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Submission Synopsis
Alabaster Box
Two Women, One Struggle
by Eric Ayala
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Length:
83,457
Genre:
Inspirational
Action/Adventure
Series:
Will You Be Made Whole (and) ...if I should die before I wake
Sentence:
Two women desperate to begin life anew will lose their dignity, and one
will have to kill to survive!
Blurb:
Two women trying to escape their unrelenting personal demons start new
lives despite the censure of an unforgiving society and discover that
second chances are hard won as they fight their pasts and themselves. One
will be forced to face her mortality, while the other will be pushed to
kill in order to survive.
Synopsis:
Following the story of Will You Be Made Whole – Twenty-nine
year old COOKIE SPENCER is now back in St. Louis lurking outside her son
JUSTIN’S school preparing to kidnap him and run. The school bell rings and
as the crowd clears she realizes that her son is not among them. She goes
to the home of her ex-husband MIKE and his new wife VALERIE to see him,
but a very pregnant Valerie thwarts her plan and threatens to call the
police citing the court order that she stay away from him. Their mutual
hatred of each other is palpable, still Cookie pleads with Valerie to let
her to see Justin and give him a birthday present. Valerie refuses but
takes the gift (a wrist watch) and promises to give it to him – she never
does.
In Atlanta, KAT JENNINGS wakes up late for an appointment with the
registrar at a local college. She rushes to get ready and heads out the
door of her apartment. She is anxious and nervous and darts in and out of
traffic. Missing a stop light she collides into the back of a pickup
truck. An attractive stranger emerges and is immediately smitten by the
captivating blonde woman. When he sees her limping he assumes it was a
result of the accident. She is embarrassed, but admits that the limp was
already there. DAVID HARRISON insists that there was no damage to his
truck, and is more concerned about the crunched fender of her car. They
exchange information as she realizes she’s even later for her appointment.
Kat registers for school and is pleasantly surprised to make a friend of
the administrator, DIANNE POWELL. Dianne invites Kat to attend her church
and then invites her to dinner at her home where Kat meets her
ten-year-old son PATRICK. Kat soon realizes that Dianne Powell is the girl
her friend K.C. told her about in Chicago – the same girl he lost his
virginity to when he was thirteen. That revelation leads her to the
conclusion that Patrick must be K.C.’s son. Kat is devastated and does not
know how, or even if she should tell Dianne about her connection. She is
further upset by the fact that K.C., who died of Aids, never knew he had a
son. Kat shares the information with Cookie who advises her to stay away
from Dianne and keep her mouth shut about the prostitution and the fact
that she knew K.C.
Back in St. Louis, Cookie is visited by an irate Mike who demands she stay
away from his family and tells her if she tries to see Justin again he
will do her physical harm. Cookie is not threatened by her ex-husband and
his reaction to her touch assures her that he is not really over her,
despite the fact that she left him and her then two-year-old son to run
off to Chicago with another man. The still attractive and sensual Cookie
decides the best way to get to Justin is through Mike. She decides to
seduce him and he frustrates her plan. Seeing that she could still get
under his skin, Cookie sets out to date Mike’s friend and co-worker FRANK.
Kat discovers that Dianne and David are friends, which further complicates
her involvement. Posing another threat to the secret of Kat’s past is LISA
FORD or PEACHES as she was known when they worked together on the streets
of Chicago. Lisa shows up at the church that Kat has joined and insinuates
herself back into her good graces. There are things about Lisa that remind
Kat of her psychotic pimp SUGAR MAN. Lisa is sexually drawn to Kat, but
Kat shows no interest and puts distance between them. Despite David’s
interest in Kat, the WICCA practicing Lisa continues to pursue her, going
as far as trying to cast demonic spells to gain her attention. She only
makes Kat angry and further alienates her until Lisa comes across a
pornographic video that has Kat featured in it and she tries to blackmail
her. Kat stands up to her and Lisa resorts to even more drastic measures.
While Kat and David are at the park with Dianne’s son Patrick, Lisa
kidnaps him. Kat is frantic to find him and realizes she must tell Dianne
why Lisa was so dangerous. Dianne is livid and refuses to forgive Kat’s
deception.
As continued nightmares of the night she killed Sugar Man continue to
haunt Cookie, sedatives and alcohol take over her life. Her flirtation
with Frank goes farther than she plans and she refuses to sleep with him
---he rapes her. No one believes her accusation given her infamous past
and after being dejected and ridiculed by everyone she is driven to
suicide. After her failed attempt she decides to tow the line and not give
Mike anymore trouble. But Mike blindsides her with the news that Justin
has leukemia. Cookie is furious that his distrust of her kept him from
telling her about their son’s illness for so long. Surprisingly, the
search for a compatible donor leads to Cookie. Kat flies to St. Louis to
be with Cookie through her ordeal and they trade war stories of their
struggle and are both more determined than ever to fight.
During the crisis with Justin, Cookie and Mike grow closer. An insecure
Valerie is afraid of Mike’s attraction to his ex-wife, but she is
determined to keep her man at all costs. She confronts Cookie and goes
into labor during their altercation. She is rushed to the hospital and
during the excitement Cookie tries to run off with Justin again. She is
stopped by Valerie’s parents. Later she is confronted by her bitter
ex-husband and for the first time he takes responsibility in his part of
the breakdown in their marriage. He blamed her for getting pregnant and
trapping him into a loveless marriage in college while he was being
scouted by the NFL. His hopes for a career were dashed when he hurt his
back and her dreams of being the wife of a football superstar and moving
out of the projects dried up. So, as he shut down, so did their
relationship.
Kat returns to Atlanta after Justin’s bone marrow transplant. Because of
her part in saving her son’s life Mike relaxes his hostility toward Cookie
and she is allowed more visitation. Her reconciliation with her son is
fragile --- despite what she has done for him he is still unwilling to
forgive the fact that she left him in the first place. Mike’s father helps
Justin to forgive his mother and also helps Valerie to see that she has
nothing to fear from Cookie in regard to taking Mike away from her. But a
run in with Frank changes all that when he once again tries to force
himself on Cookie, Mike rushes to her defense and is stabbed. When Valerie
realizes that Mike almost lost his life because of his ex-wife she
seriously doubts his love for her. Mike admits to Valerie that there are
still some unresolved feelings between him and Cookie, but assures her he
loves her and he would never leave her.
Lisa turns violent and continues to push Kat toward a confrontation. With
David’s help they find Patrick, but not Lisa who has broken into Kat’s
apartment and waits for her to return. Kat is startled and a fight ensues.
Battling for her life, Kat clobbers Lisa with an answering machine nearly
killing her.
Kat confides her past to David and admits that her limp was caused when
she was shot by Sugar Man in Chicago. Encouraged by his grandmother, David
tells Kat about his problem with drugs and subsequent arrest and prison
time for vehicular homicide years before. He tells her that he felt an
attraction to her when they first met and nothing she could tell him would
turn him away from her.
Hearing of Kat’s former reputation and the trouble she has brought to
Atlanta with her, the church shuns her. But they and Dianne come around
after a moving sermon from the pastor about forgiveness. Kat is asked to
sing a song about the Alabaster Box similar to the prostitute in the bible
who had been forgiven for her sins. She nervously stands before the
congregation and tentatively begins. When she sees Cookie enter the church
with Justin it gives her the courage to continue singing. Dianne and the
congregation are overwhelmed. As Kat sings Cookie walks up the aisle
toward her and they tearfully embrace believing the struggle to be over.
Bio:
Eric Ayala has a background in stage and musical theatre in
productions such as The Music Man, Showboat, Joseph and the Amazing
Technicolor Dreamcoat, Porgy and Bess, Pacific Overtures, and Dream
Girls. He has also appeared in operas such as IL TROVATORE and LUCIA DI
LAMMAMOOR. His writing and directing credits include Will You Be Made
Whole, Restoration, and The Women. He has also authored manuscripts for
Alabaster Box...Two Women One Struggle, and ...if i should die before I
wake. Additionally, Ayala writes adult fiction under the pseudonym Erica
Lewis.
Endorsements:
Reviews have been written by Grady Harp author or War Songs, Pasadena,
CA, and James Roberts, host of Positive Living radio in Philadelphia, PA.
Film:
Urban - Edgy - Gritty - It has the cheering factor for both men and
women alike.
Additional:
Although this is a follow-up to Will You Be Made Whole, this property
packs enough punch to stand on its own.
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