The Road to Aleppo! A Play of one scene

salim nazzal
2014 / 10 / 22

The Road to Aleppo!
A Play of one scene

(Dedicated to the innocent people in Iraq and Syria who are dying in these nonsense wars)

Salim Nazzal

Sounds of exploding bombs. But it doesn t seem to bother the man carrying a backpack and walking alone on the highway. He doesn t even bother to look in the -dir-ection of the sound of the explosions. He decides to sit and rest at a deserted compound, which seems to have been a school earlier. It s possible to guess so because of the shape of the building and the playground in front of it. He sits on the stairs and picks from the bag a slice of bread and glass of water. He hears the sound of someone walking toward him. But he doesn t look at the source of the sound. It appears to be a woman, in her middle thirties, who says "hello" to him but receives no reaction (or response?). She speaks louder to make him aware of her, but he doesn t react. She comes straight toward him (with a sigh!) "Great to see others! I thought I am the only survivor of this bloody war!"

MAN: (Makes a quick glance at her, but continues eating) "Good! But the war has not eaten all!"

WOMAN: "But it is a terrible war!"

MAN: "All wars are terrible!"

WOMAN: "I can t understand how we are brainwashed to go into this bloody war!"

MAN: "It s always the same story. They tell the people that it will be quick and young men think they will return on white horses with a beautiful woman waiting for them!"

WOMAN: "Then they discover the truth!"

MAN: "They do when the graves are crowded!"

WOMAN: "Very true (changing the topic). Have you met other survivors?"

MAN: (Still eating and not looking at her) "No!"

(The woman releases her bag and sits on the stairs next to him).

WOMAN: "How long have you been walking?"

MAN: "How long? I don t remember!"

WOMAN: "Oh, you do not?!"

MAN: "I don t remember anything except that I m walking!"

WOMAN: (Tries to comfort him). "Right! The war lasted too long to remember how things were before!"

MAN: "In fact, I m not sure if there was anything else before the war!"

WOMAN: (Surprised, but ignoring his answer) "By the way, I m Mary. What do they call you?"

MAN: "I don t know!"

MARY: (Surprised) "You don t remember your name?!"

MAN: "Why should I?! Wars need no names!"

MARY: "Why do you think so?!"

MAN: "Because names have a purpose to use at school, work, whatever! Now it s just falling bombs!" (He begins to imitate the sound of bombs) "Boom! Boom!"

MARY: (With a sigh!) "True, but names are still important!"

MAN: (Repeating) "Important? What for?!"

MARY: "It is! I have a name and you do not!"

MAN: "Absurd! Your name is useless!"

MARY: (Repeating) "Useless?"
HE: "Do bombs need your name in order to fall on you?" (Laughing in a strange way and again imitating the sound of bombs)

MARY: (In a calm voice) "But if we both get killed, they would know my name but not yours!"

HE: (Laughing) "So what! Does that give you a five stars grave?!"

MARY: "I mean . . . "

HE: (Interrupting her) "Graves make us equal! Me, the king, and all are the same!"

MARY: "But the king is remembered and you are not!"

HE: (Laughing loudly) "Congratulations! What a big gain!"

MARY: (More curious) "Does that mean you lost your memory?"

HE: "Memory?! What memory you talk about?!"

MARY: "I mean what you remember before the war!"

HE: "Aha! Before the war?! The memory before the war belongs to times before the war. We live now in the war!"
MARY: "What do you mean?"

HE: "Because the bloody war molds everything - not only soldiers and bombs, but everything!"

MARY: "In what way?!"

HE: "In the war time, everything is colored by the war - the trees, streets, buildings, human faces, and absolutely everything!"

MARY: "But humans make wars, not the opposite!"

HE: "In the beginning, yes, but after a while we don t know who made who!"

MARY: "So I understand your pre-war memory doesn t exist any longer!"

HE: Do yo uthink I can remember now how life was before? When people complained about small things like if the dinner is late a half hour? ´-or-if people are late getting home because of rush hour time?! Do you think I can remember things like restaurants, theater,´-or-Sunday trips. Oh no! This world doesn t exist any longer!"

MARY: "If so, what then is left of your memory?"

HE: "War, bombs, people running everywhere, fear, corps on the streets."

MARY: "Pity indeed, that you remember nothing from the pre-war time. (Stops a bit) But tell me, do you have a family?"

MAN: (Looks as if he wakes up) "Family?! I do not know. May be I have and they disappeared and maybe I do not!"

MARY: "Do you mean they were killed in the war?"

MAN: "Killed, murdered, shot at, bombed, executed, whatever! What differences does it make?! They just disappeared." (He moves his hand toward the sky).

MARY: (Looking up at the sky) "I never understand why there is a war?"

HE: "War! When was there no war in the history of man?" (A bit of silence then continuing) "If there is no war here, it is somewhere. While you re singing and dancing here, others are running away from bombs. Now it s our turn!"

MARY: "If it s possible to make war, then there must be a way to stop it!"

HE: "How?"

MARY: "To disarm all!"

HE: "But they will fight."

MARY: How they could when there are no guns?"

HE: "They will fight with knives!"

MARY: "Then we take them away!"

HE: "Then they will fight by sticks."

MARY: "Then we will take them away."

HE: "They will fight by hands. Would you cut their hands?!"

HE: (Without waiting for her answer) "Shall we walk now´-or-you need to sit for more rest?"

MARY: "We walk!"

(Both stand up, put their bags on their backs and begin to walk. But as they begin to walk, they see a group of soldiers coming toward them).

HE: "You see, soldiers are coming. Let s hide."

MARY: (Frightened) "Where to hide?"

HE: "Let s jump inside the building!"

HE: (Helping her to climb the wall. Then he jumps after her).

MARY: "Are you sure they re coming toward us?!"

HE: Yes! I saw them!"

MARY: (With a worrying voice) "Do you think they would kill us?"

HE: "Probably yes and probably no!"

MARY: "What if they are friendly soldiers?"

HE: "Friendly soldiers, ha! They are all the same. They know how to shoot."

MARY: (In a slow voice) "I hear sounds!"

HE: (In a low voice) "I hear sounds too!"

HE: "Let s close the door of the room!"

MARY: "Yes, we must!"

HE: (Walking slowly, closes the door quietly and in a low voice) "Now we are safe!"

MARY: (In a low voice) "What if they come to our room?!"

HE: (In a low voice) "We do not know. It seems to be a big school, so let s hope they won t come!"

MARY: (Putting her finger on her mouth and talking in a very low voice) "Listen, I hear them coming here!"

HE: (In a very low voice) "Yes, I hear sounds coming closer to us!"

MARY: (Looking frightened and in a low voice) "What do we do now?"

HE: "Let s hide under the seats."

(Both hide behind the seats. They stop talking as they hear voices coming near to them).

MARY: (After a pause) "I think we are dead!"

MAN: "We are already. We just wait for the signature!"

MARY: "I wish I had a gun!"

MAN: "What for?"

WOMAN: "Not to die cheap!"

HE: "Absurd! Do you think if you shoot one of them your death will become more expensive?!"

MARY: "No! But it gets meaning!"

HE: "What meaning?!"

MARY: "The meaning of proper death!"

HE: "Bullshit! Better to die with less noise!"

MARY: "You sound like you re giving up!"

HE: (Suddenly stands up looking furious) "Me giving up?! Is that what you really think about me?"

MARY: "Calm down. No need to stand up!"

HE: "I won t get down!"

MARY: "Why?"

HE: "Because you talk nonsense! And you know nothing about me!"

MARY: (After a pause) "I m sorry if I offended you!"

HE: "Yes, you must be sorry. This is your first bloody war, but I saw three bloody wars. I saw people dying, and nobody to care about them. But when they were strong, they told them you are heroes ! What do you really know about wars? (Shouting louder and opening his shirt). Look here at the scars of wars on my body!"

MARY: (Putting her hand on his shoulder and trying to calm him down) "Please calm down. I m very sorry!"

(They hold each other and keep silent)




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