ABBIE GREEN is sitting on a couch lined with pillows. The room she is in is plain with abstract black and white paintings hanging from the wall. MARTHA THOMPSON is seated across from her in a red chair; the only pop of color in the room. ABBIE GREEN adjusts her positioning on the couch, seeming uneasy.

Scene 1

Martha Thompson’s Office, New York City. Day.

ABBIE GREEN

I don’t think I could live alone again. I don’t trust myself.

Silence hangs in the air.

MARTHA THOMPSON

Uh huh. And why is that do you suppose?

There’s a long pause before ABBIE responds; her voice getting quieter.   

ABBIE GREEN

Because I see things.

Again, there’s a sort of eerie silence that hangs in the air. The voice comes back.

MARTHA THOMPSON

What sort of things do you see?

ABBIE GREEN

Memories.

ABBIE stares out the window past MARTHA’S gaze.

ABBIE GREEN (cont.)

Memories that I want to forget.

MARTHA reaches for a notepad that’s lying down on the table beside her, she proceeds to write down notes.

MARTHA THOMPSON

What sort of memories?

ABBIE GREEN

Of my sister.

ABBIE is still gazing out the window.

MARTHA THOMPSON

And why do you want to forget such memories?

ABBIE GREEN

Because that’s what they are… memories. She’s gone.

MARTHA stops taking notes in her notepad and sets it aside on the table.

MARTHA THOMPSON

Oh, i’m so sorry. Would you mind telling me how she passed?

There’s silence. ABBIE is still gazing out the window, she then takes a breath and exhales.

ABBIE GREEN

She hung herself. She killed herself in our own backyard. I was the one that–

*ABBIE chokes.*

ABBIE GREEN(cont.)

that found her there. It was the middle of the night and I was wondering where she was. She had gone out with a guy that night, but never came home. I was restless. I couldn’t fall asleep not knowing where she was so I decided to go outside.

MARTHA THOMPSON

Oh wow, Abbie… I am so sorry. I’m assuming you guys were close?  

ABBIE GREEN

Yeah. We did everything together, but she decided to take her life; leaving me all alone.   

MARTHA THOMPSON

Oh Abbie I know that that must’ve been hard for you, but you can’t think like that. She didn’t just leave you, she left herself. Let me ask YOU a question, are you content with the way that you live your life?

ABBIE breaks her gaze from the window and looks MARTHA dead in the eye. The room seems almost to stiffen.

ABBIE GREEN

I don’t understand what you’re asking, doctor.

*MARTHA THOMPSON coughs.*

MARTHA THOMPSON

What if I were to ask you how you spent your time? What do you like doing for fun or for leisure?

ABBIE GREEN starts admiring the abstract paintings hung along the wall. She notices a particular work of art that closely resembles a jail cell. The way in which the black thick lines cross over each over, all in front of a white backdrop. She takes a deep breath and exhales.

ABBIE GREEN

I enjoy taking walks in the park, but I spend most of my time sitting in my favorite rocking chair while looking out the window. My cat usually curls up in my lap during this time and I enjoy her company.

MARTHA THOMPSON takes off her glasses, and sets them aside on the small table, alongside the notepad. She leans back into her chair; seeming more relaxed. MARTHA lets out a chuckle.

MARTHA THOMPSON

Well it’s always good to have a companion. What about people, Abbie? Do you socialize or interact with anyone your age?

ABBIE begins to fidget with the pillows on the couch.

ABBIE GREEN

Well, I had a roommate, but we got into a fight and she left. Just one day, I woke up and she was gone. I think she thought I was crazy, but I told her that I was just upset.

MARTHA THOMPSON

Did she ever say why she thought you were going crazy?

ABBIE begins biting her bottom lip.

ABBIE GREEN

I told her that she doesn’t understand, that she isn’t like them. I-

MARTHA THOMPSON sits up in her chair.

MARTHA THOMPSON

Like who?

ABBIE takes a deep breath and lets out a sigh.

ABBIE GREEN

The voices and I see distinct memories like a flash, they appear randomly too.  

MARTHA THOMPSON

Uh huh, does anyone know about these voices and visions?

ABBIE GREEN

No.

MARTHA THOMPSON

What about your family?

ABBIE shifts uneasily. She looks at the floor while pulling a pillow towards her chest.

ABBIE GREEN  

I left them.

MARTHA THOMPSON

What do you mean by you “left them?” Did you leave by force or was it at your own free will?

ABBIE GREEN

I left willingly, but I had no choice. You understand, right?

MARTHA THOMPSON

Uh huh. Well, i’ve lived in New York all my life so I don’t say I understand leaving a specific place… where did you grow up?

ABBIE sets the pillow on the couch and crosses her legs.

ABBIE GREEN

Jackson, Wyoming. Population 10,532.

*MARTHA laughs.*

MARTHA THOMPSON

Well that’s a drastic change compared to New York. What made you want to leave?

ABBIE GREEN

It’s not that I wanted to leave, I had to get out of there. They all thought that I was going crazy.

MARTHA reaches for her glasses again from the nearby wooden table and wiggles them until they fit perfectly on her nose.

MARTHA THOMPSON

Who’s they? I’m assuming your family?

There’s no reply back. ABBIE is staring at the floor which is covered by a brown rug that covers the entire area of the room, corner to corner.

MARTHA THOMPSON(cont).

What happened that made them believe that you were crazy.

ABBIE GREEN

I saw my sister, but they didn’t believe me.

MARTHA leans forward in her chair.

MARTHA THOMPSON

What do you mean you “saw” your sister? Where?

ABBIE shifts uneasily.

ABBIE GREEN

It was during the night and I couldn’t fall asleep. And then I saw her… she was just standing there in the backyard, staring at me. She seemed to be trying to summon me, but I wouldn’t go. She didn’t look the same. I was frozen in my place and then I just screamed. I woke up the entire house and told them what I saw. They didn’t believe me. They kept telling me that she had died, that she was gone for good and to just move on. It had been a couple months now since her passing.

MARTHA THOMPSON

What happened next?

ABBIE GREEN

I knew the possibilities of what could happen, the possibilities of what would happen to me. I had to get out of there. So I left.

MARTHA THOMPSON

And what about now? Do you believe you need help?

ABBIE looks down at the brown carpet again and at her legs that are still crossed. ABBIE sighs.

ABBIE GREEN

Yes.

Martha gets up from her chair and walks over to the abstract black and white paintings hung on the wall. The floor creaks with every step.

MARTHA THOMPSON

Abbie, do you know the significance of abstract art?

ABBIE breaks her gaze from the floor and turns her head to meet MARTHA’S gaze.

ABBIE GREEN

No…

ABBIE is now sitting straight; curious of what MARTHA has to say.

MARTHA THOMPSON

They allow for the mind to interpret such shapes and then we unconsciously apply our own understanding of what we’re seeing. Therefore, we are able to put together these shapes and create images in our mind. Like this one.

MARTHA points to a frame.

MARTHA THOMPSON

What do you see?

ABBIE looks at the image and she remembers it immediately as the one resembling a jail from earlier observations.

ABBIE GREEN  

A jail. I see a jail.

MARTHA takes a step back to look at the image.

MARTHA THOMPSON

When I look at this I think of a storm and each black thick line resembles a fallen tree, but you are not wrong because it is what your brain interpreted the image as, it is what you want to see.

The room stays silent. The clock strikes 6:00.

ABBIE GREEN

I don’t want to be alone anymore.

MARTHA THOMPSON

I know and you don’t have to be. I’ll see you again.

[End Scene]