vignette: staccato

ANNA
We ran for the gates as soon as the headmistress turned down the corridor, throwing caution to the wind. All that mattered was the promise of freedom, the glorious blaze of sunshine pledged by the outside world.

ZEPI (flails her arms)
Whee! Whee!

ANNA (pants)
Zepi, hush! Someone might-

ZEPI (laughs)
No one will!

ANNA
Oh, Zepi.

ZEPI
Once out of the academy, we ran for the hills, the woods, the trees and leaves and roots and twigs, the furry green grass that went past our socks, the scent of summer that invaded our senses.

ANNA
Wait, wait. Let’s, let’s stop a while.

ZEPI
Anna, no! This is only the beginning of forever! Look, look over there!

ANNA
What’s over there?

ZEPI
We’ll be over there. Come on!

ANNA
And we ran again like bullets fired from a trembling handgun, laughing and shrieking like the girls that we were. I lost a shoe but thought nothing of it. What matters the loss of a shoe?

ZEPI (makes a face)
Boohoo. Here, I’ll lose one too.

ANNA
Silly, silly.

ZEPI (stops)
Here we are, Anna.

ANNA
Yes, here we are, Zepi.

ZEPI
In that moment of moments, we held hands and drew in everything around us, through our eyes, noses and lips, ears and skin. It was as if the universe was remade and consisted only of us. Everything was ours.

ANNA (looks at ZEPI)
Zepi…

ZEPI (looks at ANNA)
Yes?

ANNA
I love you.

ZEPI
I know.

ANNA
Do you love me?

ZEPI
Of course, silly.

(ANNA leans over and kisses ZEPI on the lips. ZEPI draws back, places her fingers against ANNA’s mouth.)

ZEPI
What, what was that?

ANNA
Love.

ZEPI
Love.

ANNA
Yes.

ZEPI
And at the moment, the world around us suspended and emptied itself out. Words flew in no direction and I vanished, lost in the dust of my crumbling heart.

(They kiss again.)

ANNA
We were fifteen.