Twilight

19 Twilight Dominic Boyer Curtain opens to reveal a small clearing surrounded by rocks somewhere in the wilderness. Three figures are huddled around a fire. ONE gets up and squints at the horizon. ONE Can you tell yet? TWO stands impassively, arms crossed, shaking their head. ONE (cont’d) How about you? THREE steps quickly forward to the edge of the clearing, gazing into the distance and opens their mouth before closing it again. Stands on their tiptoes. 261 solarities THREE Ok, yes, I think I can definitely make out that… Well, actually, no. ONE (a bit tense) It has to be one way or the other, doesn’t it? How much longer are we supposed to wait? ONE turns accusingly toward TWO. ONE (cont’d) Would it kill you to say something, anything? Your silence is stressing everyone out. TWO rolls their eyes, turns away. ONE throws their hands up and stalks to the other side of clearing. THREE tries to calm the situation down. THREE What we know is that we’re the children of light or the children of darkness. We’re on the verge of something. In other words, we’re dawning or dusking right now. ONE and TWO are unmoved, backs still facing each other. THREE (cont’d) And, my feeling, and it’s no secret, is that we are dawning. 262 twilight ONE (over their shoulder) And what’s your evidence for that conclusion might I ask? THREE Well the birds are singing for one thing. ONE I don’t hear any birds. THREE If you weren’t talking so loudly you could hear them. They listen for a moment. ONE That’s a bat if it’s anything. THREE Well then, look at how the sky is brightening. You know how the sky swells with light just before dawn. The blackness shimmers and turns silver gray. And that’s just the beginning of the whole crepuscular spectacular. First purples and indigos wash across the horizon… ONE (shaking their head) Stories and dreams. 263 solarities THREE (growing increasingly enraptured) And then the first flickers of salmon and dusky orange play across the horizon, the opening credits of a new day. It’s not long now until the sweet plantain light comes and finally daybreak! The sun itself, slicing the belly of the sky, lustrous rays searing the heavens! ONE None of that is there! Please stop with this lunatic fantasy. THREE slumps. THREE I wish it were memory. ONE We can’t see anything because of these rocks. And the smoke from the fire. At least I can do something about that. ONE spins and walks purposefully to the fire, trying to dramatically stomp it out but they keep getting singed and retreat. Their efforts get more dramatic and slapstick and it isn’t long before they are rolling on the ground trying to extinguish the fire while avoiding being burned. TWO turns around and walks swiftly over to ONE pulling them away from the fire. TWO All you’re doing is spreading the fire and smoke around. Now we really can’t see what’s going on. 264 twilight ONE, singed and disheveled, sits up and pants. ONE Oh, now you can talk. So what’s your big idea? TWO ambles away. TWO We wait. ONE How brilliant. How decisive. We’ve been doing nothing but waiting and watching for I don’t know how long. THREE lets out an existential sigh. THREE I’m so depressed. TWO We wait to see if it’s real this time. There have been so many false dawns and fake dusks. I’m not getting worked up about another one. ONE Because your sensitive soul can’t handle another disappointment. I get it. But you appall me. TWO shrugs and ambles away to the edge of the clearing, back to the horizon. ONE (cont’d) Control freak! Coward! 265 solarities THREE rolls over on to their belly and let’s out another loud sigh. THREE We’re doomed. ONE Don’t let that idiot over there get you down. We’re going to try something else. We have to keep trying, right? THREE sits up quickly. THREE I’m in! ONE begins stalking around the clearing. THREE begins following them, imitating them unconsciously. ONE Okay we really can’t tell what’s happening because of the smoke, right? THREE And the rocks. ONE Right, also the rocks. And we know that we’re either facing dawn or dusk. One or the other, for sure. THREE And the world is always turning toward the morning. I heard a bird. ONE gives THREE a skeptical glance. 266 twilight ONE What we need … is a higher altitude! THREE And a better attitude! ONE begins to run manically around the clearing again, trying, unsuccessfully, to scramble up the rocks. THREE follows behind trying too, only with less skill and energy. ONE You know, what I would give for nature just this once to be on our side! THREE Oh God, we’re working so hard for this tragedy. ONE Not hard enough evidently. ONE pauses to catch their breath but then snaps their fingers. ONE (cont’d) I’ve got it. It was so obvious the whole time. We’ll build a pyramid. THREE Yes! A pyramid so one of us can rise high enough to see what is going on. ONE (looking around) We don’t have a lot to work with here. We’ll use our bodies. 267 solarities ONE goes over to TWO and gently coaxes them back to the center of the clearing. ONE (cont’d) We can’t do this without you. TWO Fine. But I’m not doing very much. ONE Fine. Just stand there, will you. THREE I should be on top. I have the best vision. ONE maneuvers THREE next to TWO and begins to climb up their backs. ONE But you can’t be trusted. You are constantly seeing and hearing things. ONE clambers unsteadily to the top of the human pyramid, standing up, looking to the distance. TWO Is it me or is it getting darker? THREE It’s only darker before the dawn. ONE Just lift me a little higher. I’m almost there. TWO and THREE struggle to lift ONE even higher. 268 twilight ONE (cont’d) Higher! As high as you can, lift me! I’m seeing something now. The unsteady pyramid sways and then collapses into a tangle of limbs and moans. Recovering, THREE grabs ONE and shakes them. THREE Tell us! What did you see? ONE (breathless but with a strange air of confidence) Twilight! Curtain 269