A man lies in a hospital bed, eyes closed. An inserted tracheal tube is visible as are other tubes running from a drip into his left arm. A woman leans into him, head bowed, her own body rising and falling rhythmically, sobbing quietly as she clasps his right hand. The stage is softly lit by a light blue glow emanating from the machines humming behind the bed. All other areas are in darkness except for an illuminated clock that sounds once to indicate that it is 1 am. The only other sound is the steady bleeping of the machines.
The woman (sighing and glancing upwards breaks the silence):
Lord. Please don't take him now...
she casts her eyes on the man
Simon, don't leave me. Keep fighting! I need you... we (her voice falters as she glances down and rubs her belly)... we need you. We have so many memories, but so many dreams still to make.
Images from their life together are flashed onto a screen behind them, fading in and out... for the audience to see - serving as visual representations of her memories.
The man does not answer. She caresses his face and then runs her hand gently through his hair. At that moment the blue light changes to a slow flashing red. The steady bleeping changes to a long flat bleep. The woman cries out hysterically for help, collapsing across the man's chest, pleading desperately for him to live.
Simon Day! You come back right now! Please Simon... come back to me.
A medical resuscitation team arrives on the stage, dressed in blue scrubs. A doctor carries a stethoscope around her neck, another carries a clipboard and pen, and the remaining two medics wheel in a resuscitation unit. Two nurses usher the woman away, blocking her path as she tries to fight her way past them, thumping her fists in the air above their shoulders. The medical team perform CPR and use a defibrillator to try to save the man's life.
The Doctor:
And one, two, three... clear...
Everyone steps back as the defibrillator is applied. The man's body rises and falls heavily.
Again... one, two, three... and clear!
The man's body rises and falls heavily again
The stage fades to black.
The lights come up briefly to reveal first the clock at 1.20 am, and then the woman doubled over, inconsolable with grief, wailing. The doctor apologetic, and empathetic, rubs her shoulder.
I'm so sorry for your loss, we did everything that we could.
The stage fades back to black
The stages of grief are represented by the passing of the seasons and the woman's gradual adjustment to her new life without her husband. Bonnie Tyler's Total Eclipse of the Heart can be heard as the woman enters the stage to a winter's backdrop, making her way across it tentatively, hunched over, she stops at a bench, clears some snow, and sits to wipe her tears and caress a small bump on her abdomen. She stands again after a while and picks up the vocals whilst she walks aimlessly and forlornly around the wintery set. The scene lasts the duration of the song.
The stage fades to black
The woman enters the stage again to a Spring backdrop, flowers bloom everywhere. She stands slightly taller. The bump she caresses is bigger. She stops to pick some flowers, humming to herself, she appears contemplative and manages a wistful smile.
The stage fades to black
The woman enters the stage a 3rd time with a Summer backdrop. She walks with a new spring in her step. She places a blanket on the floor and lays down under a tree, She opens a book and starts reading to her very pregnant belly.
The stage fades to black
The stage is set to soft light. The woman lies in a hospital bed, screaming in pain, surrounded by doctors. Then the stage goes dark... and silence ensues. Then an audible cry and the light comes up slowly to focus in on the woman cradling a crying baby, asdoctors retreat from the bedside. Weeping soulfully, the woman pulls the baby into her bosom and speaks...
You look just like him. Your daddy would have been so proud of you. He couldn't wait to have a son. And now, it's just you and me, buddy. You're the best damn Valentine's gift a woman could have asked for... You know, my little love, they say that grief is the last gift of love, and that may have been mine to your dad, but you are his to me... and you will forever carry his name... my baby Valentine. My Valentine Day.
This is my response to @cinnccf prompt for Valentine's Day, which you can find here.
Header image Love Breaking Apart by Kovacevic in Canva Pro Library
Bonnie Tyler's Total Eclipse of the Heart was shared from Youtube.
"Grief is the last gift of love" - author unknown
Dreemport banner used with permission of @dreemsteem and @dreemport and designed by @jimramones
