Scene One

I wrote this first scene back in November of the year of 2021.
But the actual story was written on a tiny table in a hotel room in Dubai on 2016 New Year’s eve! “Stay alive”

“Note: this play goes back to the year of 2012, Syria.”

(Next to the house door, a washing machine and a laundry basket on top of it. On the right of the stage there were two bedrooms next to each other, and to the left is the big bedroom, and a bathroom besides it, while in the middle was the kitchen with a small four person dining table. The dinner was ready on the table, and the room's doors were all closed. Then 16 year old Sally goes out from the bathroom carrying a white shirt in her hands, running quickly towards the washing machine, she kneels putting her white shirt inside the washing machine and making sure no one sees, then she stands back up putting the laundry detergent then her 18 year old brother Saleem shows up from behind her grabbing the white shirt out of the washing machine.)

Saleem: What’s that Sally?
Sally: Nothing important!
Saleem: Nothing important huh... if you can’t see there is blood on it! Can you explain what that is?
Sally: I told you it’s not important, don't be so insistent! (Tries to go to her bedroom, but saleem grabs her left arm strongly, and she grunts).
Saleem: What’s wrong with your arm? Show it to me (Raises her sweaters sleeve)
Sally: Saleem stop, there is nothing, you just hurt me, that’s all.
Saleem: (Starts screaming) Stop lying, I asked you what is this blood on the shirt?
Sally: (Tries to cover her brother's mouth) Don’t scream, my mom will hear you!
Saleem: Then tell me what is going on so I can stop.
Sally: (She grabbed Saleem’s arm taking him to her bedroom, and closed the door half shut) First you have to promise me that you won’t tell anyone!
Saleem: Are you involved in any of what I think?

(Sally starts breathing faster then shakes her head in the meaning of yes)

Saleem: (He steps back for a while looking at his sister, then gets closer) Show me your arm, now.
Sally: (She raises up her sleeve and a big white bandage covering her entire arm) It's not what you’re thinking, it wasn’t my fault, I was standing there with Masa when the car exploded, Reem was inside it.
Saleem: I told you a thousand times to stay away from Reem but you didn’t listen.
Sally: Saleem, you know that she is my childhood friend.
Saleem: But she chose to be one of them.
Sally: You’re talking about her like you’re not! I saw the gun in your drawer, so don’t blame her, she is dead now, and to be much clearer she has been killed. The car had all her friends, when she got in and closed the car’s door, the car exploded!
Saleem: (He looked at the white shirt) How about you? Your shirt? Your arm?
Sally: Me and Masa were getting out of school as usual, then we saw Reem, we followed her silently and stood behind a wall when we saw her getting in her friend’s car, and when the car exploded, we went closer to see what happened, but suddenly a Policeman showed up from behind us and said, “You two, who are you?” We didn’t turn our faces back at all so he wouldn't see us.

Saleem: And then?
Sally: He pulled out his gun and pulled the trigger and said, “You two, don’t move and turn back very slowly.”
Saleem: Then?
Sally: At that moment I knew that I had two choices, either give up and show him my face, or run without looking back, and in both ways I would be dead, but if I would be lucky enough, I would survive in the second choice and he might miss shooting me. (She closed her eyes) I told Masa to run without looking back, and that’s when he shot my arm. While I was running I wrapped my arm and made sure that no blood fell on the ground.
Saleem: How did you survive? They won’t let you go.
Sally: We both went together. And on a shallow road, each one of us ran in a different direction, and he chose to follow me. Masa survived but I…
Saleem: But you?!
Sally: (She sighed) I ran first, but then I hid, I held my breath so he wouldn't catch me, I thought he wouldn't, but he did.
Saleem: Why did you stop? Continue Sally. Did he hurt you? Did he do anything to you? What happened?
Sally: I killed him.
Saleem: (He started breathing heavily, and stepped back) How?
Sally: (Her tears started falling) He put the gun on my head, and said, “Don’t move.” He grabbed my injured arm, walking me slowly from where I was hiding, then made me stop walking, and told me to turn around, but I didn’t. Then he said in a harsh scary voice, “I said turn around.” But I didn’t. Then he grabbed my injured arm, strongly forcing me to turn. I closed my eyes.

Saleem: He saw your face, no Sally no!
Sally: I hit him in his sensitive area, so he dropped the gun. I tried to take the gun, but he pushed me, so I fell. Then he bent over to take it, but I kicked him with all of my strength and took the gun, and shot him.
Saleem: (Sarcastically) He died from one shot?! (Anxious) They absolutely saved him, and he knows your face, he will tell them and they…
Sally: (She interrupted Saleem) I shot him nine times.
Saleem: What? Nine?!
Sally: I had no other choice, they don't die, they all don’t die. You kill them once they live a hundred times. (With confidence) I got closer and made sure that he was not breathing.
Saleem: (He mocks her) Oh perfect, now you made me feel so much better. How about his body? And your blood? Your fingerprints? Your shoes? All of that? (He looked at Sally, while she was not answering) Sally?
Sally: I left him there. But... but I cleaned up my fingerprints from his gun, and I made sure that my arm was not bleeding. And for my shoes I took them off when I left, and kept them inside my backpack. I will burn them tomorrow (She starts crying) But I didn’t know what to do with his body... Where to bury it... The whole ground is paved, I can’t dig through it... And the graveyard is too far away from there... And I don’t have a car to carry his body in... And even if I would carry him... I can’t do that in the middle of the day, while all eyes are open.

Saleem: (He puts his hands on his forehead) Where is the body now?
Sally: Do you remember that place where we used to play hide and seek with Masa, Marwan, Mulham, Maher, and Maria, when we were kids? It was surrounded with low walls and had swings and a long slide. We used to play there a lot.
Saleem: (He smiled a sad smile) I know it.
Sally: His body is laying there. Beside the slide.
Saleem: (He got closer and kissed Sally on her forehead) If anything happens, don’t tell mom and dad about anything, okay?!
Sally: (She looked at Saleem) Where are you going?
Saleem: Promise me that you won’t make them catch you. Keep the gun that you saw in my drawer with you, but don’t use it. But if you get in a situation where any of these dirty men would dare touch a single strand of your hair, at that moment you’re allowed to use it. Deal?
Sally: (Shook her head in the meaning of yes, then she hugged Saleem) I’m sorry.
Saleem: Don’t be sorry for protecting yourself. Plus, I’m not an easy brother, I’ll be okay, come back and take your mixed songs CD that Masa gave you. (He smiled at his sister, then opened up the house door and left.)

(The light fades out, and the scene shifts. Saleem reaches that place, while he’s wearing plastic bags on his shoes and black gloves on his hands. He started looking all around, beside that long slide, between the swings. He looked closer at the ground for blood or anything, but there was nothing at all, like nothing had ever happened. Then he notices something under one of the swings reflecting light, he grabs it and it’s Sally’s necklace. And suddenly someone from behind hits him strongly on the back of his neck with a heavy wooden stick knocking him out.)

The End of scene 1