Violet and Bear A Play About Passions Scene 1 A park on a spring day, late in the afternoon. There is a park bench at Center Stage, and a bare tree Downstage Right. On the tree hangs one single decorative Christmas bulb. There is a crumpled newspaper caught under the tree. There are gates Upstage Left, which lead out of the park and onto a road. Outside of the gates are trash cans, with newspaper and rubbish spilling over the edges. Inside the gates, there are several dead plants. Lights come up first on the trash cans outside the gates. The deafening sound of traffic and city noise is heard. We see the tree, and then the MAN, at Center Stage. The sound of the traffic subsides, leaving radio static noise, and finally, only the sound of children playing in the distance. The MAN is wearing work-pants and work-boots with an artist's smock, tuxedo jacket and top hat, and sun-glasses, which cover his eyes. He is covered in dust and leaves, and is holding a cane. The sounds of the children have an effect on him. He sways. The WOMAN enters through the park gates. She is dressed in a little girl's summer clothing, and carries a bouquet of fresh violets, a pink vshawl, a blanket, and some food in a basket. She puts the basket on the bench, then attempts to plant some of her flowers in the ground, but they will not stay upright. She notices the MAN, but ignores him. Then, making a game over catching his eye, she approaches him cautiously. (Note: "Baby" music can be used to accompany the WOMAN's entrance, the moments when contact is made with the bulb on the tree, and the unwrapping of the gift at the end of the play.) WOMAN: I'm not the only one having a game today. Hello? Hello? Mister, can you hear me? Why are you standing all alone out here in the sun? Are you hot? Why don't you take off your hat? Feel the fresh air! It's springtime now. Would you like one of my fresh flowers? Yes, they are beautiful, I know. I am saving them for someone special ... but I can let you have just one! (She places a violet in his lapel.) It makes you look so handsome! (Laughs.) Do you know there's a flower in your lapel? Can you tell me what kind it is? (Whispering in his ear.) Do you care? What are you doing, swaying like that? They make you do it, don't they? The children laughing and playing? I can go over and tell them that you'd like your rest and could they please be quiet! Your lady has left you in a bad frame of mind, if you don't mind me saying. Can't handle the ups and downs of everyday living? Have to come here instead, hoping to catch someone else? Is that it? If you can't hear what I'm saying, then just shake your head three times, like that! (His head falls forward.) Are you having a game with me? Look at the sight of you! Head tilted this way and that! And your stick! You don't hold a walking stick in such a manner. It's not the fashion. A man walks with a cane like he's confident and he knows where he's going! (She takes three photographs out of her breast pocket, cycles through them, chooses one and compares it to him. She re-positions him as best she can.) There! Now, tell me you're not a man of the world! I bet you have a name, don't you? (Cycling the photographs in her hands.) There's Walton, and Xylten, and Yezelbib and Zezel and then we start again. Alvin and Bobby and Clifford and Donny and Edwin ... I'll put them back. Never to see the light of day again. (She puts two of the photos back in her own pocket, and puts one in the man's pocket. Sighs.) I can't be angry with you. It's no use. You look so calm and peaceful. Are you really asleep like that? (She notices the tree, at Down Stage Right.) Would you look at this? Almost bare! Who would have planted you here? Old and withered, -- you've got no leaves! Maybe someone planted this tree here at some time or 'nother because they thought it would grow big and strong! Look at you, poor thing! But the ground here is soft and sweet. My violets! (She runs to get them, and returns to the tree. She kneels down, as if to plant, but bumps the decoration on the tree.) MAN: Bump. WOMAN: (Shocked. Indignant.) I beg your pardon!! (The MAN hums in syncopation with the bulb's swaying. The WOMAN stops the bulb, and the MAN stops humming. She tries it again. His humming follows the motion of the bulb.) WOMAN: Look at this! Look what someone's left on the tree! (Holding it up in her hand, his humming gets more ferocious.) Why, that's no way to talk to a lady! (She puts the bulb back. He stops humming. Goes up to him. Whispers.) Do you want me to leave you here alone?! I heard you. There's no one else here but me and you, so how about coming out with it, eh? Who are you? What are you doing standing here like this? (She waits, then goes back to the tree and bumps the bulb again.) MAN: Bump! Hmmmmm! WOMAN: (Goes to him. Waits.) I give it up, Romeo. (She goes over to pick up her flowers, and knocks the bulb from the tree, but catches it.) MAN: (Raises his hat.) That was close! Be a sport, and put that back. (Goes back to his original position.) WOMAN: You! Why should I put it back? It's just something someone forgot to take off of this rotten little tree! MAN: And it must be the warmest day of the year! WOMAN: You! MAN: 29.9 degrees Centigrade. Barometric reading 83.7%. A little on the humid side, I must say. WOMAN: You were having a game with me! MAN: Would you do something kind? WOMAN: Something kind? Is it a gentlemanly, honorable thing to ask a lady -- a complete stranger? (She pulls her two photographs out of her pocket again, and cycles them through in her hands, comparing him.) There's Eddy and Frank and Garnett and Henry and Ivan ... I'll put them back. Never to see the light of day again. (Sighs.) Yes. MAN: You will? WOMAN: If it's what you'll have me do. MAN: Would you put the star back where it belongs? WOMAN: What star? Which? MAN: The star you see in my very coat. WOMAN: I see no star in your very coat. MAN: Come closer. (She hesitates.) You are there. WOMAN: I am here. And you are there. And I shall stay here. MAN: Beyond reason. WOMAN: Beyond doubt! I am here, and you are there. MAN: Beyond reason. WOMAN: Beyond doubt. MAN: Then you will not remove the star from my very coat, and place it on the very tree from which it came? WOMAN: (Defiantly.) Well? MAN: Then I will sleep again. WOMAN: Then sleep forever. Goodnight to you. MAN: Goodnight. (There is a glow from within his jacket.) May we meet again. WOMAN: What?? MAN: Goodnight. WOMAN: Wait! MAN: Sleep tight. Don't let the bed bugs bite. Star light, star bright. I don't quite know the rest of the rhyme. (He pats his chest, and waves goodbye.) WOMAN: "Will you grant my wish tonight?" Oh, you have made me! (She opens his jacket and removes the star.) MAN: Would you place it on the tree? WOMAN: But it's so beautiful? I might keep it and run away! (She begins to run, but suddenly appears very sleepy.) MAN: You would not want to sleep here like me! WOMAN: Gosh, no! MAN: Then show the star for all to see! (She places in on the tree as best she can. A magnificent glow emanates from the tree.) WOMAN: Is it real? MAN: (Finally able to move himself.) It is. WOMAN: And you? MAN: (Moving awkwardly.) One leg, and then the other! Cogito, cogito ergo cogito sum. I think that I think and therefore I think that I am. We mustn't make our expectations too high. WOMAN: Are you alright? MAN: A little stiff, for all that, but better, none the less. Thank you very much. WOMAN: Then I will leave you. MAN: You won't stay? Perhaps have a game with me? WOMAN: I think I ... I should be going. MAN: Then I will not stop you. Goodbye. (She stays. He brushes himself off.) WOMAN: You weren't playing a game with me then, were you? MAN: You are very perceptive. (Pulling a large watch without hands from his coat.) I have lost track of time. WOMAN: Why, it's day. MAN: (Looking at the tree.) And the leaves? WOMAN: Gone? MAN: And the snow? WOMAN: Gone! MAN: And the children? WOMAN: They stay where their parents can see them. MAN: (Not moving.) I am surely late. WOMAN: Have you been here for a long time? MAN: Long enough to see the children disappear. WOMAN: And the leaves? MAN: Not at all as I remember them. WOMAN: And the day? MAN: Our time is but what we make of it. WOMAN: (Sarcastically.) So, if you are late, then surely you must make the time go backwards! MAN: That is a good idea. (He takes the photograph out of his pocket. He looks at it, then assumes the indomitable position she set up for him earlier. He holds up the photograph for her to hold. She takes it from him. He waits for a while.) Now, am I late? WOMAN: What? How can I tell? MAN: (Pulls out his watch.) Later. Later and later, I'm afraid. (Puts the watch back.) It gets more and more difficult with the passing of every season. WOMAN: Surely you are not trying hard enough. MAN: (He assumes the same position again, slightly adjusting his hat. Waits.) Do be a good sport, and take out the time-piece for me. WOMAN: But ... MAN: Come quickly, I think I've got it now. Come, come, let me see it before it changes! WOMAN: (Looking at it.) It's ... MAN: Well, don't stand there looking so glum. Tell me, is it later, or earlier, or what? WOMAN: What are we waiting for? If I knew then I could say if it is later, or earlier or what! MAN: We're waiting for ... WOMAN: Well? MAN: (Re-positions himself.) Well? WOMAN: Yes? MAN: Let me see the watch! (She holds it up for him.) Ah! There it is. Now tell me, how do I look? Like your photograph? WOMAN: (Strains to come to agreement.) No. MAN: No? (He straightens up some more.) No? Not now? WOMAN: (Like she wanted him to.) Well ... no. MAN: I am not the man you've come to see? How terribly inconvenient. WOMAN: But you gave it your best try, and that's what counts. MAN: (Disgraced.) That's it then. It's over. WOMAN: So you needn't worry yourself anymore. MAN: You're kind. I always do my best to please a lady. WOMAN: And I to please a gentleman. MAN: But you have given me pleasure already. WOMAN: We can be great friends, then. MAN: Yes. WOMAN: And shake hands on it. MAN: Yes, of course. (They shake hands formally. The man sits down on the bench.) Now to wait. (She sits on the opposite side of the bench. They stare in different directions. The sound of children can be heard again.) WOMAN: May I sit here for a while? MAN: You needn't ask. WOMAN: You look so thoughtful. MAN: Thoughtful? Is that it? WOMAN: Well, yes. MAN: I look thoughtful? (She nods in agreement.) Now that is something to speak of. WOMAN: Are you waiting for someone? MAN: Yes. She will find her way. WOMAN: A lady friend? MAN: I believe so. WOMAN: Well, then, give her your violet and it will bring her good luck. MAN: She has violets. WOMAN: How do you know? MAN: Because, I gave them to her. WOMAN: And then you agreed to meet her in the park? MAN: We did not agree to meet in the park. But we will meet in the park all the same. WOMAN: How romantic! Tell me what you said to her! MAN: Why, I said "You are more precious than life itself". And then, I held her in my arms and looked deep into her eyes, and said "Only time knows the breadth of my passion", and "How I stir to my very soul at the very thought of you. I'll love you forever." It's that simple. WOMAN: (Flabbergasted.) You? And what does she say in return? MAN: She just closes the door, and asks me to come back some other day. She thinks I am mad. WOMAN: Unconscionable! MAN: But now, I don't know. WOMAN: If you are mad, it is not love which makes you so. If you want the woman to believe in you, then you must protest! MAN: Sometimes it is better to remain silent and thought the fool, then to open one's mouth and remove all doubt. WOMAN: If a man said those things to me, why I'm sure I would break down and cry, and not lecture him on his lunacy, but embrace him for his goodness. I would tell him, "I am no perfect being, but if you really disagree, then I will give you a fair chance to explain." Why be so cruel? -- so ruthlessly cut off what might be... MAN: You believe in good things, then? WOMAN: Yes. MAN: That is a start. WOMAN: (Traffic noises are heard off in the distance.) Sometimes it is difficult to believe in good things. (She gets up and walks to the tree.) But this? MAN: It is glorious, isn't it? WOMAN: It's heavenly. MAN: Is there one thing in the world you would like to have? WOMAN: I thought I had everything. MAN: Perhaps you do. WOMAN: But how can I tell? MAN: You will know it in your heart! WOMAN: (Pretends to listen to her heart.) My heart must learn to speak more clearly! I need to be in love, like you! MAN: How do you know that I am really in love? I may be a lunatic. WOMAN: I learn to trust my judgement! MAN: Good judgement comes from experience; and experience, well, that comes from bad judgement. WOMAN: I have an idea. Let's try to guess each other's name? MAN: That would be too easy. Your name is Violet. WOMAN: Violet? That is unfair! How could you know? ... (He looks at his lapel.) I do love violets, it's true. I cannot play against someone as skillful as you. MAN: Go ahead, take your guess. WOMAN: Your name ... let me go by the letters! When I say a name with the proper first letter, you must stop me. And then I will guess all names which begin there, and when I guess the second letter, you stop me again, and so on, and soon I will have it! MAN: Very well. WOMAN: (Lists off twenty-six male names in alphabetical order.) You did not stop me. MAN: I have a name you will not guess easily. WOMAN: How awkward you are! MAN: You will not be able to guess my name, of that I'm sure. (There is a roar of traffic, and city noise ending with radio static. The MAN puts his hands up to his ears.) WOMAN: (Alarmed.) I should not be talking strangers! MAN: But would you like to give me name? I wouldn't mind. I would accept it as a gift. WOMAN: You want me to make up a name for you? Like a game? MAN: If you like! Let's play a game! WOMAN: I don't know what to think about you! MAN: Well? What would you name me? WOMAN: Bear. MAN: No games? Just, "Bear"? WOMAN: Yes. Goodbye, Bear! (She begins to run away, leaving her things.) MAN: Did you bring the flowers for someone else? WOMAN: (Stops.) I have many admirers who say they love me. I came here to get away from them. MAN: Then you doubt their sincerity? WOMAN: It's not that I don't want the attention they give. Most of them are kind and sweet. MAN: And yet you bring their flowers to this place just the same. WOMAN: Yes. MAN: "Love"? What is love to them, if not so many flowers? (She turns toward him, as if to offer an answer.) Why did you call me "Bear" just now? WOMAN: Because you slept through the winter. MAN: Yes. WOMAN: And now you're waiting and waiting, and you'll sleep again right through fall. MAN: If need be. WOMAN: Describe your love for me. MAN: My love? The one with the violets? WOMAN: Yes. The one who thinks you are a lunatic. MAN: She loves me. I love her. WOMAN: Why do you say she loves you, when she closes the door in your face? MAN: Because she would open it again the next day. She always looked at me with fresh tears and accepted those which I had chosen for her. WOMAN: (Pulls pictures from her breast pocket. Cycles them again.) How odd. MAN: (Taking off his glasses.) Every day I would see her for only a few moments, and how my evening would be filled with joy. The thought that I had made a difference in the world! Me, with only violets! I gave her something to hold on to, something she could feel and touch smell and know that even when she closed her eyes they would not go away. How her heart had been broken! But you can see that I am no one special! Only someone who'll let people go on and on and say what they will! "See how the lunatic brings her flowers every day, and how she smiles at him to take away his pain. What does he know? He's just a fool. He'll go away with the seasons!" But no one knows what I see! The subtle changes in her, how her tears have dried. WOMAN: Why on earth don't you go and do something? Tell her not to be so foolish! MAN: She is no fool. She wants to know that I am sincere -- so she makes me wait. WOMAN: Nonsense! You must ask her if she believes in good things too. Then you will know if she will come to meet you. MAN: She will come. It's a small, small world, though I wouldn't want to paint it. You can see that my tears have dried! And my heart was bursting with joy when the genius which is in my head hit the paper! (He pulls a role of paper out of his pocket.) I wrote her a note! WOMAN: A good plan! MAN: (Writing in the air) "I will not spoil your perfect love. Period." I would wait here for her to come. WOMAN: But how will she know where to find you? MAN: The note! WOMAN: But you have it right here, in your hand! MAN: (Looking at it, he unfolds it. It is several sheets of paper, with long--hand writing on it.) Rough copy. WOMAN: How will she know the letter's from you? MAN: The children! The children! I gave the note to a crimson- faced lad. The star shone upon the tree, and the children gathered around to laugh and sing. WOMAN: You sent a child away from here to deliver your message for you? MAN: And with never more speed or joy in his sense of purpose, he ran! WOMAN: But what would she think? MAN: "Why not go out on a limb? Isn't that where the fruit is?" WOMAN: And now you stand and you sleep and you wait. Do you know who you are anymore? MAN: No man remains quite what he was when he recognizes himself, that is for certain. WOMAN: What do you mean? MAN: The violets ... you brought them here for someone special! WOMAN: Yes. MAN: Who are they for? WOMAN: No one. I've come to put their seeds in the ground again. Why should they die, just because someone's picked them for me? MAN: (Approaching her.) HA! When a thing is funny, I search it for a hidden truth! WOMAN: All right! All right! If you want to know who they are for, I will tell you. MAN: Very well. WOMAN: A gentleman. MAN: A gentleman. WOMAN: A friend. MAN: How do you know he'll come? WOMAN: Because he is a friend. I stake my love on his faithfulness. MAN: I had a love once. WOMAN: Humph! MAN: She has not come. WOMAN: And if you count on her faithfulness? MAN: Then I wait. WOMAN: And you dream. MAN: I give her a reason to be as faithful as myself. No more. No less. WOMAN: Is she also a friend? MAN: There was no time for small talk. WOMAN: Then she will not come. And so to live by her faithfulness when she will not come makes you a fool! (The sound of the children is heard again.) MAN: How they'd make me sing! WOMAN: Who? MAN: The children! It was they who showed me this place! WOMAN: What do they want with you? MAN: You will find it hard to understand, little girl. WOMAN: I am not so young as you think. MAN: And yet you have little girl's eyes. WOMAN: I have had many lovers, old man. I am not a little girl anymore. MAN: Do you see the star on the tree? WOMAN: Yes. It has gone dull again. MAN: But if you show your heart to the world, it will light up the sky. (A BOY and GIRL enter from Downstage Left. They laugh and jostle each other. They are carrying a long piece of stringed popcorn. Not paying any attention to the MAN or the WOMAN, they begin to wind it around the tree.) WOMAN: Hello? Children? Children? BOY: Yes, Miss? WOMAN: What are you doing? Decorating a tree on the hottest day of the year? BOY: We saw the light of the star. We have come to celebrate its return. GIRL: It has gone dull again. BOY: It will come back. You'll see. You will see it better tonight. WOMAN: Hello! Children? BOY: Yes, Miss? GIRL: Is she your mother? BOY: No. My mother will never find us here. WOMAN: Children? Do your parents want you to play so far away? BOY: There is never anyone here but us, Miss. WOMAN: But surely you haven't come alone? BOY: The others will come, Miss. WOMAN: The others? You mean other children? BOY: Yes, Miss. They have seen the light from the city. GIRL: What about the one's like him? (She indicates the MAN:) BOY: Ssshh! GIRL: But I thought you said ... BOY: (Whispers.) The grown-ups don't believe in him. (The girl picks up the newspaper from under the tree.) GIRL: (To the BOY:) I want to wrap my gift in this newsprint. Do you like it? MAN: I think it is the most splendid paper of all! GIRL: Is it yours? MAN: It is. But you may keep it all the same. GIRL: Thank you. (She looks at it carefully.) It is the most splendid paper of all. Good-bye, Mister. Good-bye, Miss. BOY: (To the MAN, referring to the WOMAN:) Will she find her way like the others? MAN: I don't believe she is ready, my boy. BOY: Good-bye, then Miss. WOMAN: Good-bye, children. Run straight home! (They look at each other and laugh. They run off Downstage Left.) WOMAN: Shame on you for teaching innocent children to talk to strangers! MAN: They are innocent. They don't mind. WOMAN: I mind. And what do you mean by making a gift to that child of a piece of garbage? What cruel tricks are you playing? MAN: Every child is an artist. The problem is how to remain an artist after she grows up. WOMAN: You are stubborn like a bear, too. MAN: My Violet! WOMAN: I am not your Violet! MAN: Tell me what frightens you? Is it the star you see? WOMAN: Nothing about you frightens me! You are just a lazy man who cannot see things for what they are! These are only children, who know nothing of your tricks! Why don't you leave them alone? (There is a noise of the city again, with fragments of radio noise. The MAN walks toward the tree. As the radio noise increases, the MAN closes his eyes and puts his hands to his ears.) WOMAN: Good day to you! MAN: (The noise subsides.) Your mother -- is she well again? WOMAN: Leave me alone! MAN: Your father treated her poorly. He could have been a better husband to your mother. But he wishes her well now. WOMAN: What can you mean? You are mad! MAN: Forgive me, Violet. WOMAN: What could you know of my mother and father? MAN: Your mother believed in good things -- your father did not. WOMAN: My father was like all men, you mean! MAN: Even the ones who make violets their gifts? WOMAN: Especially those! MAN: But you said they were kind and sweet. WOMAN: I know what I said. I know well what they want! They are not kind and sweet! They are like you! They are mad with their own desires! MAN: (Taking off his hat. Sitting on the bench, beside her things.) If I am mad with desire, then I don't deserve this chance to prove to you that you are wrong. WOMAN: You will prove nothing to me, except what I already know! You are mad! MAN: (He looks to the star. It glows noticeably brighter.) Tell me about them. WOMAN: About who? MAN: The ones who have dulled your heart. About Walton, and Xylten, and Yezelbib and Zezel and then we start again. Alvin and Bobby and Clifford and Donny and Eddy... WOMAN: They are names I made up. I was having a game on you! MAN: Games, games! When does it ever end? WOMAN: If you must know, Walton was my highschool teacher who fell deeply in love with me, because he saw that I was his brightest student. MAN: Ah! WOMAN: Xylten, the studious boy I never cared for, wrote me letters, and handed them to me when Walton turned his back to write on the blackboard. MAN: A better plan than none at all! WOMAN: Yezelbib and Zezel fought over me at my graduation. MAN: Valedictorian! WOMAN: Yes. MAN: And then we start over again with the A's! WOMAN: Alvin used to brood over me in the dinner hall, in my first year of college. He said I looked like a painting. MAN: He has an eye for good art! WOMAN: Bobby proposed to me when he found out we were rich. Clifford felt sorry for me because I told him we were poor. MAN: And Edwin? WOMAN: He was the Captain of the football team, but he didn't care about that. He started writing poetry. MAN: Not bad for a fellow who used to say little more than "Grunt!". And they were enchanted with the likes of you? WOMAN: (Accusingly.) You seem to know all about me. MAN: Should we go on? The Franks, the Garretts, the Henries and the Ivans... WOMAN: Stop it! No more! What makes you say all these things? I've been spoiled with unwanted attention, but I am very lucky compared to most people. MAN: And your gentleman friend? WOMAN: He will come. MAN: To say that we are held in high regard by a friend: isn't that what gives us the most happiness in the world? WOMAN: (Goes to the tree.) Friendship is one thing I know so little about. MAN: But you do believe in good things? WOMAN: There are many things I do not understand in the world, I know. (There is more traffic noise from the street.) It is so much cooler now. (The lighting has grown dimmer, and the tree light subsides.) MAN: (Brings her the pink shawl.) That is because night is coming on. WOMAN: How long will you wait before she comes? Why not just leave this place? It is dark and lonely here. MAN: It is a dark and lonely world, it's true. But I will stay for a while longer. If not me, then who will mind the children? (Lights fade out, leaving the tree and the trash--bin illuminated. The sounds of traffic and radio noise can be heard.) Scene 2 It is evening. The WOMAN's blanket is lying on the ground in front of the bench. The picnic basket's contents are spread out on the blanket. The top--hat, with violets sticking out as if in a vase, is in the middle of the blanket. The sounds of crickets can be heard. The light on the tree is dull, but with the sounds of the children's voices, it grows in intensity. The BOY enters from the gates. He is carrying a lantern. After checking out the area, he puts the lantern down by the tree, and goes back out through the gates to lead in three other children. The GIRL is among them. Each of the children carries a colorful package, but the GIRL's is wrapped in newsprint. They put their packages under the tree. After they've assembled, they seat themselves in a circle around the hat. BOY: It is almost time now. GIRL: Should we sing a song? How will the adults know we're here? BOY: The man will guide them when they come up the road. GIRL: It's colder now. BOY: (Tucking her under the blanket.) When the star in the sky hangs over us, and its light meets with ours, then we'll know it's time. The angels will come, and take some of the adults away. Don't be afraid. CHILD1: But how do they decide who will go and who will be left behind? MAN: (Appearing in silhouette by the gates.) If there are people in the world who care for them, and who'll give them a second chance to find their way, then the angels will let them stay. CHILD2: Is that him? Is he the one? BOY: Don't be afraid of him. He was once taken away by the angels, but he's come back to help us now. MAN: God didn't put men on the earth so they could spend their lives alone, and separated from their loved ones. That's why you've brought these people here. (He opens the gates, and three adults appear. They are dressed raggedly, and some have obviously lived on the street for a long time. They are dishevelled, and appear disoriented.) MAN: Don't be frightened. These are the children who you met earlier. You see, they told you they would meet you, and here they are. RALPH: I don't know any children. (To the children.) Why do you care about me? STEPHEN: (To the MAN.) Who are you? What do you want? RALPH: (To CHILD1.) Why did you bring us here? What kind of mischief are you up to? I recognize you, you little mite! CLARA: Shush, the both of you. The little one's don't mean you no harm. MAN: The children are the messengers of angels. STEPHEN: Of angels? Did he say something about angels? CLARA: That's what I heard him say. RALPH: Why, I've never heard so much bunk! (He turns as if to search the trash cans.) GIRL: I'm afraid of him. MAN: Ralph? Why did you turn out onto the streets? Why did you leave your family behind? RALPH: What? What did he say? MAN: We want to help you, Ralph. (To CHILD1.) Come here, little one. Is this the child who brought you here, Ralph? RALPH: That's him (her). What were you doing, running around in alleyways in the middle of the night? What did you want with me, boy (girl)? (CHILD1 retrieves a gift from the tree, and gives it to RALPH. He takes it hesitantly. The child takes him by the hand, and they go and sit by the tree.) MAN: And now we have Stephen, and Clara. (CHILD 2 and the BOY offer their gifts to Stephen and CLARA. The GIRL brings the MAN package wrapped in newsprint.) MAN: You have done well, little one. But I won't be needing this now. My time here is not yet finished. (The GIRL returns the gift to the tree.) Ralph, you had an opportunity to make something of yourself after your wife's accident. Instead, you gave up, and you left the world behind. RALPH: What are you talking about? What do you know about my wife? MAN: What about your children? Don't they deserve to know what's happened to their father? You turned your back on the world, Ralph. You used to be a proud man. STEPHEN: What's he talking about Ralph? RALPH: You keep out of it! STEPHEN: Hey, mister, what are you talking about? Ralph here's done nobody no harm. MAN: Stephen, this is a surprise. I thought you were on your way to a new life. But you couldn't leave the bottle behind you. STEPHEN: I haven't had a drink since...what are you all looking at? I haven't had a drink! MAN: That's alright. That's alright, now. You've got a place to go now. CLARA: What are you saying to these men? Where are they going? What kind of person are you to bring these lonely folks out here, who've done you no harm? MAN: You are a good woman, CLARA. And I know there are people out there looking for you. CLARA: Nonsense. Nobody knows anything about me. I've had my share of hard times, but I soon put myself back on my feet again. MAN: It's the strong ones who suffer in silence. Your father was an ill man, and the legacy he left you is strength -- and suffering in silence. But you too have left the world behind. CLARA: Now, look here... RALPH: I got a good mind to get up and give you a... (Just then there is a blinding light from above. The light on the tree alters colors and becomes very intense. Spots shine on RALPH, STEPHEN and CLARA. They stand up.) RALPH: What in the name of the Lord? STEPHEN: My eyes... CLARA: What are you? (Oh dear Jesus.) I seen him! I seen him! MAN: Don't be alarmed. (The children run behind the MAN.) CLARA: What have we done? Why are we here? MAN: Like you, I lost my way in the world. To me, there was no beginning to the days, no end to the long, dark nights. RALPH: What do you mean to do to us? MAN: I'm only a messenger. Open up your boxes. (They all do so.) What do you see? RALPH: There's only a picture here. STEPHEN: That's what I got. CLARA: It's my daughter! RALPH: Who are these people? MAN: They are all people you know. Look carefully. RALPH: If this is my son, why he looks older than me! STEPHEN: I got only me. CLARA: My daughter -- she looks nearly sixty! Look where she's livin! It ain't no better than couple of cardboard boxes in an alleyway! MAN: These are your loved ones -- long after you've left the world. CLARA: How can it be? Why, she was strong like me. MAN: Your daughter has learned to be as strong and silent as yourself. CLARA: Amy! MAN: You have your choices to make in this world. RALPH: My son's no bum! What's happened to him, here? MAN: He needs you now, more than you know. RALPH: You're damn right about that, mister! CLARA: Show us how to get back! My baby needs me! Show us how to get back! It ain't too late for us! It ain't too late for nobody! (The MAN motions the BOY to take CLARA and RALPH by the hand. They lead the two of them toward the tree. The MAN then picks up his top hat, giving the flowers to the GIRL. He takes two of the flowers, and gives one each to Ralph and CLARA. Putting on his top hat and his sun glasses, he takes RALPH and CLARA by the hand, with the boy, walks into the pool of bright light. There is the sound of traffic and loud radio noise. The MAN closes his eyes, puts his hands to his ears, and the noise subsides.) MAN: They belong to the world no longer. (He opens his coat pocket, and gives each of them a scroll, similar in appearance as his love letter.) Here is all you need to know. (RALPH and CLARA are led by the BOY outside of the gates. Then, upon taking STEPHEN's hand, the light flickers brightly, and suddenly goes dark. In the darkness, the sound of traffic and radio noise is heard again. The sounds of the children in the distance. Finally, the blanket and basket are visible on the bench. A single violet rests on top of the blanket. The BOY's lantern is sitting at Stage Center, and the newsprint box under the tree. The WOMAN, wearing the pink shawl, enters from Downstage Right.) WOMAN: Bear? Bear, where are you? (The BOY returns, through the gates.) BOY: Hello, Miss. WOMAN: Young man! What are you doing out in dark? Surely your mother and father will be worried for you. BOY: They'll think I'm in bed, Miss. WOMAN: I see. And you feel safe all alone out here? BOY: Nothing will happen to me. WOMAN: What has happened to my things? Did you see the man who was here earlier? BOY: Yes, Miss. WOMAN: Well, I want him. BOY: Yes Miss. WOMAN: You see, he and I spent the afternoon here. BOY: He was happier after that. WOMAN: Was he indeed? We had a long talk together. He had such an unusual way of saying things, and he made me understand some things which I had never thought of before. Such a strange man...I felt he knew me. BOY: These are your things, Miss? (He gives her the items on the bench.) WOMAN: Thank you. BOY: (Picking up his lantern.) Good-bye, Miss. WOMAN: Wait! Please, don't be alarmed. BOY: Are you afraid of him? WOMAN: Me? What on earth do you mean? I am not afraid of him. I found him to be kind, and sensible, in his own way. But when the evening came on, he suddenly became upset and in a hurry to leave me. He said he had to fulfil an engagement, and just ran away. I followed him, because I thought he needed something from me. What it was, I could not tell. In some way, it was like he did not wish to burden me with his trouble. BOY: He would be pleased to know you care, Miss. WOMAN: What do you know about this man? BOY: What do you mean? WOMAN: Who is he? Where does he come from? BOY: You would know better than me, Miss. WOMAN: Why on earth do you say that? I only met him this afternoon. I hardly knew the man. I called him only by a nickname which I made up for him. I told him things about me which I knew were not even true -- I, I didn't trust him at first. I even led him to believe that my name is Violet because I was afraid that he'd become attracted to me and try to follow me, and...such a childish game. Now I want to apologize. BOY: Is that your shawl Miss? WOMAN: What on earth? Yes, it is mine. Do you like it? BOY: I've seen it before, Miss. WOMAN: You've seen this before? But how? BOY: It's nothing, Miss! (Begins to run away.) WOMAN: Wait! Please tell me, what do you know about this shawl? Are you sure you've seen it before? BOY: Yes, Miss. It was the lady who came for him a long time ago. She wore the same shawl. It was colder then. WOMAN: What lady did you see? BOY: It was in the winter, Miss, just after the snow came. The lady came here to meet a man, and we were decorating the little tree. WOMAN: (Indicating the tree.) Why, it hardly seems like much of a Christmas tree. Did you speak to the lady? BOY: (Nods.) But the man went away. WOMAN: The man? What man was this? BOY: The man you saw today, Miss. WOMAN: Would you describe the lady you saw? BOY: She looked like you, Miss. But she was older, and very sad. WOMAN: Why was she sad? BOY: I can't tell you. WOMAN: What did she say? You must help me find this man! BOY: She was sorry for the man, Miss. She said he came to her every day, and had softened here heart and had given her many good things. But she was afraid of him, Miss. WOMAN: Then why did she come to meet him here, in this lonely place? BOY: Because she was lonely. One day he didn't come for her, Miss. WOMAN: And why not? BOY: The man...went away, Miss. WOMAN: Do you know when the man will return? BOY: He may never return, Miss. He has died. WOMAN: What are you saying?! What cruel joke is this? BOY: It's not a joke. Please...Please let me go. WOMAN: When did the man die? He was right here this afternoon, and I met him! You have spoken to this man today, haven't you? Where was he going when he left me this afternoon? Tell me! (Shaking him.) Tell me or I'll... (The MAN enters through the gates. Again, his silhouette is discernable.) MAN: Leave the child alone. WOMAN: (Turning.) You! You have frightened me half to death! BOY: Will you let me go now? (She lets him go.) MAN: (To the BOY.) You may go and join the others. BOY: I'll miss you. MAN: There will be others like me who will come for you. Don't let yourself be changed by the dullness in the world, and you will be its light. (The BOY hugs him, and the sound of traffic and radio noise is heard as he passes through the gates to wave good-bye. After the BOY is gone, the MAN moves out of silhouette and into full view. The noise subsides.) WOMAN: (Mortified.) What have you done to these children? MAN: I prefer to ask, "What have they done for me?" WOMAN: Who are you? Today I thought today that you were a lonely, foolish old man, and you are in many ways, but you opened my eyes and made me see myself, my selfishness. But now I see how you have deceived these children, and to what end? MAN: Why did you come here today? WOMAN: What could you possibly want of me? MAN: Why have you returned so soon? WOMAN: I came here to find my father. But I came back to find you. MAN: (Moved.) I see. WOMAN: It is a lonely place here. MAN: You are at a loss to find him, then? WOMAN: Yes, I am at a loss. MAN: Many lonely men come here. It's not the safest place for a lady. You must know that. WOMAN: I've not seen him in over twenty years! If I had another place to look, then I would go. But mother came to find him here. She warned me that he had lost all respectability, and become nothing more than a loathsome tramp. MAN: So why do you seek him now? WOMAN: Mother said that...(She cries.) MAN: Your mother? Why hasn't she come instead? Has she forgiven him? WOMAN: You? Why do you ask these things? How could you know the things you do? He left my mother with a broken heart. That was in the winter. MAN: But she did not come. WOMAN: What are you saying? She accepted his stories and his lies, and she would not have him back! The man only thought about himself and satisfying his every whim! But finally, he wore her down. He asked her to come to this lonely spot to meet him one day. He found his way back into her heart, after having turned his back on her and her only child so many times before. And mother came to offer her forgiveness, like he asked. The cruel man he is -- he only ran away again. MAN: I waited that day! WOMAN: That is the treatment one gets for caring about a man who treats you no better than he would a dog! MAN: Did she come on the day of his letter? WOMAN: No. She waited for him to return, and when he didn't, she felt remorse, and the next day she went to find him. MAN: Then she has forgiven me. (Pause.) Your father did not believe in good things. That is how he's hurt you the most. WOMAN: Nonsense. I would be perfectly happy without him. But... MAN: Your relationships with men have all come about because of your passive nature. You have never taken part in any of them, except as an article to be stared at and admired! What did you do, to have relationships with Walton, and Xylten, and Yezelbib and Zezel? There could have been any number of men, and they would have been all the same to you. What you've learned of love, you've learned by harsh lessons. And so these things to you have become no more than just a game... WOMAN: Please, don't remind me of things which make me so unhappy. MAN: Men are often the aggressive ones, and do things which serve their own desires, it's true. But their partners allow themselves to be changed, and experience their lives passively, always seeking the truth in another man's eyes! I have come to see that neither way of living is adequate. People lose themselves in their games, and become lost in the noise and dullness of the world. WOMAN: My father was caught up in lies and deceitfulness as one so expects in the business of the world. He took a mistress when I was young, and he left my mother and me behind. His ventures soon failed, and then he found he had no one. I learned to live without compassion. And mother chose to hide from the rest of the world. Now she has died of a broken heart. There is not one person in the world who knows me. MAN: (Affected.) Don't tell me! (He takes time to seat himself down on the bench.) I want to tell you a story -- about this little tree. You may think that it is nothing special, but you see by its light that it is. There was once an old man who came to the park with the children at play, and they showed him with their innocence that he must learn to seek out joy in his life again. And the man knew what to do. How he tried and tried to think of a way to correct the mistakes he had made - - how he would seek out the woman who had given him his only child. But he was weak, and the time which had passed between himself and his family was so great that he lost faith in his ability to make a difference in the world. That's when the angels came, and they would have taken him away, to be with those who could restore his heart, and make him realize who he was again. But instead of following the path the angels made for him, he made one last desperate attempt to seek out the woman who held the key to his heart -- but even she could not make him believe in himself, seems he had been so changed by the pitch--blackness of the world. He tried to steal away the star that the angels used to find the lost ones. Because of his foolishness, an angel told him that he would be left to slumber, and sleep as he had always slept, until a woman who's faith had gone untouched by the world had restored it to its rightful place. But now you have come, and soon I will be free again. WOMAN: Please don't go on. MAN: Do you know why ornaments are put on this tree, like all Christmas trees? For every angel who stays on earth and waits to intervene, there is a bulb which reflects the beautiful light of the tree's star, to remind God that the angel has left home, but will soon return. For those on Earth, the bulb is a reminder that they are not alone in their troubles, and if they have faith in themselves, then the angels will see them home again. WOMAN: How you do dream and go on and on. You are so lonely. MAN: (Goes to the tree.) I will go home soon. You have given me that. WOMAN: I want you to know that my name is not Violet. I was playing a cruel trick on you. It was just a game. MAN: I know, dear. You are Karen McAlister. Your daddy knows you meant well. (The lights on the MAN fade to darkness. Then, the tree's light illuminates its immediate area, and the WOMAN notices the package wrapped in newsprint. Having gasped at a photograph on the newsprint, she continues to read.) Mr. Donald McAlister was found this early this morning, after having fallen asleep and into a coma in the sub-zero weather in the industrial park on Highway 35. Mr. McAlister is fondly remembered by his business associates, and grateful charities, as he was a generous benefactor of the community Mental Health Association. (She tears open the box. There is a small stuffed bear inside. The sounds of the children can be heard, as the stage lights fade out.) Daddy?