April 18th
While grieving the death of her child, a mother begins to receive mysterious photographs.
When a loved one dies, the loss is overwhelming… every time. Future conversations, moments and companionship: tragically, forever gone. The hole in one’s heart may heal with time. But when death strikes, the space in one’s soul is temporarily, inevitably filled with bittersweet memories of what once was… but is no more.
That’s true, even when the person who dies has lived a long, rich life.
But when a CHILD dies, the agony is sharper still. Because now one is left to mourn what “could have been”, too.
Meet Melissa: mother of baby Evan. Playing with him on the floor, it’s clear she’s very much in love. Cute little Evan is her world. Only one year old, the mother-son duo are already creating moments of what – someday – might well evolve into pet names and inside jokes:
She sits up and looks Evan in the face.
MELISSA
Say "I love you, Mom-ma."
Evan flashes an irresistible smile.
EVAN
Momp! Momp!
Melissa laughs and tickles his belly.
MELISSA
No, no, no...not Momp! Mom-ma.
Say "I love you, Mom-ma."
Evan looks around as if in deep thought... then the gorgeous smile returns.
EVAN
Momp!
She smiles and gives him a kiss on the cheek. He grabs her face and does the same.
It’s a moment Melissa won’t forget. Horrifically, it’s a moment she won’t forgive herself for, either.
In just the blink and closing of an eye, Evan dies in a tragic accident, leaving Melissa alone with her grief and guilt. The shock wave of loss reverberates throughout her existence (as such tragedies often do.) Ethan’s death soon erases her marriage. And all the joy Melissa once found in life.
Until…
A year later, a numb Melissa celebrates Evan’s would-have-been second birthday. Trudging out to the mailbox, she retrieves a stack of bills. And finds an odd envelope tucked in there, too: no return address, a blue sailbox sticker in one corner.
Inside: a PICTURE of an older (maybe) Evan – the background blurred.
Horrified, Melissa looks around for the culprit. Who would play such a cruel, ghoulish joke?
That day, the distraught mother sees no-one. And it’s not the last mysterious mailing Melissa gets. As years flow by, Melissa finds herself actually looking forward to more pictures. Each one received; a brief moment of reattachment to the purest love of her life that she’s lost forever… more or less.
But who or what’s the source of these photos? Are they a blessing, or a curse? Are they keeping Melissa from moving on – or reinvigorating her reason to live?
A wistful, though-provoking short about grief and guilt, Keem Tory’s April 18th is easily shot and guaranteed to pull on audience heartstrings. Produce this one, and you can reunite Melissa and Evan… cinematically, at least!