MAID
You eagle
High you go up
High you fly
Won't you lend me your wings To say a little prayer
To my dearest man
In his highest
In his place of shadow and light.
LADY
(Coming through a door at the left)
You keep on singing to your admirable little man, forgetting to put the lights on as you were ordered. Don't worry, you needn't go up to him; he's already half way through coming down to you ... The spring's sun must have dissolved the wintery cloud that was his refuge, and we will soon hear his splash down... on the roof of my house ... perhaps.
(She puts on the light)
MAID
The sun hasn't gone down yet ... madam ... we may, just as well, wait a bit longer till it's dark...
LADY
Oh ... Martha ... it is an anticipation of the dark ... just a precautionary step. I feel obliged to take before its attack. I am so frightened of the dark today, Martha. The sun will soon depart into the salty waters of the sea ... and the ancient animal is awakened then ... so all the lights must be on before it comes creeping into my house, flooding us with the black air it breathes ... (Silence) Martha ... don't forget to light the Christmas tree too ...
MAID
What did you say madam ... did you mention the Christmas tree?
LADY
Light it ... Martha.
MAID
But Christmas is far away ahead ... or rather far away behind.
LADY
I just like to see it lit tonight Martha ... don't be so noisy...
MAID
Whatever you say madam. (Leaves kitchen from side door)
LADY
(Goes towards the vase of flowers on the table and checks it) Martha ... have you seen the flowers I picked from the garden today?
MAID
They are here in the kitchen.
LADY
Bring them in here.
(Martha brings the Christmas Tree and the flowers, the lady takes the flowers, then looks at the tree)
LADY
It needs dusting.
(Lady goes to arrange the flowers, the maid starts dusting the tree)
MAID
(While dusting the tree) He will soon give his usual knock ... the same time ...
LADY
Yes he will ... as soon as the sun goes down, he turns up..
MAID
With the twilight he comes ... he never misses his time ... the same knock ... the same time...
LADY
(Looking away) He never fears the dark...
MAID
Perhaps he fears the sunlight.
LADY
He must be tired of knocking on our door by now.
MAID
He never uses the bell, I wonder why... He just knocks, so gently and smoothly... tap ... tap ... tap in rhythmical order.
LADY
He used to play piano. (A little pause) His playing was so fascinating, that girls were going mad about him.
MAID
Three... He never knocks more than three times. When he hears no response, he turns back ... leaving a strange silence behind him. I could even hear his steps fading away in the distance.
LADY
He's old enough not to knock four... (said briskly)
MAID
I always thought of him as a young lad ... young and handsome with curly hair ... In spite of what I hear of him, I have got a very lovely image of him, my lady.
LADY
He is much older than what you think of him ... Everyday I read what the stars tell about his horoscope in the evening paper. And that is my only source of information about him ... From this I know perfectly well what he is up to and what he is going through...
MAID
It has been almost a year since he started coming to our door and since then he never failed to give his everyday knock; even in the peak of winter-rain and snow, he never ceased to come ... He came and knocked ... It's taken a talent to do it as steadily as he does ...
LADY
Don't forget that he is a man of talent ... Martha.
MAID
Have you read what the stars tell about him today?
LADY
Not yet...
MAID
(Picks up newspaper from a table nearby) What month? What month?
LADY
April...
MAID
What day?
LADY
You've got so interested in him .,. Leave the paper ... and light the tree ...
MAID
It won't take a minute ... what day?
LADY
The fourteenth.
MAID
(Looks at the paper) Lady... isn't it today the fourteenth of April?
LADY
(With surprise) What are you saying?
MAID
Yes ... it's today... (Looks at the calendar) Today is the fourteenth of April (happily) So it is his birthday ... His birthday... My lady.
LADY
(After a pause) I felt it ... somehow I felt it ... subconsciously I was aware of it.
MAID
So ... He won't come today... We will miss his usual knock on the door.
LADY
Why?.. What makes you think that he won't come today?
MAID
Surely he will be celebrating his birthday party somewhere. He won't have time to come here, knowing that no one will open the door for him and say Happy Birthday to you ... at least...
LADY
He will be here exactly on time Martha ... So put the kettle on the fire, and arrange the table for the evening High Tea ... I feel that he is going to be our guest tonight.
MAID
Do you mean that you're going to allow him in if he comes? Please don't take the risk, my Lady, you know how dangerous he is ...
LADY
He doesn't come to ask for trouble. He asks for a refuge.
MAID
But how can you shelter such a criminal, wanted by the Legal authorities? You've got your good name and the name of your dead husband to protect. You've got the orphan societies that you run to look after ... Think of the great damage he will bring to your prestige and social position. Don't forget your big responsibilities.
LADY
Yes, indeed, it is high time to remember my responsibilities.
MAID
And there is another thing ... if you open the door for him today, he will never come and knock again .., Life would be unbearable without his knock ... it has become part of the rituals of our evenings; it adds colour and flavour to our everyday life ... Can you imagine an evening to pass without his gentle knock on our door? You're not sacrificing that too ...
LADY
He will give it up if he gets no reply after a whole year.
MAID
No my lady... he enjoys it ... I am sure he does ... it has become the habit he loves most and cares about, and he will never give it up ... It won't do him any good opening the door; on the contrary, it wiIl hurt him ... so don't interfere with the course of nature.
Let him come, give the daily intimate knock, and go. For there was no point in keeping him out for the whole year, if you are going to let him in just now...
LADY
I have to, Martha. He cannot be kept out just for the fun of it .
MAID
You have to ... and if he doesn't come today? If he goes celebrating his birthday somewhere else?
LADY
He will come and celebrate it here. For he knows that this is the day I must open the door for him.
MAID
Does he threaten you?
LADY
He will be our guest for high tea tonight. Bring the silver cups instead of the usual. Let him see we are hospitable. Make it look as pleasant as it can be ...
(Maid lights the tree ... goes to the kitchen ... the lady takes the paper, and reads it... the maid returns)
MAID
I put the kettle on the fire ... What are you reading? His fortune, my lady?
LADY
It's time to take your leave ... Martha ...
MAID
I've got to be here my lady, to open the door for him ... to serve him the tea ...
LADY
I will open the door and show him in myself.
MAID
But my lady.
LADY
Go back home ... Martha.
MAID
Just to have a look at him.
LADY
You will see him later on ... Martha.
MAID
But I have no other place to go to ... my lady... this is the only place I know...
LADY
I have to be alone with him ... Martha ... (takes some money from her purse) ... That will help you to find a shelter for tonight ...
MAID
Shall I come in the morning?
LADY
Come whenever you like ... Martha ...
(Lady turns her back ... Martha leaves the room, takes her coat and bag ... and leaves ... The sun already departed now... Lady lights a cigarette ... checks the flowers and the Christmas tree ... then sits down and starts reading the paper after a while she hears the usual knock ...)
(Lady goes out of stage to an inside door... we hear)
MAN’S VOICE
Good evening ... Elizabeth ...
LADY’S VOICE
Good evening ... Donald ...
(They appear both on stage ... the man in his forties ... very well built ... neatly dressed ... and carrying a
DEAD bunch of flowers)
ELIZABETH
You have grown old... your hair has become grey...
DONALD
You are much the same... Elizabeth ...
ELIZABETH
I am an aged and lonely woman ...
DONALD
But the glow in your face is still the same ... Elizabeth
ELIZABETH
Are they after you?
DONALD
Who?
ELIZABETH
The people who are after you ...
DONALD
I scare them away.
ELIZABETH
Aren't you tired of this unpleasant game?
DONALD
I do it well ... so I can never grow tired of it ... even when I was a child, and when we used to play hideand-seek ... I was gifted in finding the securest place to hide in ...
ELIZABETH
Why did you come?
DONALD
As I was passing by, I thought I'd better drop in to say Happy Birthday to you ... (He gives her the bunch of dead flowers...) Happy Birthday to you my dear old lady.
ELIZABETH
(Taking the flowers ...) Happy Birthday to you too ... the flowers reveal that the visit was intended ...
DONALD
(Interrupting) It's spring outside my dear lady... the flowers are everywhere. I took no pain in picking them just outside your house ...
ELIZABETH
Thanks all the same ... (puts the flowers in the vase in lieu of the fresh ones already there) It seems that you waited so long .
DONALD
Oh ... the function of waiting I do with a highly efficient skill, since the day I was employed.
ELIZABETH
You have always been a difficult child.
DONALD
You used to be an open door to me ...
ELIZABETH
But you went away... you grew wild ... condemned by everyone. The news of the murders you committed are in every paper ... You're wanted ... wanted ... wanted ...
DONALD
(Laughing) That is better than being unwanted ...
ELIZABETH
H You've been in jail many times ...
DONALD
And I broke out of them many times ... too ...
ELIZABETH
Innocent people (pause) You killed them ... (Pause) They were innocent ...
DONALD
While you were here giving charities to the Orphan Societies.
ELIZABETH
You were out there murdering the happiness of innocent people ...
DONALD
And you were here taking good care of the business of your dead husband.
ELIZABETH
I fear you Donald.
DONALD
Fear no one ... as long as the business is prosperous.
ELIZABETH
Innocent people they were ...
DONALD
No one is innocent.
ELIZABETH
The orphans are innocent (pause). You were an orphan yourself ... You were six-days old when you were first brought to me ... You conquered my heart as a child, so I put you on my lap ... I gave you my breasts ... I fostered you and fed you till you became big ...
DONALD
And then you asked me to go ... You put me in a stormy sea and you said 'Go Sailing' ...
ELIZABETH
That was when you arrived the age of weaning ...
DONALD
As I was sailing under your own flag ... the whole voyage was just a picnic.
ELIZABETH
Your great ambition was to conquer the world ...
DONALD
No matter what I conquered as long as I was busy out there recruiting new orphans everyday for your Orphan Asylum ... just to keep you going ...
ELIZABETH
H I never thought you would go as wild as that ...
DONALD
You're not going to get away with it no matter what you thought of me, Elizabeth, for you know just as much as I do that I was out there doing exactly what you wanted me to do ... fulfilling the task you prepared me for ... And whenever I did something, I was thinking of you, reading with great pleasure, the news of it in the papers, knowing that I was doing it on behalf of you ...
ELIZABETH
There is no proof of what you said ... As a widow of a knighted man, I've always tried to live up to the good name of my dead husband ... and lead an honest and honourable life ...
DONALD
And make the business prosper under your chairmanship ..
ELIZABETH
And spread joy and comfort amongst unfortunate people ."
DONALD
Among ordinary widows of ordinary men ...
(Kettle whistles ...)
ELIZABETH
Time for high tea ... (Leaves to the kitchen to prepare tea ...)
(DONALD goes to the record-player, puts on a record of modern beat ... starts dancing ... ELIZABETH enters with a tray containing tea-pot, two silver cups ... and two pieces of cake ... fills a cup for DONALD and another for herself)
DONALD
(While giving the cup to DONALD) Martha forgot to bring the candles for the Birthday cake ... Anyhow, Happy returns.
DONALD
Thanks all the same. Happy Birthday to ¥ou too ... By the way, Elizabeth, you must have written your will by now...
ELIZABETH
Why?.. Why do you ask Donald?
DONALD
I just thought it was wise to remind you of the will ... You have arrived at the age when people usually write their wills ...
ELIZABETH
Is that what you came here for? ...
DONALD
I am here just for the sake of making you happy...
ELIZABETH
But you are not staying ... Are you?
DONALD
You know perfectly well that I cannot stay here ...
ELIZABETH
You are here to stay, Donald. They are looking for you ... They will pick you up ... they will take you to jail again and they will beat you up even ...
DONALD
I am not staying, and you know it. I came just to remind you of the will ... I have duties to perform after I've done with the one here ...
ELIZABETH
You mustn't go, Donald...
DONALD
I must go, Elizabeth ."
ELIZABETH
Why must you? ... Is it an appointment? ...
DONALD
Well ... It is an appointment ...
ELIZABETH
Where about? ...
DONALD
Not far away...
ELIZABETH
With whom?
DONALD
A person you don't know...
ELIZABETH
What is the name of the person? ...
DONALD
Oh ... stop being annoying ...
ELIZABETH
Asking a girl out? ... Are you not? Dating her. Are you not? ... inviting her for a dinner and dance, and the rest of it ... are you not? ...
DONALD
You always think in terms of young lovers ... that's your weak point, Elizabeth ...
ELIZABETH
You have, indeed, run out of hand ... A girl ... and what girl? ... She must be young ... How young? ... Fifteen ... Fourteen perhaps; preferably blonde ... or just an outstanding beauty... as you call it ... And where will you take her tonight? ... Danube Restaurant. If I may say... the securest place in town for a man on the run ... where the lights are dim, under which your features will get nobler ... And in a very dignified manner, you will ask for a bottle of champagne and caviar, that matches your occasion ... The ice-cream girl will melt under your generosity and magnetism ... And what comes after is a dance ... we all know what a brilliant dancer you are ... We know you love it slow... So be careful with the breast of the little child, don't break her chest, for the evening is not over yet ... still you have to take her to bed. And after you're arrived at the peak of your satisfaction, nothing will be left but to ask the usual question about her last wish ... and before you know the answer ... you stretch your arms, and your fingers go round her small neck ... and so mercilessly... so savagely you strangle her .... Am I wrong?.. Mr Donald?
(She weeps loudly...)
DONALD
These are bad symptoms of a dangerous illness. But you know I've never acted as a free agent ... I've always served your wishes with a blind obedience ...
ELIZABETH
So don't go ... Stay here ... Stop wandering around ... murdering innocent people ...
DONALD
I cannot be kept indoors. My only enjoyment in life is to be in the open air ... performing my duties ...
ELIZABETH
Spreading death ...
DONALD
And comfort ...
ELIZABETH
Can't you stop it? ...
DONALD
No ... I can't stop it, Elizabeth ...
ELIZABETH
Aren't you trying? ...
DONALD
No use trying, I arrived to the point of no return ...
(ELIZABETH stops crying) ...
DONALD
(After a pause ...) Elizabeth?
ELIZABETH
Yes Donald...
DONALD
Wipe your tears ...
ELIZABETH
(Dries her tears... and says nothing ...)
DONALD
And now Elizabeth ...
ELIZABETH
Now what?
DONALD
(Stands up ...) Let's get down to work ... (ELIZABETH stands up trembling ... and trying to walk backward ...)
DONALD
Come here Elizabeth ... (She doesn't move ... He goes towards her ...) Tell me now Elizabeth ... (Stretches his arms and puts his fingers around her neck ...)
WHAT IS YOUR LAST WISH? ...
(Scream fading out... with curtain falling down...)