Friday's Whims of the Time Traveler 51.1: 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. This is Act II of the play. 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 Two

Starry Night

(The act opens in complete darkness, with night sounds)

GRIMM. Silvers? …Silvers. Silvers, wake up.

SILVERS. Huh? What’s going on? Is something wrong?

GRIMM. No. Nothing’s wrong. Here, do you have a match?

SILVERS. No, I don’t. Since when could you get matches here?

GRIMM. Hang on. I think I got some makeshift ones from the natives. Hang on.

(A single match is lit as GRIMM lights his pipe. After he puts out the match, the set is in complete darkness again)

SILVERS. Don’t tell me you woke me up just so you could smoke.

GRIMM. I can’t sleep.

SILVERS. And tobacco’s going to help?

GRIMM. I thought of a new story.

SILVERS. …You did?

GRIMM. Yeah, I did. Crazy, isn’t it?

SILVERS. That’s wonderful! But…did you have to wake me up in the middle of the night to tell me?

GRIMM. I’m sorry. It’s just…it came to me so quickly, I just had to tell you.

SILVERS. Well, I’m very happy for you. Now go to sleep.

GRIMM. …Silvers?

SILVERS. Yes?

GRIMM. Can I tell you the story now?

SILVERS. You’re kidding, right?

GRIMM. Do I sound like I’m kidding?

SILVERS. But it’s the middle of the night! I’m half-asleep as is!

GRIMM. But I…I don’t know, I’m just worried.

SILVERS. Worried about what?

GRIMM. About possibly forgetting it.

SILVERS. Grimm…

GRIMM. It’s just like we were talking about. Losing memories. I’m forgetting everything, Silvers. It’s not just my hair that’s going gray. It’s everything else. I can barely even remember where I come from.

SILVERS. Well, what do you remember about it?

GRIMM. …Only one thing. And that’s the stories. That’s it, Silvers. Nothing else. All I can remember since are endless days of…well, nothing.

SILVERS. Well, there’s been dancing. And music. Food and drink. That’s not “nothing.”

GRIMM. Then they’ve been empty. I can only enjoy paradise for so long, Silvers. No matter how odd that sounds.

SILVERS. …Tell me your story, Grimm.

GRIMM. I thought you were sleepy.

SILVERS. Oh, I’m awake now. That little rant of yours was enough for that.

GRIMM. All right, all right, just let me get comfortable. Okay. Are you ready?

SILVERS. Didn’t I tell you I wanted something new from you? Go for it.

(As GRIMM begins to tell the story, dim lights go up on center stage as the NATIVES appear and begin a visual performance of the story as GRIMM speaks. FAIGEL, JENCI, and JAREK later appear as those who eat the lotus; AYLIN subsequently appears as the one who resists. At the same time, MUSE and MUSICIAN conceal themselves in the darker part of the stage and provide musical accompaniment)

GRIMM. In the days where the masts of ships rose like castle spires among the endless kingdom of the sea, there were islands to be explored, and islands to avoid. The world was a place where sailors would attempt to find both, and carry back what they found of value from those lands. Of its islands, one had never been traversed, let alone mapped.

            It was one ship, many eons later, that was able to find this strange, enchanting island. A place of exotic life, plants that grew as tall as the very leviathans that wove their way through the massive oceans. One ship, with a king at the helm, far from home when he had attempted so many times to return to it. He had left behind a wife, and a son, for a war that he had won. But now the very deities that had aided him as a soldier would now turn their heads at his pleas to go back to his small kingdom on small but beautiful shores. His sailors were ill-minded men, more eager to satisfy themselves than the one who commanded them. They were shallow, idle, and prone to foolishness. And this escapade they would now endure was no exception for their behavior.

            It was one misty evening that the ship arrived near the island, and as if the gods themselves provoked it, a fierce, harsh wind cracked the ship’s hull, a fissure as deep and as wide as a canyon. For fear of sinking, the captain hoisted the sails, and drew the ropes taut about the masts. He howled against the wind as it howled back, wailing at his misfortunes, and let the ship drag against the sand. The damage was too much to be repaired without supplies, and the captain could only look toward the strange but exotic trees that grew where the mist dissipated.

            Paradise. That was all this place could be to many of the sailors. Some men were beginning to think they were dead, but the voice of their captain was enough to shake them from their reveries and make them groan. He demanded a good sum of men to find wood and perhaps see if there was anyone, or anything, alive on the island to seek help from or find food from. Four were sent, all sailors of different attributes, moving across the deep golden sands as the night fell upon them.

            They promptly got lost. Unsure of where to turn or how to go back to the ship, one sailor soon pointed at the dim glow of a fire to the west. They were amazed to see, as they approached it, that unfamiliar people were dancing about these flames, singing as they appeared to eat things that looked like the plant life that grew everywhere on this island. They were of many different colors – black and red-toned and brown and white – all with the finest decorations of stone and jewels and ivory on their arms and necks and brows. They swept across the sands as if they flew, intricate tattoos of birds and flowers upon the women’s flesh with beasts and war’s glory painted the men’s faces. And through it all, they dined, and sang in a language that was very different, but one that the sailors seemed to understand in their own ways.

            These were the native people of the island…the Lotophagi.

            The sailors immediately moved to join them in their dance. Whether instinctual, whether out of sheer curiosity, they stepped toward the bonfire and were carried briskly into the whirlwind of steps and timed jumps. Without a word, they were seated, told to sing and rejoice in the gifts that the gods had given them, and each given delicate flowers to eat. This was indeed a silent welcome, as well as a felt blessing by the sailors, and they thanked the Lotophagi and began to dine on what was called the lotus. Three of those sailors immediately took offers of more lotuses to eat, but one sailor, with one taste, began to sense the feelings of forgetfulness. He was beginning to lose interest in ever going back to the ship, in ever asking if the Lotophagi could assist his crew and captain in returning home. But with the effects taking a toll on the others, the one sailor was able to regain his senses, and he turned to one of the natives and spoke to her…

AYLIN. Tell me, I pray you, what are the effects of this flower? For I feel strange upon eating it.

GRIMM. The Lotophagi appeared hesitant to answer, but the sailor’s eyes were enough pressure to look at. A stranger’s eyes, ones not to be ignored. And the native could not help but reply:

NATIVE. The lotus is what we feast on, to remove our worries and woes. For those who are not born here, it makes them forget of their past, and of their homes and families.

AYLIN. What? And you would have us eat them?

NATIVE. It is a blessing to be in a paradise and not focus on the woes of the real world. Surely you agree.

AYLIN. No! I have a family to return to, a family I love and must support! I can’t stay here. I will not forget!

GRIMM. So the sailor resisted, and the sailor moved to stop the others from feasting any longer on the cursed lotus. But they would not listen, merely laughing at the folly as all thoughts of home drifted from their minds, their hearts and their spirits. And it seemed as if that with each cry to bring them back to reality, the lone aware sailor found that the dancing around them was beginning to quicken, each step faster and more fierce, as if to sweep him up and force him in the revelry. To make him sing and laugh and eat of what would make him forget. And at this, he began to wail and shout for mercy, from his captain, from his gods…

(At this point, the NATIVES stop their dance, the music stops, and only AYLIN is left moving, pushing herself out of the dance circle. She runs off, disappearing into the dark, as the lights dim on center stage but stay on GRIMM and SILVERS as GRIMM has lit a lantern. In the darkness, the NATIVES, FAIGEL, JENCI, and JAREK exit)

GRIMM. It is hard to say if the sailor escaped, or if the captain finally came to aid his lost sailors. He must have been able to notice that they had not returned, but who knows if he himself had been found by the Lotophagi and given the lotus to eat. But the ways of the island were unclear, as is the way of the world, always. …What do you think?

SILVERS. Grimm…

GRIMM. Yes?

SILVERS. You didn’t think of that story. Someone else did.

GRIMM. What?

SILVERS. Someone else thought of that story.

GRIMM. What are you talking about?

SILVERS. I’ve heard that story before! About the Lotophagi, and the lotus. The Lotus Eaters, they were called, when I heard the story. When I read it…

GRIMM. Read it…no…it can’t be…

SILVERS. You must have heard that tale before, Grimm! I’m beginning to remember more…that it was something many people read, and knew! And only now, hearing you, I can recall it! How can this be?

GRIMM. My memory…

SILVERS. Grimm…

GRIMM. My memory is completely gone. The story I thought was mine isn’t mine. It was never mine. I took it from someone else, from the corners of my mind. But my mind wouldn’t let me remember it.

SILVERS. …I’m sorry, Grimm.

GRIMM. What does this mean, Silvers? Could it be that all my stories are someone else’s? That everything I believe I conceived on my own was someone else’s?

SILVERS. No! Those stories are yours. I know they are. Back then…long before we found ourselves…

GRIMM. Here?

SILVERS. Yes. When my hair was...

GRIMM. Brown. Like the soil.

SILVERS. The soil…

(They sit quietly for a while. GRIMM puts out the lantern, shutting them both in darkness again)

GRIMM. …I’m think I’m more afraid of my own fate than I’ve ever been, Silvers.

SILVERS. Your fate isn’t the thing you should be worrying about.

GRIMM. What, then?

SILVERS. Your past. My past. Where we come from. Maybe we’re like the sailors who ate the lotus, forgetting everything. That’s what you and I should be worrying about.

GRIMM. …I’ll think of a story. I swear I will. One that’s rightfully mine.

SILVERS. Grimm?

GRIMM. Yes?

SILVERS. I want to go home.

(There is suddenly a loud shout as the lights slightly come up on center stage, showing the night beginning to fade to dawn. JAREK jumps onstage with his walking stick, looking around)

JAREK. Aylin! Damn it, I’ll kill you for this! Aylin!

(JENCI and FAIGEL run onstage)

FAIGEL. Jarek, what are you doing?

JAREK. Aylin’s gone. She snuck out of the hut we put her in. I knew she’d find a way. I knew she would.

JENCI. Well, do you know where she went?

JAREK. If I knew where she went, I wouldn’t be looking for her and shouting her name, now would I? C’mon, Jenci! Get a grip!

JENCI. Hey, watch your attitude!

FAIGEL. Both of you stop it! We’ll help you find Aylin, Jarek. You think she went back to the coast?

JAREK. Oh, I bet she did. I’ll go that way.

FAIGEL. (Stops JAREK) No. I’ll go to the coast.

JAREK. Are you kidding me?

FAIGEL. Aylin could be anywhere, and if she is by the coast, I think I should be the first she sees. If she’s planning on trying what she did before…

JENCI. I’ll go toward the natives’ settlement. She could be asking for supplies.

JAREK. Fine. I’ll go see if she went toward the cliffs. But I swear, we better find her before it’s too late!

(JENCI and FAIGEL run off in their assigned directions, while JAREK hesitates before he runs off. The MUSE and MUSICIAN emerge from the shadows. Approaching GRIMM and SILVERS, the MUSICIAN begins to play, and in slow movements, the two rise, take hands, and begin to dance. It lasts for a while before the two exit, while MUSE and MUSICIAN remain onstage as the colors onstage begin to change. End Starry Night)

Sunrise

(Dawn approaches onstage as the MUSICIAN and MUSE remain, and as the MUSICIAN plays, the MUSE sings, though her voice appears more mournful, and almost strained)

MUSE.

A drifting soul am I, effortless and easy,

I wade across this pool of blue velvet between my toes.

A somber soul am I, desperate and pleading.

And sands that hardly seem to soothe when skies turn red and rose

I find no comfort even in deep skies of red and rose

(After that verse, the lights begin to brighten, showing dawn, as AYLIN appears with wood. She sets it down before moving behind a rock, pulling out more wood, as MUSE sings the second verse, this time as if she is attempting to speak to AYLIN)

A settled mind I have, not constrained or addled,

I set my sail through countless waves that pull me back to tide.

A darker mind I have, where bliss cannot be saddled,

Until I find horizons gray that can serve a better life

Yes, with clouds and rain still, grayer skies can serve a better life

(During that verse, AYLIN attempts to build a raft, curses at her failure, and sits on the sand, looking above the audience plaintively)

A colder heart I fear, stone-like and forbidding

Of father’s hand and mother’s lips upon my aching brow.

A broken heart I fear, in growth that has no ridding,

Familiar faces wait to kiss me when I come back, but how?

Soul, mind, and heart deplore it, I will come back…but how?

(AYLIN eventually begins to quietly cry as MUSE and the MUSICIAN walk out of sight. FAIGEL appears behind AYLIN, out of breath)

FAIGEL. Finally found you.

(AYLIN doesn’t respond. FAIGEL walks over to her)

FAIGEL. Aylin.

AYLIN. Go away.

FAIGEL. Aylin, c’mon. (No answer) Is this the raft you were trying to build? It’ll never float the way you’re doing it. (Still no answer) You know, I tried building things once. Well, not building, whittling. I was never that great with a knife, though. But I was able to make a flute for Jenci once. (Still no answer before she takes the flint knife from her side and looks at it) Hey, maybe we can take some of this wood and work on it? I can make you a little something, y’know, like a trinket or –

AYLIN. Stop it!

(Silence)

FAIGEL. Aylin…

AYLIN. Just give me your lecture and leave me alone.

FAIGEL. I’m not going to lecture you.

AYLIN. Well, I’d rather have you lecture me than have Jarek hit me again.

FAIGEL. You mean he actually hit you?

AYLIN. Yeah.

FAIGEL. I thought he just threatened you. Here. Let me see.

(AYLIN exposes her left shoulder to FAIGEL)

AYLIN. He almost broke my shoulderblade.

FAIGEL. Oh, Aylin…

AYLIN. He’s a monster. He’s changed so much since we’ve gotten older.

FAIGEL. Changed how?

AYLIN. You really don’t remember, do you?

FAIGEL. My memory’s always been pretty fuzzy.

AYLIN. No. It wasn’t. Not before we got here.

FAIGEL. I’ll go tell the others I found you. Just stay put. Please. (Stands up and starts to walk away)

AYLIN. We came here by boat. On a cruise ship. With our parents.

FAIGEL. (Turns around) What?

AYLIN. Jenci and Jarek would always roughhouse with me. Their father would just laugh it off, saying boys will be boys, enjoying his martini at the bar counter. And you’d go swimming with your mother, in the heated indoor pools they have on those ships.

FAIGEL. I’ve always liked swimming.

AYLIN. And dancing. I know. You’ve loved dancing ever since you were young.

FAIGEL. (Kneels beside AYLIN) Aylin, where are you trying to go with this?

AYLIN. I want to see if any of this rings a bell. Some of this has to sound familiar.

FAIGEL. You keep trying to push all these memories on all of us. What if these are just…fabricated? What if they’re not real?

AYLIN. C’mon. Think! We sang karaoke together. We sang a Beatles song.

FAIGEL. …Was it “Yesterday”?

AYLIN. Yes. Yes! You remember!

(FAIGEL hums “Yesterday,” and AYLIN hums along until they start giggling)

FAIGEL. Wow. I can’t believe I didn’t remember that.

AYLIN. So you believe me?

FAIGEL. Yeah…kind of. Were Jenci and Jarek always brothers?

AYLIN. Of course. They already look so alike.

FAIGEL. And me?

AYLIN. Only child. So was I. Our parents knew each other from school.

FAIGEL. So all four of us knew each other?

AYLIN. Yeah.

FAIGEL. Way before we were here?

AYLIN. Way, way before.

FAIGEL. What…why can’t I remember this? Why can’t I remember any of this?

AYLIN. That’s the way it is. Paradise. That cruise was meant to be a paradise. I remember that’s what the flyer for the cruise said. Mom and Dad loved the idea of bringing the whole gang together.

FAIGEL. But what happened? (AYLIN starts to falter) Aylin, what happened?

AYLIN. I’m sorry. I can’t.

FAIGEL. Please, Aylin. You know I care about you. You can trust me with anything.

AYLIN. Faigel…

FAIGEL. Aylin, I can’t even remember my own parents! Help me!

(As AYLIN speaks, four young NATIVES emerge, posing as the four children dancing and reacting)

AYLIN. …There was a storm one night. A bad one. Our parents told us to stay in one room, and to pass the time we turned on music and danced. We were laughing and using the thunder as drums, the lightning as our spotlights like on a stage…

FAIGEL. We danced…yes, I remember now…

AYLIN. Jarek was so brave. When the ship started going out of control, he held onto Jenci and told him it was gonna be okay. But the waves were getting so bad and the ship signals weren’t being heard…and then…

(A flash of light sends the NATIVES screaming and careening around, and other NATIVES ad-lib their parents’ lines screaming out their children’s names, as well as the ship’s workers. AYLIN begins to scream, and as it all subsides, she is crying again, and FAIGEL is holding her)

FAIGEL. Aylin…Aylin…my little Aylin…

AYLIN. I woke up…a few feet away from the cliffs, and you guys were all beside me. And I thought you were dead. And the ship…it was gone. Everything was gone…everything was all gone!

FAIGEL. Aylin…shhh…it’s okay…it’s okay…

(As FAIGEL tries to comfort her, she quietly cries, and she stifles the crying by humming the song that the MUSE sang earlier. She nestles AYLIN’S head in her lap)

FAIGEL. We were friends our whole lives, weren’t we?

AYLIN. Jarek used to take us on adventures…he wasn’t mean back then, but he was always the leader. He and Jenci would get so competitive.

FAIGEL. We’d played soccer in the park…right? Am I right?

AYLIN. You’re remembering!

FAIGEL. I was always the goalie, because I had the best reflexes. I could jump just in time. And we’d always go to the backyard and light a fire on the barbecue, so we could roast marshmallows…

AYLIN. I always ate all the chocolate we had for s’mores…

FAIGEL. (Laughs weakly) And everything…just gone from my head!

AYLIN. Mom…Dad…

FAIGEL. Oh, God…

(After a pause)

FAIGEL. You think ignorance is bliss, Aylin?

AYLIN. Probably. I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to make you…

FAIGEL. No, no. It’s fine. At least now I know why you want to leave so much. You think…you think maybe our parents are still alive?

AYLIN. (Raises her head) Why do you think I’ve always wanted to go home? And even if they didn’t survive, we have aunts and uncles and grandparents. Probably wondering where we are.

FAIGEL. But do you really want to leave here?

AYLIN. I wouldn’t stay here even if it were the Garden of Eden.

FAIGEL. This is all…this is all so disorienting. My head’s just pounding right now.

AYLIN. I’m sorry.

FAIGEL. Don’t be sorry. It’s just…all this time, I thought the natives were our family…feeding us, sheltering us…but…it’s not home. It’s not our home.

AYLIN. We don’t belong here, Faigel.

FAIGEL. We really don’t.

(AYLIN pulls away from FAIGEL and they sit there for a while in silence)

AYLIN. I guess maybe we should go back.

FAIGEL. I don’t know if I want to.

(The lights go up, indicating sunrise)

AYLIN. (Looks up) Look at that! The sun’s coming up!

FAIGEL. It’s beautiful. Y’know, I don’t think I’ve looked at a sunset so much for years.

AYLIN. Yeah…

FAIGEL. You think if we follow the sun, we’ll be able to go home?

AYLIN. Oh my God, you, too?

FAIGEL. Yes. Yes! (Jumps up) Here, we can…we can re-assemble this. I’ll find some more wood and some rope. The natives should give us something.

AYLIN. (Stands up) What about Jenci and Jarek?

FAIGEL. Jenci will come around. If I can remember, he can.

AYLIN. But Jarek –

FAIGEL. I swear he won’t touch you. I won’t let him. (They embrace) Here, we’ll go find some driftwood. There should be some trees nearby.

AYLIN. Faigel –

FAIGEL. Aylin. Trust me. Let’s get out of here.

(As they run offstage, drums begin to start up as JAREK is heard offstage)

JAREK. (Offstage) Aylin! I’ll find you, I swear!

(End Sunrise)

Finale

(Starting immediately after Sunrise, the drums rise in a crescendo as the MUSICIAN plays furiously. The NATIVES race on and offstage in distorted dances as JAREK runs on and offstage, while JENCI, FAIGEL, and AYLIN – the latter two with driftwood occasionally – do the same. This goes on for some time before the four meet in the middle, freezing for a second before the remaining NATIVES run offstage)

JAREK. What are you doing?

(FAIGEL and AYLIN drop the wood as AYLIN attempts to back away. FAIGEL grabs her arm)

FAIGEL. Listen, Jarek. Before you do anything…

JAREK. Are you helping her? You’re trying to leave, too, aren’t you? Trying to do it without my noticing? (Pause) I said are you helping her?!

JENCI. Jarek, stop it! Faigel, what’s all this about?

FAIGEL. …Aylin’s been telling the truth.

(JAREK tries to approach, but JENCI stops him)

JENCI. No, Jarek.

FAIGEL. I found her on the coast. She talked to me. And I remember now. I remember things. Not everything, but things.

JAREK. I don’t believe this.

AYLIN. Just because you can’t remember it –

JAREK. Shut up!

AYLIN. (Takes JENCI’S hands) Jenci, do you remember when we raced all the way down to the lake one time, and I fell and skinned my knee? And Jarek kept laughing at me, but you helped me up?

JENCI. What?

FAIGEL. You always comforted Aylin with your songs. I told you, you could be a bard if you wanted to.

JENCI. What’s going on?

JAREK. I’ll tell you what’s going on. We’re all going home. Now.

FAIGEL. Actually, that’s exactly what Aylin and I had in mind.

JAREK. I don’t believe this! You’re agreeing with this insanity!

AYLIN. It’s sad because you didn’t use to be like this, Jarek.

JAREK. You say one more thing and I swear to God –

JENCI. I said stop it, Jarek!

JAREK. …Excuse me?

JENCI. I am sick of you threatening Aylin. You can be as father-like as you want, but you will not threaten her! Now, Aylin…what are you trying to tell us?

AYLIN. I just wanted to see if you could remember. Here. Listen. (Sings) If fathers were fools and mothers were merry, and we picked blackberries and danced in the sun…

JENCI. (Sings) Then the world would be just a little nicer for everyone…I remember that song. Who wrote it?

AYLIN. You did!

JENCI. …Oh, yeah! Wow, when did I write it?

AYLIN. When you were ten. You always liked singing. Jarek hated that so much.

JAREK. What?

JENCI. (Sings) If I were a rich man, I begged, or I cobbled, or I was an old man who slept through the day, I guess the night would be much better, anyway. (As he finishes, he laughs) Oh my God! This is amazing!

AYLIN. Now do you remember?

JENCI. Well, that much, at least. Why couldn’t I think of it before? Jarek, c’mon, you gotta see what’s happening!

JAREK. Are you kidding me?

AYLIN. Remember when you were young, Jarek, you always sparred with Jenci, and you used to always lose?

JAREK. Stop it!

FAIGEL. It’s funny because Jarek’s gotten so big since.

JENCI. (Laughs) I remember that! It’s getting clearer the more we talk about it!

FAIGEL. And that one night we tried to go camping out in the woods, and someone thought it’d be a good idea to tell Jarek a ghost story…

JENCI. Jarek was mumbling incantations to ward them off the whole night! And we all kept trying to scare him!

(The three laugh before doing their spooky ghost impressions before dancing and laughing. JAREK angrily slams his stick against the stage. They look at him)

JAREK. How nostalgic. So all of you remember the nice little things about home.

FAIGEL. Jarek?

JAREK. Or maybe it’s because you’ve forgotten every single bad thing, too. Like the fact that our families couldn’t afford hearty meals or provide everything we ever wanted. (After a beat, with everyone staring) I was not a spoiled kid, but I knew that we could have more if we looked harder. When we went exploring, trying to find new lands. Well, we found one, didn’t we?

JENCI. You remember?

JAREK. Everything. You think Aylin’s the only one? I remember everything. That cruise was the only vacation we ever had as a group. Our parents saved up for it for years. And it brought us here.

AYLIN. You liar! You tricked us into thinking that never happened! You made me look like I was crazy when everything started coming back to me!

JAREK. Yes, I did! I lied! Okay? Because we don’t have to go back there ever again! All those fun memories you have from back then are nothing compared to what we have here. What we can have here!

JENCI. But why would you lie to us, Jarek?

JAREK. This place is heaven! All of it! We have everything here! We sing here. We dance here. We explore here. We laugh here. We have done everything we did before we got here, but without any worries or cares in the world! And apparently that’s not good enough for Aylin, now is it?

AYLIN. It’s not home.

JAREK. But it’s perfect here!

AYLIN. But it’s not home!

FAIGEL. (Clearing the tension) Jarek, we may be able to live comfortably here, and without any problems. But you can’t deny that we will always be strangers in this place. And it’s done things to us.

JAREK. What are you talking about?

FAIGEL. You never used to treat Aylin the way you do now! This place is changing you, Jarek. It’s changing all of us, and it’s scary. Something’s always been in the wind that’s made us all so restless. I’m sure we’ve all noticed it. All of us.

JENCI. Maybe it’d be better if we left, Jarek.

JAREK. Excuse me?

JENCI. I said we should leave. Faigel’s right. Aylin’s right. This island doesn’t belong to us. It’s like everything here is changing who we are, and it’s destroying our memories, too. It knows we’re strangers. It knows we don’t belong here. The natives know, too. And they’re watching us change and forget everything that we used to be.

FAIGEL. It’s true. We can’t afford to stay any longer. Otherwise we could lose everything about our pasts. And I don’t want that, Jarek. That’s the last thing I want.

AYLIN. Please. Let’s go home. Let’s all go home.

(JAREK is about to cry but screams instead)

JAREK. You ruined everything, Aylin! Everything!

(He charges at AYLIN as JENCI stops him and grabs his walking stick. As the two grapple, AYLIN and FAIGEL rush to the side of the stage, where FAIGEL holds AYLIN protectively. JENCI finally wrenches the stick out of JAREK’S grip and breaks it in half over his knee. In response, JAREK attacks JENCI and they begin to fight)

FAIGEL. Jarek! Jenci! Stop it!

JAREK. I’m gonna kill you for that!

(JENCI is able to throw JAREK to the ground as FAIGEL runs over to help him. As FAIGEL deals with JENCI, JAREK is able to break away in time to catch up with AYLIN before she can run away. He begins to pummel her, even slamming her head against the stage. JENCI and FAIGEL notice and run over)

FAIGEL. Jarek! No!

AYLIN. Help! Faigel, help me!

JAREK. (Pulls AYLIN up) I am not going back there! Do you hear me? None of us are going back and no one’s gonna know about this place! No one! (Slams her down and begins to kick her) You hear me? Do you hear me? We are not going back! Say we’re not going back! Say it! Say it!

(JENCI is able to pull JAREK off her as FAIGEL helps AYLIN up. All seems calm until JAREK jumps over, grabs FAIGEL’S knife from her side, and begins to stab AYLIN repeatedly with it. He shouts ad-libbed lines recycled from his last rant as he continues to stab her, as FAIGEL and JENCI can only watch in horror. When he finally finishes, out of breath, FAIGEL screams before rushing to AYLIN’S side, taking the girl in her arms and cradling her. JENCI stands over JAREK, staring down at him)

JAREK. I…she…she was going to ruin everything. She was going to take everything away. You guys know that, right? Right? …Please, don’t look at me like that. I was trying to help.

(As he pleads, the NATIVES, GRIMM, and SILVERS all enter to look down at JAREK, watching silently)

JAREK. (Breaking down) Please! I wanted us to be happy. I wanted everything to be perfect! (Lapsing into sobbing) I wanted…I wanted us to be happy…!

(He breaks down into helpless sobbing as FAIGEL sings quietly to AYLIN, The NATIVES quietly go over to FAIGEL and help her lift up AYLIN. One NATIVE checks AYLIN’S wounds, and the group carries her off as JENCI and FAIGEL follow, leaving JAREK sobbing on the stage with GRIMM and SILVERS looking at him. JAREK looks up at them only to see GRIMM light his pipe and SILVERS begin to play her ocarina. They link arms and walk offstage, leaving JAREK in the growing sunlight.

The lights come up on the backdrop, washing the stage in bright light. The MUSICIAN is playing to SILVERS’ ocarina, and the MUSE is silent. The MUSICIAN turns to look at her. She shakes her head. He takes her hand and they leave the stage, leaving the broken behind. End Finale)

FIN

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