Scripted Monologue: Red Poppies

Claire Newby, Monologue.

Alice stands in the kitchen with a cup in her hand, it’s very dark. She is in her dressing gown, her hair tied back neatly in a bun.

Had a bad dream, eighteen and still having bad dreams. Reminds me of when I was little, mum would come in and sooth me back to sleep every single time. Every morning afterwards I would run out into the garden and pick red poppies from the field they were her favourite. She would tell me all about granddad and the war. Every year we would put poppies on the war memorial and on his grave, he didn’t die in the war, about ten years later he passed away, I remember asking did he have enough time, on earth I meant, everybody has exactly the same number of hours a day that were given to Pasteur, Michelangelo, Mother Teresa, Thomas Jefferson and Albert Einstein, one of her favourites that one, of course she had just quoted it, like all the others. (Pauses to think) grandma died afterwards, mum said she had no reason to live with out him; they were in love, in love like me and your dad. She adored him; she would tell me about how they met. We would just sit in the poppy field all day, She saw nothing wrong with the world, that’s why I adored her.

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Alice sits at the table in a dark room, an unlabelled bottle on the table, half empty with transparent liquid in it. Face is pale, she looks tired. Hair sits loosely in a bobble.

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Alice sits at the table in a dark room, an unlabelled bottle on the table, half empty with transparent liquid in it. Face is pale, she looks tired. Hair sits loosely in a bobble.

Looking back now, I suppose she was looking through rose coloured glasses. (Sips out of the bottle) she didn’t even notice. (Sips again out the bottle I'll never forget that first sip, I loved it. I never shared it, I didn't need to. I had finally found my "it" and it was magic. I knew in the first sip I had found the kind of secret adults don't share. The tingling and warmth started at the top of my head and consumed my entire body, all the way down to my toes, as I lay in The Field. Then something amazing happened, everything was quiet and I wasn't thinking one single thing, everything was gone. It had to be magic. She never even noticed. She still gets red poppies for her room. One of the few reminders of my childhood. I hate them (Eyes glaze over) she didn’t even notice, (tears stream down her face) that’s why the love and admiration turned to hate. A dark, and evil hate, I couldn’t help it. She didn’t even notice, the stupid bitch, (starts to shout) you stupid fucking bitch, look what you’ve done.

Alice is lying on the bathroom floor only head and neck in camera shot. Eyes are red and swollen, hair is a mess.

Kept thinking things couldn't really be this bad, maybe it was just me. Thought I’d wake up tomorrow and things would be okay, lying in the poppies all over again with her. Tomorrow never came. (Starts to talk faster, she is very angry) The magic has stop working now, it just sends more pain. Its flows as red as those poppies I use to pick her. (Starts to shout and cry at the same time) The stupid bitch, why did she loved him, how could she. She left me with him. Why did she love him? Hope you can hear me in hell, you both belong there. It was bad enough that he… he… raped me near enough every single night. I never stop having the nightmares. When I walked into your room with the gun, I saw it in his eyes…. he knew, the bastard. That’s why I shot him first, I’m glad he didn’t die straight away, he need to feel the pain, the pain of the last ten years of my life. I hope you felt pain, agonising pain. I can hear the sirens. One last gun shot and its over. You…you started to cry, you cried when I shot him, you fucking bitch. I’m going to heaven now, in that place nothing matters. I told you what he had done, and you still wept by his side, you fucking bitch. (Alice sobs quickly, her voice falls into a whisper) I look back now over the blasted ruins of my past with pain, but all is quite now. Death and darkness draws in, I hear silence. You knew (Alice shoots herself) mummy …you… knew.