narrator:INT. BACKSTAGE, THE MAJESTIC THEATER - NYC - NIGHT, 1947
 181
 We see Benjamin, flowers in hand, making his way through a crowded backstage corridor filled with friends and well- wishers giving cast members congratulations. He comes to the door... to the attention of a STAGEHAND...
Benjamin Button:「I'm a friend of Daisy's...」
narrator:The man matter-of-factly opens the door... A dressing room crowded with dancers changing out of their Costumes... He calls out...
THE MAN:「Daisy has company...」
narrator:We can hear Daisy's name being said...Benjamin waiting... He sees Daisy, in a robe, coming through the room....
DAISY:「Somebody's looking for me?...」
narrator:And she sees it's Benjamin. And rather than excited to see him... She's startled he's there... and not altogether pleased about him showing up...
DAISY:「Benjamin... What are you doing here?」
narrator:And he realizes, as most of us have in one love affair or another, whatever his expectations may have been, his fantasy, is not the reality...
Benjamin Button:「I thought I'd come visit... spend some time with you if I could...」


DAISY:「I wish you would have called... You caught me by surprise.」
narrator:He gives her the flowers, the daisies.
Benjamin Button:「I couldn't take my eyes off of you... you were mesmerizing...」


narrator:CONTINUED)
 CONTINUED:
 181
 There's an awkward moment... and...
DAISY:「I better get changed... a group of us are going to a party... would you like to come...?」
Benjamin Button:「Somebody told me about a restaurant I thought you might enjoy... I made a reservation... Just in case --」
DAISY:「awkwardly) ...all the dancers go out together after the show... You're welcome to come with us... There'll be all sorts of interesting people... Let me get changed.」
narrator:And she runs back inside the dressing room... Benjamin left to stand in the hallway....
 INT. A NEW YORK LOFT - NIGHT, 1947
 182
 A loft elevator opens depositing Benjamin and Daisy along with a bunch of people into a large loft... crowded with her friends, dancers and show people, musicians, predominantly young people, straight and gay, beatniks before there were beatniks, bohemians... Music playing... People pressed together, having to shout to talk...
Benjamin Button:「V.O.) And I met her friends...」
DAISY:「I'll get you a drink...」


narrator:As she turns to a kitchen to get him a drink, she is startled as a young man, DAVID, suddenly grabs her, kissing her, a kiss that's not intended to be platonic... Daisy obviously involved with him... but embarrassed by the intimacy in front of Benjamin and not wanting to hurt his feelings... she pulls awkwardly away from him...
DAISY:「This is my friend David... David dances with our company too... This is the man I've told you about, Benjamin...」
narrator:They shake hands... Daisy, wanting to escape.
 CONTINUED)
 CONTINUED:
 182
DAISY:「I'll get you that drink. - -」
narrator:she goes into the kitchen...
 DAVID You were her grandmother's friend or something like that...?
Benjamin Button:「Something like that.」


narrator:CONTINUED)
 CONTINUED:
 184
 DAVID (to Daisy) There's a party downtown we're going to...
DAISY:「conflicted, to Benjamin) Why don't you come with us, Benjamin... There'll be a lot of musicians, interesting people there.... You'll have a good time...」
Benjamin Button:「I came here to tell you I made a mistake before...A day doesn't go by that I don't regret it...It's not the way I felt...I should have never let you go...I came because I hoped I could be with you...」
narrator:DAVID Daisy, you going to come...?
 Cabs have pulled up... She's torn... between her life and some other life... Benjamin, recognizing her conflict...
Benjamin Button:「Do you love him?」
narrator:INT. HOSPITAL ROOM, NEW ORLEANS - MORNING, PRESENT
 185
 Daisy in bed...
CAROLINE:「Did you Mother?」
narrator:Daisy snaps back to the reality of the room... Starts to put the pieces together...
 EXT. THE MANHATTAN STREET - NIGHT, 1947
 186
DAISY:「I think so. I think I do.」
narrator:We see the dancers scrambling getting into the taxis...


Benjamin Button:「understanding) Okay. Okay... I'll see you in New Orleans...」


narrator:EXT. MOSCOW STREET - NIGHT, 1952
 188
 And we see Daisy, five years older, her arm inside a tall young blond Russian dancer's, ANITOLY, crossing a snowy street in Moscow...
DAISY:「V.O.) But Benjamin was never far from my thoughts...」
narrator:INT. MOSCOW APARTMENT - NIGHT, 1952
 189
 Daisy in bed, the young Russian dancer Anitoly lying beside her, asleep... Daisy, looking off...
DAISY'S:「V.0.) I'd find myself saying...」
DAISY:「Goodnight, Benjamin...」
narrator:INT. BENJAMIN'S ROOM, NOLAN HOUSE - NIGHT, 1952
 190
 We see Benjamin in bed, turning off the light...
Benjamin Button:「V.0.) I'd find myself saying... (a beat, saying) Goodnight, Daisy.」
narrator:And as they both lie in their beds... thinking of the other...
 INT. THE HOSPITAL ROOM, NEW ORLEANS - DAY, THE PRESENT
 191
DAISY:「What did he say?」


narrator:CAROL "Life wasn't very complicated..."
 EXT. THE BAYOU, LOUISIANA - DAY
 192
 We see Benjamin on Tizzy's old motorcycle riding along the backroads of the endless swamps known as the bayou -
Benjamin Button:「V.O.) If you want you could say I was looking for something...」


narrator:CONTINUED)
 CONTINUED:
 192
Benjamin Button:「V.O.) Life went on as usual.」
narrator:EXT. THE NOLAN HOUSE - AN EARLY EVENING, 1954
 193
 Benjamin in work clothes on a ladder, painting some old window shutters... Queenie opens the window... to tell him...
QUEENIE:「Mrs. La Tourneau just passed away.」
narrator:Benjamin nods. Queenie shuts the window.
Benjamin Button:「V.0.) Until one day...」
narrator:A Messenger on a bicycle rides up...
 A WESTERN UNION MESSENGER I have a telegram for Mr. Benjamin Button...
Benjamin Button:「That would be me....」
narrator:He comes down the ladder. The Messenger gives him the telegram and getting his tip, rides off, Benjamin opens the telegram.
 EXT. A STREET IN PARIS, FRANCE - DAY, 1954
 194
 We see Benjamin, carrying a suitcase, running along a street in Paris... looking for an address... He stops, in front of an old HOSPITAL... runs up the stairs...
 INT. A HOSPITAL, PARIS, FRANCE - DAY, 1954
 195
 Benjamin crosses an old tile floor to a reception desk... He asks for Daisy... a Woman calls up for him...


THE WOMAN:「It will just be a minute... please have a seat...」
narrator:Benjamin sits in the waiting room.
Benjamin Button:「V.0.) Sometimes we are on a collision course and we just don't know it... Whether it's by accident or by design, there's not a thing we can do about it... (MORE) (CONTINUED)」
narrator:CONTINUED:
 195 BENJAMIN BUTTON'S (V.0.) A woman in Paris was on her way to go shopping...
 AND WE WILL SEE JUST WHAT HE IS DESCRIBING...
Benjamin Button:「V.0.) But she had forgotten her coat... and went back to get it... And when she had gotten her coat the phone had rung... and so she had stopped to answer it... and talked for a couple of minutes...」
narrator:And we see just that,..
Benjamin Button:「V.0.) And while the woman was on the phone; Daisy was rehearsing for that evening's performance at the Paris Opera House...」
narrator:And we See Daisy, in her late twenties now, at the peak of her abilities, rehearsing for that evening's performance...
Benjamin Button:「V.O.) And while she was rehearsing... the woman, off the phone now... had gone outside... to get a taxi...」


narrator:The Woman standing in the street, hand raised, looking for a taxi. A Cab comes to a stop....she moves to get it... but somebody gets there first...the cab driving off... and as she waits for the next cab...
Benjamin Button:「V.0.) Now a taxi driver... had dropped off a fare earlier... and had stopped to get a cup of coffee...」
narrator:A Taxi parked... Its Driver finishing a cup of coffee...
Benjamin Button:「V.0.) And all the while Daisy was rehearsing...」
narrator:And we see just that...
Benjamin Button:「V.O.) And the cab driver who had dropped off the earlier fare, and had stopped to get the cup of coffee... (MORE) (CONTINUED)」
narrator:CONTINUED: (2)
 195 BENJAMIN BUTTON'S (V.O.) had picked up the lady, who was going shopping... who had missed getting the earlier cab...
 We see the Woman riding in the taxi of the now familiar cab driver... the taxi, has to stop for a man running across the Street.
Benjamin Button:「V.0.) The taxi had to stop for a man crossing the street who had left for work five minutes later than he normally did... because he forgot to set his alarm...」


narrator:We see the man sleeping... The silent alarm clock on the bedstand...
Benjamin Button:「V.O.) ...While the man, late for work, was crossing the street... making the cab wait... Daisy, finished rehearsing, was taking a shower.」
narrator:And we see...Daisy showering,..
Benjamin Button:「V.O.) ...While Daisy was showering; the taxi was waiting outside a Boutique for the woman to pick up a package... which hadn't been wrapped yet because the girl who was supposed to wrap it... had broken up with her boyfriend the night before and forgot to...」
narrator:The Girl standing outside the back of the Boutique, crying, brokenhearted...
Benjamin Button:「V.0.) When the package was done being wrapped... The woman, who was back in the cab... the taxi was blocked by a delivery truck...」
narrator:We see the Taxi blocked by a delivery truck... the cab driver honking...
Benjamin Button:「V.O.) All the while Daisy was getting dressed...」
narrator:Daisy getting dressed...
 CONTINUED)
 CONTINUED: (3)
 195
Benjamin Button:「V.0.) The Delivery truck pulled off and the taxi was able to go...」
narrator:The taxi, moving off...


Benjamin Button:「V.0,) While Daisy, the first to be dressed, waited for one of her friends who had broken a shoelace...」
narrator:We see her friend breaking her shoelace while tying it...
 BENJAMIN BUTT0N'S (V.0.) While the taxi was stopped, waiting for a traffic light...
 We see just that, the taxi stopped for a light.
Benjamin Button:「V.O.) Daisy and her friend came out of the theater...」
narrator:Daisy and her friend, carrying their dance bags, coming down the steps out of the theater, coming along the street to the corner... They start to cross the street... Daisy, showing her friend a tight pirouette, when we see the Taxi, rounding the corner...
Benjamin Button:「V.0.) And if only one thing had happened differently... if only the shoelace hadn't broken...」
narrator:And we see the shoelace not breaking...
Benjamin Button:「V.0.) ...Or the delivery truck had moved moments earlier...」
narrator:The delivery truck leaving earlier...
Benjamin Button:「V.0.) ...Or the package had been wrapped and ready... because the girl hadn't broken up with her boyfriend...」


narrator:CONTINUED)
 CONTINUED: (4)
 195
Benjamin Button:「V.O.) ...Or the man had set his alarm and got up five minutes earlier.」
narrator:The man's alarm going off, waking him up...
Benjamin Button:「V.O.) ...Or the taxi driver hadn't stopped for a cup of coffee...」
narrator:The Driver passing by the cafe...
Benjamin Button:「V.O.) ...Or the woman had remembered her coat...」
narrator:The woman remembering to take her coat...
Benjamin Button:「V.O.) ...And had gotten into an earlier cab...」
narrator:The woman getting into the other cab... she beats somebody for...
Benjamin Button:「V.O.) Daisy and her friend would have crossed the street...」
narrator:Daisy and her friend crossing the street... Daisy, showing her friend her dance move, doing a pirouette...
Benjamin Button:「V.O.) ...and the taxi would have driven by them...」
narrator:And we see the taxi turning the corner, driving safely by them... and becoming a ghost... of what might have been...
Benjamin Button:「V.0.) But life being what it is... a series of intersecting lives and incidents... Out of anyone's control... the taxi did not go by... and the driver momentarily was distracted...」


narrator:CONTINUED)
 CONTINUED: (5)
 195
Benjamin Button:「V.O.) And he didn't see Daisy crossing the street...」
narrator:Daisy and her friend crossing the Street, Daisy doing the Pirouette...
Benjamin Button:「V.O.) ...and that taxi hit Daisy...」
narrator:And we see just that... Daisy being slammed into by the taxi... thrown a distance... lying crumpled in the Street...
 INT. A HOSPITAL ROOM, PARIS, FRANCE - DAY, 1954
 196
 We see Benjamin coming into the hospital room in France...Daisy, fully immobilized, lying in a hospital bed...
Benjamin Button:「V.O.) And her leg was crushed...」
narrator:She's still, her eyes closed. Sensing him, she stirs. And then she sees him.
Benjamin Button:「Hello, Daisy...」
DAISY:「Who told you?」
Benjamin Button:「Your friend wired me.」
DAISY:「That was very kind of you... to come all the way here, to see that I was alright.」
Benjamin Button:「You would have done the same for me...」


narrator:CONTINUED)
 CONTINUED:
 196
DAISY:「I wish you hadn't. I wish you hadn't come here.」
narrator:He's dead still.
DAISY:「I don't want you to see me like this...」
narrator:She turns over... as if she didn't see him he wouldn't be there... Before he can say anything... A Nurse comes in saying something in French... She pulls the curtains around the bed... Benjamin waits...
Benjamin Button:「V.O.) Her leg had been broken in five places.... and with therapy, and time, she might be able to stand...maybe even walk...」
narrator:The Nurse leaves... Benjamin comes into the circle of curtains... It's reminiscent of when they sat under the table... the sheets over them... in their private world... But this time she lays in the hospital bed her back to him...
Benjamin Button:「I'll get a room... and once you can leave you'll come home with me to New Orleans. Where you can be with people who love you.」
narrator:She suddenly turns...
DAISY:「What home? Who's we? I'm not going back to New Orleans. New Orleans is your home... I don't have a home... I haven't been home for five years... I'm not going anywhere with you...」


Benjamin Button:「Alright, I'll stay here in Paris... I'll help you with anything you need...」
DAISY:「Benjamin...! I know I'm feeling sorry for myself... But it wasn't supposed to be like this... (MORE)」
narrator:CONTINUED)
 CONTINUED: (2)
 196 DAISY Do you understand, I don't want to be with you... I tried to tell you that in New York... You just don't listen...
Benjamin Button:「You'll change your mind.」
DAISY:「We're not little children playing under the table... Remember, when you came to New York. You didn't belong there. I didn't want to be with you then, I don't want to be with you now! I want you to leave! I'm not going anywhere with you! I want you to stay out of my life!」
narrator:And she turns away from him again...It's dead still... and we look at her staring at the curtains... And after some moments she turns back to look at Benjamin... And there are just the curtains billowing in the breeze... Benjamin is gone...
 INT. THE HOSPITAL ROOM, NEW ORLEANS - DAY, PRESENT
 197
DAISY:「I was awfully cruel. He didn't understand. I couldn't have him see me that way...」


narrator:She waits for Benjamin's response...
CAROLINE:「reading) "I didn't leave right away..."」
DAISY:「reacting) No?」
Benjamin Button:「V.O.) "I stayed in Paris for awhile, just to look out for her..."」


narrator:CONTINUED)
 D
 CONTINUED:
 197D
CAROLINE:「reading) He said, "I went back..." But then there are a whole lot of pages torn out...」
narrator:She looks at a loose piece of paper...
CAROLINE:「"...I listened to the sound of the house..." I think I already read that... (looking) The next thing he wrote... he spilled something on it... It's hard to read... Something about "sailing." Does that make sense?」
DAISY:「in her own reality) A man would go up and clean it. Try and fix what was broken.」
narrator:INT. THE TRAIN STATION, NEW ORLEANS- DAY, 1960
 198
 A man up on the clock doing just that. Closing its face. The cherubic angels pushing the hands on its way backwards... "1960."
 EXT. LAKE PONTCHARTRAIN, LOUISIANA - ANOTHER DAY, 1960
 199
 We see a SAILBOAT out on the lake...
Benjamin Button:「I learned to sail on an old boat of my father's from the Lake House...」


narrator:And we see Benjamin, the wind in his hair, sailing an old sailboat... And the change in his appearance is startling... His hair is without a trace of gray... His face with barely a wrinkle, chiseled...He is a healthy man in his 40s now...
Benjamin Button:「V.O.) I can't lie, I did enjoy the company of a woman or two...」


narrator:EXT. A NEW ORLEANS RESTAURANT - NIGHT
 200
 Benjamin and a Woman standing on the sidewalk outside a restaurant, in the middle of an ardent kiss... As a taxi pulls up...
 A
 EXT. A NEW ORLEANS HOUSE - DAYBREAK
 200A
 Benjamin at the door kissing another Woman goodbye...going home
 B
 INT. BENJAMIN'S ROOM, NOLAN HOUSE - EARLY ANOTHER
 200B MORNING, 1960
 Benjamin's door opening...Another Woman, disheveled, coming out of his room...
Benjamin Button:「V.0.) ...Or maybe three...」
narrator:Benjamin seeing her to the stairs...And as she starts down the stairs to leave...we see a cluster of old people, ready for the day, looking up at them...the woman making her way awkwardly down the stairs and out the door...Benjamin gives a little self conscious wave to the old timers and starts back into his room...He slows at a second story hallway window...looking outside at the walkway...the familiar street beyond...If we didn't know any better he seems to be waiting for someone to come home
Benjamin Button:「V.0.) And in the spring of 1962...」


narrator:CONTINUED)
 CONTINUED:
 202
 He hops the back steps, and starts to open the kitchen door, when it opens... And DAISY, now 36, but still with her unmistakable blue eyes, is standing before him...
Benjamin Button:「V.O.) She came back.」
narrator:They look at each other in silence...and they simply smile, so glad to see each other after all the missing years... They embrace...for some time... and kiss... As people who haven't seen each other, and have thought about each other... for a very long time... And it just is...no big symphonies, no endless skies...just, two people at a kitchen door in the middle of their lives... and the simplicity, just that, is what makes it real and breaks your heart.
 INT. THE KITCHEN, NOLAN HOUSE - THAT NIGHT, 1962
 203
 A radio plays... they sit at the kitchen table, eating dinner... the conversation muted... They don't know really where to begin, where did they leave oft...so they don't begin until they can....
DAISY:「Don't you want to know where I've been?」
Benjamin Button:「No. I don't care where you've been -- I'm just happy you're back.」


narrator:And we see Queenie has come into the kitchen... in her nightgown now...
QUEENIE:「pure Queenie) How come you didn't write or nothin'? Just disappearing like that?」
DAISY:「It was what I needed to do for myself.」
QUEENIE:「I never took you to be selfish. I hope I'm not wrong. I'm not usually wrong about people.」
narrator:And Queenie leaves the kitchen...
DAISY:「She's still taking care of you. (CONTINUED)」
narrator:CONTINUED:
 203
 Benjamin slightly smiles. They look at each other.
DAISY:「You're not talking. You haven't said more than two words to me.」
Benjamin Button:「I don't want to ruin it...」


narrator:And they sit quietly in the kitchen, looking at each other, silently eating...
 INT. BACK STAIRWAY - NOLAN HOUSE - THAT NIGHT, 1962
 204
 Benjamin carries her bags upstairs. They reach the third floor.
 INT. HALLWAY, NOLAN HOUSE - 3RD FLOOR - THAT NIGHT, 1962
 205
 All the years seem to surround them. They walk along the corridor to Daisy's room. What was her grandmother's room. She opens the door.
 INT. THE BEDROOM, NOLAN HOUSE - THAT NIGHT, 1962
 206
 He sets her bags down. Queenie despite her reservations has left some clean towels on the bed for her... There's an inept quiet. The two of them with nothing left to say... And they listen to the quiet... The house with its symphony of night noises...
Benjamin Button:「Goodnight.」
narrator:He is just at the door... when she says...
DAISY:「Sleep with me.」
Benjamin Button:「Are you sure?」


narrator:CONTINUED)
 CONTINUED:
 206
DAISY:「Are you sure you don't want to know?...」
narrator:While they kiss and caress each other.
DAISY:「I lived in Lyon...」
narrator:Benjamin and Daisy undressing one another, touching, kissing...
DAISY:「...I learned to walk again」
narrator:Daisy and Benjamin, naked, passionately kissing...
DAISY:「...I worked in a flower shop...」
narrator:They lay on the bed, kissing, caressing...
DAISY:「...I went to American movies a lot.」
narrator:They kiss more and more passionately...And Benjamin about to make love to her hesitates...
DAISY:「You won't hurt me...」
narrator:He kisses her scarred crooked leg. Kisses her body.
 And as they make love in the old bedroom...
Benjamin Button:「V.0.) I asked her to come with me...」


narrator:CONTINUED)
 CONTINUED:
 215
DAISY:「We wouldn't have this... We wouldn't be here... It happened when it was supposed to happen...」
narrator:They look at each other...
Benjamin Button:「Relationships have a time and a place.」
DAISY:「Don't say that.」
Benjamin Button:「What I mean is... You don't usually get more than one chance. If you miss it, it's too late... and it's gone... We're lucky... we had more than one chance.」
DAISY:「laughs) That's easy for you to say... You'll have plenty of chances.」
narrator:She tenderly touches his hand... They look at each other... And dedicating herself...
DAISY:「I'm going to enjoy every moment I have with you...」
narrator:The waiter's come over.
Benjamin Button:「Have you ever had a Sazerac with whiskey not brandy?」


narrator:CONTINUED)
 CONTINUED: (2)
 215
Benjamin Button:「Bet you can't.」
narrator:And as they both sit doggedly in the rain...
 INT. HOTEL ROOM, THE CARIBBEAN HOTEL - NIGHT, 1963
 216
 A white hotel room... The storm shutters closed... The wind and the rain banging at the shutters... Daisy and Benjamin lying together on a bed out of the storm... She touches his face as if for the first time...
DAISY:「You barely have a line, a crease, or a wrinkle... Everyday I have more wrinkles you have less...」
narrator:He touches her face.
Benjamin Button:「I love your wrinkles.」
DAISY:「What does it feel like growing younger?」
Benjamin Button:「I don't know... I'm always looking out of my own eyes...」
narrator:They're quiet, just the sound of the rain and the chattering shutters... She lays closer to him... warmly... She smiles...
DAISY:「Will you still love me when I can't stand straight... when my skin grows old and spotted...」
narrator:Benjamin laughs.


DAISY:「Will you still love me when my step gets slow... when I sleep too much... when you have to push me in a chair...」
narrator:And his answer is...
Benjamin Button:「Will you still love me when I have pimples. When I think it's funny to make fart noises...」
narrator:CONTINUED)
 CONTINUED:
 216
 She laughs...
Benjamin Button:「Will you still love me when I think all girls have cooties... Will you still love me when I wet my bed at night... Will you still love me when I'm afraid of things that aren't real...」
narrator:They hold each other... And Benjamin says... from what he's seen...
Benjamin Button:「Nothing lasts...」
DAISY:「Maybe some things last...」
Benjamin Button:「I've never seen anything not come to an end...」
DAISY:「Maybe it's something you can't see...」
narrator:And a shutter slams open... the rain and the wind coming into the room... Benjamin gets up to close it... He comes back into bed... And Daisy, suddenly afraid...
DAISY:「I'm cold, Benjamin...」


narrator:And as he holds her in the white room with the wind and the rain trying to get in, banging on the shutters...
 INT. HOTEL ROOM, CARIBBEAN HOTEL - LATER THAT NIGHT, 1963 217
 The storm's died down... Benjamin and Daisy falling asleep...
Benjamin Button:「V.O.) And you said...」
DAISY:「Goodnight, Benjamin.」
Benjamin Button:「V.0.) And I said...Goodnight, Daisy...」


narrator:CONTINUED)
 CONTINUED:
 219
DAISY:「Is anything wrong?」
Benjamin Button:「Queenie came to tell me she loved me... and that my mother was gone.」
DAISY:「go back to sleep...」
narrator:As she caresses him... falling back to sleep... the shutters talking...
 EXT. THE NOLAN HOUSE, NEW ORLEANS - ANOTHER DAY, 1963
 220
 We see Daisy and Benjamin, with their few belongings, returning home... They go up the walkway... Benjamin trots up the steps, opens the screen door and goes inside...
 INT. THE NOLAN HOUSE, NEW ORLEANS - ANOTHER DAY, 1963
 221
 Benjamin comes inside... Daisy's just behind him... The front room is empty... The house still...
Benjamin Button:「calls) Hello... Queenie... we're back...」
narrator:He looks into the parlor... The piano... He goes down a hallway into the kitchen...
Benjamin Button:「Queenie...?
 Mama?」
narrator:Nobody... He goes down the hall looking in Queenie's small room under the stairs... Nobody's there... He moves back into the front room... calling...
Benjamin Button:「Hello... Anybody here?」


narrator:When finally an old Woman, who's been sleeping, comes out of her bedroom...
Benjamin Button:「It's Benjamin, Mrs. Carter... Where is everybody?」


narrator:INT. A BLACK BAPTIST CHURCH, NEW ORLEANS - DAY, 1963
 222
 The church crowded... And we see Benjamin and Daisy coming in the back as the service is ending... They are the only white people there. Benjamin walks to the open casket... standing by his mother's side as the choir sings a Hallelujah chorus...
Benjamin Button:「V.O.) We buried her beside her beloved Mr. Weathers...」
narrator:EXT. AN OLD NEW ORLEANS CEMETERY - DAY, 1963
 223
 A predominantly African-American cemetery... overgrown and old... The mourners, almost all of them old white people, standing at Queenie's gravesite alongside her beloved Mr. Weathers. We see Queenie's daughter among the mourners... in her early 30s herself now... And Benjamin, standing over his mother's grave... saying his goodbyes...
Benjamin Button:「We are meant to lose the people we love. It's how we know how important they are to us.」


narrator:BENJAMIN'S (V.O.) And so we could have memories of our own I sold my Father's house on Blaine Street...
 EXT. THE BUTTON HOUSE, GARDEN DISTRICT - DAY, 1963
 224
 The old house, in a now decaying New Orleans neighborhood... but despite the faltering area, the house retains a dignity of its own...
 INT. THE BUTTON HOUSE - ANOTHER DAY, 1963
 225
 We see a young pregnant Woman, a renter, being shown by Benjamin along with a Real Estate Agent, around the old house.
THE WOMAN:「It's such a lovely place... You must have a lot of fond memories. It must be hard for you to give it up.」
narrator:Benjamin doesn't say anything. There's a knock on the door. Benjamin opens it, to let an OLDER MAN in... quite a bit older...
 CONTINUED)
 CONTINUED:
 225
THE MAN:「Is Mrs. Williamson here yet... I'm sorry to be late...」
narrator:And he sees his wife... pleased to see her... hugging her... tenderly kissing her... and their age difference readily obvious... Benjamin acutely aware of it...
THE WOMAN:「It's a wonderful old place, darling... I think we will be so happy here...」
narrator:They go into the hallway lined with the family photographs... She's taken by them...
THE WOMAN:「Oh, what a long family history you have...」
Benjamin Button:「They come with the house...V.0.) And we bought a house of our own...」


narrator:EXT. A SUBURBAN TOWNHOUSE, NEW ORLEANS - DAY, 1963
 226
 Benjamin and Daisy sitting on the front steps of a suburban New Orleans townhouse, a small screened front porch with a tree in front...
 INT. HOSPITAL ROOM, NEW ORLEANS - DAY, PRESENT
 227
DAISY:「murmurs) I loved that house... it smelled like firewood... The chimney leaked smoke... We didn't care... Oh don't stop dear... don't stop...」
narrator:She closes her eyes...
 CAROLINE'S VOICE (OVER) "It was one of the happiest times of my life..."
Benjamin Button:「V.O.) We had no furniture to speak of... we would have picnics in the living room...」


narrator:INT. THE SUBURBAN TOWNHOUSE, NEW ORLEANS - DAY, 1963
 228
 Benjamin and Daisy having a picnic on the virtually empty living room floor.
Benjamin Button:「V.0,) We slept on a mattress...」
narrator:INT. BEDROOM, SUBURBAN TOWNHOUSE, NEW ORLEANS DAY, 1963
 229
 We see Benjamin and Daisy sleeping on a mattress on the floor in the bedroom...
Benjamin Button:「V.O.) We vowed never to go to bed or wake up at the same time. We lived on that mattress...」
narrator:And we see just that, a short film of two people who can't get enough of each other living on a mattress... Daisy and Benjamin at various times, while they are either sleeping, or talking, or eating, or reading, or making love, ON THE MATTRESS ON THE FLOOR...
Benjamin Button:「V.O.) Our neighbor, Mrs. Van Dam was a physical therapist...」
narrator:INT. PORCH, SUBURBAN TOWNHOUSE, NEW ORLEANS - DAY, 1953
 230
 We see Daisy in the screened-in front porch, exercising her leg under the supervision of an older woman... MRS. VAN DAM...


Benjamin Button:「V.0.) We lived four blocks from a public pool...」
narrator:INT. A PUBLIC SWIMMING POOL, YWCA - DAY, 1963
 231
 We see Daisy in a bathing suit, resting from swimming, holding on to the side of the pool, watching a young, well conditioned girl, 18, with nothing but her life ahead of her, completely in tune with her body, swimming laps... And as it comes to all of us, painfully aware of the years passing, her own physical mortality, she starts to cry... And we see that Benjamin, come to meet her, is standing above her.
Benjamin Button:「You're crying...」


narrator:CONTINUED)
 CONTINUED:
 231
DAISY:「It's just the chlorine...」
narrator:Looking at the young girl... looking at her... understanding...
Benjamin Button:「You chose something to do... something so special... so unique... there was such a short period of time that you could do it... Even if nothing had happened ... Sooner or later you would be in the same place you are now...」
narrator:She's quiet... she knows what he's saying is true...
DAISY:「I don't like getting old.」
narrator:EXT. LAKE PONTCHARTRAIN, LOUISIANA - DAYBREAK, 1964
 232
 Benjamin, Daisy holding onto him, riding the old motorcycle along the lake...
 EXT. THE DOCK AT THE LAKE - DAYBREAK, 1964
 233
 Daisy sits in the familiar deck chair his father had sat in looking out at the lake... Benjamin brings her a cup of coffee... He sits on the deck on his heels beside her...
DAISY:「I promise you, I'll never lose myself to self-pity again...」
narrator:And as they watch the day begin...
Benjamin Button:「V.O.) And I think, right there and then, she realized none of us is perfect forever.」


narrator:CONTINUED)
 CONTINUED:
 234
 Daisy doesn't say anything, lying still, staring off... her breathing shallow, laboring...
CAROLINE:「Mother?」
DAISY:「agitated) I don't remember if I turned the lights off. Did I leave the heater on?」
narrator:The Nurse, on her way by, seeing her distress... coming in...
THE NURSE:「Let's get you comfortable...」
narrator:She gently covers her... Daisy quietly lies back...
THE NURSE:「She's getting ready to leave...」
narrator:She looks at Caroline and turns and leaves the room. Caroline quietly looks at her mother. Their eyes meet.
DAISY:「You have the most beautiful eyes.」
narrator:Caroline reaches to hold her thin hand. Daisy says something to herself. Caroline looks at her...she looks down at the book...
CAROLINE:「He said, "She found peace."」
DAISY:「says to herself) Peace.」
narrator:INT. A DANCE STUDIO, NEW ORLEANS - DAY, 1967
 235
 A small dance studio... a scratchy phonograph record playing music... young girls learning how to dance...
Benjamin Button:「V.O.) She opened a dance studio...」


narrator:CONTINUED)
 CONTINUED:
 235
 The first time we've seen her dressed like this in many a year... happily teaching young girls how to dance...
 INT. DANCE STUDIO, NEW ORLEANS - NIGHT, 1967
 236
 We see Daisy alone... cleaning up... music playing on the record player... and for a brief moment she stops, and dances... the smallest, most tentative of steps... she sees in the studio's mirrors Benjamin's been silently watching her...
Benjamin Button:「You're still beautiful to watch...」
narrator:She looks at herself in the dance mirror... just what happens...
DAISY:「Dancing is all about the line... the line of your body...after awhile... you lose the line... and you can never get it back...」
narrator:They look at each other in the mirror...
DAISY:「I figured out if you were born in 1918... 49 years ago... I'm 43... we're almost the same age... In three years we'll meet in the middle...」
narrator:And what she doesn't say, what they both know, is she's going one way and he's going the other...Benjamin affectionately...
Benjamin Button:「smiles) We finally caught up to each other...」
narrator:She smiles, starts to turn...


Benjamin Button:「Stay just like that... I want to remember what we look like right now.」


narrator:CONTINUED)
 A.
 CONTINUED:
 237
Benjamin Button:「V.0.) "She was happier than I had ever seen her..."」


narrator:EXT. A NEW ORLEANS DINER - LATE AT NIGHT, 1967
 239
 Benjamin and Daisy sitting at the window at one of the booths...
 INT. SAME NEW ORLEANS DINER - LATE AT NIGHT, 1967
 240
 Daisy with a hot Fudge sundae and a tuna sandwich... Benjamin just some coffee... They're quiet... And Daisy says...
DAISY:「I know you're afraid.」
Benjamin Button:「I'm not hiding it.」
DAISY:「Okay.
 What's your worst fear?」
Benjamin Button:「What if it has...what if its like me?...」
DAISY:「Then we'll love it all the more...」
Benjamin Button:「I want to be father... not a little brother... I don't want to be picked up from elementary school by my kid... I don't want anyone babysitting me...」
DAISY:「I'm going to make this work... This is what I want, and I want it with you...」
Benjamin Button:「You know, there's nothing I wouldn't do for you...」


DAISY:「Would you tell a blind man he can't have children? You will be a father for as long as you can. I know the consequences. I accepted that. Your love, loving you, is worth everything to me. (laughs) For the fiftieth time today I've got to go pee...」
narrator:CONTINUED)
 CONTINUED:
 240
 He smiles... She gets up and goes to the restroom. He sits with his thoughts... and he notices a television's on... a news report... something catches his eye... someone swimming? He gets up moving to the television... where he hears...
 A MAN'S VOICE (V.O.) (on television) The oldest woman to ever swim the English Channel arrived in Calais today... having made the swim in thirty-four hours, twenty-two minutes and fourteen seconds... the sixty-eight year old Englishwoman, Elizabeth Abbott...
 And we see dear ELIZABETH ABBOTT, coming out of the water, completing the English Channel swim.
ELIZABETH ABBOTT:「on television) Anything's possible.」
narrator:And as she smiles, after a lifetime of waiting, triumphant... And Benjamin smiles for her, and for himself, too... where anything is possible... Daisy's come beside him...
DAISY:「Ready?」
Benjamin Button:「Yes.」


narrator:He leaves some money. He takes her arm... and as they go outside, moving along the street...
Benjamin Button:「V.O.) On a day like any other in the spring...」


narrator:CONTINUED)
 CONTINUED:
 241
 a glass of milk spilled on the carpet... and blood on her nightdress... he runs to a phone...
Benjamin Button:「Get me an ambulance... My wife is seven months pregnant and fell on the stairs...」
DAISY:「Benjamin... the baby's coming...」
narrator:And he hurries to her side... and as she clasps his hand...
 INT. THEIR BEDROOM - SUBURBAN TOWNHOUSE - DAY 1968
 242
 Paramedics are there... tending to Daisy, Benjamin at her side, as she struggles.
Benjamin Button:「V.O.) She gave birth to a five pound four ounce baby girl...」
narrator:INT. THEIR BEDROOM - SUBURBAN TOWNHOUSE - DAY, 1968
 243
 We see, lying on Daisy's chest, is a newborn baby... Benjamin, standing beside her... And a young Woman Doctor that's there... packing up her things...
Benjamin Button:「You're sure there's nothing wrong with her?」


narrator:THE YOUNG WOMAN DOCTOR She's a normal, healthy baby in every way...
 And Benjamin moved, kisses the baby's head... as he looks at this precious child of his...
 CAROLINE'S (V.O.) We named her Caroline, for my mother...
 And as Benjamin holds Daisy's hand while she nurses her...
 INT. HOSPITAL ROOM, NEW ORLEANS - MORNING, PRESENT
 244
 Caroline's stopped reading... dead still...
CAROLINE:「He was my father...? This Benjamin was my father? (MORE) (CONTINUED)」
narrator:CONTINUED:
 244 CAROLINE Why didn't you ever tell me...?!
DAISY:「It doesn't change for a moment who you are. You were a gift. Sometimes the gifts we are given are not free.」
CAROLINE:「You never said a word to me...」
narrator:Caroline, upset, gets up...
CAROLINE:「I need to go for a minute...」
narrator:She leaves the room...
DAISY:「enigmatic) My dearest darling, we were both deprived of him...」
narrator:Daisy lying still... in her turban... her blue eyes... her breathing rasping...
 A
 INT. HOSPITAL CORRIDOR, NEW ORLEANS - DAY, PRESENT
 244A
 Caroline stands in the hall. The bustle of the hospital, the exigencies of life going on about her. The Nurse, seeing her...
THE NURSE:「It can get to you...」
narrator:And Caroline, unable to hold it in, can't stop bitter tears from running down her face... The Nurse is called for... She goes off down the hallway... Caroline takes another moment and goes back into the hospital room...
 B
 INT. HOSPITAL ROOM, NEW ORLEANS - DAY, THE PRESENT
 244B
 Daisy, seeing her come back in...
DAISY:「I was worried you weren't coming back...」
CAROLINE:「after a moment) You're all I have.」
DAISY:「Read the rest of it, darling. (CONTINUED)」
narrator:A.
 B
 CONTINUED:
 244B
 Caroline hesitates, then sits back down, and quietly takes up the "book."
CAROLINE:「You grew, like the doctor had said, normal and healthy..."」


narrator:INT. THEIR BEDROOM, SUBURBAN TOWNHOUSE, NEW ORLEANS -
 245 NIGHT, 1969
 The room's dark. We see Benjamin in bed, the baby sleeping between him and Daisy... And as Benjamin watches them sleep... he looks at his reflection in a wall mirror... his 51st year on this earth... 34 years old... a young man... He looks at his baby... he looks at Daisy... in her mid 40s... her hair's begun to gray... her face begun to show the natural touches of age... His stare awakens her... She looks at him sensing he's deeply troubled... He shuts his eyes... she watches him sleep, Daisy as troubled as he is... but for very different reasons...
 EXT. A PARK - NEW ORLEANS - DAY, 1969
 246
 Benjamin is sitting with Caroline while she plays in a park's sand box... Caroline helping herself to a mouthful of sand... Benjamin, trying to get the sand out of her mouth...
Benjamin Button:「Don't eat sand...」
narrator:Daisy comes over to sit with them...
Benjamin Button:「She's going to have a really attractive diaper.」


narrator:CONTINUED)
 CONTINUED:
 246
Benjamin Button:「I think you should find a real father for her...」
DAISY:「What are you talking about?」
Benjamin Button:「She needs someone to grow old with...」
DAISY:「She'll learn to accept whatever happens... She loves you...」
Benjamin Button:「She needs a father not a playmate.」
DAISY:「Is it that my age is starting to show...? Is that what you are telling me? Have you lost your desire for me...?」
Benjamin Button:「You don't need another child to raise...」
DAISY:「You're going to leave me, aren't you?」
narrator:He doesn't say anything.
DAISY:「You can't leave me.」
narrator:He's silent.
DAISY:「You can't do this to me...!」
Benjamin Button:「V.O.) It was your first birthday. We had a party... the house was filled with people...」


narrator:INT. SUBURBAN TOWNHOUSE - NEW ORLEANS - DAY, 1969
 247
 The birthday party. A cake with a big number "1" candle. One-year-olds not having a clue.
Benjamin Button:「V.0.) The fathers and mothers were there...」
narrator:He looks at the age appropriate mothers and fathers with their children...
 A MAN Before you look around they'll be in High School dating.
 Benjamin manages a smile.
 A
 INT. THE HOSPITAL ROOM, NEW ORLEANS - DAY - PRESENT
 247A
DAISY:「I remember your first birthday like it was yesterday.」
narrator:INT. SUBURBAN TOWNHOUSE - LATER IN THE DAY, 1969
 248
 The house is empty, the guests gone... Daisy busy cleaning up from the party. She stops to look outside, at the backyard. Benjamin is sitting on a lounge chair... the baby, in her party dress, sitting on his chest... As Daisy stands at the window watching him with their baby...
 INT. THEIR BEDROOM - SUBURBAN TOWNHOUSE - LATE AT NIGHT,
 249 1969
 Benjamin, dressed, watching Caroline in her crib, asleep. Daisy in bed, asleep.


Benjamin Button:「V.O.) I sold the summer house on Lake Pontchartrain... I sold my share of Button's Buttons... I sold the sailboat... I put it all into an account for your mother... And before you would ever remember me...」
narrator:And he bends to kiss his sleeping daughter, whispering to her...
Benjamin Button:「I want you to know I love you...」
narrator:CONTINUED)
 CONTINUED:
 249
 He stops to put a bank book on the dresser, along with a house key... the sound of the key is just enough for Daisy to stir. He starts to leave... He turns to go... and he sees Daisy is looking at him... A look not so much of anger, or hurt, not of resignation, but a look of acceptance... that this is what her life is now... He crosses out of the dark room silently closing the door behind him...
Benjamin Button:「V.0.) I left, so that you and your mother could have a life.」
narrator:EXT. SUBURBAN TOWNHOUSE, NEW ORLEANS - NIGHT, 1969
 250
 He takes the old motorcycle out of the garage.
Benjamin Button:「V.O.) (after a beat) I left with just the clothes on my back.」


narrator:A
 AROUND THE WORLD
 252A
 And Benjamin's voice comes in... WHILE WE SEE HIM IN VARIOUS PLACES ALL OVER THE WORLD, A MONTAGE, A FILM WITHIN A FILM, OF THE ROAD HE'S TAKEN...
Benjamin Button:「V.O.) "...What I think is, it's never too late...or, in my case, too early, to be whoever you want to be...There's no time limit, start anytime you want...change or stay the same...there aren't any rules...We can make the best or worst of it...I hope you make the best...I hope you see things that startle you. Feel things you never felt before. I hope you meet people who have a different point of view. I hope you challenge yourself. I hope you stumble, and pick yourself up. I hope you live the life you wanted to...and if you haven't, I hope you start all over again."」


narrator:CONTINUED)
 CONTINUED: (2)
 263
Benjamin Button:「I wanted to see you both.」
narrator:She stares at him... just the piano music. And despite the gulf of time... there's a terrible aching they have for each other... and before they can say anything... the door swings open and Caroline, 12, comes hurrying in...
CAROLINE:「You ready, Mom?」
narrator:Benjamin stares at her appearance... And Daisy, can't help herself, and seeing Caroline, Daisy, overcome by it all, starts to cry.
CAROLINE:「Is something wrong, Mother?」
DAISY:「No... He was telling me a very sad story about a mutual friend we hadn't seen in a long time... This is my friend, Benjamin... you knew him when you were... just a baby...」
CAROLINE:「Hi...」
Benjamin Button:「Hello...」
narrator:He reaches, taking her hand... needing to touch her...
 A MAN'S
 (V.O.) Hello...
 And a Man 50s, wearing a suit and a tie, comes in...
THE MAN:「I'm sorry... I thought you were done...」
DAISY:「This is a friend of my family's... Benjamin Button... this is my husband... Robert...」


narrator:They shake hands... There's an awkward quiet...
 ROBERT It was nice to have met you... We'll be in the car, darling...
 CONTINUED)
 CONTINUED: (3)
 263
DAISY:「I'm just closing up...」
narrator:And Robert and Caroline go outside to wait for her...
Benjamin Button:「She's so lovely... she looks like you... Does she dance?」
DAISY:「Not very well.」
Benjamin Button:「I suppose that would be from my side of things.」
narrator:DAISY She's a dear sweet girl... she seems a little lost... But who isn't a little lost at 12? There's a lot of her that reminds me of you.
 And she shuts off a set of the lights.
DAISY:「My husband. He's a doctor... was a widower... He's an incredibly bright, adventurous man...」
narrator:Benjamin smiles.
DAISY:「He's been a terrific father... and a great partner and friend...」
narrator:And she shuts off the record player and another set of lights... and for a moment they stand in the dark studio... and they look at their reflections in the mirror... seeing who they are now...
DAISY:「You're so much younger.」


Benjamin Button:「Just what you can see.」


narrator:CONTINUED)
 CONTINUED: (4)
 263
DAISY:「You ware right. She needed a father. I couldn't have raised both of you. I'm not that strong.」
narrator:He's quiet.
 They both are.
 She looks at him.
DAISY:「I never thought how it must have broken your heart, too.」
narrator:His silence is enough.
DAISY:「Where are you staying? What are you going to do?」
Benjamin Button:「I'm at the Pontchartrain Hotel on the avenue. I have no idea what I'm going to do.」


narrator:CONTINUED)
 CONTINUED:
 265
CAROLINE:「Is there anything we need to do?」
THE NURSE:「Arrangements are being made to move people if we have to. I'll let you know as soon as we know anything.」
narrator:She leaves hurriedly.
DAISY:「Please tell me what he says?」
narrator:Caroline looks at the book.
 And Benjamin's voice comes in...
Benjamin Button:「V.O.) "That night..."」
narrator:INT. BENJAMIN'S HOTEL ROOM, NEW ORLEANS - NIGHT, 1980
 266
 Benjamin, sitting on the end of the bed, not sure why he came there at all... There's a sound at the door...as if somebody was there...
Benjamin Button:「Hello?」
narrator:Its quiet...a hesitancy...He starts to get up and there's a knock on the door...He opens it...and Daisy's there. He's startled to see her...
DAISY:「May I come in?」
Benjamin Button:「Please...」
narrator:She comes inside...an awkward quiet...
Benjamin Button:「I don't know what I'm doing here...What I expected...?」


narrator:It echoes how she's feeling being there...They stand not knowing what to say...And Daisy says, sadly...
DAISY:「Nothing lasts.」
narrator:He puts a finger to her lips. He shakes "no."
 And what he's come to know, that some things do last...
 CONTINUED)
 CONTINUED:
 266
Benjamin Button:「I never once stopped loving you...」
narrator:He affectionately pushes a hair off of her forehead...
DAISY:「I'm an old woman now, Benjamin.」
narrator:And he helps her off with her coat... She's still.
DAISY:「Benjamin...」
narrator:He kisses her... and she's quiet... and he undresses her... undressing himself... and they stand momentarily naked... the young man and the older woman.
DAISY:「Are you sure?」
Benjamin Button:「Some things you don't ever forget... the feel... the taste...」
narrator:And he kisses her again...
Benjamin Button:「... the smell...」
narrator:He puts his mouth by her cheek... breathing her in...
Benjamin Button:「... the touch...」
narrator:Caressing her...
Benjamin Button:「Of someone you love...」


narrator:INT. BENJAMIN'S HOTEL ROOM, NEW ORLEANS - NIGHT, 1980
 267
 We see Benjamin standing at the window watching as Daisy gets into a taxi... the taxi starting to drive off... and Daisy turning... to look back... waving to him. Benjamin waving to her... what they both somehow know, is a last goodbye...
Benjamin Button:「V.0.) I watched her go...」


narrator:CONTINUED)
 CONTINUED:
 267
Benjamin Button:「V.0.) Until she went out of sight...」


narrator:CONTINUED)
 CONTINUED:
 273
THE MAN:「The doctors said if they didn't know any better, he goes in and out of states of recognition, as if he had the beginnings of dementia...」
narrator:Daisy's looking at the boy, who was once the man she loved... who she still loves... She looks into his eyes...
DAISY:「Do you remember me?
 I'm Daisy.」
narrator:He looks at her.
 No sense of recognition.
 BENJAMIN AT TWELVE Daisy is a very pretty name. I'm Benjamin.
DAISY:「It's good to meet you Benjamin. Do you mind if I sit with you? I would love to hear you play.」
narrator:He doesn't say anything. She sits down beside him on the piano bench. He stops to look at her.
 BENJAMIN AT TWELVE There's something about you... There's something about your eyes I remember from a long time ago...
 He looks at her eyes. She looks at him... And as she sits with him on the piano bench... as he tries to play... Daisy and Benjamin, "together again..."
 INT. HOSPITAL ROOM, NEW ORLEANS - MORNING, PRESENT
 274
DAISY:「Queenie's daughter saw to it that he was taken care of...」
narrator:INT. THE KITCHEN, NOLAN HOUSE - MORNING, 1994
 275
 And we see Benjamin, just eight now... coming into the kitchen... Queenie's daughter cleaning up after breakfast.
Benjamin Button:「I want some breakfast.」


narrator:CONTINUED)
 CONTINUED:
 275
 QUEENIE'S DAUGHTER You just ate breakfast.
Benjamin Button:「No I didn't...」
narrator:AN OLD WOMAN You just finished eating, Mr. Button.
Benjamin Button:「You think I don't know what you are doing?」
narrator:And like an eight year old, or an old man old with onset Alzheimer's -- which makes him nearly a helpless child, he starts to rage... throwing things...
Benjamin Button:「You are all fucking liars!」
DAISY'S:「V.0.) And every day I would stop by... and make sure he was comfortable...」
narrator:And just then Daisy comes into the kitchen.
 She sees him raging.
 QUEENIE'S DAUGHTER He doesn't believe he's already had his breakfast.
DAISY:「Let's see if we can find something else for you to do.」
Benjamin Button:「upset, meaning lapses) I can't help it. I can't help this.」


narrator:INT. BENJAMIN'S ROOM, NOLAN HOUSE - DAY
 276
 We see Daisy sitting on a bed with Benjamin in his room on the second floor of the old house... And he's oddly lucid...more articulate than his age would indicate...
Benjamin Button:「I get the feeling there's a lot of things I can't remember...」
DAISY:「What do you mean?」
Benjamin Button:「It's like there's this whole life I had and I can't remember what it was...」


narrator:CONTINUED)
 CONTINUED:
 290
Benjamin Button:「V.0.) I'm the only one who isn't sleeping...」
narrator:Now we see Benjamin sitting on the floor among all of the people, the only one awake, writing on the back of the train schedule.
Benjamin Button:「V.0.) "I figured out one thing. If you're growing older or getting younger it really doesn't make any difference. Whichever way you're going you have to make the most of what this is."」
narrator:He looks at all the people sleeping around him... strangers on a train...
Benjamin Button:「V.0.) "Along the way you bump into people who make a dent on your life... Some people... get struck by lightning..."」
narrator:EXT. SOMEWHERE
 291
 And we see just that... Mr. DAWS being struck by lightning again...
Benjamin Button:「V.O.) "Some are born to sit by a river."」
narrator:EXT. RIVER
 292
 And we see just that... Mr. Oti sitting by his river...
Benjamin Button:「V.O.) "Some have an ear for music..."」
narrator:INT. THE PARLOR
 293
 And we see the unnamed older woman playing the piano...


Benjamin Button:「V.O.) "Some are artists..."」


narrator:CONTINUED)
 CONTINUED:
 294
Benjamin Button:「V.O.) "Some swim the English Channel..."」
narrator:EXT. ENGLISH CHANNEL
 295
 And we see Elizabeth Abbott doing just that...
Benjamin Button:「V.O.) "Some know buttons..."」
narrator:INT. BUTTON FACTORY, NEW ORLEANS
 296
 We see Thomas Button holding a button in the palm of his hand...
Benjamin Button:「V.O.) "Some know Shakespeare..."」
narrator:INT. KITCHEN, NOLAN HOUSE, NEW ORLEANS
 297
 Tizzy reciting Shakespeare...
Benjamin Button:「V.O.) "Some are mothers...」
narrator:INT. NOLAN HOUSE, NEW ORLEANS
 298
 Queenie pointing at him...
Benjamin Button:「V.O.) "And some people can dance..."」