Page 121 - Dark Matter Issue5 Part II

camps actually happened to women during the Bosnian war. A significant

number of those women later killed themselves. The play asks its audience to

consider if bearing witness matters. Can the acts of listening and of sharing be

reparative?

[Sybil sits on her stool in the clearing in the forest, rocking back and forth with

Admira’s child on her lap]

ADMIRA: I want to kill my child.

SYBIL: I know, child. I know that.

ADMIRA: No one should live. Not anymore. Beasts. Only monsters should walk

the earth. He is too weak. I won't let him. I won't allow it. They took babies by

their heels, hit their heads against rock. I saw what came out.

SYBIL: I did. I did it. No one believed me. It was an accident. The wall came out

of nowhere. I turned right into it. I had my foot on the gas. The air smelled like

spring. I had the pedal to the ground. I could smell her sweet flesh.

ADMIRA: They did it all in front of everyone. They took four of us. In front of

everyone. On the ground. They did it. Everyone saw it. No one moved.

SYBIL: It was a long time ago. Before even Rachel was born. Then no one could

believe such things. I didn't believe it myself. Even with my black eyes, I couldn't

see. Now people try to believe. They read in the newspapers. They see on the

television.

ADMIRA: I itched so. The smell. I couldn't stand the smell. They made me smell

like that. I can't say these things to anyone. I want to shout. All the time I want to

shout. I am so dirty inside. I must be dead. No one lives with so much dirt.

3