Alysse Aallyn

Category: #Law

  • Rough Sleep – the Last Scene – play by Alysse Aallyn

    CORSO’s voice

    I stand at the ready to assist my adorable Jazz.

    SCENE XVI – JAZZ’S DORM ROOM

    (Ordinary dorm room with desk lights, two twin beds, built ins. JAZZ feels her body as if to reassure herself that it’s still there. CORSO – bare-chested – is sitting on one of the beds, studying a laptop)

    CORSO

    Lose something?

    JAZZ

    I lost everything. What are you doing here?

    CORSO

    Installing fun software. You seem distraught – your mood begs improvement. Come over here into the light and let me look at you. 

    JAZZ

    I’m not distraught, I’m disgusted. Hey, that’s my laptop.

    CORSO

    Nothing human disgusts. Take it from me, you’re going to love your new social media interface.

    JAZZ

    The thing that disgusted me wasn’t human.  Is your software a game?

    CORSO

    Everything worth doing devolves into game. As your administrator, I’m in charge of upgrades. We’ll do Mr. Quinn next. Any idea where he’s been hiding?

    JAZZ

    Stevie Farrell, din’t you mean? How did you get in here?

    CORSO

    I’m loco parentis, poor, suspicious little Jazz, just checking up. You’ve been keeping such bad company. And Stevie’s not the worst of it – there’s a prowler around campus who seems to have it in for you. Let’s hope it’s not too late to put your feet on a better course.

    JAZZ

    I’m leaving if you’re not.

                               CORSO

    Poor Jazz, what can we do to mitigate these fears?

                               JAZZ

                      (Throws herself impulsively on the other bed)

    I’m not afraid of you. 

    CORSO

    I see we have much work ahead.

    JAZZ

    (She finds his shirt – reacts like it’s infectious and throws it at him)

    Why can’t you keep your clothes on?

    CORSO

    (Catching the shirt effortlessly)

    Stevie and I were very informal; I was hoping we could be informal too.  I gather he confessed his proclivities to you?

    JAZZ

    I heard a lot about how you can’t be trusted.

    CORSO

    Credulous Jazz! We must teach you discernment. Education is challenge, not safety or comfort – I strengthen minds and bodies to appreciate, manipulate and surmount reality. Recreate your own world. If you don’t want those things, then you’re fodder like the rest of them.

     (fans himself with the shirt)

    These rooms are very hot.  Do you know the trick to opening these windows? Aren’t you feeling overdressed? 

    JAZZ

    I saw your game.

    CORSO

    I borrowed bodies that weren’t being used! And aren’t you the better for it?  Restful sleep, interesting dreams, AND a paycheck, now there’s a deal. I’ll throw in little Stevie to be your guide.

    JAZZ

    How can we converse when you pervert language?  You pervert language and ideas. You pervert bodies.

    CORSO

    Debate’s not your forte, Jazz. I can assist with that. You entered this room requesting an upgrade in your selective amnesia. It’s something we all must have, otherwise none of us could function. I can help you control it.

    JAZZ

    If it comes from you, I don’t want it.

    CORSO

    Poor little Jazz! Who could you be channeling – me or him? Or perhaps it’s that desperado asking everyone for scuttlebutt? 

    JAZZ

    I went with the flow till the flow tried to drown me. I’m becoming my own person.

    CORSO

    All freshmen think that. Is the real Jazz so robotic? You used to be so much more fun. You were quite the adventurer.

    (laughs)

    Let’s laugh together. Why so serious? 

     (mimes a ridiculously pulled down clown face)

    Life unlocks all its secret pleasures once you master the key.

    CHASE

    (Bursts into the room)

    Is the key murder?  Soul murder, followed by physical murder to make sure the souls stay dead?

    (JAZZ vaults to her feet, they hug, obviously drawing strength from one another)

                               CHASE

    Stand up, you bastard.

    CORSO

    Oh, can the paranoia, little Steve. Victimology is so limiting. Jazz and I aren’t involved, if that’s what’s bothering you. We share a strictly business relationship. There’s room for you, too if you down your tools of self-destruction.

                      (Rises imposingly. He’s bigger than CHASE)

    CHASE

    We have all the proof we need.  You can’t get away with it.

    JAZZ

    The bodies are piling up.

                               CORSO

    But they long to pile, and not feel guilty! Everyone wants to be a porn star!

    CHASE

    We know what you did.

    CORSO

    What a shame, then, that you felt the need to mime unconsciousness. When will feel your feelings and live your truth? Isn’t that what youth is all about?

    JAZZ

    Being drugged isn’t truth!

    CORSO

    Yet you – both of you – acceded to all of it. Names along the bottom line. The law says you’re adults.

    JAZZ

    I know what you did is illegal!

    CORSO

    Fashion to law, little Jazz, and with such startling speed!  Too bad the law is amorphous, the law’s in transition, it’s a creature of fashion just as you were. Things that were illegal last year are perfectly legal today. People go to court and bankrupt themselves to “win” – ask your sad friend – but the law doesn’t help them feel they have won. They spend the rest of their lives trying to recapture the glow of surrender.

    CHASE

    You are vile and despicable – everything about you is saturated with evil.

    CORSO

    I see that you two have made loserdom your bond.  It’s so unhealthy, all this focus on the past. You could enjoy both youth and wealth, but you consciously choose misery. Let’s try ratiocination for a change. Who gives benefits and who gives problems? Haven’t I made all your tiny dreams come true?  You can have Mr. Quinn if you want him, Jazz, anyone can. Now let’s concentrate on upgrading these immature fantasies.

    CHASE

    What if we tell the Dean?

    CORSO

    Who, Bernie? I’m sure you’ll find Bernie doesn’t expect me to police my students’ very randy sex and dream lives.  Bernie and I understand each other perfectly. People love porn, everyone wants an avatar and to feel like a creator.  Let’s consecrate all this blood and shit to transcendental purposes.

    JAZZ

    You use words you can’t understand. We’re soulmates. We’ve seen worlds of possibility, of universe and time.

    CORSO

    You’re welcome!

    JAZZ

    You’ll never know what we can do.

    CORSO

    Pretty sure I can guess. Everything except freedom?

    CHASE

    Your freedom is all fake. You’re nothing but an appetite.  All you create are slaves.

    CORSO

    Oh. Slaves! In a limitless universe, slaves are no fun at all. It’s such a bore always having to direct.

    (fanning himself)

    Jazz, how can you tolerate this hideous heat? I know there’s a trick to these windows.  

    (Successfully opens window)

    Stevie, get us a drink. Let’s sit down and talk this over like grownups.  

    CHASE

    Not a chance.

    (BEX appears spot-lit on the TOWER LIFT, scanning with his binoculars, holding his shotgun at the ready. He sights his quarry & racks his slide)

    JAZZ

    Look out the window, Dr. Corso.

    (She pulls CHASE away)

    Tell me what you see.

    CORSO

    (Peering)

    Who’s out there, Jazz? Bile stained, piss stained revenants skulking home for parietals? 

    (BEX climbs awkwardly out on the tower lift, hooking his leg, trying to get a good shot)

    CORSO

    (Waves out at the world)

    Run home, little oneironauts! Your memory cards expired!

    (JAZZ grabs CHASE and pulls him to the floor. Shots ring out. CORSO, looks down at his chest as red stains bloom across his back. Plummets slowly out through the window. Recoil causes BEXto lose his footing – drop his gun – throw his arms up – cry out – fall)

                      JAZZ

    Set a demon to catch a demon!

    CHASE

    May the aspirations of murderers always overreach.

    JAZZ

    And those of lovers override.

    CHASE

    Time to free the others? Whether they like it or not?

    JAZZ

    Kiss me.

    (They kiss. Sacred music, pink glitter. DARKNESS.  FINAL CURTAIN)

    END

  • Rough Sleep – a play by Alysse Aallyn

    (At Hadleigh Hall, a body lies under a tarp)

    SOLIZ

    They’re not letting anyone in. Do you know who lives in Room 824?

    JAZZ

    Actually, I live there.

    SOLIZ

    Oh, you do, do you? Well, some guy fell out your window.

    JAZZ

    Just like your dream!

    SOLIZ

    (threateningly)

    I don’t know what you’re talking about.

    CHASE

    Some guy? Who?

    SOLIZ

    Unidentified.  You can’t see him, he’s under a tent.

    CHASE

    Can’t Jazz collect her stuff?

    SOLIZ

    Come back later. It’s chaos over there.

    (SOLIZ frees them from tape; JAZZ and CHASE lurch off downstage)

    JAZZ

    This is Soliz’s dream. I remember if she doesn’t.

                               CHASE

    Except this was a guy.

    JAZZ

    Let’s hope it was Bex.

    CHASE

    So now you’re pro-violence?

    JAZZ

    Who’s saying I pushed him? It would be so unlike me.

    CHASE

    So, no going home for you.

    JAZZ

    Hadleigh was never my home.

    CHASE

    Well, you can camp out at my place while we figure out what to do with this new corpse.

    JAZZ

    Makes me harder for Bex to find. On the other hand when he does, he’ll just get madder.

    CHASE

    We’ve got enough problems without worrying about satisfying his unsatisfiable psyche. We’ve got three dead bodies!

    JAZZ

    And God knows how many crime scenes. Explain exactly why soulmating requires detective work?

    CHASE

    Maybe nature is one big crime scene. Red of tooth and claw.

    JAZZ

    You and your classical education.

                               CHASE

    Voilã! Here we are at my place.  

    SCENE VIII – Lights go up on CHASE’S APT – disheveled male bedroom/kitchenette

    JAZZ

    This is definitely a crime scene.

    (Throws herself into a low-slung chair)

    CHASE

    (Sitting close)

    You expected harp music? Hey, you admitted your life was a crime scene too. 

    JAZZ

    I guess I thought the point of soulmates is all the hard work would be magically be done.

    CHASE

    So no going over the past trying to understand and explain the mess? Wouldn’t that be nice!

    JAZZ

    Why can’t we just escape the mess?  The mess would no longer matter. We could rise above the mess.

    CHASE

    Your fantasy forgets about the demons. If we’ve unleashed demons –

    JAZZ

    Who’s to say we unleashed them?  I’m not responsible for Bex.

    CHASE

    Yet he’s out there, rampaging. At least I know I’m responsible for Corso.

    JAZZ

    But Corso’s using your involvement to keep his rampage going. Oh. Touché. I see what you mean.

    CHASE

    We’re dissociating. Living each other’s nightmares.

    JAZZ

    At least we’re braving hell together.

    (they touch hands) 

    CHASE

    If it’s purgatory, graduation’s a possibility.

    JAZZ

    We’re on a multiple universe scavenger hunt! 

    CHASE

    A time and space jigsaw puzzle!

    JAZZ

    We need to get to the crime scene before the crime happens.

    CHASE

    How would we know it was a crime scene?

    JAZZ

    Tell me what you know. What Corso did to you.

    CHASE

    God! You know I don’t want to talk about it.

                               JAZZ

    What specifically are you afraid will happen if you talk about it?

    CHASE

    That this whole thing would shatter right in front of me. I would wreck – whatever this is happening between us.

    JAZZ

    Maybe we’re meant to reveal, not repair, each other’s real selves.

    CHASE

    Let’s talk about your fears and malfeasance. That’s more fun for me.

    JAZZ

    Somebody increased power by sucking out ours. We’re going to reclaim it. Tell your soulmate what Dr. Corso did to you. 

    CHASE

    If you know, aren’t you ruined too? How can I stay with someone who knows this disgusting thing about me?

    JAZZ

    I guess we’ll just have to see.  We need to free ourselves to be with each other. 

    CHASE

    But there’s the difference, right there – you left Bex,  I pursued Corso. I came after him. 

    JAZZ

    You are so competitive. If you need to be “worst”, prove it.

    CHASE

    He was a teacher at my choir school. Latin, of all things. We spent an eternity on the Aeneid. God, I hate talking about this. I haven’t talked about it since I was fifteen, with the lawyers and judges.

    JAZZ

    He molested you?

    CHASE

    Between my ninth and thirteenth years. He had a way of making us compete to be “the favorite”. If you could just get on that easy street, life became golden. Finally I saw what a prisoner I was. Mustered up the courage to get the hell out of there.

    JAZZ

    Jesus.

    CHASE

    Great pillow talk, huh?  And that’s not the worst of it.

    JAZZ

    How could it get worse?

    CHASE

    I brought him other boys.  Whatever he wanted.

    JAZZ

    You were a kid.  None of this could possibly be your fault.

    CHASE

    Yet here I am. Still a slave.

    JAZZ

    But you found your soulmate.

    (They hug)

    How did it end?

    CHASE

    It hasn’t ended. I mean, the sex thing ended when Corso met my sister – my twin sister – and decided he was ready to branch out. He was like, deliver her or else.  That woke me up. I went home and refused to go back to school.  I finally told my parents.

    JAZZ

    And?

    CHASE

    They pretty much behaved the worst they possibly could.  First, they didn’t believe me. My dad has always been a total bastard making fun of me for singing in a high voice and wearing a lace collar and Mom was sort of a “the church can do no wrong” nut. You know, like, who are you going to believe, a priest or your own lying eyes?  They just couldn’t take it in.  But then a kid at school hanged himself and things started to snowball. Corso got kicked out. People started suing. My dad smelled a payday. The other families accepted settlements not to squeal. Everybody settled except my father. He was holding out for the Big Money that was going to make all his dreams come true.

    JAZZ

    Then what?

    CHASE

    What always happens with my Dad.  He was having such a good  time holding the whip, he waited too long. The minute I turned sixteen, I got legally emancipated. I could prove that Dad was hitting me – I had the sense to record him – so the judge refused to give Dad the cash. Dad declared bankruptcy and I finished high school on my own. Living at the Y.

    (Restless pacing)

    So on top of everything else, I’m singlehandedly responsible for the destruction of my family.

    JAZZ

    Scapegoating. People need someone to blame, it’s another form of hostage-taking. This isn’t your fault.  Time to forgive yourself.

    CHASE

    Oh, that’ll be easy. Walk in the park.

    JAZZ

    I’m still here.

  • Trials Inspire Fiction – by Alysse Aallyn

    GREAT TRIALS INSPIRE FICTION

    A trial is a cutaway of its time and place, a look not just into mores and modalities but secrets and sewage. Two of the most interesting trials I have seen – and I watched every day – were Beth Carpenter’s trial in New London, CT and Michael Peterson’s in Raleigh, N.C. (both 2002, both for first degree murder.)

    Each trial exposed the inner workings of a family (two families in the Carpenter case) and were so enormously influential for me that I wrote fiction about them.

    Both trials revealed levels of shocking hypocrisy so deep we could have been in Victorian London; these accused would do anything to get what they wanted while maintaining social appearances.

    At the time of his wife’s death Michael Peterson was gay sexting on hotmilitarystud.com; and although he insisted his wife knew about his affairs her daughter (who lived with them) did not think so. But the real shock in this case was that an identical death was exhumed from his past – another woman who died on bloody staircase. Both skulls revealed seven blows to the top of the head.

    The first woman’s daughters – whom Peterson acquired along with her assets – thought she had died of an aneurysm. What would it feel like to see their mother’s real skull revealed in court for all the world to see? That was the genesis of Depraved Heart, though I changed everything else to create my own world.

    In the Carpenter case, Beth came from a family of strivers who felt soiled and humiliated by their other daughter’s marriage to a part time stripper tow truck driver. Beth was accustomed to ordering her boyfriends around – two of them testified that she took over their cars and bank accounts as soon as they showed interest. Her boss, Hayman Clein, a successful Connecticut real estate attorney, fell for her attractions and became her virtual slave. When she asked him to find her a hit man, he offered up his coke dealer – and the three of them went down for the crime. That this simple ask keeping her own hands clean made Beth a murderer too is something she should have known – she also was a lawyer.

    I used aspects of her overpowering character to create my Queen of Swords.

    It’s a truism that real life needs to be toned down for fiction: no one would believe it.

  • Queen of Swords – the Tarot play by Alysse Aallyn

    SCENE 6


    (Lights up on – Graveyard with sign, DEAD LAKE CEMETERY. WHITNEY approaches to read a stone aloud)


    WHITNEY
    “John Doe – a friendless stranger. The Lord will recognize His own”.


    (Enter a grave-tending woman, MRS DAVISH with basket of gardening tools and wheeled cart of plants.)


    MRS. DAVISH
    Did you know that poor lost soul?


    WHITNEY
    Looks like nobody knew him.


    MRS. DAVISH
    (Pulls an ear trumpet off her cart and holds it to her head)
    What’s that you say? Speak up.


    WHITNEY
    A trumpet!


    MRS. DAVISH
    Just funning with you! My hearing’s perfect.


    (Tosses the trumpet back on the cart.)


    You wouldn’t believe the things people leave on graves around here. And the signs say, Plants Only. Trust me, Great Grampster hears fine in heaven. Care to purchase a remembrance for this grave? It would be very thoughtful of you.


    WHITNEY
    I’m not sure he’s the right one. Is he the only John Doe you’ve got?


    MRS. DAVISH
    He’s the only one. Usually people no one can identify go straight to paupers’ field. But the Hidden Glade developers paid for this poor gentleman.


    WHITNEY
    Why would they?


    MRS. DAVISH
    Maybe ‘cause they’re the ones that disturbed his peace by digging him up. But they didn’t bother to buy the perpetual care — that is rarer than hen’s teeth… They do say nothing is perpetual but my fond fancy… Look, I could just give you some flowers if you’re not too particular.


    (Rummages in her cart)

    WHITNEY
    Nothing for me, thank you. Doesn’t he ever get … remembrances?


    MRS. DAVISH
    Never. Poor lost soul. Anything that’s ever been on that grave, I’ve put there myself.


    WHITNEY
    Well, that’s peculiar, don’t you think?


    MRS. DAVISH
    Not in the least. It’s the rule, really. You’d be surprised. No one speaks for the dead.


    WHITNEY
    But when you want to speak up for them, it seems like they object.


    MRS. DAVISH
    (Smiles at her)


    Some of them can get a little noisy.


    WHITNEY
    So how long have you been working here?


    MRS. DAVISH
    Oh! Thirty years. Thirty-five years, off and on. My grandmother brought me every Sunday. You could call it a ritual. You’re welcome to try breaking out of long-established rituals – but it can’t be done.

    WHITNEY
    Glad I found you. Seems lately I owe everything to people living in the past. So this man was buried by the Dead Lake developers, eh?


    MRS. DAVISH
    Sssh. They don’t like the connection to anything “dead”. Hidden Glade, it’s called these days. Yup, a backhoe tossed this man up and out like a ragdoll!


    WHITNEY
    But where’d they find him?


    MRS. DAVISH
    Heavens, I don’t know! You never saw such a frenzy of obfuscation! One of those houses around the lake they bulldozed is all I know. There’s no fact-getting at this late date.


    (WHITNEY looks depressed – MRS DAVISH leans to stage whisper)


    But they did have to call the cops!


    (Sage nodding. WHITNEY perks up)


    WHITNEY
    And why’s that?


    MRS. DAVISH
    (Leans forward to whisper)


    He was as full of lead as a shad full of roe! They took some out and left the other ones inside!


    (Pats tombstone lovingly)


    Died of “heavy metal” poisoning, poor old thing.


    WHITNEY
    Wow! Not a popular guy.


    MRS. DAVISH
    Either that, or he was far too popular to suit somebody.


    (They laugh)


    WHITNEY
    But couldn’t they tell what house he came from?


    MRS. DAVISH
    I’m telling you they didn’t want to know! Tenants had been pushed out and disappeared long before.


    (Pulls down an eyelid)


    There’s none so blind as those who will not see.


    WHITNEY
    I guess ancient corpses full of bullets are pretty blind, too.


    MRS. DAVISH
    True, true. Who wants to buy a property that had a murder on it? Who signs up for a haunting? Said they owed it to the shareholders to hush things up. But truth is the daughter of time, not of authority, says the poet.


    WHITNEY
    Surely somebody checked for missing people!


    MRS. DAVISH
    Oh naturally. Naturally. But nobody was missing! Everyone accounted for. He was some poor stranger.


    WHITNEY
    So maybe it was a “good riddance” situation.


    MRS. DAVISH
    Most likely.


    WHITNEY
    (Jubilant)
    Under the circumstances, then, I’d like to buy some flowers.


    MRS. DAVISH
    The pinks are magnificent this time of year. Or acacia. Means “Secret love” in the language of flowers, not that anyone tries speaking that no more. But for those of us in the know, it lends a little added pleasure. Got some beautiful violets just coming into bloom.


    WHITNEY
    The language of flowers, eh? So what do violets mean?


    MRS. DAVISH
    Faithful love.


    (Quoting)


    “The faithful shall be rewarded,” that’s what the violets say.


    WHITNEY
    But what will we get, I wonder?


    (Flower exchange. LIGHTS OUT.)

  • Queen of Swords – the Tarot play by Alysse Aallyn

    SCENE 5


    (The Hamptons. Lights up on WHITNEY, sitting against the boulder, staring out at the ocean, drinking from a bottle of tequila. EIGHT approaches and sits beside her silently.)


    EIGHT
    What? No door hammering? Your fists must be sore.


    WHITNEY
    I’m waiting for her to come out and swim. She usually does – when the moon is full. Then I’m going to brain her with this bottle. Which will be empty at that point.


    (EIGHT takes the bottle away)


    EIGHT
    Save the tequila for her. You catch more flies with the tequila than by trying to smash them drunkenly with a bottle.

    WHITNEY
    Hey, but at least I’d feel better.


    EIGHT
    Let’s play a game. Role-play with me. What were you planning to say to her?


    WHITNEY
    (Screwing up her face with struggle)


    I guess… nothing. She scares me so badly I can’t think. You should hear the way she talks to me! I can’t break through this “I’m a great lady and you’re a poor little supplicant” routine. I was planning on getting drunk and then maybe having enough courage to wing it.


    EIGHT
    This sounds like HER game plan. Deer in the headlights.


    WHITNEY
    Well, it’s working.


    (She tries to wrestle the bottle away – he keeps tight control)


    Hey! It’s MY bottle!


    EIGHT
    Wait for it to hit you before you pack on more. You probably need every bit of this for her – she strikes me as a hard drinker. Take my word for it, booze and ocean are a dangerous combination.


    WHITNEY
    Is that so?


    EIGHT
    I know from personal experience.


    WHITNEY
    Is that how you died?


    EIGHT
    (Points to his chest)


    Me? Last time I checked I was a conscious, breathing human being.


    WHITNEY
    I’ve been seeing too many ghosts lately. I guess some of them aren’t even dead yet.


    EIGHT
    (Sits down beside her)


    Lay off of that stuff if you want to know what’s real.


    (Long lingering kiss)


    That real enough for you?


    WHITNEY
    (She stares at him a long time)


    I’m not sure. I think I need another one.


    (He obliges.)


    EIGHT
    Ready to tell me what happened?


    WHITNEY
    And here I was figuring you were all knowing!


    EIGHT
    It’s easy to be all knowing about someone else’s business. It’s my own that has me stumped. Share what you discovered.


    WHITNEY
    Well, you sent me spinning off to confront her and get my fortune read. She told me some people don’t have souls.


    EIGHT
    She’s lying. I’m all-knowing enough about that.


    WHITNEY
    She says people lose their souls.


    EIGHT
    She’s messing with you. Don’t believe a word she says.


    WHITNEY
    So after we find out she’s an identity thief whose prey has mysteriously disappeared you send me dancing off to see who else she’s murdered. Guess what! Turns out here WAS a guy, she probably did it but we’ll never prove it.


    EIGHT
    What makes you so sure?

    WHITNEY
    The police destroyed the evidence! On purpose!


    (She leans toward him and whispers conspiratorially)


    “GRASSY KNOLL”

    .
    EIGHT
    You can still win this. Even with incompetent police, bedfellow prosecutors and bribable jailers you can win this.


    WHITNEY
    Why’s that?


    EIGHT
    Karma. Also known as, what comes around goes around.


    WHITNEY
    We WISH.


    EIGHT
    All you need’s more time. Cons simply can’t get away with it forever. Call it “hanging in there”. You have to let destiny know that you won’t let go.


    WHITNEY
    Did you say “Destiny?” That was her stripper name!


    EIGHT
    See? It started already! Be as wily as a serpent and as gentle as a dove.

    WHITNEY
    I think I aced the “gentle” part.


    EIGHT
    So all you need is wily. Ever asked yourself why she wastes time with you? Hasn’t she got everything she wants? What’s she hanging around here for?


    WHITNEY
    She enjoys torturing people, and the better she knows them the more fun it is.


    EIGHT
    Maybe. I think she needs something from you and you need to figure out what that is.


    WHITNEY
    She did say I reminded her of herself. I was so horrified I almost upchucked.


    EIGHT
    There you go! She’s looking for an heir! A protégée!


    WHITNEY
    She actually used that word!


    EIGHT
    See? You’re on your way!


    WHITNEY
    But why me?

                EIGHT

    Maybe she’s lonely.


    WHITNEY
    Why not somebody more malleable? Who LIKES her and is impressed by her?


    EIGHT
    Maybe you represent a challenge. She’s probably in awe of you. Maybe she’s a little bit in love with you.


    WHITNEY
    As if! She’s always talking about how terrible my body is and how I need to get it fixed.


    EIGHT
    Talks about your body, does she? I think we’re onto something.


    WHITNEY
    She doesn’t “fall in love”, she tries to seduce people. It isn’t the same thing.


    EIGHT
    Maybe she thinks it is. Here, Whit. I’ve got something for you. I’ve got something for you.


    (Reaches in his pocket and hands her small object.)


    WHITNEY
    What’s this? A bullet?

    EIGHT
    I’m a treasure hunter, right? There I was minding my own business sweeping this particular patch of beach and your stepmother came out of her house and took a shot at me. So I waited to find the bullet and then I dug it out.


    WHITNEY
    She shot at you?


    EIGHT
    More than once, using some very unladylike language.


    (Puts her hand on his heart)


    Yes, my heart’s still pumping, no thanks to your stepmother. She damn near killed me.


    WHITNEY
    And here I was wondering if she conjured you up out of her medieval imagination!


    EIGHT
    Not hardly.


    WHITNEY
    So what are you proposing I do with this thing?


    EIGHT
    Humans are pattern makers, Whit. Pattern makers and pattern finders. If her pattern gets big enough everyone’s gonna see it.

    WHITNEY
    (Studying the bullet)


    Patterns, eh?


    EIGHT
    Right. Sometimes when we see them they aren’t even there. That’s why waiting for the come around to go around is so important.


    WHITNEY
    I don’t like waiting. Tell me what you’ve figured out about my stepmother so far.


    EIGHT
    Look at this place.


    (Waves a hand expansively)


    I think she’s a trophy-collector.


    WHITNEY
    That’s for sure. Every day she puts on a necklace belonging to the woman who disappeared. Imagine what she’s thinking!


    EIGHT
    Maybe other people aren’t even real to her. She goes shooting up and down this beach, like she’s the only person in the universe. That blindness makes her lonely I’m guessing. And sloppy for sure.


    WHITNEY
    So the gun itself could be a trophy?


    EIGHT
    Why not? And even if she destroyed that gun, she’d never find all those bullets.


    WHITNEY
    You’re thinking she shot somebody?


    EIGHT
    I’d call that most probable.


    WHITNEY
    But how am I going to find out who’s got her bullet in them?


    EIGHT
    Ask her.


    WHITNEY
    Ask her! Are you out of your mind? I can’t do it!


    EIGHT
    Sure you can. You don’t know your own strength. Bet she loves to brag.


    WHITNEY
    You know, she does.


    EIGHT
    She’s probably irritated that the world hasn’t yet caught on to how clever she’s been, how superior she is. She’s fooled everyone and they don’t even know it. You don’t need me. You can catalogue all your stepmother’s weaknesses for yourself by now.

    WHITNEY
    Well, I know she loves hanging all over me pushing her disgusting “advice”.


    EIGHT
    Maybe her prime weakness is you.


    WHITNEY
    Me? Never! According to her there’s nothing “right” about me.


    EIGHT
    I’d say that lady protests too much. Look at it. You’re the only person she hasn’t been able to fool. She needs to win you over.


    WHITNEY
    I think her weakness is Time. It’s running out on her and she’s got to know it.


    EIGHT
    I think you underestimate your powers of attraction. But let’s say I agree with you. Explain your last statement.


    WHITNEY
    I think the only things she really covets are power, youth and beauty. In fact, she staked her life on them.


    EIGHT
    Then she’s looking at trouble, isn’t she? Makes her whole future is a disaster area.

    WHITNEY
    (Realizing it fully)


    Sure looks like it.


    EIGHT
    So maybe you should tell her fortune, for once.


    WHITNEY
    That wouldn’t work! She’d never believe me.


    EIGHT
    But Time, Power, Youth & Beauty – they’re are all on your side. Cave! Here she comes.


    WHITNEY
    What makes you think so? I don’t see her. Time to admit it; you’re otherworldly.


    EIGHT
    I’ve got a highly developed sense of smell for sulfur. Don’t you worry. I’m gonna be right here.

  • Queen of Swords – the Tarot play by Alysse Aallyn

    WHITNEY
    That went HORRIBLY.


    (Goes to sit disconsolately on the beach behind the boulder, hidden from the house. EIGHT appears, wielding his metal detector.)


    WHITNEY
    (Sarcastically)


    Well if it ain’t the Prince of Wands.


    EIGHT
    Excuse me? Name’s Eight. Like pieces of eight?


    WHITNEY
    Well, I found out the demon’s name. And it got me exactly nowhere. It’s Creature from the Black Lagoon one, and Firewalkers zero.


    EIGHT
    One battle ain’t a war. What happened?


    WHITNEY
    She stole someone’s identity! And then that person disappeared! She killed her mentor. Probably robbed her into the bargain.


    EIGHT
    That one’s a piece of work all right.

    WHITNEY
    It’s real bad. But it was fourteen years ago. The missing person’s been declared dead even though no one ever found the body, my father’s trust says it doesn’t matter who he was married to when he died, and if Charmayne hasn’t already legally changed her name now she’s probably going to.


    EIGHT
    Nothing works when you give up that fast.


    WHITNEY
    She even had the nerve to accuse ME of Black Magic.


    EIGHT
    She did? Oh, Whit! Don’t you see how great that is? You recognized the demon, called it by name, and it recognized YOU! You’re on your way, girl!


    WHITNEY
    I thought you were the one warning me against descending to her level.


    EIGHT
    (Hunkers down beside her)


    She believes this stuff, is all I’m saying. She’s not your ordinary con. You can’t get her where she’s fake, so you have to get her where she’s real.


    WHITNEY
    Well, I’m going to need a lot more magic. You got any on you?


    EIGHT
    (Running his metal detector over her body – it rattles excitedly)


    You don’t need my magic. You’ve got plenty of your own!


    WHITNEY
    (Collapsing disconsolately)


    Prove it.


    EIGHT
    Look. I’d say there’s at least two reasons to steal an identity. One is, you actually want to be that person. The other is, you don’t want to be yourself.


    WHITNEY
    Because?


    EIGHT
    Do I have to spell everything out for you? I’m saying, if you’re willing to get rid of one person…


    WHITNEY
    (Starting to get worked up)


    You mean maybe she’s done it before? My stepmom, the serial killer!


    (As EIGHT ambles down the beach)


    Please don’t go! I need you!


    EIGHT
    Don’t you feel the temperature dropping?


    (Shivers)


    Time to take cover.

  • Queen of Swords – the Tarot play by Alysse Aallyn


    (Evening. Lights up on the Hampton house. )


    WHITNEY
    (Banging)


    Charmayne!! Charmayne!!


    CHARMAYNE
    (Appearing at the door – seemingly annoyed)


    Whitney, you really do have to make an appointment. I don’t have time to play with you today.


    WHITNEY
    Oh, I think you’ll see me – Pearleen.


    CHARMAYNE
    (Steps outside, closes door carefully)


    Oh? Are your efforts to master the black arts finally paying off?


    WHITNEY
    There’s no “black ops” about it. I’ve been investigating you.


    CHARMAYNE
    Moi? Little me? How flattering. I love being the center of attention. I revel in your…involvement.


    (Making it sound sexual. Crosses her arms defensively, but says boldly)


    It’s not illegal to change your name, you know. Some names are very common. You can call yourself anything you want. And some of us were saddled by our thoughtless parents with disabling monikers we couldn’t wait to get rid of.


    WHITNEY
    But you are pretending to be someone else!


    CHARMAYNE
    Prove it.


    WHITNEY
    You’re wearing her necklace!


    CHARMAYNE
    She gave it to me. Among many other gifts. I thought I explained all that to you.


    WHITNEY
    And now no one can find her!


    CHARMAYNE
    Poor little know-nothing. You’re not even a Querent, you’re lower than that. Sludge. Pity you didn’t pursue my entire course of instruction. Then you’d see that when there’s a new Queen of Swords it’s traditional for the previous Queen to make herself scarce.


    WHITNEY
    You did something to her!


    CHARMAYNE
    Prove it.


    WHITNEY
    Plus, you misrepresented yourself when we hired you!


    CHARMAYNE
    Oh, I told Arthur all about it! It only made him admire me more. He proposed, didn’t he? I don’t think you knew your father as well as you thought you did, Whitney. He appreciated people who made something of themselves, who figured out the physics of existence. He didn’t care for helpless wannabes who hang around trading on their birth names and trying to cash in on the past. We complemented each other. He told me, I “embraced multitudes.” And that’s what he loved about me.


    WHITNEY
    He was quoting Whitman. I doubt your marriage is even legal!


    CHARMAYNE
    Now hold on, sister. Have you bothered to research common law marriage in this state? Don’t come annoying me when you haven’t done your homework! I’ll give you a head start by telling you Dr. Quantreau’s trust defines his wife as “ux” – not by name but anyone he called his wife at the time of his death.


    WHITNEY
    Prove it.


    CHARMAYNE
    I don’t have to. And a further piece of advice? When you’re coming after someone, it’s very dangerous to put them on notice. Because then they’ll be ready for you…fully armed.


    (Disappears into house, slamming the door)

  • Queen of Swords – the Tarot play by Alysse Aallyn


    (Lights up on The Library Basement Stacks at Dead Lake Community College a mini set with bookcase and elderly woman – MRS PREECE – wearing coke bottle glasses perched atop library ladder, putting books away. )


    MRS PREECE
    Why are all these students so freakishly tall? I’m going to kill myself, one of those days, trying to approximate the eye line of some basketball-playing mutant.
    (WHITNEY appears shyly around the bookcase.)


    WHITNEY
    Are you Mrs. Preece?


    MRS. PREECE
    No need to shout. I’m half-blind, not deaf. Depends who’s asking.


    WHITNEY
    I’ve been researching past Dead Lake students and the girl at the front desk said you know everything.


    MRS. PREECE
    (Coming down the ladder)
    Then I’m that Mrs. Preece. For all I knew you were looking for my mother in law and she’s been dead these forty years. And believe you me, she was no picnic when she was alive, and now that she’s dead she’s been particularly troublesome.


    (Looks WHITNEY up & down)


    Aren’t you a nice young lady! Most girls these days look so terrible I pity them. They want to look terrible is what I conclude. It’s all I can do to keep from jumping back and gagging when I see one coming – it’s like some vision of the Apocalypse. They’re arming up for something – God knows what.


    (Crosses herself)


    You look like a strong healthy girl. Not like those female zombies.


    WHITNEY
    I missed a lot. I guess I’ve been… held back.


    MRS. PREECE
    Well, stay in school forever, that’s my advice. You, – you play hockey? What’s your sport?


    WHITNEY
    God no. I hate sports.


    MRS. PREECE
    Don’t say that, girl. Games are all we have to look forward to. The only time we get to win. I was a left wing in my time. But you can’t even say “left-wing” these days.
    Teatime!


    (She swivels the ladder & bookcase to reveal two basket chairs and a squat bookcase holding a smoking kettle, which she unplugs. She pours two mugs of tea and settles into chair with a sigh.)


    WHITNEY
    (Accepting a mug)
    Do you live down here?

    MRS. PREECE
    Might as well. They’ve got facilities, haven’t they? Heat, light, the whole ball of wax. I’ve got a home but why go there? The spirit of my dead mother-in-law makes it clear she doesn’t approve of my housekeeping. No, libraries are where it’s at! Temples of learning, sanctuaries of knowledge. And they’re too cheap to hire a security guard for all this treasure. Scary. All they’ve got is little old me. When I go, it’s “poof” for all these memories. If I’m going to be haunted by somebody, I choose Emerson. Or any of the Transcendentalists, really.


    (Waves a hand)


    Education is SO wasted on the young. And it don’t stick long on the old folks, neither. People remember the way things SHOULD have happened. But I –


    (Taps her head)


    Been blessed in the brain-basket. I like the past. I remember the way things REALLY happened. So, long story short, you’ve come to the right place. Sit down and make yourself to home.


    (Long sip)


    Such a pleasure having company I’d smoke if I thought I could get away with it, but they’ve got them damn detectors. Interested in the Lake, you say? Good riddance to it! The Black Lagoon, we used to call it! Oh, it was a pile of muck after all the frogs died. You one of those conservation nuts? An echo-terrorist?


    WHITNEY
    Eco-terrorist? No. Actually I’m looking for a person. I’m Whitney Quantreau, and I’m looking for Charmayne Carr. She claims she attended this school. Charmayne Carr?

    MRS. PREECE
    I should have guessed right away that’s what you wanted! EVERYBODY’S looking for that one. Nobody knows what became of her. She just abandoned her house and walked away! But she wasn’t a student, she was a teacher. Health Ed.


    WHITNEY
    She was? Who – who’s looking for her?


    MRS. PREECE
    Her family. They need to know where she’s at! Got no idea in hell what’s become of her! And she used to support the lot of them. So it came as a shock. Does make a motive for sneaking away, having that pack hounding after you, I’d be thinking. And the cops say adults can go where they please. It’s a free country. You know what became of her?


    WHITNEY
    Well – she got married. That’s all.


    MRS. PREECE
    Married? To a MAN?


    WHITNEY
    (Flustered)
    To my father, actually. What did you think?


    MRS. PREECE
    Well, I’m not sure what’s the PC word for it, but she was one of them long-time dykes. Dressed like a man most of the time! Oh she was miserable when they tried to get her up into any sort of skirt. Nowadays she’d just go and get her sex fixed to something matching her desires.


    WHITNEY
    (Shows her phone)


    Is this her?


    MRS. PREECE
    (Clutches her heart like she’s seen a ghost)
    Oh my goodness!


    (Takes the phone)


    Never thought I’d see HER again. So she’s a blonde now? She was a redhead when I knew her.


    WHITNEY
    Isn’t that Charmayne Carr?


    MRS. PREECE
    No, it most certainly isn’t! That’s Pearleen Purdy – Charmayne’s – I don’t know WHAT you’d call her. Doctor Carr’s girlfriend.


    WHITNEY
    Are you certain?


    MRS. PREECE
    How could a body be wrong about a thing like that? Nobody ever forgot Pearleen once they saw her. I’ve even got a picture of them together here somewhere.


    (Produces a pile of college yearbooks from squat bookcase and shuffles through them)


    These are my own personal Firewalkers. I don’t let them out of my hands.


    WHITNEY
    Firewalkers!


    MRS. PREECE
    Name of our basketball team, you know, the Firewalkers. Ought to be Airwalkers, but that was taken and we’re obligated to honor the Indians since we took their land whether they like it or not. Everyone walks through fire around here. Burning up the countryside’s practically a ritual. Let’s see, fourteen years ago, wasn’t it? The two of them were in a play together. “The Real Inspector Hound.”


    (Offers the book)


    Charmayne’s the one with the moustache. She was playing a man of course. Inspector Foot of the Yard.


    (Agitated)


    Now don’t you get stains on that!


    WHITNEY
    (Puts mug down respectfully)


    She – Pearleen looks so different!


    MRS. PREECE
    Pearleen was older than most of the students. Word was she’d been a stripper out of Branson, Missouri. You’ve heard of Branson, Missouri? At The Gentleman’s Secret.
    Well, Dr. Carr had a nice big house out on the Heights and poor Pearleen grew up on that sorry lake. She came home when the developers passed out education money. Dr. Carr liked to invite girl students – poor students – I should say PRETTY students out to the Heights to live with her. She “helped” them. Folks around here called her place “The Opium Den” because it was so – I don’t know what you’d call it. Eastern-like. Cultish. With draperies and bronzes and incense. The works.


    WHITNEY
    Cult-ish?


    MRS. PREECE
    Yeah, Dr. Carr had one of them goddess religions she was the queen of. To each her own, I say. Live and let live.


    WHITNEY
    Isis? TAROT? Let me guess, was she…the Queen of Swords?


    MRS. PREECE
    Bingo. That’s it exactly. She played the cards and Pearleen played her. Dr. Carr made a pot of money with one of them role-playing games. Dr. Carr was the Queen and Pearleen was supposed to be a Princess, I think that’s the way it went. But Pearleen got rid of all those other girls one by one. Reminds me of a cat I used to have. He just couldn’t share. He chased all the other cats right off my bed. Couldn’t abide the competition. We try to turn the other cheek to promote a professional atmosphere but I‘m telling you, it was the scandal of the campus!


    WHITNEY
    (Produces phone, uses zoom)


    Did Charmayne Carr – Dr Carr – ever wear this necklace?


    MRS. PREECE
    That dagger there? Well, it looks familiar. She had lots of totem like materials. But Dr. Carr had all these folds around her neck, you see… No one wants to gaze at that too closely! No, she was never one of the “pretty ones!”


    WHITNEY
    And then she disappeared! Didn’t anybody find it suspicious?


    MRS PREECE
    Suspicious! Wasn’t I telling you her family had a meltdown! They came out here screaming like banshees! Finally declared her legally dead so they could sell her property!


    WHITNEY
    Do you remember any of their names?

    MRS PREECE
    Her brother had some very ordinary name. Like John. But I’m telling you, they don’t care anymore. The estate’s settled! They’ve even got a fake gravesite established somewhere – had a service with shrieking and wailing. Be quite a shock to them when she comes back. They’re not wanting to resurrect the dead. You’ve got a different problem than that.


    WHITNEY
    My stepmom’s an identity thief!


    MRS. PREECE
    Your poor dad’s the one got trouble, bless his heart. Play and then pay, I say! Usually through the nose. I demand all my bills up front.


    WHITNEY
    Too late for that. He’s dead, too.


    (MRS PREECE drops her Firewalker with a resounding bang. Lights out.)

  • Becoming a Warrior – the Warrior Oracle by Alysse Aallyn

    Homing – Forgiveness:

    If This Card Chooses You – Do you need to forgive? Or be forgiven? Most of us require both! Ask your dreams. Do you dream of home? Sometimes we dream of a home that no longer exists, or never existed. “Home” represents the state of psychic absolution where all mistakes are forgiven and forgotten.

    Warriors Create The Future – We commit to the ultimate compassion that we are all in this together. Jesus suggests that understanding doesn’t arrive until we learn to be the “forgivers”. Obviously, this means we must learn – somehow – to forgive ourselves.

    Warriors Create Heaven – Such forgiveness helps us achieve the state of spiritual lightness that allows a warrior to float through time, history, even the universe.

    Warriors Are At Home In the World – What’s your “dream home”? A warrior’s training emphasizes understanding and managing the fragility of the human body and the objective world, and accepting our healing and unifying mandate. Once we have scoped out the terrain and the inhabitants, Warriors are at “home” anywhere.

    Warriors are About Justice – But not the kind that leaves more brokenness behind. Warriors achievements and physical selves display the triumph of thought, will and love.

    What Does It Mean to “Start Over”? – We don’t wish to be free of “consequences”. We want to learn and grow from our mistakes but not be humiliated and punished for them. Pretending they didn’t happen doesn’t free us. Seeing our mistakes as moves in a dance we are all contributing to frees us from painful rumination and helps escape and explain the prison of blame. “I did this because you –“… Human interactions are a tar-pit in which we trap and tar ourselves. We realize we need to forgive every chain in the event pattern if we are ever to have any peace.

    It’s All About You – Robert Frost defines “home” as a place where, when you show up, they have to take you in. Defining “they” defines your group, your original home. Philosophy may provide an answer. Buddhists see history as a circle, Christians as a spiral. The question for Christians is, which direction is the spiral headed and do we have time to learn what we need to know before there’s a cataclysm? Can you define the mess we’re in and intuit your behavioral contribution? Is it possible to detach from the mess? In what group – or even in what “moment” can you detach from the mess?

    Warriors’ Danger – We can’t afford to get mixed up about right and wrong. “By their fruits shall you know them.” Think it through. One avenue leads to health, dignity and growth; the other leads in the opposite direction. Don’t make the mistake of “fundamental attribution error”. The threat is NOT coming from inside the house. Martin Luther King Jr. made the wise comment that our specific brand of capitalism tends toward is “socialism for the rich and rugged individualism for the rest of us.” It certainly suits corporations to lecture their employees on building a better world without incorporating any of those ideas into the bigger picture, where we have no control and they demand absolute freedom.

    What Is The Bigger Picture? Health and safety for all living things to achieve their growth potential as part of a harmonious, non-exploitative whole. It is key that our resistance – which is necessary and life-giving – not embitter us.

    Forgiveness Is Our Armor – Forgiveness doesn’t require ignoring the past or accepting bad behavior. It’s part of an interaction where forgiveness is a request, not a demand. Usually there is a recognition of fault or an expression of remorse: “I’ll never do that again!” When the requesting party instead seeks permission for the suffering to continue, “I can’t change – that’s the way I am” — that’ a different request. “Home” is not re-created that way. Hell is. Your opportunity is to point this out – if necessary, (because of safety) only to yourself. “If I’m not willing to try giving up my participation in this suffering because I think I’m not able to, then this pattern will continually get worse.” Time to construct a better – more intelligent map.

    Models & Mentors – “It’s not an easy journey to get to a place where you forgive people. But it’s a powerful place, because it frees you” – Tyler Perry

    “The practice of forgiveness is our most important contribution to the healing of the world” – Marianne Williamson

    “The weak can’t forgive. Forgiveness is an attribute of the strong” – Mahatma Gandhi

    “To forgive one another, we must understand one another” – Emma Goldman

    “Forgiveness does not exonerate the perpetrator. It liberates the victim. It’s a gift you give yourself” – T.D. Jakes

    #Haiku: Forgiveness

    Returning home with
    Newborn eyes
    Strong hands
    Fresh translations
    Future’s past

  • Becoming a Warrior – the Warrior Oracle by Alysse Aallyn

    The Statue – Law:

    If This Card Chooses You – You have a legal issue. Is there some illegality in your secret life? Are you stepping over lines in public or private? Remember, lawbreakers break themselves.

    Do you dream of judges? Lawyers? Court? Are you obsessed with TV programs about justice? When justice is delayed or denied, do you obsess about that? Are you feeling unjustly punished? Do you envy or rage against those who have “gotten away with something”?

    Warrior’s Desire For Justice is Hardwired – Ever feel unjustly punished? Do you envy or rage against those who have “gotten away with something”? “Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness, for they shall be filled.” In my view, the mere concept of Complete Justice is heaven enough. We are repeatedly warned that it won’t ever match our earthly ideologies, that we are children scrapping in a sandbox who haven’t noticed, much less comprehended, the real issues.

    What Is Our Armor? – What laws resonate with you? Do you believe in karma? How would you define it? What laws make you angry? Which laws would you modify? What is your attitude towards the police – protectors of order or agents of mayhem? Dick Nixon was famous for talking endlessly about “restoring law and order” until just before he was forced to resign because of his multiple crimes. Many Trump followers insist everything Trump has done is “justified because Democrats are worse.” Is this a race to the bottom? Where’s the off-ramp?

    Warrior Danger – “Judge not lest ye be judged” is a scary proposition. How would we come off if our standards were used against us? Come to think of it, what are our standards? Are they fluid? Flexible? Jesus also said the “letter” i.e. “written rule” KILLS. That it’s the “spirit that gives life.”

    Law Is Our Armor – Warriors dream of a “spirit-filled” Law. Maybe you wanted to go to Law School but life intervened. It’s never too late to study any subject that’s close to our heart. We become warriors because we wish for heroes; I think that’s the sole reason for the wild popularity of the Marvel movie series. Do you admire heroes because they break the rules, or because they uphold them? We acknowledge the need for rules, but how can we make sure they’re “spirit-filled”? In what areas of your life are you too rigid? In which are you too flexible? Imagine yourself speaking in court, making a case for yourself. What arguments would you give? Ask your dreams to start imagining a Justice World. How would it look?

    Models & Mentors – “Law is not law if it violates the principles of eternal justice” – Lydia Maria Child

    “The only stable state is one where all are equal before the law” – Aristotle

    “Law is the public conscience” – Thomas Hobbes

    ‘Able in argument, accurate in analysis, strict in study, candid with clients and honest with adversaries, today I shall not, to win a point, lose my soul” – St. Thomas More

    “If we desire respect for the law, we must make law respectable” – Louis D. Brandeis

    #Haiku: Karma

    Come round –
    Go round.
    Love reaps love
    Law reaps
    Justice
    Violence reaps
    Whirlwind.