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” AMOR DE UN LOBO” OR “WILD LOVE”
by DARIAN P. R.
CHARACTERS: PANCHITO EL WOLF: a male wolf. He is very old outside and inside. PELUSA LA MOUNTAIN LION: a female mountain lion. She looks young on the outside, but she is old on the inside SETTING: In the Crystal Springs wilderness. There are redwood and sequoia trees; banana and mango trees. Berry bushes. The grass is tall. Sometimes there are hailstorms. You hear the wolve’s howls. You hear gunshots too; many humans come to this area seasonally to hunt the mountain lions and wolves. PANCHITO lives alone in a cave in this wilderness. Nearby is the Spring of Youth where PELUSA stays. In between these two places is the hunters “line of fire” where the gunshots come from. TIME: It is sunset on an April evening. This will be a full-moon night. The moon rises in two hours. AT RISE: PANCHITO is outside his wolf den, howling and lurking and watching. PELUSA enters, huffing and puffing. They greet each other by touching noses.
PANCHITO Why are you huffing and puffing? Is there something wrong? PELUSA I just got chased by a wolf in a dark coat. By any chance do you know who it was? PANCHITO Oh no! Did he have a white spot on his back? (thinking hard) PELUSA Yes. He was howling at me aggressively. I thought it was your brother Lobo, but it couldn’t be — this wolf had too much of a dark coat. PANCHITO Don’t be afraid my love. That was merely my brother Lobo –he has grown very big and dark from all the negative activity he’s done. He has become a sociopath. PELUS …a sociopath…? PANCHITO What’s the matter? It’s just my brother and the way we grew up and how our Father taught us. But like my Mother would always say “to have good things happen in your life you must become a good leader”. And I chose my Mother’s path instead. (he howls) Look my love, you are safe with me now. PELUSA I have to talk to you about something Panchito. I didn’t send Tweety, my messenger bird, to tell you to meet me here just to talk about Lobo’s coat. I want to tell you…(gulp, gulp, swollowing her words, she can’t talk) you brother Lobo has howled at me to go on a hunt. I — PANCHITO — WHAT ?! WHY has he howled at you ?! WHEN?!
PELUSA Tonight. As soon as the moon rises. Look…I’ve seen that your coat is getting gray. You are getting old Panchito; too old to hunt. That is my main concern. This is going to be my first hunt with a wolf – and it’s going to be with Lobo. PANCHITO (yelling) I don’t want you to go on this hunt with Lobo. I’m — PELUSA (interrupting) What’s wrong? Are you jealous? (she looks around, sniffing for Lobo, anxiously) What are you going to do about it?! PANCHITO (stunned and provoked he howls loudly) I’ll show you what I can do about this! This is nonsense; you are mine, my love, you should know this already. Would you really go behind my tail and go on a hunt with my brother? I would take you on a hunt, but as you can see I am getting old. And I don’t want to hunt anymore. PELUSA (growls furiously) But you are the all mightly Panchito; the alpha leader of the wolf pack. You’ve been running through this territory for many years already. You were one of the best hunters — no — wait a minute–you ARE. PANCHITO I need to tell you somethings about my brother Lobo. This hunt with him is not going to be a peaceful one. You are going to see many, many things, many negative things. It might even traumatize the way you think. You may like, or you may not like, the things you see. Lobo doesn’t know how to just let The Hunters be and he causes them to come and kill more wolves in their habitat for revenge. Lobo doesn’t understand that us killing the humans is not our way. We wolves are not evil and we don’t want to ever bring negative attention to our home. But I swear, just last night, I seen Lobo eating the left over of what looked like a human arm. When I went over to look he yelled at me and walked away. My bones ache, I was too tired to chase afer him.
PELUSA Where are you going with this? Let me tell you how I feel. As I wake up every day in my cave, I need someone next to me alsleep. Somebody I can call my mate. AND I really need this hunt, so I can show you that I am capable of being among your wolf pack. BECAUSE I’m a mountain lion, I’m an outsider. PANCHITO You are no outsider to me. I think of you as one of us. I think of you as my love. Don’t forget now that we had something before — PELUSA (interrupting) Yeah. Don’t forget now that you never apologized to me (growls). You left me you know. You gave me a reason not to trust you. Yeah, I’m a hunter. I’m a hunter when I need to be and a lover when I need to be. Y donde estabas vos?! And where were you, huh?! PANCHITO You know I had mouths to feed and minds to teach. I had responsibilities to watch over my wolf pack. I am the alpha leader for a reason — but cut all this nonsense out. I don’t want you to go on this hunt with Lobo. Period. Punto. PELUSA And who are you to tell me what to do? Since when did you become mi jefe ?! PANCHITO Since now that we have spoken. I want to take care of you…I want to love you… I want to make you the mother of my pups. You are my responsibility now. PELUSA (begins to let her guard down) I like the way you are talking to me right now. PANCHITO I don’t just want you to be my haina (girlfriend) but also the mother of my pups. You are wise-minded and strongly independent. If you become my baby momma you gain the power I got in the wolf-pack. We need a female alpha leader. And I can finally have pups to be remembered and die happily…cause when the pups grow up they’ll want to be like me.I want them to have courage like me so they can move the wolf pack to a different habitat when it’s time to move on. This is Culture: It gives you hope and it doesn’t make you ever regret being a wolf. It gives you pride of being who you are and where you come from. To remember the Culture is everything. PELUSA I’ve never, ever, thought of this but I would like to be the mother of your pups– a wolf like you, with so much power would be a great teacher. I….I…accept. I’m not really thinking about the hunt now. I feel special. I feel like someone actually wants me. PANCHITO I’ve always been wanting you my love.
(Suddenly LOBO’S howls can be heard)
PELUSA Oh, no! My time is up. PANCHITO What do you mean, your time is up? Your time is with me now. I need you. PELUSA I know you need me, but your brother needs me too. PANCHITO So you’re just abandoning everything I just said? Como vas a jugar conmigo ?! PELUSA Nobody is playing with you Panchito. I can’t really abandon your brother. I really need this hunt. You told me you can’t, you don’t want to go hunting anymore. PANCHITO What do you mean, I can’t? Of course I can go hunting; I just prefer not to, because I’m too old. I want to be laid back, and have pups with you, and love you. Is that too much to ask? PELUSA No, it isn’t too much to ask for. I just need this hunt to show my courage, to show that I belong among you. PANCHITO (thinks deeply) Pelusa, you do know this is risking your life? Your hunting with Lobo my sociopath brother. You’re not thinking wisely now, my love. I’m afraid that I’m going to loose you. What if WE go hunting together? Would that stop you from going with Lobo? PELUSA That atually would stop me, Panchito. But the full moon is up already and didn’t you hear your brother’s howl just now? Because I did. (LOBO howls again) PANCHITO I don’t want you to go. Please, you can’t! You will be letting me down. (PELUSA growls and begins back away. PANCHITO leaps. PELUSA leaps.) This is not over yet! PELUSA What do you mean? PANCHITO I’m going to go talk to Lobo. I shall have a little chat with him. (PANCHITO exits. The sounds of wolves barking fiercely and fighting are heard. Silence. PANCHITO returns, there is blood on his coat.)
PELUSA What the hell just happened? You’re limping What happened to Lobo. He’s not howling anymore. PANCHITO I had to quiet him down. ( PELUSA sees that PANCHITO has a mortal wound on his neck.) I really love you. (PANCHITO is down on the ground, unable to rise) PELUSA Wait! I have something for you. (PELUSA runs to the Spring of Youth and returns with a mouthful of water from the Spring. She kisses him. PANCHITO swollows the water.) PANCHITO You saved me. I always believed in you. I had my hopes fulfilled. Now you can come home with me. (PANCHITO rises) What did you give me?! Why do I feel young again? I feel like I could go hunting…forever. PELUSA What do you mean, you could go hunting…forever? PANCHITO Are you ready for this hunt, my love? Cause it’s going to be a very long one. (PANCHITO AND PELUSA howl together)
THE END |
