(Lights up on a dark street. The SEEKER sits on a bench, waiting for the bus. An ADDICT wanders onstage, groping along a wall. She is blind. She runs into the bench. The SEEKER laughs and covers it with a cough.)
ADDICT: Who's there?
SEEKER: (Anxious) No one. I'm waiting for the bus.
ADDICT: I'd like to catch the bus as well. (She feels along the top of the bench then down to the seat, finding it empty.) Do you mind if I sit?
SEEKER: No. Go ahead.(The ADDICT sits a little too close to the SEEKER. She scoots over. The ADDICT follows her lead until they're touching. The SEEKER leaps up, horrified.)
SEEKER (CONTINUED): What do you think you're doing?
ADDICT: I don't know what you're talking about. Why don't you sit back down? (She stretches her hand toward the SEEKER, who shies away from the contact.) What's wrong? Is there a policeman around?
SEEKER: That doesn't matter.ADDICT: Do you see a policeman?
SEEKER: No
.ADDICT: All right. (She scoots. The SEEKER eyes her warily before sitting down. The ADDICT sits with her hands in her lap, humming. The SEEKER stares straight ahead, obviously unnerved by their interaction. The bus pulls up, engine humming. The SEEKER stands. The ADDICT scrambles to her feet, loses her balance, and grabs the SEEKER's arm to steady herself. The SEEKER supports her. The two of them freeze.) Thank you.
SEEKER: You're welcome. (She steps away from the ADDICT and watches her get onto the bus. She decides not to get on. The ADDICT gets off the bus.) What's going on?
ADDICT: I changed my mind. I think I'll walk. Want to walk with me?
SEEKER: (Beat) Okay.
ADDICT: Don't let me run into anything.
SEEKER: I'll try not to.(The ADDICT takes her arm. She is startled but does not resist.)
ADDICT: We should go to East Street.
SEEKER: Why? What's on East Street?
ADDICT: Let's just say there's someone I think you should meet.(Lights fade as they exit, the SEEKER leading the ADDICT.)
YOU ARE READING
Touch: A One-Act Play (Sample)
Fiction généraleThe Seeker has grown up in a world where deliberate physical contact is a crime, and for most of her life, it hasn't bothered her. But when some of her classmates are arrested for touching, she decides to try the most forbidden of things and touch a...
