Elf and Men (continues)
The landscape has cut tree barks and marks; a tree stump is visible in the stage front, where the elf ALYSSA sits. A large mound is in the stage center while the men, DUSK and PERRIN argue beside her.
DUSK
(has short black hair, a black shirt, and a belt holding a dagger underneath his brown leather jacket. A pair of used boots that has mud in them.)
You lead the men to kill the elves. You are a beef jerky. I will have that as a snack than talking to you, now.
(takes out the beef jerky and chews a tip)
PERRIN
(has short brown hair, a brown-torn shirt with short sleeves, and a belt around his jeans. A pair of used shoes. He carries a small, peach bag with a small bottle. The bottle contains the pink liquid.)
This is messed up! I did not lead the men into the forest. You blame me that I have not done it. I am told to bring the men into the war zone. You did it to wipe the entire elf race.
By the way, they look beautiful and elegant.
ALYSSA
(has a pair of pointed ears, yellow hair, and light makeup. She wears a long pink dress with sleeves and bare feet. A thin white bracelet circled her right hand. She is sitting on a stump facing the audience.)
We are beautiful for once. When you came with thousands, we were hiding and putting dirt on our skins and bodies to blend in with the smoked trees and dirt. We looked like the bugs from the ground.
Even the younger ones get sick by swallowing the dirt. There was one elder who can heal the elven tribe. But he, too was sick because of air pollution.
Once becoming sick, we are losing our strength to fight back. The world turned against us into mud. Every day, we feel the world cloudy and dark. So our minds played tricks on us to feel that we go through the puddle just for no reason, but the particles in the mud forced us to feel heavy and dying.
PERRIN
(looks at her, then at DUSK)
See, you make the forest, the elves, and even her sick!
DUSK
You are still a beef jerky to me.
(eats halfway of the beef jerky)
PERRIN
You did not see it and understand what you have done to nature and humanity. You are the culprit for the war crime.
DUSK
You are the culprit. You lead the men into the forest and make them sick with your sweet talk and weapons.
ALYSSA
You sounded like the baby elves whining for their mothers to give milk. I cannot give supplies to you. You are both dirty and blaming like wild animals. I cannot deal with your dirty mouths, I am leaving.
(she stands and exits on stage right)
PERRIN
See, you make her go away.
DUSK
(turns to stage right)
Beef jerky, you are the blame. You are the scary one here. I am not part of this problem, but you are.
(exits stage left)
PERRIN
(looks angry, forms fists)
Man, he talks like that since he is a kid. Why do I have to be the one carrying his dirty tasks and still blaming me? He never, never, never being nice to me. Just throwing me off my back.
(looks at the bag and shakes it gently)
That one makes me calm. I like the jingling sounds.
(looks at the audience)
I like to sing, my friends. Despite the look of a pitch-black hole, I want to see the light and greenery that once grew on the grass and around the mound.
(sings out of tune)
THE GRASS IS GREEN, THE SKY IS BLUE, AND THE BLOOD IS RED.
BLOOD SHOULD NOT BE BLOOD.
IT SHOULD NOT BE BLOOD.
IT SHOULD BE YELLOW
AS THE SUN RISES HIGH IN THE HEAVENS
(stops and thinks for a second)
SUN RISES WITHOUT BLOOD
NO MASSACRE
BUT PEACEFUL
AND CALM THE LONELY ELF
(ALYSSA enters from stage right and looks at him about to interrupt him)
THE ELF IS HERE!
(PERRIN’s hands welcome ALYSSA)
ALYSSA
Yes, I am here! What are singing about?
(PERRIN looks surprised and looks at her briefly, ALYSSA looks at the bag that PERRIN holds)
What is that?
PERRIN
(hides the bag behind his back)
Nothing to look at. It is nothing to be curious about.
ALYSSA
I am already curious. Just show it to me.
(her hands extend, PERRIN gives her the bag and she opens it for the bottle with a pink liquid. Her smile is radiant.)
How did you find it, human? I cannot believe you have it from the mound, a place where the elves have lived for many centuries. This is the cure for the forest!
PERRIN
I did not give you the cure. I already give you the stress relief medicine that Dusk created before the war. Please, do not ask him how he made it just for you, or do not ask him that I give you this. I am a young thief at times.
ALYSSA
Oh, good!
DUSK
(enters on stage left, suspects the bottle, and rushes to grab it from ALYSSA’s hands.)
You cannot have this as a gift. I am not making this for you. I am not giving to Perrin or nature. (looks at PERRIN) I am just selfish! I want this, and no one has this special power. So leave it and do not think about it while I am gone.
(exits on stage left while ALYSSA is confused and PERRIN shrugs)
ALYSSA
Really? He knew it all along. He is the mastermind behind the bottle. But I am still curious as we speak. I want the bottle. This cannot be true that he created it for himself, is he?
PERRIN
If you were me, no questions asked.
ALYSSA
But I have lots of questions for him.
(PERRIN exits stage right. DUSK enters from stage left with the bottle. ALYSSA straightens her back.)
I have many questions for you, human. May I ask one of them?
DUSK
(pulls his head back and laughs)
Ha, ha! Try me, Alyssa.
(shakes the bottle in front of her eyes)
Talking about this bottle? No, thank you.
ALYSSA
Are you the one making this bottle just for a human to carry in the bag?
DUSK
This bottle is for me. Only for me. I created it for me. And you are nothing like the rest. You are…
(ALYSSA crosses her chest)
I am just selfish, that is all.
ALYSSA
(looks up and down at him)
I sensed from the mound that you have killed the elven race with your men. You were the one behind this.
I have so many questions to ask you. Please, answer them with honesty.
DUSK
(his body looks away from her to the audience. He is about to exit the stage. ALYSSA tugs his elbow and takes the bottle to prove her point. He looks at her.)
Trying to make me talk. You are a sly fox.
ALYSSA
Are you the one leading the men against the elven race? Are you the bloodthirsty creature in my dreams? Are you the most disturbing one that cannot talk to me? Are you the man of getting away from me who makes you powerful and being some goblin and blames on another human?
DUSK
Stop asking, Alyssa. If I have a sister who asks such questions. I would have slapped her. I would slap you for that reason.
ALYSSA
If I get slapped by your bare hand, your hand stained with dirt and blood of the elves and nature. You are so cruel to us all. Even I still reside here.
Still, I did not have confidence that you make the bottle with the pink liquid just for a cure. What is your purpose?
DUSK
(closes to her face)
I am a selfish man. I did not make a cure. I made this for myself.
(looks at the bottle)
I would have slapped you and--
(takes the bottle and exits quickly)
ALYSSA
Before my thoughts say, “Get after him.”
He is getting away with his selfish desires, and what else? Why he even thinks about slapping me? Why has to be this immature to an elf like me?
Humans like him do not learn a lesson and strive to know what the problem is. His problem is… Not admitting the truth to me. He hides the truth well.
I am still curious about the bottle. Is that a cure for someone or something aside from himself?
(sits on a mound quietly and thinks quietly until PERRIN comes)
PERRIN
Asking questions to Dusk? I assumed.
ALYSSA
I tried. He gives no honest answer.
PERRIN
I can sing to make you forget about it for a while.
ALYSSA
I do not want to. I want to find him and-- Wait! I can talk to the bottle as a healer.
PERRIN
You can try. (shrugs)
ALYSSA
(shakes the bottle gently and sees bubbles forming and disappearing.)
Bottle with the pink liquid, may I ask you something?
(pause)
Is Dusk your creator of this bottle?
(pause)
If so, did he slap anyone for his amusement?
(pause)
If he did, then what is the purpose of the bottle?
(pause)
Ah, it said. Yes to all of my questions. The purpose of the bottle is to create for me! A surprise gift.
PERRIN
At least in good hands.
ALYSSA
At least in my hands!
DUSK
(arrives and rushes to grab the bottle, but ALYSSA stands with her hands on her waist. He looks of determination and serious.)
I heard you talking to the bottle. You should have not said it, and know my dirty secrets!
ALYSSA
You have dirty secrets. What else are you hiding from me?
(her hands touch her chest)
DUSK
(grunts and punches PERRIN on purpose)
You are a fox, the sliest one! I hate foxes like you.
ALYSSA
You are misunderstanding, human. I am an elf here. What else that you want to say to me? More dirty stuff?
(DUSK is about to say more but stops.)
PERRIN
Whoa, I learned a lot from the elf. Who is brave, smart, and asks tons of questions to a man, Dusk. Not to make a fuss. Dusk is already impatient.
DUSK
(looks angry)
The beef jerky is impatient and blames it on himself. You can do that as well, Alyssa. I am… out!
(DUSK looks for an exit. ALYSSA gives back a bottle to his hand. He glances at it and looks at the audience to show the bottle.)
I made this for no one. I am honest with that. I made it for myself. By the way, I like strawberries and pink.
(exits on stage right)
ALYSSA
(shocks)
You! (points at stage right with her finger and says the words slowly) You… are… the… one… keeps… saying… That I did not know.
(looks at PERRIN evenly)
PERRIN
(shrugs)
Dusk likes pink and strawberries. I like singing and seeing the world around us not dying and questioning too much. It gets too much on the offensive side. I did not mean to be rude.
ALYSSA
Right, human.
PERRIN
(sings out of tune)
THE GRASS IS GREEN, THE SKY IS BLUE, AND THE BLOOD IS RED.
BLOOD SHOULD NOT BE BLOOD.
IT SHOULD NOT BE BLOOD.
IT SHOULD BE YELLOW
AS THE SUN RISES HIGH IN THE HEAVENS
(stops and thinks for a second)
SUN RISES WITHOUT BLOOD
NO MASSACRE
BUT PEACEFUL
AND CALM THE LONELY ELF
THE ELF IS HERE!
ALYSSA
If this has not happened to Dusk, then the entire forest is alive. The questions I asked him earlier won’t even matter. He can be a good person.
PERRIN
(continues singing)
QUESTIONS SHOULD NOT BE TOUCHED
BUT ANGERED HIM EVEN MORE
MUCH MORE THAN THAT.
HE GOT OFFENSIVE PRETTY QUICK
AND HE SLAPPED PEOPLE FOR FUN.
ALYSSA
Why does he do that? I wonder.
PERRIN
(says normal)
I think it happened right after creating the bottle with the pink liquid.
ALYSSA
When will he appear?
PERRIN
Let’s hide in the back of the mound so we can hear him saying.
ALYSSA
That will be awesome!
(they hide behind the mound. Then, DUSK arrives from stage right shaking the bottle, expecting to burst from a bomb, and sits on a mound.)
DUSK
I wonder what this does. Aside from being a doctor. I will drink it and become…
(looks at the audience for a response)
Dead. I will be dead. Of course. I put some chemicals that include biodegradable to decompose my body.
I am looking at death itself. Death breathes and haunts me. I could not resist it.
Alyssa can live, but I cannot. Dead is always with me. I mean that they are always with me. With me! Until I rot to the grass (his hand touches the ground and moves his hands in swift motion) the grass turns into trees to make flowers, and flowers bear fruits to humankind.
I never give a chance to the men who have trained that they have already lost their sanity. They already contaminated the earth with oil spills, air pollution, and garbage. They already did, so they are out of their minds to make the Earth inhabitable.
(hands form fists) I want to stop these horrible deeds by men. But it was too late, so the dead overwork humankind. They must chill in icy cold water, drink fresh juice, and eat popsicles in the summer. They have to cool down. (hands lower in waves, then his one hand moves toward his chest)
I, on the other hand, do not receive such treatment. I do not get a break. But I did my task to make Alyssa live, not the thousand elves. Still, it is not enough for the elves to live on. They already passed.
You do not have to thank me, Alyssa. You can go on with Perrin the beef jerky!
(stands up straight, walks across from the mound to the stage front, and sits on the stump)
I have one more thing to say. I may be wandering about the landscape without trees. Then, the growth will begin with seeds, seedlings, bushes, and trees. The same goes for one elf and human. The sky will change from dark to light. It has to stay light forever. There is hope, Alyssa and Perrin!
(removes the tap from the bottle and drinks it whole thing. DUSK feels the pain in his body, his face distorts, and collapses on the stage. While the bottle rolls out through the stage floor, PERRIN and ALYSSA jump out of the hiding spot and approach him. PERRIN is checking his neck for pulses.)
ALYSSA
What should we do, human?
PERRIN
The beef jerky is gone.
(curtains fell)