June 18, 2022 – Studio City, Los Angeles District
Located in the heart of the San Fernando Valley, Studio City is a district of Los Angeles known as a hub of the entertainment industry.
Its streets, lined with tall trees, trendy cafés, recording studios, and spacious homes of traditional Californian architecture, offered the best of both worlds: proximity to the fast-paced rhythm of Hollywood and the serenity of a family neighborhood.
There, among quiet streets and tidy gardens, stood the Ashford residence. An elegant, well-sized home with large windows and a neatly kept garden.
That Saturday afternoon, the sun poured over the porch, while on the second floor, in the brightest room of the house, Sarah Ashford was enjoying her free time.
Sarah was officially on vacation. Usually, her social calendar was packed: outings with friends, parties, quick getaways to the beach, among other things. But that day she chose to stay home, more out of inertia than desire, and spend the afternoon with her friend, Mia.
The two of them were sprawled across the big bed, the windows open to let in the warm breeze. They were dressed as if they were about to go out, but with no real intention of doing so. Around them were open makeup cases, half-finished sparkling water bottles, and their phones buzzing every few seconds.
Sarah, as always, looked flawless, even at home. She wore a short beige top of soft fabric and white linen shorts. Her long, wavy blonde hair fell as though carefully styled, though she had only run her fingers through it. Her makeup was perfectly balanced, not too much, just enough to look good in a spontaneous selfie.
"I can't believe Emma keeps posting videos with that filter. It's awful," Sarah remarked as she scrolled through her feed.
"Yeah…" Mia replied, though her attention was elsewhere. Her gaze was locked on her own phone.
Sarah didn't notice the sudden silence. After a few seconds, Mia lifted her eyes. She seemed hesitant, debating whether or not to say something.
"Hey… you know what video I saw the other day?" Mia finally asked, her tone restrained.
Sarah looked up, not particularly interested. "Which one?"
Mia took a deep breath. She had rehearsed this moment in her head many times. It wasn't by chance that she'd found the video. She had searched for it, not out of casual curiosity, but because of the secret crush she had always harbored for Owen Ashford, her best friend's older brother, for as long as she could remember.
He was the typical older brother: attractive, a bit rebellious, charismatic… And, on top of that, an actor. He had always stood out. Mia didn't know the exact details, but she knew Owen had had a big falling out with his family and had never come back, much to her disappointment.
Still, she never stopped checking his social media. It had become a kind of habit, a secret routine: visiting his Instagram profile from time to time to see if there was anything new, even though the account had long been inactive. For a while, there was nothing. Then, suddenly, all the content was wiped.
Not a single photo. Not a saved story.
Until one day, he promoted a channel called Second Take Films. At first, she thought it wasn't him. But after watching the first video, The Black Hole, she had no doubt.
A short film where Owen was the lead, and, in fact, the only, actor.
What surprised her most was that, ever since Owen had started college, she had never seen him in any short film or feature, nor in any real project at all. She knew he studied acting, of course, but his career never seemed to take off.
Until now.
After that short film, just a few days ago he uploaded the trailer of a new short film, and the very next day the trailer of a feature film in which he was also the protagonist. This film was set to premiere at an international film festival.
Mia could no longer hold back her urge to tell Sarah and maybe try to find out more information, or simply share it.
"Which video?" Sarah repeated her question impatiently at Mia's silence.
"Oh… yeah. Don't kill me, okay? But I found something about your brother. A YouTube channel that uploaded a short film, and he's acting in it," Mia said cautiously.
"My brother?" Sarah asked, surprised.
Mia nodded and, without another word, handed her the phone.
The screen was paused, ready to play. Sarah took the phone and read the title displayed at the bottom of the video:
[The Black Hole – Short Film]
Channel: Second Take Films.
She was surprised at the number of views and likes. With one eyebrow slightly raised, she tapped the play button.
The screen went black. First appeared a simple name in white letters:
SECOND TAKE FILMS
Then a second image:
THE BLACK HOLE
The title merged into the silhouette of a black circle, simple, yet full of intent. The slide gave way to a grayish shot of an ordinary, lifeless office, lit by sterile white light.
And there he was, her brother. Standing in front of a large printer, wearing a slightly wrinkled white shirt and a gray tie, as if he had been there for hours.
His face was very different from how she remembered it. Not only because of the scruffy beard, like someone who hadn't shaved in days, but also because of his expression: resigned, drained.
There was something sad in his eyes, as if routine had completely hollowed him out.
As the short progressed, Owen's expression changed. Curiosity. Wonder. Excitement.
Then came greed and the anxious urge to steal as much as he could from the safe. In the end, he was trapped inside it by his own greed.
Owen acted well. Very well, Sarah couldn't help but think, with conflicting emotions.
Since that incident Sarah had witnessed, when they found the house wrecked after a party Owen had thrown with strangers, him doing drugs, their father punching him and banishing him, saying his name had become taboo in the family.
No one spoke of Owen. Not at breakfast. Not at dinner. Not at family gatherings where his presence had once been so noticeable, charismatic, and somewhat chaotic.
It was as if his existence had been erased by a silent, tacit agreement.
The days following the incident had been strange for her. The atmosphere at home was tense.
Her mother cried in secret. Sarah had once found her in the kitchen, silently wiping away tears. The moment she realized Sarah was there, she immediately pulled herself together. Pretended.
Her father walked through the house like a contained volcano. He carried a mix of shame, anger, and disappointment that he didn't know how to release.
Owen's disappearance, his name, and the fact that he's no longer seen hurt Sarah more than she'd like to admit.
Because, even if Owen had made mistakes, he was still her brother. The only one who had ever truly seemed to understand her.
James, the eldest brother, was the complete opposite of Owen. A lawyer. Serious and disciplined. Their father's unquestionable pride.
But with Sarah, he had always been distant. They never really connected. She didn't feel close to him, maybe because of the age gap, or because their personalities and interests were so different.
Owen, on the other hand, did.
He listened to her, made her laugh, shared with her movie and TV references, things from the artistic world. They had been partners-in-crime for years. And maybe that was why it hurt even more when he left without saying a word.
When he didn't look for her, didn't try to reach out.
When he simply vanished from her life.
And, as if that weren't enough, there was something else. Her mother, Elizabeth, had always supported Owen with a devotion bordering on unconditional.
She took him to auditions. Cheered him on. Dreamed for him.
But when Sarah began to show her own interest in art, in social media, in performing… her mother grew colder, more cautious.
She never received the same enthusiasm. Never those words of encouragement. Only warnings, doubts, silences.
Most likely because of how things had turned out with Owen.
Now, seeing her missing brother again, on that tiny screen, Sarah felt a mix of anger, affection, and admiration.
She had fallen silent, the phone still in her hand, while the video had already ended.
The player displayed the thumbnail of another related video, but Sarah didn't blink. She didn't move her fingers.
"Sarah?" Mia asked cautiously, leaning a little closer to see her face.
"What?" Sarah replied, regaining that dry, dismissive tone she used whenever something shook her inside.
"You went quiet. What did you think?"
Sarah clicked her tongue, dropping the phone on the bed with a sharp motion.
"It's just a three-minute short. It's nothing special," she muttered, crossing her arms. "It was about time he did something useful. My parents paid two years of acting school for him… the least he could do is make use of it."
Mia looked at her for a moment, suppressing a sigh. She knew she was treading on sensitive ground. "Well… it already has over 350,000 views."
"So what? I've seen videos with more," Sarah said, frowning slightly.
"The comments are all glowing, praising his performance without words, saying the idea has great festival potential," Mia went on.
"Mm, anything else?" Sarah asked, trying to sound indifferent, as if her brother's life didn't matter to her.
"Yes. He uploaded another trailer, a romantic short. It's really well made," Mia said, her tone filled with admiration.
"Oh, now he cares about romance?" Sarah quipped, knowing her brother had been notorious for having several girlfriends back in school.
"He also uploaded a trailer for a feature film. According to the description, it's going to be screened at the Palm Springs Festival, and he's the lead," Mia concluded, watching Sarah closely.
Sarah straightened abruptly. "Palm Springs? Palm Springs Festival?"
Mia nodded, showing her the Second Take Films channel, where the three videos were lined up: The Black Hole, the trailer for Paperman, and the trailer for Paranormal Activity.
Sarah stared at them in disbelief.
In her mind, Owen had left four months ago as a complete failure, someone who had destroyed everything and then vanished from their lives.
And now it turned out he had leading roles in a feature film accepted at an international festival? And two more short films?
"You know what? We could go to Palm Springs, right?" said Mia, excited. "We can check when the screening is. Maybe… I don't know, help your brother with his movie."
"Help my brother? I think what you really want is to see him, isn't it?" Sarah said, narrowing her eyes.
"Eh, no, of course not—"
"I don't care," Sarah cut her off immediately, her tone dry and final.
Mia swallowed hard.
"Don't you at least want to watch the trailer? The one for the film. It's good, I already saw it, it's worth it," she tried once more, her voice low.
"No," Sarah replied, standing up from the bed. "And you should go, okay? You've put me in a bad mood."
Mia looked at her with disappointment. It wasn't the first time her friend had reacted this way, but she had hoped this time would be different.
"Fine…" she finally said, picking up her phone.
She knew insisting was useless. Sarah could be very sweet when she wanted, but she also had a strong, proud, commanding personality.
Her emotions were a whirlwind not easily touched.
Mia sighed in resignation, got up from the bed, slipped on her shoes, and left the room. Luckily, she lived nearby.
Sarah, meanwhile, stayed alone in her room, the sound of phone notifications filling the silence.
She pressed her lips in annoyance and sat at her desk. She turned on her MacBook, the gesture almost automatic.
For a few seconds, she just stared at the screen. Then, without thinking too much, she opened YouTube and typed:
Second Take Films.
There was the channel.
The trailer for Paperman in black and white, with an elegant, nostalgic aesthetic. Just below it, the one for Paranormal Activity.
Sarah didn't click right away. She stared at the thumbnails in silence. Then, with an almost involuntary movement, she hovered over the Paperman video and clicked.
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