KATJE LILLY EKATERINA

My love, my heart, reason to live
I've lost you. How can I forgive
Myself? I can't believe I did
Not stop you, find you, God forbid!
I made a promise - swore a vow -
Nothing would ever hurt you now.
But in that moment when you ran
Playing, teasing, I lacked a plan.
All you want is a bigger life.
You have it now but you're in strife,
Lost in a world so cold and dark,
I cannot find you. There's no ark
For you to find, for me to spy.
You do that thing you do and I
Just do not have the speed, the moves
To chase you down, to climb the rooves
And so I wait. Find hope I must.
Someone will find you, make you trust
In them to bring you home to me,
To warmth, to food, to your safety.
A place we lie and love and sleep, 
Where now I take my time to weep.
I need you so. I cry. I pray
You will come back to me someday.
Make it tonight my little girl.
Against your warmth I long to furl.
To hear you purr is what I seek.
You lay my tum against your cheek,
The softest creature in the world.
My heart is shattered. Pain is hurled
At me, a non-stop barrage
Whilst life demands of you courage.
When will our sad stars realign?
Come back to me. I need a sign!
I cannot say goodbye just yet.
I cannot give you up, my pet!
I pack your things. I hesitate
To box it up - the final crate...
Each ball, each tray, each window seat.
I still believe again we'll meet.
I hope my fate includes you in.
This is the battle I must win!
I will not stop though moves slow down.
Always you're the jewel in my crown.
But if the stars insist I fail
I will forever tell your tale
My pretty little sunshine face, 
So soft, so sweet. You took the place
In my heart so few could pierce.
So gentle, scared, you could be fierce.
You kept me safe, you made me laugh.
Without you I am less than half.
Please do come back, give in, be found.
I cease to live without you 'round.
The door's ajar. Please just walk in
And that is how we rebegin.

Katje Lily Ekaterina - missing since 21/6/2022

The Good Old Days

First  World War 1
Then  World War 2
Great Depression
And Spanish Flu

Cuban Missiles
The Berlin Wall
The Bay of Pigs
While countries fall

Church abuses
And corporal pain
And native rights?
Not in the game.

Speak Crown's English
Say not a word
Other language
Not for this herd.

Australia Fair
So true, so cruel
For white and rich
The rest eat gruel.

"The past was gold,
Not like these times."
Those sepia tones
Allows false rhymes

No beauty lies
In distant past
Which can outshine
Our current task

None of glory
No perfect life
And much less good
Than tales are rife

Nothing better
Was in those days
The blush of time
Just hues the frame

So help us now
With lessons learnt
To preach and lie
Leaves people burnt

Those things were good
But also bad
Get off your box
And lend a hand

To rouse yourself
And push us down
Will only lead
To faces frowned

Then walls go up
And backs are turned
Your voices call
And angers churn

Please take our hand
And lead us through
Our times of change
As one - we do!

Flash Back

 A 10 minute play written for the podcast Script Roulette.

Flash Back

By

Samsara

Script Roulette prompts: Romance and deja vous

C: Bronwyn Dunston 2019                                                                             0412 415 159

samsaradunston@gmail.com

				Cast of Characters
Tendra:				20	something
Drew:				20	something
Man:				18ish

FLASH BACK

Scene: 1

(A CLUB)

SOUND: LOUD TECHNO. CROWD SOUNDS LAUGHING AND SHOUTING.

(TENDRA AND DREW PANTING HEAVILY. THEY CLINK SHOT GLASSES AND SKULL, SLAMMING THE GLASSES DOWN IN UNISON AND LAUGHING.)

TENDRA

(HALF SHOUTING OVER THE MUSIC)

You certainly have some moves Drew.

DREW

(HALF SHOUTING AS WELL)

What?

TENDRA

You dance well.

DREW

I ain’t got anything like your moves babe.

TENDRA

You only say that ’cause you love me.

DREW

What?

TENDRA

Forget it. It’s too loud in here.

DREW

What? Tendra, let’s go outside. It’s too loud and I need some cool air.

TENDRA

What?

DREW

Come with me.

Scene: 2

(OUTSIDE THE CLUB)

DREW

This is so much better.

TENDRA

Look at how sweaty I am! Ugh!

(CONTINUED)

CONTINUED:                                                                                  2.

DREW

And yet you are still the most beautiful woman in the world.

TENDRA

(LAUGHING)

I guess you like your women wheezing and leaking then.

DREW

I like you any way I can have you.

TENDRA

Aw. You say the sweetest things.

DREW

Come here and let me kiss the sweat off.

TENDRA

Yuk! I know you are trying to be romantic but Drew, that is gross!

DREW

Maybe I need a little salt in my diet.

TENDRA

And maybe I need to kick you to da curb.

(THEY BOTH LAUGH)

DREW

Come here.

SOUND: KISSING

DREW

What do you say we move this to the car?

TENDRA

Mmmmm. I thought you’d never ask...

Scene: 3

(IN THE CAR)

DREW

You know, this is not as romantic as it looks in the movies.

TENDRA

We haven’t really tried... Come here stud!

DREW

You are definitely the one that I want.

SOUND: KISSING

(CONTINUED)

CONTINUED:                                                                                  3.

TENDRA

Ouch!

DREW

What? What did I do?

TENDRA

Not you. This bloody gear stick. It keeps sticking into my ribs.

DREW

Why don’t you lay back and let me do all the work?

TENDRA

Now how can I refuse an offer like that?

(THEY BOTH LAUGH)

SOUND: KISSING

DREW

Ow! Damn.

TENDRA

The gear stick?

DREW

How did you guess?

TENDRA

You know we are doing this wrong, don’t you?

DREW

Yes. I am pretty sure the gear stick was not invited to this party.

TENDRA

Why are we in the front seat.

DREW

What do you mean?

TENDRA

Well, wouldn’t the back seat be more...unpopulated?

DREW

You have a point. Ladies first.

TENDRA

You want me to climb over the seat?

DREW

Think of it as foreplay.

SOUND: SOUND OF PERSON SHUFFLING OVER CAR SEATS AND FLOPPING DOWN

(CONTINUED)

CONTINUED:                                                                                  4.

TENDRA

Sexy enough for you?

DREW

The scenery was pretty fine.

TENDRA

(LAUGHING)

Well don’t just sit there. It’s cold back here.

SOUND: CAR DOOR OPENING, PERSON GETTING OUT, CLOSING THE DOOR, OPENING THE BACK DOOR, GETTING IN AND THEN CLOSING THE DOOR

TENDRA

Hey, what the? How come you get to use the doors?

DREW

One of us has to be the brains of the operation.

TENDRA

Oh, I’ll show you where your brains are!

DREW

Ouch! Here, let me.

SOUND: FLY ZIP BEING UNDONE

TENDRA

Oooh. I see you came fully loaded. Don’t tell my boyfriend about this.

DREW

Too late. He already knows. In fact he is watching us right now.

TENDRA

(CHUCKLING)

I wonder what he is going to do about it?

DREW

I’ll show you!

SOUND: BODIES FALLING BACK ON SEAT. GIGGLING TURNING TO KISSING AND PASSION. THROBBING DANGEROUS MUSIC. HEAVY BREATHING TURNING INTO PANIC.

Scene: 4

(TRANSITION BACK IN TIME)

TENDRA

Stop! Stop! No. No. I don’t... STOP!

(SHE PUSHES THE MAN AWAY AND STARTS CRYING)

(CONTINUED)

CONTINUED:                                                                                  5.

MAN

I like it when you put up a fight. It makes me even harder.

TENDRA

Stop. I don’t want to do this.

MAN

That’s not what you said a moment ago. Don’t worry, you’ll like it when I’m in you. Now open your legs.

TENDRA

No. Let me out.

MAN

You ain’t goin’ nowhere honey.

SOUND: MATERIAL RIPPING

TENDRA

Stop!

SOUND: SLAP

MAN

I said shut up!

(TRANSITION BACK TO THE PRESENT)

SOUND: THE MUSIC FADES.

Scene: 5

DREW

What? What’s going on? Tendra?

TENDRA

(STILL PANICKED)

STOP! Stop! No, let me go.

DREW

Alright. Alright. I’m back in my seat. Calm down.

TENDRA

(SOBBING)

I’m sorry...

DREW

What happened? What is going on?

TENDRA

I just...

DREW

Tendra? I love you. I didn’t mean to hurt you. What did I do.

(CONTINUED)

CONTINUED:                                                                                  6.

TENDRA

It wasn’t you Drew.

DREW

Then what was it.

TENDRA

(CALMING DOWN)

It was... nothing. I just had a fright.

DREW

Did I frighten you? What did I do? We’ve done this a thousand times before.

TENDRA

It wasn’t you! Can’t we just leave it at that? I want to go home now.

DREW

In a moment. First I want to make sure you’re okay.

TENDRA

I’m fine.

DREW

Tendra, tell me what happened. I love you. Nothing you say is going to upset me... or my little man.

TENDRA

(GIGGLES WEAKLY, SNIFFS)

It’s just... I had forgotten.

DREW

Forgotten what.

TENDRA

It was so long ago. I thought I was over it.

DREW

Over what? Tendra, did something happen to you?

TENDRA

...Yes Drew, it did. But it doesn’t matter now. It was a long time ago.

DREW

It does matter. Tell me.

TENDRA

There is nothing you can do. Just let it go.

DREW

I can be there for you. I can listen. I can hold you until all the demons are gone.

(CONTINUED)

CONTINUED:                                                                                  7.

TENDRA

(A BRIEF BURST OF SOBBING MIXED WITH A LITTLE LAUGH) You really do love me, don’t you Drew?

DREW

I really do.

TENDRA

I love you too you know.

DREW

Do you? Do you really?

TENDRA

You know I do.

DREW

You’ve never said it.

TENDRA

Haven’t I?

DREW

No. I say it all the time but you never say it back.

TENDRA

I really am a terrible girlfriend aren’t I?

DREW

No. And you’re changing the subject. Tell me what happened. Please.

TENDRA

Are you sure you want to know?

DREW

I’ve never been surer of anything in my entire life.

TENDRA

(TAKING A DEEP BREATH)

Okay. Well. It was my graduation ball.

SOUND: THE DANGEROUS MUSIC RETURNS BUT IT IS DEEP IN THE BACKGROUND

DREW

What happened?

TENDRA

I went with friends, but I met this guy and we hit it off straight away.

DREW

Who was he?

(CONTINUED)

CONTINUED:                                                                                  8.

TENDRA

It doesn’t matter. He was just a guy looking for a good time.

DREW

I still don’t understand.

TENDRA

We were dancing and drinking. He had smuggled in some scotch in a hipflask and we were taking turns swigging it. I had already started the party earlier with my friends. We chugged a cask in the parking lot before going in.

DREW

Holy crap! How drunk were you.

TENDRA

Drunk enough to change my life.

DREW

I think I see where this is heading.

TENDRA

Blind Freddy could see where this was heading. I was so stupid.

DREW

Forget about blame. Keep going. Tell me the whole story.

TENDRA

Why? Are you getting some sort of sick erotic thrill listening to me talk about being with another guy?

DREW

No Tendra. I just think you need to finish. Have you told this to anyone else?

TENDRA

No. Never. Noone knows what happened that night.

DREW

Then tell me. Let me carry some of the pain for you.

You need a rest.

TENDRA

I love you.

DREW

I love you too.

TENDRA

Well, we kind of did what you and I did tonight. We went outside for some air and started making out and then he suggested we move to his car for some privacy.

(CONTINUED)

CONTINUED:                                                                                  9.

DREW

Oh god. I see where this is going.

TENDRA

Yes. We got into the back seat but when things went further than I wanted and I said no but...

DREW

But he didn’t stop.

TENDRA

Yes.

DREW

He raped you.

TENDRA

Yes.

DREW

It’s not your fault.

TENDRA

I am the one who got drunk. I went with him to the car.

DREW

It doesn’t matter Tendra. You didn’t want it to happen. You said no.

TENDRA

Yes.

DREW

And no means no.

TENDRA

I suppose.

DREW

No means no Tendra. He raped you and you are not to blame.

SOUND: THE DANGEROUS MUSIC FADES OUT

TENDRA

(WHISPERING)

I love you

DREW

I love you too.

TENDRA

Hold me?

(CONTINUED)

CONTINUED:                                                                               10.

DREW

Always. But only until you say no.

TENDRA

(ANOTHER LITTLE GIGGLE AND SNIFF)

Come here and kiss me.

SOUND: A KISS