A Conversation inthe Park.
*Change the names please!! I’m not good at that!!
A man named Chris, in his early thirties, is thrown out of a pub by Islander security guards for drunken behaviour. He is bleeding slightly at the mouth, from a fight with a guy in the pub. Security roughed him up a bit also. All from Chris trying to pick up the man’s wife. In jeans and a shirt, (with a bit of blood on his shirt) he drunken walks across the main road, narrowly avoiding passing cars..
Security watches as he crosses the road to the other side. As finally makes it, he stands on the footpath glancing for a moment at the security amusedly looking at him. He seems to like the pain and ignores their laughing.
He stares at the park curiously..
Something seems to be drawing him there.
He can hear voices speaking, behind the tall trees and shrubs.
Enticed by what he is hearing, which seems familiar, he walks towards the lights and darkness of the park.
As he walks slowly with a drink in his hand (stolen from the pub), he is drunk but with a feeling of he’s sobering up slowly (that’s why he stole the drink). As everything comes into full view, he is amazed at what he sees.
He watches in awe at the people having a conversation, full of emotion with a touch of familiarity to it. All the while trying to decipher these conversations.
He glances over to find a bench and table.
He sits on the bench in the dim light as he listens to the conversations that are happening around him.. He listens to the conversations one by one
Regret.
Chris is seeing a vision of himself as an older man having a conversation with his son. Someone he did not help raise. His ex wife did it on her own raising both his sister and him.. This is him trying to connect with his son.
An older man (in his fifties) and a younger man (in his early thirties).
Older man hesitating: “Hi, how are you?”
Younger man with his arms folded:“Fine, what do you want?”
Older man looking nervous: “Just wanted to talk”
Younger man: “Talk?”
“What for?”
“You let me know, where you stand long time ago”
Older man: “I can’t take back what happened.”
“I was lost son, I needed to find me.”
Younger man almost laughing:“So, you left Mum to raise us?”
Older man with remorse:“Well, I had no choice; I felt like I could help, I was a mess.”
Son, getting angry:“So, you went to the pub to drown in your self-pity?”
“Hoping the glass of rocks and hope would help you find yourself?”
Older man, stares in disbelief:“That’s a lie.”
Son, pointing at older man:“Uncle Joe and his mates saw you at the pub enough back in the day.”
“Four times a week there, so when were you finding yourself?”
Older stares at his son and sighs. He looks at him in disbelief again, knowing he has been caught out in another lie.
Older man, pleading:“Son!”
Son, sensing his father’s desperation:“Don’t call me son!!”
“There is a prerequisite for that!!”
Pointing at his Dad angrily:“That requires you being a Dad, more than once in a lifetime.”
“Why even call me down here?”
“You want to know I’m fine, so you can close another chapter?”
“I am!!!”
“I’m a doctor now; I finished school and paid my way through it with no ones help!”
“Mum couldn’t afford the payments, but I wanted to make her proud and not be the person you became by choice.”
“Do I drink?”
Son in a sarcastic tone:“Not as much as you sir.”
“Only on weekends.”
“I play sports, but I was never the athlete that I heard you were.”
Dad asks quietly:“Ah cricket, I remember.”
Son smiles disgustingly:“I play basketball!!”
Son gestures with his hands:“Is the interrogation over?”
Dad replies pleading: “Son, don’t be like that, we’re just talking.”
Son replies angrily:“Enough with that father and son shit!”
“You’ve been gone too long to comeback home and in our lives, to start talking that Daddy shit.”
“All you want is gone, it’s not yours to reclaim.”
“Like it never happened.”
Dad with tear filled eyes:“I just thought, your sister and you would give me one more chance, to try and make it up to you?”
Son in disbelief:“Make up for what?”
Older man:“I just was hoping we could be friends?”
“I thought you might need some advice maybe?”
“It’s a tough world out there.”
Son:“I already know that.”
“You starting to remember by any chance?”
Dad, giving up slowly:“Ah.”
Son says:“We did fine.”
“Mum, Jenny and I did great without you.”
“We grew up knowing very early that life is tough, so that life education has been taught at a very early age.”
Son looking straight at his Dad:“I don’t want you in my life.”
“This is our first and last father and son bonding moment.”
Son wave’s goodbye out of obligation walks away into the distance, leaving his father on his own.
Mistakes.
This is conversation between his wife and Chris. I choose different names but it still represents his wife and him
and the problems they went through with their marriage. Getting young and raising a family.
Michael: “I just can’t do this anymore.”
Catherine replies in panic:“What can’t you do?”
“Support a family and raise kids that you helped create?”
Michael:“Ah!”
“We.. We got married too young!!”
Catherine replies, very angry:“You proposed without pressure!!”
Catherine is pointing angrily:“You did it on your own accord!”
“You said you loved me!”
“You said, we would be together for all eternity?”
“What happened?”
Michael replies without remorse:“I just don’t think it was the right move.”
Michael hesitating:“We should’ve had more fun..”
Catherine with hands on hips:“You mean fuck other people?”
Michael quickly replies:“No!!”
Catherine:“Then what the fuck do you mean?”
Michael hesitating even more:“I mean just have…. Fun?”
“Just enjoy our twenties more.”
“With our friends.”
Catherine:“You fucking moron, you prick!!”
Catherine pointing her finger at him:“You help make a baby, you got the house, and you wanted the mortgage?”
“And you got a good paying job!”
Michael:“Well…………………………………………”
“I’ll pay child support for the child.”
“I promise.”
“I won’t leave you in the cold.”
Catherine:“You are right now!!”
“I love you and this is what you do to me?”
Catherine with hands gestures:“And me?”
“What do I do?”
Michael: “Maybe.. You can work again?”
Catherine exhausted:“Five months pregnant with our second child?”
“Sure………………”
“No problem.”
Catherine sarcastically says:“I could probably work in labour.”
“No problem.”
“I don’t think, I will get tired, have morning sickness?”
“I should be ok.”
“Thanks for your concern.”
“Also, they will not notice the bulge in stomach?”
“I should be fine.”
Michael:“Well.. I’m trying to help you.”
Catherine eyes of anger:“You know what, fuck you.”
Michael:“What do you want me to say?”
Catherine: “You should say you love me!!”
“Who are you sleeping with?”
Michael:“Ah, shit!”
Catherine:“Who is it?”
“Tell me, I at least deserve that?”
“Ah, I know who.”
Catherine says:“It’s Penelope isn’t it?”
“My first cousin?”
“You work with her; you are always in town with her.”
“After work drinks with work colleagues.”
“After work fuck also?”
Michael replies:“We get along and I have fallen in love with her.”
Catherine is crying now. She is inconsolable and hurt. Michael stands there and does not know what to do.
Catherine:“How long have you been sleeping her?”
“How long you fucking prick?”
Michael:“Ah, 8 months.”
Catherine:“Fucking bitch!!”
Michael:“She told me she loved me and wanted to be with me.”
“And I want to be with her.”
Catherine:“Arsehole!!”
Michael:“Ah.. I’m very sorry about this.”
Catherine:“Not you’re not!! If you were you wouldn’t be doing this.. You would be with your family!!
It was supposed to be me and you; we were supposed to be together!!”
“Through the struggles, through those moments together we were supposed to hold on!!”
“That’s what it is about!!”
Michael:“Well, it was.”
Catherine:“No, it never was.”
“You give up too easy!!”
“You’re not fighting.”
“To be together.”
Michael:“I just can’t.. I’m sorry!!”
Catherine:“Sorry?”
Michael slightly screaming:“Yeah.”
Catherine:“Well..”
“You can forget about us!!”
“I don’t need your help!!”
“You remember this!!”
“You’ll never see your kids again!!”
Michael:“That’s fine by me.”
Catherine with tears in her eyes looks stunned at Michael.. Realising what he just said.. Quietly she walks into the
distance.
Scared.
A man is his thirties sits alone by the trees, hidden by the shadows slightly, but exposed by the light. Tears run
down his cheek in fear and loneliness.
This is a conversation between Chris and the scared part inside him. The kid that walks over during this
conversation to the scared person is Chris as a little kid.. The little kid represents him when he was fearless and free
and not scared about the consequences in life.
Scared man:“Ah man, what are we gonna do?”
Chris in tears now:“I don’t know man?”
Scared man:“It ain’t gone our way.”
Chris:“I know..”
“I know..”
Scared man:“Just lost, what do we do?”
Chris:“Ah..”
Scared man:“What now?”
“Where to now?”
Chris in tears:“I’m sorry.”
“I should’ve planned..”
“Better.”
Scared man crying scared:“You damn right!!”
Chris:“Just give me some time.”
Scared man:“You have had nothing but time.”
“You have been sitting too long.”
Scared man:“All we did was avoid.”
“I don’t know why?”
Chris:“Me neither man.”
Scared man:“We never tried.”
“We never had the courage.”
“Failure was our ultimate fear.”
Chris a little angry and crying:“You don’t need to remind me!”
Chris:“Ah.”
A little kid walks in and sees the scared man crying and walks over and pats him.
Little kid:“Don’t worry.”
“It’s going to be alright.”
The little kid just stands and stares at him.
Scared man:“When it got tough.”
“We were no where to be found.”
Chris:“Ah.. man.”
“I just don’t know what do either.”
The Fighter.
This angry part of him coming out now.. He is sick of Chris’s fears and failures. He is going to take over now.
According to him. He sick of the way life has turned out.
Fighter says:“You scared motherfucker.”
Chris crying:“No need to..”
Fighter:“Fuck you.”
“No need to what?”
“Sit in the corner and cry like a pussy, punk ass motherfucker.”
Chris:“I know.. We..”
Fighter stares straight at him, very angry:“There is no we!!”
“Fuck you!!”
Fighter shadowboxing:“That’s why I’m here.”
“This is the takeover.”
“You bleed..”
“I fight!!”
Chris head in his hands:“I can’t!!”
Fighter:“You dumb motherfucker.”
“That’s why I’m here.”
Chris shaking his head:“I won’t.”
Fighter:“This is no democracy!!”
“It’s me calling the shots now!!”
“It’s me now, you called me.”
“You didn’t do shit!!”
Fighter shadowboxing again:“It’s me now, you called me.”
“I’ll drag your arse.”
Fighter pointing his finger angry:“No more of this fear, failure, fucking fuck.”
Fighter quietly confirms:“You got me now.”
Chris:“I don’t want you.”
“I’ll be alright on my own.”
“I will get back up!!”
Chris pointing a finger to himself:“And I will decide what I want to do!!”
Chris then pleas:“Just need another chance?”
“Please.”
Fighter:“Nah, nah, you got too many of them!!”
“This is why, I’m in charge!!”
Fighter gestures angrily at Chris as
he is on the bench crying:“So shut the fuck up.”
“Put on your belt”
“And enjoy the fucking ride.”
Chris:“Nah I won’t.”
“Fuck you.”
Fighter:“You giving me lip, boy?”
“I will knock your arse through the ground!!”
Chris:“Ah.. Stop it!!”
Fighter smiling and shadowboxing:“And now get ready.”
Chris:“I don’t want you.”
“I’ll be alright on my own.”
“I will get back up!!”
Chris pointing a finger to himself:“And I will decide what I want to do!!”
Fighter quietly confirms while
staring at him with intensity:“Too late for that.”
“These are the rules. Get ready for change.”
The Conclusion.
Chris looks up at the trees and sees a person playing with a piece of rope. (We can’t see what he is playing with.)
He is tying a loop and a firm knot around the tree. The person is up about 4 metres high.
He looks straight at Chris. He smiles and continues to prepare the rope (Still can’t see it.”) He makes the face expressions as he prepares the rope.
Chris hasn’t stopped staring.
He looks over at Chris again.
He looks straight at Chris again this time with intensity.
He says:“So are you ready?”
Drops the rope to show what he means. (We can see the rope now.)
He slowly lifts it up until he has it all the rope in his hands.
Gestures the rope to Chris like a piece of food.
Chris says angrily with fear:“Nah, nah, nah, nah, fuck you!”
“Leave me the fuck alone.”
Chris gets up and walks away slowly and sober. Chris is in shock knowing what he just saw. Chris walks away into the distance and disappears.