For all the loneliness that residing in such a remote area should provide, ERINβS villa manages to provide the opposite. The buildings atop such fresh, arable grass may be scattered too far, but the living area in particularβan open, two-story barn made of dark woodβis so well-furnished both in decor and its mess that its two permanent residents could never feel less at ease. Though the entry room is a hallway with several large doors, and both dirt and the remnants of hay bales track on the floorboards in lieu of fancy paintings and crystal lights, the rooms it leads to are well-supplied. The room nearest the entrance holds a kitchen counter crowded with stacks of pans and plates freshly drying from a recent wash; a polished wooden table with a floral-patterned cloth draped over it stoops low to the ground, surrounded by several more wooden chairs than should be necessary and soft, torn cushions atop each one.
At the end of the hallway is a ladder that leads to a thick platform, leading to a small room in the attic: FERNβs bedroom. Carpeted by a warm rug of identical pattern to the tablecloth and surrounded by walls that slope inwards, the room hosts a cleanly folded bed, but bookshelves with novels rested askew. So many flood the room that they even stack upon the floorboards and around the lantern and succulents on top of the short bookcase; any more and there might be enough to blot out what can be seen of the sky. But, they donβt; a window devoid of curtains, facing east towards the sun, bathes the room in sunlight and stretches towards the closed door.
Time Present day, on a Sunday in the early morning.
At Rise The main hallway and depicted attic is empty; even ERIN, who was just cleaning the kitchen, recently departed, leaving the barn to stand quiet. In the silence, two pairs of hurried footsteps enter from stage right. First enters DELWYN, a young girl who ran away to the countryside in a hurry. Unlike her companion, she is new to the farm, and sticks out like a sore thumb. She lived in a manor, isolated, raised on etiquette, maintaining a frozen composure, rich attire, and dated speechβbut now, the packed suitcase in her hand suggests otherwise. Bold as she is to approach first and so quickly, typical of her usual bravado and confidence, she pauses before entering and turns to look offstage.
DELWYN: Are you coming, Fern? (She has time to think and tilt her head.) I thought you were supposed to be showing me around.
FERN, a young boy both familiar and unfamiliar with his own home, enters second. Though he has lived here all his life, it has been months since he returned; and, his experiences have changed him since he first left. Though the same age as DELWYN, he seems older as much as he does younger; he approaches, tiredly, with only a weak smile or laugh to offer, and is too withdrawn to provide as energetic a response, or too occupied by the basket full of fresh produce in his hands.
FERN: I know. I just⦠wanted to look around.
DELWYN: (pause) Is anyone else here?
FERN: (nods) My aunt should be. Sheβs probably out, though. She used to go out to buy spare food at this time.
DELWYN: Did we not stop to buy them before arriving?
FERN: We did. (pause) I thought it would be nice if I bought some for her. As a return giftβand, um, since she might not know youβll be here. (Delwyn stares, then nods, silent.) β¦Anyways. (He opens the door with ease and steps inside.) Do you want to come in?
DELWYN (hesitant, looking into the messy hallway): β¦Alright. (She steps inside.) Where to first?
FERN: The kitchen. Orβ (pause) I can go store the food. You can go up that ladder (points) and wait for me there. My room is inside.
DELWYN crosses stage left to the ladder and climbs up as FERN enters the kitchen. The prop bag is left behind the walls; he follows to climb the ladder, where she has been waiting.
FERN: You donβt have to wait for me, you know.
DELWYN (petulant, like she would cross her arms if she wasnβt holding the suitcase): I thought it was proper to.
FERN: If thatβs what you want to do.
FERN opens the door. DELWYN enters, and he follows. She sits in the center of the bed, still holding her suitcase in a way in which both arms rest in her lap, and turns her head from the sun. He closes the door and stands to her right, further downstage, but looking at her.
DELWYN (eyes avoiding the sun): Your roomβs small.
FERN: Not that small. I got used to it.
DELWYN: I donβt know if I ever could. (laughing, more teasing of herself than him)
FERN: Give it some time. Maybe youβllβ¦ like it?
DELWYN: More than the manor? (a hand cupping her chin. Her dry tone gives little insight into the seriousness of her words.) You think I would like it here? Back home, I slept under silk blankets in a bed twice my size, and I had everything else at my fingertips. There were candlelights that lit with the flick of a switch, servants who followed my fatherβs every beck and call, and bookcases filled from the ground to the ceiling that could hide and shelter anyone.
FERN (after a pause, uneasily): β¦There are bookcases here?
DELWYN: Itβs a dramatic change, is what I mean.
FERN: Oh.
DELWYN (after a long pause:) But, Iβll be alright! I think itβll be a nice change of pace. A dramatic one, but a nice one, regardless. (Pause again. She gives a wry grin.) If I can get used to it, anyways.
FERN: Iβm sure youβll do fine.
DELWYN (teasing:) Aww, you have so much faith in me, and weβve hardly ever talked! That means so much to me. (She laughs, then lies down on her side and squints through the sunlight to look at him. Her smile fades.) But, thank you.
FERN: Itβs nothing. I can also help, if you want.
DELWYN: You would?
FERN: I would.
DELWYN: (pause. She sits back up, since itβs too hard to think while lying down, still avoiding the sun.) My father would be mad if he found out.
FERN: (eyebrow raised) Youβre only realizing that now?
DELWYN: (head tilts) Yes? Why?
FERN: You told me when we metβyou literally ran away.
DELWYN: Well, I suppose I wasnβt being clear enough. Heβd be infuriated.
FERN: But heβs infuriating.
DELWYN: What does that matter?
FERN: After hearing about all that trouble he went to to keep you there, he sounds infuriating and cruel, and I donβt really care what he thinks.
DELWYN: He and the rest of the city council will.
FERN: You donβt live in Atlas anymore, though.
DELWYN: What, so Iβll be able to live the rest of my days out here?
FERN is silent. DELWYN frowns.
DELWYN: I have to return one day, and thatβs implying my father wonβt try to find me first.
FERN: If he has to search four continents to find you, I donβt think heβll succeed anytime soon.
DELWYN: (looking away towards the door) He has his ways.
FERN: (stepping forward) Donβt you have yours?
DELWYN: I donβt know what you mean.
FERN: You told me he constantly monitors the manor. How did you manage to escape?
DELWYN: (pause) I packed my belongings, deactivated the cameras from his office, and snuck out through the back door of the kitchen. I left late into the night when he was asleep, and I managed to take the first train out at dawn.
FERN: And thatβs when we met, isnβt it?
DELWYN: It is. (leaning head against the roof) Why did you ask, anyways?
FERN: Well, thatβs proof, isnβt it? (continuing as Delwyn starts to protest) You were determined to escape, and you found a way out on your own. Youβll be able to plan if he does try to find you, and he wonβt. I know he wonβt.
DELWYN: Youβre confident, arenβt you?
FERN: (nervous smile) Iβm just being optimistic.
Silence. DELWYN squints and watches FERN, who fidgets with his arms and gloves whilst waiting. She gives in first, sighing and falling forward dramatically, resting her head on her elbows over the blanket.
DELWYN: Do you want something out of this, Fern?
FERN: What?
DELWYN: You know what I mean, donβt you?
FERN: If I did, I wouldnβt have asked.
DELWYN: (frowning) Most people want incentives to help people, especially someone who can get them anything at a momentβs notice. I donβt see why you would be excluded. What do you want in exchange?
FERN (with visible confusion:) Nothing?? (crossing arms) I told you, Iβm doing this because I want to help.
DELWYN (taken aback): You are?
FERN (nodding): Promise.
DELWYN (staring, silent): β¦I see. (She gets off her elbows and sits up straight.) Alright. I suppose Iβm just surprised.
FERN: You arenβt used to people being selfless?
DELWYN: If you want to phrase it like that, yes.
FERN: Thatβs the only way to describe it. (He sits on the bed on her right, looking back to her.) It wouldnβt be right to, anyways. Why would I ask you something you donβt want to do?
DELWYN: (theatrical shrug) People do it all the time!
FERN (ignoring the fact that something is deeply wrong with her): I donβt?
DELWYN: Then I guess you can call yourself one of the rare few.
FERN: (quickly) Anyways. (ignoring Delwynβs laughter) Iβm not going to ask you to do something thatβd force you to go back. If staying out here helps and gives you time to figure things out without your dad nearby, then you can stay here. Iβm sure my aunt wouldnβt mind you staying.
DELWYN: How much time are you offering?
FERN: (shrug) As much as you need to figure out what else you want to do.
DELWYN: And that would be besides�
FERN: Besides whatever you were doing before now, I guess.
DELWYN: Fulfilling his legacy and inheriting his business for the rest of my life?
FERN: Yes? (scoots closer, but turns to look at the sunlight in the window instead) I think you should be allowed to choose what you want to do. If that isnβt leading the company and following another dream instead, then you should get to do that.
DELWYN: (scooting away. Fern freezes.) Thatβs going to take years to decide. (laugh) Okay. So, what do you want to do?
FERN: (without hesitation and a smile) I think Iβll leave, one day. Explore, maybe? I feel like thereβs more I can do to help than stay here. β¦Not yet, though. It isnβt time. (scratching back of head) What Iβm saying is that you have more than enough time to figure it out.
DELWYN: β¦Right. I do. (pause) Iβll think on it.
Silently, she stands and crosses stage left past him to face and gaze through the window. FERN turns to watch her; she looks back and beckons him closer.
FERN (still sitting): Are youβ¦ okay watching it? The glareβs usually pretty bad around now.
DELWYN: I like it. (She turns back and leans forward over the books and succulents.) It wasnβt this bright in Atlas. The weather was too cloudy and cold, and I had to light a candle before I could see in the manor. But I get to see it here. (She turns back.) Do you want to look at it, too? You are the one who lived here, after all.
FERN: (He stands still, silent, staring between her and the sun.) β¦Sure. (Slowly, he crosses stage left by her side. Thereβs a long pause.)
DELWYN: The view is nice.
FERN: It is. You can see the sunrise every morning from here.
DELWYN: (audible nod, then a pause) Youβll look for it with me, wonβt you?
FERN: (a longer pause) β¦Yeah. I will. (a nod) Weβll look together.
They remain onstage and watch the sunrise, silent.
Blackout.