Eight

The next morning.

ANNA, wearing work clothes, is
trimming the muscadine vines on
the trellis. SARAH is sitting on
the bench.

         SARAH
Is it November?

          ANNA
Yes.

          SARAH
No.

          ANNA
Almost middle of November.

          SARAH
There isn't a cloud in the sky.

          ANNA
Yes.

          SARAH
If you didn't know better with the green grass and the flowers, you
would think it was spring.

          ANNA
Barry told me once that soon we'll screw up the atmosphere so
bad that we'll only have one season. An endless spring and
summer. A spummer.

Pause.

          SARAH
When did Dr. Way leave?

          ANNA
Sometime last night. Aurora was out here.

          SARAH
He was a charming man. Other than being in league with the
devil, I didn't mind him.

          ANNA
He stole money from me and from her. About 70 dollars.

          SARAH
Did you call the police?

          ANNA
No.

          SARAH
What a scandal. Where is Aurora?

          ANNA
I'm not sure"' I haven't seen her since last night.

          SARAH
Anna, what if she's gone again and goes into another spiral?

          ANNA
She won't.

          SARAH
You can't know that.

          ANNA
She's here somewhere because he took the car.

          SARAH
Poor Aurora. She always had a wild heart. She wants so much.
Anna, why are you bothering with that trellis?

          ANNA
The vines need trimming.

          SARAH
It's probably rotten. It has to be rotten with bugs. it's been
standing in the rain forever.

          ANNA
I was testing the wood and it's sturdy. I was surprised. If we
keep the vines in check, we can keep it.

          SARAH
Our new minister preached his first service today. It's amazing
how fast the church works when it wants to. You would hardly
know that Cal was ever there. The new minister spoke about new
beginnings. It was an unremarkable sermon. Everybody was very
happy.

          ANNA
Is it time for lunch?

          SARAH
Yes. I'll go make some for you and then I have to go and feed
Olin.

SARAH walks off to the left.
ANNA continues to trim the
trellis. AURORA, wearing clothes
smeared with dirt and pushing a
wheelbarrow that holds a shovel
walks in from the right.

          AURORA
Here.

          ANNA
Oh. There you are.

          AURORA
There's at least 40 crystals. I dug them up and you can have them.
Sell them. They ought to bring a couple of hundred dollars.

          ANNA
I don't want them.

          AURORA
There are shops in Eureka Springs and in Hot Springs. I'll get
their addresses. They sell them as healing crystals. Which is crap
but that will get you some money.

          ANNA
I don't need money.

          AURORA
Jesus, Anna. This is all I have to give. At the moment. So this will
have to do for what Alan took and what I borrowed before that.

          ANNA
All right.

          AURORA
Right. I pay my debts.

          ANNA
What are you going to do?

          AURORA
I've got blisters. I've got to clean this dirt off.

          ANNA
No. What will you do?

          AURORA
I tell you, Anna, I'm getting off this mountain. Somehow. The air
must be poisoned. Everyone that stays up here goes insane.

          ANNA
You're wrong about that.

          AURORA
Then you're the exception.

          ANNA
So you'll leave. Where will you stay? Where will you live?

          AURORA
What does it matter? I'll land somewhere. You won't have to
worry anymore.

          ANNA
Is Cal going too?

          AURORA
I don't know and I don't care.

          ANNA
Didn't he call last night after Dr. Way left?

          AURORA
Yeah.

          ANNA
I see.

          AURORA
Nothing changes no matter how hard you try.

          ANNA
Why do you need change?

           AURORA
Our father should have been locked up. A garden on the side of a
mountain.

          ANNA
That's what I can't understand.

          AURORA
I'll land somewhere.

          ANNA
There's nothing wrong with having small little life. That's what I
have and there's nothing wrong with it at all. Keeping things
simple and straightforward is what's best. You want some kind of
golden light to shine down from heaven and explain everything to
you and heal everything and it doesn't happen that way. It never
will. In the meantime you've lost track of who you are.

          AURORA
You're assuming that I knew who I was in the first place. Man, I
have some first-rate blisters.

AURORA starts to walk away.

          ANNA
Don't feel sorry for me.

          AURORA
Anna. I didn't ask Cal for anything.

          ANNA
I'll stay busy. There's enough here for me.

          AURORA
I didn't.

          ANNA
Aurora?

          AURORA
I have to clear my head.

AURORA walks off to the right
ANNA trims for a bit and then
stops. She pauses and looks in
the wheelbarrow. She picks up
one of the y-rods.

CAL, wearing casual clothes,
walks in from the left.

          CAL
Maybe you'll have better luck with that than I did.

          ANNA
Maybe.

          CAL
I'm sorry for acting like an idiot. Ever since your sister came
back I've done idiotic things that aren't anything like the normal
idiotic things I do. Last night I slept on my sofa bed.

          ANNA
Why?

AURORA walks in and listens to
CAL. He doesn't see her.

          CAL
To punish myself. And it worked. It was the longest night of my life
and I can't feel anything below my waist. I went to my church and
stood outside during the service. I think I heard God laughing at
me. Here I am with no job and no skills other than talking. The
woman I would go down to hell for thinks I'm ridiculous. And I
can't argue with her.

          ANNA
Am I holding this right?

          CAL
Ah. No.

          ANNA
Don't stand there. Show me.

          CAL
You have to point the end straight ahead. Hold it like this.

CAL goes to ANNA to show her
how. AURORA now walks all the
way in.

          AURORA
          (To CAL)
Are you making fun of me?

          ANNA
          (Stops working with the Y-rod)
Thank you. That's good to know.

          CAL
No Aurora. Not in a million years. I was showing her ... not that I
know what I'm doing ... but she asked ...

          AURORA
She did?

          CAL
It looked weird just now but I was demonstrating ... there's
nothing between us ... Anna's not attractive . . . or not attractive to
me, to me that is....

          ANNA
          (To AURORA)
Will you take him away before he puts both feet in his mouth?

          CAL
Please.

          AURORA
He needs to do something useful instead of standing
around fooling with that stupid thing. I have to sell these crystals to
a couple of shops in Eureka Springs. You're going to take me
there. We'll go tomorrow. You will be sober.

          CAL
Right.

          AURORA
The wind is giving me a chill. Let's go inside. C'mon.

AURORA and CAL walk off
together to the right. ANNA looks
up at the sky and shivers a bit.
She then takes the Y-rod and
tries what CAL showed her.

BARRY walks in from the right.
He watches her for a moment.
Then ANNA, sensing that
somebody is there, looks up.

          ANNA
Hey. How long have you been there? Do you feel it? It's getting
cold.

She walks around a bit and then
suddenly the Y-rod is pointing
straight down.

          ANNA
Oh God. Oh God. Barry. Look at this. It's like somebody is trying
pull it out of my hands. Look.

ANNA is fighting against the pull.

Barry. I can barely hold on.

Lights dim to black.

THE END

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