1

THE EXILES

by
Jose Victor Z. Torres
and
Lourd Ernest de Veyra

CHARACTERS:

Felipe
Vicente
Desirea
The Poet

ACT 1

SCENE 1

(The lights open onstage. The café. Felipe and Desirea are standing on stage

left. Felipe is sitting at a table. Desirea is looking out the window. It is raining.

Vicente is sitting by himself at a table on stage right. On the table before him is a

manuscript. )

VICENTE : (to the audience) I wanted to publish a collection of my

poems. A compilation of writing/poetry. The first decade of oppression. The

years of deaths. The months of torture. The days of disappearances. The poems

would be the highlight of my career. It would open to the eyes of every one who

would read it the deaths and torture of this regime. It would open the hearts of

the patriots who would read its pages. My book will break the shells of these

creatures of cruelty and oppression. It will be a bestseller. It will make my name

in this country’s literary circles. It will mark me as a writer of note.

(The lights dim on Vicente. The sound of thunder could be heard. The rain

becomes a downpour)
 2

DESIREA : It is cold.

(Felipe does not reply)

DESIREA : You think they’ve already covered the grave?

(Felipe does not reply)

DESIREA : (pause) It is so cold. (pause) Maybe we should put a

headstone…soon?

FELIPE : It is a pauper’s grave.

DESIREA : Yes, but a headstone would…

FELIPE : …wouldn’t matter anyway

(Desirea pauses. As he is about to say something, stops, then turns away)

FELIPE : It was a pauper’s grave. He is just one of many buried there.

We could hardly afford placing him in a hole in the ground, much less have a

headstone.made.

DESIREA : If we…If they just gave the money.

FELIPE : They would not. They will not. After what he did. (pause)

So he ends up in a pauper’s grave.

(A short pause)

FELIPE : Do we have some wine?

DESIREA : I never knew so few people would come.

FELIPE : Some brandy? Even whiskey will do.

DESIREA : He was popular. Even after all of this that happened.

FELIPE : Absinthe. Claret.

DESIREA : Even before you came.

 3

FELIPE : Even a bottle of the most sour wine would be enough.

DESIREA : Even before you came. They could ask him to write…all

kinds of pieces. Speeches, Articles. He would write letters. Letters of protest.

Letters of pleading. Letters of love. (pause) He was good at that. Love. Even if

no one liked him that much.

FELIPE : A cup of coffee would do. Like the one this café used to

make.

DESIREA : They would buy him drinks. Then they would make him

write when he was drunk. The most eloquent words flowed out of him when he

had something to drink..

FELIPE : A glass of water would be fine.

DESIREA : Until you came.

(Pause)

FELIPE : (pause) I am thirsty.

DESIREA : Until...us. (pause) Did we kill him?

FELIPE : (pause) He killed us.

(Pause)

DESIREA : It’s such a cold, sad say. (pause) There was some Chianti

left from last night. (pause) I’ll get you some.

(Desirea exits)

FELIPE : No, we didn’t kill him. He killed us. (pause) And everything

we tried to live for.

 4

(The lights change. Desirea comes in with the bottle and sets it on Felipe’s table

and leaves)

SCENE 2

(The café. Daytime. Seven years ago. Vicente goes up to Felipe’s table)

VICENTE : One does not drink a bottle of wine alone.

FELIPE : Excuse me?

VICENTE : You are new here? In this place?

FELIPE : (suspiciously) No.

VICENTE : You are. I know. (pause) It is hard to lie in a place like this.

FELIPE : (shrugs) Yes.

VICENTE : And in this town I presume?

FELIPE : Yes. (eyes Vicente) Listen if you are the authorities, I have a

travel pass and my identification….

VICENTE : That is of no matter to me. May I join you?

FELIPE : If it won’t offend you, no.

VICENTE : (hesitate) Oh. I see. (pause) How disappointing.

FELIPE : Talking to strangers does not sit well with me.

VICENTE : That is good.

FELIPE : What do you mean “good”?

VICENTE : To you I am a stranger. That is good (sits) Good.

FELIPE : And what could be good about meeting strangers?

VICENTE : You do not know strangers. They make you cautious.

FELIPE : And?
 5

VICENTE : And, in these times, it pays to be cautious. (pause) Your

bottle is empty.

FELIPE : I ordered another before you came.

(Desirea comes in with a bottle of wine. She sets it in front of Felipe)

DESIREA : Sangria

FELIPE : Thank you.

(He reaches for the bottle but Desirea does not let it go)

DESIREA : Pay first.

FELIPE : How much?

DESIREA : That bottle and this bottle. Forty.

FELIPE : What? What is this? Liquid gold?

DESIREA : You ordered a bottle. You pay a bottle’s price.

FELIPE : (to Vicente) She told me they don’t serve in glasses

anymore.

VICENTE : (shrugs) Maybe they have no more glasses. Customers here

throw glasses if they’re happy. And believe me, they are happy a lot.

DESIREA : The regime has placed a quota on the shipment of wine. It

is cheaper to get it by the crate than the bottle. Señor Galo wants to finish his

stock quickly before ordering another shipment.

FELIPE : (takes out some bills) I would rather suck my blood.

DESIREA : I hope it is as good as the sangria. (shrugs) Times are hard.

(in a hard tone) No money. No wine.

(Felipe pays. Vicente smiles. Desirea pockets the money)

 6

VICENTE : The usual for me, Desirea

DESIREA : Dog’s piss for you. Señor Galo says no more wine until you

pay the bill.

VICENTE : Just a glass?

FELIPE : They have no glasses. You just told me that.

DESIREA : (motions to Felipe) Share his. You love to freeload anyway.

(Desirea leave. Felipe opens the bottle and takes a gulp. Vicente is watching

him. Felipe notices Vicente watching him as takes another gulp.).

FELIPE : I am sorry, I only offer to friends.

VICENTE : Ah

FELIPE : And you are only a stranger

VICENTE : I see.

FELIPE : It is, as you know, different here.

VICENTE : Friends take care of you. They are the ones you run to in

times of need.

FELIPE : Yes.

VICENTE : Friends will shelter you. They will feed you. Clothe you.

They will take care of you. (pause) Then… somehow, when the time comes,

they will betray you.

(Vicente shrugs and stands up)

VICENTE : Do you have a place to stay?

FELIPE : What do you care?

 7

VICENTE : You are new in this town, I presume, Do you have a place to

stay?

FELIPE : I have

VICENTE : Where?

FELIPE : That is none of your business.

VICENTE : This town is small. Everything becomes everyone’s

business. You have a place to stay? Where?

FELIPE : Maybe you are one of the spies of the regime. If I denounce

you here, now, the people here would hang you from the ceiling.

VICENTE : We are not savages here. Not like the regime across the

border. (pause) Let me explain, Señor stranger. If you are staying… (points)

there. Then a thousand pardons,. For it seems that you are a man of the upper

class. Your people look down in us refugees (pause). But what are you doing

here in the café of the rabble? The place of the outsiders? Your leisure times are

spent in palaces and resorts (pause. Or maybe you will stay there (Points)?

Then you know the people there. Lower than the rabble we are. A friend of

thieves and cutthroats. Animals! And I don’t mean dogs and cats. One of my

friends, bless his soul, thought they were friends. He ended up in the gutter. His

throat cut. And do you want to know why he deserved such a gruesome end?

His shoes. They needed his shoes. Brand-new. I seem to remember. Given by

his mother. Sneaked it over the border. (shakes his head) Poor mother. She

couldn’t even bring her son’s body home. Even rotting bodies are criminals to

the regime.
 8

Here in the café you can find a friend. The less fortunate but a friend. Or

a stranger. Or both. But no place to lie down. No room. You get drunk, pass out

on the table. Then when you wake up, Desirea will charge you for a night’s rent.

But, believe me, you are among friends. Believe me.

FELIPE : No, I don’t.

VICENTE : Suit yourself.

FELIPE : I have my own place.

VICENTE : That is good. (about to leave, then stops). Just remember

my warning about the animals on the streets. They are what they are. Beasts.

(Vicente leaves the café. He goes to his side of the stage, sits at the table and

begins to write another poem)

(Felipe stands up and goes downstage and faces the audience)

FELIPE : I left my province a criminal fleeing the law. But it is the

criminal that is innocent. The law is the one guilty. They oppress. They suppress.

They torture. They kill. They promote the good. Their good. They forced us to

accept it . I was the one who refused. And I had to flee. I joined the ones trying

to cross the border We paid good money to people just to get us across. We, my

friends and I. We fled. Our guide was good. He got me across with less risk

that I anticipated. “The pay was good,” he told us, “It would be unfair if I leave

you here to be arrested. I have a name to protect.” (pause) The bastard.

(pause) Then I came here to the café. My friend told me that the café was a

safe place. “Go the café,” were my instructions. Go to the café. The café was a

shelter. But what a shelter it was. Patriots sitting on wooden chairs around
 9

wooden tables. Drinking cheap wine. Smoking cheap cigars. Fornicating with

cheap women. This is the price of refusal? If it is… then it is a very cheap

exchange for the minds that are in the place.

(The lights open on one part of the stage. The Poet is standing there and holding

one of Vicente’s poems. He begins to read.)

CHEAP MEN WITH BRILLIANT MINDS

There they go again: the bastards

Their brains swimming in cheap wine,

Howling at the moon,
Screaming at imagine passersby,
There they go again: the faithless
Of unshakeable faith, chastised
By loss and frantic cigarettes,
Staggering through the imago
Of abandoned streets,
Believing the god inhabits
The gutters, his omniscience
Dressed in crumpled hats and mothball coats,
Sour whiskey breath of sacredness
Answering every child’s intimate prayer.

Yes, true arts thrives in dark

City corners and brothels –
A poem is born between
The spread legs of a whore,
Between soiled sheets,
In mossy urinals, behind
Dank curtains, saliva-stained
Reeking of spent passions,
Through the pores of unwashed walls.
Or a poem could gleam
From the edge of switchblade.

The bastards: hurling empty

Soliloquies into the blue night.
Hungry, scarred, feeding on
Desperate scrapheaps of the past.
Declaring their radiance and greatness
To the whole slumbering world,
 10

Inside their minds, where love

Is made more important
By its absence

Every bottle bears a blood-drenched

Painting, every graffiti a sacred mural.
Every beggar an angel.
Every trashcan, every cigarette butt,
Every clogged gutter, every broken water pipe
A sight that the world must reel on

Blessed are the bastards –

The fierceness of the verses shall destroy them
Blessed are the bastards –
The Lord giveth, the Lord taketh away
Blessed are the bastards –
Their raucousness will be their silence
Blessed are the bastards –
Forever inhabiting their own homelessness
Blessed are the bastards –
Eternal sufferers, made in the image of gold.

Each of their broken bodies

A temple, shivering.
Filling with immense light.

And crumbling beneath,

Damp skies of dawn.

(The lights dim on The Poet. He exits. The lights open onstage.)

SCENE 3

(Vicente is sitting at his tale, writing. Felipe goes up to him)

FELIPE : Excuse me.

VICENTE : (does not look up) Hmmm?

FELIPE : Excuse me? Sir?

VICENTE : Hmmm? (looks up) What? What? Can’t you see I an writing?

What do you want?

FELIPE : Sir…
 11

VICENTE : Ah, the bill? Señor Galo wants the bill? You tell jour jefe that

I will pay the bill when I have the money. It will be soon. (reaches into his pocket

and takes out a few coins) Here. I will pay the rest soon. Keep some for yourself.

When I finish what I am writing, I submit it to the newspapers. When I submit it to

the newspapers and they accept it, I get paid. When I get paid, I pay him and all

the other people and bills I need to pay. Now, the longer you interrupt me here,

the longer your jefe does not get paid. Do you understand?

(Felipe does not reply. He just stand there dumbfounded)

VICENTE : Now, vamos! Leave me alone.

(Felipe moves away from the table. Vicente goes back to his writing. Felipe

looks around. He does no know what to do. Desirea enters. Felipe stops here

and hands here the money)

FELIPE : Here.

DESIREA : What is this?

FELIPE : (gestures at Vicente) Part of his bill. With a tip he wished to

give me. (gives her the coins) I do not need this.

DESIREA : (looks at Felipe) You were here three days ago.

FELIPE : (pause) Yes, I was.

DESIREA: Did he say anything to you? Did he offer anything to you?

FELIPE : He said he knew a place to stay in. I said no. I told him I

have a place to stay in the city.

DESIREA : I see.

FELIPE : I…found a place.

 12

DESIREA : (nods) I see. That is good. (pause) And what is the reason

that you came back here?

FELIPE : (pause) A visit.

DESIREA : (gestures at Felipe’s suitcases) With your bags?

FELIPE : (shrugs) Thieves.

DESIREA : The place you are staying in has thieves? You must be in

an interesting neighborhood.

FELIPE : No! (pause) Yes. (pause) No. (pause) I have no place to

stay.

DESIREA : I see. (pause) You shouldn’t have told him you had a place

to stay. Come.

FELIPE : Where are we going?

DESIREA : (gestures to Vicente) To him.

FELIPE : He does not know me.

DESIREA : Oh, he will.

(They approach Vicente’s table. He is still writing)

DESIREA : Vicente.

(Vicente does not reply)

DESIREA : (a little loudly) Vicente!

(Vicente is still engrossed in his writing.)

DESIREA : (slams a hand on the table and shouts) Vicente!

(Vicente looks up, startled. He sees Desirea. He smiles)

DESIREA : Someone wants to see you.

 13

FELIPE : (to Desirea) What?

DESIREA : A visitor.

VICENTE : A visitor? (looks at Felipe) You look familiar.

FELIPE : I was here.

VICENTE : When?

FELIPE : A few minutes….(pause) Three days ago.

VICENTE : Three days ago?

FELIPE : Yes?

VICENTE : Then what?

FELIPE : You do not remember?

DESIREA : It is always difficult for him to remember things considering

the state he is always in.

VICENTE : (suspiciously) What happened three days ago?

FELIPE : (hesitates) You were drunk. I am sure you won’t remember

even if I told you. (to Desirea) This is stupid.

VICENTE : Who is stupid.

FELIPE : (to Vicente) Not you. (to Desirea) I might as well leave. (to

Vicente) I am sorry. I am disturbing you.

(Desirea holds him back. Vicente notices the action and looks at Desirea)

VICENTE : You know him?

DESIREA : (shrugs) Don’t you know the people you talk to, you old

drunken fool?

VICENTE : (thinks) Was I that drunk?

 14

DESIREA : He just arrived three days ago,. How many like you

arrive here in the café the past few days?

VICENTE : (stares at Felipe, remembers) The friend with a place?

(Felipe nods)

VICENTE : (smiles) The one who does not share wine with strangers?

(Felipe hesitates then nods)

VICENTE : Ah! The stranger.

FELIPE : Yes.

VICENTE : And how is your place? Your friends?

FELIPE : There is no place. There is no friend. I…I don’t know what to

do.

(Vicente gestures to the seat before him. Felipe sits down. Desirea leaves).

FELIPE : I don’t have any friends here. I don’t know any place here. I

don’t know where to go.

(Desirea returns with a bottle of wine and two glasses. She places these down in

front of Vicente. Vicente reaches for the bottle but Desirea continues to hold on

to it. She looks at Vicente then at Felipe. She lets go of the bottle)

DESIREA : Pay later.

(She leaves. Vicente opens the bottle and fills the glasses. He hands one to

Felipe)

VICENTE : Here. Share the wine.

(Felipe takes the glass, looks at it for a moment then at the door where Desirea

exited. Vicente nudges his arm.

 15

VICENTE : Go on. Drink. A glass will be good for you.

(Felipe drinks a long draught)

VICENTE : (nods) Now we can talk.

(A brief silence.)

FELIPE : I had friends at home. When I had to leave, they told me to

go here. To this café. They… my friends… said that there will be help here.

VICENTE : They may have been right.

FELIPE : They told me to come here. It is the only place I know here.

I had been walking the streets for the past three days. Always no place to rent.

No vacancy. What is wrong with this place? Last night, I had to sleep on a

doorstep of a house in a street corner. Thieves could’ve slit my throat slit for my

shoes (pause). My friends said that people who flee the government back there

should come here at this cafe. Because there people who would help you.

(pause) I don’t know what to believe anymore.

VICENTE : Strangers are more reliable to trust…sometimes.

FELIPE : Sometimes.

VICENTE : (pause) We protect each other (pause). Have you ever

notice birds when they fly together? The flock protect each other in flight. Even

if the other may or may not be strangers. (pause and refills Felipe’s glass).

Share the wine.

(They drink. Desirea goes to the table. Vicente writes something on a piece of

paper and gives it to Felipe)

 16

VICENTE : There is a room down the street. The apartment with the red

door and broken handle.

FELIPE : The red door down the street? The owner said that they

were full.

VICENTE : Their rooms are always full.

FELIPE : Then what’s the use…

VICENTE : Give him that note. He will know.

(Felipe stares at Vicente then looks down at the note.)

FELIPE : (reads) There is a vacancy now. (pause) But the owner

said…

DESIREA : Just give him that note.

FELIPE : (pause) Thank you.

DESIREA : How much?

FELIPE : What?

DESIREA : How much was the price for your head?

FELIPE : I don’t know.

DESIREA : Really?

FELIPE : Yes.

FELIPE : (pause) They just wanted my head.

DESIREA : Why? Is it made out of gold?

FELIPE : My mind was too much for them.

VICENTE : Sometimes some people are just better off dead.

(Silence. Felipe nods, stands up and leaves. Desirea goes up to Vicente).

 17

DESIREA : You are tired.

VICENTE : I have been writing since last night. (pause) The verses are

coming so painfully slow.

DESIREA : Then you should rest.

VICENTE : What do you think of him?

DESIREA : Him? (shrugs) Not much. (pause) He could be just lying

about his head. He could be a spy.

VICENTE : He will learn nothing if he is. He will not last long among us if

he is a spy.

DESIREA : You should not trust him too much.

VICENTE : He is a good man.

DESIREA : Really? (pause) How do you know?

VICENTE : I know.

DESIREA : You don’t even know his name.

VICENTE : What are names for people like us? Fear hides identities

Trust brings out the real names. Then when you know his real name, you must

learn to keep it so only a few will know.

DESIREA : That is what scares me.

VICENTE : There is always something to be scared about. (pause)

Sometimes I wonder. What is this that I have burdened myself with?

(Vicente returns to his writing. Desirea goes behind him and hugs him. He stops

writing and holds her hands).

DESIREA : You are tired.

 18

VICENTE : In times like these, it is hard to know tiredness. (pause) I am

lying to you. I know him. The friends told me about him before he arrived. He is

cautious. Too cautious.

DESIREA : He will soon trust you.

VICENTE : That is what just he did. That is why he is here. He trusts

too much. It will kill him. (pause) But his mistrust will also kill him. It is a

dangerous path he is crossing. A very thin line between life and certain death.

(Vicente stands and hugs Desirea tightly. The lights dim and fade out.

SCENE 4

(The lights open on one part of the stage. Desirea is standing there)

DESIREA : They all come to the café. I called them The Rabble.

Useless men. Barren-minded women. Their beings made inutile by the

government that ran their country. They fled their country to bring their lives back

together. Even a semblance of what remains of it. And they came here.

The café of Señor Galo used to be the talk of the town. It was the place to

be in. Then The Rabble moved in. And the regulars moved out. No matter what

Señor Galo did, The Rabble found the place….comfortable. He gave them the

best watered wine and the most delicious burnt or half-cooked food just to get

them out of the place. They were bad for business. (pause) But they stayed.

And the jefe just had to accept that these useless men and barren-minded

women had become his regular customers.

(The lights open on another part of the stage. Vicente is standing there. )
 19

DESIREA : He arrived one night. A writer who fled his country. He

arrived with a past full of dreams. Big dreams (pause) And large fears.

He just arrived and told me to take care of the Rabble. He talked to Señor

Galo and told him to take care of them. Just like that. As if taking care of them

comes for free. Señor Galo laughed at him. But Vicente, he had something in

his personality. He could convince people with just talk and words. Señor Galo

thought about it then agreed. A bit reluctantly, at first. But he did agree. He still

took care of them. And so, here we are. (pause) He was a poet with big dreams.

He knew that The Rabble would probably end up leading something if he got

them together. Vicente was looking for someone to read him. To know him.

(pause then turns to Vicente) You can’t have them all.

(The lights fade out on Desirea)

VICENTE : (to the audience) His name is Felipe. A writer. A journalist.

He is good. I have heard of him. He was good. He behaved. But only for a

while. Then he decided to write about the government. From that step he began

writing against them. So they went after him. At first it was a price on his head.

But then they decided he wasn’t worth the price after all. He was better off dead.

They hunted him like they hunted all of us. Like animals. He continued to write in

hiding. Until he had to flee. He could be of use to the cause. I do not believe he

will fail in this. There is too much in him for him to fail.

(The lights fade out on Vicente. On another part of the stage, a light goes on.

Felipe is standing there.)

 20

FELIPE : (to the audience) The place Vicente referred to me was a crowded

rooming house two blocks away from the café. The landlord was a stingy old

dog who charged for room with a common bath at the end of the corridor of each

floor. One bath for ten rooms in a two-story rooming house. But it was a home.

A haven. A place to stay for the moment.

(The lights go on onstage. The café. Desirea is clearing a table. Felipe goes to

a table and sits down. He pulls out a sheet of paper from his pants pocket and

unfolds it on the table. Desirea enters)

FELIPE : Is Vicente here?

DESIREA : Not yet. He doesn’t usually arrive at this hour in the

morning.

FELIPE : Do you know where he lives?

DESIREA : Is it important?

FELIPE : What?

DESIREA : Is it important? I can have him sent for and he can come

now if its important.

FELIPE : No, not really. (holds up the sheet of paper). He asked me

to write something for the broadside they were putting out. I wanted to show it to

him.

DESIREA : It is best you do not know where he loves. Besides, you

wouldn’t find him there. He’s probably drunk and out cold on some gutter.

(pause) The fool.

 21

(Desirea finishes clearing the table and goes offstage for a moment. She comes

back, wiping her hands on a dishcloth.)

DESIREA : Is there anything else?

FELIPE : What?

DESIREA : Do you want anything? The bar isn’t open yet. There is

breakfast if you want.

FELIPE : There is breakfast here? Something to eat?

DESIREA : No. You have to go someplace else for that. Breakfast for

people here is usually an egg with brandy.

FELIPE : No, thank you. It’s a bit too early.

(A brief pause.)

FELIPE : I never did thank you.

DESIREA : For what?

FELIPE : For helping me get a place.

DESIREA : What do you think of it? Your new home?

FELIPE : I got used to it in the past three months.

DESIREA : He always does that, you know.

FELIPE : Who?

DESIREA : Vicente. He helps people like you.

FELIPE : Exiles? Fugitives? People on the run?

DESIREA : Yes.

FELIPE : What do you think of it?

 22

DESIREA : I do not know. (pause) As a matter of fact… (thinks) You

know, as a matter of fact, I really don’t care.

FELIPE : I think you do. In a sort of way. How many?

DESIREA : How many what?

FELIPE : The people like us who come here?

DESIREA : For someone who’s been here for only a short while, you ask

a lot of questions.

(A brief silence)

DESIREA : I am curious.

FELIPE : About what?

DESIREA : What did you write that made you flee?

FELIPE : A lot of things.

DESIREA : Those “lots of things: must’ve been really bad.

FELIPE : They didn’t like me much.

DESIREA : “They” are the people you are running away from.

FELIPE : You know my story.

DESIREA : (shrugs) It is the same as all the others.

FELIPE : And you?

DESIREA : Me?

FELIPE : What is your story?

DESIREA : Me? (laughs) I am just the old hag who serves the

customers in this once famous café.

FELIPE : You are not an old hag.

 23

DESIREA : Compliments won’t get you free drinks around here. (smiles)

But thank you anyway. That’s the first time someone really said something nice

to me. And not because they wanted to get into bed with me. (pause) Do you?

FELIPE : What? Get into bed with you?

(Desirea nods.)

FELIPE : No.

DESIREA : Really?

FELIPE : Yes. (pause) I am not saying you are not a desirable woman

but…

DESIREA : Thank you.

(A brief silence.)

FELIPE : No, really. Why are you here?

DESIREA : (pause) It was a long time ago. I have already forgotten. It’s

probably because i have seen too many faces and places. Too many stories I

have listened to and somehow I would make them my own. The reason I will be

telling you now will probably just be one that was told to me years ago. (pause) I

don’t know…really. (pause) No one has asked me that for quite a while now.

FELIPE : You are also not from around here.

DESIREA : Yes.

FELIPE : From where?

DESIREA : You do ask a lot of questions.

FELIPE : I was… I was a journalist, you know.

DESIREA : I do not want to know, if you don’t mind.

 24

(A brief, awkward pause.)

DESIREA : (smiles) My turn to ask.

FELIPE : What?

DESIREA : Do you want to order?

FELIPE : Maybe later. My question?

DESIREA : Your questions…can get you in a lot of trouble around here.

(A brief silence. Felipe looks down at his paper and begins to edit it.)

DESIREA : Vicente made you write that?

FELIPE : (holds up the paper) This? Yes.

DESIREA : His goodness doesn’t come without favors. Yours had

come.

FELIPE : He can ask all he wants.

DESIREA : It is not for him. It is for the cause.

FELIPE : As long as it is not illegal.

DESIREA : For “them” everything is illegal. For you, for Vicente, for the

others, it is something good to be done.

FELIPE : The good for one is an evil for the other. A soldier told me

that once. When I was still working for the government. He told me, “You will do

good now but when you realize that our good is bad than your good, then you will

be bad to us.”

DESIREA : He is right.

FELIPE : It is sometimes difficult for us to accept that they are right.

 25

DESIREA : Vicente used to be good also. Almost all of The Rabble here

were.

(A pause.)

FELIPE : About him

DESIREA : Yes?

FELIPE : Are you his?

DESIREA : (pause) Maybe. (pause). At times. (smiles) It would’ve been

easier to say “None of your business.” But I guess…no. No one owns anyone

around here.

FELIPE : I am sorry. I mean… if I had offended you.

DESIREA : Yes. Yes you are. (gestures to the paper) What is that?

FELIPE : A speech for the meeting with the exiles. Vicente says that if

it is good then it can be published.

DESIREA : (nods) He told me about that. He wanted to read a work of

his but he was placed among the main speakers and not in the cultural part.

(pause) That is good. You are giving him what he wants.

(Desirea leaves. Felipe looks at her as she leaves. Then he pulls out a small

notebook from his pocket and a pen. He begins to write)

FELIPE : What do you want from me?

(The lights fade)

 26

SCENE 5

(The stage is dark. There is the sound of applause. The lights go on onstage.

Vicente is standing there. He is well-dressed but looks a bit awkward in his

appearance.)

VICENTE : It is an honor to be here. Of course, many of you are familiar

with the things I do. This evening, I will not read poetry. Instead, I will start with

a brief note. Then a poem. Nothing much, you see, just enough for you to be

entertained.

It is an honor to be here at this gathering. This gathering of the exiles or,

to follow what they call us back home, the rebels. The insurgents. The rabble.

The no-good radicals. The traitors. The troublemakers. The cancer that has to

be eradicated from society.

I guess we should be proud to be called as such. At least, our

government gave us a name. But what of the ones who disappeared? What of

those who were swallowed up and spat out as skulls and shattered bones with

moldy flesh? Do they have names? Will they ever have names?

They called us cowards because we fled. We didn’t face them. We didn’t

fight them. These men carrying guns. These men with their so-called laws. I

say to them: No one fights a superior enemy unless he has decided to end it all.

No one is prepared to lose unless he is prepared to die.

We left our country. We left our families. We abandoned loved ones.

People who cared for us. People who loved us. They who we cared for and
 27

loved. We fear for them yet we ran away. We fled because we didn’t want them

to share our pain.

Is that cowardice? Are we cowards because of that?

We fled one day to fight another day.

Are we then cowards?

We didn’t want to end up like those without names. Or the tortured ones.

We fled in spite of our will to fight. We fled out of fear. For they do not scare us.

The blood. The torn flesh. The broken bones. The screams. The weeping. These

things… these only made us believe that there is something worth fighting for.

And this is what we will face. This worth is something we value. We do it for our

home. The lives we had. The lives we want to have. That we want our children

to have. But these will be worth nothing if we forget them. If we erase them not

when they are no longer here.

It is the memory. It is the home we will have in our life in exile. It is

something that will hold us up in the times when we fail. It is the reward we will

have in the time of triumph.

The time of triumph when we shall return.

(Applause. Vicente raises his hands, takes out a piece of paper out of his pocket,

and unfolds it.)

Before I end my speech, I would like to read a poem I wrote. (groans are

heard from the audience) I know. I know. But since you gave me this opportune

time. Then I shall use it to my advantage.

 28

(There are some good-natured boos and catcalls before Vicente begins to read

the poem. As he reads it, the lights dim on his spot as another light opens

onstage where The Poet is standing. The lights fades out on Vicente as the Poet

takes up the reading.)

EXILE POEM

A short definition of home –

A greasy piece of fish,
A cold clump of rice.
A pistol.
A solitary candle.

Home has given way

To the rumbling tanks of night
To the armies of the sun.
My neighbors have fled,
With eyes of fear and moonlight,
With faces trembling.
The wind heavy with odor
Of lead and burn flesh

Home, your geography now circled

By a thousand boot marks,
Your skies punctured by raised fists
And voices shackled by hopelessness
Your sunrises smeared with blood,
Spreading over slum roots,
Over shanties sprawling for miles like sores,
Over rivers murky with despair.
Over ricefields littered with landmines.
Torn bodies, tiny hills of skulls.
A thousand lost slippers

Home – all your poems and legends,

All your stories and songs,
Now lost to firebombs,
Reduced to ashes
Floating through empty fields of memory.

Today, the sky

In my part of the world
Remains purest blue,
 29

Obscured by the shrapnel of black wings.

(As he finishes, there is a brief silence. Then polite applause followed by cheers

and louder applause. The lights fade out)

SCENE 6

(The lights open onstage. Vicente’s room. Vicente, Felipe and Desirea enter.

Vicente is drunk and is being held up by the two)

VICENTE : Success!! Success! Ah, the sweet taste of success! (raises

the bottle he is carrying) To you, my Muse! Salud!

(Vicente takes a long swig from the bottle. Desirea takes the bottle from him)

FELIPE : Enough, Vicente. You’ve been drinking too much.

DESIREA : You have had enough.

VICENTE : (looks at Felipe) Felipe! Felipe, my dear friend! Success!

Your speech was … magnificent! The exiles have banded together. We will

continue to fight against the oppressors! The rabble had become fighters!

Success! (looks at Desirea, stare at her for a moment, then smiles) Ah, Desirea.

It is only you. I though an angel has fallen from heaven into this place.

DESIREA : Rest. Lie down. You rest.

VICENTE : Woman! Rest? At a time like this? This is a time for

celebration! (to Felipe) Didn’t you hear the applause? Didn’t you hear what they

said about me? About you?

FELIPE : I heard. I heard, Vicente. Now, please. Lie down and rest.

VICENTE : Now they have big dreams. Now they think of fighting. Now

they want to topple oppression. We fight! Long live the armed struggle!
 30

FELIPE : Shut up! You’ll wake the whole building.

VICENTE : Let them hear. Let them wake up. What will they do? Arrest

me? (turns to Desirea) My angel! (to Felipe) Where have you seen such a

beautiful lady, Felipe? (tries to kiss Desirea but stops) You smell like puke.

FELIPE : You threw up on her.

VICENTE : Ah. A thousand pardons. (hugs her) But you still smell good.

The sweetness of your lips. The smile of your face. The heat of your body. The

fire in my loins. (starts to undress her) You had better take this off.

DESIREA : (stops Vicente) What are you doing?

FELIPE : Vicente….

VICENTE : (turns to Felipe) I forgot about you.

FELIPE : Please rest.

VICENTE : You are ashamed of what is happening here. This is sort of

personal. I understand. (turns to Desirea) When were you ever ashamed of

being naked?

DESIREA : (slaps Vicente) You drunken fool!

FELIPE : I will leave you two alone.

VICENTE : But you will be alone. This is a night of celebration. (turns to

Desirea) Take off your clothes. (to Felipe) You can stay and join us. (To Desirea)

Clothes! Now!

DESIREA : Drunken shit!

 31

(They struggle. Desirea tries to push Vicente away. He staggers and falls on the

bed with his arms around Desirea. She struggles, breaks from Vicente’s

embrace and stands up. Vicente is unconscious on the bed, snoring)

FELIPE : Are you alright?

(Desirea doesn’t notice him. She is looking for something. )

FELIPE : Did you loose anything?

DESIREA : Earring

FELIPE : Earring

DESIREA : I lost an earring

(They both look for the earring on the floor. Felipe sees it and picks it up)

FELIPE : Found it.

DESIREA : Thank you. This pair is the only one I have left.

FELIPE : I am sorry about Vicente.

DESIREA : Don’t apologize for him. I am used to it. Just help me

undress him. He has to be washed.

(They talk while undressing Vicente)

FELIPE : How long have you known him?

DESIREA : Long enough

FELIPE : Where did you meet?

DESIREA : At the café. You meet a lot of people there. There’s a towel

by the sink. Wash it and give it to me.

(Felipe takes the towel and washes it in the sink. He hands it to Desirea who

then begins to wipe Vicente down.)

 32

DESIREA : (shakes her head) Really now, Vicente.

FELIPE : Do you live at the café?

DESIREA : Only whores live at the café. (pause) I have a room there.

(pause) But before you say what you think, I am not a whore.

FELIPE : I didn’t think so.

DESIREA : Really?

FELIPE : Yes.

DESIREA : (looks at Felipe) I believe the question you asked me once

was, “Are you his?”

FELIPE : I didn’t mean it.

(Silence. Desirea finishes wiping Vicente. She washes the towel in the sink, lays

it aside, then begins to remove her blouse. Felipe hesitates, then turns away)

DESIREA : I could use a clean shirt. Vicente has some in the upper

drawer.

(Felipe goes to the drawers, opens it, takes out a shirt. He hands it to Desirea

with his face turned away)

DESIREA : Thank you. (puts the shirt on and fixes her hair) Well, good

night.

FELIPE : Can I take you home?

DESIREA : Why?

FELIPE : (shrugs) I just need the company. Hat’s all. Besides, it’s late

and the streets are not safe.

 33

DESIREA : The cafe is just down the street. You can have company

there. (pause) It is nice of you. Thank you, no. (pause) Good night, Felipe.

FELIPE : (nods) Goodnight. (pause) I’ll just lock up here then…I’ll

leave in a little bit.

(Desirea smiles then leaves. Felipe looks after her for a bit. The lights dim.

Felipe goes downstage to one side)

SCENE 7

FELIPE : Her name is Isabel. I never did have a chance to say

goodbye to her. Everything happened so fast. The hiding places. The

disguises. The vehicles. The roads. The paths. The borders. There was no

time to day goodbye. All she did was press a letter in my hand. Then she left. I

was supposed to see her at the border but she came too late. Hurry, they said.

My guides at the crossing were scared. It was too risky at that time. But they did

it for the money. I saw a brief glimpse of her as I crossed beyond the border.

She just looked. The moon briefly lit the trail I crossed. Then, darkness. (pause)

It was only later… it was only later that I discovered that I lost the letter she gave

me during the crossing.

(The lights fade out)

SCENE 8

(The café. Vicente is sitting at his table, writing. Desirea goes up to him)

Desirae: Another round? Or would you prefer to write?

VICENTE : I would prefer both. But this… (gestures at the paper) This

is becoming a difficult piece.

 34

DESIREA : What is it?

VICENTE : A poem. No. More than that. (pause) A nightmare.

DESIREA : Nightmares. Always nightmares.

VICENTE : They come and go. But when they stay… It becomes a

nightmare to write. The words become demons in my brain.

DESIREA : You are drinking too much.

VICENTE : I haven’t touched a drop in a week.

(Desirea goes out, comes back with a bottle and a glass and places it on the

table in front of Vicente.)

DESIREA : Here.

VICENTE : (smiles at Desirea) You are a nurturer of vices.

DESIREA : Maybe.

VICENTE : The saviour of addicts who are trying to stop.

DESIREA : Put your words on paper, Vicente. Do not waste them on

me.

VICENTE : (pause) I have no money. I spent the pay I got from the

newspaper to pay for the rent. The only paper I have is the one I am writing on.

The only piece of metal I have on me is the nib of my pen.

DESIREA : (pushes the bottle to Vicente) Take it.

VICENTE : I do not accept charity.

DESIREA : It is a gift.

VICENTE : It is not Christmas. Nor is it my birthday. (gets the bottle)

But who am I to refuse?

 35

(Vicente opens the bottle and pours himself a glass of wine. He drinks it down

then pours himself another glass as Desirea watches him.)

DESIREA : You know what you have?

VICENTE : A pleasant disposition?

DESIREA : Senseless pride.

VICENTE : Pride keeps me alive.

DESIREA : It is stupid.

(A brief silence. Vicente drinks)

VICENTE : The wine is good.

DESIREA : It is cheap.

VICENTE : I will pay you soon.

DESIREA : (nods) Soon. (pause) What do you think of him?

VICENTE : Who?

DESIREA : Felipe.

VICENTE : The man has talent. He is a bit foolish in the ways of hiding

but he has talent.

DESIREA : Just like that?

VICENTE : Like what?

DESIREA : Talent. You are like one of those talent scouts that roam the

city. Looking for beautiful girls. “Hey you! I will make you a star!” Pick up the

scum off the streets and make them into something.

VICENTE : Like what happened to you?

DESIREA : Mine was different. I will always be different.

 36

VICENTE : I pick them when they still have something left. Something

they left beyond the border. When they fail, they end up as whores.

DESIREA : Whores.

VICENTE : Maybe I am like that. A finder of whores.

DESIREA : Maybe. A pimp.

VICENTE : Yes. A pimp. The pimp of The Rabble.

DESIREA : That is good.

VICENTE : This exile. It has changed us all.

DESIREA : He hasn’t.

VICENTE : No, he hasn’t . He will.

DESIREA : He won’t. He can’t.

VICENTE : He can’t because he doesn’t want to.

DESIREA : There is still much love in him. For someone. Someone he

has left behind. Her name was Isabel.

VICENTE : It is so hard to love someone. For an exile. To be far from

someone.

DESIREA : Did you ever think of going back?

VICENTE : Not there. Not yet.

DESIREA : But if there was a chance. If someday…

VICENTE : Then that day will come. But not now. Not tomorrow.

DESIREA : Someday.

VICENTE : Probably. That will be the day.

(They look at each other. Vicente goes back to his writing)

 37

DESIREA : Leave the bottle if you are finished with it.

(She stands up and leaves. The lights change)

SCENE 9

(Felipe enters carrying a wine glass. He sets it down before Vicente who keeps

on writing. Felipe pours himself some wine)

FELIPE : Some talk has been going around.

VICENTE : Talk always goes around.

FELIPE : This talks are different.

VICENTE : Many people talk.

FELIPE : They say there is trouble brewing. They say something bad

is going happen.

(Vicente stops writing and looks at Felipe)

FELIPE : The government here is no longer…stable.

VICENTE : Rumors.

FELIPE : Some of our friends are uneasy. They say that the military is

set to stage a coup. If the government falls, we will fall with them. If a new

government is formed, our country might take advantage of things. If they make

a deal with the new leaders…

VICENTE : That’s a lot of “ifs” in your short sentence. (pause) It means

nothing.

(Vicente goes back to writing. Felipe looks at him for a moment then angrily

slams his fist on the table.)

 38

FELIPE : WILL YOU PLEASE LISTEN?

(A short pause. Vicente looks up at Felipe then carefully lays down his pen and

folds his hands on the table.)

VICENTE : I am listening, Felipe.

FELIPE : It may be time to move on.

VICENTE : (pause) I think there is nothing to fear for now.

FELIPE : We may have everything to be fearful about now.

VICENTE : And what is there to fear?

FELIPE : The people we are running away from may soon come here

in this place of ours. The deaths and torture that we are running away from may

soon be here. (pause) We must move away.

VICENTE : And tell me, where are we going to move? Tell me. Where?

FELIPE : I don’t know. Beyond another border. There is talk of an

escape route. An embassy that might be giving travel permits. Or visas. Or

temporary asylum. Then we move on to something permanent. Somewhere

permanent.

VICENTE : But now. We still have nowhere else to go.

FELIPE : (pause) Nowhere else to go. (pause) But we could start

looking for ways to get out.

(A brief pause.)

FELIPE : Don’t you understand?

VICENTE : Don’t worry. Nothing will happen.

 39

FELIPE : You are so sure of yourself. (pause) We can prepare at

least.

VICENTE : We.

FELIPE : Me. You. Desirea.

VICENTE : If you wish.

FELIPE : Thank you. (pause) I am meeting someone. He knows

someone who can provide us with passports. Travel permits. Supplies.

VICENTE : Secretly, of course.

FELIPE : (nods) Of course.

VICENTE : It will be hard to hide things like that. You might cause a

panic if people saw you.

FELIPE : It will be done quietly. Like what everybody is doing right

now.

VICENTE : (pause) I see.

(Felipe stand up to leave)

VICENTE : Pray.

FELIPE : (pause) What?

VICENTE : Nothing. (pause) Nothing.

FELIPE : Desirea and I are going to the borders. (pause) They say we

can bribe some guards to let us through.

VICENTE : That is good. (pause) Now, leave. I am busy.

 40

(Felipe leaves. Vicente finishes writing and puts down his pen. He holds up the

paper and silently reads what he has written. The light dims on him as another

light opens onstage. The Poet begins to read the poem.)

FLIGHT AND ENTRAPMENT

The road ahead curves like a scythe

This life so far has been defined

By endless barbed wire fences
And the sovereignty of landmines
The music of my sleep –
Metallic scream of sirens,
Barking dogs in the distance,
Mania of megaphones.
The night has teeth.

This velocity has scarred my flesh.

My body aches for stillness, even

Momentarily. For years, motion
It seems, has been the enemy,
Not tyrants, not the generals.

Under painful emerald dawns I awake.

The trees are my friends because they hide me.
The leaves, because they feed me.
The streams, because they cleanse me.

The planet is my bedroom –

Years of shallow slumbers on grass fields,
Refuge in the blue fractions of hours,
In desolate streets, decrepit huts,
In the flea-bitten secrecy of inns,

For years I have not been myself.

I have lived many lives,
I have assumed a hundred names,
My flesh attuned to every secret of survival,
As I crisscross life’s time zones and borders.
I have seen the different faces
Of my race –

I have seen fishermen casting nets

 41

Into emerald waters,

I have seen farmers pulling oxen
Across muddy rice fields
Under summer afternoons breathing like furnaces.
How I envy all my brothers and sisters –
For them, life simply goes on,
As the sun hammers hard down the land.

I have known all the faces of the moon,

All the constellations of pain,
Latitudes of fear, graphs of grief.
I have know what it is to be

A cipher in the map

Of this invisible country called freedom.

(The light fades out on The Poet. The lights brighten again on Vicente. He folds

the paper and pockets it. He reaches for his glass of wine and is about to sip

from it when he pauses.)

VICENTE : God help us all.

(He drinks from the glass. The lights fade out)

SCENE 10

(The scene opens with the sound of gunfire and rumbling tanks. Men are

shouting and people screaming. From a radio, we can hear the babble of voices.

The voices rise in crescendo. Then everything is cut off and we hear a feedback

tone. Then silence)

(The lights open onstage. It is a small room with a table in the center and some

chairs. There is a small dresser on one side. A kitchen sink and cup board is on

the other side. Felipe and Desirea enter. They are each holding a bag of clothes

and things. Felipe also has a backpack. Desirea is visibly worried. She looks
 42

around the room. Felipe puts down his things and looks at Desirea. She is very

worried and keeps looking at the doorway or out of the window. )

FELIPE : Stop worrying.

DESIREA : Are you sure we are at the right place?

FELIPE : I read the map right. I listened when directions were given.

Yes, we are at the right place.

DESIREA : Are you sure?

FELIPE : Yes. (pause) Start worrying.

DESIREA : Then how come he isn’t here?

FELIPE : He will come.

DESIREA : He should’ve been here by now.

FELIPE : He just can’t travel and take a ride anywhere he wants to.

They may be watching the road. Did he burn his old papers?

DESIREA : (pause) I don’t know.

FELIPE : What do you mean, “You don’t know”? Did he?

DESIREA : I don’t know. I don’t know. (pause) He told me that he

would. He was to burn them the day before we were supposed to leave.

FELIPE : Nothing happened the day before, Desirea. The coup

happened before that. He only learned of the crackdown on the dissidents only

yesterday.

DESIREA : So? What does it mean?

FELIPE : It meant there was no need to burn anything the day before.

It means that we were not in danger.

 43

DESIREA : I…I must’ve confused the dates.

(A brief silence.)

FELIPE : (angrily) The fool! The goddamn fool!

DESIREA : I only remember him telling me that he would burn his

papers.

FELIPE : Well, he’d better.

(The two start fixing their things in the room)

FELIPE : I’m hungry.

DESIREA : There’s some food in the backpack.

(Felipe rummages through the bag and takes out a loaf of bread.)

FELIPE : Bread.

DESIREA : There’s a bottle of wine somewhere in there.

FELIPE : (rummages through the bag again and brings out a chunk of

cheese) Cheese.

DESIREA : I packed enough food to last us a couple of days. I packed

food for three people.

FELIPE : (pause) He will come.

(Felipe goes to the table with the food. He slices some bread and cheese.)

DESIREA : I had been on the run before. (pause) I ran once. But this is

the first time I felt I have to keep on running.

FELIPE : I have been running. Ever since I left my country. Believe

me. It is that dangerous.

DESIREA : (pause) The papers. Was it necessary to burn them?

 44

FELIPE : Yes. If you were caught it, they would know who and what

you are.

DESIREA : But if they caught you and you were not carrying any papers,

they would throw you in jail. They would still know.

FELIPE : Better to be caught without your papers. You could tell them

you lost you papers. When they question you, you could think of a new name and

tell them you papers were lost. (pause) I did it once. And they believed me.

DESIREA : Felipe. (pause) Is that your real name? The one you have

now? The one you gave me? Felipe?

FELIPE : (pause) Yes. (pause) That is my name. (pause) Yes.

(pause) Felipe. (reaches for another slice of bread and eats) The bread is a bit

stale.

(The lights fade out.)

SCENE 11

(The stage is dark. We could hear the sound of footsteps. Heavy boots. They

ring hollowly on a concrete floor. Soft murmurings. Then a metal door

screeching open. A loud thud. Then soft classical music starts playing. The

murmuring of voices continue. Then the sharp piercing scream of a man in pain.

It echoes in the darkness then fades away.)

(A single spotlight turns on Vicente. He is sitting on a wooden stool in the middle

of the room. The stool is obviously a little small for an adult. Vicente is

uncomfortable and fidgets from time to time. He is sweating heavily. The light is

hurting his eyes and he is squinting against the glare. He tries to peer into the
 45

darkness and shades his eyes with his hands. The rough voice of his

interrogator shouts at him from the darkness. )

INTERROGATOR: Put down your hand!

(Vicente puts down his hand. He fidgets)

INTERROGATOR: Sit still!

VICENTE : I am sorry but the…

INTERROGATOR: Quiet!

(Silence)

INTERROGATOR: Name?

VICENTE : Domingo Maximo

INTERROGATOR: Sir!

VICENTE : Excuse me?

INTERROGATOR: Sir! You will address me as Sir! You will end all your

answers with Sir! Understand?

VICENTE : Yes.

INTERROGATOR: UNDERSTOOD?

VICENTE : Yes…Sir.

INTERROGATOR: Name?

VICENTE : Domingo…Maximo. Domingo Maximo sir.

INTERROGATOR: I meant your real name.

VICENTE : Real name. Sir?

INTERROGATOR: Your papers?

 46

VICENTE : I had them…here. (goes through his pockets) Yes, I had

them. (stops looking) They were in my bag.

INTERROGATOR: Your bag?

VICENTE : Yes, sir. They said they will hold onto my bag while I was

brought here.

INTERROGATOR: I see.

VICENTE : They told me it was evidence.

INTERROGATOR: Evidence?

VICENTE : Yes. For what, I don’t know. (pause) I don’t know. (pause)

Maybe you know, sir?

(Silence. A rustle of papers can be heard then a bag zipper opening.)

INTERROGATOR: Is this your bag?

VICENTE : Yes. Yes sir. That is my bag.

INTERROGATOR: Your papers?

VICENTE : My identity card is in the front pocket.

(Silence)

INTERROGATOR: Your identity card?

VICENTE : (nods) Yes, that is the one.

INTERROGATOR: I see. (pause) Your card. It is not real, is it?

VICENTE : What?

INTERROGATOR: Sir!

(Silence)

INTERROGATOR: It is not real.

 47

VICENTE : I do not understand, sir. It has my name on it. My

address…sir.

INTERROGATOR: (pause) This card is…useless. These papers are

useless.

VICENTE : It was issued by the government.

INTERROGATOR: Then it is useless. The past government gave you

this, yes?

VICENTE : Yes, sir.

INTERROGATOR: Domingo Maximo. (pause) Are these your papers?

VICENTE : Yes, sir.

INTERROGATOR: Then, please explain to me why…(the sound of

rustling papers) You had another set of papers with an identity card issued to

Vicente Laya?

(Silence)

INTERROGATOR: Your name, please?

VICENTE : I already told you….

(Suddenly the light flickers. A man screams in pain. The light brightens again.

Then the voice of the same man babbling incoherently. Again, the light flickers.

Another scream of pain from the man.)

INTERROGATOR: (angrily) Nonsense! This is absolute nonsense!

(The sound of a door opening. Then another door opening further on. The

screams and pleading become louder. Vicente stares and listens in horror. The

light flickers. Again the man screams. Then a shot. Silence. Footsteps, then the
 48

sound of a door closing. The sound of a chair scraping against the floor.

Silence.)

INTERROGATOR: (clearing his throat) Now, where were we?

(Vicente is silent)

INTERROGATOR: Forgive me for the inconvenience. Don’t be scared.

It wouldn’t come to that. That man was just an …inconvenience.

VICENTE : (quietly) I am not scared, sir.

INTERROGATOR: You shouldn’t be. You shouldn’t be… if you are going

to cooperate. (pause) Cigarette?

VICENTE : No, thank you…sir.

INTERROGATOR: That is good. Very well. (pause) Now, which are

yours? The papers on the left? Or the papers on the right?

VICENTE : I do not know of the other papers. My name is Domingo

Maximo.

INTERROGATOR: It was in your bag but you do not know how it got

there. (pause) Let me tell you what I know. This Vicente Laya, We have been

looking for him for quite a while. An inconvenience to our government. A liar. A

rebel. They say that he helped people get out of my country. He gave them

hiding places. He helped traitors, this Vicente Laya. (pause) The man you heard

a while ago. He had a name. It took some time for him to remember his real

name. We had to do some…things to him. The electricity was just for fun. Oh,

he remembered his name after a day or two. But then he told us what he told us
 49

was not his real name. (pause) We again tried to help him remember. As you

heard. He became an inconvenience. (pause) Don’t do that to yourself.

VICENTE : I am not afraid.

INTERROGATOR: (pause then laughs) Oh, you will be. (pause) You will

be.

(The light slowly fades out as Vicente continues to stare straight ahead,

uncertainty in his eyes.)

SCENE 11

(The lights open onstage. A small room in the middle of a noisy town. The traffic

outside could be heard through the open window.)

(Felipe comes in. He is carrying a plastic bag of food wrapped in newspapers.

He sees that the room is empty. He place the bag on the table, goes to a small

dresser, opens the window and closes it. He draws the curtain. He then goes to

the table, opens the bag, and begins to take out fruit, bread, bottled water and a

knife.

(Desirea comes in. She is wearing a bandanna and sunglasses. She removes

them and places it on the table. She sits down.)

FELIPE : Eat.

DESIREA : Fruit. And bread.

FELIPE : It was all I could afford.

DESIREA : We still have water.

FELIPE : It is better to store some.

(Desirea takes the knife, cuts a slice of bread and eats it)
 50

FELIPE : There is some preserve if you want.

(Felipe takes a jar from the cupboard and hands it to her. Desirea looks at the

jar)

DESIREA : Strawberry. (opens the jar) It doesn’t look like strawberry.

FELIPE : (sits down) Who knows?

DESIREA : (spreads some jam on the bread) I used to do something

like this back home. Just boil some water into a syrup. Add a little juice for

flavor. Then put coloring in it to give it a tinge resembling the fruit the juice came

from. Ersatz jam.

FELIPE : Food is food.

DESIREA : (looks at the jam smeared on her bread) Looks like blood.

(Felipe tears a chunk of bread from the loaf, spreads some jam on it and eats)

FELIPE : Sweet. (pause) Too sweet.

DESIREA : Looks like blood.

(Desirea reaches over and wipes a smear of jam from Felipe’s lips. A pause)

DESIREA : Is there any news?

FELIPE : No.

DESIREA : It’s been two weeks.

FELIPE : There’s nothing. No trace of him. I asked around. No word.

No trace.

DESIREA : He could’ve gone underground/

FELIPE : No. I asked.

DESIREA : Maybe you didn’t ask the right people.

 51

(Felipe doesn’t answer)

DESIREA : He could’ve gone out through another part of the border.

FELIPE : There is no other part of the border to get out of. If you try

another way, the border guards will shoot you. He could only have passed

through this border station.

DESIREA : He could be anywhere.

FELIPE : There is no such thing as anywhere where we came from.

DESIREA : Are you telling me he’s dead?

(Felipe is silent)

DESIREA : (In a hard voice) Are you telling me he’s dead?

FELIPE : (pause) No.

DESIREA : No?

FELIPE : No. (pause) He’s not dead.

(A brief silence. Felipe bites a piece of bread and chews slowly. Desirea takes a

bottle of water, opens it and drinks. Felipe finishes his bread, takes an orange,

tears the rind off, breaks it into sections and hands some to Desirea. She looks

at it and then at Felipe)

FELIPE : The vendor says it is sweet. Take it. It might be better than

the bread and jam. (pause) I’m sorry.

(Desirea hesitates, then takes the orange, tears of a section and pops it into her

mouth.)

DESIREA : Two weeks. And no word.

 52

FELIPE : I went back to the border station the other day. Both sides

were closed. Guards were all over the place. The refugees were caught in

between. But anybody could’ve gotten through… for the right price.

DESIREA : Our guide…

FELIPE : Was there. He was there.

DESIREA : And?

FELIPE : He said he went to the meeting place. He said he waited.

Waited for at least a day. No Vicente. He waited until the hour the border was

closing…

DESIREA : So he said.

FELIPE : So he did. (pause) No Vicente. (pause) The army came.

The guards came. And they began closing the border. Placed all the checkpoints.

So he had to leave.

DESIREA : And you believed him?

FELIPE : Should I not?

DESIREA : Maybe he didn’t wait. Maybe he just took the money we

gave him for Vicente and then left. (pause) Maybe he betrayed Vicente.

(A pause)

DESIREA : You’d never know.

FELIPE : No. I wouldn’t think that.

DESIREA : The money for Vicente’s head is larger than the amount we

paid him to bring Vicente over the border. He could’ve betrayed him. (pause)

The bastard!
 53

FELIPE : We don’t know if that happened!

(A pause. Desirea pops another section of orange into her mouth, sucks it then

spits it out)

DESIREA : This orange is sour.

FELIPE : I was told they were sweet.

DESIREA : You can’t trust what others say in these times.

(A knock on the door. The two freeze. Another knock)

DESIREA : It’s him. Open the door.

(Another knock)

DESIREA : Open the door.

FELIPE : No. It can’t be. He isn’t with the guide. He doesn’t know

where we are.

(Another knock. Desirea stands up and opens the door. She freezes as she

sees the person at the door. She turns to Felipe. He stands up and goes to the

door. He is handed a folded piece of paper. Desirea goes back to the table.

Felipe exchanges a few murmured words with the person at the door. He

reaches into his pocket for some money then hands it to the person.)

DESIREA : (softly) The bastard.

(Felipe closes the door. He opens the folded paper and read the message on it.

He folds it again and looks at Desirea)

FELIPE : They found him at the border. He’s been arrested.

 54

(Desirea weakens visibly, sits, and just stares into empty space. Felipe walks

behind her and lays a hand on her shoulder. The noise of traffic outside becomes

louder)

(The lights fade out)

SCENE 12

(The lights on one part of the stage. Vicente is standing in semi-darkness. He

seemed lost.)

VICENTE : Dear Desirea… What day is it? It always has been dark

here. They took away my watch. My time. My days and nights. This room

doesn’t even have windows. They even blacked out the ventilators. Once, I tried

to tell the time of day by the food they gave. It took me just a few hours to realize

it’s the same kind of bread and the same kind of soup and the same kind of

water. Some people I met during the first days of the terror said that you can tell

the time by your body clock. If you get tired and sleepy, then it’s nighttime.

Unfortunately for me, writers don’t know night from day. I never knew the

difference of both times.

Once, I heard the fluttering of the wings of a small insect. I tried to talk to

it. Tried to find out where it came from. I tried to hear where it went. They seem

to just disappear in the dark.

There were screams a moment ago. A man. And later a woman. Cries of

pain. Screams for mercy. Whatever it was they were doing to them, their shouts

were enough to get through here. The walls are thick. They were close I know
 55

that. Yet, they seem so far in the distance. (pause) I thought the screams would

never stop. I wonder… what time does this all happen?

I write in the dark. Yes, writing. In my head. A poem. A very long poem.

At least the first draft. (points to head) It is all in here. Every character, place,

time, word, sentence, paragraph, page, even the punctuation marks. (pause) I

write. Or at least, I tried to. It was difficult at first. It was like real writing. There

was a struggle to go beyond the first page. But I had to write it. To go beyond it.

If only to keep my sanity here in the dark. I go through the poem again. Word by

word. Line by line. Verse by verse. I will put it down on paper soon. I will never

forget it. It will be hard to forget. I must not forge it.

(A poem about torture and suffering. About betrayal and the will to

survive.)

(Vicente is unable to finish the poem. His voice trails off has he stutters on the

last lines. A brief silence.)

It will take time. But I hope it will not be the luxury I will have. (pause) I

miss you. I pray that this will be over soon.

(The lights slowly dim. Then there is the sound of a door opening. A beam of

light silhouettes Vicente. The sound of weeping and screams of pain can be

heard.)

(The lights fade out.)

SCENE 13
 56

(The lights open onstage. Felipe and Desirea’s room. Night. Desirea is staring

at the lit candle on the table. Felipe enters. He is carrying a bag of fruit. He

goes up to Desirea.)

FELIPE : Some of the stores were already closed. I had to go to the

other side of town… (pause) What’s wrong?

DESIREA : Nothing. Nothing.

FELIPE : (puts the bag on the table) This is all I got.

DESIREA : No, thanks.

FELIPE : There was no water. No bread.

DESIREA : (pause) He’s dead, isn’t he?

FELIPE : (pause) I don’t know. (pause) There’s no word. None at

all.

DESIREA : He’s dead.

FELIPE : I don’t want to talk about it.

DESIREA : I asked around. I have some friends too. I have some

contacts. I tried to know. (pause) They say people were arrested at the borders

and brought back to the city. They say these people were brought to the

prisons… and never seen again. They say that trucks usually leave the prisons

at night to go the fields. The burial fields they called it. A secret cemetery.

Dozens of bodies are dumped in a common grave.

FELIPE : Lies. Tall tales.

DESIREA : No one leaves the city… alive.

FELIPE : Tales. Gossip. You can’t believe everything they say.

 57

DESIREA : They say it’s true.

FELIPE : If, as they say, no one leaves the city alive, then how do they

know what’s happening inside?

DESIREA : People leave if there’s nothing to be found. (pause) It’s been

a month. He didn’t get out. No news. Not anything. (pause) The only thing that

tells me is that he’s dead.

FELIPE : Don’t think about it. (pause) You don’t have to think about it.

DESIREA : No. (pause) I don’t want to because it’s too painful. You

don’t know if he’s alive or dead. Or more dead than alive. (pause) I try not to

think about. I won’t think about it.

(A brief silence.)

FELIPE : There were some oranges. And apples. Apples and

oranges.

DESIREA : Fruit.

FELIPE : There wasn’t much food for sale.

DESIREA : Fruit and water.

FELIPE : There was bread. Some cheese. But it was on the black

market and we don’t have that much money.

DESIREA : I would’ve preferred…

FELIPE : (raises his voice in annoyance) There was no more!

DESIREA : (pause and stares at Felipe) I would’ve… preferred…

(pause) Hold me.

 58

(Felipe goes to her and hugs her. Desirea stiffens at the embrace then slowly

lets go. She hugs Felipe back.)

DESIREA : It’s so unfair. So unfair.

FELIPE : I’m sorry.

DESIREA : It could’ve been better if we went our own ways. It would’ve

been better if you just left us. Or he just left. Then no one would‘ve been left

behind. No one arrested. Or missing. Nor we would be left with the trouble if

someone was dead or alive. (pause) The worrying will just kill us. But

sometimes you can’t forget. You have to force yourself to forget. To shut it out.

Less pain. Less pain.

FELIPE : Stop. Stop it.

DESIREA : Less pain. Forget the pain.

FELIPE : Stop it.

DESIREA : (pause) He’s dead, isn’t he?

FELIPE : I don’t know.

DESIREA : Tell me he’s dead and I’ll forgot. Tell me he’s dead and he’s

gone from me. (pause) Please.

FELIPE : I… (pause)

DESIREA : (firmly) Tell me he’s dead and I’ll forget.

FELIPE : (pauses then nods) I love you.

(The two stare at each other’s eyes. They embrace then kiss. As the lights dim

on them, another light opens on another part of the stage. Vicente is tied up in a

chair. He has been tortured. The Interrogator’s voice echoes across the dark.)
 59

INTERROGATOR : WHO ARE YOU? WHAT IS YOUR NAME? WHO

DO YOU WORK FOR? WHO ARE YOU? WHO ARE YOU? WHO ARE YOU?

(The questions are repeated over and over until Vicente screams in desperation.)

(The lights fade out.)

END OF ACT 1
 60

ACT 2

SCENE 1

(The light opens on one part of the stage. Desirea is facing the audience.)

DESIREA : It’s been a year. Then another and another and another until

I finally lost count.

We moved out of that horrible little place for a bigger room. It’s a house

Felipe found in a rural area. Away from the crowd. Hidden from his enemies. At

first it was a bit hard. There was no running water in the place and we had to

draw water from a pump we shared with four other houses. Food had to be

brought from a store in another town. Felipe tried planting a garden. (laughs)

Can you imagine? A writer planting, using his hands for other things than holdng

a pen. (pause) Beans and tomatoes. And a few eggplants. It was hard at first.

But you get used to it especially when the calluses begin to form on your hands.

(pause) It had been a year and another. He’s been gone that long. There were

stories. News. A lot of them rumors. All Felipe and I knew that he was probably

dead. (pause) Probably… maybe. There were stories. The best ones and

incredulous ones was that he’s alive. Alive and collaborating with the enemy.

Their enemy. (pause) He would never do that. But Felipe used to say that …

there were worse situations than just living. (pause) If he is, indeed, alive… he

probably just wanted to be alive.

The heart. It can harden, you know. You can forget. You will forget if

someone comes along. But sometimes the memory comes back. A twinge in

the recesses of heart and mind. A tiny almost imperceptible twinge. He may be
 61

alive. (pause) But Felipe also said… there are worse things to be in if you

remain alive in a place like the old city. With your enemies all around you. But…

what else can you do?

(The lights fade out.)

SCENE 2

(The lights open onstage. Felipe and Desirea’s room. Day. There is a sound of

rain outside. Desirea enters carrying a cooking pot and places it on the table.

She opens the lid and sniffs its contents. There is a sound of a door opening.

Felipe enters. He is wet.)

DESIREA : You’re early.

FELIPE : The rains. The town was beginning to flood.

(Felipe removes his jacket. Desirea goes up to him and kisses him.)

DESIREA : Get out of those wet clothes. I made us some soup.

(Felipe is silent. Desirea looks at him and sees that he seems troubled.)

DESIREA : What’s wrong?

FELIPE : Nothing. Nothing. (pause) I’ll go change.

(Felipe goes to his room. Desirea sets the table with two bowls and spoons. A

serving plate of bread. A bowl of rice. Felipe enters the room. A towel is draped

over his shoulders. He sits at the table. Desirea ladles out some soup in a bowl

and gives it to him. Felipe takes a sip and nods.)

DESIREA : (sits down) Good?

FELIPE : Good,

DESIREA : So, how was the meeting?

 62

FELIPE : It went well. The usual agenda. These Committee meetings

are becoming very boring. They are boring. But they… we can do big things if

we succeed.

DESIREA : That’s good.

FELIPE : There is also news. Well, rumors actually. But if it is true,

then it is good news. For all of us.

DESIREA : What news?

FELIPE : There are rumors that the regime had fallen.. The dictator is

sick. His underlings are already fighting for positions of power. There are some

moderates in the regime who are gaining strength and may run the country soon.

(pause) It is good news if it is true. Moderates are better than die-hard fanatics.

There are some talks that some of the moderates had been getting in touch with

the Committee.

DESIREA : It could be a trap.

FELIPE : That was what we initially thought. It is too simple. But with

the old government becoming weaker there is a chance that someone else…

someone worse would run the country. The moderates do not want that. So it is

best if they unified forces with us. So, the Committee is becoming agreeable to

talk.

DESIREA : So we can return… soon.

FELIPE : Probably.

DESIREA : To the city? To the café?

FELIPE : Yes.
 63

DESIREA : We can return to our life. Our new life. Together.

FELIPE : Yes. Maybe. (pause) But these are only rumors. There is

not much to hope for.

DESIREA : At the way we had been living for these past years, rumors

are better than no news.

FELIPE : Maybe. Probably (takes another sip of soup) It is good, the

soup. Beef?

DESIREA : (nods) Madam Rosales had some bouillon cubes in stock.

She exchanged some for your beans.

FELIPE: (smiles) I never realized that my beans will be appreciated.

DESIREA : There’s some wine left to warm you more.

FELIPE : Thank you.

(Desirea stands up, exits, and returns with a bottle of wine. She uncorks it and

pours Felipe a glass of wine.)

FELIPE : Such a luxury.

DESIREA : It is the only vice we have. (pause) I wonder what it would be

like. I mean, going back. For you, of course. For us.

FELIPE : Will you join me? Will you be with me?

DESIREA : What do you mean?

FELIPE : Going back?

DESIREA : Yes. (pause) What do you think this was all about? This

living together? (pause) Yes, I will be with you.

FELIPE : (pause) No matter what?

 64

(A brief pause)

DESIREA : Is anything wrong?

FELIPE : No. Nothing wrong. (pause) The committee is already

planning what to do once the change occurs. If it occurs. They are already

handing out positions. Someone for State. Someone for the Treasury.

Someone for the Army. For Justice. For Public Works. I never knew there were

so many positions to fill up just to run a country.

DESIREA : And you?

FELIPE : (shrugs) Who cares?

DESIREA : You should be happy.

FELIPE : They wanted to give me Justice. (pause) I am not a lawyer.

But they want to give me Justice. “Let the lawyers handle your office. You just

lead it. (pause) The committee is anticipating cases of human rights violations

against the regime. They want me to be the head of the documenting teams. To

gather evidence.

DESIREA : That is good.

FELIPE : There will be many. The victims. The torturers. The

executioners. The collaborators.

DESIREA : You will have your hands full.

FELIPE : Yes.

DESIREA : Don’t let it be a part of your life.

FELIPE : (pause) What do you mean?

 65

DESIREA : All your life you made your cause a part of it. Now that

everything will change… I want to be a part of your other life. That without the

cause. That is, if you want it to be so.

FELIPE : I do.

DESIREA : You have to be sure.

FELIPE : I am.

DESIREA : Are you happy?

FELIPE : Yes. (pause then tries to smile) I have been running for so

long that I don’t even know what that word means anymore.

DESIREA : You will know it again. If you try. If you will.

FELIPE : I am trying. Now that everything will probably change.

DESIREA : Are you really trying?

FELIPE : Yes.

DESIREA : Then we will have a good life when we get back.

FELIPE : Yes. (pause) Maybe.

DESIREA : Maybe?

FELIPE : It will be too soon to tell. (pause) Yes. I mean, yes. You will

always be a part of my new life.

(Desirea goes up to him. They hug.)

FELIPE : It will be good to stop running. (pause) We will be home.

(They hug and kiss. The lights slowly fade out.)

 66

SCENE 3

(The lights go on one part of the stage. Vicente is comfortably sitting in a chair.

A single light is shining on him. He is holding a cane and smoking a cigarette.

He is squinting at the light. He is talking to someone in front of him.)

VICENTE : I am sorry, sir. The light. It is painful to my eyes. (smiles as

the light dims a bit) Thank you, sir. Thank you. You see, I’ve lived for quite a

while. In a cell without any light… (pause) Yes. No light. Completely dark. I

don’t know how long, sir. It was probably days… or months… I think, years?

(pause) Do you know what year it is? (pause then nods) I don’t what day…

month.. or year it is anymore. (pause) I was arrested on… what was the year of

the coup, sir? (listens then nods) And what year it is today? (pause then nods)

Six years. Six years, sir. (pause) Why am I here in the prison? I was arrested

you see. I had a price on my head… then… and they got me. (pause) Yes, the

former government, sir. The dictator. (pause) They tell me he is gone now.

And that things are being run in a different way now. (pause) Yes, I was wanted.

Subversive writings. (pause) Yes, sir. (pause) Poet. I was that poet. (pause

then smiles) I see that you have some of my writings. (pause) I am that poet,

sir. (smiles hesitantly) I… was that poet. I don’t know if I can still write. I used to

have the words in my head but six years… (shrugs) They may come back.

(pause) There was no light in my cell for some time. I hardly saw the outside.

And there was no one to talk to.. except them. (pause then nods) Yes, them.

When they wanted some questions answered. (pause) I don’t know if I can still

write, sir. (smiles) Yes, that was me. I use to write a lot when I drank. But these
 67

past six years, you see, sir… no wine. No vice. (holds up the cigarette) By the

way, thank you for this, sir. It has been a long time. Real tobacco. I haven’t had

a good cigarette for a while. All they had were these dried stock… (pause) Yes,

I used to get cigarettes. (a long pause) What was that? Collaborators? (shakes

his head) I don’t know of any collaborators, sir. There were stool pigeons in

prison if that’s what you mean. (pause) They told on fellow prisoners…

(There is a brief silence. Then the single light on Vicente slowly becomes

brighter again.)

Informants on sympathizers and friends who used to live in the old city?

(pause) No, sir. You see, I am just a poet. (pause) I look healthy, sir? More of

just being alive, sir. Just that. (pause) I managed to live in this hellhole.

(pause) Yes… (inhales then angrily) When you are always on the run, when you

get caught and arrested and tortured and tried to keep on living… you have to

learn to survive. You must. (pause) Write a list? What kind of list? Of fellow

prisoners that I knew here inside? (pause) Yes, I will. If I can still write… you

see, I was in the dark for a long time… (pause then looks closely at something

that is held up in front of him) That? I don’t know. (pause) It may have been

mine. It is my handwriting. (pause) Yes, now I remember. I started writing that a

long time ago. Six years? I think, yes. There is a date? (pause) I can’t tell. It

was dated last year? I didn’t have any means to write. Much less a light to

see… (pause) Can I see it?

(Vicente stands up, momentarily leaves the light, then returns and sits again

carrying a piece of paper. He begins to read a poem.)

 68

(An unfinished poem about betrayal by friends)

I don’t think this is mine, sir. I never thought like this. I had friends, you

see. (pause) Yes. They may be still alive. I knew they fled. (pause) I don’t

remember much of them anymore. I mean, six years. (pause) How could I have

written this? In the darkness of my cell. (pause) I don’t know. (pause) You see,

in prison… in this kind of prison… you had to do something. (pause) There may

be a lot of ways to survive. (pause) I had to live.

(The light slowly fades out.)

SCENE 4

(The lights open onstage. Felipe and Desirea’s apartment. Felipe is sitting at the

table. He is drinking a cup of coffee. He is deep in thought while sipping his

coffee. Desirea enters. She is surprised at seeing Felipe.)

DESIREA : Oh. You’re home early.

FELIPE : They ended the meeting early. There was plenty to discuss

but everybody wanted to start moving back to the old city. There was a list. I

never knew so many fled the day of the coup and even months before they

closed the border. They are all going back. And so are we. (pause) I found us

a place to live there.

DESIREA : At the café?

FELIPE : No. There are too many old memories there. I found us a

new place beyond the old city.

DESIREA : You had been to the old city?

FELIPE : (nods) Yes.

 69

DESIREA : What was it like? How did it look like?

FELIPE : Pretty much the same. It is more dirtier than I remember. I

saw the café. It was closed. I don’t know where the jefe was. The old city is still

the same. And we are going back.

DESIREA : (excitedly) When?

FELIPE : (smiles) I don’t know.

DESIREA : (insistently) When?

FELIPE : (laughs) The day after today. I already made the

arrangements.

(Desirea jumps with joy then goes up to Felipe and hugs him.)

DESIREA : I can’t believe it! We’re going home! Back to the old place.

To the café! We’re going home. The first thing we will do is go to the café and

celebrate with whatever we could find there. Then food for a feast. Then we will

go to our place and… (pause) Then… then… (sighs) Sorry. I was babbling. I

never thought… I guess I’ve never been this excited before. I mean… a home.

For us.

(Desirea pauses. She notices that Felipe has lapsed into deep thought as he

sips his coffee again.)

DESIREA : (pause) What’s wrong?

FELIPE : Nothing.

DESIREA : (stares at Felipe) I’ve been living with you for quite some

time to know that your nothing always meant something.

(A brief pause. Felipe sips his coffee until he finishes it.)

 70

DESIREA : Felipe…

FELIPE : (looks at Desirea) He’s alive.

DESIREA : Who… (pause) My God!

FELIPE : One of the comrades saw him walking out of the prison. He

didn’t recognize Vicente at first. He said he looked old. Thin. He was walking

with a cane.

DESIREA : He’s alive. After all these years… He’s…. (pause) Are you

sure?

FELIPE : Yes.

DESIREA : Is your informant sure?

FELIPE : Yes. I talked to him myself.

DESIREA : I couldn’t be. It’s been too long. You know the stories about

that prison. There were too many dead for him to survive.

FELIPE: It was him. I’m sure of it. I can feel it.

DESIREA : Where did he go?

FELIPE : I don’t know. He was only seen walking out of the prison.

DESIREA : Where could he go?

FELIPE : I don’t know. Probably back to the old city. The café. The

apartment. (pause) He could be anywhere.

DESIREA : We should look for him. When we get back. We should look

for him.

FELIPE : Where would we look for him?

 71

DESIREA : (pause) I don’t know. (pause) But it is worth a try. (exits to

a room and returns putting on a shawl) I am going to look for him.

FELIPE : You don’t know where he is.

DESIREA : I can find him if I look for him.

FELIPE : Where?

DESIREA : Anywhere. The old city is a start.

FELIPE : It’s been six years. Some of the places we’ve been to are not

there anymore.

DESIREA : At least I can start looking for him.

FELIPE : WHY?!

(Desirea pauses at the sudden anger in Felipe’s voice.)

DESIREA : Don’t you want to find him?

FELIPE : (pause) Yes. But…

DESIREA : It’s a wonder what six years can do to a friendship.

FELIPE : And what will you tell him when you see him?

DESIREA : What do you mean?

FELIPE : What will you tell him… about us?

(Silence. Desirea stares at Felipe. He reaches out and takes her hand.)

FELIPE : I don’t what will I say if I do see him. (pause) Do you?

(Desirea is silent.)

FELIPE : (insistently) Do you?

(Desirea is silent. The two stare at each other, trying to find the words to say.

The light slowly fades out.)

 72

SCENE 5

(The lights open onstage. The café. Night. The place is deserted. The chairs

are upturned on the tables. Vicente comes in. He is thin and haggard. He is

walking with a cane. He goes into the café, inspects the tables. He takes down

one of the chairs. He sits and looks around.

A man enters carrying a boxes of wine. He stands at the doorway and

waits. Vicente notices him.)

VICENTE : (points with the cane) Just put down the boxes of wine

behind the bar. I’ll fix everything myself.

(The man nods and goes to the bar. He puts down the box behind the bar then

goes out to get another box. He does this six times. Vicente goes to the bar and

takes out a bottle of wine. He brings it to the table, searches his pockets for

something, doesn’t find what he is looking for. He turns to the man as the latter

enters with another box.)

VICENTE : Excuse me.

(The man stops, still carrying the box.)

VICENTE : I was wondering… do you happen to be carrying a

corkscrew?

(The man stares at Vicente.)

VICENTE : I mean… since you deliver wines… Maybe… I just thought…

You might have a corkscrew on you.

 73

(The man looks at Vicente for a moment, goes to the bar to put down the last

box. He goes up to Vicente, produces a receipt from his pocket, and hands it to

Vicente to sign.)

VICENTE : (takes the receipt and signs) Six crates, right? Six. Where

do I sign? (the man points) Here? My eyes aren’t that good anymore. I mean, I

lived in the dark for so long before they brought me out. My eyes haven’t really

been well since then.

(Vicente finishes signing the receipt and hands it back to the man. The man rips

it in half and hands one-half to Vicente. Vicente takes it hesitantly.)

VICENTE : (realizes) Oh, I see. This is for me. My copy. Proof of

delivery. Yes. I am not used to this, you know. This is the first time I really

owned something. I bought this café with money the former government gave

me. Some sort of compensation. For my services with them. The owner died a

few years ago. In prison. Horrible, horrible death.

(The man pauses, takes a corkscrew out of his pocket and hands it to Vicente.)

VICENTE : (takes the corkscrew) Thank you. Thank you very much.

(Vicente takes the bottle, inserts the corkscrew, and, turning his back to the man

struggles to open it. The man looks at Vicente, spits at the floor behind Vicente,

then leaves. Vicente manages to open the bottle.)

VICENTE : You know, if I had a glass I could share this…

(Vicente turns around and sees that the man has already left. He looks down

and sees the spit on the floor. He goes to it, rubs it away with the sole of his

shoe. He goes to the table, sits down and drinks from the bottle. He tries to
 74

swallow it but is unable to hold it down. He throws up, wipes his mouth and

takes another swig. He washes his mouth out with the wine then spits it out with

disgust. He puts the bottle down, takes out a small notebook and pen from his

pocket and begins to write. The light fades out on Vicente as another light opens

onstage. The Poet starts reading the poem.)

(A poem about lost time and lost lives. Then the points of trying to

recover)

(The light fades out.)

SCENE 6

(The lights open on one part of the stage. Felipe is standing there.)

FELIPE : The government fled and we came back. Desirea and me.

It felt strange at first. I moved out of the town where I was born. Then I cam to

the old city and stayed there. Then I had hardly barely sunk roots in that place

when I had to move out again. Now I am in a house with her, settled down.

Living.. trying to live a normal life. I finally stopped running.

They had me first serving in the committee as an information officer. One

work we had to do was to compile tracers on the dead and the missing. It was a

big task. There were many. Too many. The dictator did his work well. But once

we got the work done, arrests were made. Many were imprisoned.

But I guess I was doing my work too well. They gave me the position of

Justice. It was good at first. Then I finally realized It was a cosmetic job for the

new government. All I did was to sign papers. Read some summarized reports.

Then face the press. There are so many who want justice. Justice for their loss.
 75

Justice for their loved ones. Punishments for those who are guilty. Everyone

wanted something done fast. Swift and sure justice. (talks as if facing a lot of

people) It doesn’t work that way. There are facts to be gathered and

investigated. The guilty must be given a fair chance. We are not like the

dictators. We cannot… should not imitate him. We must be fair to all. (pause)

Yes, I understand. They were never fair to you or to your loved ones. But we

are not them. (pause) We are not going to be like them.

(A brief pause)

I saw his name on a list. It was among those who were allowed released

following the end of the dictatorship. I asked around. They said he moved back to

the city. I asked around. I found out he returned to the old café. He had been

living there for over a year now. (pause) What will I say when I see him?

SCENE 7

(The light opens onstage. The café. Night. Vicente is fixing the chairs, placing

them on top of the tables. He goes to the bar and gets a broom and begins to

sweep broken glass on the floor. One of the café windows is noticeably broken.

Desirea enters. She watches Vicente for a while.)

DESIREA : Hello.

VICENTE : (looks at Desirea, stares at her for moment then continues

sweeping) We’re closed.

DESIREA : I am looking for the café owner. Señor…

 76

VICENTE : The owner señor has been dead for quite a while now. I am

the new owner. I own this place. It is mine now. So I can tell you now to leave.

We’re closed.

DESIREA : Vicente…

VICENTE : (pause then turns) I know your voice. I know who you are.

Who you were to me. (pause) Who you are still to me.

(A brief silence. Vicente puts the broom away, goes to one of the tables, takes

down a chair.)

VICENTE : Sit down.

(Desirea hesitates)

VICENTE : Sit down. Please.

(Desirea goes up to him and hugs him.)

DESIREA : It is good to see you again.

(Vicente hesitates then hugs her back. Then he goes to the bar and takes down

a bottle and two glasses.)

VICENTE : Would you like something to drink? I’m sorry I only have

clean drinking glasses. The rest are still dirty. I usually do everything here now.

My helpers all quit last week.

DESIREA : Let me help you.

VICENTE : NO! (pause) I’ve been doing things on my own for some

time. I can do it.

DESIREA : You’ve forgotten. I used to do everything here. I used to live

here. Work here.

 77

VICENTE : Everything is different now.

DESIREA : It’s still the same place.

VICENTE : No, it isn’t. It’s mine now. (pause) Now, what do you want?

DESIREA : Nothing…

VICENTE : (insistently) Your order…please?

DESIREA : A glass of brandy. Just brandy. Even if it’s just in a water

glass. Just put a little water in it.

(Vicente takes out a bottle, pours brandy in a glass, mixes a little water in it then

hands it to Desirea.)

VICENTE : Here.

(Desirea takes the glass and sips.)

VICENTE : Sit down. Please.

DESIREA : (sits down) It would be nice to share this with you.

VICENTE : I don’t drink anymore.

DESIREA : Really?

VICENTE : Really.

DESIREA : Times had really changed.

VICENTE : A lot of things can change. Especially in prison. (picks up

the broom and begins to sweep again.) I have to clean up.

DESIREA : What happened?

VICENTE : Vandals

DESIREA : I saw the graffiti out front. Why are they calling you a

stoolie?
 78

VICENTE : The graffiti was there before I bought the place.

DESIREA : The paint looked fresh.

VICENTE : (shrugs) This so-called new democracy has bred a lot of

pseudo-freedom lovers. Anarchists all of them. Soon, you’ll have vigilantes

roaming the city killing in the name of democracy. They say that justice is never

swift in a democracy. (pause) But, of course, you didn’t come here to know this.

(pause) You came back here. Why?

DESIREA : (shrugs) I just wanted to see you. It has been… after what

happened.

VICENTE : (pause) Why did you come back?

DESIREA : Why? What do you mean, why? I came back. (pause)

You.

VICENTE : (pause) Me? (pause) I see. (pause) Me? (turns away)

No. Not me. There is nothing to come back here for. This place? It is nothing

anymore. I.. I just try to keep it open. (looks at Desirea) Not for anyone. Not for

you. Just for… myself.

DESIREA : Vicente…

VICENTE : (pause) Where were you all those times?

DESIREA : We waited for you. But you never came. (pause) We

waited. Felipe and I.

VICENTE : I also waited. But the place I waited in wasn’t that…

hospitable. (pause and inhales as if trying to painfully remember something) It

was inhospitable place. (pause) Oh, there was music. The kind that used to
 79

play in this café. You remember? But it wasn’t music for… entertainment. It was

just music to drown out the screams. To kill the sound of killings. (pause) I still

have that music here. The owner left it behind. But I cannot play it anymore. It

brings back memories. (pause) Bad memories. (pause) Did you know they had

a kind of torture in prison. They call it stuffing the sausages. Do you want to

know how it was done.

DESIREA : No. I wouldn’t care less. Vicente…

VICENTE : (smiles bitterly) It was simple. They just shove sharp things

under your fingernails. Sometimes into your fingers. First they start with pins.

Then knitting needles.

DESIREA : Stop it.

VICENTE : Then nails.

DESIREA : STOP IT!

VICENTE : The last would be sharpened wires. You know, those that

they unravel from steel cables. But of course, if you are lucky, the nails would’ve

been torn out by that time. They usually pop out because of all that… stuffing.

(pause) It usually takes a while for the nails to grow back. Sometimes not at all.

You see, when the cuticle or even the end of the finger is destroyed…

DESIREA : STOP IT!

(A brief silence.)

DESIREA : You make it sound like we had a good time when we got out.

You make it sound like we forgot about you. That we left you in that hell.

(Vicente remains silent.)

 80

DESIREA : We had our own hell, too. It wasn’t home, Vicente. It wasn’t

the life we had here. We were trying to survive. We were trying to live. (pause)

We kept looking for you.

VICENTE : You did, did you?

DESIREA : People disappeared! People died the entire time we were

looking for you. We didn’t know where you ended up. The last thing I wanted to

see you was being dug up from some grave Felipe and his men found in the

countryside. (pause) Oh, why did you go back for those things you said you

didn’t need when we had to escape! This wouldn’t have happened.

VICENTE : You blame me?

DESIREA : And who am I to blame? Who am I suppose to blame?

(Silence. Desirea stares at Vicente then shakes her head.)

DESIREA : I came here to see you. Not to share what pain we have for

each other. I wanted to see how you were.

VICENTE : Now you did. You saw what you came to see.

DESIREA : Yes. And it wasn’t the same person I came to see. Nor the

one I would still like to know. (pause) Are you still him?

(Desirea turns to leave.)

VICENTE : Where is he?

DESIREA : (stops) He is busy.

VICENTE : I see.

DESIREA : Felipe is with the new government now. He and the others.

He is with Justice and the others are in other positions. You remember them. The
 81

ones who used to come here. The ones who survived. We knew them. They’re

big now. Big men. (pause) Sometimes I think their bigness went to their heads.

(laughs) It would’ve been different if their bigness went to their other head.

VICENTE : (smiles) You haven’t changed. Still the same woman.

DESIREA : I try to be. After all this time. I try to. It’s the way I lived

through all of this.

VICENTE : You are happy… with him?

DESIREA : (pause) You know. (pause) How did you know?

VICENTE : I am not blind, woman. Emptiness can change a lot in one’s

soul.

DESIREA : Yes, I am. (pause) I’m sorry.

VICENTE : Sorry? You have been, as you say, through hell. Like me.

(pause) Why do you apologize?

DESIREA : We are happy.

VICENTE : (pause) Yes, you are.

DESIREA : (pause) I was.

VICENTE : You should be…

DESIREA : Thank you.

VICENTE : … for a whore.

(Desirea looks at Vicente, stunned. Then she walks up to him to hit him. Vicente

gasps in pain. Desirea looks at him, puzzled. She looks down at his hands.)

VICENTE : (softly) I am not sure if the nails will ever grow back.
 82

(Desirea takes Vicente’s hands into her own and looks into his eyes. She looks

at his fingers, caresses them, looks at them, then kisses them one by one. She

continues to kiss them then she breaks down and cries. Vicente remains

passive. The lights fade out.)

SCENE 8

(A light opens onstage. We see Felipe standing on one part of the stage.)

FELIPE : It was a committee of fourteen… fifteen…(pause) I have lost

count. Basically, what we wanted to do was change. Change what the old rulers

imposed. Change the ways of what they called was their “democracy.” It was a

democracy the exiles like us didn’t like. And it was different from the one we

want to have.

We had, in our hands, their lives. Right after we took over, we started

going over files. Another committee started interviewing victims; taking notes;

checking records. We had, in our hands, the scales of justice. The weights of

life and death. Some of us then realized that if we let the wheels of justice turn, it

would be slow. And with all these power in our hands, why not make the wheels

turn… faster. This committee became… executioners. They had this list. This

list of names. Names of enemies. Names of traitors. Names of former friends.

Names of once neighbors. Vendors they bought from. People they knew. They

counted the names on the list. Counted. And counted. Soon, their thirst for

vengeance was hard to quench. The list got longer. The survivors of the regime
 83

became again, victims themselves. The victims became the people in power.

They became the oppressors.

(The lights go on onstage. We can hear the loud murmurs of men and women.

There is a table in the middle of the stage with papers on top. Felipe approaches

the table and looks through the papers. The murmurs stop. A solitary female

voice rings out and reads the names on a list.)

READER : Gonzalo Manalo.

(A brief pause.)

COMMITTEE : Guilty.

READER : Pedro Maller.

(A brief pause.)

COMMITTEE : Guilty.

READER : Jose Alonso.

COMMITTEE : We have decided to give him a reprieve.

There is not much evidence to prove his guilt.

(We hear a shuffle of papers.)

READER : He is a collaborator. He was a storekeeper of the old

regime’s store of rationed supplies.

FELIPE : That still does not prove anything.

READER : He collaborated.

FELIPE : He was trying to live.

READER : A lot of them were.

(Felipe tries to argue but he is cut off by the Reader.)

 84

READER : No use to argue. The Committee has already decided that

he be reprieved. Let us go back to business at hand. (pause) Vicente Escritor.

(A brief pause)

COMMITTEE : Guilty.

FELIPE : No. Not him

READER : We have a dissension?

FELIPE : Vicente Escritor was a victim.

READER : According to the charges, he betrayed several of the

comrades.

FELIPE : He was in prison.

COMMITTEE : That was where he committed the crimes.

FELIPE : He was tortured.

READER : We were also tortured. We were also imprisoned. But we

had a choice.

(Felipe does not reply.)

READER : Torture has left many of us with a desire for revenge. It left

us with bad memories.

COMMITTEE : Vengeance is a dish best served cold.

FELIPE : Vengeance. Is this all this committee has to think of?

READER : It is a cleansing.

FELIPE : It is nothing. It is just a betrayal of what we believed in. Of

what we fought for then.

 85

READER : New beginnings cannot start if there is no time to cleanse

the dirt of the past.

FELIPE : Then… I want no part of this cleansing. I am resigning from

Justice.

(A brief silence.)

READER : That is your decision.

FELIPE : I have friends who stayed and became part of the past. Are

they traitors, too?

COMMITTEE : Your friend didn’t hold out to torture. He

cooperated.

FELIPE : You know.

COMMITTEE : Yes. We know. He is a traitor.

FELIPE : He was forced to. (pause) Why can’t you understand?

COMMITTEE : Because there is no excuse for being a traitor.

READER : Vicente Escritor. Guilty. Sentenced to be executed.

FELIPE : This is not a committee. This is a kangaroo court.

READER : We were tasked to change things.

FELIPE : There is no change in what we do. We are just continuing

what the past in power was doing.

READER : But here we know the enemy.

(Silence. Felipe looks through the sheaf of papers, takes them, then throws them

off the table. He hurriedly walks offstage as the light fades out onstage.)

(Blackout.)
 86

SCENE 9

(The lights open onstage. The café. Vicente is sitting at one of the tables

writing. It is nighttime. Felipe hurriedly enters.)

FELIPE : You have to leave. You have to hide.

VICENTE : (looks up surprised) You’re here.

FELIPE : You have to leave. I will explain later.

VICENTE : Desirea came here two weeks ago. I doubt that you knew.

FELIPE : It doesn’t matter. You have to leave. Hide.

VICENTE : Is there something I am to fear?

FELIPE : Fear for you life.

VICENTE : My life, as I know it, is nothing now.

FELIPE : Vicente, please.

VICENTE : Would you like to hear the poem I wrote, Felipe? It is

something I put together after a long time. (pause) Put together. That’s the way

to describe it. Just a hodge-podge of words and ideas. I am sure you would like

it… (pause) I do my own readings here in the café. Like we used to. But, of

course, now I do it alone. No one comes here anymore.

FELIPE : Not now.

VICENTE : Not now, not now, he says. (pause) I forgive you. Did

Desirea tell you that?

FELIPE : She hasn’t told me anything. (pause) I haven’t seen her for a

while. (pause) I have been busy.

VICENTE : Then she is guilty.

 87

FELIPE : What do you mean?

VICENTE : Guilty, Felipe. Guilty. Guilty of everything. Guilty of betrayal.

Guilty of the guilt that I wanted to stay for over the years that they kept me in the

hellhole I wanted to get out of. Guilty of that guilt that I wanted to hold onto that

someday. The people who found me guilty would be surprised that I want to die.

They would find that I was someone they wouldn’t forget and they would

condemn me and be an example for traitors. I, a betrayer.

FELIPE : They are doing justice.

VICENTE : They have sentenced me to death. That is justice? These

people whom you joined on their pretext of democracy. This democracy that you

and I wrote about? I shit on their lives, Felipe. I shit on their principles and their

ways of thinking. (pause) And you decided to become so different them now.

After all these years. (pause) After all these years.

FELIPE : I am trying to save your life. The committee has condemned

you as a traitor, Vicente.

VICENTE : On what charge?

FELIPE : We can talk about it once we got out of here.

VICENTE : Of betraying the cause?

FELIPE : Yes.

VICENTE : I had to. You… all of you knew that.

FELIPE : Yes.

VICENTE : I am not made of sterner stuff like they are. If I was, maybe

things would’ve been different. (pause) But now… Is it too late?

 88

FELIPE : You have to leave.

VICENTE : To where? Another place? Like before? It is ironic, isn’t it?

After all these years, after all these times, after all those so-called fights for

democracy, you want me to flee again. To some other place.

FELIPE : Vicente.

VICENTE : Shit on your democracies and freedom.

FELIPE : You’re drunk.

VICENTE : Prison and torture cured me of my alcoholism. I haven’t

tasted a drop in two years. They… they literally beat the alcohol out of my

system. That is a good cure, don’t you think? And they give me the café as a gift

for my “good behavior.” A mockery, I must say. The last insult to our

“democracy.”, this way of life we wanted during the regime. Here I am

surrounded by the best drinks the café had to offer. Drinks I couldn’t even afford

before. Now I cannot take a single drop. This is my reward for selling out. My

reward for selling the comrades out. (pause) And here I am to be given another

one. From you this time. (pause) No, I am sorry. It is not a reward. It is a

punishment. (pause) How do they plan to get me? Am I to be arrested?

FELIPE : That is not the way we… they operate. The Committee has

decided…

VICENTE : Am I to disappear?

(Felipe shakes his head.)

VICENTE : I understand. It is not supposed to be secret. I am to be

made an example. These things that are to be done aren’t supposed to be

 89

secret. We do not want to be like the past government. (pause) You have

executioners? Men with vengeance in their hearts.

FELIPE : Vicente, please.

VICENTE : Vengeance is dangerous for executioners, you should know

that. It makes the killing personal. (pause) That is dangerous. The gun could

waver at the last second. The knife could slip. The noose could loosen. (pause)

No. These things shouldn’t be personal. (pause) I hope it is a clean shot

through the head. That is merciful. It spares the pain of the victim. (pause)

There was one man. Jose. You remember him? He was one of the printers of

the pamphlets we use to give out. They brought him in one night. They woke

me up. He must’ve been one of those I named. (pause) It is hard to remember

things when they inject you with truth drugs or wire you to a car battery for an

entire day. (pause) I must’ve named him because they got him. (pause) They

asked me again and again if this was the man I named. Of course, I recognized

Jose. But Jose was denying who he was. First they asked Jose, then they

asked me. I think they were trying to find out who was lying. Jose was saying,

No. He wasn’t the one they were looking for. But I just had to nod their head and

they’d believe me. (laughs) Jose was cursing and spitting at me. He called me

a traitor. He told me he would be avenged. I told him it was nothing personal.

(pause) I had to tell him that. (pause) They shot him before my eyes. A clean

shot at the back of the neck. They took the body away and they brought me

back to my room. And I went back to sleep. Just like that. Jose was one of
 90

ten… I think… twenty? I don’t know. (looks at Felipe) You’ve seen the charge

sheet. How many?

(Felipe does not answer.)

VICENTE : (nods) That many? (laughs) How impersonal I had

become. (pause) Do you believe that I am who they say I am?

FELIPE : Things happen in terrible times.

VICENTE : Yes, they do.

FELIPE : That was one of those things.

VICENTE : So you do believe?

FELIPE : Yes.

VICENTE : Then what is the point of saving me?

FELIPE : Because I want to. Because you are my friend.

VICENTE : You know something? There was one name I never

mentioned to them. You. You were nothing in my head. Even in pain. Even

when they were pulling my nails out. Even when they were frying my balls with

the batteries. I never mentioned your name. (pause) Yet you betray me now.

FELIPE : I betrayed you?

VICENTE : You. And Desirea. (pause) Do you love her?

FELIPE : We were both there when we needed each other.

VICENTE : I needed her during those times. But then, she was no

longer there. No matter how much I tried to put her in my mind. Her face. Her

body. (pause) She was no longer there. (pause) But then. You needed each

other. And you were both there.

 91

FELIPE : She was never yours to have. (pause) I am sorry that this

had to end this way.

VICENTE : What we had then? It was nothing. It was just dreams.

Dreams mingled with wine, poetry, women, sex, and a pretension that we had

something to live for. Prison has taught me that somehow reality was just one

big hell. We had a pretension that we had something to live for. To fight for.

And once everything was suddenly there we find out that nothing has changed.

The past is still there. And we will always flee from it. There is nothing new.

Except who we are. Wanderers. (pause) Me? I am dead now. Everything is

gone. (pause) If I am still going to wander, is my life still worth saving?

(Felipe does not answer.)

VICENTE : Take care of her. For me?

FELIPE : She was never yours to have.

VICENTE : She was mine before you came into our lives. (pause) For

me?

FELIPE : (pause then softly) No.

VICENTE : (pause) Then you have made your choice. (pause)

Goodbye, old friend.

(Felipe looks at Vicente, nods, then leaves. A brief silence. Vicente looks at the

paper before him and reads the poem that he wrote.)

A poem about the shadows of death and meeting it.

(As he reads, we can hear the sound of thunder. Soon it begins to rain. There is

a brief flash of lightning then the lights in the café go out. There is a loud crash
 92

of thunder. Vicente pauses, looks around, and stand up. He goes to the light

switch and flicks it on and off. No light. He goes to the bar and takes out a

candle on a candlestick. He lights it. Vicente goes to the table He is about to

put down the candle when he hears a noise in the corner of the room.)

VICENTE : Who’s there?

(Silence.)

VICENTE : We are closed now. (pause) The café is closed now. There

will be no service anymore. Not anymore. We were closed now. (pause) There

is nothing here anymore. (pause) Except me.

(A shadow can be seen in one corner of the stage near the bar. Vicente turns to

it, holding up the candle.)

VICENTE : Except me. (pause) And that is what you came here for.

(A shot rings out. Vicente falls. The candle dies.)

(Blackout.)

SCENE 10

(The lights open onstage. The café. It is the same as Act 1, Scene 1)

DESIREA : How cruel it was to leave the body there.

FELIPE : It was a useless act. No one ever visited the café anymore.

The Committee had to execute another one as an example. (pause) I took a

while for me to get permission to bury him.

DESIREA : It was just a damn consolation for them to bury him. A

troublesome problem to kill him..

FELIPE : They would never admit mistakes.

 93

DESIREA : (softly) Murderers.

FELIPE : He told me that day I last saw him that he was already dead.

That he died somewhere in the prison he disappeared into. (pause) We didn’t

kill him. They didn’t kill him. (pause) Because there was nothing to kill anymore.

He was as far from life as we are now. (pause) I gathered what remained of his

things. I found his poems. (pause) I will have them published. To show them.

That they made a mistake. That they shouldn’t have killed him. That there was

so much that he could’ve done for them. They will drown with Vicente’s words.

(A brief silence.)

DESIREA : (pause) After this… where do we go now?

FELIPE : (pause) I don’t know. (pause) Not here. (pause) I cannot

stay here anymore.

DESIREA : Then it is not over. This running. (pause) It will never be

over.

(A brief pause. Desirea stands up, goes to the window, and looks out in the rain.

Felipe stands up, goes to her, and embraces her from behind.)

DESIREA : It is such a cold, sad day.

(Silence. We hear only the sound of rain and thunder. The light slowly fades

out.)

(Blackout)

CURTAIN