Careful Trees

NORA: 25, an accountant, engaged to her high school sweetheart, curious about what she might have been had she pursued a life outside of her home town

TOPAZ: 33, traveling gypsy, free spirit, curious about the life she might have led if she had settled down with the only boy she ever loved in college

ERIC: 29, enlisted in the military as soon as he got out of high school, bright, could have gone to college but wanted to explore his masculinity

Scene 1
AT RISE, an art studio so small, it could be a closet. TOPAZ is painting and is covered in paint. A knock--Enter NORA.

NORA
Hi… I’m--

Paint hits NORA.

TOPAZ
Oops! Sorry about that. So hi, who are you and what would serve your spirit right now?

NORA
I’m here responding to the craigslist ad about a new roommate?

TOPAZ
Yes! Eric is two doors down.

NORA
Eric?

TOPAZ
He and I live together.

Paint hits NORA again.

TOPAZ (cont.)
I guess I wasn’t actually sorry earlier. I’ve always thought that if people are actually sorry about something, they don’t repeat the action and if they do, they weren’t really sorry. Let’s stop and think about why I’m not sorry. You look kind of sad in your outfit. Maybe I’m subconsciously trying to brighten you up with some color. Do you always wear grey?

NORA
I--

TOPAZ
I am a terrible painter. I wanted to try Pollock’s process though... so… fun.

NORA
I think that--

TOPAZ
I am in an interesting energetic space right now. Do you feel it? Because it’s just going. So you’re going to have to answer an interesting question if I’m going to give you the floor to talk. Here: What three ways might you die? I know it’s kind of macabre, but I think you can learn a lot from a person by how they think they’re going to die. Like there’s a very big difference between the person who is going to die of old age and the person who is going to die skydiving, don’t you think?

NORA
Yes.

TOPAZ stops her frenetic moving and plops down on the floor, cross legged.

TOPAZ
So?