Friday's Whims of the Time Traveler 50.1: Spring 2009

NOTE: This is the third full-act play I ever wrote, at the age of nineteen. While I cannot specifically remember when it was finished, I am going to hazard a guess that I was done with this play and beginning to write my fourth play by the spring of 2009. It's a risky guess, but it'll have to do. I will be releasing the play in its appropriate two acts, so you'll see Act II next week. Enjoy.

Be Still, Little Lotus Eater
(A Play In Two Acts)
by Belinda Roddie

CAST (in order of appearance)

MUSICIAN

MUSE

SILVERS

GRIMM

JENCI

FAIGEL

AYLIN

JAREK

SETTING

An Uncharted Island

WRITER’S NOTE: All stage directions and emotions listed in this script are open for suggestion. Altering them should not decrease the caliber of the play, but they should serve as guidelines for the director and the actors. Remember, nothing is set in stone.

Act One

Overture

(The lights come up on MUSICIAN and MUSE on center stage)

MUSE. (Sings)

I had a dream where I opened my eyes

In a lover’s paradise with my silver-haired bride

And she whispered, “I will take you far away

To the flower that grows where we chose to marry.

It is your mind I’ll take and my body you’ll carry

Through the mist and the skies where our palette is gray.”

So I took her in arms that grew heavy with dew

And we went wandering off to where the lotus grew.

When we came to the flower, oh, what a fair sight

Blooming near to where breathed a long river of white

I wanted to paint my dry lips with its hue

Lips trembling for delicate fingers to caress me

And now I could feel my bride start to undress me

Strip away every layer that made me what she once knew

I let each fabric of my being fray and unwind

As we left a web of threads in the grass far behind

I closed my eyes and felt my love’s silver lips

To hear before I felt that lingering kiss

That the lotus let out such a pained, plaintive cry

As its petals descended and its color was fading.

Only then did I know I was finally waking

From this slumber that seemed all too real in my eyes

But tell me, was it all in my head, as it seemed,

Or was paradise the world, and my living the dream?

(The lights go out on MUSE and MUSICIAN. End Overture)

Sunset

(Lights come up on downstage left, where SILVERS and GRIMM playing an ocarina and smoking a pipe, respectively. Lights should be warm colors, representing a sunset)

SILVERS. I never thought I’d see the sunset this close. The red and gold hues make it look like a warbanner. The sky’s showing its battle colors.

GRIMM. I got used to the sunset a long time ago. It doesn’t awe me anymore.

SILVERS. You live like a dead man, Grimm.

GRIMM. And you’re no proper lady.

SILVERS. You honestly haven’t thought about the sunset that much lately?

GRIMM. Nope. It’s twilight I think about now. When that crescent moon peeks out from behind the purple mist.

SILVERS. I bet as soon as you get tired of twilight, you’ll go straight to starry nights.

GRIMM. Silvers, have you ever thought about what you’d do with a crescent moon if it were small enough to fit in the palm of your hand? It’d be as silver as your hair.

SILVERS. No, I’ve never thought about that.

GRIMM. I’d link it to a chain of stars and fasten it around a lovely lady’s white throat.

SILVERS. How would you get the stars to make a chain?

GRIMM. Don’t be stupid. If you’re going to be able to hold the moon in your hand, you may as well be able to pluck stars from the sky.

SILVERS. It’s a pretty image.

GRIMM. It is. Makes me wish that could actually happen.

SILVERS. Oh, trust me, I’d love to actually have the moon as a necklace. (GRIMM coughs) Do you always have to smoke that pipe?

GRIMM. Do you always have to play that ocarina?

SILVERS. Yes, until my hair turns to pearl white.

GRIMM. And there’s my answer.

SILVERS. Where do you get the tobacco, anyway?

GRIMM. The natives always give me gifts when I visit them. They respect the old storyteller. You know how it is.

SILVERS. Does it taste good?

GRIMM. It’s always so rich. I like it that way, though. It’s good with chocolate.

SILVERS. The kind we drink in cups, right?

GRIMM. This land has wonderful things. You know that as much as I do. After all, the winds were able to change your hair.

SILVERS. Don’t twirl my locks, Grimm! My hair’s messy enough.

GRIMM. Sorry. It’s always so tempting.

SILVERS. (Plays her ocarina) Tell me a story.

GRIMM. About what?

SILVERS. Something new. You haven’t told me a new story in years. You keep repeating the old ones.

GRIMM. But they’re good ones.

SILVERS. They’re also recycled ones. Your tongue’s growing as silver as my hair.

GRIMM. Well, that’s no good. I’ve always liked having a gold tongue.

SILVERS. Yes, but the more you flutter it, the more it dulls these days.

GRIMM. Ah, well…I guess it’ll be turning to bronze soon.

SILVERS. What do you mean?

GRIMM. Well, I haven’t told you a new story for so long because I haven’t been able to think of one.

SILVERS. But you used to be able to make up a story in less than an hour!

GRIMM. I know. Those days are gone.

SILVERS. You’d think that being here would give you new ideas.

GRIMM. Well, the natives have always loved hearing the same stories over and over again. Maybe I’m not much of a storyteller anymore. But you never know. It could just be my age.

SILVERS. Maybe. How long have we been here, Grimm?

GRIMM. I’ve lost track.

SILVERS. It’s like we’ll never die. I’m sure it’s been years since we’ve been sitting together, looking at the sunsets.

GRIMM. I don’t even remember how we got here. My memory’s just strained.

SILVERS. Well, like you said, it could be our age.

GRIMM. Right. Maybe my memory’s turning to silver like my tongue.

SILVERS. And my hair.

GRIMM. Yes, that, too. …You know, we can always change things up a bit. We don’t always have to watch the sunsets.

SILVERS. Then what would we do?

GRIMM. …We could watch the twilight.

(SILVERS begins playing the ocarina again, which is swallowed up by drums and other instruments as NATIVES enter and dance. MUSE and MUSICIAN silently watch, before the NATIVES complete their dance and exit. The lights dim on SILVERS and GRIMM. End Sunset)

Twilight

(Lights dimly come up on the rest of the stage, set up with a nature-oriented background. JENCI enters running. MUSE takes a place with MUSICIAN on a corner of the stage)

JENCI. Hello? (Looks about the stage) Faigel! Where did you run off to?

(FAIGEL enters but hides from JENCI, who starts singing as he looks. It should be noted that FAIGEL always has a knife made out of flint by her side)

JENCI.

Little bird, little bird, where are you hiding?

Your red feathers ruffled, your small eyes a glowing?

This hunter is looking, God knows that he’s trying,

And until he sees little bird, nowhere he’s going.

Yes, he won’t surrender this chase in the twilight,

Until he sees little bird, nowhere he’s going.

(He waits for an answer, but FAIGEL doesn’t answer, only stealthily maneuvering about the stage. JENCI starts singing again)

JENCI.

Little bird, little bird, have you gone flying?

Your beak snapping clouds up from cradles in dusk?

This hunter won’t shoot, but the prize he’s desiring,

And until he can find it, there’s no way he’s going.

Yes, hide all you want in this curtain of twilight,

‘Til he finds that bird, there is no way he’s going.

(FAIGEL appears as he sings and sings the last two lines with him before darting back into the shadows before re-appearing)

JENCI. Oh, Faigel, you tease!

FAIGEL. Me teasing you? You’re the one comparing me to a bird!

JENCI. How is that teasing? It’s what your name means, right?

FAIGEL. Yeah, but…you know how I’ve always loved the idea of actually having wings. Ah, the dream of flying…

JENCI. Isn’t it every child’s fantasy?

FAIGEL. I heard the natives know how to fly.

JENCI. No, no.

FAIGEL. And talk to animals! Maybe they can teach me both. So I can fly with the birds and have conversation with them at the same time.

JENCI. Faigel…

FAIGEL. Well, it’d be very useful! Free in the breeze, chatting away about…nonsense and all of nature’s non-sequiturs…

JENCI. Faigel, the natives can’t fly. It’s just part of their folklore. They don’t actually have wings.

FAIGEL. You mean they didn’t have wings even in ancient times?

JENCI. That’s what the old storyteller said. And he isn’t even a native.

FAIGEL. I’m starting to get sick of his stories.

JENCI. Maybe, but the tribe loves them. Have you seen them? They even act out some of the parts he narrates. It’s like a ritual.

FAIGEL. Well, I mean, they’re adventurous and funny, but they get so repetitive after a while. You’d think at some point he’d have, you know…

JENCI. New material?

FAIGEL. Yeah, something like that. At least changing things up a bit. Like adding a new ending. Or changing the characters!

JENCI. Why don’t you think of some stories, if you’re so much better than him?

FAIGEL. Maybe I will!

JENCI. Well, let me know when you have your great new tale of adventure and magic and all that fun stuff. I’ll wait right here.

(JENCI sits down and humors himself with a stick. FAIGEL paces a bit)

FAIGEL. It’ll be about a man who thinks he’s royalty and searches for his kingdom. With only a rogue wolf as a friend and an oracle guiding his every step.

JENCI. Are you kidding me?!

FAIGEL. (Laughs) See, I can think of stories!

JENCI. I can’t believe you. Your mind’s always racing.

FAIGEL. Well, it shouldn’t be doing anything else besides that, am I right?

JENCI. Well, while your mind’s doing that, I can always do this!

(JENCI tickles FAIGEL, which results in a fight, but all in good fun. They both collapse laughing and catching their breath)

FAIGEL. Oh, who am I kidding? I’d never make a good storyteller.

JENCI. Hey, at least you’ve got the inspiration for it. I’ve got nothing.

FAIGEL. Not true! You should be a bard.

JENCI. No, I shouldn’t.

FAIGEL. Yes, you should. It’d fit you so well. Jenci the Traveling Bard.

JENCI. Okay, first of all, I don’t travel. Second of all, that kid over there would blow me out of the water.

FAIGEL. What kid?

JENCI. See right there, sitting on the rock? I don’t know what they call her, but she’s got a really beautiful voice. I’ve heard her sometimes when I’m about to fall asleep.

FAIGEL. I bet she brags about it.

JENCI. Actually, I heard she doesn’t talk.

FAIGEL. …Wait, she can’t be mute, can she?

JENCI. I don’t think so. Maybe it’s a native thing, a vow of silence or something. I used to see her with the tribe, but…now she just hangs out with that musician all the time.

FAIGEL. Oh, that’s so sad.

JENCI. Not really. They always perform together, and maybe they like the solitude. Which I think we’re destroying by our chatter.

(MUSE physically shows that their talking does not bother her, and MUSICIAN silently agrees with MUSE’S gesticulation)

FAIGEL. Guess it’s not a big deal, then.

JENCI. C’mon, Faigel, it’s getting dark. We should turn in for the night.

FAIGEL. No, I’m too awake for that. I feel like dancing.

JENCI. Oh, dancing now?

FAIGEL. Well, I can’t fly, so I’ve gotta find the next best thing, right?

JENCI. I wouldn’t mind dancing a bit. (Referring to MUSICIAN) Hey, maybe he can give us something to dance to. You mind?

(MUSICIAN begins to play a song and JENCI and FAIGEL dance for a while before shouts and scuffling are heard offstage)

JAREK. (Offstage) Stupid little brat! I’ll break your legs for this!

AYLIN. (Offstage) Ow, stop it! You’re hurting me!

FAIGEL. Oh, geez, it can’t be.

JENCI. Not again…

(AYLIN stumbles onstage and falls on her side as JAREK enters holding a walking stick)

JAREK. (Grabs AYLIN) I’ll beat some sense into your head, you ungrateful…

JENCI. Jarek!

AYLIN. Ow! Let go of me!

JAREK. Not until you learn some obedience, you little punk!

JENCI. Jarek!

JAREK. Pulling a stunt like that, disrespecting me and everyone else here!

AYLIN. Ah, don’t hit me, please!

JENCI and FAIGEL. Jarek!

JAREK. What?!

JENCI. Leave her alone!

FAIGEL. Aylin, are you okay? Come over here.

JAREK. What’s wrong with you, Jenci?

JENCI. Me? What’s wrong with you?

JAREK. Nothing! I’m just teaching this brat some manners.

FAIGEL. Manners? So threatening to hit Aylin equals teaching now? Here, let me look at you, kiddo.

JAREK. Don’t start with me, Faigel. You’re always coddling that girl. It makes me sick!

AYLIN. (Tries to attack JAREK) You leave Faigel alone!

FAIGEL. (Pulls AYLIN back) Now, don’t you do that! Honestly, you two are made for each other. Does anything hurt, Aylin?

AYLIN. I’m fine. But he doesn’t want that.

JENCI. Jarek, really, is any of this called for?

JAREK. Don’t boss me around, Jenci! I’m the oldest, and therefore I’m in charge of discipline when any of you try to do something stupid!

FAIGEL. But you don’t have to hit her!

JAREK. Oh, really? Do you have any idea what she tried to do?

FAIGEL. What?

JAREK. Do you know what she tried to do?

FAIGEL. Well, no. Aylin, what did you do?

AYLIN. Nothing. I did nothing!

JAREK. See, it doesn’t hurt to ask before blaming me. Aylin tried leaving again.

JENCI. Oh, Aylin, really?

JAREK. I found her on the coast. And you know what she was trying to do? She was trying to build a boat! Out of driftwood!

AYLIN. Hey, I collected that wood, you jerk!

JAREK. Shut up! I didn’t say you could talk!

JENCI. Jarek, stop it. Why would you be building a boat, Aylin?

AYLIN. Oh, why would I be – like I haven’t told you guys before!

FAIGEL. Oh, Aylin, please, don’t do this again.

AYLIN. But I’m sick of this place! I don’t want to stay here anymore!

JENCI. But why?

AYLIN. I told you already. I want to go home!

FAIGEL. What do you mean, home? You are home.

AYLIN. No! I mean my real home! Where I come from! Where we all come from!

JAREK. This is exactly what I’m talking about, Jenci. What do I have to do to convince you that this kid is completely out of it?

AYLIN. I’m not crazy!

JAREK. Shut up! I told you to shut up!

AYLIN. (To JENCI and FAIGEL)  C’mon, you two! Help me out here!

JENCI. I don’t know what you’re going on about, Aylin. This is where we’ve always been. Why don’t you want to stay?

AYLIN. …Oh, no. Don’t tell me you…and you…you forgot already, didn’t you?

FAIGEL. Forgot what?

AYLIN. You’re hopeless! You’re all hopeless! You’ve forgotten everything and you don’t even know it!

JAREK. See what I mean? She needs to be supervised, for God’s sake!

AYLIN. I do not! Why can’t you just let me go home?

JAREK. Fine. Faigel, take her back to the hut.

AYLIN. No, I don’t mean that!

FAIGEL. (Takes AYLIN’S arm) C’mon, Aylin, you must be tired.

AYLIN. I’m fine, thank you very much!

FAIGEL. No, you need sleep. Let’s go. I’ll be back soon, guys.

(FAIGEL and AYLIN exit)

JAREK. See what I’ve been trying to tell you?

JENCI. Aylin did seem pretty disoriented. But why would she want to build a boat, anyway? I mean, where was she planning to go?

JAREK. Well, I’m not going to let her find out. She’s staying right here.

JENCI. Wait, what? Why?

JAREK. You don’t get it, do you, Jenci? If Aylin did find some place away from here, what do you think would be the first thing she’d do?

JENCI. I don’t know.

JAREK. What do you mean, you don’t know? Look at this place. It’s the ultimate paradise. We’ve got everything we want and then some.

JENCI. Yeah, so?

JAREK. So? So what do you think she’d do? She’d tell everyone about it!

JENCI. Are you serious?

JAREK. Yes! Do you trust her? She’s already blabbed about her great quest to go home, wherever she thinks that is. She’s even told the natives about it! What makes you think she won’t tell people about this land we live on?

JENCI. So let me get this straight. You don’t want Aylin leaving here because you think she’d single-handedly turn this place into a tourist resort?

JAREK. Well, we can’t take the risk, can we?

JENCI. Look, I’m sure that even if she did successfully throw together a raft, she wouldn’t go that far. Sooner or later, she’ll find out that she belongs here with us.

JAREK. I know, I know.

JENCI.  Man, the way she rambled about where she actually comes from or how we’ve forgotten everything. Forgotten what, may I ask? (Contemplatively) Then again, maybe that’s the point.

JAREK. What?

JENCI. Well, I mean, if we already can’t remember what we’ve forgotten, how do we expect to answer that question?

JAREK. (Noogies JENCI) Sometimes you think too much for your own good.

JENCI. I always thought I should do that more often. You know, it’s funny how Aylin likes to say we don’t remember anything. Pretty soon, she’ll start saying we’re not brothers, either.

JAREK.  Let her say that. It won’t change a thing. …Jenci?

JENCI. Yeah?

JAREK. Would you ever want to leave this place? Seriously, why would anyone want to?

JENCI. Hey, I would never travel, remember?

JAREK. There’d be nothing waiting for us, anyway. The natives here took us in open arms. They feed us. They let us live here. That’s home, right?

JENCI. That’s home.

JAREK. I’m glad you’re with me, though. I don’t know if I’d be able to stay sane if I were just with Faigel and Aylin.

JENCI. Hey, Faigel’s not bad. She’s my little bird.

JAREK. Oh, well, then I won’t get in your way.

(JENCI starts a playful shoving match when FAIGEL re-enters)

FAIGEL. Are you two roughhousing again? I swear, I never can tell when you’re having fun or trying to kill each other.

JAREK. Oh, trust me, there’d be a lot more scratching on Jenci’s side if we were trying to kill each other.

JENCI. Are you saying I fight like a sissy?

JAREK. I’m saying you’ve got claws. (Laughs when JENCI hisses like a cat) Hey, where’s Aylin?

FAIGEL. I got her into bed. Hopefully she won’t do anything stupid again.

JAREK. Wait, you just left her there?

FAIGEL. Don’t worry, I bolted up the door. She shouldn’t be able to get herself out.

JAREK. No. No, I don’t trust that. She could find a way.

JENCI. Don’t you think you’re overreacting just a bit, Jarek?

JAREK. Jenci, the girl tried to leave the island in a makeshift boat. I’m not going to wait to see what she thinks of next.

FAIGEL. Well, what’re you gonna do?

JAREK. I’m gonna keep an eye on her, that’s what I’m gonna do. (Hugs JENCI) You two stay out of trouble, okay? And get some sleep. It’s getting late.

JENCI. Can’t promise that, brother.

JAREK. Typical. I’ll see you guys tomorrow.

(JAREK exits)

FAIGEL. And there goes the watchman.

JENCI. Man, just shutting her up like that…I don’t know, I feel kind of bad.

FAIGEL. Me, too, trust me. But hey, once she stops acting so wild, we won’t have to do stuff like that anymore.

JENCI. I hope so. I’m sure Jarek’s sick of treating her like a child.

FAIGEL. Jenci, Aylin is a child.

JENCI. She’s fifteen years old. She’s got to grow up at some point.

FAIGEL. I thought we weren’t trying to grow up.

JENCI. Well, at least she shouldn’t be such a hassle. I mean, Jarek doesn’t have to babysit us. Heck, I’m even his younger brother, and he doesn’t have to order me around.

FAIGEL. Yeah, but that’s because you wouldn’t listen to him, anyway.

JENCI. (Playfully shoves FAIGEL) Oh, shut up, you brat.

FAIGEL. How old are we now, anyway, Jenci?

JENCI. Well, if Aylin’s fifteen…she’s four years younger than Jarek, so that makes him nineteen…two years younger, that’s me…

FAIGEL. Then I’m seventeen?

JENCI. Yep. Like me.

FAIGEL. We’re so much older than I thought. Why can’t I remember being a child here?

JENCI. Eh, memories start to fade after a while. I can’t remember my childhood, either.

FAIGEL. Must have been a blur if it was paradise like this.

JENCI. Yeah. Dancing and singing and feasting every day. Over and over…

FAIGEL. Hey, looks like that girl and that musician are still there.

JENCI. You think maybe we can get that guy to play again?

FAIGEL. Care for another dance, my bard?

JENCI. As you wish, little bird.

(They dance as the MUSICIAN plays before the NATIVES enter and join in the dance. All soon exit save for MUSE and the MUSICIAN, who still plays)

MUSE. (Sings)

I remember a ship with its sails all tattered,

White ghosts on a sea of blue glass as it shattered.

I remember the taste of the salt and the foam

But I don’t remember ever leaving a home

I remember four children all dancing together

When night turned to day in the turbulent weather

I remember when sun turned from golden to chrome

But I don’t remember ever leaving a home

And there are no photographs to prove me wrong

And there are no memories, just a song

From a time long ago, like forgotten history.

Or was it something more recent? Did it happen to me?

I remember tasting tears salty as the dark sea

And a sunset before I found this reverie

But where did they come from, the sea and the foam?

Was it something I knew before? Something from home?

Was it something I knew before? Something from home…

(Lights go out. End Twilight)

The work you see here has not been edited nor altered since the spring of 2009.