time has been together. It turns into a RINGING and his breath quickens as the world slows-his heart breaking.
VINCE
I have to go.
He exits swiftly and she watches him run off
5.
Bursting into his apartment, Vince's breath quickens, he scratches his head and looks around panicking. The breathing becomes heavier and faster.
The flower where his ear used to be is in full bloom, a beautiful sunflower.
His full medication bottle resting on the windowsill along with his art supplies, he slaps it off, the pills scattering the floor.
He pauses when he sees multiple pieces himself again in the broken glass shards. His breathing slows suddenly, quiet tears run down the same stream on his pale cheeks.
Noticing the flower that is his ear once again, his hand slowly rises his face to cover it.
A high RINGING silences his panic and his vision distorts to hallucinogenic flashes of colorful, geometric shapes; just like the kaleidoscope.
He takes a shard of glass and cuts the flower off the side of his head in one clean stroke. It falls to the ground with a thud.
He stares at, holding his hand to his head. Suddenly shocked, he feels what's underneath his hand which is his ear. A wave of relief falls over him as he continues staring at the flower on the floor.
Rachel arrives at work, unlocking the stand. She notices there's a box on the counter with a light blue bow on it and it says "For Rachel," but no one signed who it was from.
She opens it, to her surprise it's the sunflower. She looks up to Vince's apartment, the windows shut for once.
The doorbell RINGS. Vince opens the door to see Rachel.
RACHEL
What the hell is this?
She holds the sunflower she received in her hand, its fully bloomed and the most beautiful it has ever looked.
Vince stares blankly, his eyes dart around, looking for the right words to an explanation.
Rachel scoffs at the lack of response. She throws the sunflower, it sways gently back and forth until it hits the ground in between them. She leaves. He stares down at it for a moment and picks it up. However, it's not a sunflower.
VINCE'S POV
In his hand is his severed ear, dotted with his blood like it was freshly cut. His hand moves to his head and there's a hole where his ear used to be.
BACK TO SCENE
Cu of the ear, we pull back to reveal sunflowers, every inch from wall to wall, different drafts of the sunflower paintings he had worked on plastered in Vince's apartment. In the middle of the chaos is Vince, all alone.
He stands with his head hung, his chin practically at his chest, he is cradling his ear like it's the most precious flower on Earth.