Scene—in a den off the living room
Characters
Abby—a wife of thirty
Dunwood:—a husband of thirty
Belinda:—daughter of ten
Abby: "Are you sure, Belinda, you saw a zebra?"
Belinda: "He was white and black."
A: "But are you sure he was a zebra?"
Dunwoody: "You know how it is, especially with Belinda..."
A: "After all I went through to have her."
D: "I got her for you."
A: "Please speak in whispers. I thought you felt the same."
D: "With all the danger,she came out alright."
A: "Until lately. Belinda is acting strangely."
D: "Not only her. Lock us all up before he harms us, or lulls us to kill."
A: "Zebras do not kill except for food."
D: "But if they are desperate, wild animals kill at will."
A: "Domestic humans too."
D: "I do not want to call the police. We would have to get a restraining order."
A: "We are used to that."
B: "You believe me, don't you?"
D: "Sure we do."
A: "I wish she would tell us a bit more. We don't know a thing about zebras."
D: "Was the zebra more white than black? More girl than boy?"
A: "Why are you so prejudiced?"
D: "I don't have a prejudiced bone in my body."
A: "The police will have an inquiry, and they may ask for a description."
D: "That's why I asked, Abby. You're so up tight, so middle class. If it involves color
or sex the cops and law folks will query us."
A: "We haven't done any wrong."
D: "You don't understand."
A: "I want to understand this zebra, why he is here in our backyard."
D: "Do you really care?"
A: "Well if it 's about our safety, our social security, Dunwood..."
D: "All you care about is the neighbors."
A: "We've given them an earful for years."
D: "Can you imagine if this gets out that we're hiding or God forbid, raising a zebra.
It's your imaginary world, an escape. Again. Magical thinking,that's all."
A: "I know he's here."
D: "It's those mediums that got you into trances and before that hallucinations and
before that visions until we got you into hypnosis. At that point they took away the
lock and keys."
A: "I was so worried about getting Belinda."
D: "You still frighten me."
A: "The walls have ears."
D: "Take the pills, Abby."
A: "Only as a last resort."
A zebra runs on stage
A: "I believe I just saw him."
B: "Me too."
D: "You should be in bed, both of you."
A: "As if there is any pleasure there."
B: "You love me too?"
A: "Every mother loves her child."
D: "Not yours. Grandmother Gretta was a witch. She locked you up in the closet
when I was courting you."
A: "Don't start. She warned me about you."
D: "I wish someone had warned us all, even about zebras that suddenly come into
our lives."
B: "He or she is beautiful, daddy."
D: "But isn't it dangerous for us having a zebra in such close living quarters? He
probably escaped from the zoo."
A: "Dunwood. He's more afraid of you than we are of him."
D: "I wish I had a big tranquilizer gun."
A: "I could use one myself."
D: "Can you imagine the local reporters,the teachers, social workers, the cops, the
pols., the animal and nature lovers telling stories with pictures on us."
A: "He just might be visiting or he's a sign to us."
D: "A sign for what?"
A: "Not to be prejudiced. Well he is both black and white."
D: "What's skin color to with it anything. Kumbaya?"
A: "I know we have a soul and are more than our skin or skin color, spots or
stripes."
D: "Don't go religious on me. They're going to skin us alive if they find out."
B: "Daddy."
D: "Go to sleep, that's the only time I know Belinda that you're safe these days and
on good behavior."
A: "Maybe he will talk to me or assure me."
Noise in the background.
D: "We all want him free in the wilds not locked in walls."
B: "I named him Zeek."
D: "I hear noises outside. I hope there is no arranged posse or outstanding warrant
we do not know about."
A: "You have threatened others with it. We have isolated since we all work from
home and have home schooling."
D: "It's for our own protection I told you."
B: "I will miss Zeek."
A knocking on the door. Cameras are seen.
A: "It will become a jungle with the press and media around here."
B: "Poor Zeek."
B.Z. Niditch is a poet, playwright, fiction writer and teacher. His work is widely published in journals and magazines throughout the world, including Columbia: A Magazine of Poetry and Art, The Literary Review, Denver Quarterly, Hawaii Review, Le Guepard (France), Kadmos (France), Prism International, Jejune (Czech Republic), Leopold Bloom (Budapest), Antioch Review, and Prairie Schooner, among others. He lives in Brookline, Massachusetts.
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