Reflection (revised and edited)

A simple exercise to help a patient with his short term memory loss reveals more than anyone intended.

ACT 1

(Two men sit on either side of a table.  The light is dim on all but that table.  One man is a DOCTOR.  He is dressed very professionally.  His blonde hair is nicely groomed and his blue eyes look about from behind round glasses.  The other man is the PATIENT.  His dress is less spectacular.  Far from professional looking.  He is dressed in rags that are wrinkled and clearly dirty.  DOCTOR pulls a mirror up from the table.)

DOCTOR

Tell me.  What do you see?

PATIENT

My mind is not what it used to be, but last I remember my affliction is not stupidity Doctor.

DOCTOR

I'm aware.  This is simply a game I wanted to try out.  It's no fun if you don't play along.  Now

tell me, what do you see?

PATIENT

I see my reflection.  Like everybody else in the world.

DOCTOR

All right.  Now go into more detail.

PATIENT

There is a man.  Brown hair, green eyes, 26 years old.

DOCTOR

You're stating what you already know.

PATIENT

It's my own damn reflection.  I know what I look like.

DOCTOR

(DOCTOR puts the mirror face down on the table.  Threatening)

If you don’t take this exercise seriously, we can move on to other things.  I've been in this profession for many years…  

PATIENT

No, I'll play along.

(a beat)

DOCTOR

(turns the mirror back on PATIENT)

Very well.

PATIENT

(He observes his reflection for a moment.  There seems to be something     .           that makes him uncomfortable.  He keeps his eyes locked on that.)

I see a man.  He look ragged.  Worn.

DOCTOR

Do you like what you see?

PATIENT

No... No, I don't.

DOCTOR

Why?

PATIENT

His eyes.  They are a sickly green color.  Almost like the darker spots of mold on bread.  And the shadows around his eyes are dark.  It reminds me of a knife in a shaded room.  Its blade faintly glinting in the overwhelming shadows.

DOCTOR

Is there anything else on his face that draws your attention?

PATIENT

No...  No his eyes are the only thing.

DOCTOR

You have heard the phrase that a person’s eyes are the windows to their soul?

PATIENT

Are you saying that my soul is decayed and dangerous?

DOCTOR

No, I'm simply sharing something I have heard before.  Do you feel that way?

PATIENT

You watch the news.  A story comes on about a shooting in a movie theatre.  Three people are hurt.  Two are killed.  One of those killed is a child.  You ask yourself, is it this child's first movie?  How can the families cope with this sudden and unnatural losses?  Tell me Doctor, with thoughts like these, who doesn't feel the potential to be dangerous at times?

DOCTOR

(He is intrigued by Patient's statement.  He takes note.)

Do you feel your soul is decayed?

PATIENT

(hostile)

I feel like this "game" is accomplishing nothing at all, to be quite frank.  My condition is short term memory loss.  Not psychosis or any of those other diseases.  You should know this.

DOCTOR

You’re avoiding the question...

PATIENT

(overlapping slightly)

You already know the answer.

(A beat.  They stare at each other.  The tension should be palpable.)

DOCTOR

Its part of the game.  Humor me.

PATIENT

(sarcastic)

Very well.  Yes, I feel decayed.  This condition has eaten on my consciousness, and now only the husk of the man I used to be remains.  Does this help with your diagnostic, Doctor?

DOCTOR

It helps me to understand you more.

PATIENT

(mock offense)

And here I am thinking you knew me well already.  I thought we were friends.

DOCTOR

We are friends.  I hope to get to the root of the problem, whatever that may be, by growing to understand you more.  My goal is to cure you.  I will not settle for less.

PATIENT

That is very noble of you.

DOCTOR

Do you doubt my ability to do so?

PATIENT

Yes.

DOCTOR

Why is that?

PATIENT

Your aim is to fix what is broken.  Not restore what is gone.

DOCTOR

(humored)

You act as if your brain is dead.

PATIENT

If it is not dead than it is close.

(A beat.  Doctor weighs his next course of action.)

DOCTOR

I’m going to read you something.

(DOCTOR ruffles through belongings and pulls out some papers.)

I want you to tell me your thoughts.

PATIENT

(slightly annoyed)

Very well.

DOCTOR

(He reads from a small stack of papers)

That dream happened again.  The vivid detail of it frightens me.  I can hear the roar of car engines on the big screen.  The low murmur of conversation in the audience.  The thunder-like crash of a gun going off. The screams that fill the room.  It all seems so real.  The dream reminds me of a Salvador Dali painting.  How the minute details are blown to the size of an elephant.  Things like the snap of shoes sticking to the coke stained floor, or the smell of popcorn in the air.  Yet, at the same time, these dreams could hide the world in a pinhead.  Details like who was there in that theatre?  What really happened?  And whose finger was it that pulled the trigger?  That last question is the one that haunts me as I write this.  It makes me shudder to think that the hands that wrote this prose may very well be the hands responsible for inscribing “the end” on two other’s lives.  Even if it were just a dream...

(a beat)

PATIENT

(something about this disturbs PATIENT)

That sounds like a very bad dream.

DOCTOR

You should know.  It is your dream after all.

PATIENT

I don’t remember writing that.

DOCTOR

Something tells me otherwise.

(Silence for a moment)

I can wait for as long as you need.

PATIENT

I’ll talk.

DOCTOR

Do you remember writing this?

PATIENT

No, but I remember this dream.

DOCTOR

Have you had it often?

PATIENT

I don’t know.

DOCTOR

According to these letters you’ve had it at least thirty times.

(The DOCTOR is filing through them.)

All of these journal entries were written by you.  Each one of them has varying amounts of detail.  Do you remember what happens in the dream?

PATIENT

Vaguely.  Remembering it is like looking through a frosty glass.  Everything about it is distorted and foggy.

DOCTOR

Yes, I suppose memory is much like a dream in that regard.  How did you describe it?  Like a Salvador Dali painting?  Perception as well.

PATIENT

What do you mean?

DOCTOR

When we were doing the reflection exercise you said the only thing that stood out on you was your eyes.  You said that they were like the darker spots of mold on bread, connotating decay.  I, however, see them differently.  When I see the green in your eyes it reminds me of the moss that grows on a riverbank.  Or of a wide, open field lit only by the low light of a moon.

PATIENT

That is very beautiful Doctor.  Maybe you should have gone into writing like me.

DOCTOR

You also said that a part of you was gone.  Damaged beyond healing.  Dead even.  I disagree.

PATIENT

On what grounds?

DOCTOR

If your short term memory was really gone you would have never remembered the reflection exercise at the start of this conversation.  Furthermore, you would have never remembered “the incident” that I believe is the root of your problem.

PATIENT

What incident?

DOCTOR

The shooting at the theatre of course.

(a beat)

PATIENT

That was just a dream.

DOCTOR

Was it?

(He ruffles through his belongings and pulls out a newspaper article)

“Shooting at Regal 9

Anticipation grew in a crowded, dark movie theatre as life and all of the cares in the world began to recede and disappear.  Then, soon after six, a gunman walked to the front of the room and opened fire.  This paradise had suddenly became a trap and this fantasy became a nightmare.  Five people were shot and two were killed.

‘It was chaotic,’ a witness says.  ‘The gunfire was so loud.  People fell to the ground.  The smell of blood was in the air.’  He described crawling around on the floor in vivid detail.  Clutching his chest trying to slow his racing heart.  ‘Should I run for the door?  Should I just hide?’  Many other witnesses report feeling the same…”

PATIENT

Why are you reading this to me Doctor?

DOCTOR

To show you that it was not a dream.

PATIENT

What do you mean?  I don’t follow.

DOCTOR

I think you do.  I mean, you described the scene to me in vivid detail a moment ago.  You were there that night.  You saw everything that happened in that theatre.  In fact, you are responsible for most of it.  You are the shooter after all.

PATIENT

No… No I wouldn’t do something like that…

DOCTOR

But you did.  And the two you killed were your wife and child.  You were so traumatized by what you did that your mind locked the memories away.  To try and preserve your sanity.

PATIENT

This can’t be right.

DOCTOR

But it is.  The article is right here to prove it.

PATIENT

You knew all of this time.  Why didn’t you tell me this sooner?

DOCTOR

I have told you.  This would be the third time.

PATIENT

(Realization begins to rush over him all at once.)

No… I…

(A sob escapes PATIENT.  His words become lost.  DOCTOR places a   

hand on his shoulder.  PATIENT clasps his hand over DOCTOR’s.)

DOCTOR

It’s completely natural to feel as you do right now.  I’m so sorry for your loss.  Coming face to face with your inner demons is always a struggle.  Let’s call it a night.

(DOCTOR helps PATIENT from his seat.  The slowly cross the room to

the door while DOCTOR says these lines.)

Go back to your room.  Get some rest.  We can resume tomorrow.

(When PATIENT is gone DOCTOR moves back to the table.  He picks up

the newspaper article.)

“In the chaos that followed the shooting, the shooter fled the scene with a hostage.  He is still at large.  The man is believed to be armed and dangerous. The witnesses on the scene described the shooter as… (Insert description of the actor playing DOCTOR here).  Also missing from the scene is Marc Hanson.  He is the father and husband of the two deceased.  He is believed to be the hostage.”

(DOCTOR places the article and papers back in the bag)

I would have never thought that a blow to the head would more beneficial than a bullet.  I guess even I learn something new every day.

(He hefts the suitcase)

Just a few more sessions with you.  Then we’ll be ready.

(DOCTOR hefts his suitcase and exits.  Lights fade)

THE END

Reviews

[A.K.F]

Very interesting. The only things that really bothered was that the identity of the person speaking was above rather than next to the dialogue, but that is just personal preference. I enjoyed the double twist. I was going to say the first reveal was very predictable but the second definitely made more sense for the first being so predictable. A very good read.

[John Elridge Medlin]

Why thank you. The formatting was a requirement for the publisher I was sending it in to. Most of their scripts have this same formatting. I generally prefer that as well. My goal was just as you said. I wanted the first twist to be predictable so people somewhat let down their guard for the second one. I'm really glad you enjoyed it.