I'll Be Here
I'll Be Here by Ryan Amstad
I'll Be Here with Ryan Amstad- Full Text
CHARACTERS (in order of appearance):
Kelly Female, petite, Mid 30s. A young professional. A Widow.
Leo Male,Mid 30s. Dead.
One.
The stage is dimly lit.
The scene is of a flat, furniture is expensive, and the room is clearly the home of a young professional couple. A sofa is just off center stage with a coffee table in front of it. There is a wedding photo on the coffee table. U.S.L there is a desk with a letter sitting up right on it, the desk is lit by a table light, specifically shining on the letter to make it stand out.
Enter KELLY, holding a mug of coffee.
As she comes through the door she turns the light switch on, the stage brightens up. She walks down stage and sits on the sofa, putting her mug on the table. Silence for a moment as she looks around the room, and picks up a photo of her and her husband from the table. Holds it close to her chest and starts to cry. She looks up to the sky.
Kelly: Why? Why now?
KELLY looks back down and stares at the photo for a few moments, places it back on the table, before standing up to walk towards the desk. She picks up the letter, takes a deep sigh, and walks back to the sofa, sits down and opens the letter. She takes another moment to herself before crying, and takes the letter out of the envelope.
A figure immerges from the back of the stage, and walks slowly down. A dim blue light lights the figure. As the person becomes clearer in vision, it is LEO. He stands behind KELLY who is sat on the sofa.
Kelly & Leo: Kelly
Pause
I love you.
Pause.
And I am sorry
Longer Pause.
I hope you are being looked after, but more importantly, I hope you are looking after yourself.
LEO’S voice slowly fades out.
Kelly: I am guessing you are reading this letter at the time I told you to.
So I presume the cancer got the better of me.
Pause.
Though it may not feel like it now, it is for the best. For both of us. I didn’t want you to go through all the pain and suffering that I had to go through, but I am finally out of the pain. I don’t want you to have made that lifetime sacrifice.
Pause.
Firstly, I want you to know that you have been my rock throughout this, through thick and thin, as we said on our wedding day
Kelly & Leo: ‘Through Sickness and in health… ‘
KELLY repeats a split second after LEO.
Till Death do us part’
Long Pause.
Kelly: If it wasn’t for you the love of my life I wouldn’t have been able to get through this process, the pain, the fight, the tears.
Pause.
Ha. Its funny I suppose, I spent years saying
Kelly & Leo: ‘How my job would be the death of me.’ But it wasn’t.
Pause.
I will miss you Kelly,
KELLY cries during this, the feeling becomes more obvious during each point.
I will miss looking into your eyes when we lay down to sleep, I will miss how you get that little snort when you laugh, and how you go bright red when I mange to embarrass you.
Kelly & Leo: (KELLY whispers) You are perfection.
Kelly: Nearly 20 years I have been with you, you were my first love
Kelly & Leo: and you will always be my last, and only love
Kelly: I remember asking you out on our first date, I was so nervous. More nervous than I had EVER been. I only knew you through our Science lessons. I never really spoke to you before them, but my God I fancied the pants off you
KELLY laughs.
for months I dropped hint after hint, and I don’t think you picked any of them up. I even remember one time when I even wrote my phone number on a piece of paper and threw it at your head, you didn’t even read it, you just called the teacher over and got me into trouble. But yet I finally got to ask you on a date face to face, I was sure you were going to say no. But then you said
Kelly & Leo: (KELLY Whispers) Yes
Kelly: I had butterflies, and ever since then I’ve had them every single day. I will never forget that day, nor will I forget any of the memories I shared with you. Prom, when we jumped the gate at the Jacko concert because we were too broke to get in
KELLY laughs
and when I saved every single penny I had to take you across the world, and I promised you that it would last forever. But I will always remember
Kelly & Leo: October 21st 2004
Kelly: the day you made an honest man out of me, I didn’t want to turn around to see you walk down the aisle, but my God I’m glad I did, you were a picture of beauty, and what made it even better was knowing you would be mine, and knowing that I would wake up next to you every single morning, and go to sleep with you every single night.
Pause.
I need you to know though, that when we first met, it was like a light into my life, and I never thought that it would feel so right, but just because I’m no longer here, that doesn’t mean it has to feel like the light has dwindled. I will always be here for you Kels.
Pause.
It’s going to hurt and it won’t be easy, but I want you to know that I’m never far away.
KELLY looks around the room, a room that is filled with memories, then, carries on reading.
Kelly: If I could ask for anything, it would be that I could dance with you again. Just to be able to put on our song, and dance. Just you and me. I have left you a cd in the box on the desk
Pause.
Play it.
KELLY places the letter on the table, gets up and goes towards the desk. LEO follows her and stands to the side of the desk. KELLY picks up a wooden box, walks back to the sofa, sits down and places it on the table. She opens the box and starts to rummage-taking out notes and photos and finally finds a cd with the words ‘Dear Kelly, I love you, Leo’ written on it. KELLY reads out loud.
Kelly: Dear Kelly, I Love you, Leo
She takes the cd and box back to the desk and goes off stage to put the cd on. LEO has recorded a message for KELLY, it starts to play.
Leo: (Pre-recorded) Kelly, Whenever you’re missing me, feeling down, or just want to remember, play this cd. Its not a lot I know, but its so you know that I always will love you.
KELLY enters again walking backwards as the message plays. LEO follows once she is on stage and he is facing her. KELLY cannot see or feel LEO, but LEO can see and feel KELLY.
The song begins to play: ‘Too Lost in You‘
Kelly: (whispers) Our first dance
They start dancing. LEO watches her. They stop dancing and KELLY lingers in the space looking where LEO is, but just beyond him, as if she can sense that he is there. She slowly walks back to the sofa and carries on reading the rest of the letter. The song is still playing quietly in the background.
Kelly: You’re allowed to move on. It’s ok.
Pause.
Kelly & Leo: I’ll be here.
Kelly: Though I’m not physically here to hold your hand, or to kiss you goodnight, I will be there for you most when you need me, even if you feel like I’m not. I am
Pause.
You need to take your own time, but it’s ok if you want to throw out my favourite jumper, and even if you go out on my birthday this year, its ok, because I will be here. I don’t want you to cry and let life pass you by Kels, you’re still young.
Pause.
You have a life to live
Pause.
When times get hard, like when you start going back to the places that we went together, just think about me and the times that we had, not the times that we have lost. There is one thing which I feel like I need to say
Pause.
Kelly & Leo: I’m Sorry
Long Pause.
Kelly: I’m sorry that I could never give you what you fully wanted.
Pause.
A child.
Pause.
Sometimes I feel like I failed you.
KELLY begins to cry.
It’s a husband’s duty to ensure his wife gets everything that she wants. Yet I couldn’t do that. I’m sorry.
Long Pause.
You will move on from this pain, and when you do, I want you to start again. You always wanted a child, and just because my life has ended doesn’t mean that you have to cut your dreams short. You’re still young, and though you may not believe me now, there will be a time when you can take off my ring
Pause.
KELLY looks down at her wedding ring
Kelly: and you will let yourself smile. It’s ok to move on, because you will soon meet someone that is just as good as me, someone that makes you feel safe, secure and you’ll be happy with life. And I’ll still be here, and when he asks you to marry him, and you say yes, it’s ok Kelly.
Kelly & Leo: Because I will be the first one to say congratulations.
Kelly: and you can have the family that you always dreamed of. I don’t want to stop you from what you should be doing with your life. Enjoying it.
Pause.
I’ll be here. I love you
KELLY places the letter on the table; picks up the photo, and places her spare hand on her tummy maternally. LEO disappears into the background.
Fade to black.
End