The Other Shore (35 page)

A vivacious girl, a little vulgar though.

As long as you’re still interested.

Sure, sure.

Is everything going smoothly?

Yeah, not bad.

Maybe we can keep her here for a few more days.

Perhaps. But it depends—

She doesn’t look like she’s working and has to get back when the weekend’s over, as long as her boyfriend doesn’t say anything.

How about him, do you find him interesting?

What? Oh, him, he’s quite intelligent, but somewhat arrogant.

Every writer thinks he’s the one and only.

Aren’t you the same?

Of course. But only few writers are interesting.

He sure knows how to flirt.

Really? As long as you don’t think it’s too much trouble. I don’t feel right if you think my guests are a bother.

It’s all right, they aren’t, at least up to now.

Then tell him to stay for two more days, if that’s not too much trouble for you.

And his girlfriend stays too?

Of course. Just let me know if you find them unbearable.

You’re the master in this house.

And you’re the mistress.

I’m not so sure about that, I’d better not play mistress.

Why not?

It’d be easier for all of us.

Why don’t you go and take a look at my painting?

I don’t want to be in the way.

Well, she’s quite patient, and of course she’s also a blithe spirit. She likes paintings too, she’s curious. She’s never modelled before, you know.

That’s even better for you, isn’t it? You must find the whole thing refreshing.

Of course, also very exciting.

Cecile, Anne

What are you looking at?

A cloud. There’s something strange about this cloud.

Why do you think that?

It expands and spreads, and expands and spreads again, then it rolls out, and the middle gets puffed up and spreads once more, it’s all happening so fast.

It’s going to rain.

Like an overgrown cauliflower.

You sure know how to talk good!

Not really, there’s pollution everywhere, even in the clouds.

You want me to make you some toast?

The toaster’s on top of the oven, the coffee’s still hot.

Daniel, Anne

Oh, it feels great after a cold bath!

Did you sleep well?

Excellent, it’s so quiet, I’d still be sleeping if it weren’t for the birds singing. Did you get up early?

I love to listen to the birds.

Same here. Outside the windows, at the crack of dawn…It’s raining a bit, do you like listening to the rain as well?

When I’m listening to the rain I’m at peace with myself.

Cecile, Bernard

I hate it when it rains, you can’t go anywhere.

This rain won’t last. As soon as it stops you can go sunbathing in the pasture or by the river, or you can go pick some mushrooms in the wood. We’re very easy here, just do whatever you want.

How about messing up things?

What’s on your mind, you little devil you?

(
Softly
) I want to smash something, is that allowed?

Smash all you want, as long as you feel like it!

Can I call you daddy too?

Of course, I should count myself lucky with a daughter like you.

Luck doesn’t come easily, it’ll slip away if people don’t know how to take good care of it.

(
Loudly.
) Did you hear that?

Daniel

How can you not hear it when it’s that loud?

Cecile, Bernard

Never mind him, he’s a little hard of hearing.

Are you kidding me?

He always pretends he’s thinking.

Anne, Daniel

Is that right?

I’m watching the rain now. You see, when raindrops flow on the window pane, the scenery is immediately transformed, just like a mirage…

In the winter, if there weren’t any footprints after a snowfall, it’d be just like a graveyard…

The feeling towards death comes exactly from the desire for life—

Cecile, Bernard

Oops, I’m so sorry! I’ve broken the teacup…

Something new, something old, you won’t have any new things if you don’t get rid of the old.

It broke while I was washing it.

Exactly, things do get broken after you’ve used them for some time, there’s no exception, let alone a teacup.

Men too?

Of course, men are like things, after a while they tend to have this problem, then that problem. They just can’t seem to help it. Never mind, it’s only a teacup.

And the heart?

What heart?

A man’s heart—

That’s even more of a problem. What’s wrong, babe?

Nothing much is wrong with this babe, except that I just cut my hand.

Let me have a look, don’t let it get infected, you’ve got to put a dressing on it! Do we still have any bandages?

Anne, Daniel

A cunning cat.

A butterfly, she attracts all kinds.

Bernard

Follow me, let’s put a bandage on it.

Daniel, Anne

He’s so full of energy though.

It’s still early and you’re here, and on top of that, there’s a young girl with him. Normally he’ll start drinking at noon, and when evening comes he’ll be totally exhausted, and the only sound you can hear in this big house is the sound of his snoring. I keep my door open all the time, and if I don’t hear his snoring when I get up at night, I get scared. That’s how my father died, he also drank…

You can’t go on like this.

What? Like what?

For example, you two could go out sometimes—

He drinks wherever he goes! If he takes the car by himself, who knows when…

And you plan to go on watching over him all your life?

The situation is not as bad as it looks. I do need a shelter, and if nothing else, he’s still a loyal old dog.

Bernard, Anne, Daniel

Have a look at the books in here, and take whatever you want, just as long as it’s not anything she likes. At my age, there’s nothing worth reading.

Have you had too much to drink or something?

He’s just telling the truth. Any book that’s worth writing has been written already.

Then why are you still writing?

It’s just a habit. In fact, whatever I want to say has already been said.

Hear! Hear!

Then how come you’re still saying it?

Because I’m still alive.

Can’t we talk about something else?

Sure, right now I’m going to listen to the news to see if there’s a war going on. I certainly know what a goddam war means!

All right, all right. Go paint your paintings.

She’s driving me crazy.

Women, what can you do with them?

Cecile

Daniel!

Daniel

Coming.

Anne, Bernard

What happened to her?

Don’t worry, just a small cut. I’ve put a bandage on it, she’s okay.

Don’t go too far!

Just look at you!

I don’t really care, it’s between you and her. I just want to remind you not to put me on the spot.

Daniel, Cecile

What happened to you?

I cut myself.

Where’s the cut, is it serious? Let me see!

Not really, I’ve put a bandage on it.

What were you fooling around for?

I wasn’t fooling around, I was behaving, and very careful too. A tiny little mouse, and cats are everywhere.

Who’s the mouse? Who’re the cats?

You don’t know? You really don’t know?

Don’t go smashing up things! You’re not a kid any more!

I can’t help it—

Man is different from animals.

What if he was an animal?

You’ve got to understand, this is not your home, you know.

I understand. I understand everything.

That’s good.

Then it’s over.

What’s over?

You’ve been with so many women, don’t you know?

No, I really don’t know.

All right, I promise I won’t fool around no more.

It’s a deal. (
Kisses her.
)

Don’t you worry! (
Pushes him away and turns around
.)

Anne, Cecile

Are you all right?

I’m fine. It’s just the finger, I’ve got a bandage on it already.

Don’t let it come into contact with water. I’ll clean up the kitchen later.

Sorry, I was a bit uptight just now.

It’s no big deal.

My worries are over, I’m having my period.

Bernard, Daniel

Would you believe you can never truly possess a woman?

It’s quite true, so you’d better give up the idea.

But tell me honestly, can you really give it up?

You’ve got to admit that you can’t.

You see, women, not art, are the most exquisite creations in the world.

Then why are you still painting?

God can’t be surpassed, no matter how hard we try. Man craves immortality, so he ransacks his brain to manufacture all kinds of illusions, and art is no more than an illusion created by man to be his plaything. And women, they’re always beyond your reach, you can’t truly possess them. You can only possess illusions, something you label as art.

I guess that’s why you’ve turned to painting women now that you’ve finished with your abstracts, despite the fact that they’re all illusions, right?

And there’s no way you can someday say that you’ve painted them all, I mean women and illusions.

Cecile

A fickle lover whose heart is not there,

An old man who’s crazy about her, but who is old enough to be her grandfather,

And she dances and shuffles her feet between the two, tick tap, tick tap!

Making a face at this one, forcing a smile towards the other.

Better be a bird than a butterfly,

Hopping from one branch to another, nobody can get a hold of it.

She’s cunning like they say she is, if she wasn’t, how could she keep a hold on her men?

Why on earth do they have to be men? Why on earth did she have to be born so pretty?

Where there’s a garden there’re birds.

Tick, tick, tap—tick tick tap—tick tick tap tap!

Bernard, Daniel

What’s she singing?

Who knows? Whenever she’s happy she tends to run off at the mouth.

She’s a happy little girl.

Exactly, as happy as a dog with two tails.

When you’re my age, you’ll find out that’s the hardest thing to do.

Anne, Cecile

You have a really exquisite voice.

Thank you, but I haven’t had any training or anything.

You’re still young, you can learn.

It’s not something you can learn in two or three days, you’ve got to train your voice every day and take lessons.

You look like you have plenty of time, don’t you?

It takes money, and the fees can be very high. You know, I met this old man once, he said I was born with a great voice, and he wanted to give me free lessons.

Just what you wanted, right?

But on one condition.

What condition?

To sleep with him.

He said it right out?

He didn’t need to, it was quite clear what he was aiming for, wasn’t it?

If you liked him, why not?

He was too old! Why should I let him feel me up with his hands?

Of course not.

He said he’d take me on a world tour and make me a pop star, and he’d be my manager.

Surely you didn’t believe him?

Why should I sleep with him for nothing? Anyway, he didn’t exactly teach me anything.

But did you take any lessons with him?

He only taught me how to get into his bed…

(
Both of them laugh wholeheartedly.
)

Daniel

You’re a stranger, destined to be a stranger for ever, you have no hometown, no country, no attachments, no family, and no burdens except paying your taxes.

There is a government in every city, there are officers in every customs station to check passports, and man and wife in every home, but you only prowl from city to city, from country to country and from woman to woman.

You no longer need to take on any town as your hometown, nor any country as your country, nor any woman as your wife.

You have no enemies, and if people want to take you for an enemy to raise their spirits, it’s purely their own business. Your only opponent—yourself—has been killed many times; there’s no need to look for enemies, to commit suicide, or to do battle in a duel.

You have lost all memories, the past has been cut off once and for all.

You have no ideals, you’ve left them behind for other people to think about. At this time you wish, for example, to be a leaf wafting in the wind, or better yet, a bird flying at an angle from a tilted rooftop, watching the warped horizon floundering with you. You’re moving freely in the air, atop cities and oceans, and without a destination, if suddenly there comes a gun shot or if your heart fails, would you leave any trace once you’ve fallen from the sky?

You, you wander between one word and another, between one phrase and another, there is no end, how could language or freedom of speech mean anything to you any more? The same language was once like a clattering steel shackle, impeding you and weighing you down, but now it has become as frivolous as this little slut here…

Anne, Daniel

She doesn’t know why she keeps on dreaming of a black leather bag. No matter how much it’s squeezed, mauled or pounded upon, it still remains so solid and intact.

That’s easy enough, for instance, if I had an awl…

There’s no need.

It wouldn’t hurt to try—

But it’s useless. She also dreamed of a tree on fire, it was just standing there, alone in the deserted wilderness, and she just stared at the raging fire with a blank expression on her face, unmoved, and not hearing any sound.

Because you’re too far away, try getting closer.

She did, but she still had no feelings, because she’s been burned up already. All that’s left of her was just a shadow, a shadow belonging to someone else.