Characters:

Narrator: An old woman
Narcissa: The wife
Micheal: Her husband
Andrew: Village Bartender
Collin: The town butcher
The Townspeople

Act 1 Scene 1

Scene shows Narcissa and Micheal getting married. Wedding bells and children laugh as they exchange vows. Then the stage lights go off and a spotlight shines on an old woman knitting.

Old Woman: Such a happy couple they were, young, good-looking and kind. I thought they would stay together till death did them part, and so did the entire village. But we thought wrong, because Micheal was in a hole that he dug himself. And when he married Narcissa, she was pulled into it.

The spotlight dims, and the background lights up. Narcissa and Micheal are arguing.

Micheal: Why did you let him in.

Narcissa: He let himself in. He let himself in, so he could get back his money. And because we have no money, he took all our finery.

Micheal: I don't believe that. You let him in, and you know how hard I work-

Narcissa: To go to that damn bar every night! If that is how hard you work, my dear, then I think I can bring more to this household by becoming a village whore.

Micheal: You don't need to try too hard, you're already one.

Micheal storms out of the house while putting on his coat.

Act 1 Scene 2

Micheal drinking at the bar, he slams money down on the table which Andrew collects. He walks out of the bar, tipsy, and after a while, falls into a bush. Narcissa walks out from the shadows, she had been spying on her husband. She walks into the bar.

Narcissa: How much did he pay you now?

Andrew: Twenty quids.

Narcissa sits down on one of the bar chairs.

Narcissa: A little meager than his usual. I think...

Andrew: Take it.

Narcissa stands up and steps backward.

Narcissa: No. I wouldn't dream of it.

Andrew: You don't need to. If you don't take it, I'll throw it into the sewers. I hear there is an old beggar woman asking for alms.

Narcissa hesitates, then takes the money.

Narcissa: Thank you.

Andrew: Come back tomorrow if he does.

The spotlight shines on the old woman again.

Old Woman: So Micheal came to the bar every night. And so did Narcissa, and Andrew would hand her the money her husband put to waste that night. Soon, the two fell in love. And while Micheal drank his life away, Narcissa and Andrew drank to a life together. But when Micheal did die, a life together was the last thing either one of them could envision.

Act 1 Scene 3

Micheal's funeral. A red rose wreath on a mahogany coffin. Narcissa dressed in black with a veil, crying. They lower the coffin into the ground and she falls to her knees, screaming. People rush to her side and console her, but she shoves them away and runs off the stage.