Breaking The Fall

The Fall of the Unknown

 SCENE 1

           In the dark alley just across his favorite park, a man in his early fifties was walking alone. If you would look closely, he wasn't walking in a straight line. He was drunk again, as usual. He had a bottle of whiskey on his right hand and a lighted cigarette in his left hand. He was cruising his way out of the alley when he dropped his cigarette on the pavement. He cursed and went back to his cruising. He said bad words a lot over the past years. He wasn't like that before... a very long time ago.

The man was wearing a long black tattered cloak to cover up his torn and smelly clothes, and wore a hat to mask his unshaven and dreadful face.

        He stopped at the sidewalk and squinted. He was at the park at last. He didn’t know how long it took him to walk there but all he cared about was himself. He couldn’t walk any further. So, he crossed the street in a hurry, with cars blaring loudly their horns at him, and sat down on the wooden cold bench near the fountain. He noticed that the city officials turned off the water from it. Now, how could he wash his face? He touched his face and pulled down the hat that he was wearing. It was freezing that night. He tried to wrap his cloak properly over his body but it was too small for him. So he laid himself into a ball to warm himself up. After a few seconds, he snored.

 SCENE 2

           It was mid-summer and the weather was very hot and dry. Even though the weather was like this, their relatives and his wife were busy preparing for his daughter's seventh birthday. He looked outside the window from the living room and saw that his daughter was very excited and was playing with her friends already. He sighed and walked towards the couch. His wife was the one who would be hosting the celebration so it was only good for him--- and for his family--- to stay inside, watch television and drink beer. He didn't tell his wife yet that he got fired from his night security job in a famous hotel in the city. He would let the party finished first and tell her later when all the visitors were gone.

           He didn't notice that the party was already finished until his daughter ran up to him and gave him a big hug. She said thank you for the wonderful bicycle that he gave her as a present. Then she ran outside and rode on to her new bike. He was looking at her when his wife entered and confronted him. At first, she didn’t say anything. She just stared at him with her arms crossed in front of her chest. She couldn’t stand it anymore. She told him to tell her the truth. Did he get fired or not? He stared at her in disbelief. Who told her about him being fired from work? She demanded for an answer. Now.

           He was explaining what happened: he had a few drinks, maybe five or six bottles of beer, before coming to work and he was sleeping by the door--- it was already midnight then--- when the owner suddenly showed up. He shouldn't be coming home until next week, he told his wife. His wife shook her head in disgust. She reminded him that this was the third time in a month that he got fired. She also told him that she and their daughter would leave him that day. He tried to apologize to his wife. He tried to embrace her but she removed his arms roughly. He tried to kneel down on one knee just to let them stay. He promised to look for another job and quit his drinking habit. She was halfway up the stairs when she looked at him. She told him that he made promises a few weeks before and he broke them himself after a few days. How could they believe him now? She turned towards the room and started to pack her daughters things in their luggage, along with her clothes and stuff.

           Immobilized of what was happening, he decided to wait at their battered sofa and convinced his wife not to go away. He heard heavy and quick footsteps and saw his wife went downstairs with their huge bags. He was crying already this time. He promised that he would admit himself to a rehab center near the city or join AA and would look for a better job. But his wife kept on walking towards the door and was not listening to him. His wife went outside followed by him like a sick puppy and saw their daughter staring at them while riding on her bike. He could see panic on his daughter’s eyes and face as she looked from one person to another. She asked her mom what she was doing with those bags. His wife didn’t answer and dragged his daughter away towards the car, leaving the bright red bike that he had given her. His daughter was crying and shouting for her dad and for her bike. He didn't do anything but to stare and to cry his heart and soul out on the porch.

 SCENE 3

           The heavily bearded man on the bench suddenly sat up. It was getting colder as time gone by. He dreamed about his family again. He always dreamed of them endlessly when he fell asleep. That is why he would prefer to drink than to sleep just to forget that one awful day of his life. He sighed and looked at the empty fountain in front of him. That was seven years ago... what had happened to his daughter? Did his wife re-marry again? What did his daughter look like right now? Maybe she's in a nice private school like he was dreaming for her, enjoying her life as a student. Maybe she was as intelligent as his mother was. He hoped that she would never do the same mistakes that he did with his life.

           He felt tears forming in his eyes. I won't be able to change, he thought. He tried to quit drinking but kept on coming back. He was already an addict. He stood up and walked towards the fountain, hoping he could get some coins from it. But to his dismay, there was none. So he went away crying--- for his family and desperation--- with a bottle of whiskey on his right hand and a cigarette on his left hand.