Like the Dreamers Above – Ross School (2011)

Brenna Leaver and Reilly O’Hearn in Lara Fayyaz’s play “Like the Dreamers Above.” Photo by Star Black.

Like the Dreamers Above

by Lara Fayyaz

Ross School

Click here to watch a video of this performance

(Back track of yelling, Megan is laying on a bed in her bedroom, reading a book of fairytales.)

(Rebecca enters; the yelling grows louder and then gets soft)

Rebecca: Why can’t everything be right again, Meg? (she jumps on the bed and stuffs her face in a pillow.)

Megan: (puts her book down, grabs a paper crown from the box labeled costumes) Greetings, sister! I have important news! The dragon has destroyed one of our villages.

Rebecca: (raises her head from the pillow) I’m not in the mood to play a stupid game. (drops her head)

Megan: We must send our army to defeat the dragon! Otherwise, our kingdom will surely fall.

Rebecca: (sighs, but grabs a paper crown from the box labeled costumes) Where do the dragons roam?

Megan: The dragons roam outside our kingdom walls, in a place called Kitchen. There the dragons shriek and scream, her wails a sorrowful tune, shrill and vulgar. His are snickers of madness.

(backtrack grows louder, then softer)

Rebecca: My army needs to stay in our kingdom walls. I shall go instead of them all. Will you be my companion on this journey, my sister?

Megan: (bows) I’d be honored.

Rebecca: Then off we shall go, but first we must plan.

(Megan and Rebecca pull a map out of the costumes box)

Megan: The creatures dwell right there. (points to a spot on the map)

Rebecca: Excellent! Then when day falls, we shall go forth onto our journey.

(Rebecca and Megan pretend to go to sleep, and then wake up a second later. They move to stage left)

Megan: I will draw the royal carriage and we shall head onwards toward our fate.

Rebecca: Do so.

Megan: (calls out to the audience) The royal princesses request their royal carriage!

Rebecca: There it is! It’s right there. (she jumps back on the bed)

Megan: What a lovely carriage that has been supplied for us!

Rebecca: I worry a bit for our safety, sister. This quest seems like a futile attempt for adrenaline.

Megan: This journey is only for the people of our land. Let us continue on! We shall defeat these dragons!

Rebecca: (pause, smiles) Yes, we shall.

Megan: Onto the road, we shall arrive soon.

(pause)

Rebecca: Have you ever felt alone?

Megan: Yes. Why?

Rebecca: Because sometimes… Sometimes I feel like everyone’s against me. I feel like I’m not doing anything right and the king and queen just fight all night. Their arguments keep me up, ears aching with shrill accusations. Sometimes I wonder when it will stop, because it makes my heart ache too.

(backtrack grows louder and then silenced)

Megan: May I hold your hand?

Rebecca: Yes, you may.

Megan: (takes Rebecca’s hand) Sometimes, we have to forget about these things. We want to control them, destroy them, but we can’t.

Rebecca: But I have to. I can’t let this go on any longer. The way it makes me feel… I feel like this is all just ending. Everything.

Megan: It may be ending (pause) for good. But I want you to know that I will always be there for you. No matter how things work out, we will always be together, and we will have to forget about our worry because life does these things to us. Life throws situations at us, and we, as people need to stay strong and work against them.

Rebecca: Look ahead! I believe I can see the sight of the smoke billowing through the dragon’s nose!

Megan: We should stop, for our horses grow tired and the man controlling the steed has lost his drive to guide us tonight. We shall wait for the colors of dawn to peek above the horizon.

(pause)

Megan: Do you ever just get really mad?

Rebecca: I suppose.

Megan: (shakes her head) You’d know if you would get really mad. You’ll never forget the shaking feeling in your stomach; the way your brain begins to pound almost, the way you feel like you’re going to cry and scream and die, because suddenly you’re so empty. It wouldn’t be a suppose, it would be a shaky yes because you’re remembering the feeling that you felt; the way you want to suddenly drink water because your throat has gone dry at the vulnerability and the power you get from that feeling.

Rebecca: I guess I just don’t get like that. (bites her lip)

Megan: How can’t you explode? I find things to be mad about every minute.

Rebecca: (shrugs)

Megan: (whispers) Don’t you ever want to just destroy something – Just because you can?

(pause)

Rebecca: (whispers) I haven’t been that angry, Meg, but I’ve gotten that sad.

Megan: Me too, Bee. I’ve been sad too.

Rebecca: I worry sometimes, Meg. That everything’s going to fall apart. I don’t want it to, but sometimes, I think this is the end of it all.

Megan: You know it won’t.

Rebecca: (shrugs) Maybe it will. Who knows, right?

Megan: All that matters, Bee, is that I shall love you before and after we die.

Rebecca: (smiles weakly) I will bring you a cup and fill it with my love.

Megan: (grins) I will light your way through countless adventures.

Rebecca: (goofy smile appears on her face) None of our attempts will be just feeble.

Megan: Together, we will make memories.

Rebecca: And together, we will be happy. We are simple, but we are happy this way. Remember that.

Megan: Mom and Dad’s wedding vows. Remember how they used to play the videos every day on their anniversary?

Rebecca: I remember.

Megan: (whispers) Tonight they’re just fighting.

(backtrack is suddenly loud and then silent)

Rebecca: It’s okay, Meg. Everything in the end will be okay.

Megan: But you know it’s not okay. Okay is just as unattainable in this situation as perfect.

Rebecca: I know. I’m bad at comforting.

Megan: (weakly) The sun has rose. Let us continue.

Rebecca: (nods) The dragon is atrocious.

Megan: (anger) With his wicked teeth glinting, his skin of black blending with the dark early morn’. He stays out all night… and when he comes back, his eyes are filled with joyful guilt; filled with a rush of not being caught, but he is guilty because he is remembering what lies at home. His breath stinks when he returns, the red liquid staining his teeth. He puts on a show, you know? Trying to pretend that he was busy looking for food for his children, when really he was sneaking about.

Rebecca: And his wife, she tries to pretend everything’s perfect, but really she will crush you the most. She cries at night, her cheeks stained with tears, wailing and longing for her husband to come home. (angry) And she knows what he’s been doing, but she doesn’t confront him. She’s supposed to be living her happily (whispers fucking) fucking after.

Megan: Whose fault is it?

(At the same time) Rebecca: The wife. Megan: The husband.

Megan: It doesn’t really matter, I guess. They both hurt each other in different ways. He broke his vow, and she didn’t care enough to do anything.

Rebecca: (whispers) I hate them both.

Megan: I wish I could.

(silence)

Rebecca: We’re here.

Megan: The journey ends here, sister.

Rebecca: Meg, I want to go alone.

Megan: Are you scared?

Rebecca: I’m ready. (speaks softly) Thanks, Meg.

Megan: You’re welcome, Bee.