ACT [I]
Yumbo, Valle del Cauca, Colombia. Summer 1968. Front room of ISAURA’s family home, inherited from her late parents a decade prior. It is clean but nothing is new. Left, facing audience, an antiquated radio is centered atop a chinaless china cabinet, one of the room’s few pieces of furniture. Also: a sunken in sofa beside a doorway that leads to the street, two equally battered armchairs, and a coffee table on which sits a half-finished bottle of beer. Right, a square kitchen table pushed against a wall, against which hangs a plain wooden crucifix. The table’s edge encroaches on the kitchen’s doorway. Exterior walls of a splotchy whitewashed adobe. A clay tile roof is chipped at the corners and bleached by the close mountain sun. A small house, now big enough that the last of the eight children has gone away. Beyond it, the silhouette of a church tower peeks above low staggered rooftops; and beyond that, the mountain––its jungle chirping, buzzing, cawing at the curtain’s rise.
SCENE [I]
GOYO is seated on a sofa that seems to have taken his shape. A bottle of beer sweats a ring onto the coffee table’s surface. He takes no pause swiveling his gaze from wall to wall when he lifts the beer to his mouth. ISAURA zigzags carefully around the room, eyes darting in every direction as she wields a flyswatter. Hunched over, as if she might pounce, she creeps toward the kitchen table. She holds her breath––a thwip, then a clap.
ISAURA: Agh!
GOYO: You know they don’t have ears, don’t you?
ISAURA: I have to hold my breath to get them... (She looks nowhere, listening for the fly’s buzz.) They can smell us.
GOYO: I think you mean they can smell you––but that’s not what I meant. What’s all this? (He crosses his eyes anpantomimes tiptoeing in his seat.) You look ridiculous–– (The bottle he holds pinched by the neck slips and spills across the floorboards.)
ISAURA: (Throwing her head back) Look! See what happens? (She scrapes the coffee table away from the mess.) Are you going to get up now? There are rags in the kitchen.
GOYO bends, grunting, and picks up the bottle. He lifts it to the light and squints through the glass.
GOYO: I have this much left. (He measures an inch in the air with his thumb and forefinger.)
ISAURA strides out of sight into the kitchen. Her arms swing stiffly at her sides. She re-enters the front room and flings a clump of dark-stained rags against his chest. She exits back into the kitchen. He looks up, dubious, then looks down at the puddle of beer. He cranes back his head and tilts the bottle until the beerfoam falls in a straight line down his throat.
KIRIL enters left. Unsurprised, he sees GOYO on the sofa. He ambles across the room.
KIRIL: (Removing his sport coat in a rehearsed process.) I figured you’d be done by now. (Slowing and wincing at each precarious movement of a shoulder.) It’s not like there’s much to paint...
KIRIL exits into the kitchen.
GOYO: (Raising his voice.) It was raining. (He tries the empty bottle once more then sets it back on the table. He reclines.)
KIRIL: (From the kitchen, in disbelief.) You mean this morning? ––Have you seen Isaura?
GOYO: (Hands behind his head, facing the ceiling.) It looked like it might rain again.
KIRIL re-enters.
KIRIL: I said... have you seen Isaura?
GOYO: She was just here not too long ago. She must’ve gone out.
KIRIL: Out?
GOYO: Yes, out.
ISAURA appears from behind the house at the house’s exterior carrying a paintbrush and can of paint. She sets the items down and returns to the rear of the house when she realizes she needs something pry open the can. KIRIL returns to the kitchen. GOYO hears KIRIL’s footsteps as he checks each room. He leans forward and arranges the rags according to size across the coffee table. Moments pass while he folds them one by one. He looks up when KIRIL re-enters coughing. KIRIL leans against the doorjamb. ISAURA reappears at exterior right holding a screwdriver. She kneels, struggling to get the can open.
GOYO: See what all this worrying does to you? Which reminds me––I know someone in Bogotá who can probably help you. I’ll be visiting a friend of mine there soon, you can join me.
KIRIL: Yes, you told me. (Holding back his coughing fit.) How is that you have all this time to fool around with witch doctors and ballerinas but no time to do any of the things people pay you to do? And at your age!
GOYO: I know I told you––I wanted to tell you again.
KIRIL: (His coughing settling.) Thank you.
GOYO bunches the rags together and stands. He tosses them over the drying beer with the small flourish of someone who’s always taken pleasure in throwing things. He slides the rags across the floor with his shoe.
KIRIL: (Confused, approaching GOYO.) What happened here?
They hear a crash from outside. KIRIL hesitates––shocked at the rare occasion of hearing ISAURA curse, albeit muffled from a distance––before he runs outside, GOYO in tow.
KIRIL: What happened! (He takes her by both arms to examine her more closely.) Are you okay?
ISAURA: (She steps back and points to a clay tile shattered across the stone pathway.) It could have killed me!
GOYO stands over the tile. He kicks at it to feel its weight then looks up to see how it must have fell. KIRIL joins him.
KIRIL: (To GOYO, after assessing the damage.) I suppose this was the rain’s fault, too? (To ISAURA, beginning to cough again.) And what are you doing his job for, anyway? (To GOYO.) You let a woman do your work? (He loses himself coughing.)
ISAURA comes closer. She extends her hand slowly to rest it on KIRIL’s back. She caresses him until his fit subsides shortly.
ISAURA: (As KIRIL repeatedly clears his throat.) Love, it’s not his fault––it’s an old house, these things happen. It just scared me, that’s all. (To GOYO, irritated.) You could at least get him some water!
GOYO disappears behind the house. ISAURA and KIRIL follow slowly in his trail then come through the kitchen to re-enter the front room where KIRIL drops himself onto an armchair. ISAURA sits on the sofa across from him. GOYO enters just then, handing KIRIL a glass of water.
KIRIL: (To GOYO, after taking a sip.) I need you to fix that.
GOYO: (Nodding until it seems he’s forgotten to speak.) I agree. Looks like it’ll rain again soon. I’ll get the materials first thing in the morning then be right over.
KIRIL drinks from the glass then gazes at the floor.
KIRIL: (To GOYO, finally.) Fine. (He takes another sip then sets the glass down. He clears his throat as he stands. He approaches the door.) It’s been a long day, why don’t you get out of here? I’ll see you in the morning.
They shake hands solemnly. GOYO walks off-stage, and KIRIL shuts the door behind him.
CURTAIN
ACT [II]
Kitchen table. Gray morning light streams through the small windows.
SCENE [I]
KIRIL and ISAURA sit together, each with a small dish of bread and a boiled egg before them. He reads a newspaper over his coffee and she reads a book. Stage remains silent until he turns the page of his newspaper. He reads for a moment longer.
ISAURA: (Without looking away from her book.) Any idea when Goyo will get here?
KIRIL: (He folds up his newspaper and sets it on the table.) He said the morning...
KIRIL takes his coffee with him when he makes his way toward the window. He looks out and finds no sign of GOYO. He checks his watch then returns to the table to resume his reading. The stage falls silent again.
KIRIL: (Looking up from his paper.) You won’t be doing his work for him again today, will you?
ISAURA: (Absently.) What was that?
KIRIL: I don’t think it’s right what happened yesterday.
ISAURA: What, me painting?
KIRIL: You know what I mean... We do him a favor giving him work like this. It makes no sense to do him another, paying him to get drunk and leave a dent in our sofa. Now he expects you to work for him... This is the last time, I mean it. (Coughing.) ––and you can be sure he won’t be getting a dime.
ISAURA: Okay. But what happened to all those things you’ve told the girls about supporting themselves? You don’t think I should be able to support myself?
KIRIL: (Reading again.) You have me.
ISAURA: Kiril...
KIRIL: Yes?
ISAURA: Never mind.
Silence again, save for the odd tap of a coffee cup against the tabletop.
ISAURA: Shouldn’t you be getting to work soon?
KIRIL: I should––I just wanted to make sure Goyo gets to the roof before he goes looking for beer.
A knock on the door. KIRIL lets GOYO in after they face each other for a moment, each seeming unsure of what to say to the other.
KIRIL: You have breakfast?
GOYO: I could use some.
GOYO’s apprehension eases gradually. He pulls out a chair across from ISAURA at the table as KIRIL exits to the kitchen..
GOYO: Morning.
ISAURA: (Sets aside her book.) Good morning.
KIRIL returns and hands GOYO a boiled egg wrapped in a napkin and a cup of coffee.
KIRIL: Here you go. (Stands over GOYO, hands held behind his back, thinking of what to say.) I’m sure the roof shouldn’t take too long... Do you have everything you need?
GOYO––mouth full with coffee and boiled egg––gives a thumbs up then gulps.
GOYO: Yes I do. (He wipes the corner of his mouth with the napkin.) Anything else you might need help with while I’m here?
KIRIL: No, Grisha––the roof should be all. I’d better get going. (He checks his watch. Sighs. To both ISAURA and GOYO.) If you need anything, you know where to find me.
KIRIL puts on his sport coat, performing the process from the night before in reverse. He comes around the table to kiss ISAURA goodbye and gives a short unsmiling wave to GOYO on his way to the door.
GOYO: (Getting off his seat as the door swings shut.) I suppose that means me too. (He stands, stretching out his arms with a yawn.) Thank you for breakfast.
ISAURA: (Reading.) Mhm.
KIRIL exits through the front door.
SCENE [II]
Right, house exterior. The buzz of flies and the chirp of confused, daytime crickets. The roof’s broken tile has been replaced. GOYO stands beneath the roof’s overhang poring over his handiwork. ISAURA approaches from the rear of the house.
GOYO: (Looking up still.) What do you think?
ISAURA: (Examining for a moment.) I think it looks just how it did before. (Wincing as she shoos away insects that fly against her face.)
GOYO: Then my work here is done. (He brushes his dusty hands against the sides of his pant legs.)
Looking back up, GOYO sees a fresh-woven spider web gleaming in the corner of the overhang. A speckled black spider lounges near the web’s edge. He moves the crate he’d used to reach the roof’s edge toward the web. He picks up a stick then stands on the crate.
ISAURA: What are you doing...? (Abruptly.) ––is that a spider? Are you stupid? (She grasps at his arm as he reaches toward the web with the stick, nearly pushing him off).
GOYO: (Stepping down from the crate.) You really want that thing getting in your house?
ISAURA: I don’t mind. They’re protectors.
She leads him back into the house.
ISAURA: (As they enter the front room) Kiril’s never told you his spider story?
GOYO: What spider story?
ISAURA: You don’t know it? (Exiting to the kitchen. Raising her voice.) Well, I won’t tell it for him. You’d have to ask him yourself. (Returning to the front room, she hands GOYO a towel) Here––you’re sweating all over the place. (She sits at the kitchen table.)
GOYO: Thank you. (Dabbing at his face, continuing to stand by the kitchen doorway.) Why don’t you just tell me? You know we don’t talk like that.
ISAURA: Like what––friends? How long have you known each other? I know he wouldn’t mind if you asked.
GOYO: You know him differently than I do.
For a moment, ISAURA seems to hold herself. The light changes as a cloud crosses the sun.
ISAURA: You’re sure you won’t ever hear it from him?
GOYO: You know how he can be.
ISAURA: (Sighs.) Consider this your payment for the roof, then... What do you know about his brothers?
GOYO: (Standing against the doorjamb, arms crossed.) I know they died... were executed... I’ve told him some things about what happened to my own family before they sent me here.
ISAURA: So you do speak to each other... Well, yes, they were killed. Just before they could make it out of Bulgaria with him. He was young––he must’ve been fourteen, maybe younger, I’m not sure... ––see, this is why you should ask him. My memory’s getting worse each day.
GOYO: It’s fine, go on.
ISAURA: (Searching her thoughts.) Okay... The point is that he was in hiding until he was finally out of the country. He says he had to sleep in a cave for three nights during that time, and on the last morning, there was a group of soldiers passing by. And one of the soldiers notices the little opening of this cave, and he calls out to the others asking if they should take a look inside in case anyone is there. But then one of them says: “No, there can’t be––look at the spider web covering it.” Kiril says this web had just barely been made, and it went across the whole opening. He’s convinced God weaved it himself.
GOYO: Hmm...
ISAURA: You don’t believe it.
GOYO: (Smiling.) I can see why he’s never told me.
ISAURA: (Getting up, quietly laughing.) Why don’t you join us for dinner tonight? We’ll see if maybe he can tell us his own version.
GOYO: Thanks, but I’m supposed to meet a friend. Maybe next time.
She walks him to the door.
ISAURA: Maybe next time. Take care of yourself, Grisha.
GOYO: The same to you too.
They hug then part ways. ISAURA picks up her book from the coffee table before sitting on the smaller armchair of the two. She looks at the bigger one, then she opens her book.
SCENE [III]
Front room of the house. Nighttime crickets play their songs early while the last of the day’s light comes through the windows. The table is set for dinner. KIRIL sits alone until ISAURA joins him from the kitchen. They begin to eat. Neither speaks.
KIRIL: (Breaking the silence.) Was Goyo here long?
ISAURA: Not at all, actually.
KIRIL: Did he say when he’d be back?
ISAURA: No. He didn’t. Did you need something from him?
KIRIL: No...
He cuts away a bit of his tamale but doesn’t take a bite. Another long silence, this time broken by the patter of rain against the tile roof.
ISAURA: There was a spider today.
KIRIL: (With a tired smile.) Here?
ISAURA: Where else would it be?
KIRIL: That’s a good question.
ISAURA: Goyo wanted to kill it.
KIRIL: (Dropping his fork on his plate.) Did you stop him?
ISAURA: Of course I did. I’m sure it’s even still there if you want to see it.
KIRIL: (Thinking.) Maybe after we eat.
Their quiet meal continues. Thunder rolls outside.
I guess he was right.
ISAURA: What do you mean––who was right?
KIRIL: Goyo. He said it might rain.
ISAURA: Love, it’s always raining.
KIRIL: I guess that’s true too...
The rain comes down harder.
(Looking upward.) He should have done the whole roof while he was at it... (Then to ISAURA) Do you think it’ll leak?
A lull in the storm makes it seem as if it’s passed. A crash outside startles KIRIL and ISAURA. They look at each other then head outside––KIRIL is reluctant to get up, and ISAURA anxious. Right, exterior, a lone, burnt red tile is shattered across the ground, leaving a blank space amidst the others above, all faded pink.
KIRIL: Unbelievable...
After a pause, he takes ISAURA’s hand to go back inside, but she holds him back for a moment then points to the corner of the roof’s overhang.
ISAURA: There it is.
KIRIL: (Squinting to find what she sees.) What are you showing me? I don’t see anything.
From behind him, she places her hands on his arms and positions him where she had just been standing.
ISAURA: You have to see it in just the right light. Do you see it?
A spider web glistens above.
KIRIL: (In awe, as if unused to the feeling.) God... (Pause.) Where’s the spider?
ISAURA moves closer but sees nothing.
ISAURA: I’m not sure. (As the rain picks up again.) We should get back inside.
They re-enter and return to the front room. They sit back down at the table. KIRIL runs a hand over his scalp and flicks away the rain.
(Pause.) You really should’ve seen it.
KIRIL: I know. (He finishes chewing.) Maybe it was just the rain––I’m sure it’ll be back tomorrow.
CURTAIN