Three

Lights up.

AURORA, wearing dark work
clothes, is digging. DR. WAY,
also wearing dark work clothes,
is holding a flashlight on the area
where she working.

SARAH is sitting on the bench.
She talks to the audience. 

     SARAH 
He fell in a hole.

Coming in from the left and 
pushing an empty wheelbarrow,
OLIN walks across the stage and
exits on the right. 

     DR. WAY
Quiet night.  I'm surprised about the owls. I wonder where they are.

     SARAH
Olin. We didn't know where he was.

     AURORA 
Don't we have enough?

     DR. WAY
What do the coaches say?  No pain, no gain.

     SARAH
My husband Olin. He's always been stubborn. Always. 
He was in the Marines and then he sold insurance. 
Nothing is good to him unless its impossible. 
He kept returning to my sister's garden because it
was a lost cause. But then.

Coming in from the right, OLIN,
pushing the wheelbarrow, walks
out to the left.

     SARAH
But then. He fell in a hole.

     OLIN
     (off stage)
Whoa!

SARAH
     Olin's never been the same. The doctors told me I was wrong and
that his problem was his brain. They said failing in the hole had
nothing to do with it. They said his brain might as well be a raisin.

     AURORA
They say they're going to find a gene that explains addiction.

     SARAH
The doctors showed me these maps of his brain with the colors.

     DR. WAY
Good for them. Then what will they do? Reprogram little babies?

Dr. WAY, holding out a ten dollar
bill, starts to walk off. AURORA
stops digging and follows him.

ANNA walks out from the right
and speaks directly to the
audience.

     ANNA
     (To the audience)
Sarah doesn't understand. I can accept disappointment because I
am used to it.

     SARAH
I don't understand.

     ANNA
     (To the audience)
That's how it is. That's how I am. I am used to that. I don't need
to meet a new minister.

     SARAH
I'm not sure where he's from. But he's interested. I can tell.

     ANNA
You've probably fed him a hundred lies about me.

     SARAH
Well, Anna, you won't speak for yourself. You won't come down
from this mountain.

     ANNA
He'll think I'm something I'm not.

     SARAH
His sermons are very energetic and lively. He's seems smart and
he's handsome.

     ANNA
He is?

     SARAH
He's a man. He's young. Of course he's handsome.

     ANNA
Then what would he want to do with me?

     SARAH
     (To the audience)
That day I was with Anna. She's in this house with four bedrooms
and no help. She's over 40 and she's alone.

     ANNA
     (To SARAH)
I'm 35.

     SARAH
You aren't 35.

     ANNA
I'm 37. And what about Barry?

BARRY walks out from the right.

     SARAH
     (To the audience)
She doesn't like Barry.

     ANNA
How do you know?

     SARAH
Barry is strange. Barry talks but you can hardly hear him.

     ANNA
     (To the audience)
She's exaggerating. My aunt exaggerates.

     SARAH
     (To the audience)
Nobody knows what Barry does for a living. He's just mostly here
like a bad mushroom. And he should have watched Olin.

OLIN walks out and falls into
the hole.

     ANNA
He's not responsible for Olin.

     SARAH
     (To the audience)
We left Barry with Olin to work in the garden. Barry walks away. I
don't know why. He's dreaming about computers.

     OLIN
     (Singing)
Oh my darlin', oh my darlin, oh my darlin'Clemintine.

     SARAH
It was dark and late and I realized that Olin hadn't come in the
house. He could have fallen right off the mountain.

BARRY then joins ANNA and
SARAH as they look for OLIN.

     SARAH
Olin! Olin!

     OLIN
Hey Jude don't make it bad ...

     ANNA
Olin!

     OLIN
... you are lost and gone forever ...

ANNA finds OLIN.

     ANNA
Sarah!

     SARAH
     (To the audience)
He was down by the fence, way away from the house.

     OLIN
Oh my darlin', oh my darlin', oh my darlin' Clemintine.

     SARAH
     (To the audience)
He had fallen into this hole. He was bleeding and he broke his
wrist.

     ANNA
     (To the audience)
When we found Olin, he was singing.

     OLIN
... dreadful sorry, Clemintine ...

     SARAH
Lord have mercy! Oh Olin! Oh Olin!

They pull OLIN out of the hole.

     ANNA
     (To the audience)
That was the first time I heard Olin sing.

     SARAH
     (To OLIN)
We found you. We found you.

     OLIN
     (To ANNA)
Aurora?

     SARAH
No, Olin, that's Anna. Aurora's sister.

OLIN, SARAH and BARRY walk
off together. DR. WAY and
AURORA walk in.

     DR. WAY
(Indicating a spot with his flashlight)
Let's try here. C'mon.

     AURORA
I'm sweating. I'm burning up.

     DR. WAY
Good.

     AURORA
You're still a creep. My hands are numb. You're a creep, you're
a creep, you're a creep.


     DR. WAY
Words of love. You'll be my songbird. So your house is right over
that hill?

     AURORA
Yeah.

     ANNA
     (To the audience)
The garden was so black and I felt so small.

     DR. WAY
The promised land sleeps. When you return, they won't recognize
you.

Lights go down on DR. WAY and
AURORA. SARAH walks back in.

     SARAH
Olin's in bed and I think he's asleep. Anna, what are you doing
out here?

     ANNA
     (To SARAH)
I thought I heard something. Like somebody scratching.

     SARAH
Anna, what would I have done if he had died? He could have died
out here. What would I have done?

     ANNA
     (To SARAH)
Sarah, you have to tell this minister that I've been alone for a long
time but I'm not a misfit. You have to tell him that.

Lights dim to black.

End of Three

To Four

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