SCENE 9: THE FORD FALCON AGAIN

(MILICOS usher blindfolded NARRATORS and NAOMI On¬
stage, herding them towards the Ford Falcon. The
NARRATORS mutter among themselves.)
NARRATORS: What's happening?
Where are we going?
Can you see anything?
Are they going to kill us?
If you get transferred, then they kill you.
If you spend a night on the first floor, they let you go.
Is this a transfer?
I've never been on the first floor!
It's all lies.
Happened to my first cellmate that way.
Hush! (MILICOS frisk them, shove them into the Ford
Falcon. They stick out of the windows and doors in every
which way. Then MILICOS stand next to the Falcon, holding
on to doors or windows or whatever is available, as if they
were riding on the running boards. Sound of the Falcon
starting up and driving off. MILICOS stare ahead as if
watching the road.)
Where're we going?
Can anybody see?
What is it? What is it? (NAOMI peeks beneath her blindfold
and narrates what she sees.)

NAOMI: We're downtown, I don't recognize it. My god, the
buildings, they cast such shadows! I'd forgotten about
sunlight and shadows

NARRATORS: Cut the poetry, where're we going?
NAOMI: I don't know, away from town. Smaller houses, dirt
streets, empty, it's all empty. Like an empty movie lot, far, from town.
NARRATORS: They're going to execute us, I knew it.
Shut up!
They could have done that a hundred times already.
Wait!
What're we stopping for? (MILICOS dismount the Ford.)
NAOMI: It's an intersection.
MILICOS: (To NAOMI) You! Back in! (MILICOS pull one male out
of Falcon.) Move it! (The MAN does not understand. Perhaps
he thinks he is standing before a firing squad.) Don't try to be
clever, asshole. (He walks a few steps forward, blindfolded,
lost.) Start walking, you moron, or do you want to stay with
us forever? (He is paralyzed by doubt, by fear.)
Give me that gun and I'll blow him away for being such a jerk.
C'mon, hurry up, we got lots more cargo to dump off.
All right, buddy, count to a hundred and then take off the blindfold.
If you do it before then, you're dead meat, you hear?
(MILICOS remount and the Ford Falcon roars away.)
NARRATORS: They just left him.
They're releasing us!
(A wave of excitement passes through the NARRATORS.)
Don't jinx it!
Shh.
Hush! (In silence the act is repeated - MILICOS dismount,
pull someone from Falcon, push them away; remount and
the sound of the car pulling away is all we hear. The released
PRISONERS stagger Off-stage. The procedure is repeated
until only NAOMI remains in the Ford Falcon. She has put
the blindfold back on, but leans her head out to breathe the
fresh air.)
NAOMI: Finally it's my turn. I feel the air on my face for the
first time. It's like being born again. I don't believe it - I
keep waiting for the electricity, the gunshot, the sound
and wind to disappear forever. (Once more, MILICOS
dismount. They pull NAOMI from Ford, push her Center
Stage, remount and stare straight ahead as sound of Ford
Falcon departing fills the theatre. It takes a long time to fade
to silence.)
The door opened and the street rescued me. The howl
of the engine trails off and I start counting out loud,
gulping in breaths of fresh air. I follow the instructions
scrupulously. 98, 99, 100. (She removes the blindfold, looks
about in both fear and wonder.)

Balconies hide whispers and shadows,
Secret pulsings throng the porches.

Three messages slice the streets:
Forbidden.
Will die.
From now on.

Clocks are set, peepholes spy, corners tremble.
Solemn and armed, bloody honors march by.
Meanwhile in secret and fleeting encounters, shy
crannies raise their voices.
The mercury street lamps blind me. I have to open my
eyes slowly to get used to the glare. I'm in an old
neighborhood, not my own, but it looks familiar. High
sidewalks as a precaution against floods, cobblestone
streets, a little sidestreet celebrated in tangos, and the
river. It's La Boca. La Boca. Mouth of the river, mouth of
hope and freedom, my mouth, daring me to speak.

I am Naomi!
Can you hear me?
NAOMI!
(A POLICEMAN enters.)
POLICE: Heh! (NAOMI starts to panic.)
NAOMI: Oh god no, I just - you can't!
POLICE: Your ID.
NAOMI: I don't have it.
POLICE: Don't you know it's forbidden to go without it?
NAOMI: Yessir, but ... they kept it.
POLICE: Someone took your ID?
NAOMI: Yes - no - I mean ...
POLICE: Do you want to report it stolen? If you do, you have to
pay.
NAOMI: No, no. I know I should have it. I just ...
POLICE: Forgot it? Don't worry, just don't do it again. Okay?
You might end up at the station. (POLICE exits. Other
NARRATORS enter and move about stage like residents of
the neighborhood. They cross paths with NAOMI, perhaps
even bump into her in their haste. She studies their faces.)