Final scene of the shadow box
written by Michael Cristofer
Brian. People don’t want to let go. Do they. They think it’s a mistake. They think it’s supposed to last forever…
Joe. There’s a few things—I could talk to you about them…
Brian. I suppose it’s because…
Joe. … you don’t expect it to happen.
Brian. You don’t expect it to happen to you.
Joe. But it happens anyway, doesn’t it? It doesn’t matter what you do, you can’t stop it.
Brian. You try.
Mark. You keep thinking, there’s go to be some way out of this.
Brian. You want to strike a bargain… make a deal.
Mark. You don’t want to give in.
Joe. You want to say no.
Maggie. … no…
Mark. … no…
Brian. Your whole life goes by—it feels like it was only a minute.
Beverly. You try to remember what it was you believed in.
Mark. What was so important?
Maggie. What was it?
Beverly. You want it to make a difference.
Maggie. You want to blame somebody.
Brian. You want to be angry.
Joe. You want to shout, ‘Not me!’
Brian. Not me!
Maggie. Not me!
Felicity. What time is it, Agnes?
Agnes. I don’t know, mama.
Brian. And then you think, someone should have said it sooner.
Mark. Someone should have said it a long time ago.
Beverly. When you were young.
Brian. Someone should have said, this living…
Mark. …this life…
Beverly. …this lifetime…
Brian. It doesn’t last forever.
Maggie. A few days, a few minutes… that’s all.
Brian. It has an end.
Joe. Yes.
Mark. This face.
Beverly. These hands.
Mark. This word.
Joe. It doesn’t last forever.
Brian. This air.
Mark. This light.
Brian. This earth.
Beverly. These things you love.
Maggie. These children.
Beverly. This smile.
Maggie. This pain.
Brian. It doesn’t last forever.
Joe. It was never supposed to last forever.
Mark. This day.
Maggie. This morning.
Beverly. This afternoon.
Mark. This evening.
Felicity. What time is it, Agnes?
Agnes. I don’t know, mama. It’s time to stop. Please, mama. It’s time to stop.
Brian. These eyes…
Mark. These things you see.
Maggie. It’s pretty.
Joe. Yes.
Mark. Yes.
Brian. These things you hear.
Mark. This noise.
Beverly. This music.
Steve. I can play for you now. It’s not good, but it’s not bad either.
Maggie. Yes.
Beverly. Yes.
Brian. They tell you you’re dying, and you say all right. But if I am dying… I must still be alive.
Felicity. What time is it?
Mark. These things you have.
Maggie. Yes.
Joe. This smell, this touch.
Mark. Yes.
Beverly. This taste.
Brian. Yes.
Maggie. This breath.
Steve. Yes.
Mark. Yes.
Brian. Yes.
Maggie. Yes.
Beverly. Yes.
Joe. Yes.
Brian. This moment.
Joe. There’s a few things—I could talk to you about them…
Brian. I suppose it’s because…
Joe. … you don’t expect it to happen.
Brian. You don’t expect it to happen to you.
Joe. But it happens anyway, doesn’t it? It doesn’t matter what you do, you can’t stop it.
Brian. You try.
Mark. You keep thinking, there’s go to be some way out of this.
Brian. You want to strike a bargain… make a deal.
Mark. You don’t want to give in.
Joe. You want to say no.
Maggie. … no…
Mark. … no…
Brian. Your whole life goes by—it feels like it was only a minute.
Beverly. You try to remember what it was you believed in.
Mark. What was so important?
Maggie. What was it?
Beverly. You want it to make a difference.
Maggie. You want to blame somebody.
Brian. You want to be angry.
Joe. You want to shout, ‘Not me!’
Brian. Not me!
Maggie. Not me!
Felicity. What time is it, Agnes?
Agnes. I don’t know, mama.
Brian. And then you think, someone should have said it sooner.
Mark. Someone should have said it a long time ago.
Beverly. When you were young.
Brian. Someone should have said, this living…
Mark. …this life…
Beverly. …this lifetime…
Brian. It doesn’t last forever.
Maggie. A few days, a few minutes… that’s all.
Brian. It has an end.
Joe. Yes.
Mark. This face.
Beverly. These hands.
Mark. This word.
Joe. It doesn’t last forever.
Brian. This air.
Mark. This light.
Brian. This earth.
Beverly. These things you love.
Maggie. These children.
Beverly. This smile.
Maggie. This pain.
Brian. It doesn’t last forever.
Joe. It was never supposed to last forever.
Mark. This day.
Maggie. This morning.
Beverly. This afternoon.
Mark. This evening.
Felicity. What time is it, Agnes?
Agnes. I don’t know, mama. It’s time to stop. Please, mama. It’s time to stop.
Brian. These eyes…
Mark. These things you see.
Maggie. It’s pretty.
Joe. Yes.
Mark. Yes.
Brian. These things you hear.
Mark. This noise.
Beverly. This music.
Steve. I can play for you now. It’s not good, but it’s not bad either.
Maggie. Yes.
Beverly. Yes.
Brian. They tell you you’re dying, and you say all right. But if I am dying… I must still be alive.
Felicity. What time is it?
Mark. These things you have.
Maggie. Yes.
Joe. This smell, this touch.
Mark. Yes.
Beverly. This taste.
Brian. Yes.
Maggie. This breath.
Steve. Yes.
Mark. Yes.
Brian. Yes.
Maggie. Yes.
Beverly. Yes.
Joe. Yes.
Brian. This moment.