You Can Believe In Darkness: But Have Faith In The Light

A short play in one scene by Jesus A.

Performance: October, 2004
Hillcrest Juvenile Hall, San Mateo

TIME
2004, 1300 a.m.
PLACE
A tunnel—an alleyway where Darkness is at.
AT RISE
It’s windy, paper is blowing, and thunder is striking where trees are covered. We see GRIMM entering Tunnel. HE looks sad, lazy, and humble. HE stumbles into DARKNESS. His breathing is the sound of grieving. This makes DARKNESS wonder who’s coming into her Tunnel. DARKNESS has no sense of smell but doesn’t know that someone is close. SHE hears noises and is not sure if it’s thunder or lightening. DARKNESS is thinking of what the grieving is that she’s hearing inside her Tunnel. GRIMM, the Dragon is in the middle of the Tunnel and DARKNESS is at the end. GRIMM has just got threw flying around and finally after being tired and sleepy HE flies into DARKNESS.
CHARACTERS
GRIMM, The DRAGON: An Eighteen-year-old dragon bigger and larger than a human with wings that come out when other dragons are near.
DARKNESS, The Night: A joyful patch of place, that speaks, hears and senses depression, sadness, anger and other emotions.
PLAYWRIGHT NOTE/STAGE DIRECTION

(GRIMM enters Tunnel. HE slowly looks for the best and darkest spot. When he finds it, HE sits and crosses his feet.)

Grimm:		I’m tired. I’m tired… (gasping for air) This place looks like a great place where I can spend the night. (DARKNESS is wondering and hears the huffing and puffing. SHE goes to see what it is, and bumps into something rocky and bigger than a human. For a moment, SHE thinks it’s a piece of trash.)

Darkness:		Hum!

Grimm:		Who goes there?

Darkness:		No, who goes there?

Grimm:		Well, if you are…where are you? How come I can’t see you?

Darkness:		You can’t see me but I can see you.

Grimm:		How can that be, I got eyes too! Are you trying to say, I’m blind?

Darkness:		Are you coming into my place and giving me attitude?!

Grimm:		No, I just want some sleep.

Darkness:		How did you figure that this could be a good place to sleep? Aren’t you scared?

Grimm:		Scared? Why? I’m bigger than a human and I can blow dark-blue and light green flames. Aren’t you scared of that?

Darkness:		It’s not like you could do something—you don’t even know where I’m at!

Grimm:		The only reason I can see you is because it’s dark. But maybe if I brought in a little light I could see you?

Darkness:		What did you just say about light?

Grimm:		I said that once I bring in a little bit of light it won’t be dark no more.

Darkness:		How are you going to make that happen? And plus, if you bring light, I’ll disappear.

Grimm:		So, what. You trying to say, you’re a ghost? You trying to scare me?

Darkness:		No! No! No! I ‘m Darkness; I’m here to help someone like you.

Grimm:		So, if you’re trying to help, come on, let me see you!

Darkness:		Well, I’m afraid I can’t help you with that. I’m not supposed to be seen.

Grimm:		(continues walking, searching for a patch of Darkness.) Is it because you are at the farther end of the Tunnel? Come on, I’m tired! I want to sleep.

Darkness:		Is that your only purpose for coming in here?

Grimm:		No, I thought if I found a dark and quiet place I could sit and think, right before I sleep.

Darkness:		Think. Think about what? What do you have to think about?

Grimm:		Well…I have a lot of problems. But I don’t want to get into it. I have to get to sleep!

Darkness:		Problems! What kind of problems?

Grimm:		Why are you asking all these questions? I thought DARKNESS was supposed to be a place where things can hang out and be left alone—so quit b-u-g-g-i-n-g me!

Darkness:		Oooh! A little attitude. Is it bugging you that much?

Grimm:		Nothing’s bugging me! Well… (Long silence)

Darkness:		Well, what—what is it? I want to hear it!

Grimm:		Why would you want to hear someone’s problems? No one hears my problems.

Darkness:		Are you afraid of telling someone again? Do you think I won’t listen?

Grimm:		No, it’s just that I talk about it and they don’t listen. It just hurts more and more.

Darkness:		What do you mean—hurts. Do you mean, pain?

Grimm:		Well then if that’s what you want to call it, then yeah. (Short silence)

Darkness:		Well, everybody feels pain. I feel pain myself.

Grimm:		You feel pain too!?

Darkness:		Of course I do.

Grimm:		If you feel pain too, what kind?

Darkness:		Desires!

Grimm:		Desires. Of what?

Darkness:		Desires. Desires of meeting my family. (Short silence)

Grimm:		Family? You have Family? (Short silence)

Darkness:		Humm…

Grimm:		So, you’re trying to say that you have family. What kind of family?

Darkness:		I’m the Darkness, of course I have family. The other side of me is Light. (GRIMMM starts walking again, then sits and wonders, for a long silence) Are you okay? Why the silence all of a sudden?

Grimm:		Because I’m in the same situation as you?

Darkness:		Why, do you have family?

Grimm:		Can I ask you something?

Darkness:		Yeah, go ahead. Ask me anything.

Grimm:		If I do, I want to be sure that you listen to me.

Darkness:		Haven’t I been doing that for all this time?

Grimm:		Well, yeah. It’s a long story.

Darkness:		I ain’t going no where.

Grimm:		Well, can you listen? (Short silence)

Darkness:		It looks like you and me have something in common.

Grimm:		What do we have in common?

Darkness:		I haven’t seen my family and you haven’t found someone that listens to you.

Grimm:		So what can I do for you that you can do for me?

Darkness:		How about you close your eyes–visualize and let it all out. I’ll sit and listen and maybe you can help me find and see my family? (Short silence)

Grimm:		(Slowly GRIMM thinks about this and then closes his eyes.) My whole life I lived in Darkness. I don’t know my family. I was left in an oval shape by the time I was ready to hatch. There was no one around. So, I had to grow up on my own. Everyday that went by, I thought about what had happened to them or where could they be? As I grew up, I had to fight a lot of struggles. I hid all my problems that made me a sad, mad monster and basically my whole life has been Darkness, that’s why I search for Darkness, because that’s all I ever had. (GRIMM gently opens his eyes.) (Long silence) Darkness are you there?

Darkness:		Yes of course I’m still here. I’ve been listening. It’s just a sad story that made me shed tears.

Grimm:		Thank you for listening. Now, what can I do for you? (Short silence)

Darkness:		We made an agreement that I would listen to you and you would help me find and see my family.

Grimm:		It’s pretty darn cold in here and all the trees are dried. How come we don’t heat it up a little bit? (GRIMM looks up with happiness and then rolls up high in the sky while his wings spread out.) I’m so happy for the first time someone has actually listened to m-e! (Suddenly flames from Grimm’s computer-like mouth burst into the sky, making the dried trees burn and creating a big opening.)

Darkness:		Whoa! Look at those dark-blue and green-natured flames. You created a big opening in the sky! Is t-h-a-t Light?

Grimm:		Yeah, that’s Light! And those are called stars. (With great relief and happiness)

Darkness:		That’s my Family! (A special light shines as the morning sun comes in. For the first time, light appeared in DARKNESS’ Tunnel and DARKNESS saw her family, Light! After this GRIMM would fly to the Tunnel every night and they lived happily ever after.)

		The End.

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