ACT I

Scene 1

Railway trail in Ferry Reach. HUSBAND and WIFE walking their dog along the Railway trail in Ferry Reach. WIFE is talking idly but HUSBAND seems distracted, feigning interest but not listening. Eventually:

Wife

Are you listening to me? 

WIFE turns attention to dog off stage.

Dante! Dante! Come back here boy! Dante!

To HUSBAND

I'm going to go get the dog - Snap out of it. I don't like you in these moods.

Husband 

[distracted] hmm? Oh. Ok, I'll catch you on the way back again.

WIFE Exits. HUSBAND stands staring out at the water. Eventually an OLD MAN with a fishing rod walks by.

Old man 

Good morning.

Husband 

[distracted] Good morning.

HUSBAND Turns back to look at the ocean. OLD MAN watches him for a while.

Old man 

Where they biting today?

Husband 

I'm not much of a fisherman, just walk my dog out here.

Old man 

Of course. Of course. You must be busy. Must have a lot on your mind.

Husband 

Not really... [moves to leave]

Old man 

[quickly] I saw a Longtail down that way today...

Husband 

Must mean spring.

Old man 

Mmm. The Longtails nest down there, but that spring thing is garbage. I know of this Longtail bird that was born in those ledges over the water. It was well cared for by its mother bird and well fed and loved and protected and happy - You mind if I tell you something?

Husband 

Uh, sure. Sure, go ahead.

Old man 

It learned a lot from its mother bird and the stories she'd tell about the times she had flown far across the island and far across the ocean and of all the birds she had met and the adventures she had had and the things she had seen. And he was happy to watch the other birds fly from their nests from the safety of his, and although he never left it, he felt full and secure and content. Understand?

Husband 

Uh, yeah.

Old man 

Eventually the weather got colder and the rain came more frequently and his mother bird tried to get him to leave and to fly across the ocean to wherever the Longtails go after summer, but he didn't...he couldn't. He just sat there and watched as the other birds flew. And I saw him - and it never meant spring.

Husband 

I think they mean the first one returning. That one that you saw never left...

Old man 

That's right. I guess you are right. People leave everyday but never really go anywhere.

Husband 

I'm not sure what you are talking about -

Old man 

I knew this young man who had a talent....A real talent...and he left the island to follow it.

Husband 

Listen my wife is... [moves to leave]

Old man 

[Continues on] He found a small apartment and worked away night and day until it was full of his paintings... Are you listening to me?

Husband 

A painter, yes. A painter who left the island.

Old man 

That's right. People who saw his work were shocked and they liked it. And inspired and they wanted it. But he worked and he worked, creating more and more pieces - never parting with any - People would stop by and tell him to do something with it; a show, a sale, a gift, but he didn't feel it was ready, and not quite right and he worked and worked until he had to hop from space to space in his apartment to avoid his collection. He worked and worked until the canvasses piled high past his windows and darkened his room and then there weren't any friends to come and ask about the painting and then there wasn't anyone to call and there wasn't anyone to even look at it - except him...Long after the end, he carried on painting - never realising he was even doing it. Never realising it was already gone.

Husband 

I don't understand. What were we talking about? What is it you want from me?

Old man 

Want from you? Nothing. Nothing. Just to listen.

Husband 

[getting unsettled] Look, this isn't making any sense. I have to get going...

Old man 

Then there was that girl...

Husband 

Girl?

Old man 

Yes. She always wanted to be independent.

Husband 

What girl...?

Old man 

She never wanted to settle down, always wanted to take care of herself.

Husband 

Alright. Alright. What about her?

Old man 

You'd remember her, she was really something. She worked hard in school and was focused and determined and went on to work in one of those big companies.  She never took many risks, but she took pride in her work and the status it gave her as free and independent...Unattached...Hey! Focus....listen!

Husband 

Yes.

Old man 

Her life was going by just fine until she met a man who was nothing like her and nothing to her and really not important at the start - but he wanted her. And she had an image to uphold and life that she built and a direction and a goal and he didn't fit in it, but he pursued and closed in and won, and when the chase was over...

Husband 

Yes.

Old man 

When the chase was over, he lost interest. And moved on. And she had made room for him, but that space was now empty. And now that it was created, the space would remain until somebody filled it. And she wondered why this episode had happened in her once stable life - and she wondered what it all meant.

Husband 

Why are you saying this to me? Why are you telling me this?

Old man 

It meant nothing.

Husband 

Of course it meant nothing. It was all just some fun...

Old man 

The story. The story meant nothing at all.

Husband 

I have to get going...

Old man 

What about the kids?

Husband 

I don't have any kids.

Old man 

The kids in the university.

Husband 

[more agitated] This is ridiculous... ...

Old man 

It was late and it was warm and they were sitting off and talking and they were young and alive and ready to do something in the world.

Husband 

[attempting to get by] I'm leaving...

Old man 

[faster and more surreal, almost lyrical and rhythmic] One said he'd be a lawyer and try the big cases and help those in need and stop all the pain.

Husband 

[Shuts eyes and counts down] Three...

Old man 

One said he'd be a teacher, and teach all the truths and shape the young minds and mould all the future.

Husband 

Two...

Old man 

One said he'd be a soldier, and lead the young men to the fight and the glory and to stop all the hatred and end violence with violence. And one...

Husband 

[exasperated] One!

Old man 

One didn't say a word.

Silence.

Old man 

[slower, softer] I have a drawer in a cabinet in my room that is filled with nothing but stones. I collect one stone a day and choose one for the week and then one for each month - and take one from each month to choose one for the year, and I keep it as the best one I've got. I put it in my drawer with the other best stones from each previous year and sometimes I take them out to look at them and walk around with them, just knocking about against each other in the warmth of my pocket. Sometimes I'd wonder if I was just a stone in the drawer of a cabinet in someone's room - taken out - walked around - knocking against other stones inside a warm pocket. Sometimes I'd wonder if I was the stone that made the month but never got chosen for the year.

Husband 

Which was I?

Old man 

A stone. Either way. A stone.

Husband 

[quietly] It's time to go, isn't it.

Old man 

What did you like the best?

Husband 

The dreams.

WIFE returns and screams.