Bound

A One-Act Play

by Aimee Kling

 

CAST OF CHARACTERS

MONSTER………………………………………………………A person, any age or gender identity

SHEA……………………A young grocery delivery driver, any gender identity

PHILIP………………………………………………………………………………………………………………Monster’s father

ALICE…………………………………………………………………………………………………………………Monster’s mother

PARAMEDICS………………………Three paramedics; any age and gender identity

 

SCENE

We are in a sparsely decorated living room, with a couch facing a television set. Stretching across the length of the middle of the stage are several long, low bookshelves, filled neatly with books, puzzles, board games, etc. There is a short platform with a door on one side of the platform leading to a bedroom and a hallway leading to a kitchen on the other side; we cannot see the bedroom or kitchen. The door to the apartment is CSL.

(AT RISE, the stage is dark, with the exception of a spotlight trained on MONSTER, who stands on the platform, facing USL)

MONSTER

By the time I woke up, I was already dead. I have no idea what happened. I’m usually so careful. Maybe there’s mold that didn’t show up in my inspections. Or a disease without any symptoms. Or maybe last week’s delivery person didn’t do a quality check and I got poisoned. I put very clear instructions, but who knows how carefully the shoppers follow those? Do you even read them?

(The lights come up on the rest of the stage, revealing a dumbstruck SHEA in the living room. They are dressed all in black, holding grocery bags, and staring in stunned silence at MONSTER, who looks concerned and glances over their shoulder)

MONSTER (cont’d)

What? Is there smoke or something?

(MONSTER looks back at SHEA, who continues to stare at them)

MONSTER (cont’d)

Look. There’s nothing we can do about it now. I’m dead. So you may as well just tell me the truth: did you read the instructions? I promise I won’t, like, haunt you or whatever.

(SHEA takes a deep breath, gathering their wits about them, and sets the bags down)

SHEA
Um. So, I’m the only one who will deliver here. So. It’s always me. And your notes are…the same. Every week. So yeah. I know what to check for. 

MONSTER

Oh. Good. Wait, what do you mean “the only one who will deliver here”? Is there something outside I should know about?

SHEA

No. I mean. Well, no. It’s not outside.

MONSTER

Inside?! Is it mold? Can you smell it?

SHEA

What? No. Look. Your place is fine. It’s just…you. You’re kind of weird, right? And like, you have this list of qualifications and rules and shit just to drop off groceries.

MONSTER

(primly, offended)

My requests are perfectly reasonable, given the risks inherent with having a stranger enter your personal environment when you have no idea what kinds of germs and diseases they might carry. And I tip very well.

SHEA

I mean. Yeah. You do. I guess, yeah.

MONSTER

So if you checked the order to ensure everything was properly stored and organic, then I probably wasn’t poisoned.

(SHEA stares at MONSTER, who blinks back at them calmly. There is a moment of silence)

SHEA

WHAT is HAPPENING? 

MONSTER

(startled, looking around)

What? What do you mean?

SHEA

You’re talking about HOW you DIED. Like you’re, what, a ghost?

MONSTER

Do I look alive to you?

(SHEA pauses and looks first at MONSTER, then around the apartment)

SHEA

I mean. There is something…off. But like, there always was. Some of the drivers are a little afraid of you. Of this place.

MONSTER

That’s insane. This is the safest place in the world, probably.

SHEA

From what?

 

MONSTER
The world.

SHEA

This place feels like a tomb. There’s no life in it. You don’t have any plants…

MONSTER

Do you have any idea how many plants have toxic properties and how easy it is for mold to grow in those environments? The oxygen benefits are vastly…

SHEA

So plants are evil. Fine. You never have music on. It’s always dark…

MONSTER

God, it’s like you’ve never even heard of housefires, which, in case you were curious, are caused by electrical wiring issues in about 50% of cases.

SHEA

Pets?

MONSTER

Right, because that’s what everyone needs — wild animals with their own sets of bacteria and behavioral issues.

SHEA
(shakes head)

Insane. This is insane.

MONSTER

I am not insane. Name one thing I’ve said that isn’t true.

(SHEA starts to speak, then pauses and thinks, obviously frustrated)

SHEA

I mean. Nothing, I guess. It’s not like you’re wrong. It’s just…most of us just think that stuff’s part of being alive. What do you even do with your time?

MONSTER

Lots of stuff. I read a lot. You can get pretty much anything delivered now, so as long as I disinfect things when I bring them in, there are tons of options. Books, games, puzzles…

SHEA

Friends? Family?

MONSTER

They’re dead.

SHEA

Like…all of them?

MONSTER

Yep. My parents died in a car accident when I was ten, so…

(At “parents,” the faded sound of ALICE and PHILIP’s voices are heard and MONSTER freezes, voice trailing off as they look around in confusion)

ALICE

(laughing)

Are you getting this, Philip?

PHILIP

Look at our little monster go!

(MONSTER looks to SHEA, as if to assess whether they heard the voices. SHEA only reacts to MONSTER, watching them quizzically. After a moment, MONSTER gathers themselves)

MONSTER

Uh, so. Yeah. So, my aunt took me in, and then she died of pancreatic cancer a few years later. And I’ve been pretty much on my own since then.

SHEA

(uncomfortable, looking around)

And so now you’re…well, you think you’re dead too?

MONSTER

I don’t think I’m dead. I am dead. I’m totally incorporeal – I tried all that Swayze stuff with the pennies and channeling inner rage or whatever. Can’t touch anything. Can’t feel anything. Just…dead.

SHEA
I swear I checked the food. Everything should be safe. You have a refrigerator, right? 

MONSTER
I’m not an idiot. Of course I have a fridge. I don’t use it often because of the whole “electricity and falling-object” issues, obviously…

SHEA
Okay. So probably not the food. Do you have any, like, wounds? That you can see?

(MONSTER begins to check themselves, turning around for privacy)

MONSTER
Nope, nothing I can see. I don’t hurt anywhere.

SHEA
Well… do you think… could you have like…taken too many pills or… something like that? 

MONSTER

Like…on purpose?

(SHEA shrugs, avoiding the question)

MONSTER (cont’d)

Why would I kill myself?

SHEA

I don’t know. I guess it just seems…lonely.

MONSTER

What’s so great about life out there? I can have everything you can have, without risking being shot by a stranger at the store or catching some crazy disease or having my fucking sternum crushed by a drunk driver and drowning in my own blood.

(There’s a very tense silence. MONSTER seems surprised by their outburst)

MONSTER (cont’d)

Look. I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to drag you into all of this. You should just go.

(SHEA nods, but doesn’t move. No one speaks for a moment)

SHEA

What about an aneurysm?

MONSTER

What?

SHEA
An aneurysm. There’s like no warning or any outward signs of those, right?

MONSTER

That’s true. But I don’t know how I’d figure that out without an autopsy.

SHEA

Should we call an ambulance?

 

MONSTER

So they can show up and talk to a ghost? Who even knows if they’d be able to see me? I wonder why you can.

 

SHEA

(shrugging)

Who knows? I know you’re incorporeal right now, but you did have a body at some point, right?

 

MONSTER

I guess. But it’s not like this place is huge. Wouldn’t I…it be super obvious?

SHEA

Could you have died outside?

 

MONSTER

I don’t go outside.

 

SHEA

I mean…not ever? 

 

MONSTER
Not since I was seventeen.

 

SHEA

Oh. Wow.

(SHEA and MONSTER both look around the apartment, reflecting anew on its size and simplicity)

 

MONSTER
I wasn’t always like this, you know.

 

SHEA

You mean so…careful?

MONSTER

Yeah. It just sort of happened. 

 

SHEA

(cautiously)

Your parents?

MONSTER

At first, yeah. The accident…the police said they’d never seen anything like it. It was horrible.

 

SHEA

Maybe they died instantly.

 

MONSTER

They didn’t.

 

SHEA

Oh.

MONSTER

So then I didn’t ever want to get in a car again.

 

SHEA

Sure. I get that.

 

MONSTER
But then…it got worse.

 

SHEA
‘Cause people still get killed when they’re not driving. 

 

MONSTER

Exactly. And my aunt was cool about it at first, but after a while she got super worried about me. So she put me in the psych ward for a few months.

 

SHEA

Did it help?

MONSTER

Not really. The problem is, they couldn’t really tell me that anything I was afraid of was wrong. Like car accidents do kill people. The world is dangerous.

SHEA

Right. Okay.

MONSTER

So they decided I wasn’t a danger to myself or others, which, like…

 

SHEA

(rolling their eyes)

Duh.

 

MONSTER
(laughing)

Right. Duh. So they sent me home.

 

SHEA
And your aunt?

 

MONSTER
Like six months after I got out of the psych ward, she got diagnosed with super-advanced pancreatic cancer. She’d been so busy trying to figure out what was wrong with me that she missed all these signs that she was the one who was actually sick.

 

SHEA

That’s awful.

 

MONSTER
Yeah. So she died pretty quickly. And she had a ton of money, plus all my parents’ money, and I was sixteen, and the foster system is so overwhelmed, so the courts basically just said I was gonna be fine and I started living on my own. Here.

 

(MONSTER gestures at the apartment and they both look around again)

SHEA

It’s actually a really nice place, you know. The decorations and stuff. And all the books.

MONSTER
Thanks. A lot of it is my parents’ stuff.

SHEA

What were they like? Your parents?

(MONSTER smiles and looks toward USR, as if staring into the distance. A spotlight shines on the USR corner. PHILIP and ALICE enter from SR. PHILIP is holding a video camera, and ALICE is following an invisible child, hands out protectively. Both are laughing, filled with joy)

ALICE

Look at this! Oh my god, I cannot believe you’re walking. Are you getting this, Philip?

PHILIP

Every second! Look at our little monster go.

ALICE

(listening to a voice we cannot hear)

That’s right! Can you tell dada what little monsters say?

(PHILIP and ALICE listen, and both laugh
hysterically at what they hear)

 

PHILIP

Best roar I’ve ever heard. Thank god for video cameras. I never want to forget this stuff.

(The spotlight goes out, and PHILIP and ALICE exit SR)

 

MONSTER

They were really funny. Very affectionate, loving. They called me their little monster. We used to read together a lot and act out stories and stuff for the camera. 

SHEA

(running their hands along a bookshelf)

It sounds magical.

 

MONSTER

Do you see the journal there? The big leather-bound book?

 

SHEA
Yeah.

 

MONSTER

That has a lot of the stories we wrote together.

(SHEA gestures inquiringly toward the shelf, and MONSTER nods their consent. SHEA takes the book from the shelf and opens it)

SHEA

Once upon a time, there was a dragon…

(A spotlight shines on USR. PHILIP and ALICE enter SR. ALICE holds a leather-bound book identical to the one SHEA is holding. PHILIP and ALICE settle on the floor together, and PHILIP strokes the hair of an invisible child laying in his lap)

ALICE
The dragon was kind, generous, smart, and brave…

PHILIP

(laughing, to the invisible child)

And awesome, yes. Very awesome.

ALICE

They lived at a beautiful castle, and they loved when people came to visit. 

PHILIP
One day, a princess came. She said she was very tired and needed a nap. The dragon promised to keep her safe while she slept.

ALICE
But that night, an army came in the dark. They wanted to kidnap the princess.

PHILIP

The dragon was very brave, and they fought the army to keep the princess safe. But the dragon got hurt.

(ALICE listens to the invisible child, then soothes them with a kiss)

ALICE

Don’t worry, little monster. There’s a happy ending!

PHILIP

You bet there is! Because the army didn’t know that the princess was also very brave and strong. She helped the dragon fight the army and scared them all away.

ALICE
At first, the princess thought the dragon had died, and her heart was broken.

PHILIP

But then she listened very carefully, and she could hear the dragon breathing! It took time to heal, but the princess stayed by their side and helped them, because that’s what true friends do for each other. 

ALICE
So the dragon and the princess saved each other, and they lived happily ever after, best friends forever.

(The spotlight fades on USR, and PHILIP and ALICE exit SR)

SHEA

“The dragon and the princess saved each other.” I love this.

 

MONSTER

Me, too. They were my favorite characters. But they’re just stories.

SHEA
What do you mean?

(MONSTER gestures at themselves)

MONSTER
Some dragons can’t be saved. Sometimes it’s too late.

SHEA

You are not a dragon. And I am definitely not a princess. 

MONSTER
The other drivers won’t even come here. You said it yourself. They’re afraid of me. I’m a monster. Or, I was. And now I’m a ghost. I bet even you wish you didn’t have to come here.

(SHEA pauses, considering)

SHEA I don’t.

MONSTER

Don’t what?

SHEA

Have to come here. I’m not even really a delivery driver anymore.

MONSTER

What do you mean?

SHEA

I got a job in a dental office a few months ago. Better pay. Health insurance. This is the only delivery I make now.

MONSTER

What? Why?

SHEA
Because…I saw you. I think I saw what kind of person you are. And I wanted to make sure someone was checking on you and taking care of you.

MONSTER
Nobody saw me.

SHEA

I did. And now I’m going to find out what happened to you.

MONSTER
It’s too late for me. You should go before it’s too late for you too. Everybody who comes anywhere near me dies.

SHEA

That’s not true.

MONSTER
WHAT DO YOU KNOW? Tell that to my mom, to my dad, to Aunt Colette… They’re all gone. Everyone. And now so am I. So who fucking cares how it happened? Just go. Just leave me alone.

SHEA

I’m not going anywhere.

MONSTER

GET OUT OF MY HOUSE.

SHEA

NO!

MONSTER

I never asked you to get involved in this.

SHEA

Maybe not. But I’m here now. So shut the fuck up and let me have my princess moment.

MONSTER

More like a bullshit-breathing dragon.

SHEA

Whatever. Them too. I am going to find out what happened to you.

(SHEA doesn’t move)

MONSTER
Great start, detective.

SHEA

Shut up. I’m thinking.

MONSTER

(sighing)

Whatever. I’m going back to bed. Being a ghost is exhausting.

 

(SHEA paces the living room, searching for clues. MONSTER watches SHEA for a moment, then turns and opens the bedroom door. They pause, staring inside for a long moment)

MONSTER (cont’d)

(softly)

Shea?

SHEA

(still searching)

I’m not going anywhere. Leave me alone.

MONSTER

Shea.

(SHEA hears the change in MONSTER’s tone)

SHEA

What is it? 

MONSTER

I found it.

SHEA

What?

MONSTER
The body.

SHEA

No.

(No one moves for a long moment, then SHEA takes a step toward MONSTER)

SHEA (cont’d)

There has to be something…
MONSTER

(gently, sadly)

It’s time to let go now. Maybe I’ll be with my parents soon…

(A spotlight shines on USR, and PHILIP and ALICE enter SR, joyfully reacting to an invisible person approaching them)

PHILIP

LITTLE MONSTER! Oh god, I missed you, bud.

(PHILIP embraces the invisible person, and ALICE joins in)

ALICE

Not so little anymore, are you, monster? I can’t believe it’s really you.

(PHILIP gazes adoringly at the invisible person, while ALICE wipes her eyes)

ALICE (cont’d)

I always hoped it wouldn’t be quite so soon, but I missed you so much, my love. We’re so proud of you. And we’re all together now, and safe, and warm. You’ll love it here, I promise.

(ALICE and PHILIP listen)

PHILIP

Of course. Forever.

ALICE

Welcome home, monster.

(The spotlight fades, but ALICE and PHILIP remain on stage, facing SHEA and MONSTER, motionless. SHEA and MONSTER continue to stand side by side, in silence)

SHEA

I’m so sorry. I should have gotten here sooner.

MONSTER

Things happen when they’re supposed to. That’s what my parents always used to say.

SHEA

Yeah. I guess.

(No one moves or speaks)

SHEA (cont’d)

I guess it’s time to call the ambulance now.

MONSTER

I guess so.

(No one moves or speaks)

MONSTER (cont’d)

Thank you.

SHEA

For what? I was too late.

MONSTER

For seeing me.

SHEA

Too late.

MONSTER

It’s never too late. It matters.

(SHEA takes a deep breath, looks at MONSTER, and reaches out, nearly touching their face. Then they withdraw their hand, nod solemnly, and pull out their phone)

SHEA

I guess this is all I can do now.

MONSTER

It’s enough.

(SHEA steps into the hallway, returning after a moment)

SHEA

They’ll be here in a minute.

(They stand in silence)

SHEA (cont’d)

I told you I wasn’t a princess. She could’ve saved you.

(PARAMEDICS enter SL, carrying equipment, and rush past SHEA and MONSTER into the bedroom, out of sight)

MONSTER

I wonder what it’ll feel like when I go.

SHEA

I’m…I’m sure it’ll be easy. Happy. And you’ll be with your family.

MONSTER

What if they’re disappointed that I never got better?

SHEA

No one could possibly be disappointed in you. They’ll think you’re extraordinary. I know I do.

MONSTER

(awkwardly, blushing)
I…

(MONSTER pauses, touching their heart, perplexed)

MONSTER (cont’d)

I feel…

PARAMEDIC

Wait a minute. I feel a pulse.

(MONSTER and SHEA stare at each other, shocked and hopeful. LIGHTS OUT)

 

END OF PLAY