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Scene 1.

He has broken his backbone and will spend the rest of his life on a bed, staring into a window through which the only thing to be seen is the sky. The only thing that the SKYWATCHER can do is reach to the nightstand with his hand. On the stand are many books. However, more often than reading, he reaches for a photograph and carefully examines it for minutes. His mind starts singing: "When you wish upon a star". Soon, it becomes, "when a red squirrel is far". Then, "what the grayest songs are". Finally, it reaches the farthest corner of stupidity: "when the rowboats row through tar". Meanwhile, the SITTING WOMAN periodically appears in the room. She wipes the dust off the furniture with a damp cloth. Meanwhile, she hums another song to herself. Like this, minutes pass until she finally addresses the lying man.

SITTING WOMAN: So, tell me.

SKYWATCHER: You can see yourself. Not a single cloud. I was so bored, I actually read one of these books.

SITTING WOMAN: It's August. And it's scorching.

SKYWATCHER: July was better. Many clouds. But, anyways, weather doesn't make a difference for Her. When it's hot, her Iceland may be the only one. On a cloudy day, she may not appear at all.

SITTING WOMAN: It could be the other way.

SKYWATCHER: It could be totally different.

SITTING WOMAN: What do you mean?

SKYWATCHER: I don't know. A person can be alive, dead, or a Skywatcher...or, a woman on a cloud.

SITTING WOMAN: You think she is a human?

SKYWATCHER: She looks like one.

SITTING WOMAN: So? Ghosts sometimes also look like humans.

SKYWATCHER: She isn't a ghost. Here she is. [shows photo]

SITTING WOMAN: [skeptically] Well...

SKYWATCHER: Are you still jealous of her?

SITTING WOMAN: Jealous? Only humans experience jealousy. Do you really think I'm human?

SKYWATCHER: Of course. Who else could you be?

SITTING WOMAN: I'm a sitting woman. Humans have names. I do not.

SKYWATCHER: You had a name.

SITTING WOMAN: Yes, once. Then, it floated away and that was that.

SKYWATCHER: [raising his voice with each word, screaming by the end and flailing his hands, while holding the photo] You had a name. You have a name. But I never call you by name because I forgot it. I forgot both names: yours and mine. I remember only one name. One single name. [flailing the photo] Hers! Hers! Hers!

SITTING WOMAN: [after calming his hands and gently putting them down] Calm down, my boy, and don't lie. If we don't remember our own names, we cannot remember hers. But forget about the nicknames. At least our feelings are still in tact.

SKYWATCHER: They broke. Like my backbone. They lay on the bed and look into the clear blue sky.

SITTING WOMAN: Too bad my backbone is in one piece. I could never be your...but forget about that. Now, you have a new romance. With this ghost from Iceland .

SKYWATCHER: [laughing] But what a strange romance!

SITTING WOMAN: You're tired. Fine. Put her on the nightstand and sleep. {she takes the photo out of his hands and puts it on the stand]

SKYWATCHER: I don't want to miss her.

SITTING WOMAN: It is only one o'clock in the afternoon. She doesn't come this early, you know that. Do you want to eat before bed?

SKYWATHER: Thank you, my girl, but I'm not hungry.

SITTING WOMAN: To drink?

SKYWATCHER: No. Can you wake me up in two hours?

SITTING WOMAN: Fine.

SKYWATCHER: Bend down. [she bends down and he caresses the top of her head] "Out on the street there's light, but there's no street in sight. "

SITTING WOMAN: [purrs of happiness as she continues his poem] "Out the window, there's rain. It patters on the window pane."

SKYWATCHER: [suddenly lifts his arms] Go. And wake me up at three!

SITTING WOMAN: [sings as she leaves] "When you wish upon a star..."

Lights dim. After a few seconds, the SITTING WOMAN comes back smiling into the room and lights go up. The SKYWATCHER immediately wakes up.

SKYWATCHER: I slept so soundly.

SITTING WOMAN: I'm so happy for you.

SKYWATCHER: The sky is absolutely clear! How boring!

SITTING WOMAN: Read.

SKYWATCHER: I don't want to.

SITTING WOMAN: I'll read to you.

SKYWATCHER: No.

SITTING WOMAN: Let's play the cities game. You name a city, I name one that starts with your city's last letter.

SKYWATCHER: Bujumbura !

SITTING WOMAN: Antananarivo !

SKYWATCHER: Oagadugu!

SITTING WOMAN: Ulan-Bator!

SKYWATCHER: Reykjavik, my girl, Reykjavik ! Go to your room, dear, she is here!

SITTING WOMAN: I'm leaving, I'm leaving...

Out the window, nothing can be seen or heard. However, the SKYWATCHER is definitely talking to someone.

SKYWATCHER: Yes, I made up a new poem. It's not good, though. Of course, I'll read it anyways...here: "Moles cannot see the wonders of the sky for they live underground and cannot fly. But when underground, they fly like arrows. They fly like black arrows no worse than black sparrows." You liked that? I don't...Come tomorrow! I'll write more! [getting angry] Why, why can't you be sure that you can come tomorrow?Do you have a boss or something? You're a free bird. You sit on your cloud and fly to me. By the way, why is the cloud in the form of Iceland ? [worrying] Why don't you ever answer any of my questions? Who are you? A fairy? A ghost? A woman? [listens for a long time and then answers calmly] I know. Of course, the important thing is that you love me. But you can't come down to me. Maybe someday, I'll be able to come up to you. When I die, right? What do you mean, maybe sooner? I can't get out of this bed when I'm alive! What do you mean, I'm lying? Aaaaaah!

Suddenly, he jumps out of bed as if he has been stung He convulses and moves in a rhythmic dance. Soon, the fast jerks become slow and he moves in a waltz. He spins, holding his hand out toward the window as if he holds Her, invisible Iceland . However, the dance ends and the SKYWATCHER returns to bed. He cannot get up.

SKYWATCHER: [calls] My girl!

The SITTING WOMAN appears immediately.

SITTING WOMAN: Has she left?
SKYWATCHER: Yes. We danced. Can you imagine? I got up from this bed, danced some crazy disco. Then, we danced the waltz.

SITTING WOMAN: [half to herself]...you poor thing...

SKYWATCHER: You don't believe me?

SITTING WOMAN: No. But let's not talk about it.

SKYWATCHER: But, look! My shirt is all wet!

SITTING WOMAN: [touches his shirt] I will give you a new one. You said Reykjavik , yes? Koatsakoalkos!

SKYWATCHER: Sevastopol !

[lights dim]

Scene 2

VITALY FRANTOV's kitchen. You can see a hallway with the telephone on a high stand.SVETLANA is at the oven. FRANTOV himself(he's about 40 years old), sitting at the table, chops vegetables.

SVETLANA: Let's go to Sevastopol on vacation. My uncle lives there.

FRANTOV: What about Koatsakoalkos? You want to go there? I have an Indian friend there. He has a feather on his head and a bag of arrows on his back.

SVETLANA:Koatsakoalkos? Where's that?

FRANTOV: Ask the Indian! I think it's either in Mexico or Chile . Somewhere in that basic area, anyways.

SVETLANA: So we're not going to Sevastopol ?

FRANTOV: Of course, we'll go. Tomorrow. I just have to make sure Gena leaves before we go.

SVETLANA: I have another idea. How about we leave everything and fly to Los Angeles ?

FRANTOV: No, dear. Los Angeles isn't for me. I like it here. My roots are here.

SVETLANA: But you're an orphan!

FRANTOV: Not those roots! My soul's roots! In America , I could never write you my phenomenal poems.

SVETLANA: [leaves what she was doing, goes up to Frantov and puts her arms around him] Read me one. But hug me tighter and read with a gentle, gentle voice.

FRANTOV: [in a gentle, gentle voice] Oceans have depth. Mountains have height. You have depth in your eyes and your body takes flight. What more could I need when you are so right?

SVETLANA: My god, how I want to go to Koatsakoalkos! [returns to the stove and Frantov continues chopping the vegetables]. You know, I understand Gena.What does he have here? A room in a dorm? He doesn't even have anywhere to invite people for his going away dinner. He had to ask you. The thing he needs is to run away from this crazy place. That is exactly what he's doing.

FRANTOV: He himself is crazy. He can't run away from the craziness because it is inside him. We're all crazy...They're ready, dear. You can make your salad.

[he gets up and, during Svetlana's next line, rummages around the kitchen murmuring "now where did I put them"? In the end, he finds a pack of cigarettes behind the bread on the bread rack]

SVETLANA: [making the salad] Now I just have to bake the pizza and dress. Then, I'll be ready to go...whether to Gena's going away dinner, or Sevastopol , or to your Indian friend. It's not a bad idea! Picture it: us riding in a carriage with horses down a prairie past cowboy saloons. Oh, and past short trees and gigantic cactuses! So gigantic that we'd need three days to get past just one...listen, Vitia. There are no eggs for the pizza.

FRANTOV: [yawning and smoking] Go to the market and buy some. It's only three minutes away.

The telephone rings.

FRANTOV: [picking up the phone] Yes! Oh...no, my friend is flying away and we're bidding him goodbye at my house...No, I can't.I'm not the one inviting the guests, he is! Tomorrow? Yes. Call me in the morning...what? I told you, I can't today! But...[the person on the other line drops the phone]. Women!

SVETLANA: What women dare call and make my love sad?

FRANTOV: Oh, it's nothing. Just my new girlfriend.

SVETLANA: Oh...well, I'm going to the market.

FRANTOV: Like that? In your bathrobe?

SVETLANA:It's only a three-minute walk. [she pecks him on the cheek and runs off]

FRANTOV: The last thing I want is for them to meet. It'll be like a soap opera. Oh, women, women...she'll still come, you see. Nothing will happen if there's an extra person at the dinner...oh, women!

The doorbell rings. Frantov's FRIEND walks in.

FRIEND: You're alone? Where's Svetlana?

FRANTOV: They'll come soon. Both of them.

FRIEND: [sees the potatoes lying on the table, grabs two, and starts juggling] Whop, whop! Catch! [throws one to Frantov who catches it and puts it back on the table] Who's the second? [throws the remaining potato from hand to hand]

FRANTOV: Inness

FRIEND: [juggling with the potato and a pickle now] A princess?

FRANTOV: She's a modern woman. I call her Inna. She has a wasp's waist, a dragonfly's eyes. But, when she's in bed, she hops like a gazelle.

FRIEND: [drops the potato and pickle onto the floor but doesn't pick them up. Instead, he picks up a table knife and twists it back and forth in his hand] What are you going to do with them both here? You think they'll get along?
FRANTOV: They'll have to. It's not like I invited her. The gazelle wanted to come herself. She doesn't know what she's in for.

FRIEND: Do you think they'll drive each other crazy?

FRANTOV: They're both crazy for me.

FRIEND: Right...

FRANTOV: Well, it's not like it's the first time that I'm stuck between a crocodile and tiger. We'll just have to put them in separate corners and get them away from each other.

The doorbell rings. In half a minute, Frantov, shocked, appears in the kitchen. Behind him is INNA in a bathrobe and with a carton of eggs.

INNA: [puts the carton on the table] What on earth happened here? Why are there vegetables on the floor? [picks up the potato and pickle]

FRANTOV: What are you wearing? There'll be people here! And...why the eggs?

INNA: There wasn't enough to make the pizza!

FRANTOV: How did you know that? Explain everything.

INNA: Of course I knew that you needed eggs. A woman must always know what her man needs.

FRANTOV: Not to the extent of eggs for a pizza, though!

INNA: To every extent, my boy. [She smiles and Frantov is stunned from her smile and stops what he is doing]

FRANTOV: [he has her in his embrace and kisses her hungrily, saying the next line between kisses] Things were so boring here without you! It's so good you're here. You smell so amazing. What an aroma! Oh, how your breaths get urgent when you're in my paws! You're the only one for me, the only woman in the world...

FRIEND: How about postponing the intimacy?

FRANTOV: [calmly pulls himself away from Inna] But why are you dressed like that?

INNA: I wanted to please you. [happily] And I got what I wanted.

FRANTOV: Listen...did you see another woman in a bathrobe at the market?

INNA: Why, everyone there was in bathrobes and everyone was buying eggs.

FRANTOV: Nothing else was being sold?

INNA: Oh, there were tons of things sold. Everyone was just buying eggs.

FRIEND: [juggling eggs] It must be a before Easter sale.

FRANTOV: Easter? What are you talking about? It's August!

FRIEND: Exactly. It's before next Easter.

FRANTOV: [smiling] Oh, you two...always driving me crazy.

FRIEND: [turning to Inna and stopping the juggling] Have we drunk champagne together yet, madam?

FRANTOV: Gena, don't scare the lady.

FRIEND: But we really haven't drunk champagne together yet! Nobody poured or offered us any.I distinctly see a bottle right behind you.Open it up! We still have two hours until the others get here.

FRANTOV: That's not for the guests.Get one from the table.

FRIEND: I can't. That's for the others. Why don't you go out and buy one?

FRANTOV: For your money?

FRIEND: Of course not. Come on, pal. Make your friend's last wish come true!

FRANTOV: [unhappily] Oh, fine. [he leaves]

FRIEND: [to Inna] Now, sit down on that stool. Let's get to know each other.

INNA: [unkindly] We already do. [she sits down]

FRIEND: As the classics say, once he sends his friend for a bottle, the bad guy starts flirting with his woman. Like this. [he puts his hand on her leg]

INNA: [not moving, calmly, smiling] Take off your claw before I bite it off.

FRIEND: [removing his hand] But I don't care about the classics. I'm a foreigner now. I can litter you with thoughts and ideas without caring if you take them in or not.

INNA: Litter somewhere else. This isn't your home. There will be people here, and they wouldn't want to walk into a littered house.

FRIEND: [juggling a carton of cigarettes and pack of matches] Don't worry. The kitchen hasn't been cleaned yet...you know, the first woman in the bathrobe is also his girlfriend. She went to get eggs for the pizza and hasn't come back.

INNA:[raising her eyebrows] I wonder where she is.

FRIEND: After you called, she left for the market and hasn't returned.

INNA: We need to find her! Someone must call her. I didn't want to...

FRIEND: She's probably at some sauna or pool somewhere. Or maybe she's sipping a martini off in the Caribbean.

INNA: I couldn't have caused that.

FRIEND: [stopping his juggling] She really loved him.

INNA: Do you know her phone number?

FRIEND: No. Vitaly knows, but he would never call. So what? So she left. If Vitia kept track of all of his girlfriends, it would become the only activity of his life. So, forget about Svetlana and make sure that the same thing doesn't happen to you. And to do that, you'll need my help. Point of advice number one: how to keep your man from finding a new girlfriend.

INNA: This should be interesting.

FRIEND: It's simple. Put a noose around his neck and don't let go of it until he vows to marry you.

INNA: I think our love...

FRIEND: [continuesher sentence]...is stronger than any noose, right? I've heard that phrase in this home more times than I've heard my name. Believe me, Vitaly is like Don Juan. If you want to keep him, make him marry you with force while he's still crazy about you. Tell him that either he marries you or you leave right now and leave him alone in bed tonight. It always works. If only one woman had listened to my advice, we would have been able to stop many the tears from having been shed in this house.

INNA: There is no way...

FRIEND: Hey! I'm just giving you a suggestion. Anyways, I know you'll do what I said. You're like that.

INNA: Oh, how I want to scratch your face off right now...

FRIEND: You wanted to bite off my face? Happily. [he extends his face towards her]

Suddenly, the door open and Frantov comes in, carrying a bottle of champagne.

FRANTOV: [opens the bottle] Opa!

INNA: First, call Svetlana.

FRANTOV: [to Friend] What a talker you are! You already told her about Sveta.

FRIEND: Of course.

INNA: If you won't call her, give me her number and I will.

FRANTOV: The phone book is by the phone. Her last name starts with the letter "Q".

INNA: [walks to the phone, finds the number, and dials. The men watch quietly.] Hello? Is this Svetlana?...Who is it then? Her sister? Can Svetlana come to the phone?...Oh...Well, thank you. [puts down the phone] Svetlana told her sister to say that she immigrated to the far north if anyone called.

FRIEND: What does that mean?

INNA: I wasn't told anything else.

FRIEND: What, did she freeze herself in the fridge?

FRANTOV: [smiling] It's not such a bad thing. Now, Inna and I can live happily with no girlfriends in our way. Inna, my dear, let's drink to us!

INNA: Sure, let's drink to your previous girlfriends. [she grabs the bottle and pours all of it down the sink]

FRIEND: Wow! Now, you've impressed me. [kisses her hand] Now that we don't have anything to drink, can I ask one last favor? The guests will arrive in an hour. If you live close, could you please run and change?

FRANTOV: He's right, dear. You shouldn't intimidate the guests.

INNA: Well, since you both want me to, sure. I live three blocks from here. I'll be right back. [she kisses Frantov and leaves]

FRANTOV: Should we start setting the table? [he gets up and starts towards the dining room]

FRIEND: There's no hurry. Sit on the stool and have a cigarette with me.

[they sit and smoke]

FRIEND: What a gazelle you have!

FRANTOV: They were all gazelles. But I should probably stop on this one. It's about time I stop, marry, and have little Frantovs, don't you think? I'll be old soon and I still need to have enough time to continue the family name.

FRIEND: So I'm leaving for Los Angeles without getting to see the event I've been waiting for for the last twenty years? Is Vitaly Frantov really going to marry? Or is this some joke?

FRANTOV: This isn't the situation for jokes.

FRIEND: So you suddenly want a wife?

FRANTOV: I have to get one sometime. It might not be a bad idea. Just flowing on a sweet, steady river with no surprises along the way.

FRIEND: I just think you're afraid that you're getting older and if you don't hitch your girlfriend now, there'll be no one else.

FRANTOV: That's not true.

FRIEND: But, you know, it's not like you'll have a choice. Take my word for this, soon, she'll lasso you and make you marry her or else.

FRANTOV: Don't over exaggerate. Inna is a great woman. I've come to the age where that's what I need: a great woman. With her own faults. Sveta was too much. She was like adding thirty spoons of sugar to your tea.

FRIEND: Well, that's your decision. But if she forces you to marry her, remember me.

[the doorbell rings]

FRIEND: Open the door for your girl. [when Frantov leaves] She bought the eggs, but is she ready to make the pizza?

[Frantov returns with Inna, who is now stylishly dressed. Blackout. When the lights come back on, we are in the same kitchen late at night. INNA, still in her stylish clothes, washes the dishes. FRANTOV dries them and puts them on the table.]

FRANTOV: How I love the time of the day when the night comes closer and closer!

INNA: Well, I love the early, early morning on a weekend. You're half awake and so relaxed. You can cuddle for a long, long time and then go back to sleep for a while. Love is better in the morning too. It's warm and velvety like a river at the same hour.

FRANTOV: My favorite part of the day is when the night is ahead. Everything is ahead: the caresses, the fire, and the delicious sleep. No, sleep isn't part of it. The best part is when your love is close, she's still dressed, and it's like I don't know what's under her clothes. I guess what she's like naked...

INNA: Well, I love the early, early morning.

[suddenly, the glass Inna is holding slips out of her hands and crashes to pieces onto the floor]

FRANTOV: Oh, Inna, Inna...it was a crystal glass.

INNA: I'm sorry. It slipped out by itself.

FRANTOV: Oh, forget about it. It broke by itself so it'll mend by itself. [he comes up to Inna and starts rapidly kissing her. Between kisses, he talks with a passionate voice] How I love the upcoming of our nights, my girl, my dearest gazelle. How I can't get enough of your caresses, your aromatic body, your biting teeth, your scratching claws, your rhumba dancing legs, your...

INNA: [slowly breaks free of his embrace. Sternly.] First marry me, and then dance the rhumba. [nicer] You're too used to winning women over all the time...

FRANTOV: [stares at her in shock] W...what are you talking about? What wins? What strange humor you have!

INNA: It's not humor, it's sarcasm. First sign the documents, then scratch me. For now, let's finish washing the dishes, and then you can walk me back home. [in a whining voice] To mo-oomy...

FRANTOV: M...mommy? D...documents? What is this?

INNA: If you don't want to marry me, you can find yourself another gazelle.

FRANTOV: Of course I want to marry you! [he tries to hug her again] But, right now, don't leave, dear. Don't leave me alone, don't kill me, don't...

INNA: [walking away] After our wedding, I won't leave you alone. So, are we washing or not?

FRANTOV: [calmly] Well, sure. Walk away. I don't need you. You're right, there are so many gazelles out there!

INNA: [her eyes suddenly fill with blood and she starts shaking as if she's in a trance. She screams and hisses.] Oh, but you won't leave me! Sssss! You won't get away! Sssss! You'll either marry me or die! Sssss! I'm the daughter of the viper and I have poisonous saliva! [she licks his cheek] You kissed me and now you're under my rule.I'm also the daughter of the boa-I'll suffocate you on this dirty floor, in the midst of these pieces of glass, in this puddle of spilled wine! [she kicks him down onto the floor and squeezes his throat. Frantov doesn't struggle, he just looks at her helplessly] Will you maaarry me? SSSSS!

FRANTOV: [in a coughed up voice] Yes...

INNA: Swear on your backbone!

FRANTOV: [coughing] I swear...

INNA: [lets him go. He slowly gets up and she, as if nothing had happened, continues washing the dishes] You're not hurt, right?

FRANTOV: No, but what does my backbone have to do with anything?

INNA: [jokingly shakes her wet finger in front of his face] Just try not marrying me and you'll find out!

FRANTOV: So you won't leave today?

INNA: No. You swore.

FRANTOV: [happy] Oo-la-la! How I love the upcoming of the night!

INNA: [dreamily] How I love the early, early morning...[they leave with their arms around each other]

[blackout. The lights come back on to a dim and we see FRIEND and SVETLANA sitting across from each other]

FRIEND: [he's juggling something, but you can't see what] What would you do if you were the daughter of a viper and boa?

SVETLANA: I'd hiss in the bushes.

FRIEND: You're very modest. In the bushes...most would hiss on their lover's neck in the situation.

SVETLANA: No, no. That could lead to suffocation. I wonder...with whom will I go to Koatsakoalkos now?

Scene 3.

[The SKYWATCHER, fixed to his bed, and the SITTING WOMAN. She reads to him.]

SITTING WOMAN: [puts down the book] There's no point to me reading this. You already know this whole book by heart.

SKYWATCHER: But I love listening to Pushkin in your voice.

SITTING WOMAN: Well, I'm glad to make you happy. Now, tell me. What's on your mind?

SKYWATCHER: I was just thinking. What if Iceland is just a dream like Koatsakoalkos?

SITTTING WOMAN: But she doesn't come to you on a cloud in the form of Koatsakoalkos. Or even in the form of Mexico or Chile- you never did find out where it is located.

SKYWATCHER: You think that the answer to who she is is in her form?

SITTING WOMAN: Maybe.

SKYWATCHER: But we can't solve her. And she won't tell us the answer. Even you, the one who cleans after me, can't tell me who you are.

SITTING WOMAN: I'm a sitting woman.

SKYWATCHER: See? So, then, how do you know about Koatsakoalkos?

SITTING WOMAN: [laughing] What if I'm the daughter of a viper and boa?

SKYWATCHER: Maybe you are. You just don't know.

SITTING WOMAN: Calm down. You're getting too nervous. Sometimes you shouldn't think about these things too much.

SKYWATCHER: I'm already nervous...look, it's night already.She didn't come today.

SITTING WOMAN: Maybe she'll come tomorrow at sunrise.

SKYWATCHER: How I love the early morning. You wait to see if there'll be clouds in the sky or not. If there are clouds, you create their personalities. Today there was one that looked like a straw house with a ballerina dancing on top of it. Then there was a wooden soldier on another cloud. And then, there was one of a man reading Hans Christian Andersen. I could see the book cover very clearly.

SITTING WOMAN: Well, I love the time of day when the night is ahead. You just lay and imagine what tomorrow will bring and nothing is there to disturb you.

SKYWATCHER: Let's play a game before bed.

SITTING WOMAN: Cities?

SKYWATCHER: No. Associations. You name a word or phrase; I'll associate it with something. Then we switch. The first to stop to think loses.

SITTING WOMAN: Pizza!

SKYWATCHER: A whole market in bathrobes!...Boa!

SITTING WOMAN: The love of a viper!...here's a hard one, Blue Whale!

[Skywatcher stops to think]

SITTING WOMAN: [clapping her hands] You lost!

SKYWATCHER: But there was no Blue Whale.

SITTING WOMAN: What about the rest of the things we said?

SKYWATCHER: They were there.

SITTING WOMAN: Are you sure?

SKYWATCHER: Positive

SITTING WOMAN: And you're positive there was no Blue Whale?

SKYWATCHER: There wasn't.

SITTING WOMAN: Will there be one?

SKYWATCHER: I don't know.

SITTING WOMAN: Are you sure?

SKYWATCHER: About what?

SITTING WOMAN: [pause] Well, then, let's have you use the pot and then go to bed.

SKYWATCHER: What about the Blue Whale?

SITTING WOMAN: "Whales cannot see the wonders of the sky..."

SKYWATCHER: "...for they live underwater and cannot fly. But when underwater, they fly like arrows. They fly like blue arrows no better than blue sparrows."

[they both laugh, like children]

Break

Scene 4.

SKYWATCHER: [talking to the invisible woman on the cloud] Can you at least answer one question? One single question? Is it true that you're the daughter of a viper and boa? Or were you her before?...What does that mean? Everything on earth is both truth and a lie?...I know, I know. The important thing is that you come to me almost every day and that you love me. Or is that too both truth and a lie? No, that is only the truth. I know that for a fact...what do you mean, partly? Who am I supposed to remember? The Blue Whale? How on earth do you know about the Blue Whale?...you're right. But how would the sitting woman know about Koatsakoalkos? Hey, hold on! How do you know about the sitting woman? I never told you about her. You accidentally saw her through the window?...right. The important thing is that you love me. Shall we dance?...What poetry? Oh, yes! I dedicated my new poem to you. "I don't know any words, but I believe in love. I don't know any words, but I believe in love. I don't know any words, but I believe in love." Did you really like it? Oh, I...hey! Where are you going? What about a dance? My girl, don't float beyond the horizon! [bawls like a small child] I want to dance, dance, dance! [cries]

[the Sitting Woman enters the room]

SITTING WOMAN: [strokes him on the head and calms him like a child] Don't cry, my little boy, she'll definitely dance with you next time. She wanted to, really. She just didn't have enough time. Don't be angry with us...

SKYWATCHER: [he is calm now] What do you have to do with anything?

SITTING WOMAN: I always have to do with everything when you're sad. What can I do to make you happy again?

SKYWATCHER: It's horrible: she already knows about the Blue Whale! It was only a night ago! She knows about you too. Do you two secretly keep in contact?

SITTING WOMAN: No, dear. She can just see a lot from her cloud.

SKYWATCHER: She probably hated my poetry.

SITTING WOMAN: I don't think so. I just think she was in a hurry.

SKYWATCHER: She always says that she loves me.

SITTING WOMAN: How can we not love you?

SKYWATCHER: "We" again! Admit it, you secretly talk with her. Tell me, who is she?

SITTING WOMAN: A woman on the cloud of Iceland . I do not know anything else. I swear, I've never seen her. And I don't think she's seen me. I just say "we" since she loves you and so do I.

[the doorbell rings. The Sitting Woman winces and the Skywatcher's hands start shaking.]

SKYWATCHER: Don't open it. It's a mistake. Nobody would come here.

[doorbell]

SKYWATCHER: There's no one home. This house is completely empty. Nobody lives here.

[doorbell]

SKYWATCHER: They're ringing for nothing. They could have as well rung the bell in front of a grave.

[doorbell]

SITTING WOMAN: Oh, I'll go. I'll send them away. [she quickly leaves]

SKYWATCHER: Don't!

[we hear the door being opened and a quiet conversation far away]

SITTING WOMANS VOICE: I don't know who he is, but he insists on seeing you, dear.

SKYWATCHER: Bring him in.

[the Sitting Woman comes into the room, followed by Frantov]

FRANTOV: [to the Skywatcher] So. Do you recognize me?

SKYWATCHER: You know, I don't right away...say your name, maybe I'll remember...

FRANTOV: Vitaly Frantov.

SKYWATCHER: [he picks up the photo from the stand and turns it in his hands] I've heard that name somewhere before...but where have we met? When? Please remind me...

FRANTOV: I would prefer to have this conversation without bystanders.

SITTING WOMAN: No you don't, dear gentleman! He's glued to the bed and can't defend himself. I'm his only defense. Even if he tells me to go too, I will not. Either talk with me in the room or...we lived just as well without you.

SKYWATCHER: Calm down, my girl. Nobody's telling you to go.

FRANTOV: Here, on your photo, is Svetlana with the last name that starts with a "Q".

SKYWATCHER: [he turns the photo to the back] What about now?

FRANTOV: What the...it's Inna the gazelle!

SKYWATCHER: Yes, it's a double sided photograph. But you're naming strange names once again.

FRANTOV: If it's not them, who is on these pictures?

SKYWATCHER: You saw for yourself.

FRANTOV: Are you saying that these women have different names?

SKYWATCHER: If they're women and if they have names.

SITTING WOMAN: And that depends on who is viewing the photos.

FRANTOV: My name is Vitaly Frantov.

SKYWATCHER: How interesting!

FRANTOV: You're lying, right? You're lying that you didn't recognize me?

SKYWATCHER: Everyone lies...I lie, you lie, we all walk as we lie

FRANTOV: Fine, then. Does this ring a bell: [starts singing] "when a red squirrel is far, when a rowboat rows through tar..."

SKYWATCHER: Oh, I understand! You're spreading propaganda about your new album! You're a singer, right? You want me to buy a CD or something like that! Probably yours.

FRANTOV: So that's who I am?

[a silhouette of Svetlana appears in the door]

SVETLANA: What did you think? [she disappears]

FRANTOV: [to the sitting woman, his voice shaking] Let me out of here!
SITTING WOMAN: Happily. [she leaves with Frantov. We hear the lock click and soon, she returns] What strange people live on planet Earth!

[both laugh. blackout]

Scene 5.

[a dead place. Either a field, a bog, or a cemetery with no graves. There is steam coming out of the ground. Through the steam, we see the WITCH and EYE. Further away, the dust covering him, is FRANTOV.]

EYE: [swings his crutch forward] Oh, stop it, witch. How can you possibly tell what the future will bring? You don't see the most important part of a person: the eyes.

WITCH: [points her long fingernails to his eyes] Well, I'm just about to push yours out! You old no good fake! I see a person as a whole, not as certain body parts like noses, ears, or eyes.

EYE: What's with you today, witch? [turns to audience] The eyes, so you may know, are the most important body parts! If you want, I'll tell you how old you are just by your eyes. Or, I can tell you all how you'll die just by looking into your eyes. You shrug away? You're scared!

WITCH: Don't bother the people...sheesh, you old useless fake. Don't bother people's heads! [moves forward, stretching out her fingers to his eyes] Oh, how I do want to scratch them out!

EYE: [taking a step back, frightened] Hey, hey, hey! Hey, witch! This isn't humorous anymore!
WITCH: [about to strike] Oh, I'll scratch them out. How I'll scratch them out!

[suddenly, out of nowhere, FRIEND appears in a vivid, colorful circus robe]

FRIEND: What the toadstools! [both the Eye and freeze and then stand up straight, side by side] Why did you bring a person here this late at night?

EYE: You see, boss, I saw something in his eyes that I could only tell him here. We were walking calmly when, suddenly, this witch started complaining.

WITCH: He's lying, Chief. You know he's an old useless fake. I just wanted to tell the person the truth. That's when this whole fight started. [points to Eye]He said I didn't know the truth.

EYE: Just listen to her, boss! She's so sure that she has a talent that she doesn't!

WITCH: Just look at him, Chief! How can you trust anything he does or says?

FRIEND: Quiet, both of you!

EYE: But, boss...

WITCH: But, Chief...

FRIEND: Silence! Now, Eye, go up to the person and tell him what you wanted to.

WITCH: [mumbling unhappily] Of course! Eye, go there, Eye, tell him that...it's always Eye!

FRIEND: [threateningly] What are you mumbling, grandmother?

WITCH: Oh, nothing, nothing. I was just counting crocodiles...

FRIEND: Talk, Eye.

FRANTOV: [his voice shakes] Gena! I was terrified when I tried to flee and couldn't. My legs were like cotton. Where am I?

FRIEND: See, toadstools, this person is going crazy with you two around. He called me, the Chief of all the souls, the God of juggling, Gena! What have you done to him? You will both be punished. Now, Eye, speak!

EYE: [peers deeply into Frantov's eyes. It's obvious that Frantov is uncomfortable, but he cannot look or move away] In your eyes is immobility. And, at the same time, a longing...for something light, pure, and puzzling. Probably for love. However, you will only be able to feel it when you're immobile. That is your fate.

FRANTOV: Could you say that more clearly? Without any fog?

EYE: You will have a huge soul movement while your body is not movable.

FRIEND: You never did marry Inna. You swore on your backbone, remember?

FRANTOV: All of that is a stupid thing, Gena or the God of juggling or whoever you are. I am so careful now that there are more chances that I'd give birth than fall.

FRIEND: You don't have to fall. One perfect morning, you could just wake up with a broken backbone.

EYE: And with a huge movement of the soul.

WITCH: [to Frantov] They're lying. Both of them are lying!

FRIEND: [angrily] You will be punished severely if you keep talking.

WITCH: I don't care. I just want to tell him the way things will really occur.

EYE: Shut her up, boss!

FRIEND: Why? Let's hear her myths and useless words out.

WITCH: [to Frantov] Well, when you break your backbone...

FRANTOV: Again?!

WITCH: Why "again"? You'll only break it once. Only there won't be anything [mimicking Eye] "light, pure, and puzzling". There will only be strong discoordination, craziness, and a confusing mixture of feelings and memories. And no love will cure you from the torture, numerous questions without answers, and many days and nights of staring at the ceiling. It will seem like it's endless, endless, endless...

FRANTOV: Get this angry witch away from me! I'd much rather have the Eye.

EYE: She's just gone crazy from anger. Everything will be like I said because love has the power to break all torture and terror.

WITCH: [spitting on the ground, turns to Frantov again] He's just making you feel better. Such a philosopher! No. Everything will be just as I said.

[Suddenly, Svetlana appears in a bathrobe]

SVETLANA: The Blue Whale agreed.

FRIEND: Oh? Fine, then. [to Frantov] Now, listen to me carefully. The Blue Whale, the God of the Ocean, which is the source of all life on Earth, agreed to let you see yourself a few years from now. You can see yourself, lying on a bed with a broken backbone. However, I'm not sure if the you in the future will recognize the you right now. You in the future will be a different person with different thoughts and feelings.

FRANTOV: Don't worry. I think I'll be able to recognize myself. Well, why not? This sounds like an exciting opportunity. Who could say no to excitement?

FRIEND: Fine, then. At least you'll be certain that we're telling you the truth, not just some made up predictions.

EYE: Maybe he shouldn't. I don't know how the future Him will react.

WITCH: Of course he should! It is very rare to be allowed to see yourself through time during life. He shouldn't just let go of this opportunity.

SVETLANA: And the Blue Whale did say yes.

FRIEND: Did he tell you how this is to happen?

SVETLANA: Yes. First, you must leave us alone.

FRIEND: Why?

SVETLANA: Otherwise, nothing will work out. So fade away.

FRIEND: Never! Why should I?

[sound of thunder]

SVETLANA: See? The Blue Whale is angry.

FRIEND: [frowning] Oh, fine. We're disappearing. [he, along with the Witch and Eye disappear]

SVETLANA: [throws herself on Frantov] Remember this and never forget: Iceland will float beyond the horizon and will one day take you along with her. I don't know who will be on her. It might be me, it might be half-me, or it might not be me at all. Iceland is the North while we dreamed of the South, of sizzling Koatsakoalkos. Don't be offended, dear, but it is true that you threw away our Mexico, our Chile . You sent me to the North like this, in a bathrobe. In the North, I'm helpless. I don't own Iceland . But you didn't give me any other choice...

FRANTOV: I don't understand. What Iceland ? What are you talking about?

SVETLANA: [steps back and gets serious] Fine, then. Let's start. I don't care how repulsive this will be to you, but you will have to kiss me very strongly and passionately. The way only you can kiss. After that, you must turn your back to me and walk, without looking back, to your home. Don't unlock the door. Instead, ring the doorbell. He will be there. Let's not linger. The Blue Whale hates that.

[they kiss passionately for a long time. Then, Frantov turns his back to her and quickly leaves.]

SVETLANA: [shaking her head] Oh, how wonderful, how wonderful, how wonderful...

[blackout. The lights come on to a dim and all the characters, excluding the Skywatcher and Sitting Woman, hold hands and run in a circle. In the center is a small circle of light. After some time, one of the characters leaves the circle, walks into the light, and says their line. Then, they return to the circle and constant movement. In the background sounds an old tango. When someone speaks, the music is brought down to almost silence. The lines are as follows:]

FRANTOV: [smoking worriedly]"Moles cannot see the wonders of the sky for they live underground and cannot fly. But when underground, they fly like arrows. They fly like black arrows no worse than black sparrows."

SVETLANA: [cuddling herself in her bathrobe] Don't be offended, dear, but it's true that you threw away our Mexico, our Chile .

FRANTOV: [smoking worriedly and singing] "When you wish upon a star..."

FRIEND: [juggling eggs] The Blue Whale, the God of the Ocean, which is the source of all life on Earth, agreed to let you see yourself a few years from now.

FRANTOV: [smoking worriedly and singing] "When a red squirrel is far..."

WITCH: [laughing wickedly] It's endless, endless, endless...

FRANTOV: [smoking worriedly and singing] "What the grayest songs are..."

EYE: [shaking his crutch] However, you will only be able to feel it when you're immobile. That is your fate.

FRANTOV: [smoking worriedly and singing] "When the rowboats row through tar..."

INNA: [jokingly shakes her wet finger in front of his face] Just try not marrying me and you'll find out!

FRANTOV: [thinking, with a cigarette in his dropped hand] "I don't know any words, but I believe in love. I don't know any words, but I believe in love. I don't know any words, but I believe in love."

Scene 6.

[The Skywatcher sleeps while the Sitting Woman sits nearby and reads a book]

SKYWATCHER: [wakes up and calls] My girl!

SITTING WOMAN: [quickly putting her book down on the stand] I'm here, dear!

SKYWATCHER: [beaming] Now I know everything.

SITTING WOMAN: What?

SKYWATCHER: Everything. About her, about you, about that strange man that came here today. And also, about pizza, bathrobes, Koatsakoalkos, and the Blue Whale.

SITTING WOMAN: What sort of a dream did you have?

SKYWATCHER: Oh, it wasn't a dream! I wasn't dreaming at all. At least, I don't remember dreaming. I just woke up and understood that I know everything. I understood everything right away.

SITTING WOMAN: So tell me!

SKYWATCHER: Tell you? Did you ever tell me anything about yourself? [mimicking her] "I'm a sitting woman, my boy, a sitting woman..."

SITTING WOMAN: But it is like that.

SKYWATCHER: Of course, who else could you possibly be? No, now, I've deciphered everything. I know everything. Plus, I know exactly what will happen to me in a half hour. [falls asleep again, but only for about half a minute. After he wakes up] My girl!

SITTING WOMAN: I'm here! So, what will happen in a half hour?

SKYWATCHER: [surprised] In a half hour? What's supposed to happen in a half hour?

SITTING WOMAN: You're asking me? You're the one who was saying that you suddenly understood everything about everyone.

SKYWATCHER: It's impossible to know everything about everyone. I would never say anything like that. You're pale. Maybe you fell asleep by my bed.

SITTING WOMAN: [softly and somewhat sadly] Maybe.

SKYWATCHER: Let's play associations.

SITTING WOMAN: No. You always lose at that as soon as things come to the Blue Whale.

SKYWATCHER: I won't lose now!

SITTING WOMAN: Fine. Blue Whale!

SKYWATCHER: Iceland floats beyond the horizon!

SITTING WOMAN: I don't understand.

SKYWATCHER: Didn't you know that Blue Whales live in northern seas?

SITTING WOMAN: That's not an association!

SKYWATCHER: It's close enough.

SITTING WOMAN: Well, what if I say this room in a half hour?

SKYWATCHER: [laughs] Iceland floats beyond the horizon!

SITTING WOMAN: What about me?

SKYWATCHER: It's enough that I love you.

SITTING WOMAN: Maybe for someone it's enough...but I have one last association

SKYWATCHER: Oh, no you don't! It's my turn! The daughter of a viper and boa. Your association?

SITTING WOMAN: I don't know. I give up. Tell me about the clouds.

SKYWATCHER: Today they don't have any form. Or maybe I've just forgotten how to read them.

SITTING WOMAN: That's impossible.

SKYWATCHER: [echoing] That's impossible.

SITTING WOMAN: What if we look together?

SKYWATCHER: [echoing] What if we look together?

SITTING WOMAN: See? There's a two-humped camel!

SKYWATCHER: It's a whole caravan of camels!

SITTING WOMAN: No. It's only one.

SKYWATCHER: They float one after the other. Then, they form a straight line and come together. They get closer and closer...it's a spinning circle! Yes, a spinning circle of camels! Of two humped whales that circle around some island...it's Iceland ! Iceland !

SITTING WOMAN: Should I leave?

SKYWATCHER: Run, fly away!

[the Sitting Woman quickly leaves]

SKYWATCHER: [talking to the invisible woman outside the window] You came to invite me to a dance?...No? I didn't guess right? Can I guess? If I do guess, will you tell me the truth? You came so that I could read a poem to you? No? Then you came to explain something to me? Not really? Well, maybe you came just to be with me? I'm getting warmer? What?...Not you with me but I with you? We'll ride on a cloud? Really? [he gets out of bed and walks to the window] Will the ride be long? Should I dress warmer?...You're right. I won't need clothes. The important thing is that you love me. [he extends his hand to the invisible woman and disappears out the window]

[Blackout. When the lights come back on, we see the same room. Only now, the bed is made and the nightstand is empty. Inna sits on a chair. Svetlana stands and leans on the windowsill. On the edge of the bed is the Sitting Woman in a white coat. The Friend enters.]

FRIEND: In ten minutes, we can leave. The body is in the car. Now we just have to fill out the death certificate and we'll be off. Any minute now, the chief doctor and Andrew Matveevitch should come in here. And there they are!

[the Eye and Witch enter]

EYE: You can leave soon.

INNA: Andrew Matveevitch, thank you so much for watching him, for your hard work...

EYE: Oh, no need to thank me. It's my job. Thank her. [he points to the Sitting Woman]

WITCH: Your friend was lucky. Andrew Matveevitch is the best doctor in our clinic and Irina is one of the best nurses.

SVETLANA: [sighs] If only he was saved...

WITCH: We did everything we could. But it was a hard case. He was locked inside his own world. It seems like it came after a major shock.

EYE: Actually, a situation like this can be curable. Here, though, we had an irreversible brain cutoff. We tried to talk to him, to make him talk, but there were no results. Ira, dear, he never did say a word, did he?

SITTING WOMAN: No. It seems, though, that, ever since he came here, he was thinking very hard about something. He would look out the window or at the photograph so deeply, I'm sure something was going through his mind. He had a photo of you [she gestures to Svetlana] up there. I changed it to try to get him to talk. I changed the photo to a greeting card with a Blue Whale. It didn't work. He just kept staring at the card and thinking. All like before.

SVETLANA: If only we could know what Vitalik Frantov saw before leaving us...

WITCH: I think he saw images that may not have made sense to any of us. Hallucinations, possibly.

SVETLANA: I think he was writing poems. Vitalik wrote poems a long time ago. They were so amazing.

SITTING WOMAN: Oh, I almost forgot! In the pocket of his shirt, we found a piece of paper with poetry. I put it on the on the nightstand, but the patient threw it off immediately. So, I put it away. [she takes out a crumpled piece of paper] Here.

INNA: [takes the sheet and reads] "I don't know any words, but I believe in love. I don't know any words, but I believe in love. I don't know any words, but I believe in love." I think he wrote this right before the trauma.

[Svetlana breaks down crying and quickly walks out of the room. The Sitting Woman follows.]

FRIEND: Sveta really loved him.

EYE: And he loved her?

FRIEND: To tell you the truth, I don't think Vitalik ever really loved anyone. He was a Don Juan. He just stopped his chain of girlfriends on Svetlana. She's still positive that he would have married her if not for what happened.

INNA: She's not positive about anything! She just loved him and that's that. It was hard not to love him.

FRIEND: You hear that? That's why I never showed him my Inna before our wedding. When he saw her at my wedding, I think his eyes sparkled and she too, I think, wasn't heartless towards him.

INNA: [ruffles her husband's hair] Oh, what a talker you are! At least stop for today! It was only a year after our wedding that the tragedy happened with Vitia. You had just come back from Los Angeles . And, anyways, he always acted very calm and held back around me.

FRIEND: Then let's leave it at that.

[Svetlana enters. Her eyes are red.]

SVETLANA: I think he wrote that poem for me, don't you, Gena?

FRIEND: Of course.

INNA: Of course he did. For whom else would he write it?

SVETLANA: So I did manage to wake up some love inside him?

EYE: Of course. Who wouldn't love a woman like you?

SVETLANA: Oh, you don't know him...but, I think he loved me for real! Right, Gena?

FRIEND: Of course, Sveta.

SVETLANA: [crying] Why did he leave our happiness? Why did he have to go?

EYE: Calm down. He's in a better place now than he was yesterday. He's in a better place than us right now, that's a definite. Calm down.

[The Sitting Woman enters with documents and papers]

SITTING WOMAN: Ok. The signatures are there. You may leave. We need to bring a new patient into this room.

WITCH: Someone new has come?

SITTING WOMAN: Yes. They just brought him and are looking for you. Here's his passport.

WITCH: [reading] Frantov, Vitaly...an interesting last name. What's wrong with him?

SITTING WOMAN: A broken backbone and a shutdown of the brain after a shock. Take a look yourself, though.

WITCH: Of course, I'll take a look. [sighs] It's endless, endless, endless...

SVETLANA: [shaking her head warily] What will the Blue Whale say now?