#17: SALACIA'S RETURN

Written by
Joseph Frost
Draft
8/21/16
written for the 2016 31 Plays in 31 Days project

Joseph Frost, 2016

4550 Normandy Dr
Jackson, MS 39206
FrostJosephD@gmail.com
* member, Dramatists Guild of America

A wooden deck that overlooks the sea. Winds blow.

GEORGE stands looking out. He wears a heavy pea coat
and boots, and is older and gruff.
SALACIA enters - young and statuesque, wearing a
flowing gown that catches the wind.
George does not turn.
GEORGE
I told you not to come.
SALACIA
I told you I would.
GEORGE
This place is mine. My place to watch the sea.
SALACIA
Ive seen you here before.
GEORGE
Thats why you returned.
SALACIA
I have seen you from afar many times. I wanted to be near you.
GEORGE
Please.
SALACIA
I will not go until you hear me.
GEORGE
This is a place where there is nothing to hear. Just to watch. Tides roll in, waves turn white
and explode. And when they do, another comes along. Right away, and always. Another.
And another. And another.
SALACIA
And yet each is its own.
GEORGE
Unique like the one before. And after.

2.
SALACIA
Will you listen?
GEORGE
I came here to see.
SALACIA
I have something to say.
GEORGE
These winds. Common this time of year. Feel the force blow against your chest. Lean into
it. It holds you. It carries you. And it feels like the hand of god. I swear it does. Nothing
less than the hand of god.
SALACIA
Hear me.
GEORGE
Salt air. Stings the lungs and is residue on the lips. That distinctive smell. The sea.
Between the tongue and the roof of the mouth. The sea. From even so far away.
SALACIA
George.
He turns.
GEORGE
I have no ear for what you have to say. It cant make any difference. I wish it could.
He starts to walk away.
SALACIA
It isnt what you think.
(he stops)
The sea. Standing here, you see the waves, the bright foam, the stirring. You imagine it
teeming with life, and full to the brim, rushing over the top. It all seems motion and light.
Thats not how it is underneath. It is vast. And it is sparse. So much distance and so many
places to be. So many more. It is still. And it is dark. It is lonely.
GEORGE
I can only see what can be shown from here. I cant know more.
SALACIA
But you can listen. I can tell you.

3.
GEORGE
Then speak.
SALACIA
Are you listening?
GEORGE
I am.
Salacia crosses to George.
SALACIA
I have never been far from you.
GEORGE
This is what you wanted to-SALACIA
You have been here, and I have been there. We have been apart. But I have not been far. I
cannot bear to be. But I must, I must, be apart from you. No one regrets that more than I. I
never wanted it to be this way.
GEORGE
But you made it so.
SALACIA
I did. I will not deny.
GEORGE
Left me here to watch you board the ship and sail into the horizon.
SALACIA
Yes.
GEORGE
Left me here. To watch.
SALACIA
I did. Did you watch?
GEORGE
Of course I did.

4.
SALACIA
Did you see me?
GEORGE
I did.
SALACIA
Did you see my face?
GEORGE
I...
SALACIA
Did you see the salt tears rolling down my cheeks?
GEORGE
No.
SALACIA
You couldnt.
GEORGE
No.
SALACIA
Not from here.
GEORGE
No.
SALACIA
No.
(she crosses away)
I had to sail off on the sea.
GEORGE
I know.
SALACIA
I didnt want to. I had to.
GEORGE
I believe you.
SALACIA
But I knew I would return. To here. To you.

5.
GEORGE
You did?
SALACIA
Yes.
GEORGE
I didnt know you would return.
SALACIA
I couldnt have said.
GEORGE
I was told your ship went down.
SALACIA
Yes.
GEORGE
It went down in the storm.
SALACIA
It did.
GEORGE
I was told you had drowned.
SALACIA
Yes. I know.
GEORGE
I lost all hope.
SALACIA
I know.
GEORGE
You were gone and never returning.
SALACIA
But I am here. With you.
GEORGE
I know that now.

6.
SALACIA
Do you?
GEORGE
Yes. I do.
Salacia embraces George.
George smells her hair.
SALACIA
I have longed for this.
GEORGE
And I.
SALACIA
I have returned to you. For you. From the depths. The dark. The infinence. I am here.
GEORGE
I told you not to return.
SALACIA
I could never listen.
They continue to embrace.
Lights down.
End.