Day 19
The Man and the Woman are in the platform of Lancaster station in London. They are both stressed and nervous. The Man is looking at the station clock, and the Woman is looking at him. It is late at night and the platform is almost empty. The Woman breaks the silence.
The Woman: Why are we here?
The Man: We’ve already discussed it.
The Woman: Listen! This is not a good Idea.
The Man: Have you changed your mind?
The Woman: Yes…No…. Listen…!
The Man: Please stop talking about it. We have made a decision, and we are going to do it.
The Woman: Right! But that was because we were both exhausted, depressed… Stop looking at that damn clock. It doesn’t work. it is not 10 to 10.
The Man: I know.
The Woman: So why don’t you stop looking at it?
The Man: Because I don’t dare to look at anything else.
The Woman: Look at me.
The Man: I can’t!
The Woman: We are both losers like our fathers. We are from the same material, the same roots. So, we can look into each other’s eyes without any fear, or feeling of humiliation.
The Man: …
The Woman: Please!
The Man: This has nothing to do with our being losers or winners.
The Woman: What is it, then?
The Man: If I look at you, I may change my mind.
The Woman: Maybe you should change your mind. Just think about what will happen after our death? We will be just a news item which will evaporate, will be forgotten in less than 24 hours. No one will remember us. We will be wiped out of the memory of the world.
The Man: We are not ending this nonsense to find a place in the memory of the world. We are doing it because we can’t live with each other, and we can’t live without each other. Am I wrong?
The Woman: I feel our fathers are like puppeteers pulling our strings, and we are like helpless puppets. Ending our lives by jumping on train tracks!? How did we come up with such an idea?
The Man: That was your idea.
The Woman: I was trapped…
The Man: Don’t you want to get rid of all those painful memories, nightmares and frustrations? Are you scared?
The Woman: I’m not…I’m … I don’t know…Please look at me…
The Man: It takes only a second. You won’t feel anything… Jumping and then…darkness…. Finally, that damned war will finish.
The Woman: The war finished years ago.
The Man: No! not yet…Look at us…
The Woman: Look at me…Look at my eyes. We may find other solutions.
The Man: Where is this fucking train?
The Woman: Please!
The Man: You can go if you want to. You are free to go. I’m done with this prison game, with everything.
The Woman: What about you? What will you do if I go….
The Man: I will do what I have to do. An Arab man never changes his decision, unlike Iranians!
The Woman: Iranians also don’t!
The Man: So, stay …and fulfil your duty.
The Woman: I no longer want to exact revenge on my father.
The Man: You said the opposite before leaving the basement. Did you say that just to bring me out?
The Woman: No! I didn’t.
The Man: Do you hear?! Train is coming.
The Woman: Listen! Now that we are on the edge of non-being, I no longer feel I need to punish my father. All the resentment, all the pent-up frustration has evaporated…OK! We will do it together but not now. Not tonight. We have to go over everything, to see what happened to us. We have to talk about the last 19 days. We had very different experiences in the last 19 days…. It was like a purgatory… We must sit down together again, not with rancour, not with exhaustion, but with calm and maturity to see what happened to us. Jumping into hell without reviewing the problems is not a solution; it is like escaping. I don’t want to escape anymore.
The Man: Is this your solution?
The Woman: Yes. If we die just one night later, nothing will change in the world.
The Man: Be ready! It is coming…
The Woman: Please, please don’t…
The Man steps forward. He takes the Woman’s hand, but still avoids her eyes.
The Woman: Look at me…
The Man:…
The Woman stops speaking but bring her other hands forward and presses his hand with both of her hands. The man turns and looks at her.
Darkness.
What a powerful end to this story! Thanks for an entertaining read - and for the great performance last week.