Come Closer

A dark comedy, introducing one of the most original concepts of the transition to alterlife.

 

COME CLOSER

  Scene One

SETTING: a semi – private patient room in an unknown hospital.

AT RISE: Late afternoon. 27 year old SCOTT just regains consciousness from a bad car accident and he slowly opens his eyes to unfamiliar surroundings. Lying on a bed next to him is PAUL, a 55 year old guy who is treated for brain injury. Scott starts to digest what has happened to him.

SCOTT

How long have I been out?

Unaware that Scott had woken up; Paul is startled and turns his head towards Scott, leaving his gaze off the window for the first time that day.

PAUL

Welcome back to the world.

(putting on his smile; then realizing that he hasn’t answered Scott’s question).

Too long, kid. Your woman paid you a visit like… countless.   Then, she probably realized that prayers and kisses couldn’t bring man back to the princess, and then she just stopped coming.

SCOTT

That b***h ain’t my woman. She ain’t anybody’s woman. Just a lonely girl on the street, looking for the riches to rip off.

PAUL

You’re one of those riches then?

SCOTT

No. That’s why she’s one of those stupids.

Paul then turns his head back to the window’s direction.

PAUL

To be fair, she managed to be your only loyal visitor for some time. No one else came looking for you.

                   SCOTT

Story of my life.    

                    PAUL

Let me guess; bitter childhood, had very few people to hang onto?

                   SCOTT

Close. Bitter lifetime with absolutely nothing to hold onto.  

                   PAUL

How so?

                   SCOTT

Mom left the world exactly as I entered. Then Dad versus the sorrow, the sorrow won..committing suicide not long after, leaving me with... nothing. I was then seen as a big bundle of burden and avoided by relatives. I had to survive living on the street..

                   PAUL

     (interrupts)

Son, there are always positives in every experience if you want to find it.

                   SCOTT

Nope, old man. Ain’t no silver nothing in my dark, stormy cloud. No matter how hard I tried to find it. Hey, what’s out the window anyway? My face is over here, but you keep staring out there.

                   PAUL

Oh, I just can’t get bored looking at this. There is this very beautiful garden outside this hospital.

                   SCOTT

Really? I didn’t know that there’s such hospital in town.

                   PAUL

Me neither. Maybe it’s sort of therapeutic landscape, for rehabilitation kind of thing. None of the people I see looks like a patient, though. They seem so joyful. Children running around with their angelic smile, Parents are sitting and relaxing on the benches. Fishes swimming around in the ponds and there’s this beautiful multicolor rainbow sitting right on top of them.

SCOTT

I can’t see anything from here. And my legs wouldn’t move an inch. Do you mind if I ask nurse to switch beds? you’ve been there since like.. you were my age maybe.

            PAUL

No problem. The emergency button to call the nurse is over there near our beds, on the right hand side.

The nurse rushed to the room not long after

NURSE

Hey, Mr. Roberts. You’re finally awake. Is everything all right?

SCOTT

Yeah. Yeah. No, me and my roomie over here were just kinda feeling that there’s a bit of injustice going on, because I wasn’t awake when we first drew straws on who gets which bed. And now we’d like to switch’em.

                                      NURSE

I’m sorry Mr. Roberts, but unless you have a health related reason, it will be a bit risky to move Mr. Anderson just for a matter of convenience.

                                        SCOTT

Babe, I’m beggin’ ya.

   NURSE

Please do call me though if there’s a real emergency.

(exits the room and closes the door a little bit hard for Scott’s liking)

                      SCOTT

     (sigh)

A b***h and a door always go together.

                         PAUL

We don’t always get what we want.

                                SCOTT

Don’t I know it.

                                 PAUL

You remind me of my son so much.

SCOTT

Oh, come on. Do i need to hear this?

                                 PAUL

No, I’m serious. He was this very sweet kid. Then one time, he was called to serve and joined the military in his mid twenties. Then he was involved in this never-ending, exhausting fire exchange down in the east. When he once came back visiting us, he came home a changed man. He said, “If you saw what I saw, you’ll see there is absolutely zero point to be kind to the world or its people when they’ve been been nothing short of unkind to you.”

                                SCOTT

Bingo for the boy. No place for sentiment in this cold, cold world. Where is he now? Maybe me and him can moan about the world together over a hot latte?

PAUL

He got shot and passed away when he was on duty not long after.

SCOTT

Oh well, talk about a kind world.

PAUL

Kid..?

Paul’s Hands starts shaking, and he looks very uncomfortable

SCOTT

Yeah?

PAUL

     (stuttering)

Can you..call..nurse? I can’t ..

Paul starts having a bad seizure, while his eyes set on Paul, hoping for the life saving favor of pushing the button. Scott stares back at him, shift his gaze up to the window and then look at Paul’s direction once again.

SCOTT

We don’t always get what we want, huh? For you, maybe.

     (slight pause)

The good news is, old man, your son must have been missing you so much. The long wait is now over. He can say “I told you so!” right in front of your face.

The nurse walks in to check if Scott wants to eat anything.

NURSE

Anything to eat Mr. Rob..

(startled to see Mr. Anderson shaking heavily, then go straight to him to check)

Oh my God, Mr. Anderson! Mr. Anderson! Stay with me.

SCOTT

Yeah. I don’t..need to eat now. I can wait.

NURSE

He’s critical. I gotta move him to the emergency room. Doctor!

                             Scene Two

SETTING: the same semi private room in an unknown hospital.

AT RISE: Three hours after the end of scene one. PAUL has passed away, and SCOTT’s request to switch to the bed near the window is granted, with a new patient, CODY sets to be transferred into the room.

With injuries on his feet, the nurse is helping Scott to move to the bed he craved.

                           SCOTT

Thank you. If this is any consolation, the last thing that the old man said to me was ‘thank the doctors and the nurses, who have been excellent to me’. So, It’s really not your fault, babe.

                                NURSE

This is my first week here. Never had a patient dies in my hand.

SCOTT

I'll make you a deal. If I’m about to die. I’ll stay quiet and die instead of calling you. How’s that?

NURSE

Do not say that. Oh by the way, I’m bringing in a new patient in a few minutes.

SCOTT

Bring him in, babe. The more the merrier.

As Scott starts to see what’s outside the window, a new patient Cody was brought into the bed.

           CODY

Hi there.

                        Scott keeps staring out the window.

CODY

Hey..

Hey pal, what do you see out the window?

                             SCOTT

         (stuttering, with shaky voice)

The garden..it’s burning. The children..the children are running. They look terrified. I Can’t find rainbow, can’t find fishes. What the hell? What is this? Hey, there’s a naked dude..like wandering around. Oh God..with blisters all around his face and..       

       (stops, pulling out a very shocked face)

Holy mother of..

CODY

Something wrong?

SCOTT

I see my dad.

CODY

Oh, he’s coming to visit you? How nice of him.

SCOTT

He comes to pick me up.

CODY

What?

SCOTT

This place is..

(shaking his head)

This is where I’ll end up, and.. and I’m the next to die.

CODY

Huh? What are you talking about?

SCOTT

Hey, new guy. The emergency button. You know where it is?

 

Author's Note

Feedback will be greatly appreciated! Only the second play i've ever written. Hopefully showsa vast improvement from my first. Thanks a bunch!

Reviews

[Aubrai]

This one's really good. It's like reading a book written by Mitch Albom, or the like. Hey! If you're still there, you need to convert this one into a novel. Undeniably funny, witty and all. I liked it so much. :)

[Elana Juli Royson]

You definitly have an interseting concept being formed with in the first two scenes. ALthough, if you intend to get this published, it seems to be better for a movie than a play. This is a great piece and I hope you intend to write more. ~Juli