MILITARY OFFICER I (rising to his feet brusquely) MADAM CHANG (plays with the hem of her dress) (MADAM CHANG nods guiltily, looking down) So they’ve been acting strange lately? This… Mo Zi-Chen and… Ran-Zhu? They keep books? Stage right lights up, a warm orangey home-like glow.) She stands under the streetlamp, waiting.) RAN-ZHU enters, wearing a light green qipao and a watch, holding a brown briefcase, which has a bottle of perfume, some clothes, and a book in it. (Downstage left is dimly lit, the street lamp generates a bright, warm glow. MADAM CHANG, MILITARY OFFICER I, and MILITARY OFFICER II enter stage right and sit at the dining table MADAM CHANG across from MILITARY OFFICER I and MILITARY OFFICER II.) Stage right: a dining table with four chairs MO ZI-CHEN changes into a clean white dress-shirt, fully buttoned up.)ĭownstage left: a working circa 1950s street lamp. (MO ZI-CHEN and WU XIA-JIAN exit stage right. A dining table with four chairs is moved onto stage right.) (Stage lights dim, a working circa 1950s street lamp is moved into position downstage left. (tears in his eyes, MO ZI-CHEN finally lets out a sob.) If I- Had I not showed her the books- I shouldn’t have brought them home at all. Regrets?… I regret that I couldn’t take care of Ah-Ran- she- I shouldn’t have dragged her into any of this. I think the question is: what do you want from me? Mo Zi-Chen, what regrets have you in this life? Oh! I’ve got it! Should not this venerable one fulfill your most cherished wish? You must have one, no? Those who come here are always in want of something: money, love, health… If you’re willing to pay the price, we can make the deal. Mo Zi-Chen, what should this venerable one do with thee? That doesn’t really matter to them, though, does it? You are a traitor and that’s what the world says. WU XIA-JIAN (turns back towards the temple, shouting) Mo Zi-Chen! Mo Zi-Chen! What a pitiful life! A traitor to the state! WU XIA-JIAN (presses two fingers on MO ZI-CHEN’s forehead) Must be an interesting tale then… So, tell me, how may this venerable one help thee? It's been so long since I’ve last seen a soul. (WU XIA-JIAN laughs and walks into the light, leaning on a sturdy stick, taking the form of an elderly man with chapped, cracked lips and long mussed graying hair cloaked in a dark robe.) MO ZI-CHEN (Hurriedly opens his eyes and looks around frantically, trying to crawl away from the temple, but his body feels heavy. WU XIA-JIAN (head appears from behind the ruins, in a hoarse voice) He quickly slows down, panting, collapses in front of it and closes his eyes.) (MO ZI-CHEN looks left and right, then runs toward the temple. They don’t appear onstage in this scene, only their voices can be heard.) CROW I and CROW II are hidden behind the temple. (At rise, MO ZI-CHEN is downstage left, wearing a soiled white dress-shirt with missing buttons and wide brown khaki pants with suspenders. MO ZI-CHEN’s crow costume should be hidden behind a boulder in close reach: a plague-doctor masquerade mask along with a dark robe and dark feathers. Upstage: the ruins of a Taiwanese temple in the mountains, situated behind two paper mache boulders, more boulders scattered upstage. Many books, songs, and films were banned. Era of the White Terror, an extremely repressive period of anti-CCP (Chinese Communist Party) martial law. Song Estate Maid middle-aged, kind and gentleġ951 Taipei, Taiwan. Military Police Officer II middle-aged, sharp-dressed, short-temperedĩ. Military Police Officer I young cadet, sharp-dressed, dutifulĨ. Madam Chang 張夫人 a widow with a daughterħ. Crow II sharp, shrill-voiced, somewhat dim-wittedĦ. Crow I sharp, shrill-voiced, obsequiousĤ. Wu Xia-Jian 烏夏鑒 crow deity, conniving, speaks unconventionallyģ. Mo Zi-Chen 墨梓塵 a young man in his late twentiesĢ.
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