The Trials of Tübingen

Scene 2

[A riverbank at sunset.]

[Enter Jakob Ende and a Monk who has been recently imprisoned.]

Jakob Ende. [Pointing towards the audience.] Travel down the riverbank until you see a punting boat with a man known as Markus on it. When you find him, whisper these words into his ear: “The Trials of Tübingen”. He will then reveal a hidden compartment within a crate. After you enter it, he will take you to Esslingen, far beyond Ulrich and his tyrannical proclamation.

Monk. May the Lord bless you, Jakob Ende.

Jakob Ende. He has already.

Monk. Is there anything I can do to assist you?

Jakob Ende. You could pray for the continuing success of my mission.

Monk. I will do so. I hope to see you again, if not in this life, then in the life to come.

Jakob Ende. I am looking forward to it.

[Exit Monk, into the audience.]

Jakob Ende. I know you are behind the bush, Freia. You may stop pretending that I do not.

[Enter Freia Ende.]

Freia Ende. Perhaps I would not need to hide if you would allow me to make a difference.

Jakob Ende. We have spoken of this, Freia. You will not assist me, for your own safety.

[Jakob Ende begins to exit, but Freia Ende interrupts.]

Freia Ende. You are wrong.

Jakob Ende. I beg your pardon?

Freia Ende. It is not for my safety, it is for your peace of mind.

[Jakob Ende sighs.]

Freia Ende. You have been paranoid for my entire life because of Mother’s death. You have never placed me in a situation with the smallest chance of danger.

Jakob Ende. Freia, the work I am doing has no place for-

Freia Ende. [Shouting] For a woman?! You are a hypocrite! You taught me to reject the world’s ideas of a woman’s place, and now you are claiming your work has no place…

Jakob Ende. [Also shouting] For my only child!

[Jakob Ende hangs his head and sighs.]

Jakob Ende. You were only an infant, Freia. You do not recall how I became like this. Your mother was the only woman I will ever love, and I wished for a long and joyful life together. But when she died two years after our wedding, I felt I had lost all that mattered. I sought a doctor who could heal her, but she was beyond healing. So I rejected the doctor and the healing he practiced. I then pleaded with the Lord, begging him to spare her, but heaven did not hear my prayers. So I rejected the church. And after she perished giving you life, I rejected you.

[Freia Ende gasps.]

Jakob Ende. I was so bitter, so enshrouded in my own despair, that I neglected you. You came into this world as a healthy, plump child, but it did not take long for you to become a young skeleton. You were starving, thirsty, and helpless. But I did not care.