The Sky Behind The Window

THE SCENE OPENS IN A HOSPITAL WITH HARSH LIGHTING. YVETTE LAYS IN BED ON STAGE RIGHT, STARING AT THE AUDIENCE INTO NOTHING. THERE IS A BEDSIDE TABLE NEXT TO HER WITH UNEATEN FOOD ATOP IT.

AMANDA AND NORMAN ENTER FROM STAGE LEFT. YVETTE DOES NOT ACKNOWLEDGE THEM.

AMANDA - My child! Oh, my sweet child!

YVETTE - Hello.

NORMAN - Darling, how are you, darling? Are you well? Have the nurses been kind, darling?

YVETTE - Yes. Miss Kelsie brought me milk twenty minutes ago. [A PAUSE] I told her that the trees are going to blossom soon.

NORMAN - Oh, you drank something! How wonderful, how wonderful!

AMANDA - But Norman, look there, she’s barely touched her breakfast. It’s cold, and she’s bound to be hungry!

NORMAN - Why didn’t you eat, darling? You’re hungry, aren’t you?

AMANDA AND NORMAN APPROACH YVETTE’S BEDSIDE. NORMAN TAKES HER HAND. YVETTE DOES NOT ACKNOWLEDGE THEM. 

AMANDA - Dreadfully hungry, aren’t you?

YVETTE - Not particularly. Did you hear the birdsong on your way here? I can see them sing, but I can’t hear them.

AMANDA - The birds always sing, my love. Why didn’t you eat? Is there a problem with the food?

NORMAN - Just say the word. We will bring you anything, darling, anything!

YVETTE - I’d like to hear the birds. Could you open the window? I’d like to taste the wind. Please?

NORMAN - The window?

AMANDA - Oh, you don’t want us to open the window! You’re sick, my love, you’re sick! Here, you are taken care of. Here, there are none of the bacteria that got you sick. Do you understand? Outside, outside is what made you this way.

NORMAN - We will bring you air fresheners. It is stale in here, we will bring you perfumes and music players and whatever you would like to eat. What would you like to eat, darling?

YVETTE - What season is it? 

AMANDA - Oh, Norman! She’s already forgotten the time! Oh, Norman, Norman!

YVETTE - I know the time. I am sorry I worried you. I know that it is spring, and isn’t it lovely? I can see the trees. They are about to bloom, and they look excited.

NORMAN - Why, what do you mean by season? If you know it is spring.

YVETTE - What is in season? Have you seen fresh strawberries in the market? What fruit is new? Are there apricots?

YVETTE PAUSES.

YVETTE - No, no, it’s too early for apricots, isn’t it?

AMANDA AND NORMAN LOOK AT ONE ANOTHER.

AMANDA - I’m not quite sure, my love, but it does not matter. If you want fruit, we will bring you fruit from the market. They have all the fruit you could ever want, what would you like?

NORMAN - You mentioned strawberries. Would you like strawberries?

YVETTE - Could you bring me a lemon?

AMANDA and NORMAN, TOGETHER - A lemon?

AMANDA - Why would you want a lemon? Why, you are such a sweet girl, and a lemon is so sour. Wouldn’t you like strawberries?

YVETTE - A lemon will do. Or a strawberry, if you would like. But I would like a lemon.

NORMAN - But you are okay with strawberries? I’m sure they’re just as good for you, darling. And we can bring so many of them!

YVETTE - Strawberries are alright, as long as they are fresh. I would like to taste spring, if I cannot hear birdsong or taste the wind.

AMANDA - Of course, of course! Of course we will bring you strawberries.

NORMAN - All the strawberries you would like!

AMANDA KISSES YVETTE ON THE FOREHEAD.

NORMAN - We will return with your strawberries, darling.

AMANDA - We will return quickly!

AMANDA AND NORMAN EXIT STAGE LEFT.

KELSIE ENTERS STAGE LEFT, WEARING NURSE’S SCRUBS. YVETTE DOES NOT ACKNOWLEDGE HER. KELSIE KEEPS HER DISTANCE.

KELSIE - Hello again, Yvette.

YVETTE - Hello. 

KELSIE - I just saw your parents run out of the building. Did you have a nice talk with them?

YVETTE - Yes. They are bringing me strawberries. Do you know what kind of tree is outside my window?

KELSIE - Your window? I believe it’s an apricot tree. It’s blooming soon, you said?

YVETTE - Yes. Not yet. Yes. It needs time.

KELSIE - You said your parents will bring you strawberries? What time do they blossom?

YVETTE - They blossom…I think they have already bloomed. Some time in spring. They do not grow on trees, like apricots or lemons do. They have small plants. Like miniature bushes. They have already bloomed.

KELSIE APPROACHES YVETTE’S BEDSIDE. YVETTE DOES NOT ACKNOWLEDGE HER.

KELSIE - I’m surprised you asked for strawberries. You told me you didn’t prefer them, didn’t you?

YVETTE - My parents wanted to bring strawberries. They’re nice, as long as I get to taste spring. I asked first for a lemon.

KELSIE - A lemon?

KELSIE CHANGES OUT YVETTE’S IV BAG.

KELSIE - Why didn’t you get it? Not in season?

YVETTE - They are in season. You see, lemons are unique; they don’t have seasons. They bloom only depending on where they’re planted, soil conditions…that sort. Do you understand?

KELSIE - Yes, I think I do. Maybe there were no lemons around with good soil. Do you know if there are lemons planted around here?

YVETTE - My neighbor had a lemon tree. She used to make me lemonade every spring and summer. My parents never liked her.

KELSIE - Do you mind if I give you some new medicine? It’ll burn a bit.

YVETTE - That’s fine.

KELSIE ADMINISTERS MEDICATION THROUGH THE IV.

YVETTE - Did you hear the birds on your way to work this morning?

KELSIE - I hear them every morning, but they are starting to sing more now that it’s getting warmer. Do you know why that is?

YVETTE - It depends on the bird. Sometimes it’s to attract a mate, but most times birds use it as a way to claim territory. The louder they sing, the stronger they seem. Could you tell me what the birds were singing?

KELSIE - They weren’t singing for me, so I felt a little rude listening in. But from what I overheard, they’re excited for the season when seeds start falling. They told each other good morning, and the eggs above my doorway hatched. It’s a very exciting morning for them, don’t you think?

YVETTE - Yes. I bet those birds will be good parents, they usually are. Did you know they’re considered to be some of the best animal parents? Very involved.

A PAUSE.

KELSIE - Would you like to hear the birds, Yvette?

YVETTE - My parents do not want us to open the window.

KELSIE - Yes. I know, but they are not here…

KELSIE TURNS TOWARD THE AUDIENCE. 

KELSIE - …and I see some birds perched on those branches there.

YVETTE - My parents will be angry if the window is opened.

KELSIE - But would you like to hear them?

YVETTE - More than anything. More than anything, I would like to hear birdsong and taste the wind. Tell me, is it true what my mother says about the outside? That the outside is what made me sick, that the outside is why I am dying?

KELSIE - I…I’m not sure if you’re dying–

YVETTE - Please do not lie to me, Kelsie. I consider you the one I love the most, I consider you the bridge between spring and my linoleum prison here. You know that I am dying. I know that I am dying. 

A PAUSE.

YVETTE - Did the buzzing cicadas of summer, the browning leaves of autumn, the frozen lakes of winter, and the apricots of spring do this to me? Is the outside the reason I am dying?

KELSIE - No. No, the outside is not the reason you are dying but instead it is the reason you are living, Yvette. Do you see? Without the spring, without lemons and apricots, you would not be Yvette. Do you see?

YVETTE - Yes. Yes, I see. 

KELSIE - Are you all right?

YVETTE - I am happy. I am going to die, but I am happy to die as Yvette. When I die, it will be spring. I’ll be able to taste tangerines and apples and lemons and apricots. I’ll be able to taste not only the wind, but the sap of the trees and the honey of the bees and the water of the rivers. I am also sad. I am sad that I am here, and am stuck staring at this apricot tree and the birds and wishing I could hear them. But soon, my parents will arrive with a plate of strawberries and I will taste spring. And then I will die. But I will die with spring on my tongue and the promise of a better, unexplored wilderness waiting for me. You see? I am happy, but I am also terribly sad.

KELSIE IS CRYING. SHE IS LOOKING AT YVETTE, WHO IS STILL STARING AT THE AUDIENCE. 

YVETTE - You have helped me and seen me through a clearer lens than even my parents. Do you think the springtime will tell me its name? Do you think it will want me to speak to it like a friend?

KELSIE - Yes, Yvette, but you do not need me to tell this to you. You already know the springtime, you already speak to it with a striking familiarity. It’s waiting for you. 

YVETTE - Would you open the window for me?

KELSIE WALKS TO STAGE FRONT, AND OPENS THE WINDOW. AT THE SAME TIME, AMANDA AND NORMAN ENTER STAGE LEFT. AMANDA AND NORMAN RUSH TO THE WINDOW.

AMANDA - My child! My child, you’re poisoning her! You’re poisoning my child!

NORMAN - What are you doing? My darling, my darling never wanted this. She never wanted this sickness, and now you’re enhancing it?

YVETTE - I asked her to open it.

AMANDA - You witch! You insufferable, evil woman! You’re killing my child! You’re killing my child! After you two were so close! 

NORMAN SLAMS THE WINDOW SHUT.

KELSIE - Ma’am, please, I’ve told you before, fresh air will do nothing except benefit Yvette–

AMANDA - You’re wrong! It’s why she’s sick at all, can’t you see? She’s spent her entire life outside, and now she’s sick! Can’t you see?

KELSIE - Your daughter is dying. Keeping a window shut can’t change that.

NORMAN - She is not dying! We are keeping her safe inside so she can live!

KELSIE - Your daughter has a cell disease. It has nothing to do with the outside world. She’s dying, and she wanted to hear the birds sing and see the apricot tree–

YVETTE - It isn’t apricot. It’s a lemon tree.

NORMAN - It doesn’t matter what it is!

YVETTE - Yes, it does. Lemon trees have different leaf patterns, and did you know that they don’t have seasons?--

AMANDA - You can see it from behind a closed window. See? You get to see the tree now, and you’re safe. Isn’t this nicer than dying? Nicer than being poisoned?

YVETTE - No. It isn’t.

NORMAN - You don’t know that. You’re not thinking clearly, my darling, you’re sick!

YVETTE - The birds were singing. I heard the leaves, they were dancing to the music. I didn’t know they could do that. I don’t want to keep watching spring from behind this window. I’m dying, can’t you see it?

NORMAN - You’re not–

YVETTE - I’m dying, and I am happy. Could I have a strawberry?

A PAUSE. AMANDA HANDS HER A BOX OF STRAWBERRIES. WITHOUT LOOKING, SHE TAKES THE BOX AND EATS ONE.

KELSIE - How did you know it wasn’t an apricot tree? Was it just the leaves?

YVETTE - I could smell it. The wind came and gave me a hug. It’s been a very long time since we’ve seen each other. Did you know lemon trees carry the scent of lemons most of their lives? As long as they keep producing lemons.

AMANDA - Is that what you want? The smell of lemons? Wind? We can get you a fan, we can get you a candle, we can–

FOR THE FIRST TIME, YVETTE TURNS TO LOOK AT HER PARENTS.

YVETTE - I want you to open the window.

NORMAN - It’ll kill you. Can’t you understand? The outside world is sick and poisoned. It’ll kill you.

YVETTE - I told you already. I am dying. I am happy. But I do not want to die with only a taste of lemons carried by the wind. I want to die in the company of wind from the sea, of birds from the south, of lemons from the tree. Can’t you give me that? I do not want to die blinded by fluorescents with nothing except scratchy fabric on my skin. 

YVETTE EATS ANOTHER STRAWBERRY.

NORMAN - Even if it means this will be your last spring? Even if you will die?

YVETTE - I will die regardless. Maybe the outside world will kill me faster. Maybe I am already dead. Regardless. Regardless, I want nothing more than to hear the birds and to taste the wind. Do you understand?

THERE IS A PREGNANT PAUSE. AMANDA AND NORMAN CAST GLANCES AT EACH OTHER, BEFORE LOOKING AT KELSIE. WITHOUT A MOMENT’S HESITATION, KELSIE RE-OPENS THE WINDOW. YVETTE VISIBLY RELAXES, AND STARES AT NOTHING. SHE THEN CLOSES HER EYES AND LAYS DOWN.

KELSIE - Yvette?

YVETTE - Yes?

KELSIE - Will you tell the springtime about me?

YVETTE - Yes. I will bring you lemons and apricots from springtime, and we will share them. Is that good?

KELSIE - It is. I can’t wait.

END SCENE