Sea and Land and Sky by Abigail Docherty

Author:Abigail Docherty
Language: eng
Format: epub
Tags: ebook, book
ISBN: 9781408140574
Publisher: Bloomsbury Publishing
Published: 2019-11-23T00:00:00+00:00

Sky

1. The retreat.

Millicent and Ailsa. Tiny spot of light just on their faces. A private moment each.

Ailsa (diary) Diary

Millicent (diary) Diary

Ailsa (diary) Nurse Moffat

Millicent (diary) Me

Ailsa (diary) with the wounded maimed sick

Millicent (diary) Dawn. Dirt road. Carry

Ailsa (diary) Dawn in a ditch

Millicent (diary) what I can. Leave behind

Ailsa (diary) wash

Millicent (diary) half our equipment.

Ailsa (diary) my face in the ditch

Millicent (diary) I can’t help it,

Ailsa (diary) I weep into my hands

Millicent (diary) can’t carry it.

Ailsa (diary) I am so happy.

The light ‘opens’ to reveal Thomas pulling a cart packed with stuff. Ailsa and Millicent are sitting on the back of it. Ailsa has the two bodies with her. It is early evening. The cart moves at a desperately slow pace.

Millicent (to Thomas) We can stop now. (Listens.) I think. ( Jumps off the cart. Ailsa takes her bodies off the cart.) We could have used that space. To carry stuff. Important stuff. Food. Bandages.

Ailsa Human life

Millicent Stupid –

Ailsa is at a premium

Millicent bloody –

Ailsa human life comes first.

Millicent shakes her head, too exhausted to continue, sets to work lighting fire. Thomas approaches.

Thomas (to Ailsa) All right there Miss Loony?

Millicent Leave her alone.

Thomas (to Millicent) Just a thought, Nurse, but should you fancy a bit of you know what

behind the cart

loony girl won’t notice

Millicent No Thomas

Thomas I’m all, you know, Ready for Action

Millicent No Thomas

Thomas Standing to Attention

Millicent NO

Thomas Bet you’re wet as a daisy down there aren’t you

Millicent Keep away from me

Thomas When I was inside you

Felt like I was budding

Millicent Stay away from me

Thomas Just

for moment,

brief,

thought:

if I could always be inside that woman

I could be a better man

a gentleman, a charmer,

handle you across the street for ten years.

Hail hackney cabs, buy sweetmeats and feathers for you.

Bud inside you for a decade.

What do you say Nurse?

Millicent Disgusting

Thomas Not disgusting

Millicent Filthy

Thomas But you liked me

you liked my skin

Millicent Filthy skin

Thomas You wanted me

Millicent picks up a long stick from beside the fire. Jams it into

Thomas’s chest, holds him at arm’s length with it.

Millicent Stay

Thomas You sunk your hands into me

you liked it

Millicent Stay. (The stick forces Thomas to his knees.) Staaaaaaaaaaaay (non-plussed, he stays there). Good boy, good boy, stay!

It wasn’t you I liked Thomas

It wasn’t you

I wanted to die for a while

On your hook

That’s all it was

Do you understand?

A little death –

The word ‘death’ seems to raise Ailsa out of her stupor, she heaves herself up.

Ailsa That day that day they all came in

all of them; the boys and their dead;

they lay there, the dead, everywhere,

and we had to step over them.

You ignored them

you both ignored them

just because they’re dead doesn’t mean they don’t have

feelings.

You didn’t even stop and say hello.

Just because they’re dead doesn’t mean they don’t have a

decent need for a Good Morning.

If you put your ear close very close

you can hear the settling of their blood.

It’s beautiful.

Puts the bodies into the cart. Puts herself in the horse shaft.

It’s beautiful if only you were listening.

Ailsa pulls the cart, pulls and pulls. As she pulls she gives a cry of strength and then desperation.

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