DRYING FLOWERS
by Ingunn Lára Kristjánsdóttir
Act one, Scene one
The News.
Sybil:
I know what happened.
Mary: You do?
Sybil:
Yessir, I know a lot more than you do.
Mary: You’re lying… Go on.
Sybil:
It turns out that casket was missing a few parts. In fact they couldn’t find half of him.
Mary: Half??
Sybil:
He was scattered all over the place.
Mary: I think I’m goin’ to be sick, go on.
Sybil:
His coffin was missing a few things.
Mary: What kind of things?
Sybil:
His eyes, They weren’t there. his right ear, nope. They had to tape his mouth shut to stop his
jaw from falling to the side.
Mary: Oh my god.
Sybil:
And that aint all!
Mary: How do you know all this?
Sybil:
I know stuff.
Mary: Lord.
Sybil:
And the toes.
Mary: What about the toes?
Sybil:
Counted em.
Mary: And?
Sybil:
Three
Mary: Three… Just three?
Sybil:
Yep.
Mary: I can’t believe it! You counted them?
Sybil:
Took off his shoes and his socks, and you know what I saw-
Mary: Three toesSybil:
Three mangled toes and the rest looking like…
Mary: What?
Sybil:
No I can’t say-
Mary: No you probably shouldn’t, I can’t hear this, go on.
Sybil:
Rest of the mess of an excuse for feet looked like gloves!
Mary: Gloves?
Sybil:
Like gloves. When you put gloves on a child and the fingers miss the sockets. So the fingers
of the gloves are empty. That’s what his toes looked like. His toes looked like they were
missing their insides, missing their bones. The feetfingers missing from the glove.
Mary: Oh my god! Really? What about his actual fingers?
Sybil:
Fingers were all right.
Mary: OhSybil:
Yeah but his head!
Mary: Missing the eyes wadn’t it?!
Sybil:
Not that head.
Mary: No! No no no no no no! You didn’t!
Sybil:
Oh I did. Let’s just say he was looking a lot more like us than any man.
Mary: Whoah, mama! You saw that!
Sybil:
That’s what a saw.
Mary: You saw all the[The Mother walks in and they ladies stop talking straight away.]
Sybil:
Madam, we’ve finished with the onions. We got a big sack here, we finished peeling and I
think, I think we, we’re going to move on to the bedroom, didn’t you say, mam, that, that
you needed something, there was something missing in the lights.
Mary: Yeah, that’s right, the lights, probably need a new bulb.
Sybil:
We can go into town and get a few things and, oh, I think that I should go and look at those
pies-
Mary:
I’ll help you look at the pies, I need to learn things about, about the pies, mam.
Mother: SybilSybil:
Yes madame, lots to do, lots to do, you wouldn’t believe the mornin’ we’ve had, crazy, wow,
we can’t be hanging around here, no mam, we will get straight to folding those, didn’t you
need some things folded? We’ll get straight to it mam, after we’ve finished with the, the, uh-
Mary: Bulbs, the bulbsSybil:
And the pie and the, then the folding.
Mary: Yes.
Sybil:
Mhm, yes mam, right, let’s get to it. Thank you mam, goodbye madame.
[They leave. The Mother stays still in the other room. She falls to the ground and grabs the bag of
potatoes and holds on to it as she cries. A young girl walks in]
Girl:
Mum?
Mother: Come here, baby. You’ve got mud all over your dress.
Girl:
I fell off Princess.
Mother: That’s no good, I’ll have that horse flayed alive.
Girl:
Don’t do that!
Mother: (beat) I won’t. Oh, but look at you. This just won’t do.
[She starts washing her face, she looks intently at her face and holds her there]
Girl:
Are you okay, mommy?
Mother: Perfect. Now. How about those flowers you picked? Here’s a thought! Shall I teach you how
to dry them?
[The girl puts one flower in her Mother’s hair. The Mother smiles. Takes the flower out of her hair.]
Mother: Thank you darling, this one will do just nice. Say, why don’t you run into your daddy’s studyGirl:
I’m not allowed in there.
Mother: You are now. Go get some news papers and I’ll show you how to dry these flowers to
preserve them.
Girl:
I don’t want to dry them. They’re pretty like this, like you mummy.
Mother: Let’s try it for now, okay?
Girl:
Okay.
Mother: Now off you go.
[The girl runs off and the Mother goes around, picks out a few heavy looking books and places them
on the desk. Mary walks in. ]
Mary: Madam?
Mother: Mary, come in, come in.
Mary: Do you need any help with that?
Mother: No, no, I’m all right.
Mary: Here, let me help you with that.
Mother: I don’t need help. Thank you, though.
Mary: It’s not a problem at all, madam.
Mother: I said no, thank you, Mary.