MAE DAY Scene: Garden in morning. Rain falls for the first time in three weeks. Mae feels the pat-pat-pat of drops. MAE: What is this on my head? It's so wet! My hair is beautifully wound and will not appreciate this sudden assault. (The water drips from her hair.) Now it's running down my face. Wait, I seem to be rising. What's happening to me? (The wind picks up. Leaves rustle nearby.) MAE: The soil's warmth is waning. This air, there is something so strange about it. I feel I need to breathe. In-out, in-out. (as Mae breathes for the first time, pieces of fruit begin to appear in her hair.) MAE: My head is bulging! What are these bumps? (Mae looks around frantically and catches her reflection in a puddle of rain.) A juicy orange? A ripe banana? Ah, and a tangy pineapple beside a crisp apple. How wonderful to produce such delights! (The clouds break. The sun shines through and brightens the garden.) NARRATOR: (as Mae rises) Cells divide. A torso rises. Cells divide. Stumps resolve into arms. Fingers twitch. Hands clench. Cells divide. Rinds form. Vines merge with legs. (Mae begins to stand on her own.) MAE: (Looks down at her body with sudden realization.) I have waxed from the confines of clay into an unrestricted rapture. (Exit Mae.)
submitted by Laura Breshears & Heather Klopotek,
|