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That Cursed Day
“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 beside 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 Sally in her 16 age goes out from the bathroom carrying a white shirt in her hands, running quickly towards the washing machine, she squats putting her white shirt inside the washing machine and making sure no one sees, then while she stands up putting the washing liquid her 18 years older brother Saleem shows up from behind her grabbing out that white shirt out from 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 moans).
Saleem: What’s wrong with your arm? Show it to me (Raises her sweaters sleeve)
Sally: Saleem stop, there is nothing, you just hurted me, that’s all.
Saleem: (Starts screaming) Stop lying, I asked you what is this blood on the shirt?
Sally: (Tries to put her hands on 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: (Grabbed Saleem’s arm taking him to her bedroom, and closed the door half shot) First you have to promise me that you won’t tell anyone!
Saleem: Are you involved in any of what I think?
(Sally breathes hardly then shakes her head in the meaning of yes)
Saleem: (Steps back for a while looking at his sister, then gets closer) Show me your arm, now.
Sally: (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 Talya when the car exploded, Reem was inside it.
Saleem: I told you a thousand times to stay away from Reem but you didn’t hear me.
Sally: Saleem, you know that she is my childhood’s 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 was having all her friends, when she got in and closed the car’s door, the car exploded!
Saleem: (Looked at the white shirt) How about you? Your shirt? Your arm?
Sally: Me and Talya 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 how did that happen, but suddenly a police man 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 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. (Closed her eyes) I told Talya 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 the blood was not falling on the ground.
Saleem: How did you survive? They won’t let you go.
Sally: We both went together. And on a forked road, each one of us ran in a different direction, and he chose to follow me. Talya survived but I…
Saleem: But you?!
Sally: (Sighted) I ran first, but then I hid, I stopped taking 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: (Started breathing hard, and stepped back) How?
Sally: (Her tears started falling) He put the gun on my head, and said, “Don’t move.” He grabbed my shoten 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 shoten arm, strongly making me 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?! (Anxcioused) They absolutely saved him, and he knows your face, he will tell them and they…
Sally: (Interrupted Saleem) I shot him nine shots.
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. (In confidence) I got closer and made sure that he was not breathing.
Saleem: (Mocks) Oh perfect, now you made me feel 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 it off when I went out of that place, and kept it inside my backpack. I will burn it tomorrow (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 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 grab him… I can’t do that in the middle of the day, while all eyes are open.
Saleem: (Put his hands on his forehead) Where is his body?
Sally: Do you remember that place where we used to play hide and seek with Talya, Tamer, Shady, Shery, and Shareef, 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: (Smiled a sad smile) I know it.
Sally: His body is laying there. Beside the slide.
Saleem: (Got closer and kissed Sally on her forehead) If anything happened, don’t tell mom and dad about anything, okay?!
Sally: (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 got in a situation that any of these dirty men would 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, and come back taking your mixed songs CD that Talya gave you. (He smiled at his sister, then opened up the house door, leaving.)
(The light fades out, and the scene shifts. Salleem reaches that place, while he’s wearing plastic bags in his shoes and black gloves in 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 happened. Then he notices something under one of the swings flashing, he grabs it and it’s Sally’s necklace. And suddenly someone from behind hit him strongly on the back of his neck with a heavy wooden stick.)
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