{"id":942,"date":"2012-02-06T00:55:02","date_gmt":"2012-02-06T00:55:02","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/mtls.ca\/issue9\/?page_id=942"},"modified":"2012-02-06T00:55:02","modified_gmt":"2012-02-06T00:55:02","slug":"lisa-twardowska","status":"publish","type":"page","link":"https:\/\/mtls.ca\/issue9\/writings\/drama\/lisa-twardowska\/","title":{"rendered":"Lisa Twardowska"},"content":{"rendered":"

Aftermath <\/strong><\/h1>\n

Characters<\/strong><\/p>\n

Kora:<\/strong> Early 20s. Smart and strong-willed. Possesses a gravitas beyond her years.<\/p>\n

Him\/Miller:<\/strong> 30 – 45 years old. A former civil servant, he is also a white supremacist.<\/p>\n

Child:<\/strong> 4 – 5 years old. Kora\u2019s older sister\u2019s daughter.<\/p>\n

Zita:<\/strong> A woman of indeterminate middle age. Embittered by life. Emboldened by circumstance.<\/p>\n

Amal:<\/strong> 25 – 35 years old. Was an engineer in his homeland; here, he runs an electronics store.<\/p>\n

Max:<\/strong> A psychologist, between 40 – 50 years old.<\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/strong><\/p>\n

[The not too distant future, soon after an event that should have caused the end of the world. A tangle of bombed out concrete structures with talons of rebar reaching into the sky. It is quiet. A young woman in ragged clothing is scavenging in what could be the ruins of a library. She is humming. She finds something of interest – a book, and begins reading from it.]<\/p>\n

Kora:<\/strong> \u00a0In 1945, between February 13th and February 15th, the city of Dresden was bombed. The city had little military value; it was of no threat to anyone. It held mostly civilians, refugees, and wounded soldiers, and was thought of as a place of rich culture. Publications estimate the death toll as 24,000 to 40,000. An exact number is impossible because the temperature was so hot that people just disintegrated.<\/em><\/p>\n

It\u2019s an intriguing story. I find myself very interested. Do you think it\u2019s worth anything?\u00a0 [She tosses the book away and picks up another.] Now this\u2026 this might be worth something.<\/p>\n

Susanna ached for him. Her hunger grew to ravenous lust. She felt wet below. A smile crossed his face. He was enjoying this. He nibbled at each breast, taking his time tasting and touching each one.<\/em><\/p>\n

[Suddenly she is aware of the presence of another person].<\/p>\n

Hey who\u2019s there? I hear you. Don\u2019t think I don\u2019t.<\/p>\n

Him: \u00a0\u00a0 Dirty gypsy. [He spits.]<\/p>\n

Kora:<\/strong>\u00a0\u00a0 This is my spot. Get lost.<\/p>\n

Him: \u00a0\u00a0 I\u2019m not going anywhere<\/p>\n

Kora:<\/strong> \u00a0 Find your own spot. [Beat. He stands there. She glowers at him]<\/p>\n

Him: \u00a0\u00a0 Cat got your tongue, dirty gypsy.<\/p>\n

Kora:<\/strong> \u00a0 I\u2019m not dirty.<\/p>\n

Him: \u00a0\u00a0 Oh you\u2019re dirty. You\u2019re a filthy gypsy whore. Look around. No one\u2019s got your back. Or maybe I\u2019ve got your back<\/p>\n

Kora:<\/strong> \u00a0 You\u2019re not the first one. I\u2019ve killed bigger ones than you.<\/p>\n

[He rummages around, taking what he wants of whatever he can find lying around in this bombed out library]<\/p>\n

Him: \u00a0\u00a0 You talk big little girl. No one owns this. I\u2019ll take whatever I damn well want. You won\u2019t do anything to attract attention. Sure a feisty thing like you doesn\u2019t need any protection? A little thing like you, here all alone? Sure, I bet you want a friend.<\/p>\n

Kora:<\/strong> \u00a0 I don\u2019t want anything from you.<\/p>\n

Him: \u00a0\u00a0 You\u2019ll want it when I say you do [she starts to yell]. Shut your mouth or I\u2019ll shut if for you.<\/p>\n

Kora:<\/strong> \u00a0 Hel..<\/p>\n

[He stifles her cry by pinning her and covering her mouth. She kicks, fights, tires herself out and then is still, as if the life has drained out.]<\/p>\n

Him: \u00a0\u00a0 You\u2019re going to do whatever I want, you understand puppet. Take off your shirt. Take it off or I\u2019ll take it off for you<\/p>\n

Kora:<\/strong> \u00a0 You\u2019ll be sorry.<\/p>\n

Him: \u00a0\u00a0 Now.<\/p>\n

Kora:<\/strong> \u00a0 I\u2019ll kill you I swear.<\/p>\n

Him: \u00a0\u00a0 Now. [he rips at her shirt]<\/p>\n

Kora:<\/strong> \u00a0 No. No, no, no.<\/p>\n

Him:\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 Skirt.<\/p>\n

Kora:<\/strong> \u00a0 No.<\/p>\n

[He presses against her windpipe, starting to strangle her]<\/p>\n

Him: \u00a0\u00a0 Now.<\/p>\n

[He rapes her, pushes her aside and continues perusing the rubble for anything of value.]<\/p>\n

Him: \u00a0\u00a0 [He takes a book from her satchel.] Useless. [He keeps it.] You shouldn\u2019t be out here alone. What did I tell you? It\u2019s not safe. You should join us \u2013 we\u2019re over by the old parliament, under the bridge. It\u2019s a good spot. It\u2019s protected. Come? [beat]<\/p>\n

I think you\u2019d really enjoy it.\u00a0 No? I can\u2019t see why you would ever want to leave this paradise over here. What\u2019s your name? Didn\u2019t anyone teach you any manners, I said what\u2019s your name?<\/p>\n

Kora:<\/strong> \u00a0 Kora<\/p>\n

Him: \u00a0\u00a0 Kora. Well, it\u2019s your choice, Kora [as if tasting her name].\u00a0 If you change your mind, you\u2019ll know where to find me.<\/p>\n

[He leaves. She lies there for a bit, and then starts to pick herself up. There is a rumble in the distance, machine gun fire, then quiet. A soft cry. She gingerly makes her way through the mess to a young child hiding in the rubble.]<\/p>\n

Kora:<\/strong> \u00a0 Did the guns wake you up?<\/p>\n

Child:<\/strong>\u00a0 No<\/p>\n

Kora:<\/strong> \u00a0 Were you listening? [The child puts her arms around Kora.]<\/p>\n

Kora:<\/strong> \u00a0 Shh. It\u2019s ok.<\/p>\n

Child:<\/strong> I wanted to come out but I was scared.<\/p>\n

Kora:<\/strong> \u00a0 You did the right thing. I was worried that he might find you. You must promise me, promise, to hide. If anyone comes around, you must hide so that they can\u2019t find you. No matter what they are doing to me. Do you promise?<\/p>\n

Child:<\/strong> But he was hurting you.<\/p>\n

Kora:<\/strong> \u00a0 It doesn\u2019t matter. I am older, and bigger than you. See? It\u2019s my job to protect you. For now, you need to be safe. You need to stay alive.<\/p>\n

Child:<\/strong> Someday I will protect you. [beat] Tell me a story about before. How it used to be.<\/p>\n

Kora:<\/strong> \u00a0 You\u2019ve heard my stories a million times.<\/p>\n

Child:<\/strong> Please.<\/p>\n

Kora:<\/strong> \u00a0 Which one do you want to hear?<\/p>\n

Child:<\/strong> One about my mother.<\/p>\n

Kora:<\/strong> \u00a0 Again? Are you sure\u2026 How should I start?<\/p>\n

Child:<\/strong>\u00a0 Once upon a time.<\/p>\n

[Snap to black.]<\/p>\n

[A bunker.\u00a0 There is a group of people warming themselves around a small fire.]<\/p>\n

Zita:<\/strong>\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 It\u2019s not a question of politics. I\u2019m talking about basic survival here.<\/p>\n

Max:<\/strong> \u00a0\u00a0 But you can\u2019t deny that we have some responsibility in this. We have a choice as to how we respond now, even if we did nothing before, now it is time.<\/p>\n

Amal:<\/strong>\u00a0 So you want to play the philosopher king?<\/p>\n

Zita:<\/strong>\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 Exactly. This is no place for your existentialist ethics. We are well beyond that. We have to eat, and it doesn\u2019t matter whose mouth we take it from.<\/p>\n

Amal:<\/strong>\u00a0 Let them eat cake.<\/p>\n

Max:<\/strong>\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 That doesn\u2019t make any sense.<\/p>\n

Amal:<\/strong>\u00a0 I know what I said. Bleeding heart liberal bootlicker.<\/p>\n

Zita:<\/strong>\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 Always nattering on at one another, why don\u2019t you just fuck each other and get on with it. [A man enters, it is Him.] Where the fuck have you been? We were getting ready to send out a search party.<\/p>\n

Miller\/Him:<\/strong>\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 Out.<\/p>\n

Zita:<\/strong>\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 Out. That\u2019s it? [beat] Did you find anything?<\/p>\n

Miller:<\/strong> Oh, I found something. Firewood. [He tosses a book at her.] A library full of it.<\/p>\n

Max:<\/strong>\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 You can\u2019t burn that.<\/p>\n

Miller:<\/strong> Watch me. [He throws another book on the fire.]<\/p>\n

Max:<\/strong>\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 There\u2019s rubbish everywhere, you don\u2019t have to burn the last remnants of the world as we know it.<\/p>\n

Miller:<\/strong> I\u2019ve got news for you: this is it. Might as well forget about how things used to be and dig in.\u00a0 Oh, I guess we can hold off on your precious books and stick to furniture and corpses for the time being. But there\u2019s plenty where this came from.<\/p>\n

Max:<\/strong>\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 You\u2019re sick. It\u2019s almost as if\u2026<\/p>\n

Miller:<\/strong> What.<\/p>\n

Max:<\/strong>\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 As if you were enjoying this.<\/p>\n

Miller:<\/strong> There\u2019s no time like the present. There\u2019s a girl over there, picking around where I found the books.<\/p>\n

Zita:<\/strong>\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 She didn\u2019t want to come back with you?<\/p>\n

Miller:<\/strong> No. I think she was looking for something. There\u2019s a creek over there too. No power, no running water, no signal. Nothing. Don\u2019t know why she stays. I told her where she could find us.<\/p>\n

Zita:<\/strong>\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 Good man.<\/p>\n

Amal:<\/strong>\u00a0 Another one of us. That makes seven, then. In the whole wide world. As far as the eye can see.<\/p>\n

Max:<\/strong>\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 That\u2019s impossible. We can\u2019t be the only survivors.<\/p>\n

Zita:<\/strong>\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 We can\u2019t be, but we are. We must behave as though we are. We can\u2019t hope that someone\u2019s coming to save us, there is no evidence. It isn\u2019t even clear what caused those explosions in the first place.<\/p>\n

Max:<\/strong>\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 I\u2019m not looking for a savior. I just don\u2019t want to forget who I am.<\/p>\n

Miller:<\/strong> We are starting from scratch here, Max baby. Welcome to the new world order.<\/p>\n

[Fade lights.]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Aftermath Characters Kora: Early 20s. Smart and strong-willed. Possesses a gravitas beyond her years. Him\/Miller: 30 – 45 years old. A former civil servant, he is also a white supremacist. Child: 4 – 5 years old. Kora\u2019s older sister\u2019s daughter. Zita: A woman of indeterminate middle age. Embittered by life. Emboldened by circumstance. Amal: 25 […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":4,"featured_media":0,"parent":362,"menu_order":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","template":"","meta":{"ngg_post_thumbnail":0,"footnotes":""},"class_list":["post-942","page","type-page","status-publish","hentry"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/mtls.ca\/issue9\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/942","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/mtls.ca\/issue9\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/mtls.ca\/issue9\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/page"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/mtls.ca\/issue9\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/4"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/mtls.ca\/issue9\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=942"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/mtls.ca\/issue9\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/942\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":943,"href":"https:\/\/mtls.ca\/issue9\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/942\/revisions\/943"}],"up":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/mtls.ca\/issue9\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/362"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/mtls.ca\/issue9\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=942"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}