Hungry Mouths to Feed

A miniature. Last edited April 16th, 2023.

Two trashcans with holes that are just big enough to allow for one arm to fit through them stand at the corner of the stage. There is a small door, just tall enough to fit a child to the left of the cans. A few items are scattered about the floor: A broom, a couple of empty cans of food, a box of pills, a chair, a piece of rope, and a dead rat. Molly Drake’s “I remember” plays in the background, slowed down and distorted.

MAN: Honey? No response. Louder. Darling? No response.

An old hand appears from the hole and stretches across to the other trashcan and taps it, first hesitantly, then with increasing force.

MAN: Honey! No response. Frustrated sigh from inside the trashcan. Slowly, the lid opens, and an old man’s head appears. HONEY!

The other trashcan trembles a little. A frustrated moan.

WOMAN, annoyed, mumbles: What? I’m sleeping.

MAN: Honey! What did you say?

WOMAN: I’m sleeping. What?

MAN: What? Honey, you have to speak louder I can’t hear you so well.

WOMAN: WHAT IS IT I AM SLEEPING?!

MAN: Oh, I’m sorry. I… go back to sleep, you need rest.

WOMAN groans frustratedly: Now I am awake. What do you want?

MAN: What did you say? It’s hard through the…

WOMAN: I’M AWAKE NOW WHAT DO YOU WANT? MAN: Oh. I was thinking about that summer we went hiking in the mountains. Do you remember?

WOMAN: Which summer?

MAN: When we went hiking. Remember?

The other lid is lifted slightly, just enough to see grey long hair shine through.

WOMAN, dryly: We went hiking every summer.

MAN: Yes. Yes, we did.

The lid closes. Silence.

MAN: But do you remember?

WOMAN: Remember what?

MAN: Honey it’s hard to understand you with the…

WOMAN: REMEMBER WHAT?

MAN: Oh. The hiking. Do you remember?

The lid opens, a little more this time.

WOMAN: Yes.

The lid closes.

MAN: Oh. Good. Good! He smiles. Quieter: I remember it too.

WOMAN: WHAT?

MAN: I SAID I REMEMBER IT TOO!

Silence.

MAN to himself: I remember us differently.

A moment of quiet.

His arm, which had been lost between the two trashcans for a while now, retracts and disappears. He smiles sadly and sighs, his head slowly disappears. Another moment of quiet.

The other lid slowly opens. The woman’s head is now fully visible. Her face is surprisingly youthful despite her age. Her eyes look suspiciously towards the other trashcan. The lid slowly drops backs down only to come back up, faster this time.

She looks towards the door and whistles, rather quietly. Nothing happens. She whistles again, slightly louder. Nothing.

WOMAN: Ksssss. Whistles again.

The door opens. CLOF crawls in, and stares at the WOMAN, visibly bothered.

WOMAN whispers: I’m hungry.

CLOF who hasn’t moved and is still on his knees in the doorway: I know. You’re always hungry. Either hungry or asleep. Scoffs.

WOMAN: I want a sandwich. Light on the mayo, with a nice piece of ham and some lettuce.

CLOF: No.

WOMAN: I’m hungry and I want a sandwich.

CLOF: We have no sandwiches.

WOMAN: I will have a Caesar salad instead, but I want the chicken grilled and not too much dressing and no croutons.

CLOF: No!

WOMAN startled by his voice, nervously looks over to the other trashcan. No movement. Relieved, she turns back towards CLOF and looks at him disapprovingly. I’m hungry.

CLOF: I know. There is no food.

WOMAN: We’re going to starve to death without food.

CLOF: I know. He leaves.

WOMAN looks at the door for a moment, then disappears in her can. A few moments later, her arm appears, with a spoon in hand. It slowly reaches across to the other trashcan. She hits the trashcan a few times. Nothing moves. She hits it again, with even greater force.

MAN: What! I’m sleeping!

WOMAN: There is no food.

MAN: What? I can’t hear you so well through…

WOMAN: THERE IS NO FOOD!

The MAN slowly appears, eyes half shut.

MAN: No food?

Her arm disappears slowly, and the other lid is lifted.

WOMAN: No food.

MAN shakes his head. That’s not good.

WOMAN: No.

MAN: Without food, we are going to starve to death.

WOMAN: Yes.

They are quiet for a moment.

The man whistles. No reaction. Louder. No reaction. Even louder.

CLOF appears in the door, on his knees, and looks at them.

MAN: We are hungry.

CLOF: I know. You’re either hungry or you’re sleeping.

MAN: Now we are hungry.

CLOF: There is no food.

MAN: Without food, we are going to starve to death.

CLOF: I know. He leaves. MAN: He left. Silence. Do you remember when we went hiking in the mountains? It was summer.

WOMAN sighs. She disappears.

MAN sighs. I remember us differently. Looks around. His eyes widen. His arm appears through the hole and taps the other trashcan. Honey? Quiet. Honey!

WOMAN appears.

MAN: Honey, the rat. He has not cleaned it up.

WOMAN nods. He has not.

MAN: How long has it been?

WOMAN shrugs. A day, at least?

They look at the rat.

MAN: How long have we been here for?

WOMAN shrugs. A day, at least? Probably much longer.

MAN nods. Much longer.

WOMAN: You were always so happy, hiking in the mountains.

MAN excited: You remember?

WOMAN: I remember.

MAN: Do you remember the views?

WOMAN: I remember.

MAN: Do you remember the springs?

WOMAN: I do.

MAN: Do you remember getting lost on our way back to town?

WOMAN: That, too.

MAN: We slept under a tree that night. WOMAN: We did.

MAN: It was cold.

WOMAN: It was.

MAN: We made love that night, did we not?

WOMAN: It was cold.

MAN: We warmed each other.

WOMAN: It was freezing.

MAN: We were hungry. We thought we might starve to death.

WOMAN: You loved hiking in the mountains.

MAN: I did.

WOMAN: You were not very good with maps.

MAN: I really wasn’t.

WOMAN: We got lost a lot.

MAN: A lot.

WOMAN: But you loved hiking in the mountains.

MAN: Loved it.

A moment of silence.

MAN looks at her: Darling, will you give me your hand?

WOMAN turns her head.

MAN: Please.

Her arm appears through the hole, spoon in hand. He grasps for it and catches the spoon.

MAN: Oh. He looks at their hands.

MAN to himself: I remember us differently. WOMAN: What?

MAN: Nothing, darling.

He grabs her spoon tighter.

CLOF enters on his knees. The rat. Is it still here?

MAN and WOMAN look at him.

WOMAN: Yes.

CLOF looks at the rat, hesitates. How long has it been there?

WOMAN: A day, at least.

CLOF: Hm.

MAN: At least a day. How long have we been here?

CLOF: Hm.

MAN: We are hungry.

CLOF: I know. There is no food.

WOMAN: We are going to starve to death without food.

CLOF: I know. He leaves.

WOMAN: I’m tired. I’m going to sleep a little. She withdraws the spoon from his grasp and disappears.

MAN: I remember us differently. I remember us going hiking in the summer. I remember the views and the springs. I remember getting lost on our way back to the village. I remember it was cold. I remember making love. I remember keeping warm. I remember the morning, the dew on the grass. I remember finding our way into town and the townspeople being worried and serving us a warm breakfast. I remember feeling alive that day. I remember holding hands and the wine we drank in the evening. I remember touching her hair and feeling her body rise towards mine. I remember her skin on my skin and touching her soft breasts. I remember her tongue touching my belly button and I remember her in… He has been talking more excitedly with each sentence. WOMAN: I’M TRYING TO SLEEP!

MAN to himself. I remember us differently. Moment of quiet. I feel tired. I’m going to sleep.

Lid closes over his head.

CLOF enters. He looks at the trash can and takes a breath to say something, then changes his mind. He crawls towards the rat and looks at it incredulously. He bends down and sniffs it, recoils with disgust on his face. He looks at it a little longer. Then swiftly puts it in a small bag he brought with him. He quietly crawls backwards and leaves. The door falls shut.

WOMAN: WHAT!?

Quiet.

WOMAN appears, only the top of her head visible. WHAT?

MAN: I’m trying to sleep!

WOMAN: Why can’t you try to sleep quieter!

MAN: What? I have a hard time hearing you when the lid…

WOMAN with a dramatic sigh, disappears.

MAN lifts the lid, looks toward the other trash can. Honey what is it? I was trying to sleep!

No reaction.

MAN to himself: I remember us differently. Quiet. I feel tired. I’m going to try and sleep.

Slowly disappears. A few moments of quiet.

CLOF enters on his knees, one bowl in hand. He clears his throat. Again. No reaction. He knocks on the woman’s trash can which stands closer to the door. Nothing. He knocks again.

WOMAN stretching each word: I AM TRYING TO SLEEP!

MAN: What!? WOMAN: I AM SLEEPING!

CLOF: I brought food.

MAN not understanding: What!?

WOMAN appears quickly. What?

CLOF: I brought food.

MAN appears. What?

CLOF puts the bowl in the middle of the two trashcans. Both heads disappear. The WOMAN’s spoon appears immediately, scooping a large piece, disappearing quickly, and appearing again. Meanwhile, another spoon appears from the other side, scooping a piece only after the WOMAN’s spoon has been filled up again. CLOF watches quietly. The bowl is emptied very quickly.

Both heads appear at the same time.

MAN: I was hungry.

CLOF: You’re always hungry.

WOMAN: Or you’re sleeping.

MAN shrugs. I guess so. He smiles. Honey, do you remember the breakfast when we found our way back to town in the morning? The townspeople were very worried about us.

WOMAN: I remember.

CLOF takes the bowl.

MAN to CLOF: How long have we been here?

CLOF: I don’t remember.

MAN: A day, at least.

CLOF: At least a day. He glances over towards the empty spot where the rat used to be.

MAN: I figure it’s been more than a day.

CLOF sways his head. I figure it has been. MAN: I remember the summers and going hiking in the mountains. The views were something else. Were they not, honey?

WOMAN: I feel tired. I did not enjoy the meal. Not enough salt.

CLOF nods. There is no salt.

WOMAN: It’s impossible to make a good meal without salt.

CLOF nods. It is.

WOMAN: I used to make fantastic lamb stew.

MAN beams: I remember! Most Sundays. Except when we went hiking in the mountains.

WOMAN: We had no stove.

MAN: I remember. We did not have a stove. We relied on the townspeople to make our meals. We had some fantastic meals in that town. Do you remember, honey?

WOMAN: This one didn’t have enough salt.

CLOF: We have not had salt for a long time.

MAN: How long has it been?

CLOF: I don’t know.

MAN: A long time.

CLOF: Hm.

WOMAN: It’s impossible to make a good meal without salt.

CLOF: I need to clean the house. He crawls towards the broom, takes it under his arm and crawls backwards. Leaves.

MAN and WOMAN look at each other.

MAN: Honey, you are right.

WOMAN: About what?

MAN: The salt. It wasn’t enough. WOMAN: There is no salt.

MAN: It’s impossible to make a good meal without salt.

WOMAN: It is.

MAN: You used to make fantastic lamb stew.

WOMAN: I feel very tired. I will go to sleep.

MAN: Honey, give me your hand. A short pause. Please.

WOMAN’s hand grasping the spoon appears. The MAN’s hand appears and takes it, only finding the spoon. They remain like this for a moment.

MAN: I feel very tired also. We should go to sleep.

WOMAN: We should. It must be late.

MAN: Must be. Honey? Quiet. Did you enjoy the summers hiking in the mountains?

WOMAN: I feel very tired. We should go to sleep.

MAN: We should. Pause. Honey? I loved the summers hiking in the mountains.

WOMAN: You loved it.

MAN: Goodnight, dear.

WOMAN: Goodnight.

First their heads, then their hands disappear.

It is quiet for a little bit. The door opens.

CLOF crawls in with a broom and sweeps the cans of food, the pills, and the piece of rope into a trash bag. He crawls backwards, trash bag in hand and broom under his arm.

It is quiet for a little bit. The door opens.

CLOF crawls in and fetches the chair, crawls backwards and stops halfway. He looks behind him, at the trash cans. He crawls out but leaves the door open. A moment later, he appears again. He crawls towards the MAN’s trash can and lifts the lid and looks inside. He closes the lid. He inspects the WOMAN’s trashcan in the same way. He turns around. He nods to himself. He leaves.

Fin