​​vii. blood

(grandfather disappears. susan is left with grandmother.)

SUSAN
​i went to latvia
​to run away from myself
​but instead i found myself
​in the ghost of my grandpapa

​you can’t escape your ancestors
​blood runs too deep

​there is so much more of their lives that i want to know:
​tiny child zelma running through fields of tulips
​stoic young erik in his army uniform
​the story of zelma’s journey back to latvia after my mother was grown

​my mother knows some of these stories
​but she doesn’t talk about it
​she had issues with her mother

​i’m so sorry grandmama

GRANDMOTHER
​that’s alright susan
​after all, who says it’s true?
(grandmother leaves.)

SUSAN (losing it)
​sometimеs i see my grandmama outside that barn door
​she unsheathеs a thick latvian sword
​protecting her child from the darkness

​sometimes i see julian there instead
​sword raised against the demon inside of me
​the demon that led him to leave me

​(wolf places the mic stand back on the stage.)

SUSAN
​that led me to leave him

​(he gestures to the mic.)

WOLF
​time’s up. you did good

SUSAN
​i think maybe i’m not the hero in this story
​i think maybe i’m the wolf

​(wolf takes a cigarette and blows a loooooooooong exhale of ​smoke into susan’s face
​susan puts the microphone down as the lights fade. light ​applause from wolf, sadie, and beckett as the bar loop from the ​first scene resumes.)


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