Marin Careway
ELISE AND DEATH
THE STAGE IS COMPLETELY
DARK.
ELISE
Tell me again how it’s not the answer.ELISE
DEATH
I’ll show you.LIGHTS UP ON HALF THE
STAGE, ILLUMINATING A HOSPITAL ROOM. ELISE, A TEENAGED GIRL, AND DEATH, A
FIGURE IN ROBES AND A HOOD, STAND IN THE CORNER OF THE ROOM. THEY WATCH AS A
PREGNANT WOMAN LIES IN A HOSPITAL BED, CLUTCHING HER HUSBAND’S HAND, VISIBLY IN
PAIN.
ELISE
What’s the point of this?DEATH
Jeez, be patient. We just got here.ELISE TURNS AND PEERS
INTO DEATH’S HOOD.
ELISE
Wait. Who are you?DEATH
I’m Death.ELISE
No, you’re not. Death has a beard and brown
eyes. Your eyes are blue. And you’re a woman.DEATH
Oh, I’m new on the job. The entity of Death you
had before got reassigned to a different region.ELISE
There’s more than one Death?DEATH
Of course. Death isn’t like Santa, making a stop
at every place one by one. Death is happening all the time, everywhere. We need
lots of different figures of Death to handle it all. Also, you’re my first
person ever.ELISE
Yay me?DEATH RAISES A HAND FOR A HIGH FIVE. ELISE STARES AT IT.
DEATH
Okay, my bad, that’s not the vibe.ELISE
I’m sorry, did you just say, “the vibe”?DEATH
Yes. Is that not cool in these situations?ELISE
I mean it’s fine, just surprising. Aren’t you
supposed to be all old and wise?DEATH
Every Death is human before they’re a Death. I
was 17 when I died. Same age as you.ELISE
Oh shit, I’m sorry. (a pause) How?DEATH
Suicide. 2 years ago. I became a Death in order
to help people who have attempted suicide, because I know what they’re going
through. I want to show them why life is worth living.ELISE
But your job is to take people to the afterlife.
Isn’t that against the rules? DEATH
Not if they’re not technically dead yet.ELISE
Wait. Am I still alive?DEATH
Yes. You’ve gone into a coma, but there’s still
a chance for you to live. And I’m going to give you a choice. DEATH REACHES INTO HER
ROBES AND PULLS OUT A T.V REMOTE. TWO BUTTONS ON IT, ONE GREEN AND ONE RED, ARE
GLOWING.
DEATH
Pretty soon, your heart is going to start failing. It’ll happen at the exact same time this baby is born two floors down from where you currently sleep. You have until the baby is born to decide whether or not you want to give life another shot, using this remote. The green button will bring you back to life. The red one will kill you.
ELISE
Why are you doing this?DEATH
This was your second suicide attempt in the span
of a year, right? Something’s wrong here, and as someone who did die by
suicide, I want you to think your situation through.ELISE
I have thought it through. My mind’s made up,
I’m ready to die.
THEIR CONVERSATION IS
INTERRUPTED AS THE PREGNANT WOMAN STARTS TO SCREAM. DEATH SNAPS HER FINGERS,
AND FOR A MOMENT, THE STAGE IS DARK EXCEPT FOR A SPOTLIGHT FOCUSED ON ELISE AND
DEATH. THEN DEATH SNAPS HER FINGERS AGAIN, AND THE MIDDLE SECTION OF THE STAGE
LIGHTS UP. NOW IT’S A PARK ON A SUNNY DAY.
DEATH
So. How did you get to a suicide attempt?ELISE
Don’t you already know?DEATH
I can’t see the past. I don’t know anything
about your life until the moment of your death, when you asked me to tell you
again why suicide wasn’t the answer. ELISE
I couldn’t see you, I thought I was talking to the
other guy. DEATH
Right. Tell me about how you got to death, so I
can convince you to live. ELISE
I’ll convince you to let me die. I was at my
mom’s wedding to her new husband. Ever since they started dating, it was like
he suddenly mattered to her more than me. No more helping me with my homework,
going to the games I did marching band for, anything. It was always just “Jack
wants this, Jack wants that. Sorry, honey, I’m busy with Jack tonight. Sorry,
dear, Jack has a big presentation tomorrow and he wants my support”. I came
second to this guy, and I’m her daughter.DEATH
Have you told your mom you feel this way?ELISE
No, gee, why didn’t I think of that? Of course
I’ve told her. She said I was being ridiculous, and selfish, and accused me of
having something against Jack.DEATH
Do you?ELISE
DEATH
What? ELISE
Me. I confirmed all of my worst fears tonight.
That I’m just as much of a burden as I think I am, and I really can’t let
myself be happy. My mom values Jack more than me, and I managed to exhaust the
one person who always has energy to deal with my bullshit. I’ve estranged
everyone in my life, and I’ve ruined every relationship I have. And I couldn’t
stand being me anymore, I had to escape myself. So, I killed myself. DEATH
It sounds like this was a breaking point for
you. But now you have a chance to start over and move forward. Can you try
talking to your family about these things?ELISE
What the hell are you talking about? Haven’t you
been listening to me?DEATH
I have, I promise. I’m just trying to see if we
can sort through this and come to a helpful conclusion.ELISE
This isn’t something that we can just sort
through. I’ve completely ruined things, and I’m done. You know what, how about
you just let me get back to my death already?
ELISE MAKES A GRAB FOR
THE REMOTE, TRYING TO YANK IT AWAY FROM DEATH, BUT DEATH FIGHTS HER. THEY
GRAPPLE FOR CONTROL OF THE REMOTE. THEN, JUST AS ELISE GETS THE UPPER HAND,
DEATH YANKS IT BACK, AND BREAKS IT OVER HER OWN KNEE.
ELISE
Why the hell did you do that?DEATH
Because you deserve a chance to live. It’s a
chance that I lost, and I’m trying to make sure no one loses it again.ELISE
I’ve had my chances! Chances do nothing! I have
reached so many breaking points and climbed my way back up from rock
bottom so many times. And every time, I try my best to change my life,
and it works for a little while. I start doing better, getting back on top of
my homework, making nicer friends, feeling like maybe this will be the time I
fix everything. But then my life crashes down again, some way or another. My
happiness isn’t sustainable. And I don’t think life is worth living if it’s
going to be like this.DEATH
Like what?ELISE
Absolutely miserable. What’s the point of living
if I just wanna die the whole time?DEATH
I can’t tell you what the point of living is,
that’s something you have to decide for yourself. But you’ll never get to find
out if you die.
ELISE SITS DOWN. AFTER A
MOMENT, DEATH SITS DOWN BESIDE HER. SHE SNAPS HER FINGERS, AND THE PARK
DISAPPEARS. THE STAGE IS DARK EXCEPT FOR A SPOTLIGHT ILLUMINATING ELISE AND
DEATH.
DEATH
We don’t have much time left.ELISE
I just wish living was easier. I wish I had the
fight in me to keep going.DEATH
There have to be things that make you feel like
life is worth living. What are they?ELISE
(quietly) I don’t know. They all just kind of
started fading from my life when I started wanting to die. I used to love
running. But then I got out of shape because I was sleeping most of the day or
hiding in my room all the time, and I started getting an anxiety attack
whenever I did try to run. I used to love playing guitar, but every song is
basically about love or being miserable, and I got so tired of hearing all of
those. And it’s like, neither of those activities are even bad. Nothing
about the things I love changed. I changed. It’s my fault I’m like this. DEATH
No, it’s not. And if you’ve changed before, then
it means you can change again.ELISE
You can’t know that.DEATH
I’m Death, of course I can know that. It gets
better.ELISE
God, I hate that phrase.DEATH
You know what, so do I. Screw “it gets better”.
It may be true, but once you’ve heard it enough times, it really loses its
effect. I want you to assume that it gets better. You don’t have to know how. I
want you to blindly walk forth into the future, assuming that everything gets
better. That you have a right to a better life, and that it’s coming. Even if
it doesn’t feel logical.ELISE
Would it have gotten better for you?DEATH
You know what’s ironic? I started wanting to
live again after I died. The moment I reached the afterlife, I knew I’d
done something irreversible. As time passed, I kept watching the world of the
living and mourning the life I would’ve had if I’d stuck around. I’d do
anything to have my life back. And I’d take it even if it meant being miserable
the whole time, because life is a take-what-you-can-get situation.ELISE
I still don’t know if it’s worth it to keep
trying.DEATH
If you’re looking for a guarantee that life is
worth living, this is it. Now, we need to check on our friends.
DEATH SNAPS HER FINGERS,
AND HALF THE STAGE BRIGHTENS TO SHOW THE HOSPITAL ROOM. THE WOMAN IS GIVING
BIRTH.
DEATH
It’s time to decide.
DEATH CONJURES A REMOTE CONTROL
FROM HER POCKET, EXACTLY LIKE THE ONE SHE’D BROKEN. SHE HANDS IT TO ELISE.
ELISE HOLDS IT, STARING AT IT, BUT DOESN’T DO ANYTHING.
ELISE
I know you didn’t like it, but…is the afterlife
a better place?DEATH
I’ll tell you one thing about the afterlife,
Elise. It isn’t worth this.
THE SIDE OF THE STAGE
WHERE THE BIRTH TAKES PLACE FALLS TO DARKNESS, AND THE BEEP OF A FLAT HEART
RATE MONITOR IS HEARD. AFTER A MOMENT, THE OTHER SIDE ILLUMINATES. ANOTHER
HOSPITAL ROOM. ELISE AND DEATH STAND IN THE CORNER, WATCHING AS ANOTHER VERSION
OF ELISE LIES IN THE HOSPITAL BED. A DOCTOR IS TRYING TO RESTART HER
HEART.
DEATH
It’s not a better place if you have to do this
to yourself to get there.
ELISE’S FINGER HOVERS
OVER THE GLOWING BUTTONS ON THE REMOTE.
DEATH
Tell me again how this is the answer.
THE DOCTOR SHOCKS
ELISE’S BODY AGAIN. THE HEART RATE MONITOR SHOWS HER HEART START BEATING.
THE END.