TITLE: “PSST”, “PSST”
Surrounded by four walls there are two armchairs, one a little more comfortable than the other, where Milo rolls day and night and Vera sleeps. Between them stands an oval table with three chairs. Above it, there is a mobile phone and a pair of eyeglasses. The kitchen is placed inside the wall and only half of it works, while the other part is blocked inside the wall, due to technical problems. It has only one burner plate, which is used to prepare only Milo’s poor soup, with salt, water and insects. Gray and white, neon lights. The digital clock on the wall only shows the hours, but never the minutes. Below it is a door that leads to a small bedroom, Milo’s room.
Where all the memories of the family are gathered, preserved and clean objects. The air in this house, as in all others, is filtered by a device which is placed inside the wall and is programmed to filter the entire interior of the house. Its operation is managed by of the battery and the creation of new formulas on the digital screen that create an equation of the numbers of the old card and the new one.
(The lights go off and we notice Grandpa Milo standing in the middle of the room, lost in thought. In his right hand he hold a glass of water, and in the other he holds a pill)
GRANDFATHER: I held my head high, the sun had reddened my eyes, but I did not look away anyway. Its rays pierced my skin. I, lost in his light, was smiling. I felt good. I felt like I had seen it thousands of times, but this time, it was more beautiful, brighter, rounder. Suddenly, its view is enriched by some nomad birds, flying freely in the open sky. The sky had taken on a deep, blue hue, stretching in every direction that caught my eye. The white, puffy clouds moved lazily and
slowly across the sky. I felt comfortable.. Calm.., I felt connected to something much bigger than me, something that had been missing from my soul for a long time.. Then someone called my name. I slowly looked away from the sky, my wife, Shpresa, appeared in front of me. Well, my ex-wife (he emphasizes) Shpresa, because she’s not here with me anymore, because she’s gone. Because she left me. Left me for a (he emphasizes) Sharri dog. (In a lower voice) Damned dogs. This is how it goes, today you have a wife, tomorrow, she quickly disappears . (Looks at the glasses on the table)) As quickly as she forgets her glasses, she forgets me. She can’t see without these glasses… (He takes off his glasses and puts on the grandmother’s glasses) We have the same eyes. (Milo takes off the glasses, puts them on the table, and rubs his eyes)
(The phone rings and Milo quickly picks it up.)
GRANDFATHER: Alo
LUAN: O Milo,
GRANDFATHER: Hey Luan
LUAN: Were you sleeping?
GRANDFATHER: No, no Luan. (doubtful) I woke up a long ago… LUAN: I just woke up. I called to tell you that I saw you in my dream. GRANDFATHER: Really? How was it?
LUAN: It was the two of us, and we were cleaning carpets at my place. I told you to stop, but you wouldn’t stop. I told you to stop again, but eventually, you just threw a bucket of water at me. That’s when I woke up.
GRANDFATHER: (laughing) Very well! I also saw a dream about a strong sun, with some clouds, birds…
LUAN: (stops him) Was I there?
GRANDFATHER: No
LUAN: Well, I don’t like it then! (Laughs out loud)
GRANDFATHER: (Milo agrees for the sake of agreeing) You’re right..
LUAN: How is Vera?
GRANDFATHER: Today the battery of the device will run up, she went to get the card and the new battery.
LUAN: How much time did it last this time?
GRANDFATHER: I don’t know, Luan, a week or two. I don’t know, I don’t even know if I already ate or not. I have a pill I take after my meals. (LUAN laughs) Did I already eat?
LION: How would I know milo? Do you feel fed up? Or are you hungry? GRANDFATHER: (Thinks) I don’t know…
LUAN: Think and you’ll remember Milo. But, listen. I sent you a snap last night… but you still didn’t open it.
GRANDFATHER: Really? (GRANDFATHER instinctively puts on GRANDMA’S glasses) Wait, let me see. (the snap shows a recording of two grasshoppers having sex while LUAN exclaims in sync with their actions. GRANDFATHER sees it, and laughs hard. In the background, LUAN can be heard laughing furiously. After this snap, Milo clicks on an unopened Snapchat story of GRANDMA’, and a photo appears, a little blurry from the fog, one where GRANDMA is seen petting a big Sharri dog. She is wearing an oxygen mask. GRANDFATHER gets angry and turns coldly to LUAN)
GRANDFATHER: LUAN I am hanging up because I need to go.
LUAN: Where are you even going to go, don’t lie. Stay, listen…
(Grandpa hangs up the phone. Grandpa gets up on his feet, not knowing what he’s thinking about doing. The sounds of some steps approaching the door of the house caught his attention.)
VERA: (From outside the door) Granpa, move away from the door!
(THE GRANDFATHER goes away from the door as far as possible. VERA goes inside quickly and locks the door after closing it. She has a full backpack on, a “psst” “psst” in her hand, and another one by her waist. She has an oxygen mask on her head.)
GRANDFATHER: Are you okay?
VERA: Yes Grandpa
GRANDFATHER: Why were you so late?!
(Vera begins to take of her coat, and oxygen mask) VERA: I wasn’t late.
(GRNDFATHER looks toward the clock on the wall) GRANDFATHER: U were gone for two hours
VERA: (looking at the clock) It has been one hour, grandpa
(GRANDPA gets closer to the clock and notices that VERA was right. He doesn’t speak. VERA opens her bag.
VERA: U put on grandmother’s glasses.
(GRANDFATHER notices the glasses, and removes them with hatred. They slip and fall on the floor. Vera looks at him, surprised.)
VERA: Why did u throw them like that?
(Grandpa blushes but he doesn’t give himself away, puts his own glasses and changes the topic) GRANDFATHER: Was it hard? Were there any dogs?
VERA: No grandpa.
GRANDFATHER: Those damned dogs… (looking at the pills and food that Vera is getting out of her bag.) Did u get any insects? Im hungry
VERA: Really, u already ate a little before I left.
GRANDFATHER: (realizes he has already eaten breakfast) Actually, youre right, I better eat later. (Immediately goes to the table and sits there, and then takes his pill with a glass of water that was standing there before. Vera looks at him.)
(The device gives a signal, which indicates that the battery must be replaced. VERA takes the new battery in her hands, turns to GRANDFATHER)
VERA: Grandpa will you replace it?
GRANDFATHER: No, you should learn to replace it yourself as well.
VERA: (scarily) Okay… I’ll try quickly.
GRANDFATHER: Don’t worry.
VERA: (She gets close to the device with the new battery) 3…2…1 (Both of them hold their breath. Vera makes sure to change the old battery with the new one. GRANDFATHER’S face turns red, and it’s clear that this is hard on him. For a moment, his nose starts to bleed. Once he notices, he quickly cleans his nose, so Vera won’t notice. Meanwhile, she has copied the dates of the old card with the new one and activates the device again. A signal is heard, and both start breathing again.
VERA: (worried) Was it hard for you? GRANDPA: Not at all.
(VERA notices that it wasn’t easy for him, but she doesn’t ask him more questions. She goes towards her bag)
VERA: I have a surprise, grandfather GRANDFATHER: What?
(VERA takes out from the side pocket of her bag, a small glass bottle with a little liquid inside, goes to the machine and touches a button which causes the opening of a small hole in its upper press. She pours the liquid there, presses the same button, the hole closes and turns to GRANDFATHER. Quiet. GRANDFATHER starts sniffing the air intensely. He has an expression of liveliness on his face)
GRANDFATHER: The sea!
SUMMER: Himare, October 2035…
GRANDFATHER: (GRANDFATHER gets excited) Oh… Our last vacations… I remember how happy you were, Summer…
VERA: You too, Grandpa
GRANDFATHER: (Breaths heavily) Yesterday I saw a dream. First I could see the sky. Clear, with few white clouds and with a strong sun in the middle. It was hurting my eyes. I looked down and saw grandmother in front of me. We were at the sea… You were bathing on the shore and you called me to come to you. Your Mom and dad were also there..
(VERA is touched but does not give herself)
VERA: Grandpa, do you remember how you shouted at me when I swam away from the shore?
GRANDFATHER: (seriously) I yelled at you because you don’t know how to swim!
VERA: (angered) I knew how to swim, grandpa! I don’t know how many times I said it! I know how to swim because I used to swim far!
(GRANDFATHER laughs at VERA’s reaction, making VERE laugh as she understands GRANDFATHER’s game. Suddenly, this laughter provokes GRANDFATHER to cough, which gradually becomes harder. Worried VERA approaches him to help him. He covers his mouth with the side of his hand when coughs, and squeezes his chest tightly with the other. VERA quickly takes the glass from the table and refills it with water. GRANDFATHER meanwhile calms down. VERA hands him the glass and he drinks. He leaves the glass on the table. There are blood stains around the glass.)
GRANDFATHER: It’s nothing Vera, don’t worry… I better go lie down for a bit.
(GRANDFATHER heads to the bedroom. VERA has remained speechless. She has her eyes fixed sadly on the glass of blood on the table.
VERA: I was number 38 in the line of a hundred people waiting to get their their survival batteries. Number 39, Rrezja began opening her heart to me. The tale goes.. there is an uncanny tree, the most magical of its kind, with neon green apples hanging from its branches. It grows where the sun shines and burns, there, past the wall of Obiliq. Once one bites the apple, one’s blood starts to glimmer, and their cough turns into laughter. I must pass three fields and 2 rivers, to get to its roots, and harvest its light. Maybe, then, my grandpa will start remembering again, breathing again, and laughing again. I will pave the way with my “psst” “psst” leaving sparks behind, I’ll be a forest fairy, Tinkerbell!
(VERA checks her bag)
(VERA approaches the kitchen and shakes the pills. She starts talking to herself) VERA: Mhm, extra pills, batteries, grasshoppers, mhm.
(VERA starts writing a note for her grandpa before she takes off. She reads it outloud while she scribbles it)
VERA: I am going to be gone for a couple of days. Don’t long for me and don’t worry about me. I will be coming back and bringing good news along with me. Take care of yourself. Hugs.
(Vera puts on her oxygen mask and makes sure it is set right. Vera opens the door and gets out. Silence)
(GRANDFATHER returns to the living room from his bedroom. He walks slowly swaying towards the table. He picks up grandmother’s glasses from the ground and puts them on the table, where they were at the beginning of the play. He than notices Vera’s note on the table. He reads it, turns his gaze to the door, and lets out a sad sigh).
FJOLLA
First Act
Scene One
The setting is a hotel lobby where Fjolla, the granddaughter, is arranging her skiing medals while her grandmother sits in an armchair. Meanwhile, Fjolla’s mother, the hotel manager, is in town overseeing preparations for the upcoming ski season and ensuring that the hotel provides a warm welcome for this year’s competitors.
GRANDMA: Your medals are taking up more space in the room than all the furniture. My granddaughter, a skier who is making everyone forget about the first place. Even I, with this brain of mine, forgot all about my knitting yarn. That young man from the city promised me he would come today and bring them. If he shows up, you must keep them in one place.
FJOLLA: Do you see these two, grandma? These two up here. I trained long and hard to earn them and I want to proudly display them here. At least, I’m getting a little bit closer to my father’s achievements. A little.
GRANDMA: I remember when you injured your hand. You’re just like your father; he loved the snow. Let me see the medal. They’re dazzling. They remind me of the Ottoman Liras we received on our wedding day. They’re probably not authentic. Or are they?
(Fjolla hands over the medal.)
FJOLLA: Grandma, it’s a gold medal! It may not be worth as much as an Ottoman Lira, but it means the world to me.
GRANDMA: Nowadays, there are medals for everything, so they’re probably not authentic. Your grandfather had war medals, and your father never managed to earn them.
FJOLLA: I know, grandma. Let’s not bring this up again. You promised me.
GRANDMA: I make a lot of promises. I don’t have the strength to keep them. I’m sorry. Where is she?
FJOLLA: Who?
GRANDMA: Your mother. She said she’d be here in two hours, and now it’s dusk and she’s nowhere in sight.
FJOLLA: She’ll be here soon. Everyone is settling in. I saw the neighbors arrive with their children and belongings.
GRANDMA: It’s always been that way. They came here after the war. Nobody wanted them here. Nobody invited them. (Silence falls)
FJOLLA: Fatoni taught me how to ski. I’ll never forget it. Maybe one day, if I become a world champion, I’ll dedicate the award to him.
GRANDMA: There’s no need. He still owes us! You started skiing when you were six years old. You’re talented; nobody needs to teach you more.
FJOLLA: Yes, I won’t forget him. He was dad’s friend.
GRANDMA: Only he survived, and your father didn’t. Isn’t it strange? I don’t believe he was there when he was killed.
FJOLLA: Oh, grandma, not this again. We agreed not to discuss this. You’re breaking your promise. I’m going to get my new skis. Have you seen them?
GRANDMA: (grandmother after a silence) No, I haven’t, and I don’t need them. I need to go outside. The doctor said I have a vitamin D deficiency.
FJOLLA: That’s why I’m grumpy and out of sorts all day. You’re a good old girl! Go out more often.
GRANDMA: It’s not just about taking vitamins. You’ll never truly understand why I am who I am. And even if you do, I won’t be around to hear it.
FJOLLA: For me, skiing is the only thing that brings me happiness. I’m sure you have other passions.
GRANDMA: Of course, I have my own passion for the warmth of the sun. Do you like this sweater pattern, or do you prefer different colors?
FJOLLA: Yes, granny! It’s absolutely beautiful and very trendy right now. You’re quite the designer, who are you making it for?
GRANDMA: Oh, just for myself. It’s just a way to pass the time. I haven’t gone crazy in my old age to become like… what do you call those people who design clothes?
FJOLLA: They’re called designers or stylists.
GRANDMA: Can’t remember either. Designa…?
FJOLLA: …ers. Designers.
GRANDMA: Back then, we used to get our clothes made by models in Italy who sewed really well.
FJOLLA: Italians still lead in the fashion industry today.
GRANDMA: I can’t stand them, but they are so mysterious and beautiful. I actually like them.
FJOLLA: So do you like the Italians themselves or just their fashion?
GRANDMA: Fjolla, you silly girl, get away from me..
FJOLLA: (laughs and kisses the grandmother) Alright, I’m off to the warehouse to get my skis, boots, and clothes. I need to make some repairs and wash my clothes. I’ll see you later, grandma.
(Fjolla gets out)
GRANDMA: The races are up on the hill, not in this room. Go ahead, all of you. I’m so lonely that even a bear would envy me.
BORA enters the room looking exhausted.
BORA: What a day it’s been, especially dealing with those self-righteous men on the committee. They can be so difficult, but we still managed to get the job done.
GRANDMA: Always complaining, it’s only the third day and you’re already grumbling. Where have you been? You’re two hours late.
BORA: Mother, please, let’s not go there. I had to go to the supermarket to get some necessary items, including what you asked me to buy.
GRANDMA: What was that again?
BORA: These things, you know…for that…you know, your napkins.
GRANDMA: Napkins? It has been five years that I do not buy napkins.
BORA: Oh, I see. I must have misunderstood. So, you don’t get your napkin urges anymore?
GRANDMA: I haven’t ordered any napkins nor have any urges for them.
BORA: No, mother, it’s not something you choose, you need them when you do… hahaha.
GRANDMA: Oh, so you are joking. I can’t remember the last time I had any blood.
BORA: No, Mother, I was just kidding.
GRANDMA: So, I have become a subject for jokes to you now. The only thing I’m certain of is that I’m still breathing. But, where were you?
BORA: Like I said, I was at the market buying things for New Year’s dinner. It was so crowded in the city, and I bumped into Sanija, our neighbor, on my way in. She said hello. It seems the van is broken. But I didn’t have time to check it with the mechanic today because I met up with some friends after shopping. Where is Fjolla?
GRANDMA: I don’t know. She said she’s going to get her skis…
BORA: Ah, yes, the competitions are approaching. Poor her, she is growing up without a father. She is trying to become like him. It’s hard for me to imagine growing up without a father as a role model, the supporter and the hand that pushes you forward?
GRANDMA: Well, we are trying hard…
BORA: (Interrupts), it’s not a matter of effort, a father figure is essential in a girl’s life, and the absence of one can leave a void that cannot be replaced. Every girl’s first love is her father, and she will spend her whole life trying to find the father model in her future husband.
GRANDMA: Oh, she’s still a child, don’t worry too much, we shouldn’t trouble ourselves with thoughts of her future husband just yet.
BORA: You were a mother yourself. I see how fast she grows. I sometimes feel like she’s slipping away from me, slipping away… others are taking her away from me. Today’s children grow up fast, instead of us teaching them, they teach us… Fjolla has matured before her time.
GRANDMA: She is just like me. She resembles me when I was at her age. Where did you go? You are doing everything so slowly. You’re getting old.
BORA: I do it slowly because there are many things to do. Besides these things I got, I saw Faton earlier. They’ve decided to bring the skiing competitions here.
GRANDMA: I don’t believe it. We did not vote for them then. They have never invested, to do this it now.
BORA: Last year, businesses received some funds to survive. Do you remember it? I know you know.
GJYSHJA: Of course, they did! They won’t make a difference here.
BORA: This is a European competition. The organizers are serious. They will change this place.
GRANDMA: Ah, European. What does this mean for us? We will not be any happier if some foreigners come here for a few days.
BORA: Faton was sure that the organizers will bring the competitions here, for many years to follow. I hope so. They are interested in developing a ski school here.
GRANDMA: I hope so, but I don’t believe it. The girl has taken her skis out. That much I know.
BORA: I know, I looked down. She is happy here. She loves skiing. It’s in her genes.
GJYSHJA: Just like her father. He had no spot in his body which he didn’t breake!
(Laughs with melancholy)
BORA: She has a good chance by participating in these competitions. Who knows. Maybe she will be a champion one day. May she have a good luck. In God’s hands.
GRANDMA: Unless something bad happens to ruin her dreams. She loves this game so much that nothing will stop her. She is determined like me.
BORA: Come on now. Did you go out today?
GRANDMA: No. I’m afraid to go out alone. I don’t trust my legs. Come with me. Shall we go out for a while? There is air left here from last year. Open the windows. Let air in. My favorite air. I love this place! This is where my soul rests. Everything seems to me that I will quickly leave this place behind, this world…
BORA: Come on, mother, don’t say such things…. Are we going now?
(The grandmother goes to the window. Fjolla is down there.)
GJYSHJA: Fjolla! Fjolla! Grab my stave! Grab my stave!
SKENA 2
(In the middle of the scene is the table covered with a thick white tablecloth: grandmother and Fjolla are sitting. Bora puts the food on the table and sits down. She fills the glasses)
BORA: Cheers!
FJOLLA: Cheers!
(Grandma confused)
FJOLLA: Cheers grandma!
(Grandma wipes her eyes)
RANDMA: I miss Mali.
(Fjolla touches her arm as a consolation)
FJOLLA: Grandma, today we are celebrating.
GRANDMA: You’ve started to forget him, you’re both enjoying yourself.
BORA: We miss him too, same as you. We must continue. Those alive with the alive ones, the dead ones with the dead. We are alive. Very lively.
(Fjolla intervenes)
FJOLLA: At least today, let’s not fight. Grandma, tell me the story of how you met the grandfather. Please. It gets me every time.
GRANDMA: (sadly/satisfied) It was winter. I came on vacation, and on that day there were skiing competitions. Grandpa also liked ski racing. We exchanged a few glances at the ski slope.
FJOLLA: (teasing her) Did you have butterflies in your stomach?
GRANDMA: Even wasps. A lot of them. That’s the way we loved back then. Nothing has taken us away from love. Before Mali was born, we were happy. This hotel was small. Our shelter, somewhere where no one interfered with the feeling. That’s why I like this place, because the scorpions move more slowly, just like we want. He had recognized me down there, where I was sliding on a wooden sled that my father had made for me. I fell at his feet. He was older than me. Many years older than me. He took me by the hand and led me to our cabin. Imagine that. My dad, a fanatic – laughed. He said this is how a man should behave.
FJOLLA: And?
GRANDMA: And we got married. What else do you want to know? That’s enough. Cheers.
(Celebrating. Laughing)
GRANDMA: At that time there was way more snow. Not like now.
BORA: I also remember how much snow there was. I can’t remember a Christmas without snow. Now it’s as if only the days have changed, but not the seasons. We seem to be living in a new world.
GRANDMA: Snow reminds me of God. Every time it snows, it reminds me that there is a God in the sky!
(The scene darkens, only the voices are heard)
FJOLLA: Don’t move. I find the candle.
(Fjolla lights the match. Fjolla gets up and opens a cupboard. The cupboard lets out a crackle from oldness.)
FJOLLA: Oh grandma, where did you leave the candles?
GRANDMA: It’s a red box, take that out and you’ll see a small box, there are the candles.
FJOLLA: Man couldn’t find them even with a map.
GJYSHJA: I’ll find them.
FJOLLA: Found them.
(Fjolla lights two candles and puts them on the table.)
BORA: Eat because the food is getting cold.
(Tastes the food)
FJOLLA: You never learned how to prepare the meat. Sometimes you leave it without salt, sometimes you burn it.
GRANDMA: I can’t eat it either. But since it’s a holiday, I’m not complaining.
BORA: You two are never satisfied with anything. You are the same.
GRANDMA: It will snow because my feet are getting cold.
FJOLLA: Grandma, you act as a meteorologist.
(They laugh)
GRANDMA: I feel cold. I know.
BORA: We forgot to bring wood.
GRANDMA: It’s warm enough.
FJOLLA: But you just said your feet are cold.
GRANDMA: I said that to let you know that it will snow. You’re like chicken’s eggs. We stayed even without heating. We were healthier than you are today.
(Fjolla puts out a box with a ribbon)
FJOLLA: Grandma, I have this gift for you.
(Grandma opens the gift, gets excited)
GRANDMA: Oh, Mali’s watch!
FJOLLA: I couldn’t find a more special gift than my father’s watch.
GRANDMA: I bought him this watch in Venice. I gave him it when he won first place in skiing.
(Grandma puts out a gift with decorative paper and ribbon)
I hope you like it.
(Fjolla opens the gift. She puts the sweater on her body)
FJOLLA: It is special, handmade. I can also wear it for the new year.
(Fjolla gets up and hugs her grandmother)
GRANDMA: You are just like your father.
(Grandma gives a gift to Bora as well)
I believe you’ll like this.
(Bora opens the gift)
BORA: They are beautiful.
(Bora puts on the gift)
GRANDMA: They are earrings with snowflake ribbons. That precedes what will snow.
FJOLLA: Cheers!
(They clink glasses. They drink, they are half drunk and sing)
GRANDMA- MOTHER- FJOLLA
Song’s lyrics:
(The stage lights up)
FJOLLA: Electricity’s back
(The same song is heard in the background)
THE SECOND ACT
The first scene
Grandma is sleeping on the couch. The third part of the news is heard on the TV, the journalist is talking about the weather)
JOURNALIST: Today, our country will be dominated by alternating clear and cloudy skies, but the chances of precipitation are few. In deep mountainous areas there will be local rainfall. According to the hydrometeorological institute of Kosovo, temperatures will experience a slight increase where they will vary in mountainous areas, from 01ºC to 11ºC, in low areas from 06ºC to 17ºC. The wind will blow in the South direction, while the wave force in the sea is expected to be up to 4 degrees. The weather, in the next month, will be clear with alternating clouds, but the chances of rain are few. Temperatures will experience a slight increase where they will vary: in mountainous areas from 01ºC to 12ºC and in low areas from 05ºC to 13ºC. Similar temperatures await the continent of Europe. Experts warn of hot summers and dry winters. Concerns in this context have also been raised by the climate change commission within the United Nations. In addition, tonight on our television at 20:35 on the Çelnaja show, follow the debate with experts in the field.
(Grandma wakes up from sleep. Bora enters)
BORA: Mother, what are you doing? did you go out today?
GRANDMA: I slept a little. I started watching the news, but woke up at the very end. I never finish them.
BORA: Huh, what’s the news saying?
GRANDMA: I don’t know if I was in a dream or the announcer’s voice was whispering to me in my sleep, but I think he said there will be no snow, we will have rain instead of snow.
BORA: Hmm, have they even mentioned it in the news?
GRANDMA: Mentioned what?
BORA: That there will be no snow.
GRANDMA: They don’t know God’s business.
BORA: No mother, it’s not that simple. Of course it is in the hands of God (gibershies something with herself) – it seems to me that he has also forgotten us… the greatest punishment for the human being, that is, forgotten by God.
GRANDMA: What did you say?
BORA: Nothing, nothing. I mean, this snow thing looks like it’s going to be a problem, mom
GRANDMA: I wonder if that’s the case! It would be the wreck of us.
BORA: Today we had another committee meeting.
GRANDMA: And?
BORA: It looks like the government will bring the necessary machines for artificial snow.
GRANDMA: Dear God… how is a snowmobile a solution? How can the mountain be filled with snow?
BORA: No, Grandma, not the Mountain… just the track. But this is also problematic. However, we wait. Maybe it’ll snow.
GRANDMA: It won’t snow, it won’t. Why would it snow? We have forgotten all the good things of God. Before our time, we had no bread to eat, but we were very thankful and grateful to God. Well, today in all this abundance, these kindnesses, you have turned your back on God.
BORA: Yes, mother, maybe we did. But some others more than us.
GRANDMA: Our sins have defeated us. God does not punish people individually for their sins, but sends a curse to all without distinction… that is why we do not have snow…
BORA: Oh, God is not a man who has our grudges (talking to herself) … Yes mother, that’s right, hope it’ll snow, by God’s wish.
(Fjolla enters at the door)
FJOLLA: What is that that I heard that it won’t snow?
Grandma: I’m going up a little bit… tonight I want to sleep in my son’s room, in the mountain suite… I want to smell his scent. Mali… oh world, oh world, there was no punishment worse than a mother crying over the death of her son…
BORA: (Sigh) yeah, yeah, 20 years after the war, no one cries for the living, we continue to cry for the dead. Man lives every day, but dies only one day. Weep for ourselves as long as we are alive and the memories of the dead do not leave us alone. Man is condemned to remember!
FJOLLA: What’s wrong, mom, what is this melancholy… It sounds like Lar Von Trajer’s Melancholia…
BORA: You don’t know what melancholy is?
FJOLLA: Do you?
BORA: Yes. Don’t start it. Enough now.
FJOLLA: You’re not putting up with this style of the damned victim… get out of this skin… we’ve all experienced pain… isn’t it just you?
BORA: To whom do you talk about pain? (Lights a cigarette)
FJOLLA: You think that you only feel pain. Only you! None of us.
BORA: Yeah, it’s just me.
FJOLLA: Do you know how difficult it was for me? What a lack I grew up with. I grew up only with you…
BORA: And you’re saying that I wasn’t enough, right?
FJOLLA: No. I am saying that no one can fill the void he left. Neither do you. No matter how hard you tried. You don’t need to complain. You haven’t missed anything in life.
BORA: I haven’t missed anything in life? And you, do you know what it means to be a widow? Do you know what it means, being a woman who dares not look anyone in the eye twice. Do you know that for 20 years I have not put on perfume, make-up on my face or jewelry on my hands… do you know what it means that I have not shared my bed with anyone for 20 years… I have an old woman and a child… and you say I haven’t missed anything…
FJOLLA: Mom, I’m sorry, I didn’t mean to say that…
BORA: Shut up now, listen… do you know what it means to live in a wobbly country, with no right to even vent, to try, to imagine, even dream… not even think sometimes… you don’t know what it means to live at a place where people enjoy their own fatality, people enjoy the misfortune of others… in a place where you have neither body nor soul nor feelings…. Just a robot body whose consciousness is the mouth of the others…. The others are the highest morality….
I’m sorry mom, I’m sorry mom… (Fjolla cries all the way up the stairs)
(Bora remains alone in front of the audience and begins to speak, condemning in silence, begins to recover and speaks to the audience)
BORA: We called you Fjollë, because I was Snow (Bora in Albanian) and dad was Mountain (Mali in Albanian) and all three of us were mountain flakes in the snow. You were born as a result of love,and you were the best teacher of love. We loved you without expecting love from you. Yes, in return for love, you got us alive and breathing. But Mali gave up this life, more precisely, to live dead for an ideal was more significant to him than to live for it… However, without Mali, there is nowhere for the snow to fall and make sense, much less from this snow of the flakes appear. Damn it…
ACT THREE
The first scene
(Fjolla and Grandma sit boringly at the table, after a moment a woman in her 60s enters from the main door who looks at the hotel attentively, at the end she offers herself to the lobby and asks to be placed in the hotel’s Mali suite. After they put her in the room her grandmother and Fjolla talk about the complaints of ski guests, the impossibility of paying those who go to higher points, the problems with the hotel)
SONIA: Hello.
(Fjolla approaches the hall, while the grandmother looks at her from her seat, unable to get up. Fjolla looks at the woman’s suitcases)
FJOLLA: (Smiling at her) Hello. Are you interested in a room?
(Sonia looking around the hotel lobby)
SONIA: Of course, I want a room with a mountain view, from which I can also see the ski slope.
FJOLLA: (Embarrassed) I can’t get you the room you’re looking for.
SONIA: Why? Is there a problem?
FJOLLA: They’re busy. But we could provide you with a room where you can see a parts of the mountain. Pine trees, cable car, view from the neighborhood. It looks like a fabulous environment.
(Sonia puzzled, looks again at the hotel lobby)
FJOLLA: We can also bring you something to drink. Tea, water or coffee.
SONIA: (obedient) A cup of tea, please.
(Fjolla is excited, and takes Sonia’s suitcases. Waves to the exit of the stage)
FJOLLA: This way, please.
(Grandma gives her a cold smile and so does Sonia. Fjolla and Sonia leave. As the grandmother with the cane moves slowly on stage, Fjolla returns)
GRANDMA: In which room did you put her?
FJOLLA: In room 6.
GRANDMA: The ma’am wants the mountain view room. How about that.
FJOLLA: Dad’s room will be as he left it. Even if we have to sleep on the floor, so be it. Grandma, guests have complained about the food?
GRANDMA: Why?
FJOLLA: They told me that in previous years, the food was better.
GRANDMA: It’s not true. I prepared the food like I always do.
FJOLLA: I’m sorry, but for one dish, earlier you would put 12 onions for 15 people, now you put 6. You divided the meat into smaller pieces. You’re not salting the salad enough. The dish was not fried enough. You didn’t even put stock, it’s almost just water. They have asked you to also serve coffee or tea.
GRANDMA: They said that? I haven’t heard them. Eh, my ears are starting to abandon too.
FJOLLA: Since there is no snow here, the skiers are asking us to send them to the mountain. The driver is asking for money, for gas.
GRANDMA: They are skiers. Why should we spend money on them? Let them take their skis and go. Our only duty towards them is hosting them at the hotel. What happens outside the hotel is their business.
FJOLLA: We don’t even have enough water. I saw on the KEDS website, that there are subsequent reductions and inflated invoices.
GRANDMA: That’s the last thing we needed. Like we don’t have enough other expenses, let the bills inflate too. Puffff.
FJOLLA: Skiers want to ride the cable car.
GRANDMA: Tell them they’re broken.
FJOLLA: Grandma, if we lie to them now, they won’t come again. Somehow, we have to fulfill their wish, so that they come next year as well. Even so, we are going bankrupt. There is not enough food, we have nothing to pay for electricity, no water.
GRANDMA: Half of the world has no water or electricity, they’re still living. Be a little pessimistic.
(Bora enters the hotel)
BORA: Can we sit down, please?
(The three sit down, facing each other)
BORA: I have put the hotel up for sale.
GRANDMA: You’re dreaming, aren’t you?
BORA: Finally, I have decided.
GRANDMA: With whose permission?
BORA: All of us.
FJOLLA: Are things worse than they seem?
SNOW: Yes.
GRANDMA: If you sell the hotel, you sell the memories of your husband and my son.
BORA: There is no snow. Not even the government can afford artificial snow. Without water and electricity, it is impossible.
GRANDMA: Living your wildest dreams. You’ve wanted this for a long time. Now you’re using it.
BORA: It’s not like that. We must support each other. We have no other choice.
GRANDMA: (raises her voice) It’s not up for sale. I’m not even leaving here. We’re the fifth generation of the hotel.
FJOLLA: Is there no solution?
BORA: No. Even the mayor has sold the hotel. Others have also put up the plaques for sale.
(Grandma hits the table with her fist)
GRANDMA: Our hotel has a history; it is not like the others.
BORA: We also have the buyer.
FJOLLA: Who is it?
GRANDMA: When the hotel is left in your hands, you are throwing it away like a rag.
BORA: We definitely have it.
FJOLLA: Why don’t you take these things more chill? Maybe it’s a good sign.
GRANDMA: This one spoke. No one was asking for your opinion. It doesn’t matter to you, but to me. There is Mali, my son, your husband and your father.
BORA: If we sell the house, it doesn’t mean that we lose the memories, for him. They will remain in our heads. And in our hearts.
GRANDMOTHER: I would never have believed that the day would come, nor would I have imagined that I would leave here with a suitcase. This cannot happen. Have you forgotten that I still keep the closets, carpets, and furniture of Mali’s suite, just as it was in his time so that every time his scent enters I can still feel it. The cool smell of my son’s sweat, the armchair in the corner of the room where he used to sit and read for hours, smoke his pipe, and drink a glass of wine/
BORA: Mother, this matter surpasses all our melancholy and luxury to remember and adore the past engraved on the furniture of our rooms. It’s just deeper. Global warming is taking its toll, we need to think fast and make decisions about the fate of Fjolla. Memories are worth less, I believe even our lives, than Fjolla’s fate and future. Climate change has taken its toll.
GRANDMA: Damn climate change. I know these tales. These are the product of the dirty human mind, of the corrupt minds of those who know how to get enough of money and come here to buy our lands…
FJOLLA: No grandma, unfortunately… man is changing it and bringing the end of the world…
GRANDMA: You cannot bring about the end of what man did not create himself. The end of this world can only be brought about by God’s will, we thank him. Only God can write the fate of this basement…
BORA: Unfortunately, mother, the will of this world is being written by both God and man, one more and the other less…
FJOLLA: Grandma, unfortunately, I have heard and read different things. There is something called climate migration. Changing climatic conditions have changed demography and population movements.
GRANDMA: Bullshit…
FJOLLA: The very rapid climate change or climate crisis that we are seeing in the last decades, has been and is being caused by emissions from the human activity of greenhouse gases, the most common of which are carbon dioxide (CO2) and methane gas (CH4). This has brought about a climate crisis, where the climate is changing at rates never seen naturally by planet Earth. So, the climate crisis is the consequence of the global pollution of the atmosphere caused by mankind. Among the biggest emitters of Carbon Dioxide are the USA, CHINA, Germany, Japan, France… and other important countries. All this. It is causing the increase in temperatures, the collapse of the ice at the poles, the increase in the level of sea and ocean water, the frequency of precipitation and the appearance of droughts in different areas. Guess what, today it is snowing in Saudi Arabia, the Saharan countries are starting to turn green, and here we are getting dry…
BORA: I can’t anymore. I am tired and it seems that my shoulders cannot carry this responsibility… it is too much, unbearable…
GRANDMA: Don’t mention America. America has set us free. I don’t know, you young people, what is the matter with this anti-Americanism of yours, you speak English and know America, you think America is ruining the world? I don’t believe it… even if you understand me, how someone who is working in America, or China, damn it, is ruining our lives here…?
BORA: That’s true mother, the man has become so selfish to think about his fate and his pockets, forgetting that fate is all collective. In a word, the man who lit the fire instead of warming it is burning his hands…
GRANDMA: I can’t accept it; I just can’t accept it…
(Silence)
The stairs creak. Down the stairs comes Sonia, the Italian guest…
BORA: Miss Sonja, welcome
SONIA: Glad I found you…
BORA: How did you like the hotel?
GRANDMA: I saw in her smile that nothing good is coming from this woman with good manners. We put her in the best room, the Mali suite. In our years no one breathed there.
SONIA: This country has so much soul, so much spirit that I don’t know how to express it. I feel as if I have come somewhere in an untrodden forest and there I find the originality of the world… in fact, our lost world that we have lost in the west…
BORA: I am very happy…
SONIA: I think there is no need to repair and have work in the hotel. And I believe the transfer will be completed today within a day?
GRANDMA and FJOLLA: Transfer… what’s going on…?
BORA: Yes, Sonia is the new owner of the Hotel…
Grandma looks haunted. Carried on her cane. She looks at them all in turn. It looks like she’s going to faint. Lights out.
The second scene
In the hallway of the hotel, a tube full of clothes, old tapestries, cotton paintings and personal belongings. The transport workers do the carrying… the grandmother is sitting in a corner of the hotel and in her hands, she is holding the old watch of the Mali suite that she bought in Milan. In that state of gloom, leaving the hotel quite paradoxically… it starts to snow…
Everyone faces the sky and looks up until the snow sticks to their faces. They laugh, mother, grandmother and Fjolla… they rejoice…
THE END
BLACK TEARS
Act one
SCENE ONE
ENTER
Mom and Dad are discussing about their sick daughter.
Mom (walking around the room)
The girl is not feeling well.
Dad
She’s fine, don’t bother me!
Mom
Have you seen her?
The girl goes on stage using a crutch
Dad
You’re the only one taking care of her, huh?
Mom
Don’t talk like that! Don’t start!
Dad
I didn’t start anything, I’m just saying!
Mom
I’m taking her to the doctor!
Dad
Go ahead. You’ll see I was right!
Mom
Yeah, yeah, you’re always right!
SCENE TWO
Mom and daughter go to the doctor together. The girl sits on the chair while the doctor checks her.
The doctor turns to write something and remains still. Mom waits.
Mom
So? Is the girl sick?
Doctor (takes a deep breath)
Yes, she is sick.
Mom
I knew it! I knew it! Well, what’s wrong?
Doctor
Coughing, shortness of breath, rash, muscle pain. She has it all, ma’am
Mom (turns to daughter)
Oh Mama’s Girl, you’ll be fine. (She hugs the girl) Now we just have to convince Dad that you have a problem.
The girl doesn’t say anything; she just looks at them because she knows she’s not well.
Mom
Thank you very much, doctor. Now he will know that I was right..
Doctor
…. okay, but you know that there will be a lot of work to help the girl? Pills, medicine, needles, and of course, you have to make some changes at home, eat healthier things, take care of the girl…
Mom
Yes, of course, I know! And we will do all of that!
The girl coughs hard, and mom doesn’t even notice. The doctor looks at her sadly.
SCENE 3
Mom throws the doctor’s papers on the table with force.
Mom
I told you! I told you she is not well!
Dad puts on his glasses to read but hardly does, he just looks at them.
Dad
Where did you get these papers?!
Mom
Where do you think from?! From the doctor!
Dad
No, don’t lie to me! Where did you get them?!
Mom
Why don’t you want to accept it? The girl is sick.
Dad
We have to send her to another doctor. I don’t know where you got these papers from, or how you did them, but I’ll tell you if the girl is sick!
Mom
Come on then, you tell me about my daughter! Tell me if she’s sick or not!
The girl’s cough is heard from the other room.
Mom
I’m wondering why you don’t accept that the girl is not well. The more you deny it, the more time we waste!
Dad
She’s well! Don’t say such stupid things.
Mom
Alright, alright, go on then. Take her to your doctor, and let me know what he says..
Dad
I’ll take her. You’ll understand then.
SCENE 4
Dad checks his phone while the doctor checks the girl.
Dad
So, she’s okay, right?
The doctor is not well-educated, and the dirtiness of his office shows it. He has a cigarette in his mouth and coughs.
Doctor
Yeah, yeah, your daughter is fine. There’s nothing wrong with her.
Father (without looking up from his phone):
Ah, I knew it.
Doctor
Yeah, she’s really fine–
The doctor stops talking and coughs for a long time with great force. It continues until even the father raises his head and looks at him.
Doctor
She’s fine. My job here is done.
The girl just coughs, and the father continues talking to the doctor.
ACT 2
The girl is lying in bed with a red face and a high temperature. The parents can be heard arguing in the other room.
Dad (echo) My doctor said she is fine!
Mom (echo)
That doctor is useless!
Dad
Yeah right, the doctor doesn’t know anything..!
Mom
He’s stupid… you have no idea!
The girl slowly closes her eyes, and after ten seconds, she opens them again. She coughs a little and slowly gets up from the bed using crutches. She walks slowly, and a multi-colored light appears, the Aurora Borealis.
Girl
I see a light (echo: a light, a light) on a dark blue surface. (dark x2) Beautiful colors of lightning! Different colors! (various x2) Ah, the Aurora. Wait. No, wait! (No! x2)
The colors fade away, and the beauty of the earth disappears.
Girl
No, no, no! Don’t go!
They fade and fade and disappear.
Girl
No…(echo)
SCENE 2
The sound of a river begins. A calm and beautiful river. A roaring river. The girl listens.
Girl
Oh, oh, how beautiful. A beautiful river.
She approaches slowly. A beautiful river (echo)
The noise gradually fades, but the girl notices.
Girl
No. Not again, not again!
The girl doesn’t know what to do. She looks for the river, hoping to help it, to save it.
Girl
I don’t know where you are! I want to help you! I’m sorry! I’m sorry! I’m sorry!
The sound of the river stops completely.
Girl
… I’m sorry.
SCENE 3
The girl is crying. She doesn’t know what to do. And now the room warms up.
She reacts, and starts sweating.
Girl
I see the trees withering. Rivers are drying up. The earth is drying up.
The girl remains hyperventilating.
Girl
There are no resources. Those lakes and rivers that are left are black. The earth is dying.
The girl coughs hard and the crutch gets her again.
Girl
The earth is dying! The earth is dying!
In the other room, the parents continue arguing.
Dad
The girl is fine!
Mom
She might die because of your ignorance!
Girl
The earth is dying!
The girl slowly turns back to her bed, and now she wakes up.
ACT 3
The girl enters the room where her parents are arguing.
Girl (coughs)
Mom! Dad!
Mom and Dad are in a heated argument and don’t notice her.
Girl
Mom! Mom! I’m not feeling well!
She waits for a moment, trying to get their attention.
Girl
Dad! Daddy, please!
The girl tries to get between her parents, but they still don’t notice her.
Girl
Mom! MOM! MOM!
The girl screams, and the parents freeze like a statue.
Girl
I’m not feeling well.
She turns to the audience.
Girl
I’m not good. I can’t take it anymore. Every day I’m in pain. I don‘t know what to do. They’re not helping me. He doesn’t have a clue what to do, and she knows but still does nothing about it. I don’t want this anymore. I can’t go on like this any longer. They can’t keep doing this to me. They can’t keep ignoring me. They should take care of me! They should take care of me! They must take care! Must!
…You have to take care of me. Please.
The End