> /ksnet/proj/stories

Josh, a 16-year-old boy who runs away from home. He has been through hard times.
Mark and Deanna, Josh's parents.
Morrigan, a beautiful and mystical woman. She is roughly twenty-five, lives alone in an old mansion, and becomes somewhat of a mentor for Josh. She is a mythological creature called a Cyrulus, or a "bat-woman."

Morning. Scene opens in Josh's bedroom, with sunlight shining through the window. The bed is empty. Deanna knocks on the bedroom door.

Deanna:

Rise and shine! It's time to get up! (Pauses, then knocks again) Josh? You hear me? Time to get up! (Waits again, then opens the door and walks in) Come on, Josh! Now you get out of that bed right this- (sees that the bed is empty) Oh! You're up already. (Calls out to thin air) Josh! Where are you? (waits, hears no response.) Oh dear! Where could he be? (Walks out of room into hall) Mark?

Mark:

(from another room offstage) Yes dear?

Deanna:

Have you seen Josh?

Mark:

No, I haven't. Why do you ask?

Deanna:

Oh my... (becomes fearful) He didn't leave, did he?

Mark:

(Walks out into hall) Dear, what's the matter?

Deanna:

Josh! He's missing!

Mark:

(Not quite getting it) He's what? Oh, honey, he probably just went out for a walk.

Deanna:

(More agonized) No, he's missing! I know it! He'd leave me a note if he were just out for a walk! I just know it! He's missing! He ran away! or, no! Maybe he was kidnapped! Oh, Mark, what are we going to do? (begins to cry)

Mark:

(Attempts to comfort her) Now, now, dear. I'm sure he'll show up. I'll go call the police, just to make sure.

Deanna and Mark exit into the room offstage. Curtain.

Scene opens in the woods, with Josh trudging through bushes. He enters a clearing and turns to face the audience.

Josh:

(somewhat breathless) Well, they've done it again! For the last time! I'm making sure of it this time, no one will find me now. The poor idiots. I'm not going to be their butt for jokes any more! (Walks around in the clearing) This is the last time, you see, that those idiots in the neighborhood are going to threaten me, make fun of me, hurt me! (Becomes more melodramatic) If only they knew me for who I am! If only they understood! (Quieter) If only Katrina understood. If only she knew that I loved her, and would accept me! But now, it doesn't matter. No one's going to understand... No one could understand me. (More boldly) So no one's going to have the chance. Ever! I'm living on my own now!

Josh has traveled quite a distance, and is very tired. His arms have small scratches from the branches, and his clothes are torn here and there. He leaves the clearing and walks through some more bushes. Presently, he comes to the edge of the woods and stops.

Josh:

What's this? Where am I? (Stands, looking offstage) It's huge! A mansion - no, a castle! What's a castle doing out here? (realizes his exhaustion, looks at his cuts, bruises and torn clothing) Hopefully there's someone there that can help me out, or at least let me stay for a while. Knowing Mother, she'll have half the Royal Guard looking for me by now.

Josh exits. Curtain.

Scene opens at the door of the castle. Inside, Morrigan is seated in a well-lit room, playing a small harp. Between the room and the door there is a large lobby and hallway. Doors lead to other rooms, and there is a staircase directly across from the front door.

Josh:

(Walks from offstage to outside of the door. Stops, out of breath) Whew! I made it! I thought I was never gonna make it up that walk! (Focuses attention on the door and the outside of the mansion.) Man, I didn't think places like this existed! That is, outside of Frankenstein movies. (Fearful) What's inside? Am I so sure I want to go in? Does anyone even live here? (Sucks in a deep breath and raises his hand to the door knocker. He lifts it and knocks it against the door. The door responds with a loud, resounding thud.)

Morrigan:

(Looks up) Come in. It's open. (goes back to playing the harp, begins to sing softly)

Josh:

(gulps, looks around once, then pushes on the door. It opens inwardly, making hardly a sound. Once inside the lobby, he turns and closes the door.) (Quietly) Wow, this isn't anything like what I expected! (Looks around, walks around in the lobby.) This place is totally clean! The lamps, polished! Amazing... and that singing. Who lives here? (Stands, listening to the song, which seems to entrance him. He begins walking around in random directions, eventually finding the passage that leads to the room where Morrigan is seated. He walks in slowly, stops inside the door and stands looking at Morrigan.)

Morrigan:

(Finishes her song, then looks up) A child!

Josh:

(Trembling and flustering, seemingly overcome by her beauty.) Uh, excuse me, Miss... I, uh...

Morrigan:

(Stands up, comes a little closer to Josh, perfectly relaxed. She walks with her shoulders back and her head level. She is about the same height as him.) Relax. You may call me Morrigan. What can I do for you?

Josh:

(A little more relaxed) Can you tell me where I am?

Morrigan:

Where you are at the moment is not important. Come sit down, make yourself comfortable. (As Josh sits on another chair in the room, Morrigan notices his exhaustion, his cuts and torn clothes) Poor thing! You must have come a long way. You're hurt. Stay here, I'll return in a moment. (exits offstage)

Josh:

(Looks around again. He sits, continuing to take in the remarkable cleanliness of the place) Wow! This is incredible! This place is so clean! And, that lady! Morrigan, did she say? I've never seen anyone so beautiful! Maybe this will be the ideal thing after all!

Morrigan:

(Returns from offstage, holding a bucket and a tray of medicinal supplies.) Here we go. Now, hold still while I clean you up. This may sting a little.

Just then, a number of bats fly into the room and hover over the two, terrorizing Josh, then exit offstage again.

Josh:

What the-? (Gasps for air, startled and shocked.) What was that?!?

Morrigan:

Oh, them? Don't worry about them. They're just my pets. I still have yet to teach them not to do that when I have visitors. (Kneels down next to Josh and pulls out a sponge from the bucket.) Here, give me your arm. (She applies the sponge to his arm, and he recoils slightly from the sting.) What's your name?

Josh:

(Nervously) Uh, my name's Josh. What's yours, again? Morrigan, right?

Morrigan:

(Dips the sponge in the bucket again, then continues to wash his arm.) That's correct.

Josh:

(For the first time, he notices that Morrigan has a tail.) (More nervously) You... You have a tail. Would you... would you mind if I... asked you why?

Morrigan:

(Looks at Josh) Please, Josh! Calm down before you strain something. Know that you're in a safe place, and that I won't do anything to harm you. Now please! relax. (Concentrates again on Josh's arm, replenishing the sponge) Now, in response to your question: not at all. I am a Cyrulus. A "bat-woman" if you prefer. I am the only one of my kind.

Josh:

(Barely comprehending) The only one? A Cyrulus? What...? I thought Cyrula didn't exist!

Morrigan:

Oh, they exist, all right... in today's mythology. Hardly anyone knows that they exist in reality, though. (Puts the sponge in the bucket again, squeezes, then brings it up again) Here, give me your other arm. (Begins cleaning Josh's other arm) People in general tend to ignore the truth, despise the inner meaning. The Cyrula were never as great in number as humans. Like the Werewolves, Vampires and Catpeople, they died out, targets of criticism and prejudice, hated and scapegoated, until they were forced to go into hiding. Now, only one Cyrulus remains, and in about 50 years or so... (Sadly) I'll be gone, too.

Josh:

(sympathetically) Oh, that's terrible! I wish there was something I could do! I mean, I wish it didn't have to be like that for you. But, why am I so special, to have found the only living Cyrulus in the world?

Morrigan:

You just happened to be here. Don't worry, you're not the first person to discover this place. But the people who have come here before have been very special people, capable of seeing more than what was in front of their eyes. Otherwise, this mansion would be nothing more than a pebble to their sight.

Josh:

How long have you been here?

Morrigan:

Most of my life. It has been remarkably peaceful. (Finishes cleaning up Josh's arms and reaches for a bottle) Now hold still. This WILL sting, but it'll last only a short time. (Pours some of the bottle's contents onto the sponge and rubs it on his arms. Josh gives out a sharp yelp at first, followed by sucking through his teeth. Gradually the pain subsides, and he recovers.) There. You're clean and healing. (Puts the bottle back on the tray and the sponge back in the bucket.)

Josh:

Thanks, Morrigan. I must say, this is a great place you have here!

Morrigan:

Thank you. One advantage to leading a quiet life is that it gives you plenty of time to clean. (chuckles) Now, you must be hungry. Would you like something to eat?

Josh:

That would be great! What do you have?

Morrigan:

(Stands up with the tray in hand and begins walking to a door that leads offstage.) Well, how about I fix you an open-face turkey sandwich with some gravy, and you can eat up and tell me a little about yourself? (Exits)

Josh:

(gets up, walks to the same doorway) Hey, it's a deal!

Josh exits out the door. Curtain.

Scene opens in a large, spacious dining room. This room is also well-lit, and we see Josh seated at the corner of a long dining-room table. He is waiting patiently, occasionally drinking from a glass of water and listening with still a little apprehension to the occasional squeak of a bat from elsewhere in the mansion.

Morrigan:

(Enters from offstage, carrying a tray with an open-face turkey sandwich covered in thick gravy.) There we go. I hope you enjoy it. (Sets the tray on the table in front of Josh, then sits at the other side of the table's corner.)

Josh:

(Takes a bite, looks up at Morrigan) Mmm! Wonderful! I LOVE this stuff!

Morrigan:

Glad to serve. Now, tell me a little about yourself, Josh. (Folds her hands under her chin with her elbows on the table.)

Josh:

Well, I'm sixteen years old, and I live... oh, about 4 or 5 miles or so from here, I think...

Morrigan:

What are you doing all the way out here?

Josh:

(Slows down his eating, reflects for a moment) I ran away from home.

Morrigan:

(Inquisitively) Why?

Josh:

Because I'm tired of being treated like an animal. It seems like everyone who thinks they know me has to treat me like some sort of freak or punching bag or something, just because I'm not as popular or as good-looking as they are. If only they knew me for who I am inside... especially Katrina.

Morrigan:

(Eyebrows raised) Katrina?

Josh:

Yeah, she's this girl I know. I really like her, but she keeps listening to these other guys that tell her all sorts of lies about me. I wish I could let her know that I, ...well, you know... I love her. I mean, how hard can it be?

Morrigan:

(Sits back in her chair) It sounds like you're going through a lot. But why run away from it?

Josh:

(Slight edge to his voice) Morrigan, I've been dealing with this for more than a year! I've been cornered, threatened, scapegoated, pushed around and otherwise hurt by these guys for too long. No more! I'm not going to let them keep hurting me like this! If no one's going to understand, I'll simply make it so that they don't have to. (Pauses, calms down) I'm sorry, I shouldn't have yelled.

Morrigan:

(Shows no offense) It's okay. You seem like a pretty honest and truth-loving boy. And that is exactly what's wrong with people in general. (Leans forward, propping her elbows on the table again.) Most people hate the truth and despise the inner meaning in things. It threatens them. They would rather look at the outside shell of a person, making their judgments based solely on what they see. Very seldom do you find a person who can see past the shell. You are one such person, or else you would not have found my home. And because you love the truth, people hate you. Because you try to show who you are on the inside, and you don't emphasize your outer shell so much, people single you out.

Josh:

(Sets down his fork, takes a drink of water.) But why? I wish I knew why people hated the truth so much.

Morrigan:

People are afraid of it. They often refuse to believe in what is right and true. They'd simply rather believe in what they see. They cloud their sense for the truth with lies. Look at what happened to the Cyrula. (Leans back again, looks off into space.) Long ago, before the Dark Ages, the Cyrula, as well as the Catpeople and the Werewolves, began to interact with humans. Humans always hated the other two species, but they and the Cyrula actually got along with each other for some time. Then the Succuba and Incuba appeared. They very closely resembled the Cyrula. Unfortunately, the world began to go through the strengthening of the church, and the world's religions tightened their control on society.

Josh:

The Puritans?

Morrigan:

Well, the Puritans came later. No, this began long before they showed up. And the so-called Christians of the age felt they needed to blame various problems - "sins," they called them - on demons. They blamed unexpected deaths on the Werewolves, animal sicknesses on the Catpeople, and... well, they claimed that the Succuba would come visit men in the middle of the night and sleep with them. And when they started using the Succuba as scapegoats, the Cyrula became targets as well, since we are so much alike. (Looks at Josh, who is listening intently.) So you can see, my kind was blamed for much that today would be considered natural. The people of the time would rather have had scapegoats to pick on than to face the truth. They made myths out of us, turned into crusaders and witch-hunters. They even turned against themselves! If you recall the story of Galileo, the Catholic Church even repressed him, with his studies of physics and motion, because he contradicted their firm beliefs in ancient Aristotelian physics.

Josh:

(Somewhat overwhelmed with Morrigan's detailed memory.) Wow... And I thought MY situation was bad!

Morrigan:

As far as I'm concerned, prejudicial hate of any kind is bad. It's the worst thing that can happen to the world. The hatred of that age spread, and it ended in much bloodshed. It turned friends into enemies and it forced us into hiding. We lost contact with each other, and we eventually began to die out. Just as it seems the truth-seekers in this world are dying away today. People like you.

Josh:

(Dumbfounded) Me?

Morrigan:

(Looks squarely at Josh) People like you. Like I said before, if you didn't look for and love the truth in life, you would never have found this place.

Josh:

But why do I have to live with this? What can I do about it?

Morrigan:

You mentioned earlier that there's a girl you love. My advice to you is: If you truly love her, she will find out. All you need to do is to be yourself, your own true self. Eventually, she will see you.

Josh:

What about you? Can't you claim a name for the Cyrula again?

Morrigan:

Well, I've dropped my personal hatred for the hatred shown to my kind. But I only exist to most of the world as a piece of mythology. That's the way it shall remain.

Josh:

But you said so yourself! In 50 years or so, you WILL be a piece of mythology!

Morrigan:

That's true. (Look of sadness in her face)

Josh:

Is there any way to avoid that?

Morrigan:

No, I'm afraid not. Humans and Cyrula are not compatible with one another. I would only be able to prolong my race with another Cyrulus, and I am the only remaining one. (Looks away.) Besides, this world isn't going to accept me as more than a figment of its imagination anyway.

Josh:

(Leaning forward sympathetically) I wish there was something I could do to help.

Morrigan:

I'm afraid that there is nothing you can do, Josh. I appreciate the thought, though.

They sit in silence for a while. Josh finishes his food and drink, then suddenly stands up. Morrigan looks around at him in surprise.

Josh:

Morrigan, thanks so much for taking care of me! I have to get back home.

Morrigan:

Oh! Well, you're welcome. I thought you ran away from home.

Josh:

I did, but I'm going back. Thanks to what you've told me, I think I know how to deal with my problems now.

Morrigan:

(Looks at Josh for a moment, a look of impending loneliness in her face.) Glad to serve. Please, just remember one thing when you go.

Josh:

What's that?

Morrigan:

Remember me, remember what happened to my kind, and vow never to forsake the truth. Always love the truth.

Josh:

(Thoughtfully, taking notice of the emotion in Morrigan's face and voice) I will, always. (A somewhat uncomfortable silence, the two of them looking at each other's faces.) Would I be able to come back and visit you?

Morrigan:

So long as you remember to look past the surface. There you will find me.

Josh:

(Excitedly) Wow, thanks... (Drops off as he looks again into Morrigan's face. He begins to empathize with her again. After a moment, he gives her a big hug.)

Morrigan:

Thank you. (They finish their hug) Now, you should go.

Josh:

Okay... (Beginning to walk out) Goodbye, Morrigan. Thanks again! Thank you for everything! You're the greatest! (Exits quickly)

Morrigan:

(Watches him exit, then sits down in her chair) (Quietly) Yes, thank you too. 'Til we meet again, young traveler.

Morrigan stands there for a moment longer, seemingly lost in thought. One more tear runs down her cheek, then she turns around, collects the dishes from the table and exits. Curtain.

Late afternoon. Mark and Deanna are outside, apparently trying to keep their mind off of their son's disappearance. Mark is reading a newspaper, and Deanna is gardening in front of the house with her back turned to the street. Both seem very anxious, and neither says a word. Josh walks up to the corner of the property and sees his parents.

Josh:

(To audience) Whoa, my parents are waiting for me. They must have been really worried about me. (Sucks in a deep breath, approaches front walk.) Mom? Dad?

Deanna:

(Looks up sharply, turns around and sees Josh. Gasps.) Josh! Mark, he's back! (Gets up and runs out to Josh. Mark anxiously puts down his paper and follows Deanna out to the front of the walk.)

Mark:

Josh, my boy! You're home! Where in God's name have you been all day?

Deanna:

Oh my poor boy! (hugs him) Oh, we were so worried! Where were you?

Josh:

Well, let's go inside and I'll explain everything.

Mark:

Son, what happened? (Still incredulous, then an inspiration seems to come to him) Son, you didn't run away, did you?

Josh:

Well, yeah... C'mon, let's go inside. I'll explain everything there.

Deanna:

Yes, Mark, let's please go inside. Turns toward the front door

Mark:

Well, all right. But I want a full explanation of this! Turns to the front door. All three are now on their way in.

Josh:

Don't worry. I've got one for you.

Josh, Mark and Deanna all walk inside the front door and close it behind them. Curtain.

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