and from the inside in
Sukoon-Mag-Issue-6-S-2015 Sukoon-Mag-Issue-6-S-2015
SCENE 2 Lights up. The girl returns to the chair and sits. She places her hands flat on the table, closes her eyes. Her head falls forward. You can see the mask clearly now, green, covering one side of her face. MANJU, an Indian woman, also in her twenties, enters and sits on the other chair. She takes a nail file from her pocket, picks up the girl’s hand and starts buffing her nails. Sounds of Bollywood SONGS slowly RISE on a radio we can’t see. Manju hums as she buffs. The Girl slowly opens her eyes and raises her head. She yawns. MANJU Welcome back, Madam. Have a good doze, Madam? GIRL Ms. MANJU Oh. I thought the mister that you came with made you madam. GIRL No. MANJU Miss, what beautiful nails you have. Bloody beautiful, if I may say so. The girl laughs, intrigued. MANJU So sorry, Madam, I mean Miss. It is a bad word but I love it. She giggles. She has a distinctive voice. MANJU Isn’t it good, my “bloody?” I practiced it watching those Bond movies. Uska nam kya hai? (what’s his name) GIRL James. His name is James. 17
MANJU Those only, Miss. I watch those only over and over again. If you heard me with your eyes closed, you wouldn’t even know I’m not a native. I mean, Miss, would you... The Girl already has her eyes closed. GIRL Go ahead. MANJU If I bloody well say so, then it bloody well is so. Those bloody people. No bloody manners. Now open your bloody eyes and look at me, I said... The girl opens her eyes and smiles. GIRL You’re bloody perfect. MANJU (giggling) Thank you, thank you, Miss. The hundreds of times I have practiced bloody, I can’t even tell you, can’t even count... GIRL Try. MANJU Twenty times a day, every day for a week - that makes twenty into five... No, wait... regular week is seven days, so that is twenty into... A GUNSHOT offstage followed by a recognizably Palestinian SONG like “Wayn A Ramallah.” The Girl and Manju listen. MANJU You want me to change the channel, Miss? I can’t stand these shouting-bouting movies. GIRL That’s the news, Manju. 18
- Page 1 and 2: Volume 3 Issue 2 Summer 2015 From t
- Page 3 and 4: 58 Nada Faris Janus/Portunus 64 Ann
- Page 5 and 6: Finding the words, oil on canvas 10
- Page 7 and 8: Thinking of lost cities mixed media
- Page 9 and 10: HIDDEN STORIES On the upper slopes
- Page 11 and 12: the country. She raised three sons,
- Page 13 and 14: Moon Dancing in the Courtyard of th
- Page 15 and 16: She slowly, sinuously leans towards
- Page 17 and 18: He ties the scarf back around his n
- Page 19: NIDAL ...just so... They slowly ris
- Page 23 and 24: Seek - acrylic on canvas - 50 x 70
- Page 25 and 26: “The sexually immoral will be in
- Page 27 and 28: I flop down onto the bed and cover
- Page 29 and 30: “From the Eye of the Sun” O chi
- Page 31 and 32: To Market, to Market Omdurman, Suda
- Page 33 and 34: Demagogue The lie spread from his l
- Page 35 and 36: Montagne I Aquarellé, 2015 by ETEL
- Page 37 and 38: Psychoacoustics no. 1 by Mark tardi
- Page 39 and 40: Falafel Chickpeas herbs and spices
- Page 41 and 42: Traveler When you visit the dead do
- Page 43 and 44: Etel Adnan: What drives me on? I re
- Page 45 and 46: emerging from the ashes of our patr
- Page 47 and 48: The Melancholy Oud By Sahar Mustafa
- Page 49 and 50: I nod and then he slides the instru
- Page 51 and 52: Mother and The Lover’s Rock A bli
- Page 53 and 54: TERROR/MATHEMATICS After the behead
- Page 55 and 56: Losses 1. All those nights we didn
- Page 57 and 58: Dinnertime The forks to probe are w
- Page 59 and 60: ORCHARD Given a river last I saw yo
- Page 61 and 62: Growing Up Solid in Kuwait At first
- Page 63 and 64: “This secret breathing”: The Po
- Page 65 and 66: trust me if words do not first crac
- Page 67 and 68: PROPHET A river sloshes through Egy
- Page 69 and 70: Vereshchagin’s “Doors” All en
SCENE 2<br />
Lights up. The girl returns to <strong>the</strong> chair <strong>and</strong> sits.<br />
She places her h<strong>and</strong>s flat on <strong>the</strong> table, closes her<br />
eyes. Her head falls forward. You can see <strong>the</strong> mask<br />
clearly now, green, cover<strong>in</strong>g one side of her face.<br />
MANJU, an Indian woman, also <strong>in</strong> her twenties,<br />
enters <strong>and</strong> sits on <strong>the</strong> o<strong>the</strong>r chair. She takes a<br />
nail file <strong>from</strong> her pocket, picks up <strong>the</strong> girl’s<br />
h<strong>and</strong> <strong>and</strong> starts buff<strong>in</strong>g her nails. Sounds of<br />
Bollywood SONGS slowly RISE on a radio we can’t<br />
see. Manju hums as she buffs. The Girl slowly<br />
opens her eyes <strong>and</strong> raises her head. She yawns.<br />
MANJU<br />
Welcome back, Madam. Have a good doze, Madam?<br />
GIRL<br />
Ms.<br />
MANJU<br />
Oh. I thought <strong>the</strong> mister that you came with made you<br />
madam.<br />
GIRL<br />
No.<br />
MANJU<br />
Miss, what beautiful nails you have. Bloody beautiful,<br />
if I may say so.<br />
The girl laughs, <strong>in</strong>trigued.<br />
MANJU<br />
So sorry, Madam, I mean Miss. It is a bad word but I<br />
love it.<br />
She giggles. She has a dist<strong>in</strong>ctive voice.<br />
MANJU<br />
Isn’t it good, my “bloody?” I practiced it watch<strong>in</strong>g<br />
those Bond movies. Uska nam kya hai? (what’s his name)<br />
GIRL<br />
James. His name is James.<br />
17
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