Life is already a bunch of regrets.
Drama scene from the eplay, “Oleander” wherein Marla asks Harper how she would like to go about their sinister business.
MARLA: You’re awfully pretty. Sammy told me you was pretty, but everything is pretty to Sammy. He wasn’t wrong ’bout you though.
HARPER: Thanks.
MARLA: How you want it? Quick and clean, or slow and deliberate?
HARPER: To do…to do it?
MARLA: Uh-huh.
HARPER: Just…however you think is best, I guess.
MARLA: Don’t you want a say?
HARPER: Not really.
MARLA: Mmm.
(beat)
HARPER: I mean, do I…do I really have to?
MARLA: I look at it as getting things off one’s chest.
HARPER: I don’t think I wanna think about it.
MARLA (smiles): You will.
HARPER: Huh?
MARLA: You’ll be thinkin’ ’bout this business your whole freakin’ life. But, as I always say, it’s better to think about what you did than what you didn’t do. Life is already a bunch of regrets. Why does it matter? It’s your choice, and it’s your choice how things get handled. (pause.)
Harper nods.
I think, if you don’t mind my sayin’ so…I think…things ought to be handled intensely, but methodically.
We’ll give it a certain pace; you set the pace, but if things get done wham-bam, I think you’re goin’ too easy. There needs to be an awareness of where it’s coming from. He needs to know. It’s important for the state of consciousness that you want to achieve. He goes back there, and then what?
This way he’s aware of what’s gettin’ done to ’em, and he’s got some time. Although limited, very limited time to work things out for himself before its final. I’m best at managing things in such a way. I’ve helped many reach a higher sense of self as they go off into the grand abyss. (smiles) It never fails.
Harper holds up a cigarette.
HARPER: Can I?
MARLA: Of course you can.
HARPER: So much to take in, isn’t it?
MARLA: Depends on how you view it.
HARPER: I never imagined things would come to this.
MARLA: Life surprises us.
HARPER: I can’t believe I’m even sitting here. Now I know what they mean when they say, “Out of body experience.” Like, it’s not even happening.
MARLA: I can assure you it’s happening.
HARPER: Never in my wildest dreams.
MARLA: Ha!
HARPER: I thought about doin’ it myself. I even bought me a gun; I pointed my gun at Marco’s temple one night, while he was sleeping; I drank so much just to push past the feelin’ of…dread; but I could never go through with it. I’m just not made like that. As much as I felt, there was always something else stopping me. Not ’cause I had mercy on him…no, I think it was mercy for my damn self. And then when I began feelin’ all this self-pity, I just got mad. I got so mad, but then Sammy came through and showed me a way out, a chance, and this is my chance. You’re my only chance, Marla.
- To read the full one-act ePlay, find purchase link below:
In the one-act eplay, “Oleander” Harper meets with a problem solver who goes by the name of Marla in order to start making way for a new life. 2 Women. Drama/Crime.
