Premature Evacuation

You can find Ágnes on Facebook and on New Play Exchange

Options by Dean Cornwell (1917)

Characters:

Woman, middle-class woman in her early 30’s

Man, her husband at the same age

TIME: End of February, 2022. Russia declares war against Ukraine. People are forced to leave their home.

Old train station in Eastern Hungary. There is a

bench and a bin full of garbage. A young Ukrainian

couple comes in. They are refugees from the war.

WOMAN

Ah, at last.

She sits down the bench, arranges her things,

(suitcases and backpack). Man does the same.

MAN

Here we are.

WOMAN

Where?

MAN

Not sure.

WOMAN

Still far away from where I want to be.

MAN

And yet... not far enough from home.

WOMAN

Do not mention that place as home to me.

MAN

Do not pretend as if you are so detached so soon. By the way... you still have not cried.

WOMAN

Why would I cry?

MAN

Because I thought you would cry when I told you... when we heard that... that...

WOMAN

That our home was bombed?

MAN

Yes.

WOMAN

Well, I am glad we had not started renovating it.

MAN

I have always admired your good sense of black humour.

WOMAN

I simply did not have the time to cry, darling. I had to pack and pack quite quickly, and your workmate came, we were stuffed into a car and rushed out of the city. We slept at my mum’s, which I usually hate, then we took the train with all these bags and...

Her phone signals, she checks it

WOMAN

Oh, and I have forgotten to cancel my appointment at the hairdresser. My haircut starts in 10 minutes. In Ukraine.

MAN

Had she remembered, the hairdresser would have cancelled your appointment, too.

WOMAN

Yeah, she might be in America by now.

WOMAN checks herself in her little mirror

WOMAN

Now I am free to wander around Europe looking like this. Like a savage.

MAN

You are beautiful. And, currently, these things are not that important.

WOMAN

I know. It is just...Frankly, it is just unbelievable that I had to leave my job, my home, my country in such a rush... I am still shocked. If I were religious I would say...She comes forward and speaks towards the sky...that I cannot switch myself into migrant mode in two days, can you hear me? And...just what the hell did you think?

MAN

Come back here, darling. It is too late and you will raise the whole town.

WOMAN

I do not care. Is this a town? Where are we? Is it Slovakia or Hungary?

MAN

We are in Hungary.

WOMAN

What is the name of this settlement?

MAN

Here it is, the town’s name, but I cannot read it out loud, the letters are too complicated. Let me check. My phone says it is a town with fourteen thousand people.

WOMAN

Fourteen thousand people? I cannot see anybody. It feels so foreign. Just like everything else. And what is this building? A railway station? Really? Looks like a haunted house.

MAN

I guess this was the waiting room.

WOMAN

Nice.

They paused.

WOMAN

I wonder if I put that fluffy tiger into this bag.

MAN

The one you got from your mum?

WOMAN

The one I got from you. What are you doing?

MAN

I am trying to find out when the next train leaves.

WOMAN

Instead of an abandoned place we should have gone to a city.

MAN

Better to avoid the crowd now. Here it is. We will have to wait twenty-five minutes.

WOMAN

Twenty-five minutes for the next train, here? At least, in a city I would be waiting with a hot cup of coffee in my hand. It seems there is absolutely nothing around here. Is there a buffet, at least, I wonder? It is too dark to walk.

MAN

We will manage. Here, there is one bottle of water.

WOMAN

You want some?

MAN

No, I guess I need something stronger. But at least you can call your sister now.

WOMAN

Yes, you are right. I am calling her if she is...if she is still alive? Okay...sister... Nina...calling...no. She is not available.

She checks the direction of the train.

WOMAN

Hey, this train goes towards Germany instead of France.

MAN

Yes. We are staying there for a while.

WOMAN

Are we, huh? My niece lives in France and we agreed to go straight to HER. I do not see why we are going to Germany first...

MAN

Because my cousin, Pavlo, has a bigger house in Germany than your niece in France. And he can lend me some money along with a job.

WOMAN

Just when did you change your mind about where we live?

MAN

About three hours ago.

WOMAN

Just like that! This is not fair!

MAN

What is fair, can you tell me!?

WOMAN

No, when did you want to tell me, I wonder? Ah, forget about it...Look, my niece, Lina, is just as helpful as your cousin, Pavlo. Her flat is fine, I was there six years ago. It is spacious and enough for...for the both of us.

MAN

I see your point, but this time we are not going on holiday, darling. We want somewhere to live. I need a job as quickly as possible.

WOMAN

So do I! Therefore I want to go to France.

MAN

I cannot speak French but I can speak German.

WOMAN

Good. I cannot speak German but I can speak French.

MAN

Is your French good?

WOMAN

It is. It was...when I was at school. But I can start to relearn it and...

MAN

My dear, you know I speak German every day at work. I will be able to get a job much sooner...

WOMAN

But I will not. I will not have a good job there. I will have to be a servant in a foreign country.

MAN

Being a slave in your own country is just as horrible.

WOMAN

So much for getting my MA. All this is so disappointing.

MAN

It is no more disappointing than the fact we had to leave our country in the first place. But, you should have chosen German as a second language in the school. It is more common in Europe.

WOMAN

Oh, do not be a smartass, now. ‘More common language in Europe’? Who cared about being common when I was young!?

MAN

You are wild. You are not common now, either, do not worry.

WOMAN

But I am. No, I am lower than that. I am nobody. Just look at me now. I am a homeless refugee... oh, my god! My promotion was on its way at home. I had worked so hard...

MAN

You just mentioned that place as home again, darling.

WOMAN FIGHTS WITH HER TEARS.

WOMAN

Yes. Because it was. The Great Big Nothing.

MAN

Do not over-worry. We still have not lived in another country. It might turn out to be good. We can have a high quality of life. First, I will support you for a while. Be happy to be alive.

WOMAN

Hurray!

MAN

Darling...

WOMAN

No, do not touch me!

MAN

Good God, people die there! They kill each other! You know what it means. We have not been killed.

WOMAN

They killed my dreams! It is more than enough. I cannot believe that I have to change my whole life until it’s unrecognizable because someone farts up there. These days are a nightmare: thousands of people are on the road and hundreds at the stations. Workers, children and...and little kids, even babies...You see? We are nothing but numbers.

WOMAN starts crying, MAN consoles her.

MAN

It was too much for me as well.

WOMAN calms down.

WOMAN

So, our children... will speak... German?!

MAN smiles at her.

MAN

I did not know you are so against a language.

WOMAN

I am not against it. Not at all. You know what I meant.

MAN

I do. Who knows? Maybe we can go to France or Switzerland or... to the USA, or ...or back to Ukraine in a few years. You see, finally, you are smiling.

WOMAN

Wherever we go, I want to belong.

MAN

You belong to me. I love you.

WOMAN

I love you, too!

They hug each other tightly.

WOMAN

My tissue is in the handbag. Will you...? Thanks. Now I feel better. We will have to plan everything. We need a flat, a room first, a job, and...

MAN

We will plan nothing. Not this time. No.

WOMAN

But it is so much work to establish a secure life.

MAN

Yes, it IS a lot of work. But we are not going to plan everything as we had done last time. You see? Nothing came out of it.

WOMAN

So what now? New country, new life?

MAN

Aye. Let’s try to live in the present. Enjoy life, enjoy every moment.

WOMAN sighs

WOMAN

Okay. I am hungry.

MAN

I have a sandwich. Here you are. I have no beer but would you like some water?

WOMAN

Yes, thank you.

MAN

Your face is very beautiful in the moonlight.

WOMAN playfully puts out her tongue and grimaces.

WOMAN

I am so frustrated. Because of the war we have not made love for days.

MAN laughs.

MAN

You can say that again! I am such a lucky man.

WOMAN

Yes, you are.

She grabs and throws the fluffy tiger into his hand.

MAN

What do you m...?

WOMAN

I am pregnant.

MAN

So soon...?! Are you sure?

WOMAN

I am. Seven weeks.

MAN

Indeed? Just when did you want to tell me?

WOMAN

After my haircut, actually. We were supposed to go to the restaurant, remember?

MAN sits down, sighs and stares into space.

MAN

We will need a bigger room. I might earn some extra...

WOMAN

We do not plan anything this time, remember?

MAN

Yes, but...

WOMAN

No buts. We will manage. Enjoy life, enjoy every moment.

WOMAN checks her watch and raises the water bottle.

WOMAN

We still have ten minutes. Cheers.

CURTAIN.

***

About the playwright:

Ágnes Pálfi is a Hungarian playwright, poet, and secondary school teacher of Hungarian literature and English. She has been writing since childhood, publishing essays and poetry in both Hungarian and English, earlier under the pen name P. Owl. Her plays have been adapted into radio dramas, staged readings, and theatrical performances, and in recent years her work has been presented in the United States, Canada, and Ukraine.