[SCENE] Pearl and Morgan in "Love You Forever"
Morgue: *From the moment she woke up on Mother's Day, every fraction of every second Morgan spent looking forward to the visit her daughter had promised her, so by the time a guard finally came to fetch her at eleven, it felt like an eternity had passed*
Morgue: *She rushes ahead of the guard, and is pulled back by the slower, short-legged man for her troubles, but at last, at long last, they reach the visitation room where her baby is waiting*
Pearl: *Pearl is sitting in the chair, kicking her legs with a nervousness that she can almost pretend is excitement, and she gives a wan smile as she sees her mother's familiar hair approach. She steps down off the chair and stands as her mother enters.* Good morning, mother. *she says with a respectful bow*
Morgue: *Her throat is tight, and so the words come out hoarsely* My darling Pearl... *She sweeps up to the girl, and throws her arms about her with abandon*
Pearl: *Pearl smiles and wraps her arms around her mother, hooking her fingers into the obi in the way she always used to... But now it's so much lower than she remembered it from before... She's tall enough now to lay her head on her mother's chest.* Mother... *She murmurs*
Morgue: *Morgan cranes her neck to kiss the top of the girl's head* My angel, my precious Pearl. *She nuzzles the crown of her head* It is wonderful to see you again, my dear. It seems you've grown so much this month...
Pearl: *She looks up at her mother.* Really? I guess I don't notice... *She sighs and tightens her arms around her mother. The familiar scents of incense and tea are still there, though there's a clinical and unsettling undertone of prison present.* How are you feeling, mother?
Morgue: But you are, my dear. You are getting so tall-- and your hair! *She gently strokes the bangs that have grown to her chin* Perhaps another style might incorporate this, to keep it off your face... *shakes her head, shaking off these petty concerns* But I am well, my dear, very well, now that you are here.
Pearl: *She smiles humbly* I am glad to hear that, mother. I brought you matcha, just as I said I would! *she breaks away from her mother and retrieves the brick of powdered green tea, handing it to her mother with both hands.* You needed some, right?
Morgue: *She smiles a smile that seems wider than her entire face* You are so thoughtful, my child. I do enjoy my tea. *She takes the brick, and sets it aside again as she sits in one of the available chairs* But not as much as I enjoy you. My baby...
Pearl: *She smiles that same small, humble smile.* Thank you, mother. I'm sorry I haven't visited. I have not been able to come to the city recently.
Morgue: *Her smile softens* It's all right, my darling. It is a long trip to make all by yourself, and I know you have responsibilities at home you must see to yourself. How is your training coming-- your lessons-- your reading? Sit down, and tell me all that I've missed.
Pearl: Oh, um! My training is going as- as usual. *A brief, avoidant look, and she presses on* And I've been reading quite a lot! Um, I can read long books now. *she gives a shy smile.* Like, chapter books.
Morgue: *She seems overwhelmed by this news, and her hand flutters to her mouth* Why, that's wonderful progress, my dear. Truly wonderful. Did-- did you bring any to read to me?
Pearl: Oh! I brought a book to read but it's not a chapter book. That would take too long, right?
Morgue: *She bites her lip, seeming to think better than to disagree that the length of time it would take to read a chapter book would be just dandy* I suppose you're right, my darling. What did you bring, then?
Pearl: *She's suddenly worried it was the wrong choice, but she reaches into her bag and pulls out a children's book, Love You Forever.* You said some lines from this book when I visited last time... I thought I should bring it this time. *She tilts her head.*
Morgue: *She blinks rapidly, trying to hold back tears* That... that would be perfect to read to me on this day of all days, my baby. Come, sit with me...
Pearl: *Pearl jumps down with the book, climbing into her mother's lap. Suddenly she's worried.* I'm not too heavy, am I? Now that I'm bigger?
Morgue: *Now the tears shine in her eyes* As long as I'm living, my baby you'll be. *She wraps her arms around her overgrown baby, and nestles her chin on her shoulder*
Pearl: *Pearl's eyes sting, both at the dearly missed affection from her mother and at the bittersweet feelings that accompany it. She swallows the lump in her throat.* I-I can read it, all right, mother? I'll read it to you.
Morgue: That's just perfect, my darling. *sighs happily, although there are still tears in her eyes that make the page in her daughter's lap blurry*
Pearl: O-Okay. *She steels herself and starts reading in a calm voice, bolstered by the feeling of her mother's steady breath next to her.* "A mother held her new baby and very slowly rocked him back and forth, back and forth, back and forth."
Pearl: "And while she held him, she sang:" *Pearl makes up the tune as she goes, it's just a childish little ditty, perhaps closer to a mournful japanese koto than the kind of music that your average child would hear.* "I'll love you forever, I'll like you for always, as long as I'm living, my baby you'll be...."
Morgue: *The tears pooled in her eyes slide down her face as the verse begins, and she draws her arms about Pearl as if cradling her-- carefully, so as not to disrupt her reading*
Pearl: *She concentrates hard on her reading, so hard that she hardly feels the need to cry, even as she gets through the part where the two-year-old son is driving the mother crazy, and she's reminded of the stories her mother used to tell about her, even as the boy gets to 9 years old, and she feels a pang of pain as she remembers how her mother wasn't there...*
Morgue: *A soft, mewling keen emanates from the back of her throat, and she leans into her daughter, and leans back as if rocking her little nine-year-old-- but the baby in her lap is almost a preteen now*
Pearl: *The boy grows through the story, becoming a teen, and though Pearl has very little concept of what that's like... she's reasonably sure her mother won't be there, either. He becomes an adult, and his mother grows old... And she calls him to her bedside as she lay ill and dying.* "The-the mother tried to sing the song... She said, *she sings, again* 'I'll love you forever... I'll like you... for always...' But she, um, she was too old and sick to finish." *Pearl pauses, looking down at the book in silence for a moment.*
Pearl: "So the son went to the mommy and he picked her up and rocked her, back and forth, back and forth, back and forth and he sang. *She sings again, but this time it's low and more mournful than ever.* "I'll love you forever... I'll like you for always... As- as long as I'm living... my mommy you'll b- b-" *Her voice hadn't earlier betrayed the emotions inside her, but she can't finish the final sentence of the song. Her voice cracks and she swallows and drops the book, wrapping her arms around her mother's neck and crying silently.*
Morgue: *Tears are flowing freely down her cheeks now, and she tightens her arms around her baby-- and with an effort she warbles* "I'll-- I'll love you forever, I'll like you for always... As long as I'm living my baby you'll be..."
Pearl: *She whispers into her mother's ear as she cries.* I'm sorry mother, I really do love you. I'm sorry...
Morgue: *She nuzzles her damp cheek against her daughter's* I never doubted it for a moment, my darling. *One little white lie for her baby* I love you, too...
Pearl: *A sob and a sigh at the same time.* I know... I know that... I just... *She cuts herself off. Today is her mother's day. Pearl had resolved that as a gift to her, she would not talk about the events of the past few years that had caused their relationship to be so strained. She just sighs and squeezes her mother's neck gently.* Happy mother's day. *she whispers.*
Morgue: *She rubs Pearl's back gently, and presses her face into her shoulder to dab away the last of her tears* Thank you, my baby girl... You were the best Mother's Day present I could ask for... *She rocks again, humming tunelessly*
Pearl: *She nods against her mother's kimono. When she speaks, her voice is stronger and more focused.* Okay. I'm gonna hug you for a while, mother. Then I'll stay as long as you want me to.
Morgue: *She heaves a contented, closed-mouthed sigh in the midst of her hum, and smiles tenderly* The best Mother's Day present I could ask for, my dear...
Pearl: *She nods and continues to hug her mother... Deep in her heart she's happy to see her mother happy, and though a part of her is conflicted, she shoves that part away and replaces it with the nostalgia she has being able to hold her mother again. Thinking about that would be... the only word she can come up with is oyafukou, the translation of which escapes her for the moment. If she felt comfortable thinking it over she would remember the closest translation: lack of filial piety.*
Pearl: *She holds her mother until even the air conditioning in the room can't keep the two of them from being overwarm, at which point they part and Pearl recounts stories of her week spending time with her friend Trucy, carefully glossing over her last name and the name of her father.*
Morgue: *She listens with rapt attention to the stories of her daughter's life outside the prison, drinking it all in like a thick, bitter matcha to savour. She lets her talk and talk and talk, content to let it go on forever, but the guard interrupts at the end of visiting hours. With one last embrace, rocking on the balls of her feet this time, Morgan reluctantly parts from her daughter and returns to her cell.*
Morgue: *She rushes ahead of the guard, and is pulled back by the slower, short-legged man for her troubles, but at last, at long last, they reach the visitation room where her baby is waiting*
Pearl: *Pearl is sitting in the chair, kicking her legs with a nervousness that she can almost pretend is excitement, and she gives a wan smile as she sees her mother's familiar hair approach. She steps down off the chair and stands as her mother enters.* Good morning, mother. *she says with a respectful bow*
Morgue: *Her throat is tight, and so the words come out hoarsely* My darling Pearl... *She sweeps up to the girl, and throws her arms about her with abandon*
Pearl: *Pearl smiles and wraps her arms around her mother, hooking her fingers into the obi in the way she always used to... But now it's so much lower than she remembered it from before... She's tall enough now to lay her head on her mother's chest.* Mother... *She murmurs*
Morgue: *Morgan cranes her neck to kiss the top of the girl's head* My angel, my precious Pearl. *She nuzzles the crown of her head* It is wonderful to see you again, my dear. It seems you've grown so much this month...
Pearl: *She looks up at her mother.* Really? I guess I don't notice... *She sighs and tightens her arms around her mother. The familiar scents of incense and tea are still there, though there's a clinical and unsettling undertone of prison present.* How are you feeling, mother?
Morgue: But you are, my dear. You are getting so tall-- and your hair! *She gently strokes the bangs that have grown to her chin* Perhaps another style might incorporate this, to keep it off your face... *shakes her head, shaking off these petty concerns* But I am well, my dear, very well, now that you are here.
Pearl: *She smiles humbly* I am glad to hear that, mother. I brought you matcha, just as I said I would! *she breaks away from her mother and retrieves the brick of powdered green tea, handing it to her mother with both hands.* You needed some, right?
Morgue: *She smiles a smile that seems wider than her entire face* You are so thoughtful, my child. I do enjoy my tea. *She takes the brick, and sets it aside again as she sits in one of the available chairs* But not as much as I enjoy you. My baby...
Pearl: *She smiles that same small, humble smile.* Thank you, mother. I'm sorry I haven't visited. I have not been able to come to the city recently.
Morgue: *Her smile softens* It's all right, my darling. It is a long trip to make all by yourself, and I know you have responsibilities at home you must see to yourself. How is your training coming-- your lessons-- your reading? Sit down, and tell me all that I've missed.
Pearl: Oh, um! My training is going as- as usual. *A brief, avoidant look, and she presses on* And I've been reading quite a lot! Um, I can read long books now. *she gives a shy smile.* Like, chapter books.
Morgue: *She seems overwhelmed by this news, and her hand flutters to her mouth* Why, that's wonderful progress, my dear. Truly wonderful. Did-- did you bring any to read to me?
Pearl: Oh! I brought a book to read but it's not a chapter book. That would take too long, right?
Morgue: *She bites her lip, seeming to think better than to disagree that the length of time it would take to read a chapter book would be just dandy* I suppose you're right, my darling. What did you bring, then?
Pearl: *She's suddenly worried it was the wrong choice, but she reaches into her bag and pulls out a children's book, Love You Forever.* You said some lines from this book when I visited last time... I thought I should bring it this time. *She tilts her head.*
Morgue: *She blinks rapidly, trying to hold back tears* That... that would be perfect to read to me on this day of all days, my baby. Come, sit with me...
Pearl: *Pearl jumps down with the book, climbing into her mother's lap. Suddenly she's worried.* I'm not too heavy, am I? Now that I'm bigger?
Morgue: *Now the tears shine in her eyes* As long as I'm living, my baby you'll be. *She wraps her arms around her overgrown baby, and nestles her chin on her shoulder*
Pearl: *Pearl's eyes sting, both at the dearly missed affection from her mother and at the bittersweet feelings that accompany it. She swallows the lump in her throat.* I-I can read it, all right, mother? I'll read it to you.
Morgue: That's just perfect, my darling. *sighs happily, although there are still tears in her eyes that make the page in her daughter's lap blurry*
Pearl: O-Okay. *She steels herself and starts reading in a calm voice, bolstered by the feeling of her mother's steady breath next to her.* "A mother held her new baby and very slowly rocked him back and forth, back and forth, back and forth."
Pearl: "And while she held him, she sang:" *Pearl makes up the tune as she goes, it's just a childish little ditty, perhaps closer to a mournful japanese koto than the kind of music that your average child would hear.* "I'll love you forever, I'll like you for always, as long as I'm living, my baby you'll be...."
Morgue: *The tears pooled in her eyes slide down her face as the verse begins, and she draws her arms about Pearl as if cradling her-- carefully, so as not to disrupt her reading*
Pearl: *She concentrates hard on her reading, so hard that she hardly feels the need to cry, even as she gets through the part where the two-year-old son is driving the mother crazy, and she's reminded of the stories her mother used to tell about her, even as the boy gets to 9 years old, and she feels a pang of pain as she remembers how her mother wasn't there...*
Morgue: *A soft, mewling keen emanates from the back of her throat, and she leans into her daughter, and leans back as if rocking her little nine-year-old-- but the baby in her lap is almost a preteen now*
Pearl: *The boy grows through the story, becoming a teen, and though Pearl has very little concept of what that's like... she's reasonably sure her mother won't be there, either. He becomes an adult, and his mother grows old... And she calls him to her bedside as she lay ill and dying.* "The-the mother tried to sing the song... She said, *she sings, again* 'I'll love you forever... I'll like you... for always...' But she, um, she was too old and sick to finish." *Pearl pauses, looking down at the book in silence for a moment.*
Pearl: "So the son went to the mommy and he picked her up and rocked her, back and forth, back and forth, back and forth and he sang. *She sings again, but this time it's low and more mournful than ever.* "I'll love you forever... I'll like you for always... As- as long as I'm living... my mommy you'll b- b-" *Her voice hadn't earlier betrayed the emotions inside her, but she can't finish the final sentence of the song. Her voice cracks and she swallows and drops the book, wrapping her arms around her mother's neck and crying silently.*
Morgue: *Tears are flowing freely down her cheeks now, and she tightens her arms around her baby-- and with an effort she warbles* "I'll-- I'll love you forever, I'll like you for always... As long as I'm living my baby you'll be..."
Pearl: *She whispers into her mother's ear as she cries.* I'm sorry mother, I really do love you. I'm sorry...
Morgue: *She nuzzles her damp cheek against her daughter's* I never doubted it for a moment, my darling. *One little white lie for her baby* I love you, too...
Pearl: *A sob and a sigh at the same time.* I know... I know that... I just... *She cuts herself off. Today is her mother's day. Pearl had resolved that as a gift to her, she would not talk about the events of the past few years that had caused their relationship to be so strained. She just sighs and squeezes her mother's neck gently.* Happy mother's day. *she whispers.*
Morgue: *She rubs Pearl's back gently, and presses her face into her shoulder to dab away the last of her tears* Thank you, my baby girl... You were the best Mother's Day present I could ask for... *She rocks again, humming tunelessly*
Pearl: *She nods against her mother's kimono. When she speaks, her voice is stronger and more focused.* Okay. I'm gonna hug you for a while, mother. Then I'll stay as long as you want me to.
Morgue: *She heaves a contented, closed-mouthed sigh in the midst of her hum, and smiles tenderly* The best Mother's Day present I could ask for, my dear...
Pearl: *She nods and continues to hug her mother... Deep in her heart she's happy to see her mother happy, and though a part of her is conflicted, she shoves that part away and replaces it with the nostalgia she has being able to hold her mother again. Thinking about that would be... the only word she can come up with is oyafukou, the translation of which escapes her for the moment. If she felt comfortable thinking it over she would remember the closest translation: lack of filial piety.*
Pearl: *She holds her mother until even the air conditioning in the room can't keep the two of them from being overwarm, at which point they part and Pearl recounts stories of her week spending time with her friend Trucy, carefully glossing over her last name and the name of her father.*
Morgue: *She listens with rapt attention to the stories of her daughter's life outside the prison, drinking it all in like a thick, bitter matcha to savour. She lets her talk and talk and talk, content to let it go on forever, but the guard interrupts at the end of visiting hours. With one last embrace, rocking on the balls of her feet this time, Morgan reluctantly parts from her daughter and returns to her cell.*