February 14 Play: HEART OF THE HOME

45: HEART OF THE HOME - by Ed Valentine
© February 14, 2010 * ed@edvalentine.com

LIGHTS UP: A door. A beating sound. Increases through the play. FRED has an axe. JOAN behind him.

JOAN: We shouldn’t.

FRED: We should.

JOAN: It couldn’t be.

FRED: It could!

JOAN: But we were told not to!

FRED: Nonetheless. We can’t live here with that.

JOAN: No. We can’t.

FRED: We’ll never have a moment’s peace.

JOAN: Never never.

FRED: Well then! Be brave, be bold!

JOAN: I am.
-
Do you think I’m not?

FRED: No!

JOAN: No, you don’t think I am brave? Or no, you don’t think I’m not?

FRED: Hush!

JOAN: Okay. I’m scared.

FRED: Me too.

(They join hands. He shoulders the axe. They open the door. We see a giant heart, wet and red, jammed inside a small space. The 2 sink to their knees.)

JOAN: Poor thing. It was there all along.

FRED: I wonder.

JOAN: What?

FRED: I wonder what it wants?

(The heart thumps. They watch it. Lights fade. Red glow.)

END OF PLAY.