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Characters

Nick

Edward

Wren

Greg

Act One

Scene One

In the morning. The back of the stage revolves like a carousel with models of cars and vans with familiar logos. We can hear the sound of the M4 motorway.

NICK walks up to the edge of the stage with his backpack and sleeping bag on top, wearing a T-shirt and jeans. He is in his early twenties, clean-cut without any facial hair.

NICK takes out his smart phone from his pocket and types.

On the backdrop of the stage, his page of a social networking site is shown. A first thread says, ‘any advice on hitchhiking in the UK?’ There are around 50 comments under it. A new update is added.

‘I’m now on the M4. I’m gonna hit the road. Thanks everyone for the advice. Wish me luck!!’

NICK puts his phone away into his pocket and kneels down on to the ground. He opens his backpack and pulls out a big sketchbook and a black pen. He writes across the big sketchbook, ‘Cornwall Please’. He packs up his backpack and he holds the sketchbook in his arm and lifts his thumb up, facing the motorway. He moves his torso left to right repeatedly, following the cars passing by.

A car pulls off into the hard shoulder of the motorway. An English man, EDWARD in his sixties wearing a polo shirt lowers down his window. NICK approaches him.

Nick          Hello mate. Would you give me a lift towards Cornwall or if not, Bristol, please?

Edward         I’m going back to Cornwall now. Hop on.

EDWARD starts driving.

Nick      Cheers, mate.

NICK gets into Edward’s van. There is a tie hung around the rearview mirror, dangling.

NICK casts a quick glace to the tie and turns around to look at Edward.

Nick      Thanks, mate. I really appreciate it.

Edward         Not to worry.

NICK puts his hand out to shake EDWARD’s hand.

Nick      I’m Nick.

EDWARD shakes NICK’s hand while steering with one hand.

Edward         I’m Edward. Lovely to meet you, Nick.

Nick      Likewise.

Edward        I’ve never picked up anybody before. We don’t see many hitchhikers nowadays. As you know, Cornwall is a long way away. So I thought I could use company for a change.

Nick      Thanks. This is my first time hitchhiking.

Edward         Alright. That’s interesting. Why are you doing that?

Nick          I have a mate who lives in Japan. He hitchhiked all over there.

Edward         Interesting. That’s very brave, isn’t it?

Nick          Yeah. I thought it was cool. I suddenly felt like I wanted to do something I usually wouldn’t do. Besides, I needed to get away from London, you know. I don’t remember what we have outside of London. I’ve never really been outside of the city since I was a kid.

EDWARD laughs.

Edward         You’ve got everything you need in London, don’t you?

Nick      Pretty much.

Edward        Why did you need to get away from London? If you don’t mind me being a little nosy.

NICK sighs.

Nick      It’s a bit embarrassing for me to say.

Edward         Why is that?

Nick          This shouldn’t be affecting me so much. But it is. I just can’t stand being in London at the moment.

Edward         What happened in London?

Nick          My girlfriend. Uh, I mean, my ex girlfriend. She decided to ditch me after all those years for another man who she believes to be full of life and makes her more appreciated and loved, and all other kinds of shit.

Edward        Oh, I’m sorry to hear that, Nick. But you seem like you are kind of a person who is full of life and also full of love.

NICK laughs.

Nick          I don’t really understand what she meant. What is it to be full of life? I am alive. Full of love? It’s not like I cheated while we were together. I didn’t really need to. My ex and I have been together since college. I didn’t think this would happen to me.

Edward        Sure. If you had been together for that long, you would feel secure about each other, wouldn’t you? Did anything in particular happen?  

Nick          No. We didn’t fight. There wasn’t anything different from usual. I thought everything was normal. I didn’t have any say in this decision. She’s made up her mind.

Edward        I don’t mean to criticise you, Nick. But it’s just that you remind me of my old self.

Nick      Your old self? Really? How?

Edward    Numb to life.

Nick      Numb to life?

NICK laughs.

Edward         That was what I was, well rather, what I had become.

Nick      What does that mean?  Numb?

Edward        I am not saying that you are. But you don’t usually notice that you are turning into somebody you are not.

Nick          I am who I am. I don’t feel anything different about me. No major change since college, really.

EDWARD points to the dangling tie. NICK looks at it.

Edward         This is the old me.

NICK laughs.

Nick          I was wondering why the hell you have a tie dangling from your rearview mirror.

Edward        This is to remind me of who I had turned into and who I never want to be ever again.

Nick      A tie?

(Beat.)

Edward        You see, I used to live in London before I retired and moved to Cornwall with my wife. I was working in the city.

Nick      Alright.

Edward        It is a wonderful place. Many exciting things are happening. You never get bored. But for me, apparently it became suffocating. I almost lost myself.

Nick      What do you mean?  

Edward        My days were just work work work. Basically I became workaholic. I became one of the robots in suits that you see in the city. One day, my teenage daughter Catherine ran away and she ended up alone in Cornwall. We received a call from the hostel where she was checking herself in. When I heard that she went all the way to Cornwall alone, I couldn’t believe it.

Nick      Of course. It is a long away. Why was she there?

Edward        I found out about this after my wife and I drove down there that night. We went there on a family holiday. Catherine was just four years old then. It’s amazing how she can remember that so vividly. I don’t remember what I saw when I was four years old. But she remembered the place because she had never seen the sea before then. It had quite an impact on her.

Nick          We don’t get to see much of Mother Nature in London, do we?  

Edward    No, not really.

Nick      So why did she run away to Cornwall?

Edward        I didn’t have a clue at first. While driving, I thought so hard why. Why is she doing this? I started to remember all the things she talked about. I started to think of all the memories as she was growing up. But then when I was trying to think of her at that time, I couldn’t remember her face. I couldn’t remember the last time I spoke to her. I couldn’t remember the last time I actually saw her face.

His voice trembles.

I couldn’t remember what she was wearing that day when she left the house.

Nick          Well, you usually wouldn’t, would you? I wouldn’t even notice even when my girlfriend, … my ex, was wearing something new or she had a haircut. I wouldn’t notice until she made me. Isn’t that just how men work? Besides, I’m sure you were pretty busy with your work.

Edward        But Nick, I realised that it was not an excuse that my life was all about work. I was blindfolded, so to speak, driving my family away.

Nick      I’m sure you didn’t drive them away.

Edward        Yes. I did drive them away, Nick. When we were driving down to Cornwall to pick up Catherine, my wife didn’t speak to me during the whole journey. She just kept crying. She opened her mouth once and said, ‘Edward, this is your fault. You did this to her. She couldn’t stand watching you leave us.’

Nick          That’s a little over-exaggerated, isn’t it?

             

Edward        Of course, I wasn’t leaving them. I couldn’t understand what she was talking about for the life of me at the time. When we got to Catherine in Cornwall, she said to me. ‘Dad, I know I’m not a little girl any more. But I feel like I am losing my dad and I just can’t stand watching you turn into one of those people who live to work. The dad that I used to know, the dad who brought me here to see the sea, who opened my eyes was alive.

(Beat.)

Nick          I don’t understand what it means to be alive.

Edward        I realised, I became so…numb, to what was going on around me because my life revolved around my work. I neglected my family.

Nick      I’m sure you didn’t. I’m sure you did what you could.

Edward        I thought I did. But I never took the time to show it to them. I didn’t have time to say how much I love them and how much they meant to me.

Nick          They should know that though, don’t you think? You were working so hard for them.

Edward        That is what I thought I was doing. But I realised it wasn’t that. I was working for work. My daughter was right. I lived to work. There was nothing else because I didn’t feel it. I didn’t feel like there was anything else but work in my life.

Nick          I don’t know what I feel. Us men, I thought we are different from women. I’m just not that sort of a person who can express feelings and all that.

Edward        But Nick, you should be careful. You may become how I used to be. You would forget how to feel, you would become numb if you don’t take a step back now and see the world for what it is and where you stand. Take a look at yourself and picture yourself as what you want to be.

Nick          What I wanna be?

Edward        I am sure you don’t want to be how I used to be, (beat) numb. I’m telling you, Nick. It is great to feel something, anything. Don’t forget to feel. When you know that you can feel something, you won’t lose yourself. You will always be in touch with your inner self. When you can feel, other people can feel it. They can see it. You feel like you want to share it with people you love. For me, it was my family. I started to save money so that we could move to Cornwall when I retired. We found a place in Cornwall. Now we have a peaceful life. That is how I gained my life back.

Nick          I haven’t had a peaceful time. I don’t really know what it feels like.   

Edward        See, you probably wouldn’t have had the time to walk along the beach for a long time, would you?

Nick      No. Can’t remember the last time.

Edward        You’re going to Cornwall. You should take a walk along the beach. The beach is really amazing. As I said, my daughter loves the sea of Cornwall. It is something.

Nick          Yeah?

Edward        When you are there, listen to the sound of waves. Feel the water on your hand, how the sand feels on your feet.

Nick          Hmmm. I’m not sure whether it’s kind of my thing.

Edward        Nick. It may sound silly to you now but don’t think about it and just try it. For once, try to live in that moment.

Blackout.

At the sunset presented by orange light. Sounds of waves and seagulls.

NICK stands with his backpack on the ground, facing away from the audience. Nick takes out his smart phone from his pocket. He takes a picture of the sea with it and types.

On the backdrop, it shows a screen of his page of the social networking site. A new message with the picture pops up.

‘I have arrived in Cornwall. I am now facing the sea at the sunset.’

After a few seconds, the screen turns to black.

NICK takes off his shoes and he steps closer to the sea which is a backdrop, relishing each step. With a big wave, he takes few steps backwards.

Nick      Shit, it’s cold.

NICK kicks up water and stands still to feel the waves hitting against his feet.

After a few seconds, he steps back from the waves and sits on the ground next to his backpack. He looks over the sea for few seconds, listening to the sound of the sea. He scoops a handful of sand and relishes the feel on his hand. He moves his foot through the sand up and down, and around, relishing the feel on his foot.

The sound of the sea continues. NICK places his backpack behind him and uses it as a pillow to lie on the ground. He looks into the sky.

The orange light fades away. Few small lights start to appear in the sky as stars. As the stage gets darker, more stars appear in the sky. In the end, there are many stars in the darkness.

NICK and the audience look to the star listening to the sound of waves for about ten seconds.

Blackout.

Scene Two

The next early morning. NICK is back on the side of the M5 motorway. We can hear the sound of the cars.

NICK takes out his smart phone from his pocket and types.

On the backdrop of the stage, his page of the social networking site is shown. A new update is added.

‘After experiencing the sea of Cornwall, I’m gonna hitchhike to Snowdonia. I hear it’s a place to go for peace of mind.’

NICK puts his phone away into his pocket and kneels down on to the ground. He opens his backpack and pulls out the big sketchbook and the black pen. He turns the page of Cornwall over to a blank page. He writes across, ‘Snowdonia Please’. He packs up his backpack and he holds the sketchbook in his arm and lifts his thumb up, facing the motorway. He moves his torso left to right repeatedly, following the cars passing by.

A car pulls off into the hard shoulder of the motorway. A Welsh man WREN in his fifties lowers down his window. NICK approaches him.

Wren      Hello there, young man. You want a ride to Snowdonia?

Nick          Hi. Thanks for pulling over. Yeah. Are you going that way?

Wren          I’m heading back home which is on the way there.

Nick          Cool.

Wren          Come on in, then.

Nick          Cheers, mate.

NICK gets into his car.

Around the rearview mirror, a lovespoon is hung down. A dragon, two chains, a lock and a cross are carved into it. In the back seat, there is a box with a few lovespoons partly visible. On one of the lovespoons, a heart and a horseshoe are carved.

NICK puts his hand out to shake Wren’s hand.

Nick          I’m Nick.

WREN shakes Nick’s hand.

Wren          Wren. Please to meet ya.

Nick          You too. Thanks for the lift, really appreciated.

Wren          It’s alright.

WREN starts driving.

Wren          Interesting to see hitchhikers nowadays, huh? From the look of it, you’re travelling?

Nick          Yes. I’m from London, having a break at the moment. I went to Cornwall yesterday. It was cool. I enjoyed the coast.

Wren         Ah, yes. Very scenic with the sea and the cliffs, yeah?

Nick         Yes. There was a couple I met and they suggested that I visit Snowdonia. They apparently go there three times a year.

Wren          Do they? If you’ve never been there, it is definitely worth a visit. A view from the top of the mountain is beautiful. Have you been to Wales, Nick?

Nick          Uh… to be honest, no. I don’t think so. I may have been taken there when I was a kid by my parents but I can’t remember.

WREN laughs.  

Wren          You’re a typical Londoner, Nick. You don’t really get out of London much, do you? When you do, you fly out and go to some other flashy places like France, Spain, Greece. You think it’s waste of money to travel around and see what your country has to offer.

NICK laughs.

Nick      That’s true. It’s about to change for me though.

Wren      Good man. I go to London now and then to deliver these.

WREN points at the lovespoon at the rearview window.

But I don’t really like it there. It’s full of crowds and tourists. It makes me feel like I’m in a foreign country, listening to all those languages. Gives me a headache.

NICK laughs.

Nick      Are you Welsh?

Wren          Ydw, boyo. Born and bread in Llangollen. It’s a small town of around 3,000 people. A lot of us do speak Cymry, Welsh.

Nick      But you speak English as well, right?

Wren          Of course. It depends on which school you go to. If you go to one outside of the village, you may not be taught in Cymry. It’s difficult to keep a tradition intact in these days. It’s tricky stuff for parents to think about their kids’ future as well.

Nick      Interesting. Never thought about these things before.

Wren          You don’t need to. London is more, what d’you call it, diverse.

Nick          Yeah, I guess so. That’s what it is. It’s a multicultural place.

Wren          We’re trying so hard to keep our tradition. Of course in this age and day, it can’t be how it used to be. We’re aware of the limit.

Nick      Limit?

Wren      Well, see these lovespoons. I make these for living.

Nick      You made this? You carved this?

Wren          Yes, Nick. Out of a piece of wood. I don’t make much money for doing this, I can tell you that.

Nick          It’s such a commitment, isn’t it?

Wren          A family tradition, more like. My father was a carver, his father was also a carver. You know how it goes.

Nick          Do you have kids?

Wren          I have two kids, one is already a promising carver. The other one is studying medical research in York.

Nick          Is it your son who is a carver? Are you planning on passing down your legacy to him in the future?

Wren          Well if that’s what he wants. I’d be happy if he decided to follow my path. But if that’s not what he wants to do and if he has a passion for something else, that’s fine. It’s his choice, his life. What about you? What do you do for living, Nick?

Nick          I’ve been working for the council in London for a while now.

Wren          Do you enjoy it?

Nick          My work?

Wren          Yeah.

Nick          Well, I guess it’s alright. I don’t hate it.

Wren          Do you like living in London?

Nick          Uh, it’s alright.

WREN laughs.

Wren          You should be more enthusiastic, enjoying life while you’re young. Get out there and do stuff. You’re living in London. There must be thousands of places for you to go and do exciting things and meet people.

NICK laughs.

Nick          I’m not that sort of a person who’s so outgoing and always meeting new people, you know.

Wren          Sure, fair enough. Is there anything you wanna do? A dream or a passion if you like?

NICK laughs.

Nick          That’s a tricky question, Wren. I don’t have an answer to that now. At the moment, I don’t know what I feel or how I feel. I just feel like I don’t really care about things anymore.

Wren          That’s a bit sad, isn’t it?

Nick          Yeah, sorry. It’s a bit depressing. I think I’m depressed because my girlfriend recently ditched me. So… I’m a bit lost, I guess.

Wren          Oh, dear me. I’m sorry Nick. Do you want to talk about it?

Nick          No, not really. I’d rather not.

Wren          Sure. I understand, completely. (Beat.) It helps when you have a passion for something. When you find it, it will drive you from paths to paths. I’m sure you’ll find it soon.

Nick          Hopefully.

Wren          It’s sad to realise that it was too late. You’d regret for not doing stuff you wanted do.

NICK sighs.

Nick          Well…

WREN interrupts.

Wren          Do you know what lovespoons were made for?

Nick          Uh… were they for people to give to their loved ones?

Wren          Yes. Traditionally young men used to carve them for their special women to gain their affection. Now It’s like giving a girl a rose. But instead a hand-made carved rose, that sort of a thing.

Nick          Romantic, huh?

Wren          It is indeed. But it’s not just romantic. It makes it romantic because there is passion, carved into this piece of wood.

WREN points to the hanging lovespoon.

Wren          Do you know each lovespoon has a different design and different meanings?

Nick          Uh…I know that there are different designs but not their meanings, no.

WREN points to the hanging lovespoon.

Wren          This one, a dragon means protection, Wales. Those two chains are for our two children and being together forever. This lock means security. The Cross for faith. This is like my personal charm to me, you know.

Nick          I never knew that. I never had a close look before. It’s so cool.

Wren          Yeah. There’s a whole lot to it. That’s why I feel so passionate about it. When I’m carving, I put my soul, belief and faith, wishing for the miracles that each of them may see. It feels almost like sharing happiness together.

NICK gazes at the hanging lovespoon.

WREN signals the box at the backseat to NICK.

Wren          Nick, you see the box at the back?

Nick          Yeah.

Wren          Grab the one sticking out with a heart on top.

NICK turns around and takes out the lovespoon. He tries to hand it over to WREN.

Wren          That’s for you, Nick. A gift from me. A charm, if you like.

Nick      Are you sure, mate?

Wren           Yes, Nick. From me, wishing you good luck and hoping that you find the love of your life or even love for anything you love to do. A passion, if you like.

NICK looks at the lovespoon up and down.

Nick          Thanks, mate. Very kind of you.

NICK puts it away into his backpack.

Wren          I hope you’d think about it when you’re at the mountains. It’s a piece of wood, a piece of Nature.

Nick          Oh yeah, this is made out of a piece of wood like in the mountains.

Wren          That’s right, Nick. I hope it’ll be a reminder of its beauty when you go back to London.

Blackout.

In the late afternoon, at the top of Mount Snowdon.

There is a sound of wind and rustling leaves in the background. The backdrop screen shows the evergreen scenery of the mountain.

NICK comes in with his backpack. He takes a look around slowly, looking up and down. He looks out to the audience. He takes a deep breath. He puts his backpack down and sits down on the ground. He feels the grass. He gazes out for a moment. He closes his eyes. He takes a deep breath. With his eyes closed, he listens to the surrounding sound.

Eventually, he hears footsteps approaching towards him. He opens his eyes and looks over to where the sound is coming from. His eyes follow a couple of GIRLFRIEND and BOYFRIEND climbing up to the summit. The couple’s conversation gradually becomes clear to hear.

The couple are out of breath.

Girlfriend Here we go. Woo, we made it, Jason.

Boyfriend Yes. We did.

Girlfriend It’s so beautiful up here.

NICK turns back around to face the audience. He can hear them talk faintly.

The couple stand still.

GIRLFRIEND exhales slowly.

Girlfriend      So peaceful.

  

Boyfriend     It is. It’s definitely worth all the hard work climbing.

They laugh.  

Girlfriend      Let’s sit down here and enjoy this for a bit.

Boyfriend Yes.

NICK listens into what they are up to.

The couple sit down. BOYFRIEND puts his arm around GIRLFRIEND and rubs her arm. BOYFRIEND gives GIRLFRIEND a kiss on her cheek.

NICK takes out his smart phone. He takes a picture of the mountain and types.

The screen at the backdrop shows his page of the social network site. There is an update with the picture.

‘It is amazing out here on the top of Mount Snowdon. But somehow I feel like I’m missing something.’

NICK lies on his back and looks at the sky. The back screen turns to black.

The back of the stage revolves like a carousel with familiar logos and landmarks of London representing the bustling city such as the London Underground sign, double-decker buses, neon signs of adverts and flashing names of West End musicals. 

Blackout.

Scene 3

The next morning. The screen at the backdrop lights up, showing NICK’s page of the social networking site. There is a message from NICK’s friend on his wall.

‘Hey man, having a wicked time being away? Where you off to next? ’

NICK’s new comment appears under it.

‘Going alright, thanks. Might as well keep going further away like Scotland?’

The screen turns black.

NICK is back on the side of the M6 motorway. We can hear the sound of cars.

NICK kneels down on to the ground. He opens his backpack and pulls out the big sketchbook and the black pen. He turns the page of Snowdonia over to a blank page. He writes across the big sketchbook, ‘Edinburgh Please’. He packs up his backpack and he holds the sketchbook in his arm and lifts his thumb up, facing the motorway. He moves his torso left to right repeatedly, following the cars passing by.

A small van pulls off into the hard shoulder of the motorway. A Scottish man, GREG lowers down his window. He is in his forties with tattoos on his neck and arms wearing a uniform of his delivery company. NICK approaches him.

Greg      Alright, pal? You want a ride?

Nick          Hey, yeah. I wanna go to Edinburgh. Are you heading that way?

Greg          Aye. I need to go back there to collect another batch. I can give you a lift, if you like.

Nick          Fantastic. Cheers, mate.

NICK gets into GREG’s van.

Greg          I’m nae supposed to do this but who cares. I’m helping people out. There’s naething wrong with that.

NICK laughs.

Nick holds out his hand to shake GREG’s hand.

Nick          I’m Nick, by the way.

GREG holds NICK’s hand and shakes.

Greg          Greg. You don’t sound like you’re from around here. What brings you up here?

Nick          I’m travelling at the moment, having a break from London.

Greg          Ah, you’re from London.

Nick          Yes. I’m just wandering about wherever the wind takes me, that sorta thing.

Greg          Such a lucky lad. As you can see, I’m stuck in a van, driving around all day, working my arse off.

NICK laughs.

Nick          Well, I’m not feeling lucky yet.

Greg          Oh, are you complaining now?

Nick          Oh, no. I am enjoying my time away from London. I’ve met interesting people and seen cool stuff.

Greg          Naething to complain about then. Now off to Edinburgh. You’ve been up there before?

Nick          Once for a tournament from school but didn’t see much of the city at that time.

Greg          Not much to see anyway. You may find it boring as hell.

NICK laughs.

Nick          I’m sure not. What I want is a change of a scenery. So it should do the trick. Where are you from, Greg?  

Greg          I’m from the Gorbals, in Glasgow. But I don’t live there nae more. I had to go back there once about six months ago as my mum died. Haven’t been back to G5 since.

Nick          Sorry about your mum.

Greg          It happens.

Nick          Do you still have other family members there?

Greg          Naw. Just me and my mum were living there.   

Nick          Is it where you grew up?

Greg          Aye.

Nick          So, you must have your mates there.

Greg          Well, I’d assume most of them still live there, yeah. But I don’t want naething to do with them.

Nick          Oh. Why’s that?

Greg          Shit happened in G5.

Nick          What do you mean?

Greg          There were always fights on the streets. I could hear people shouting and screaming. Police were always around. I’m sure you have similar stuff still going on in London, yeah?

Nick          Yeah. Like gangs. There are gangs carrying guns. It freaks me out.

Greg          In my days, we didn’t have nae guns. We carried knives around.

(Beat.)

Nick          You were carrying a knife around?

Greg          Aye. I was stupid when I was young. I was paranoid all the time. I’m sure drinking didn’t help either.

Nick          Do you drink a lot?

Greg          Not naemore since I got clean. I drank shit load. I used to pour beer into a, whatyouma call it, a thermos and take it to work and drink drive. You can’t do that these days. But I was fine. I never got caught before.

Nick          That’s dangerous, mate.

Greg          Now I know. But I was stupid. I used to drink a lot until I felt sick. I used to do drugs like weed, ecstasy, speed, Charlie, dope and stuff like that. You see, I used to have a lot of money and I used to spend it big time.  

Nick          Don’t you earn as much as you used to now?

Greg          Well, you see. I used to do dodgies.

Nick          Dodgies? You mean like dodgy stuff?

Greg nods.

Nick          Oh, shit.

Greg          I’d never hurt nae one though.

Nick      Seriously, mate?

Greg      I was stupid. I didn’t think much.

Nick          Was there something else you were into when you were young? Like something you were passionate about?

Greg         Well, I guess, I enjoyed playing football. I’m still alright but I used to be really good. I could have been paid to play. I could have been a pro.

Nick          So, why didn’t you?

Greg          See, I was stupid. I didn’t think about it at that time. I just drunk a lot. I did drugs a lot. I spent money a lot. I didn’t think. I was stupid. Here I am.

Nick          Do you still have a kickabout with your old mates sometimes like for old time’s sake?

Greg          Naw. I’m naw going back to G5.

Nick          Why’s that?

Greg          I got myself cleaned up. I’m naw going back there.

Nick          What do you mean?

Greg          I used to be paranoid. I was paranoid all the time. So I was carrying a knife with me all the time, right?

Nick          Yeah?

Greg          Then one day my pal asked me to do him a favour. That was it for me.

Nick          Mate, I’m not really following here.

Greg          My pal asked me to hurt someone for him.

(Beat.)

Nick          Shit.

Greg          Then, that was it for me. I didn’t wanna hurt nae one.

Nick          No…

Greg          I got cleaned up. Got my shit together.

Nick          Good on you, mate. It must’ve been tough. Do you have a family of your own?

Greg          Naw. I was engaged to someone when this shit happened. This pal who asked me for a favour was my girl’s brother. ‘Coz I refuse to help him, I wasn’t allowed to see her nae more. I couldn’t go back to G5 for her. I would be dead before I saw her.

Nick          Didn’t she try to talk to you?

Greg          I’m sure she tried. But we knew that was the end. Even if we tried, people were gonna get hurt.

Nick          That’s messed up.

Greg          I’m paying the price for it now. Too late to change stuff that already happened.

Nick          Do you still think of her?

Greg          Aye. If things were different, we could’ve been together. She was my best pal since we were wee kids. She was a family to me, you know. I can’t forgive myself for this, for losing her.

Nick          I know what you mean. I’ve recently had similar stuff happening to me.

Greg          Oh, aye?

Nick          My girlfriend ditched me for another man who she obviously thinks is better than me. We’d been together since school. Like yours, she was my best mate. I didn’t really think like that until now. It kinda makes sense. There is no one who can understand me like she does.

Greg          Like she is a part of you, aye?

Nick          Yeah.

Greg          You’ve got to fight for her before it’s too late. If you feel strongly about this girl, you’ve got to fight for her. I really loved my girl. So I had to let her go. I really cared about her. So I didn’t want nae one to hurt her ‘coz of me. I’m sure you’re naw gonna hurt nae one. But you’d hurt yourself if you don’t do naething about it.

Blackout.

In the background, there is a sound of the city of Edinburgh.

NICK enters from the side. He slowly walks around with a map, taking in the view of the city. He stops. There is a sound of couples passing by, talking and laughing. NICK looks up and glances at them. For a moment, he turns back and looks straight into the audience, into the air. He walks off to the other side of the stage.

There is a sound of the wind and the grumbling sky.

The backdrop screen shows the top of Arthur’s Seat in the cloudy sky.

NICK enters, slowly climbing up. He stands in the middle and slowly looks around. He takes a deep breath. He walks to the edge of the stage and sits down with his legs dangling. He looks out for a moment. He looks around. He dangles his legs and kicks them about. He looks out for a moment. He takes out his smart phone and types.

On the back screen, a screen of a phone with the text shows up.

‘Sophie, I wish you were here.

I’m sorry.

Sophie, please give me another chance.

I will do anything, anything for us.

I love you, Sophie.’

The screen turns to black.

It starts raining.

NICK puts away his phone into his pocket. He looks out to the audience, into the air.

The rain gets worse.

The light goes darker and fades away.

Blackout.

The end.