you hear me--breathe! i said breathe!!!
shhh.  we're just outside silver creek.
you've been here two days. you're gonna be okay. my name is annie wilkes and i'm--
that's right. i'm also a nurse. here. take these.
here.
they're called novril--they're for your pain.
the blizzard was too strong. i couldn't risk trying to get you there. i tried calling, but the phone lines are down.
now you mustn't tire yourself. you've got to rest, you almost died.
open wide.
your legs just sing grand opera when you move, don't they? it's not going to hurt forever, paul, i promise you.
of course you will. and your arm will be fine, too. your shoulder was dislocated pretty badly, but i finally popped it back in there. but what i'm most proud of is the work i did on those legs. considering what i had around the house, i don't think there's a doctor who could have done any better.
it's not nearly as bad as it looks. you have a compound fracture of the tibia in both legs, and the fibula in the left leg is fractured too. i could hear the bones moving, so it's best for your legs to remain immobile. and as soon as the roads open, i'll take you to a hospital.
in the meantime, you've got a lot of recovering to do, and i consider it an honor that you'll do it in my home.
no, it wasn't a miracle at all.  in a way, i was following you.
well, it wasn't any secret to me that you were staying at the silver creek, seeing as how i'm your number- one fan and all. some nights i'd just tool on down there, sit outside and look up at the light in your cabin-- and i'd try to imagine what was going on in the room of the world's greatest writer.
don't move now--wouldn't want to hurt this neck-- well, the other afternoon i was on my way home, and there you were, leaving the lodge, and i wondered why a literary genius would go for a drive when there was a big storm coming.
lucky for you, i did. lucky for me too. because now you're alive and you can write more books. oh, paul, i've read everything of yours, but the misery novels.
i know them all by heart, paul, all eight of them. i love them so.
and you're very brilliant, and you must be a good man, or you could never have created such a wondrous, loving creature as misery chastain. like a baby. all done.
it shouldn't be too much longer. once the roads are open, the lines'll be up in no time. if you give me their numbers, i'll keep trying them for you. could i ask you a favor? i noticed in your case there was a new paul sheldon book and.  and i wondered if maybe.
if you wouldn't mind.
you'll never realize what a rare treat you've given me.
boy, it's like clockwork, the way your pain comes--i'll get you your novril, paul. forgive me for prattling away and making you feel all oogy.
what's your new book called?
what's it about?
oh, like i could do that?
i know i'm only forty pages into your book, but.
nothing.
oh, it's ridiculous, who am i to make a criticism to someone like you?
well, it's brilliantly written, but then everything you write is brilliant.
the swearing, paul. there, i said it.
it has no nobility.
they do not. what do you think i say when i go to the feed store in town? "now, wally, give me a bag of that effing pigfeed and ten pounds of that bitchly cow-corn"--
--and in the bank do i tell mrs. bollinger, "here's one big bastard of a check, give me some of your christing money."
there! look there! see what you made me do!
oh, paul, i'm sorry. i'm so sorry. sometimes i get so worked up. can you ever forgive me? here.
i love you, paul. your mind. your creativity--that's all i meant.
oh, i'm sorry. i didn't mean to wake you.
they had it at the store, paul, there was a whole batch of them there. as soon as i saw it, i slammed my money down. i got the first copy.
the one to town is, but that's about it. i called the hospital and talked to the head orthopedic surgeon. i told him who you were and what had happened. he said as long as there's no infection, you're not in any danger, and as soon as the road to the hospital is open, they'll send an ambulance for you.
well, mine's still out. but the ones in town were working just fine. i called that agent of yours. oh, paul, i peeked at the very beginning. what a wonderful first page--just to read the name misery chastain.
it's like a visit from my oldest, dearest friend.
your agent said she would tell her you were okay. but i'm afraid you'll have to wait until tomorrow if you want to speak to her yourself.
oh, paul, what a poet you are.
i made you my speciality--scrambled eggs a la wilkes. and i'm on page
no. no, it isn't, it's-- --oh pooh, i can't think of any words. would "great" be insulting?
no, it's not just great, it's perfect, a perfect, perfect thing.
i'm up to page 185. i always get sad when i pass the halfway point. will you do me a favor? i'd love it if you would autograph my copy. i already have your autograph on a picture, but it would mean so much to me to get it in person. i know you're right- handed, so don't worry if it's not so legible. i'll cherish it anyway.
i don't mean to pry, but i've read in two magazines now where you were seeing this model who does those disgusting jeans commercials. and i said it can't be true. paul sheldon would never waste his time with a trampy woman like that.
i knew it. i knew it wasn't true. boy, how do they get away with printing stuff like that?
thank you so much.
i thought it was time you two should meet. paul, say hello to my favorite beast in all the world, my sow, misery.
yes. i told you i was your number- one fan.
this farm was getting kind of dreary, what with just the few cows and chickens and me-- but when i got misery here, everything changed--she just makes me smile so.
i'm on page three-hundred now, paul, and it's better than perfect--it's divine. what's the ceiling that dago painted?
yeah, that and misery's child--those are the only two divine things ever in this world.
woink! whoink! whuh-whuh-whoink!
when my husband left me.  i wasn't prepared, it wasn't an easy time.
for a while i thought i might go crazy.
i don't know about you, but what i did to get through it was i dove into work--days, nights--night shifts can be lonely at a hospital. i did a lot of reading. that was hen i first discovered misery. she made me so happy. she made me forget all my problems. 'course, i suppose you had a little something to do with that too.
i just kept reading them over and over. i know when i finish this one-- and i've only got two chapters to go-- i'll just turn right to the front page and start reading it again.
done?
no problem.
don't get me wrong. i'm not against marriage per se. but it would take a pretty special guy to make me want to go down the aisle again.
it boils down to respect. people just don't respect the institution of marriage any more. they have no sense of real commitment.
i'd love to stay here and chat, but i'm right at the end and i gotta find out what happens.
of course i'll like it. misery's about to have her child. what's it gonna be, a boy or a girl? ooh, don't tell me.
you. you dirty bird. she can't be dead. misery chastain cannot be dead! how could you?
i don't want her spirit! i want her! and you murdered her!
then who did?
she slipped away? she slipped away? she didn't just slip away. you did it. you did it. you did it. you did it. you murdered my misery.
i thought you were good, paul, but you're not good, you're just another lying old dirty birdie and i don't think i better be around you for awhile. and don't even think about anybody coming for you, not the doctors, not your agent, not your family--because i never called them. nobody knows you're here. and you better hope nothing happens to me because if i die, you die.
what are you doing on the floor? it's my fault. if i'd had a proper hospital bed, this never would have happened. here, let me help you back in. i know this hurts, but it'll only take a few seconds. there you go. comfy?
you're such a kidder. i have a big surprise for you. but first there's something you must do.
i'll get you everything you want, but you must listen first. sometimes my thinking is a little muddy, i accept that. it's why i couldn't remember all those things they were asking me on the witness stand in denver.
but this time i thought clearly. i asked god about you and god said "i delivered him unto you so that you may show him the way."
yes.
paul, this is no time for jokes. you must rid the world of this filth.
yes.
i know this may be difficult for you, but it's for the best.
then light the match, paul.
so you've indicated. do it.
i know this is the only copy, paul. when you were twenty-four you wrote your first book and you didn't make a copy, because you didn't think anybody would take it seriously. but they did. and ever since you've never made any copies because you're superstitious--it's why you always come back to the silver creek lodge. you told that story to merv griffin eleven years ago.
oh, paul. this isn't about money. it's about decency and purity. it's about god's values.
as long as it does exist, your mind won't ever be free. i think you should light the match, paul.
can't you see it's what god wants?
you're so brilliant. i would think you'd certainly be able to see that. we're put on this earth to help people, paul. like i'm trying to help you.
please let me help you.
you're doing the right thing, paul.
goodness!
goodness--goodness--oh, my gracious--
well, isn't that an oogy mess?
i do believe the winters are getting shorter and shorter every year. people say it has something to do with the ozone layer. what do you think?
yeah, well, it's a theory. here's your novril. how does tuna casserole sound for dinner?
see, isn't this nice?
and look what i've got for you. an electric razor so you can shave yourself now.
now don't josh. this is a very big day for you, paul. here. you just sit tight, and i'll set everything up.
that's the big surprise. your new studio--after all, writers do need a place to work.
oh, but paul! i don't think, i know! now that you've gotten rid of that nasty manuscript, you can go back to doing what you're great at-- --you're going to write a new novel-- your greatest achievement ever-- misery's return.
i know you didn't mean it when you killed her, and now you'll make it right.
yes. it will be a book in my honor. for saving your life and nursing you back to health. i'll be the first one to read it. oh, paul, you're going to make me the envy of the whole world.
i expect nothing less than your masterpiece.
i have total confidence in your brilliance--besides, the view will inspire you.
you just inhale that. i'll be right back.
don't worry about that. you'll have total solitude so you can concentrate on your work.
i got you this expensive paper to type on.
and i got a great deal on this fifty- pound clunker--on account of it's missing an "n." i told the saleslady "n" was one of the letters in my favorite writer's name.
you--fooler! did i do good?
but mine cost the most so i don't see how it could smudge.
well, it does smudge after all--isn't that fascinating?
thank you for thinking of me. anything else i can get while i'm in town? any other crucial requirements that need satisfying? would you like a tiny tape recorder? or maybe a handmade set of writing slippers?
are you sure? 'cause if you want, i'll bring back the whole store for you.
what's the matter? i'll tell you what's the matter. i go out of my way for you. i do everything to try and make you happy. i feed you, i clean you, i dress you. and what thanks do i get? "you bought the wrong paper, annie. i can't write on this paper, annie." well, i'll get your stupid paper, but you just better start showing me a little more appreciation around here, mister man.
paul, i've got your paper.
just the kind you asked for.
paul, you're dripping with perspiration, your color is very hectic--what have you been doing?
poor dear.  let's get you back in bed and i'll get them for you.
it'll only take a second.
it just breaks my heart to see you like this.
i've done a lot of thinking on the drive.
and i'm absolutely convinced that the main reason i've never been more popular is because of my temper. you must be so mad at me. the truth now.
my genius needs his rest before he writes.
here, in case you think of any ideas.
don't be silly. you'll be brilliant. think of me as your inspiration.
i have faith in you.  . my darling.
catch this-- --ummmm-wahhhh.
don't be nervous-- --just remember, i'll treasure whatever you do.
i'm sorry, paul. this is all wrong, you'll have to do it over again.
paul, it's not worthy of you. throw it all out except for the part of naming that gravedigger after me. you can leave that in.
paul, what you've written just isn't fair.
that's right--when i was growing up in bakersfield, my favorite thing in all the world was to go to the movies on saturday afternoons for the chapter plays.
i know that, mister man--they also call them serials. i'm not stupid, you know. anyway, my favorite was rocket man, and once it was a no-brakes chapter, the bad guys stuck him in a car on a mountain road and knocked him out and welded the doors shut and tore out the brakes and started him to his death and he woke up and tried to steer and tried to get out, but the car went off a cliff before he could escape and it crashed and burned and--i was so upset and excited and the next week you better believe i was first in line and they always start with the end of the last week and there was rocket man trying to get out, and here came the cliff and just before the car went off he jumped free and all the kids cheered-- --but i didn't cheer, i stood right up and started shouting, "this isn't what happened last week--have you all got amnesia?--they just cheated us--this wasn't fair--"
"he didn't get out of the cockadoodie car!"
but not you. not with my misery. remember, ian did ride for dr. cleary at the end of the last book, but his horse fell jumping that fence and ian broke his shoulder and his ribs and lay there all night in the ditch so he never reached the doctor, so there couldn't have been any "experimental blood transfusion" that saved her life. misery was buried in the ground at the end, paul, so you'll have to start there.
what's the matter, paul? you haven't written a word.
don't be silly. of course you can.
you can--you have the "gotta"--
the "gotta." remember, you talked about it in playboy magazine. you said there's a million things you can't do in this world; you can't hit a curve ball, you can't fix a leaky faucet or make a marriage work-- but there's one thing you always have, and that's the power of the "gotta."
you said you can make it so they gotta turn the page. you know, "i 'gotta' know will she live," "i 'gotta' know will he catch the killer." "i gotta see how this chapter ends." you said it. i don't usually buy that magazine. i only got it, 'cause they were interviewing you.
what?
you better. oh, paul, when ian realized that the reason they'd buried misery alive was because the bee sting had put her in that temporary coma--
--and when gravedigger wilkes remembered how thirty years earlier, the same thing had happened to lady evelyn-hyde-- --and then old dr. cleary deduced that misery must be lady evelyn-hyde's long-lost daughter because of the rarity of deadly bee-stings--my heart just leapt.
i've known from the very first book that misery had to be born of nobility and i was right!
oh, paul, can i read each chapter when you finish? i can fill in the "n"s. will she be her old self, now that ian has dug her out, or will she have amnesia?
will she still love him with that special perfect love?
not even a hint?
misery's alive! misery's alive. oh, it's so romantic--this whole house is going to be filled with romance. i'm going to put on my liberace records-- --you do like liberace, don't you?
i'm going to play my records all day
oh, paul. it would be an honor.
i hope you like it.
oh.
my secret is i only use fresh tomatoes, never canned. and to give it that little extra zip, i mix in some spam with the ground beef.
a toast?
to misery.
oh, i don't know. i think so. i'll go look.
oh, you. i just picked things up over the years.
you really think so?
are you kidding? if anyone ever told me that one day i'd be having a candlelit dinner with paul sheldon in my own house, i woulda checked both legs to see which one was being pulled. will this do?
oh, paul, every time i think about it, i get goosebumps.
oh, god, what have i done? i'm so sorry, paul. i ruined your beautiful toast. will you ever forgive me? here, let me pour another one. can we pretend this never happened? to misery?
paul, this is positively the best misery you've ever written.
i think it's so wonderful that misery would sacrifice her title to take up the cause of her people. that's true nobility.
here's your pills.
the rain.  sometimes it gives me the blues.
when you first came here, i only loved the writer part of paul sheldon. but now i know i love the rest of him too. as much as misery loves ian. i know you don't love me--don't say you do--you're a beautiful, brilliant, famous man of the world; and i'm. not a movie star type. you'll never know the fear of losing someone like you if you're someone like me.
the book is almost finished. your legs are getting better. soon you'll be able to walk. you'll be wanting to leave.
that's very kind of you, but i'll bet it's not altogether true.
i have this gun, and sometimes i think about using it.
i better go now. i might put bullets in it.
paul, i know you've been out.
you've been out of your room.
paul, my little ceramic penguin in the study always faces due south.
is this what you're looking for? i know you've been out twice, paul. at first, i couldn't figure out how you did it, but last night i found your key. i know i left my scrapbook out, and i can imagine what you might be thinking of me. but you see, paul, it's all okay.
last night it came so clear. i realize you just need more time. eventually, you'll come to accept the idea of being here. paul, do you know about the early days at the kimberly diamond mine? do you know what they did to the native workers who stole diamonds? don't worry, they didn't kill them. that would be like junking a mercedes just because it had a broken spring-- no, if they caught them they had to make sure they could go on working, but they also had to make sure they could never run away. the operation was called hobbling.
now don't fuss, paul.
shh, darling, trust me-- it's for the best.
almost done, just one more.
god, i love you.
hi, punkin.
give us a smile? such a kidder.
paul, don't you think it's time for you to start writing again? it's been over a week.
don't talk to me like that.
why are you so mean, mister you'd-be- dead-in-the-snow-if-it-wasn't-for- me?
i'll drive a sledgehammer into your man-gland if you're not nicer--
that's disgusting.
i don't think i'll ever understand you. i cook your meals, i tend to you practically twenty-four hours a day, and you continue to fight me. when are we going to develop a sense of trust?
oh, my!
guess you can tell from my reaction, i'm not all that used to visitors out here. what can i do for you?
what do you want to know?
well, he was born in worcester, massachusetts, forty-two years ago, the only child of franklin and helene sheldon, mediocre student, majored in history.
i know. it's so upsetting. i'm his number-one fan. i've got all his books, every sentence he ever put down. i'm so proud of my paul sheldon collection.  . here i am, prattling on and my manners have just flown away. i haven't invited you in. please.
'course you must know about that horrible accident.
almost killed me, too. i prayed when i heard the news. i got down on my knees and begged for it not to be true.
you're going to laugh at what i'm about to say, but go ahead, i don't care.  . when i was praying, god told me to get ready.
to try and be his replacement--he gave so much pleasure to so many people and there's a shortage of pleasure on this planet these days, in case you hadn't noticed.
god told me, since i was his number- one fan, that i should make up new stories as if i was paul sheldon. so, went to town. and i bought a typewriter. and paper to type on. the same kind paul sheldon used. and i turned the guest bedroom into a writing studio. would you like to see it?
it's right this way.
it's right here. i knew how he wrote, the kinds of words he used, the wonderful stories he told-- --i've spent the last four weeks trying to write like paul sheldon. but i can't do it right. i try and i try and i know all the words-- --but it's just not the same.
i could give you a couple of hundred pages of mine, and you could tell me what you think.
well, i just thought--oh, look at me. you'd think i'd never had a house guest before. would you like something to drink?
how does a nice cup of cocoa sound?
there's some already made.
i always say if you can't enjoy your own company, you're not fit company for anyone else.
here you are.
but you didn't even taste your cocoa.
i'd be delighted. now that you know the way.
don't feel bad, paul. it had to happen. i've been waiting for this sign.
i've known for some time why i was chosen to save you. you and i were meant to be together forever. but now our time in this world must end. but don't worry, paul. i've already prepared for what must be done. i put two bullets in my gun, one for you and one for me. oh, darling, it will be so beautiful.
now don't be afraid. i love you.
but the time is now. soon others will come.
here, paul. i'll fix you something to eat.
oh, paul. it's beautiful.
the stranger staying at the inn, is he someone from misery's past?
this is so exciting. it's windthorne, her first love, right?
oh you!
it was windthorne. i knew it--what does that do to her love for ian?-- --of course, if she hadn't thought windthorne was murdered she never would have fallen in love with ian in the first place. sorry, it's just that this is so wonderful.
paul, this will be our legacy.
oh, paul. i'm dying. does she wind up with ian or windthorne? you have to tell me.
what things?
i was fooling, silly. you need a cigarette, because you used to smoke but you quit except when you finish a book, and you just have one, and the match is to light it. and you need one glass of champagne. dome pear-igg-non.
yes, paul.
oh, paul, this is so romantic. ian and windthorne dueling for the right to misery's hand. does ian win? oh, don't me. it's windthorne, right?
ahh!!!
did i do good?
oh, paul.
paul, you can't.
no, no, not misery--not my misery!
i'm going to kill you, you lying cocksucker.