One minute later. Mr. Moustafa and the author stand at the entrance to the elevator facing each other. Silence. The author says suddenly, slightly worried:
AUTHOR
Forgive me for asking. I hope I haven’t upset you.
MR. MOUSTAFA
(dismissing it)
Of course, not.
AUTHOR
(long pause)
Is it simply your last connection to that – vanished world? His world, if you will?
MR. MOUSTAFA
(doubtful)
His world?
Mr. Moustafa considers this. He shakes his head slowly.
No, I don’t think so. You see, we shared a vocation. It wouldn’t have been necessary. He’s always with me. (Pause.) No, the hotel – I keep for Agatha.
Mr. Moustafa pulls up his lapel slightly and shows the author Agatha’s crossed-keys pendant pinned to his jacket. He hides it away again.
MR. MOUSTAFA
We were happy here. For a little while.
The author nods solemnly. Mr. Moustafa presses a button to call the elevator. It immediately opens. He starts to enter – but puts up his hand to hold the door as he stops, turns back, and says:
To be frank, I think his world had vanished long before he ever entered it – but, I will say: he certainly sustained the illusion with a marvelous grace! (Pause.) Are you going up?
AUTHOR
(politely)
No, I’ll sit for a little while. Good night.
MR. MOUSTAFA
Good night.
Mr. Moustafa steps inside. He presses a button and the doors close. The author stands still, staring into space. He sniffs the air. He smiles sadly.
AUTHOR
(voice-over)
The next week, I sailed for a cure in South America and began a long, wandering journey abroad. I did not return to Europe for many years.
EXT. HOTEL. NIGHT
The entrance at midnight. A doorman sweeps the steps below the front door. Only one room’s light is illuminated: a little window at the far edge of the top floor.
AUTHOR
(voice-over)
It was an enchanting old ruin – but I never managed to see it again.
The light goes out.
Cut to:
The lobby. The author sits alone in an armchair in the deserted room writing in a small notebook. Cut to: The study. The author (at seventy-five) sits in an armchair writing in an identical small notebook. The six-year-old boy plays with an army of metal soldiers on the floor beside him.
Cut to:
The park. The girl in the trench-coat and beret sits on a bench near the statue of the author. She is just finishing the final chapter of:
THE GRAND BUDAPEST HOTEL
The Grand Budapest Hotel
CHARACTER SKETCHES BY JUMAN MALOUF
About the Author
Wes Anderson is the writer/director of Bottle Rocket, Rushmore, The Royal Tenenbaums, The Life Aquatic with Steve Zissou, Darjeeling Limited, Fantastic Mr Fox and Moonrise Kingdom.
Also by Wes Anderson from Faber
RUSHMORE
THE ROYAL TENENBAUMS
MOONRISE KINGDOM
Copyright
First published in 2014
by Faber and Faber Limited
Bloomsbury House
74–77 Great Russell Street
London WC1B 3DA
This ebook edition first published in 2014
Published in the USA in 2014 by OPUS,
a division of Subtext Inc.
44 Tower Hill Loop, Tuxedo Park
NY 10987
All rights reserved
© Wes Anderson and Hugo Guinness, 2014
Character sketches © 2014 Juman Malouf
Cover and interior film artwork ‘THE GRAND BUDAPEST HOTEL’ © 2014 Twentieth Century Fox Film Corporation. All rights reserved.
The rights of Wes Anderson and Hugo Guinness to be identified as authors of this work has been asserted in accordance with Section 77 of the Copyright, Designs and Patents Act 1988
A CIP record for this book is available from the British Library
This ebook is copyright material and must not be copied, reproduced, transferred, distributed, leased, licensed or publicly performed or used in any way except as specifically permitted in writing by the publishers, as allowed under the terms and conditions under which it was purchased or as strictly permitted by applicable copyright law. Any unauthorised distribution or use of this text may be a direct infringement of the author’s and publisher’s rights, and those responsible may be liable in law accordingly
ISBN 978–0571–31436–2