"Hotel between this world and the other
world"
1
E.E. Schmidt
ACTIVE PERSONS:
(in the order they appear on stage)
JULIAN PORTAL
THE RAJAPURA WITCH
DOCTOR S.
THE PRESIDENT ANNA DELBECK
LAURA
MARY
YOUTH IN WHITE (role without words)
GIRL IN WHITE (role without words)
The decor remains the same. Before the start, a strange noise, as if a strong current is
becoming... This wind of infinite power creates the feeling that it is capable of sucking
everything in its path, carrying away everything on the wings of its breath, people,
ships, trees, houses.... The hum grows, gets stronger, reaches an unbearable volume,
then disappears in a few seconds. In the background of the reverberating sounds, the
noise of a stopping elevator can be heard. The stage lights up. Hotel reception.
Discreet comfort, artificially dimmed lighting, the reception area is furnished with
traditional armchairs around tables, the reception - currently empty - distributes the
hotel's guests to two corridors leading to the rooms. The letter D lights up above one,
the letter Z above the other. The light above the elevator door opens. With a slightly
disheveled look, as if in shock, Julien, still a young man dressed in a light suit, rubs his
head with one hand and leans on the elevator with the other. After a light massage of
his forehead, he visibly mobilizes and slowly crosses the threshold. He walks
unsteadily, like someone who has just had an accident that has knocked him off
balance. He looks around, then approaches the front desk. Suddenly a tall thin young
man in white appears and smiles kindly at him. Julien leans back on the desk.
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JULIEN: Where am I?
Instead of answering, the young man handed him a key. Julien takes it.
JULIEN: You're right. I'm going to rest.
The young man signals. A young woman in white, also lithe and silent,
approaches Julien. He answers her as if she spoke to him.
JULLIEN: Yes, I have luggage. It's in the car, but… ( He looks for his keys in
the grinder's pockets, but can't find them. Desperately he says ): It doesn't
matter…Leave it..I'll see you later….
The employee takes him by the hand and leads him to corridor "D".
Julien stops abruptly and turns around.
JULLIEN: You must want to know my name, in case anyone is looking for
me…
The young man shows him the hotel register.
JULLIEN: Ah…You already recorded me…okay..( He looks quite confused
)..Yes, you're right, I'm going to rest….
The girl holds him tight. They disappear in corridor "D".
Two men appear from corridor "Z". The sorceress Rajapura, dressed in a
silken robe, examines the reception room.
THE WITCH: I tell you there's a new one!
The President, dry, conventional, clothed with the strict discretion of men
who consider themselves worthy of respect from others, walks after him.
THE PRESIDENT: There is no such thing, I have not heard anything.
THE WITCH: Of course, you're as deaf as a stump,
THE PRESIDENT: Please?
THE WITCH: Did you see? ( Turning to the young man at the reception.)
Raphael, someone just arrived, didn't they?
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The young man smiles.
THE WITCH ( accepts the smile for confirmation ): Here, I have not lied.
THE PRESIDENT: Are you Raphael calling him? And I call him Gabriel.
THE WITCH: And does he react?
THE PRESIDENT: Of course!
WITCH: So we're both right.
THE PRESIDENT: Of course not! ( Turning to the reception .) Gabriel, are
you Raphael or Gabriel?
However, the young man has disappeared silently.
THE WITCH ( sitting down) : Why can't you bear the fact that we might both
be right?
THE PRESIDENT: Because you claim one thing and I say something
completely different.
SHOPkeeper: Well, and?
THE PRESIDENT: The truth is either one or the other, but never both.
Either...or...Either you're right and I'm wrong, or I'm right and you're wrong.
WITCH: And your truth cannot accept mine?
THE PRESIDENT: Obviously.
WITCH: I see... Sort of like a married man: he can't be divided.
THE PRESIDENT: I have never shared my husband with anyone.
WITCH: I believe you. Especially since you showed a picture of him.
THE PRESIDENT ( offended ): Please?
THE WITCH ( repeating, also as if deaf ): You showed me a picture of him
yesterday!
The witch unfolds a newspaper and begins to read. This does not prevent
the President from speaking.
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THE PRESIDENT: Did you see Doctor S. today? ( The sorceress starts to
answer. ) Not yet. I specifically asked to make an appointment this morning, but
they haven't heard back yet. Can they treat people like this? Am I asking you? (
The sorceress starts to answer .) This is absolutely unacceptable! And as you
mean they have compiled detailed and accurate records for us, from which the
doctor can read who he is dealing with! For each of us! By the way, do you
think this doctor is competent? ( The sorceress starts to answer. ) With this
modern medicine, we are not dealing with educated and cultured people, but
only with some barbarians who possess information. Don't you agree with me?
(The sorceress begins to answer, opening her mouth.) Naturally, such is the
rottenness of this generation. They have never been hungry, they have never
been cold, they have never seen war.
THE WITCH: Madam President, do you appreciate the answers I give to your
questions?
THE PRESIDENT: Please?
THE WITCH ( as if deaf ): Do you like my answers?
THE PRESIDENT: What are you telling me? I appreciate having a conversation
with you, but shut up when I talk to you!
The witch sighed and sank back into her newspaper.
THE WITCH: Doesn't the noise of my newspaper bother you?
THE PRESIDENT: Please?
At that moment Marie enters.
MARIE: I've made my bed four times, scrubbed the sink five times, fixed the
curtains, I don't know what to do anymore. Looking for something to do,
something like sewing buttons for example? Did something happen to you?
Some hem or…
THE PRESIDENT ( returning to normal tone ): Madam, have you received
Doctor S.?
MARIE: No, and I asked!
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THE PRESIDENT: This is unacceptable! They treat us like some kind of
cleaners!
THE WITCH ( shocked ): Madam President!
MARY ( fascinated ): But she's not wrong madam, I really am a cleaner.
THE PRESIDENT: Ah!
THE WITCH: Madam President, nobody comes here with recommendations.
THE PRESIDENT: Egalitarianism, predpomalagm? Republican leprosy has
spread everywhere. They no longer judge who, who is. The value of a person is
irrelevant.
WITCH: To me, a person's value is determined by whether they are human,
nothing else.
THE PRESIDENT: Nonsense! Dangerous stupidity!
MARY ( to the Enchantress ): The lady is right: you can't just compare a
president to a cleaning lady.
THE PRESIDENT: Well, did you see? Even she admits it! And, dear madam,
what do you think the difference is?
MARY: Am'chi…
THE PRESIDENT: Say, say, I insist. To teach our friend and (raises her voice
) Dr. S., if she can hear us, what is your view on the difference between a
president and a cleaning lady?
MARY: From my point of view? Am'chi...first of all it's a matter of cabinet..
THE PRESIDENT ( encouraging her ): Yes?
MARIE: A president messes up the office, and the cleaning lady cleans it.
THE WITCH ( amused ): Go on!
MARY: A president walks around with a whole train of titles in front and
behind. Mr. or Mrs. President Eddie who are you, CEO of a real estate company,
Member of the Board of Directors of edi-what are you…. A cleaning lady only
has a name, and it doesn't last long, because she only has the small name. Not to
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mention that it is in her interest to be called Marie, because the bosses are not
very memorable and everyone is called Marie.
THE WITCH ( to the President ): You were right. Strange, indeed, that with
all these distinctions of extreme importance, Doctor S. did not accept you!
At that moment, Julien enters. Looks a little better
JULIEN: Good afternoon.
The others rise to meet him.
JULIEN: I am Julien Portal.
THE WITCH: Let me introduce the others: Madame Presidente Anna
Delbecque, Madame Marten.
MARIE: …Marie Martin.
THE WITCH: I am the witch Rajapura.
JULLIEN: Excuse me, it must seem stupid to you, but I don't know what I'm
doing here. I don't remember booking a room at this hotel, and when I arrived
my name was on the register. Where is the director? Where are we exactly?
THE WITCH: What do you mean by "more precisely"?
JULIEN: In what city? On which highway?
WITCH: I don't know.
JULLIEN: How so? Did you just arrive too?
WITCH: Oh, no. I am the oldest customer of this hotel. I moved here six months
ago.
JULLIEN: Please, my head is so messed up this morning, I'm obviously not very
clear. Tell me the name of the hotel.
The other three are silent. Julien alternately looks at him. They are silent.
Julien rubs his forehead again. Marie puts a hand on his shoulder.
MARY: Did you crash?
7
JULIEN: Yes….No..( Thinking.). I do not know. I was on the highway, yes, it
was dark. I had been drinking, but everything was under control. It's true that I
was driving fast, but I was in control of the car. I was going home.
MARIE: Was someone waiting for you?
JULIEN ( bows his head): No.
MARIE: Because that's the only way to avoid a disaster - to have someone
waiting for you.
JULIEN ( irritably ): But I didn't crash!
Everyone looks at him carefully, almost with compassion, but also with skepticism.
JULIEN ( protesting ) : I didn't crash! I didn't crash!
Everyone is silent. Julien sits down again.
JULLIEN: I must have felt myself falling asleep, so I stopped at this motel to
rest.
WITCH: A motel! How funny he is! A motel!
Marie and the witch burst out laughing. The president is forcing himself
to have as much fun as they do. At that moment, the young man in white
walks through the reception hall. Under the gentle gaze with which he
envelops them, everyone suddenly stops laughing.
MARY ( slightly embarrassed ): You are right, Emmanuel, it is not kind of us
to make fools of the man.
THE PRESIDENT (surprised ): Do you call him Emmanuel?
The employee has resigned.
JULIEN: Can you help me?
THE WITCH ( to Julien ): Based on my own experience, I will tell you that the
only way to find out where you are is to ask each one of us what they were
doing just before you got here.
Marie nods approvingly. After a brief hesitation, so did the President.
8
THE PRESIDENT: If it will help him…
JULLIEN: But that's absurd!
WITCH: There is no other way.
MARIE: He's right (to Julien .) Ask me, don't you? ( Julien doesn't react .)
That you ask, the murky ones will take you! ( Marie takes Julien's
embarrassed grimace as an expression of agreement. ) Here, he asked me.
( She breathed a sigh of relief and began her story with apparent
pleasure.) Marie, my parents named me Marie. Awesome idea. A lifetime stuck
to the rag. They stuck this name on me because they knew that the broom, the
sponge and the mop would be my destiny. Dad was a farm worker, handsome,
very dark, very hairy, he shaved every morning and by noon his beard was
bushy. Mom would lay a baby brother or sister every spring. Twelve were
behind me. So, I had to always help with everything, because mom, she was
always tired.
THE PRESIDENT ( interrupts her) : Can't you be briefer?
MARY: Well, I can't, ya. Since there are no times left for me to tell my tale,
once I happen to speak, I cannot stop! Well, in a word, from morning to night,
from the time the rooster crowed until the old man fell asleep, I was always in
rags. And I didn't have a second left to dream, to think about myself. And then,
when I turned eighteen, the first guy who grabbed my ass at the party managed
to put me in the straw as well, so I moved out of the house to live with him and
the baby. I had liked him because he used to tease my dad, but he was useless,
he was very lazy. And? I had to start cleaning again in order to feed this drone,
and also the three girls - because I only had girls, they are only good for that...
THE PRESIDENT: But, please, drive shorter!
MARY: I told you I couldn't.
THE PRESIDENT: We asked you to tell the end, not the beginning.
MARIE: It's not that there's anything to tell about my life, but when I tell it, I'm
driving fine! You shouldn't have asked. Well, the whole thing is that one day
mine went for tobacco, and we never saw him again. Well, the girls have grown
up. I won't tell you what I had to endure to tame them. And a month ago I took
early retirement. On my last working day, while I was arranging my brooms and
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shovels, something felt heavy, I shook and suddenly, like that, for nothing, I
thought that I rolled the petals in the middle of a living room, I wasn't even at
home. At the hospital they told me that my heart was tired, worn out, something
abnormal for my age. They sent me to a rest home. So yesterday, as I was going
down the grand staircase, as I was holding the banister, I was shouting to myself
that I was finally somewhere good, suddenly it seemed to me that my eyes and
lungs would pop out, that a new life would begin, around me everything was
vibrating, as if I could hear the objects breathing, I said to myself: "Hey, you
must be happy here!" and suddenly… Bam!
JULIEN: Bam!
MARY: Give me the heart again!
JULLIEN: And then?
MARIE: I'm here.
JULLIEN: So this is not a hotel, but a clinic!
WITCH: Be patient. It is you, dear Madam President.
THE PRESIDENT: I will be brief. My last memory before I ended up here is
from that day. I left home, like every morning, exactly at eight o'clock. Opening
the garden gate, I saw a cyclist riding along the pavement. He was young, of
course. He rattled his clapper and I thought, "That bastard is going to pull over,
he's not allowed to drive on the sidewalk." I took two steps, then I felt something
lift me, send me to a bench, and I felt my head hit the edge of the stone. Here it
is.
WITCH: Was he coming from the left?
THE PRESIDENT: Obviously!
WITCH: You are a victim of the regime.
THE PRESIDENT: I have always obeyed all laws. And this brainless idiot on
pedals didn't follow them.
JULIEN ( to the Enchantress ): And you?
THE WITCH: Diabetic coma.
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JULIEN: And where are the doctors? What about the orderlies? Why aren't the
rooms equipped with equipment like in hospitals?
WITCH: Because we're not in a hospital.
JULLIEN: At last! And we're not in the emergency room?
THE PRESIDENT: No.
WITCH: Think a little.
MARY: Which corridor are you in? In "Z" or "D"?
JULLIEN: Here in this one.
THE WITCH: In Corridor D? So you didn't have an accident!
JULLIEN: Of course I've had no accident, I told you. ( Thinks.) What does
corridor "D" mean? Why is there corridor "D" and corridor "Z"?
THE WITCH: You will no doubt also meet Doctor S….
JULIEN: You say we are not in a hospital, but there is a doctor.
MARY: S…Dr S….
JULLIEN: I want to see the doctor right away.
THE PRESIDENT: Oh, my dear friend, you cannot meet Doctor S. just like that.
THE SORCERER: It is even enough for a person to ask, so that he cannot.
MARIE: But are you sure you didn't crash into that tree on purpose?
JULIEN: What tree? What are you talking about?
THE WITCH: But really, after everything we've told you, you don't understand?
Coma…Heart attack…Traffic accident…Don't you make a connection between
these last memories?
JULIEN ( gets up and looks around ): You mean that...
Everyone nods affirmatively.
THE WITCH: Our last memories are, unfortunately, completely...last memories.
11
JULIEN ( hardly having the strength to say what he's thinking ): Is he
here? We are…dead!
The three burst out laughing.
JULIEN ( shouting) : Dead! I'm dead!
The three laugh again.
JULLIEN ( shaking the Enchantress ): But answer, for God's sake! I'm dead,
and this makes you laugh!
THE WITCH: Note that if you have died, so have we.
This causes another burst of laughter from the others without Julien.
JULLIEN: I've fallen in with madmen! No, I'm not staying here for a second!
The president bursts out laughing again. Julien, furious, rushes to the
elevator.
MARIE: Come on... There will be defeats again...
Julien frantically searches for the elevator button.
JULLIEN: I want out!
THE WITCH: This elevator cannot be called.
JULIEN ( furious ): Well, then I'll go down stairs.
WITCH: There are none.
JULLIEN: You're crazy to shut up!
THE WITCH ( cheerfully ): That's already done!
New laughter of the inhabitants. Julien rushes down one of the corridors.
MARIE: I always laugh the most at funerals!
Julien, furious, runs past again.
JULLIEN: I'll find him!
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Exits into another corridor.
THE WITCH ( shrugs ): He should try.
MARIE: It's normal for him not to believe - he doesn't remember how he got
up...
THE WITCH: The first night I spent here, I even tried to carve the floor in my
room.
Julien appears, out of breath, drenched in sweat, in the reception room.
JULIEN: What an outrage! No way out, just fogged up windows that won't even
open. If you don't show me the exit right away, I'm going to break a window and
throw myself.
THE WITCH ( doesn't even turn around ): Of course.
MARY: I told you there would be defeats!
Julien disappears into corridor D, enters his room and bangs the furniture
against the window.
MARY: I never like someone to break. My heart just breaks. The poor subjects
are not at all to blame.
WITCH: What does it matter?
MARIE: This must be a professional deformity for me. When you clean houses,
you get used to being alone while you clean, and one day, from worrying about
things, you start talking to them.
Julien flies in again, exhausted, torn.
JULLIEN: What nonsense! Windows don't break. Am I in jail? This place seems
unreal!
WITCH: You didn't come here of your own accord, and you won't leave of your
own accord.
Julien sways. The sorceress descends to support him.
WITCH: Come on, come on…
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Julien ( pale ): It's not true...I'm not dead...it can't be...I'm not dead...
MARY: He's getting it.
They make him sit between them.
JULLIEN ( frantically): And yet I am alive, very alive. I'm alive…
THE WITCH: To prove to yourself that you are alive, you must kill yourself.
Yes. If you manage to kill yourself, then you were fully alive before that.
However, if you fail, it can mean two things: you were either already dead, or
you're immortal.
JULLIEN: I'm going crazy.
WITCH: That's also a way out.
THE PRESIDENT ( ironically ): This IS a way out.
The young man and the girl in white enter suddenly, but seem to be
escorting an important personage.
THE WITCH: Ah, Doctor S. is expected to come.
THE PRESIDENT (with a tray ): I had arranged a meeting!
The two young men stare intently at the Enchantress, Marie and the
President. It seems that the three of them understand what it is about.
MARY ( disappointed ): Okay, well.
THE WITCH ( also disappointed ): I agree.
THE PRESIDENT ( indignantly ): Still, I was here before the gentleman. (
Turns sharply to Julien, aggressively.) What are you doing?
JULIEN (in an expressionless voice, almost silent ): I am the editor-in-chief
of a sports newspaper.
THE PRESIDENT: Well? Don't you think that the president of three big
companies is more important than the editor-in-chief? Huh?
14
The employees are still so pushy. The three residents get up. The
sorceress whispered to Julien.
THE WITCH: Doctor S. wants to talk to you right now.
JULLIEN: Who told you?
WITCH: Raphael!
THE PRESIDENT: Gabriel!
MARY: Emmanuel!
The three go out. The servants go after them. Julien waits. A woman
enters. She is dressed elegantly but strictly, she carries folders under her
arm, she looks like a visiting doctor.
DOCTOR S.: Julien Portal?
JULLIEN: Yes.
DOCTOR S: Hello, I'm Doctor S.
Julien is visibly surprised. Doctor S.'s smile reassures him. She motions for
him to sit down.
DOCTOR S. ( carefully ): Are you afraid?
JULLIEN: A little.
DOCTOR S.: Do you understand where you are?
JULLIEN: Tell me it's not true!
DOCTOR S.: At 200 km per hour you went off the road and crashed into a tree.
JULIEN ( disbelieving ): I don't remember anything like that.
DOCTOR S.: That's natural, you fell asleep. ( Leafing through the
documents. ) A moment to check your file.
JULIEN ( to himself): Tree... I'm dead in a tree. Good thing at least I've been
there..
15
DOCTOR S. ( automatically ): You win a point.
Dr. S. is absorbed in reading the file.
DOCTOR S.: Forty years old. Born into a wealthy family. Good education. No
major surgical operations. No serious illness.
JULIEN ( cynically ): A dead man in good health. This is me.
DOCTOR S.: Various professional images. Due to some of your instability, you
do not stay at the same workplace for more than two years. You are not married.
JULIEN: Do you accept me in spite of this?
DOCTOR S.: I'm not judging you. I'm taking your status. It says in your file that
you chased quite a few women...
JULIEN: Because they run fast.
DOCTOR S.: And you even faster. You ran after them, but once you caught
them, you ran in front of them... You left absolutely everyone.
JULIEN: Is it a man's fault that he quickly knows whether a couple has a future
or not?
DOCTOR S. ( ironically): Fast in everything.
JULLIEN: I haven't found the woman to stay faithful to.
DOCTOR S.: Like that's up to her.
JULLIEN ( nervously) : What are we really talking about? You're not going to
write reviews anyway, are you? You're not making me believe that the old
legend of Heaven and Hell, of souls facing the Last Judgment, really exists, are
you? I refuse to be judged! I'm dead! Isn't that enough for you?
DOCTOR S.: You are completely wrong. ( Calmly.) First, I'm Doctor S. Second,
you're not dead.
JULIEN ( shaken ): What?
DOCTOR S.: Of course.
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JULIEN ( in an outburst of wild joy ): I knew it! I knew it! Oh my God, dear!
I'm alive! I'm alive!
Suddenly he seems twenty years old.
DOCTOR S. ( looking amused ): I didn't say that.
JULIEN: Which?
DOCTOR S.: That you're alive.
Julien withdraws into himself. He doesn't want to listen to her anymore .
JULIEN: Look, I don't even want to understand what they're telling me here
anymore. Once I'm on my feet, can I walk?
DOCTOR S.: It's not up to you.
JULLIEN: And you intend to prevent me?
DOCTOR S. (softly ): Neither from me.
JULLIEN: Look what, Doctor Eddy- who are you! I don't know how I ended up
in your clinic, I must have dozed off at the wheel, hit a tree, passed out for a
while, and that's when they brought me here. But now I feel well, I don't need
you, salutes you and goodbye. ( He frantically presses the elevator buttons .)
And tell them to let this elevator go.
DOCTOR S.: Are you starting again? Will you walk the same path? The
elevator? The undetectable stairs? The unbreakable window panes?
Doctor S. gestured for his two assistants. They stand at the entrances to
the corridors to prevent Julien from passing. She motions for him to calm
down.
JULLIEN: This is madness! Am I in jail or what!?
DOCTOR S.: You are in danger, Julien, in great danger. We need to talk. You
will understand.
17
Again, with a gesture, Doctor S. sends the two employees to the back of
the room. They pull up a movable wall with a glowing inscription, like a
strange dashboard, invisible to the audience.
DOCTOR S.: Less than an hour ago, your car crashed into a tree at over 200 km
per hour. I prefer to spare you the description of the appearance of the car you
were so proud of. I prefer to spare you the description of your own appearance
as well.
JULLIEN: What are you telling me?
Dr. S. takes him by the hand and leads him to the light board.
DOCTOR S.: The ambulance just took you to the emergency department of
Descartes Hospital. You were unconscious, with swelling, broken knees, several
broken ribs. A team of highly qualified specialists is fighting to save your life.
But they are not very optimistic. They're holding their breath, and they're saving
yours. They do what they can.
She shows him the light board, where we can guess that lights,
indicators, in general, equipment in action.
DOCTOR S: All the men and women who are housed here in a room are going
through difficult times on Earth right now. Under the watch of doctors, nurses,
and sometimes family, they lie girded with electrodes, pierced by tubes of
serum...They are in a state of...what you call it down there, a coma. That is,
between life and death. That is, here.
She leads him to the armchairs. Julien moves like a dream.
DOCTOR S.: You must wait here, in the Hotel between this world and the next,
where you do not experience the pains that your body is condemned to endure
down there.
JULIEN ( almost convinced ): I don't believe you. Are you suggesting that my
body is somewhere else?
DOCTOR S.: Does your ankle hurt? Yet you sprained it two days ago when you
were so drunk you couldn't even walk. Are you feeling pain there right now?
Julien moved his leg effortlessly.
18
DOCTOR S.: See? Your body made of flesh and nerves, your injured body is
currently in intensive care. You are here to wait.
JULLIEN: What should I wait for?
DOCTOR S.: May your fate be decided. Or you are saved and the elevator takes
you down to the ground. Or they fail to save you and the elevator takes you up.
For Julien, this discovery is a shock. He slowly looks around .
JULLIEN: Up?
DOCTOR S.: That's enough news for the moment. My job is to give you the
necessary information to prepare you for the transition.
JULIEN: Who do you work for?
Doctor S. sees the signal light above corridor "Z" flashing on and off. She
goes there.
JULIEN: What does Corridor "Z" and Corridor "D" mean?
DOCTOR S.: How? Haven't you figured it out by now? Corridor "Z" for the
Accident and corridor "D" for Volunteers, in other words, for the suicides.
JULLIEN: You were wrong! You put in corridor "D". I'm not suicidal! I have
had an accident!
DOCTOR S.: Well!
JULIEN: I didn't "willingly" hit that tree!
DOCTOR S.: Well! ( Insistently.) Mr. Portal, you had alcohol in your blood not
just a little while ago. You've been drinking for years. You have tried other
drugs, softer, stronger, rarer, but alcohol has always been the means to help you
escape from yourself. All your projects failed, your newspaper was declining,
you didn't care, in the eyes of your colleagues your behavior seemed more and
more strange and inadequate, for several months you had completely let it go,
and it was obvious to everyone that you were losing yourself. So it's
understandable why, when they found you dead drunk one morning, smashed
into a tree at 200 km/h, they decided it was a suicide, a slow and long-planned
suicide.
19
Julien gapes in astonishment.
JULLIEN: A slow suicide? I?
DOCTOR S.: Yes. Alcohol is a means of suicide for scoundrels. ( Suddenly
changes tone.) Now I beg your pardon, but you are not my only patient.
It's coming out. Julien is left in shock, impressed by what he has just
learned. The Sorceress poked her head through the door. He has a
turban with a moonstone wrapped around his head. She makes sure
Julien is alone and approaches him, handing him her business card.
THE SORCERER: "Sorceress Rajapura, all kinds of fortune-telling, custom
horoscopes, astrology, consulting your ancestors, table-turning, chicken offal,
transcendental medicine, Sorceress Rajapura, all the millennial sciences of the
East and the Middle East." ( Pause.) Naturally, my previous name was
Veronique. Veronique Mirabel. Born on rue Fee du Calvert in the Republic
district, Paris. Do you want me to tell you the future?
Julien comes out of his stupor very aggressively.
JULLIEN: Are you mocking me?
WITCH: A little. But there are people who are just waiting for that. And they
even pay each other. You can't even imagine what a fortune I've made in the six
months I've been here!
JULLIEN: Outrageous!
THE WITCH ( taking it personally ): Well, six months in a coma, that
vindicates me, after all!
JULLIEN: No, I was talking about this place! For the anticipation!
THE WITCH: Well! You're still in jail, what's the difference? From here or
elsewhere, you can only escape through the window of death! But you never
know where he's looking!
Julien walks around like a caged beast .
WITCH: When we're down, we know we're going to die. We don't turn our
backs on the tracks, we don't want to watch the train, we tell ourselves that the
20
next one is not for us. Here his schedule becomes more precise. ( Pats Julien on
the back.) Imagine, however, that this is somehow more pleasant. Really! A
person begins to indulge, he takes advantage of everything.
JULLIEN: How is it possible for a man to have fun here?
THE WITCH: Exactly! This changes everything! Here you don't have fun, you
condense your time. First, there are so many people to meet. If you're lucky
enough to stay in ICU for a long time ( you can tell by Julien's reaction that
he's shocked ), you'll see that there's a lot of movement. Different people come
in and out every day. And besides, we chat. Like now with you. I'm not saying
anything important, nothing that smart, and neither are you, but we chat. It
means that I exist, and so do you, and that normal human relationships are
formed between us. How adorable, right?
JULIEN: And what is it for? Why did you need human relationships with people
you will probably never see?
THE WITCH ( pretending to be offended ): If for you the pleasure is to
communicate only with the imperishable, it is better to talk to the stones, the
rocks, the mountains. But I doubt they will answer you. Even if they are as kind
as you.
He's going out.
JULIEN ( with a smile ): Tuche!
THE WITCH ( returning ): Do you see how much fun life can be? Oh,
sorry…See how hilarious a coma can be?
Julien sank helplessly into an armchair.
JULIEN ( sighing) : I'm depressed. I have always been depressed. You must
despise me.
WITCH: Not at all. I'm glad the rich have problems too.
JULLIEN: I didn't mean to provoke your sympathy!
THE WITCH ( gently) : See, life is good only because it is a little beyond our
means and means, but life is always beyond our means and means.
21
JULLIEN: Please?
WITCH: Because he doesn't belong to us.
He gestures up the elevator.
JULIEN ( slowly) : They must take it away from me to realize its price.
WITCH: That's always been the problem with Heaven. "Paradise" is written
only after the inscription "Exodus".
Marie comes in with a bang.
MARY ( desperately): No, no, it can't be! Instead of a brain, I have a rattle! Are
everyone here such idiots as me, huh?
WITCH: We can argue about that.
MARY: I know my skull is too narrow for big thoughts to enter. But still...I
would have preferred it to be a little more rounded. Because I'm too intelligent
to feel bad!
Julien is once again walking around like a caged beast.
JULLIEN: We all are.
MARIE: No, not those, who have studied, who think.
JULLIEN: What do they know more?
MARY: I don't know. But what they know, they know. Eh, if I had the right to a
second round, I would do philosophy. ( Nostalgic.) "Marie Martin, Philosopher
of the Class." ( Laughing.)
JULIEN ( roughly) : Does not being a philosopher prevent you from dying?
MARIE: No, but it helps to live. ( Goes to the elevator.) What do you think is
up there?
JULLIEN: Nothing.
MARIE: Did you go there?
JULIEN: No.
22
MARY: And then?
JULLIEN: There is death. Is this not enough information for you?
MARY: No, I haven't died yet. ( To the Enchantress .) You who turn the
tables, do not the dead speak to you? What are they talking about?
THE WITCH: That they hated their mother-in-law, that they were in love with
their secretary, that they failed their lives... Idiots.
MARY: And that's all?
WITCH: Being dead doesn't make you any wiser.
MARIE: Well, I thought so. ( Pause .) And yet, didn't they tell you how it went
up there?
JULIEN ( rudely ): Don't you understand that this is only a figment of her
Imagination!
MARY: Come on! Tell me then, Mr. All-Knowing, did you foresee that one day
you would end up here? Kat' I remember how long it took you a while ago to
find out where you are, or you forgot something, or you are a great artist!
Julien is distracted for a moment. The President enters, muttering .
THE PRESIDENT: You must have all met Doctor S., except me, of course. I
had to leave my room because I can't stand their conversations anymore.
JULIEN: Theirs? Whose conversations?
THE PRESIDENT: To my husband and sons.
JULLIEN: How? Are they here with you too?
THE WITCH ( explaining to Julien ): When the residents go to their rooms,
they can hear everything that is being said down in the hospital, around their
beds...
MARIE: You're lucky to have your whole family around you!
THE PRESIDENT: Why not! To hear what I heard?
MARY: What are they talking about?
23
THE PRESIDENT: For money, of course! What else can they talk about? They
want to sell everything!
MARIE: But will you leave them something?
THE PRESIDENT: Of course! What do you take me for?
MARY: Oh, I won't be the richest in the graveyard!
WITCH: Neither do I! I drank it all. I didn't have the right mentality to get rich.
Look, I have fraud engraved on my door sign. My profession is loyal,
impeccable, inspiring confidence. Imagine if I suddenly started telling the truth.
I'm all scruples. While you, Mrs. President, pretend to be worthy of respect in
order to have an excuse for your intrigues and to profit off the backs of others.
THE PRESIDENT: I'm going back to my room. I'd rather hear how those
scumbags, my sons, plan to spend my money.
It's coming out.
JULLIEN: President of what?
THE WITCH: She was born a president. In the cradle, she still had a jacket,
glasses, and between two pacifiers she said "I'm president!"
Dr. S. returns, accompanied by her two assistants. Marie stands in her
way and speaks soothingly.
MARY: Doctor S., what's the news around me?
DOCTOR S.: I will let you know as soon as I have information, Mrs. Marten.
For now, your status is ...unchanged. ( Exits to the other corridor .) Excuse
me.
The sorceress gently pats her on the shoulder. The President returns,
phone book in hand
THE PRESIDENT: No, no, no.. I absolutely must end this! They want to sell.
Everything to sell!
JULLIEN: Well, and?
24
THE PRESIDENT: I'm going to lose a lot of money because of them. And just
because my blood runs through the veins of these pretentious jerks, I must let
them waste my labor.
THE WITCH: Are they big fools?
THE PRESIDENT: Yes!
WITCH: Then there's no doubt they're yours!
Doctor S. appears, followed closely by her assistants, again crossing the
lobby, without paying the least attention to those present.
THE PRESIDENT: Ah! Doctor C….! ( She walks in front of him without
stopping.) Doctor C...! I just called you!
DOCTOR S.: You can't call me, madam! You can't demand anything! I'll talk to
you when it's your turn.
Affected, the President falls silent. Doctor S. is out. The rest are
apparently satisfied that the President has been put in place. The
sorceress turns to Julien, her tone complicit.
WITCH: You should question the President. You know, he will explain
everything with irrefutable arguments.
JULLIEN: Madam President, come to us. ( The President goes to them to
preserve some dignity.)
At that moment, a deafening bell rang out. Everyone except Julien looks
scared.
JULLIEN: What's going on?
Dr. S. appears suddenly, almost runs across the lobby, and finds a red
light flashing on the invisible control panel.
WITCH: One of us will leave.
JULIEN: Where? Up or down?
WITCH: No one knows. We learn it only at the last moment. In the elevator.
25
Doctor S. will address the residents.
DOCTOR S: Would you leave me alone?
Everyone lets out a spontaneous sigh of relief, but the ringing continues,
an insistent, shrill and even louder ringing. At the last moment, at the
entrance to corridor "Z", Doctor S. detained Marie.
DOCTOR S.: Mrs. Marten, would you stay with me?
The others look at each other in surprise. Doctor S.'s two assistants enter
and by means of signs urge the inhabitants, to whom her words do not
apply, not to stay a second longer. Dr. S. approaches Marie, who, though
shaken, finds the strength to smile.
MARY: Is it my turn?
DOCTRO S.: Yes.
MARY: Good news, I hope?
DOCTOR S.: I have no right to tell you. I'll take you to the elevator.
Doctor S. takes her hand and helps her into the elevator.
MARY: Yes, that's right, I need help because you know, I have a sick heart
(Pause.) Isn't it funny that a heart can be so tired? And it's the only thing I've
never actually used!
DOCTOR S: Come on, don't be afraid.
MARIE: In my case, one should not speak of a tired heart, but of a new one!
DOCTOR S.: Goodbye, Mrs. Marten.
MARY: Goodbye, Doctor. Good luck going forward!
The elevator doors close. The residents poke their heads from the hallway
to see what will happen to Marie. After a few seconds, the arrow points
up. The elevator goes up... The ringing has stopped. Terrible silence. The
Enchantress, the President, and Julien gradually make their way back into
26
the lobby, staring at the two elevator doors. Julien is too shocked to
react.
THE WITCH: Poor woman.
THE PRESIDENT: You as a senior here, what do you say: when the day starts
like this, does that mean we're all going up?
WITCH: No.
THE PRESIDENT: So much the better.
THE WITCH: Is that all you're going to say?
A new light comes on and starts flashing on the dashboard. Doctor S.
turns to his assistants.
DOCTOR S: Someone's coming.
THE WITCH: Oh! Someone new! What a luck!
DOCTOR S. (to his assistants ): Stay here. I'm going to get his file.
She goes out. This snaps Julien out of his worry and he stops pacing and
looks at the elevator. The Enchantress and the President take their seats
as if they were in a theater. They are waiting. The terrible wind-like noise
that had been heard before Julien's arrival began again. It soon becomes
unbearable and at that point it stops. Bell. The elevator doors open. A
charming blonde girl is in the office. She smiles with no trace of surprise.
He moves like a ghost. Reminds me of Botticelli's "Venus emerging from
the water". Julien is blinded. She slowly steps out of the elevator and
smiles at the staff and residents.
LAURA: Good afternoon.
THE WITCH ( rising to meet her ): Good day. Do not be afraid.
LAURA ( bursts out laughing ): Why do you want me to be afraid?
THE WITCH: Introducing Julien…
27
Laura looks at Julien with undisguised interest. Julien turns his head
sharply, as if to snap out of the spell.
THE WITCH: Madam President Anna Delbeck.
LAURA: I'm very pleased to be here.
The others do not hide their surprise.
THE PRESIDENT: Where do you think you are, you wretch?
LAURA ( laughs again ): The very fact that I can walk normally, without
equipment, without spasms, without pain, informs me enough. And besides, I
wish I wasn't tied up with all those hoses, tubes, probes, catheters... ( Does a
few dance steps.) I feel like dancing!
THE WITCH ( to the others ): Poor child, I'm afraid she thinks she's dead.
Dr. S. walks in and smiles when he sees her.
DOCTOR S: Hello, Laura.
LAURA: Hello, Doctor S.
All the inhabitants are surprised. Julien takes steps towards her.
JULLIEN: How? Do you know each other?
DOCTOR S.: Laura has already had one stay here.
LAURA: Even for a little while until they become two. The first time I passed
out, I separated from my body and walked down the spiral corridor. I was light,
light, and as if something was sucking me in, I was spinning and rising higher
and higher towards some light that I could hardly distinguish. Except I went
back down into my body just before I reached her.
DOCTOR S: That's right, it was just a deep blackout.
LAURA: The second time I stayed here for three days. This time…
DOCTOR S.: We'll see.
JULIEN ( unable to resist curiosity ): Are you seriously ill?
28
LAURA ( without pathos ): I wouldn't say that my health is the strength.
They look at each other. Julien turns his head again.
DOCTOR S.: Laura, let's go to your room.
LAURA: Oh, no!
DOCTOR S.: I have something confidential to tell you.
LAURA: There is nothing confidential when it comes to my health. Since I was
a child, I have been used to being constantly talked about, gathering at
consultations around my bed or wheelchair, issuing bulletins about my health
condition, and in general, everyone is only concerned with this. That's probably
why I don't care that much about it, and that's why I never talk about it.
DOCTOR S.: Please, Laura, let's go to your room!
LAURA: No. What new can you tell me? That my heart has almost stopped
beating? That he's now threatening to stop if I don't get a new one right away? I
know that. That it depends solely on the good will of chance? And I know that.
DOCTOR S.: You haven't changed.
LAURA: Why do you think I have to look serious when they talk to me about
my health? It would be unbearable. What will happen will happen.
DOCTOR S.: See you soon, sweetie.
THE PRESIDENT ( rising ): Doctor, is it possible for me to...
DOCTRO S.: No.
Dr. S. exits, followed by her assistants.
LAURA ( to Julien): What do you like to do?
JULIEN ( surprised) : Uh...I don't know...And you?
LAURA: A disappointing answer.
JULLIEN: As a person myself, I'm disappointing.
Julien retreats to a corner to be alone. Laura flips easily to the
Enchantress and the President.
29
LAURA: What were you doing before I came?
THE WITCH: As usual..We were slandering others, biting to scratch our teeth.
LAURA: Shall we continue?
THE WITCH: We do not know you well enough to successfully slander you.
LAURA: I thought of something. You will be shocked, but let's just laugh. You
see, because of my particular health, guys have never made the first move
towards me. While here…because nothing is real….because nothing is
permanent ( km Julien ) You, You will pretend to flirt with me. Oh please say
yes!
JULLIEN: Don't count on me. I do not want.
WITCH: Why? Don't know how to do it?
JULLIEN: I've said all these words hundreds of thousands of times, I know
them, and I'm sick of them!
Enter Doctor S.
DOCTOR S.: Laura, guests of the hotel, I would now like you to leave me alone
with...
LAURA: Not a word!
DOCTOR S.: Laura, I'm serious.
LAURA: Me too! ( Suddenly saddened .) Or at least I wish so.
DOCTOR S: I need to talk to Julien.
Julien shivered in fright. The others retreat. Laura obediently heads to
corridor "Z", but passing in front of Julien, she talks to him.
LAURA: You did well to refuse to play this game. On Earth, I would fall madly
in love with you.
And without leaving him a chance to answer her, he runs to catch up with
the Enchantress.
30
DOCTOR S.: Julien, you just entered the operating room. You've had several
internal bleeds.
JULLIEN: Will I be okay?
DOCTOR S.: The team is doing everything possible. This is a very difficult
moment for you.
JULLIEN: Why are you telling me that?
DOCTOR S.: Not to hide it from you.
It seems to come out.
JULLIEN: How? Is that all?
DOCTOR S: I think that's enough.
She exits, leaving Julien alone in agonizing anxiety. Laura appears in the
hallway door, having guessed his thoughts. She spoke to him simply,
without coquetry.
LAURA: Don't be afraid.
JULIEN ( aggressively ): I want to see you in my place!
LAURA: Well, you can see me!
JULIEN ( feeling himself ): Excuse me. There's nothing more banal than
thinking you're the only one.
LAURA: If you had to travel in a wooden box and had to choose between a nailstudded interior or a satin-lined one, which would you prefer?
JULLIEN: Dressed in satin.
LAURA: Then don't be afraid. Either way, you don't know what will happen to
you, prefer satin over nails. Trust yourself.
JULLIEN: Do you have any idea what's up there?
LAURA: There is hope.
JULLIEN: How can there be such optimists!
31
LAURA: When you have no other way out... I'm used to splashing energy
everywhere, maybe because I don't have it in my muscles myself. I love life, and
my love is unrequited but crazy. I also love death.
Julien does not dare to admit that he is very embarrassed by her.
JULLIEN: Men must like you very much.
LAURA: No, I'm more like scaring them. No one can imagine that a serious boy
will fall in love with me. Everyone knows I don't have long to live. On Earth I
am a pale likeness of a girl, a ghost of some kind. I can't offer a future. Everyone
lives there as if they are immortal - they don't love, they invest.
JULIEN: I don't believe you.
LAURA: A young man once courted me. He called on the phone, came to visit,
sent me flowers, said I was the most important woman in his life. I almost
believe him. But a friend told me the story: he had a twin sister who got sick and
died years ago. He could not come to terms with his mourning, he did not accept
it, he wanted to take it back. Do you understand? Through me he was addressing
another. I have been transparent. I refused to meet him. And the worst thing is
that it made him unhappy!
JULLIEN: And now?
LAURA: Now married to a young normal woman, swimming in happiness. His
love for me was part of his mourning. I hate mercy! I don't want mercy! I am
polluted by mercy. Do you think I'm too proud?
Julien and Laura are startled. Dr. S. runs up, still followed by her
assistants. He assesses the situation and turns to Julien.
DOCTOR S.: Julien, it's your turn.
Julien is in a panic. He turns pale with an animalistic fear that grips him.
JULLIEN: Mine?
DOCTOR S.: Yes. Come to the elevator.
Julien, however, did not move. The two assistants grab him on either side
and lead him to the elevator. Dr. S. puts a hand on his shoulder to calm
32
him down. But Julien can bear neither the sharp sound of the bell nor this
absurd expectation. Trembling.
JULLIEN (to himself): I'm going to die. I'm sure I'm going to die.
He frees himself abruptly from Doctor S.'s hand, and turns to Laura, as if
looking for support in her.
JULLIEN: I'm afraid.
LAURA: You shouldn't be afraid. I'm never afraid.
JULLIEN: I'm afraid! Laura! Talk to me!
LAURA: What do you want me to tell you?
JULLIEN: Something for myself. Quick! Hurry up, I only have a minute left.
Where do you live?
LAURA: In a big house by the sea, its windows as big as the horizon.
JULIEN: Is there a beach?
LAURA: Yes, long, white and blue. I love long walks along the boardwalk by
the beach.
JULIEN: And anything else? What do you like to do?
LAURA: To dream. To listen to music. And listening to music, to also listen to
the silence around.
JULLIEN: And besides?
LAURA: And besides...I think I'd like to be in love.
JULIEN: Me too! ( And suddenly he looks at her and exclaims fervently
and frankly.) You are beautiful!
LAURA: Why are you telling me that?
The bell continues, but the elevator still hasn't arrived. Julien took
advantage of these last moments.
33
JULLIEN: Because I've been thinking it ever since I saw you, but I didn't bother
to tell you. When the elevator doors opened and you appeared, you seemed
amazing, strange, magnificent to me. I thought: I'm not beautiful, but what does
it matter, since she is beautiful for two?
LAURA: Shut up.
JULLIEN: Then Doctor S called you Laura: those two simple syllables, those
two notes that make the mouth purse its lips as if for a kiss.
LAURA: Shut up!
JULLIEN: Then I heard how you railed against Doctor S...One would say, a
figure on the prow of a ship, smiling at the splash of the waves, the foaming sea,
and the storm. I thought: I'm not brave, but what does it matter when she's brave
for two?
LAURA: Shut up!
JULLIEN: And as soon as I felt that strength, I also felt its weakness. I thought
maybe you need a hand. In some other life, another life... Here, here's what I
didn't tell you. Even at this moment there are things I have not told you: that I
want to be with you in the big house by the sea, to listen with you to the music
and the silence, and to force you to read less, to make you live longer.
LAURA: Shut up!
The bell stops. The silence is sharp. Julien and Laura remain stunned,
confused. Doctor S. calmly approaches Julien.
DOCTOR S: False alarm. Your hour has not yet come. There was probably
some problem during the operation. I am leaving you.
Julien and Laura are stunned for a moment. Just as he is about to leave,
Doctor S. turns, thinks, and says:
DOCTOR S.: I'm sorry for this misunderstanding.
Julien and Laura look at each other in shock.
JULIEN: I was sorry…
34
He bursts into nervous laughter. It seemed to give him chills. Laura is
worried. Julien is like crazy.
LAURA: Julien!
JULIEN : Sorry! She was sorry! A misunderstanding.
As if furious, he throws himself here and there, overturning the armchairs.
He feels the need to express all his aggression that has engulfed him. It
messes up the whole room. He then slumps to the ground, shaken by a
nervous sob.
JULLIEN: Too late. I said it. It's too late.
LAURA: Which?
JULLIEN: That I love you!
LAURA: No, you didn't!
JULIEN: On the contrary!
LAURA: No, you were only talking about specific things, about details, that you
want to live in some house by the sea, listen to music..
JULIEN: On the contrary! These same words my lips had spoken before, but
now for the first time I felt them! They burn me.
LAURA: You didn't say anything.
JULLIEN: I said so. I'm telling you.
He looks at her intently. Then he gets up, approaches her and kisses her.
She shivers from this kiss.
The witch comes in and surprises them with a hug .
WITCH: Oh, I'm sorry..I'm sorry, I'm so…
The three of them start laughing. Doctor S appears .
DOCTOR S: I'd like to speak to Julien.
LAURA: No, he's staying here! Me too. No one wants to heal anymore.
35
The sorceress gently takes her by the hand and they go out. Doctor S.
approaches Julien.
DOCTOR S: I found out what happened a little while ago. About to come out of
the coma.
JULLIEN: Yes. The fog has cleared. That's exactly what happened. And Laura?
DOCTOR S.: I can't say anything.
JULLIEN: What are they thinking down there?
DOCTOR S.: We need to quickly find a heart to transplant to her. This is the last
chance to save her.
JULLIEN: Any chance?
DOCTOR S.: "Chance" is exactly the word. Someone else has to die for Laura
to live. Someone who was brought right to the Saint-Louis Hospital. And in the
next few hours.
JULIEN: And you don't know anything about it?
DOCTOR S.: We never know who will die or live today or tomorrow.
JULIEN: But they inform you, don't they?
DOCTOR S. ( with a slight sneer ): "Them"?
JULLIEN: Yes! God or the Devil or Fate, do I know? There cannot be some
Great Book where everything is recorded! What does it say in your files?
DOCTOR S.: Some details.
JULLIEN: Well?
DOCTOR S.: Just a few details. On your character. Your health. The story of
your life. But not your choice. You come into the world preloaded with data,
burdened with heredity, with environment. Everything distinguishes you,
everything separates you, everything distinguishes you... But one thing, only one
thing, unites you: you are free. Free to damage your body, free to cut your veins,
free not to heal from some love heartache. Trust me, there is no Grand Book of
Destiny, just a few indications on a slip of paper. Data. But the thing that cannot
be calculated is your freedom.
36
JULIEN: What are you telling me?! I don't see what Laura's choice could have
been! She was born with an organism that did not function normally.
DOCTOR S: She could have chosen the weakness of not tolerating the disease,
sinking into depression and dying very quickly. Instead, she chose to love life, to
be cheerful, willing, in love with everything. I go to her. Leave it to me for a few
minutes.
It exits through corridor "Z". The president makes off with her, but she
disappears before she can say anything.
THE PRESIDENT: Naturally, Doctor S. leaves as soon as I arrive!
He reclined in an armchair in front of Julien. Suddenly he seems to be
bewildered.
THE PRESIDENT: I wonder if I made a mistake.
JULLIEN: Me too.
At that moment the Enchantress enters and Laura close at hand. Both
look happy and talking. Julien gets up and slowly approaches Laura. They
look at each other. The president leaves, angry. He can be heard
slamming the door to his room. Julien, sensing that he is being watched,
turns to the Enchantress.
JULLIEN: I hope we're not getting in your way.
WITCH: Not in the least! Indeed, not for a moment. ( Unfolds his newspaper.)
I'm just going to read my newspaper.
JULLIEN: It's more difficult now.
LAURA: That's right.
JULLIEN: I don't know what to say.
LAURA: That's right.
JULLIEN: This love has no future.
LAURA: The future doesn't matter.
37
JULIEN: You're right.
They look at each other. They touch each other's hands.
LAURA: There, see? IM doing well. We don't need to talk anymore.
The President bursts in, furious as usual, and rushes towards the
Enchantress. He snatches the newspaper from her hands.
THE PRESIDENT: Could you give me the stock information page?
He tears out the page in question and drops the rest of the newspaper
on the ground.
THE WITCH ( with irony ): Come on, don't be shy.
THE PRESIDENT ( searches the columns ): That idiot, my son, said that the
stock…
The bell rings, announcing someone's departure. Dr. S., followed by her
assistants, enters quickly and heads for the control panel. Everyone looks
at her with concern. Julien hugs Laura.
DOCTOR S.: Madam President, it is your turn.
THE PRESIDENT: At last! It was time to put an end to this scandalous
misunderstanding.
DOCTOR S.: Madam President, understand that I have neither the right nor the
power to treat you differently than others.
THE PRESIDENT: All right, all right, never mind. Now that everything is in
order, we will not discuss this matter any more.
DOCTOR S.: I hope being here has helped you think.
THE PRESIDENT: Yes, I thought about it, I will change my will.
DOCTOR S.: Would you get in the elevator?
Dr. S. motions for her assistants to help her into the elevator. She's still
smiling smugly and winking at Doctor S. The elevator doors begin to
close. Suddenly alarmed, the President protested.
38
THE PRESIDENT: But where are you taking me? You have no right! I will
complain! I will betray you! Let me out! Help!
The doors have closed. The shouts of the President are no longer heard.
Everyone carefully follows the arrows above the elevator to find out
where the President will go. After a few seconds, the arrow lights down,
towards Earth. The bell stops. Noise of a cab descending.
JULIEN ( furious ): What?!
WITCH: No! She's coming back to earth! ( to Doctor S.) Tell me it's not true!
Are they entitled to a second round!
JULLIEN: So it is! We are sending Marie to heaven, and returning the President
to Earth!
DOCTOR S.: I have nothing to do with it. Death is neither punishment nor
reward. Each of us sees in his death some personal deed. No one will avoid it.
For President Anna Delbeck, the hour has not yet struck.
THE WITCH: And about my daughter? For my daughter, twenty years old, had
the hour come?
Julien and Laura turn to the Enchantress in surprise .
DOCTOR S.: You know very well what I think about it. At ten, twenty, eighty
or a hundred years old, one loses the same life. Life is a gift given to everyone.
And so is death!
Doctor S. exits.
JULLIEN: Your daughter? Did you have a daughter?
THE WITCH ( recovering ): Me? No.
Julien understands that he should not insist. Laura smiles in
understanding. The three sit down.
THE WITCH: Well, my little one, tell me, will they get you out of your state
down there?
39
LAURA: It's not just up to them anymore. They are waiting for a heart to be
transplanted into me.
JULLIEN: Are you worried?
LAURA: No, not at all.
WITCH: You are very strong.
Julien takes her hand and kisses it.
LAURA: As my body is deprived of health, I try to catch up elsewhere. I was
sick so often, I was either lying down or sitting up almost all the time. And this
forced me to reduce my ambitions to a minimum. Since I can't walk, I settle for
a flower. Thanks to the patter of the rain and the storm on the roof, I have
crossed all the seas on the globe. I can spend hours working with a ball of yarn.
In fact, happiness fits in the palm of your hand. It is enough just to stand still, to
forget everything that happened to you the day before and what will happen the
next.
Suddenly she bursts into sobs. Julien hugs her. The witch also stops
reading.
JULLIEN: What's going on?
LAURA: I don't know..It suddenly became so overwhelming. They will separate
us, Julien! This is terrible! They will separate us.
JULLIEN: Come on, come on. You have to have trust.
LAURA: Nothing is permanent, Julien, I know that for sure. They will tear us
apart.
JULLIEN: Come on.
He takes her hand and they both go out. The sorceress follows them with
her gaze. The two assistants who had entered in the meantime also
watched the two leave. The witch turns to them.
WITCH: Tell me, do angels experience love stories too?
In response, the two assistants looked at each other gently.
40
THE SORCERER: Ah, you cunning ones, you are never bored here. (
Approaches.) Okay de...well with...
Doctor S. enters.
DOCTOR S.: I was looking for you.
THE WITCH: Ah! Got news for me from down there?
DOCTOR S.: Yes.
She sits next to him. She seems slightly discouraged. It's like she lacks
courage. The sorceress gives her an encouraging smile.
DOCTOR S: What I'm about to do goes beyond my functions. According to the
rules, I am not allowed to give you any information.
WITCH: Hmmm, something smells burnt...
DOCTOR S.: There is no change in your condition. The medical team plans to
turn off the equipment. I'm sorry. It's a very heavy blow, I know.
WITCH: You can pronounce it that way! To turn off my appliances, as you turn
off a stove or a hair dryer. Well, what are they waiting for then?
DOCTOR S.: Permission.
WITCH: This is too much! And who can give them permission for such a thing?
DOCTOR S.: Your nephew. He is your only living relative.
WITCH: God! This ever-sniffing sopolanko….Let's hope he remembers all the
strawberry cream candies I've bought him…And every Christmas and…
DOCTOR S: So far they can't find it.
THE WITCH: The sweet boy finishes his education in the States. And the States
are vast!
DOCTOR S.: Don't kid yourself. They will find it. But you will not come out of
the coma.
THE WITCH: I see.
Julien enters noisily and rushes towards Doctor S.
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JULLIEN: A moment. Doctor, I want to ask you something. But I must be sure
that you will answer me with "yes".
DOCTOR S.: In that case, you already have the answer "no".
JULLIEN: Give me just a second ( She pauses to listen to him .) I would like,
whatever happens, Laura and I to travel together in the elevator. Do you
understand? Down to Earth or...up..But let's be together.
DOCTRO S.: I see you loved life, that's wonderful. I see the reason you're
optimistic is Laura, but aren't you afraid of death?
JULLIEN: Less, but now I'm gullible. I want to hope in what I don't understand.
Let's go together!
DOCTOR S.: I would like to say yes.
JULIEN: Say yes.
DOCTOR S.: I have no power. Laura's fate depends on the circumstances. I
cannot command the circumstances.
JULIEN: Of course...Of course..(Slowly walks towards corridor "Z".) I'm going
back to Laura. What a fool I am to waste so much time away from her. Thank
you.
He disappears. Dr. S. is about to leave. The sorceress abruptly stands up,
takes out a business card from her pocket and hands it to her with an
emphatic gesture.
WITCH: Here's my nephew's phone number. Have them call him to turn off my
devices.
DOCTOR S.: It doesn't make sense. What's going to happen, will happen. I
cannot pass on this information.
THE WITCH: Doctor, I'm begging you! You have to act very quickly! Laura is
in Saint-Louis like me, right? So simple! The whole job is to disconnect a cable
from my chest, remove a piece of flesh and take it one floor down.
DOCTOR S.: You want me to do something forbidden.
42
THE WITCH: Aren't you tired of watching people pass by, realizing what they
missed or succeeded in life. Aren't you tired of realizing every time that fate is
just a lottery? And besides, think, Doctor, what an incomparable pleasure it is to
break the rules...
DOCTOR S.: Can't you not mix nonsense with clever talk? ( She gets up )
WITCH: Look, I want them to save the girl. If my heart begins to beat in the
place of hers, it will be a gift that I have given with my death.
She kisses the business card, as if stamping it, and places it in the hand of
Doctor S., who is too excited to say anything. Doctor S. runs out. Laura
and Julien enter the lobby. The witch hides behind the newspaper.
LAURA: On the contrary, it is! I know that once back on Earth, one forgets
what was here. After the first time I was here, I didn't remember anything at all.
Julien, imagine we don't recognize each other down there on Earth?
JULLIEN: I'm not worried about that. I know I will recognize you.
LAURA: No! One day we will pass each other in a corridor, on the street,
wherever, and your gaze will pass somewhere over me. You won't even notice.
JULLIEN: That's not possible! I will look for you everywhere.
LAURA: Me too. But I want you to train now.
JULLIEN: How so?
LAURA: I know something that even Doctor S. doesn't. Last time I was here, I
learned to tango with Juan…A man who was also here.
JULIEN: What?!
LAURA ( laughing ): But he was over eighty! A was so happy to be able to
move again. I was his dancer. I had never danced before.
JULLIEN: Okay, I got it.
LAURA: Listen to me. When I got back downstairs, I had forgotten both this
hotel and the tango lessons. But my foot had not forgotten the steps of the tango.
We have to practice. I want to make sure that our bodies will recognize
each other.
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LAURA ( puts Julien's hands on her waist ): If your hands don't feel this,
then it's not me.
JULLIEN: I love you.
LAURA: Kiss me.
They kiss.
JULLIEN: Take it easy. I will not forget.
LAURA: How stupid I am! So you'll be looking for me among all the women
who won't be me. No! No! We need to find something else fast!
JULLIEN: I'll teach you a code. Secret code.
He takes her in his arms, and as he speaks, does consistently what he
describes.
JULLIEN: I kiss you on the ears: one, two. I kiss you on the forehead: one, two,
three, four. I kiss your eyes: two, three, four, five, six. I kiss you on the lips: one,
two, three, four, five, six, seven, eight.
LAURA: Yes, yes very well. Let's repeat.
They repeat it.
JULLIEN: One more time?
At that moment, Doctor S. enters, followed by his assistants.
DOCTOR S.: Julien, I need to talk to you. In your room.
JULLIEN: Okay.
Doctor S. walks in front of the Magician and whispers something to him,
but so that the others do not hear.
DOCTOR S.: The business card accidentally fell out of your jacket pocket. An
orderly saw her and took her to the attending physician. They call your nephew.
He is surprised to learn about your condition. He struggles with what to
answer... He says that he is not a supporter of clinging to the idea of keeping the
patient alive at all costs... He also says that he loved you very much.
44
THE WITCH: That he "loved" me very much?
Shocked by this past tense, the Enchantress shows a slight fit of fright. He
leans against the back of one of the armchairs. Julien goes out with
Doctor S. and her assistants.
LAURA: Are you not well?
WITCH: Nothing. I am fine.
He sits down. She stands next to him.
THE WITCH: Did you know that I had a daughter. Sometime. He looked a bit
like you. When I looked at her, I found her so beautiful, so feminine, that I said
to myself: "No, it is not possible that she came from you." I was a commercial
traveler then. I changed country after country, hotel after hotel. I signed a
contract in America. And then one time, when I was on the other side of the
States, she called me: "Mom, I'm a little sick." They had to take her to the
hospital. The disease killed her at the age of twenty. Some virus. I arrived too
late. Right after that.
The witch falls silent. Laura spontaneously rested her head on her
shoulder.
WITCH: I quit my job. I called spirits, spun the crystal ball. I just wanted her to
talk to me, I didn't want her to disappear. That's how I became the Rajapura
Sorceress. The memories we keep of a deceased child are like locked in a shrine,
protected from grief. They are not like other memories. They are untouchable. I
couldn't do anything.
LAURA: You couldn't.
WITCH: I haven't even been there.
LAURA: You couldn't. Don't blame yourself. You are a wonderful person. You
like me. Everyone here makes fun of you a bit, but I like you.
WITCH: Thank you.
She throws herself into her arms. At that moment Doctor S. rushes in,
followed by her assistants. He's about to clear the room, as he usually
45
does, when he sees Laura and the Enchantress flinches and stops. Then
he quietly says:
DOCTOR S.: Laura, I am compelled to ask you to leave me alone with the
Enchantress.
LAURA: All right, doctor.
Laura lets go of the Enchantress with ease.
LAURA: See you soon, okay?
THE WITCH: See you soon.
Laura disappears. Dr. S. is in front of the control panel where a red light is
flashing. The bell rings. She turns to the Enchantress.
DOCTOR S.: Forgive me, but we are already late. Enter the elevator.
She walks him to the elevator, the doors open.
WITCH: Doctor, I know you have no right to tell me anything, but…will it?
He is already in the elevator cabin .
Dr. S.: The medical team has decided to donate your heart to Laura.
WITCH: Thank you.
The elevator doors have closed. The sound of his departure is heard. The
ringing stops. Doctor S. turns worriedly to her assistants, who have
realized that she has broken the law.
DOCTOR S.: I know. This is against the Great Rule.
The bell rings again.
DOCTOR S: Go quickly and fetch Laura.
The assistants run. They return only seconds later, followed by Laura and
Julien hugging each other.
DOCTOR S.: Laura, it's your turn.
46
LAURA: No, no, not yet!
DOCTOR S. ( looks anxiously at the control panel ): I'm begging you, Laura,
we don't have a second to lose!
LAURA: No! Not yet! Ah, the Enchantress, where is she? I want to say goodbye
to her.
Julien doesn't look scared. He takes Laura to the elevator and gives her a
big hug here. The assistants slowly separate the two lovers. Then they
gently nudge Laura towards the cabin.
JULLIEN: Have faith, Laura! I love you!
Laura starts speaking the secret code. Trembling. The doors are closing.
LAURA ( muffled cry ): Julien!
The assistants and Doctor S. anxiously look at the arrows. Suddenly the
down arrow lights up. The elevator leaves.
JULIEN ( screaming with joy ): Yes! Yes! Yes!
JULLIEN: Doctor, thank you for telling me a moment ago what the Enchantress
did. Otherwise, I wouldn't have had the courage to accompany Laura to the
elevator. This is the second miracle.
Dr. S. leans against the wall to regain his composure.
DOCTOR S.: Nothing happens according to the Rule. Tomorrow will be
different! (looks at the smiling angels) You're right. And tomorrow will be no
different!
He returns to the control panel and reports to Julien .
DOCTOR S.: Your turn will come soon.
JULIEN: In what direction?
DOCTOR S.: I don't know.
JULLIEN: Doctor, do you know what's up there?
47
Assistants disappear. Doctor S. stays only with Julien .
DOCTOR S.: No.
JULIEN: Even you?
DOCTOR S.: I only know my own position. To receive you. To keep you
waiting. Then I'll take you to the elevator. I don't know anything. I'm just
holding the door. All I know is that if you go up, the journey is only up.
JULIEN: Why do they call you "Doctor"?
DOCTOR S.: You took me that way today. That may change. It depends on the
moment. You, for example, took me for a wife.
JULLIEN: Please?
DOCTOR S.: President Delbecq saw me as a man.
JULLIEN: I cannot fathom all this!
DOCTOR S.: Neither do I... For me, as for you, death is a mystery.
JULLIEN: You know more than you say. If our life is a gift, who gave us this
gift?
DOCTOR S.: Who do you think?
JULIEN: I'm asking you.
DOCTOR S.: I'm asking you too.
JULLIEN: God? Or life itself?
DOCTOR S.: Even the answers to this question are a question mark! God? Life
itself? What does this change? In both cases, it means that you are a debtor.
JULLIEN: Debtor?
DOCTOR S.: They gave you a gift/ You must receive it.
JULIEN: Of course.
DOCTOR S.: Then take care of him.
JULLIEN: Yes.
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DOCTOR S.: And finally to pass it on, I'm talking about the gift, to give life to
your turn. Children, works, works, love...
JULIEN: Of course. And so towards the end of our allotted time, when the gift
has just begun to lose its power, we may finally have earned it…
DOCTOR S: Maybe.
JULIEN: So you don't know what death is either?
DOCTOR S.: The worst that can happen to this question is that it is answered!
The bell starts ringing.
DOCTOR S.: It's your turn.
The two assistants appear. The elevator doors open. Julien obediently
stands before them.
JULLIEN: Scary. Even if I am destined to die now... I will be...calm.
DOCTOR S.: Trust.
JULLIEN: And yet, I know no more of death now than before. But I'm less
afraid of what I know.
DOCTOR S.: Trust is a small flame that gives me light but keeps me warm.
Julien enters the cabin, but suddenly panics.
JULLIEN: Doctor S., if Laura and I meet down there on Earth, do you think
we'll know each other?
DOCTOR S.: Yes. As soon as you step out of the elevator, you will forget
everything, but there is an unconscious memory down there that stores what
happened outside of Earth. A deep memory, hidden between the folds of the
spirit and which is set in motion at the first glance that two people give each
other and by which they recognize each other. This is called love at first sight.
The doors are closing. Doctor S. and the angels stare at the arrows. But
the light intensifies to a white-hot, blinding, blinding, and the whole
Hotel suddenly blossoms in light before we can tell which way the
elevator with Julien is going - up or down.
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END
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