Published September 27, 2005
Welcome Home
K. Davidson
Backlit tableux. WOMAN 1 in chair, downstage right. WOMAN 2 laying on the floor, near WOMAN 1's feet. MAN stands far upstage center, his eyes on the two women. There is another chair, unoccupied, next to WOMAN 1. They sit in perfect stillness. Slowly, the back lighting fades. We are in darkness. MAN speaks
MAN
If I could be there...
WOMAN 1
What will you do now?
WOMAN 2
I don't know. Go back to school maybe. I have the time now.
WOMAN 1
Better to keep occupied.
WOMAN 2
Yeah. Better that way. Gotta stay busy.
MAN
If I could see your face...
WOMAN 2
(stands) It's weird, not having him here.
WOMAN 1
I know. He'll be back...
WOMAN 2
Thanksgiving. If we're lucky.
WOMAN 1
Thanksgiving. It'll be over by then.
WOMAN 2
Officially, he gets two weeks. But one will be on base. De-briefing.
WOMAN 1
Understandable.
WOMAN 2
Sure.
MAN
If I could come home anytime...
Lights drift back to the back lighting. The two women move the chairs up, very far right. They stand center stage, down and just left of MAN.
MAN
They're not letting us go this time. Maybe the next round we'll get out. God knows we've been here long enough. Send my love to the family. If I could hold you...
WOMAN 2
It's unfair!
WOMAN 1
Yes. It's terribly unfair.
WOMAN 2
They promised. This time. They're the only unit that hasn't been home.
WOMAN 1
I know. I miss him.
WOMAN 2
I miss him.
WOMAN 1
We all do.
WOMAN 2
I'm scared.
WOMAN 1
How's school?
WOMAN 2
I'm majoring in film. I've always wanted to. He'd approve.
WOMAN 1
Yeah, he'd approve.
WOMAN 2
I'm scared.
WOMAN 1
Me too.
MAN
If I could get home...
WOMAN 2 moves a chair downstage left. She holds a letter and reads. As she reads, MAN comes forward and delivers the letter to the audience.
MAN
It's a hundred and ten degrees here. Early morning is a big pain. I'd do anything for a shower. They keep saying “Next week, we're on to Tikrit. Next week boys...”. Three weeks they've been telling us about a move to Tikrit. Its too dangerous to move right now. I'd like to get out of Kuwait, but what for? More sand, more heat, more restricted showers? No thanks. But when we get there, we will have satellite phone. I might be able to call. Not often, but I'll be able to hear your voice. Maybe I can call the family too. Wouldn't they be surprised? I'm glad you're going to school. I always thought you should go back. It'll be good to keep busy. Lord knows they keep us busy. I'll write a longer letter when I have more time and more paper. Send my love to everyone. All the best, my darling...
MAN returns to his original upstage center position. WOMAN 1 joins WOMAN 2 downstage. She looks at the letter distastefully.
WOMAN 1
Did they have to black it out like that?
WOMAN 2
Confidentiality reasons. Doesn't matter. I know their headed in.
WOMAN 1
You do?
WOMAN 2
Why all the secrecy? Of course they're moving.
WOMAN 1
I had to turn off the TV tonight.
WOMAN 2
I never watch anymore.
WOMAN 1
12 dead.
WOMAN 2
Don't remind me. I never watch anymore.
MAN
If I could hold your hand...
Lights shift. WOMAN 1 and WOMAN 2 move chairs and sit downstage. MAN exits.
WOMAN 2
It's been a year and a half.
WOMAN 1
It'll be okay.
WOMAN 2
He should have had leave a year ago. They didn't even give him Thanksgiving. Two weeks after? What crap is that?
WOMAN 1
Who knows. Lets make the best of it.
WOMAN 2
Yes.
Intense, palpable silence.
I'm scared.
WOMAN 1
How're classes?
WOMAN 2
Fine. I'm working on a short film right now. I might transfer.
WOMAN 1
Good.
WOMAN 2
I'm scared.
WOMAN 1
I know.
MAN enters stage left. WOMAN 1 and WOMAN 2 stand. Women and MAN face each other and stare. Then, WOMAN 2 moves ever so slowly to MAN, touching him tentatively upon the face, as if to ensure he's real. He touches her in return, slowly, drinking in the sight of her. Then they embrace—again slow and tentative. But soon it is apparent that no force on earth could part them. WOMAN 1 approaches and lays her hand on top of MAN's, on WOMAN 2's back.
WOMAN 1
Welcome home.
Lights shift. Women sit, man returns to upstage position.
MAN
Not much longer now. If I could touch you...
WOMAN 1
April, then?
WOMAN 2
Yes. April. So they keep saying. He's supposed to have returned months ago.
WOMAN 1
First to leave, last to return.
WOMAN 2
Figures.
WOMAN 1
April. That's very soon.
WOMAN 2
Yeah, soon.
WOMAN 1
Turn on the TV today? Its not on the news anymore.
WOMAN 2
I can't stomach the apathy.
WOMAN 1
We care.
WOMAN 2
And no one else. Someone had the nerve to criticize me for being against this.
WOMAN 1
People can be so cruel.
WOMAN 2
People can.
WOMAN 1
April?
WOMAN 2
April.
Light shift. MAN and WOMAN 2 return to their deep embrace, with WOMAN 1 standing behind. They break their hold on each other after what seems an eternity. WOMAN 1 exits. WOMAN 2 kisses MAN, but he shows no sign of return affection.
WOMAN 2
Welcome home.
MAN
I missed you.
WOMAN 2
I missed you.
MAN
I couldn't wait to see you.
WOMAN 2
I was scared. I thought it was over a year ago.
MAN
It wasn't.
WOMAN 2
We know.
MAN
We're the only ones.
WOMAN 2
I missed you.
MAN
I missed you. I'm tired. Bed?
WOMAN 2
Bed? Sure.
MAN
(stares hard at WOMAN 2, searching for words) I'm scared.
WOMAN 2
(tenderly) I know. I know.
WOMAN 2 kisses MAN's cheek. He stiffens, then returns the kiss, first on top of her head, then the cheek, then the lips. They exit stage right, holding hands awkwardly. Lights fade. MAN enters, backlit, barely visible. He stands far upstage left.
MAN
If I could be there. If I could see your face. If I could be home anytime. If I could hold your hand. If I could touch you.
Again, intense silence.
Welcome home.[pre][/pre]
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138,703 Literary Works • 672,249 Reviews
Hello!
RandomTalks here with a short review!
This was such a poignant and beautiful piece. There was something so inexplicable sad about the story that it really made me pause for a while and just experience the emotions you have tried to capture here.
Setting & Tone:
I really liked the way you have set your scenes. I liked how the very beginning of the script assures you that there is no happy ending for whatever story that is going to happen next. The image of the woman sitting in the chair and another woman lying dejectedly by her feet suggests a kind of somber despair that at once sets the tone of the story. It reflects hopelessness and resignation and it makes one sympathize with the characters from the get-go. Similarly, the omnipresence of the 'MAN' was a rather chilling reminder of his absence in their lives
You have not provided many descriptions for the scenes and have instead kept the stage mostly bare and empty except from sometimes including a chair or a table. This bleakness complements the mood of the story and the frequent shifting of the lights are a creative way to convey the passage of time and the change in scenes.
I also liked the fact that you did not disclose any names here but instead simply addressed them as 'man' and 'woman'. Somehow the anonymity of the characters added a whole level of seriousness by suggesting a sense of incompleteness to the story. It also suggests that the names of the characters are not important here and reflects the anxious helplessness which every family touched by the war might have felt. In that sense, it portrays a unity of experience as well.
Beginning all the lines of the man with "If I could..." was a creative choice that worked rather well for the story. It conveys his yearning for all the things he would do only if he could and it makes his presence in the story even more haunting.
Dailogue:
The dialogues of the two women were short and direct and convey a monotony that reflects their state of mind. I like how stiff their conversations were, how it always revolved around the man's absence unless conscious efforts were made on both sides to talk about something else. Still the frequent repetition of the sentence "I am scared" and the same automatic response given to it every time, "I know," suggests that this feeling was an irreplaceable part of their beings now.
Beginning all the lines of the man with "If I could..." was a creative choice that worked rather well for the story. It conveys his yearning for all the things he would do only if he could and it makes his presence in the story even more haunting.
Things you can improve:
There were two things about the story that kind of left me in confusion.
Firstly, I am not very sure who the two women are. It is evident that WOMAN 2 is the man's wife or his partner, but the presence of the other woman confused me a little. At first, I had thought that maybe she was their daughter, but there is nothing in the script to suggest any relation between them. Also, her sudden disappearance from the scene when the man enters made me wonder if she even existed in real life at all or if she was a made-up companion for WOMAN 2 to accompany and empathize with her in the darkest days.
Secondly, I thought the ending was ambiguous and confusing enough to leave the readers wondering. At first, I thought that the man came back from war a changed person - that is why he was so unresponsive and stiff during the reunion we had been much awaiting for. And yet, something felt very wrong in that situation, and I loved how you have implied it so subtly through his mannerisms and behaviors. But then the ending scene once again reinforces the idea that he in fact, never came back home. Because the yearning in his final sentences are very much contradictory to the way he acts which makes me feel either he never came back or he doesn't realize he is back (which is why he was so stiff during the reunion) and is still living in war.
Either ways, I think a little clarification would have made the ending even more impactful!
That's all!
Keep writing and have a great day!
Wow I loved this...this should be a movie. I've never read any scripts by you before but this is quite impressive. I'm sorry I'm not giving in productive critquing but it was just plain good.