Heroines of Chaos

2022

(Exasperated, Yuvan throws his hands up.)

(Zsófi is suddenly upset. Yuvan puts an arm round her. Zsófi shakes his arm off.)

(Yuvan tries to placate her, but Zsófi snorts:)

(Yuvan holds up both hands to stop her.)

(Yuvan cuts in.)

(Yuvan leads off toward a small area surrounded by a low, white-painted picket fence. Zsófi follows slowly.)

(PRIVATE GARDEN OF REMEMBRANCE – DAY. Yuvan and Zsófi stand side by side before the headstones, and Zsófi's mother's ashes. Zsófi tries to hold back the tears. )

(BANG! The SOUND of a scare-cannon in the cherry orchard. Zsófi jumps. Offstage chorus quickly clap fingers together and caw to make the SOUND of many flapping wings, twittering, birds screeching. Zsófi groans. Then PING! Yuvan’s mobile.)

(Sound of anguish, groan from Zsófi.)

(Yuvan puts his arm around Zsófi. Zsófi shrugs him off again. Yuvan gives up. He begins to walk away, then turns.)

(Zsófi snorts.)

(But Yuvan is striding off back to his monster off-road sports utility vehicle. Yuvan turns, and waves goodbye to Zsófi. Zsófi ignores him. SOUND: Car-door slamming. The vehicle roars off down the farm access track, leaving a trail of black exhaust fumes mixed with dust. Zsófi coughs, and waves the fumes away.)

(Zsófi lays the chrysanthemums on the grave, then stands. She takes her boater off, and lets the breeze ruffle her hair. Zsófi checks the sundial on the way up to the house.)

(VERANDAH – DAY. Two walking poles are propped in the corner. Taking her shoes off, Zsófi goes inside. From offstage comes sound of Zsófi in distress, muffled wails, heavy thumps. The wailing ebbs, and finally there is quiet. BANG! SOUND: many flapping wings, twittering, birds screeching. The farmhouse door squeaks open slowly. Zsófi comes out again, wearing dark sunglasses to brave the world, carrying her mobile, and waving the keys to the UTV. Zsófi blow-kisses the graves, then mutters, as she heads offstage.

(Exit Zsófi. Sound: TOOT! TOOT! )

(LIGHTS suddeNly illuminate the path to the house. Zsófi enters, followed by ALTAN, in Mongolian clothing, carrying a large bag of belongings. Altan looks around, as if bewildered. Zsófi goes up to Altan and holds out her hand.)

(Altan digs it out and hands it over. Zsófi digs a torch from her pocket and checks it.)

(Zsófi pockets the passport, and then wanders over to the gravestones, and kneels. Altan eventually follows, unsure what else to do. He looks down at Zsófi and realises she is weeping. He kneels down beside her. Altan begins to sing a Mongolian lament from his throat. Zsófi wails.)

(Zsófi holds out her hand. Altan hands some cherries, by the stalks, down to Zsófi, who inspects. A small cart with cardboard punnets stands next to Zsófi, in the shade. Zsófi puts the ripe cherries in one hand, shows them to Altan, who nods. Zsófi eats one happily, and puts the others in a punnet. Zsófi shows Altan the unripe ones, waggles a finger, shakes her head, and hands them up.)

(Altan tastes them, shakes his head, and spits them out. They move on to the next tree, and check some low-hanging fruit. Altan only picks ripe ones. They high five.)

(Yuvan, wearing his red peaked cap, enters, carrying a drone and laptop. He flies the drone over the village. Three men from the convoy also enter: they are wearing hoods, facemasks and goggles, and carry a stretcher, and a flame-thrower. They head off across the stage into the village. Yuvan uses short-wave radio and his laptop to track and communicate with them.)

(Pause.)

(One patient is stretchered across the stage from the village toward the jeeps. Then the stretcher-bearers head back into the village with an empty stretcher.)

(Pause. Stretcher-bearers carry a second patient across the stage toward the jeeps.)

(Pause. Yuvan uses the laptop to manipulate the drone.)