REDECORATION
A couple.
HE (H): Since when our neighbors built another floor?
SHE (S): Where?
H: Look.
S: You haven’t seen it before?
H: No, did you?
S: It has been a while.
H: You never told me.
S: I thought you knew.
H: It’s high.
S: No more sunlight in the room.
H: What?
S: Since he built it.
H: That’s why . . .
S: What?
H: It’s dark.
S: Are you going to fix it?
H: The floor?!
S: The window, you know how to do it?
H: Water still leaks when it rains?
S: All the wall peeled.
S: The room?
H: Dark and damp.
S: You can’t breathe.
H: Like a grave.
S: We’ll paint them.
H: The walls?
S: Other color, blue maybe.
H: Possible.
S: It will lighten up the room.
H: And bring some curtains.
S: Curtains?
H: Look.
S: What?
H: The neighbors can see everything.
S: No one has time to snoop at others.
H: I know our neighbor too well.
S: What’s wrong with her?
H: She never gets tired from snooping at others.
S: How many times should I tell you that she returned your hammer?
H: Where it is then?
S: I don’t know who you lent it to.
H: Why did she need my hammer in the first place?
S: Since then you always talk bad about her.
H: I’ve always thought she was unbearable.
S: Why?
H: Look! They built another store without telling us.
S: It has been a year.
H: If light is on at night they can see everything.
S: It’s broken.
H: What?
S: Since two weeks.
H: You didn’t buy another bulb?
S: It’s not burnt.
H: What then?
S: I tried to put a new one but it didn’t work.
H: What’s the problem?
S: The electrician said the problem is internal.
H: You brought an electrician?
S: You were busy.
H: Don’t tell me it was your cousin?
S: Come on.
H: You know he’s no good.
H: We’ll change it all.
S: He said it all needs to be changed.
H: I mean: we will install neo lighting.
S: Neon?
H: It’s better for his eyes when studying.
S: But it will . . .
H: It will brighten the room more.
S: The neon?
H: It’s too dark now.
S: Dark and damp.
H: Like a grave.
S: Like a grave.
H: Where did she buy that?
S: Who?
H: Your sister.
S: The curtains?
H: No, the carpet in her son’s room.
S: You will bring one?
H: Not exactly the same.
S: They come in different sizes.
H: I didn’t like the curtains.
S: You didn’t?
H: I don’t like her taste.
S: Neither do I! The way she dresses her boy!
H: I feel sorry for him.
S: But why don’t you install heating?
H: Heating?
S: It’s too cold in here.
H: It costs a lot.
S: Gas Soba is not safe.
H: Next month maybe.
S: I’m always scared of Gas Soba.
H: Next month.
S: And buy him a desk.
H: I know.
S: His back will ache without a desk.
H: Do you think she was snooping?
S: Who?
H: Our neighbor.
S: Come on.
H: I will have a talk with her tomorrow.
S: Come on.
H: I will tell her from now on, she won’t see anything anymore.
S: What?
H: She won’t see anything but the curtains with the bears.
S: What bears? He doesn’t like bears.
H: And she will see a bright light shining through them.
S: Come one, you wouldn’t dare.
H: Neon light, not a bulb.
S: But neon is too bright at night.
H: What?
S: We could buy a cute table lamp?
H: Why?
S: Neon is too bright at night.
H: That didn’t occur to me.
S: A table lamp.
H: But where will we put it?
S: On the bedside table.
H: We don’t have one.
S: Aren’t we going to buy one?
H: For the table lamp.
S: He can lay his books there.
H: Ah.
S: When he reads before falling asleep.
H: Maybe some shelves.
S: Shelves?
H: Yes, to organize his books.
S: Shelves, a desk, a bedside table. Why not a new bed as well?
H: Brilliant, we will ask the carpenter.
S: To design one.
H: In light wood.
S: Light, absolutely, to brighten up the room.
H: It’s too dark.
S: Dark and damp.
H: Like a grave.
S: Like a grave.
H: Have you ever seen him?
S: Who?
H: In his striped pajamas.
S: Who?
H: Her son?
S: The neighbor’s son.
H: Yes.
S: Sometimes.
H: In his room.
H: Sitting on the carpet.
S: The same carpet we will bring.
H: Not exactly the same.
S: It looks like it.
H: Have you seen the walls?
S: When his mother turns off the lights?
H: Yes.
S: The stars.
H: That’s beautiful.
S: Yes.
H: What are they?
S: Fluorescent stars glued to the walls.
H: They light up in darkness.
S: Green light.
H: That’s beautiful.
S: I bought a package.
H: What?
S: We went together, we bought the same ones.
H: Who?
S: The neighbor and me.
H: You have some?
S: Yes, I will show you.
(She brings the package, he looks at the picture on the package.)
Look, this is how the room will look like.
H: What is this?
S: What?
H: Where is the boy?
S: What?
H: It’s a picture of a boy’s room, where is the boy??
S: I don’t know, he’s not there, how should I know where he is?
H: You see, that’s exactly why I hate buying things.
S: What?
H: Where is the boy? They put a picture of a boy’s room, and the boy is missing, and they think we will care about the product in the picture, they don’t know that we will start thinking differently, we will start thinking, Where is the boy? Why is he not there? Why isn’t he in his room? It’s a nice room, look, it has a carpet, a desk, a bedside table and even a table lamp, why would he want to leave such a room, can you, can you tell me where the boy is?
S: You enjoy this, don’t you?
S: Ruining my good mood.
H: I’m not.
S: You always see the dark side of things.
H: Fuck it, I don’t want to decorate this room.
S: Maybe . . .
H: What?
S: Maybe we should just give him our room.
H: Our room?
S: It’s sunny, large windows, bright, you don’t need to redecorate anything.
H: And us?
S: What?
H: Where will we sleep?
S: Even in winter the sun comes in.
H: Where will we sleep?
S: It will never be damp.
H: Where will we sleep?
S: Even if water seeps in along the window, the sun is too bright for the room to get damp.
H: Where will we sleep?
S: No one can snoop.
H: And where will we sleep?
S: It’s warm in winter, we don’t have to install heating.
H: Answer me!
S: We will just glue the stars on the wall.
H: And us?
S: What about us?
H: Where will we sleep?
S: Us?
H: Yes.
S: In his grave.
END OF PLAY