A Play by Joe F.

Performance: May 2003
Hillcrest Juvenile Hall, San Mateo


Characters:  BLACK KNIGHT, a jaguar
ANGEL, a white dove
Time: It is August – Summer time, and it is around 12:00 noon time
Place: Sahara Desert, in beautiful oasis.  There are palm trees that have light and dark green palm leaves, with brown trunks with moss on the bottom of them.  Crystal clear waterfalls that you can see the different kinds of charcoal colored rocks.   The rainbow colored tropical flowers and small fields of bright green grass around the ponds.  The sounds of birds chirping, water falling.  When walking through, the sound of grass (crunswwwssssh.)  You can feel the mist of the waterfall, the pokieness of the grass near the ponds.  It feels good to have this mist on such a hot day.

SCENE ONE
At Rise:
  Black Knight and Angel are on a rock and one side they are looking at the ground where a colony of ants is killing a fly and bringing it back to the anthill.  And on the other side is the edge of a cliff where the waterfall starts.



Angel:

It’s amazing how not only doves and jaguars kill others for food, but humans, animals, mammals, and even these little – harmless to us and deadly to flies – ants.

Black Knight:

Yeah, isn’t it though?  I guess the world is just survival of the fittest.

Angel: Yeah.  But why does it have to be like that?
Black Knight:

Well we all have to eat, don’t we?
(Black Knight and Angel get off the rock and walk over to a tree stump that be hanging over the water and the other part is on the land.)

Black Knight:

That’s a long way down to the water!

Angel: Yeah!  Bet I could beat you down there.
Black Knight: Oh yeah? ………  GO!
(Angel flies into the air and waits for Black Knight to hit the water, then comes barreling down.)
 
Black Knight:

Angel?
(Angel hits the water and splashes Black Knight in the face.)

Angel: HAAAAA.
Black Knight: Stop playing around.
Angel: O.K.  I’ll settle down a little.  I’m just so happy that I’m back to the place where I grew up at.
Black Knight: I know what you’re feeling.  But I have something important to tell you.
Angel: You know that you could tell me anything, Black Knight.  What is it?
Black Knight: Do you remember the poacher that…
Angel:

You mean the on that killed your parents?

Black Knight: Yeah.  That one.
Angel: What about him?
Black Knight:

I saw him on the other side of the oasis yesterday.

Angel:

WHAT, HE’S HERE!?!

Black Knight:

Yeah.  He’s here and I think that he is coming for me.  For my teeth.
(Black Knight smiles)

Angel:

What is it about your teeth that he has killed your parents and now (is) after you.

Black Knight: They are made of ivory.  Unbreakable ivory.
Angel: How did you get teeth made of ivory?
Black Knight: You know what?  I don’t even really know myself.  It goes way back with my great-great-grandparents.
Angel: WOW.  Neato.
Black Knight: Would there be any other place that you would like to go in the world?  In the world?
Angel: Come on Black Knight, you know that I always wish to find the place that I grew up in.  Why do you ask?
 
Black Knight: I’m asking because I was thinking of leaving and bringing you with me.  That is, if you want to go.  Do you?  Please say you do.
Angel: Are you positive that the poacher will find you here?  What if he is just stopping through to take a break?  I love it here.  It is like a dream come true.  It is a dream come true.
 
Black Knight: I know you love it here, but what if he’s not just here to rest?  What if he’s not just gonna leave me alone?  What if…?
Angel: You are worried, huh?
Black Knight: No, I’m not just worried – I’m petrified!  I’ve never been so scared in my life.  I could die and I want to leave.  Will you come with me?
Angel: I don’t want to!  Do I have to answer right now?
Black Knight: The sooner the better.  But I’m leaving regardless.
Angel: BABY, NO!  I love you and I would be forever hurt if you were to leave.
Black Knight: I’m sorry, but you won’t have to be if you come with me.
Angel: Yeah, but I want to stay here too.  I would be hurt if I leave here too.
Black Knight: I’m sorry.  I don’t know what to tell you then.  I will stay one more day, maybe even less.  But I need to go.   (Aside)  What she really doesn’t know is I’ll do anything to have her come with me.
Angel: (weeping)  Please stay.
(They get out of the water and go to the beach to dry off.)
 
Angel: I’m hungry.  Can we go eat?
Black Knight: Sure
(They leave the beach (stage) and go kill some prey to eat it.  The killed a wild boar.)
Poacher: Where is that don-gurn Jaguar?
(Black Knight and Angel come back on stage, to the left of the stage.)
 
Angel: Boy, that was delightful!
Black Knight: Yeah, it was quite tasty.
Angel: So, once again, what can we do about that poacher?
Black Knight: (sarcastically) Well, can we all just get along?
Angel: HA HA HA.  Yeah right.  Wouldn’t that be nice.
Black Knight: HA.  Yeah, that would be nice.  But let’s get back to reality.  I don’t really know.
Angel: What do you mean you don’t know?
Black Knight: The only two things that I can think of is to either fight him and we both have a fifty-fifty chance; or that I run away from him.  But you don’t wanna come.  And I don’t wanna fight him because I might die.  And I’m scared of dying.
Angel: What if you beat him though?
Black Knight: What if I don’t?
Angel: Yeah, you’re right, what if you don’t….but what if you do?
Black Knight: Angel stop playing.  This is serious.
Angel: OK.  I’m sorry.
Black Knight: N-E-ways.  I need to know, are you going to come wit me
Angel: I want to.  Trust me.  But I don’t know if I can.  This is what I always wanted.
(The Poacher creeps up on the left side of the stage, but he is not on it yet.  He is right next to it looking at Black Knight and Angel talking.)
Black Knight: Yeah I know it is but….
 
(The Poacher shoots.  But Black Knight and Angel duck, so he misses them and shoots a branch.  The branch falls onto Black Knight and injures him, but he still gets away.  Angel flies away.  They meet back up at the other side of the stage.)
 
Black Knight: I need to know are you going to come with me.
Angel: Can’t we wait a little bit longer?
Black Knight: What do you mean wait longer?  You saw what just happened.  Now he knows that we… I am here.  We have to go.  Half hour and I am gone.  I hope you come.  (Aside)  I hope she comes, ‘cause I’ll wait for her as long as it takes.
Angel: How about this – we go, but not too far away, and then come back.
Black Knight: OK.  But if it’s not safe, we don’t come back and then just move on.
(They exit)  (End SCENE ONE.)
SCENE TWO – one month later
 
At Rise:  Angel is back at the oasis.  She is by herself, sitting in the middle of the lake on a log with lily pads around the log, with frogs and butterflies on the lily pads.  It’s the break of dawn and the sun is just coming up over the palm trees at the end of the stream.  Angel flies over and sits on the branch of a tree and sees Black Knight limping by.
 
Angel: Black Knight!  Are you OK?
Black Knight: No!  I got into a rumble with the poacher and he stabbed me.  I can’t bear the pain.
 
Angel: What can I do to help?
Black Knight: Get a palm leaf or something to stop the bleeding.
Angel: OK!  I’ll be right back!
 
(Angel flies away and comes back with some ivory palm leaves and patches up his wound.)
Angel: Is that better?
Black Knight: Yeah.  Thank you.
(They go over to the pond and Black Knight starts to drink out of it.)
Angel: Black Knight… You do know why I left you, right?
Black Knight: Yeah.  Sorta.  Tell me why again.
Angel: Well remember when we were here the first time, you were telling me that we were gonna come back when the poacher left and it was safe.  But when we left and saw the poacher left, you didn’t have no intention to come back.  Why?  That was devastating to know someone I trusted would betray me like that.  How could you?
Black Knight: I’m sorry.  I thought that after you got so far from here that you wouldn’t want to come back.
Angel: You knew I liked it here.
Black Knight: I know.  But you know why I was doing it, right?  So that I wouldn’t have to worry about my life.  Also it might of affected you too.  I would have felt bad to know I put you in this danger too.
Angel: You should have told me from the get-go.
Black Knight: I’m sorry!  Can you forgive me?
Angel: I don’t know.  I don’t think so.  That hurt when I had to leave you.  And you also betrayed my trust.  I don’t know if I could trust you anymore.
Black Knight: I only betrayed your trust because my life, our life, was in danger.  I was only looking out for the both of us.
Angel: I know but…
Black Knight: Angel, I love you.  And I couldn’t stand to be without you.
Angel: Black Knight… I don’t know what to say.  I’m flattered.
Black Knight: That’s all you could say, “I’m flattered.”?  You don’t feel the same way?
Angel: Yeah, I did feel the same before you betrayed my trust.  I thought about you every day and night.  And just how could you do that to me?
Black Knight: I’m sorry.
Angel: I can’t ever trust you again.  I will help you with your wound, but after that you have to leave
Black Knight: What….?  Why….?
Angel: Because I can’t stand to be with you if I know that that could happen again
(End of SCENE TWO) .
SCENE THREE – one week later.  Black Knight’s wound has healed.
 
Angel: (crying)  It’s time to go.
(Black Knight starts to cry.  Walking away, he turns around.)
Black Knight: I really regret what I have done.  I hope one meet up another day.
     
    The End.


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