“And I jump….”
SCENE I
(The stage is dark lit with a soft white spot light; it concentrates on a wooden chair located center towards the audience.)
Woman off stage: life is a strong word you can phase in some ways. You’re born, they learn; you cry, they stand by. You’ve grown into a great unknown; you change, they arrange; you love, they go above. After the stage you go off age; you go away, they decay; you vow, they allow. Some time passes with sublime; they fall, you call; they close, you compose. Life is a strong word you can phase in some ways. Life is a maze of great grace… but not all can get out of the maze with such grace.
(There is a water splash sound on stage. Woman enters. She wears a thin black night-grown and appears barefoot; hair tangled and messy. She sits down on the chair)
Voice (feminine) off stage: ONE…TWO…THREE
Woman: they say it only takes twenty to sixty seconds to die while your body swims under water.
Voice (feminine) off stage: FOUR…FIVE…SIX…
Woman: first you recognize the danger and become afraid. You rarely make any sounds struggling to keep the little life you have left.
Voice (feminine) off stage: SEVEN…EIGHT…NINE…
Woman: Your body will attempt to protect itself; it initiates with involuntary breath holding, losing consciousness.
Voice (feminine) off stage: TEN…ELEVEN…TWELVE…
Woman: unconsciousness spreads thru your body when you start lacking oxygen. You will be motionless, no chest movement or breathing sounds. You sink to the bottom of the water.
Voice (feminine) off stage: THIRTEEN…FOURTEEN…FIFTEEN…
Woman: you don’t feel the convulsions that come next, turning your skin blue. A rigid corpse with no color. Your eyes start to close, feeling heavy and weightless at the same time.
Voice (feminine) off stage: SIXTEEN…SEVENTEEN…EIGHTEEN…NINETEEN…
Woman: life is a maze of great grace…but not all can get out of the maze with such grace.
Voice (feminine) off stage: TWENTY…
(Dark)