The Secrets of the World by Evelyn Jean Pine revOct2010 · TIFF (LZW) decompressor are needed to...

THE SECRETS OF THE WORLD

A full-length play By Evelyn Jean Pine “The art of navigation incites those who follow it to learn the secrets of the world." -- Christopher Columbus

c All Rights Reserved 2008

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THE SECRETS OF THE WORLD

CAST OF CHARACTERS 7 W, 8 M

(or 3 W, 5 M with double casting.)

Karaya 35, female, Taino Indian. Baptized

– eventually –- As “Maria.” Queen Isabella 41, female, Spanish Monarch. King Ferdinand 40, male, Isabella’s husband. The Cacique 55, male, Taino Indian Monarch. Macana 35, male, Taino Indian. KARAYA’s

husband. His skin is scabby and diseased and gets more so throughout the play. Baptized as “Don Juan de Castile.”

Carey 20, male, Taino Indian. Baptized

as “Diego Colon.” Guamo 25, male, Taino Indian. Baptized as

“Joseph of Aragon.” The Virgin Mary Ageless, As in renaissance

paintings. Christopher Columbus 42, male, tall, distinguished. Attabey Ageless, Woman of the Waters in

Taino Mythology. Until Scene 13, a baby eternally emerges from her thighs.

Fortune Teller Female, poorly dressed. Leda A maid Bombastus An alchemist Geber An alchemist Voice of a Page Cheers of a thrilled crowd. SUGGESTIONS FOR DOUBLE-CASTING THE CACIQUE, FERDINAND MACANA, BOMBASTUS CAREY, GEBER THE VIRGIN MARY, FORTUNE TELLER, LEDA QUEEN ISABELLA, ATTABEY

TIME & SETTING 1492 until 1504. The court of Ferdinand and Isabella, their private apartment, the Island of Guanahani, the pier at

Cadiz in Spain, on a ship in the Atlantic ocean, a room in a monastery, an alchemists workshop, a trail in the Mountains, and Columbus’s final home outside of Valladoid, Spain.

ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS The Secrets of the World was commissioned and originally developed by Playground, James A. Kleinmann, Artistic Director. Playground’s dramaturg, Sonia Fernandez, and playwright Brian Thorstenson were both instrumental in its development.

PRODUCTION HISTORY Playground presented a staged reading of The Secrets of the World, directed by Jon Tracy, on May 18, 2008 at the Thick House in San Francisco. Tracy Ward directed a staged reading of the play on March 13, 14, 15, 2009 at El Teatro de la Esperanza as part of the SFSU Greenhouse Festival.

PRODUCTION NOTES Each scene, with the exception of the prologue, is introduced by its title. This introduction of each scene can be accomplished by displaying, projecting or announcing the scene’s title. Nonetheless, the scenes should run together as if in a dream or a myth. It is not necessary (though certainly acceptable) to costume this play in period dress. One might, on the other hand, use contemporary dress: for example, Isabelle and Ferdinand might be wearing cocktail party duds and the Indians business suits, etc. But it must be clear when Guamo, Carey, and Karaya take on European clothes. As long as that rule is followed, costume is a production design choice.

PLAYWRIGHT’S NOTE ON SOURCES The Taino myths are adapted from Antonio M. Stevens-Arroyo’s Cave of the Jagua which explores the Taino myths collected by Friar Ramon Pane during Columbus’s second voyage. Online links to contemporary Taino Tribes include: http://www.indio.net/aymaco/ and http://www.taino-tribe.org/jatiboni.html. The dialogue in Scene Six is, in part, edited dialogue from The Discovery of the New World by Christopher Columbus by Lope De Vega (1604). The words to Columbus’s song are traditional; the words to Carey’s version are mine.

The Secrets of the World Page 1 of 79

PROLOGUE (Out of the darkness, we hear the

ringing of a brass hawk’s bell and, then, the voice of KARAYA.)

THE VOICE OF KARAYA. Long, long ago, the ancient bloody one dies as she gives

birth. So they slit open her stomach and pull out four

mewling babies, all twins. The first-born is named “The

Scabby One” because of his rough skin. One day, when their

father, YaYa, is away, the four twins are very hungry.

Without their father’s permission, they climb onto the roof

where he has hung a gourd full of fish. The twins reach in

and stuff their mouths until they hear their father’s

footsteps. They try to put the gourd back, but it tumbles

and cracks. Out pours water, fishes, dolphins, and

manatees. So much water, it covers almost all the land. To

escape their father’s fury, the four twins climb into the

broken gourd and paddle down from the sky. You see? They

are explorers. Like Marco Polo. Ibn Battuta. Christopher

Columbus.

SCENE ONE “God Rewards Our Piety,” the Alcazar, Cordoba, Spain, March

1492.


(After dismissing Christopher COLUMBUS, who proposed the Royals support his exploration of the western oceans to find trade routes to China and India, ISABELLA and FERDINAND have retired to their quarters. COLUMBUS has left the Alcazar only moments before to head to France to sell his proposal to the king there. FERDINAND is playful, pleased they finally made their decision, but aware his wife is intrigued by COLUMBUS’s proposal and might feel disappointed.)

(LIGHTS UP on FERDINAND, who looks

out at the audience, speaking, as if to Columbus.)

FERDINAND. “Christopher Columbus, we appreciated once again having the opportunity to consider your proposal. We respect you and all the assistance you have given us over the years. And we find the idea of discovering new trade routes

(As FERDINAND speaks, LIGHTS UP on Isabella, who sews.)

to China and India very intriguing, but frankly, for us, it is just too expensive, difficult to replicate and scale, and a bit too (Looks at Isabella, trying to get her to laugh.) whack. “

(ISABELLA ignores him, sews.)


Isabella, we HAD to send him away. Maybe you can sail west and land in India. In fact, I believe you could. Who doesn’t? In theory. But sunken ships are worth nothing. Even Portugal wouldn’t go for this scheme, and with his slave trade he has become a formidable philanthropic force. I don’t want to spend our money on misadventure or even spices and silks. We must never forget our mission: Our money -- and I know the Pope agrees with me on this -- is to be used for the One True Church. Besides, Isabella, your legacy will not be trade or exploration. You will be known as the great queen who vanquished the infidel by sewing her husband’s shirts.

(ISABELLA jabs her thumb with the needle.) ISABELLA.

Ow! FERDINAND. What did you do?

(FERDINAND goes over to her and takes her hand. She pulls it away. He takes it again. She pulls it away. He takes it a third time. She looks at him. He puts her thumb in his mouth and sucks on the blood. After a moment, she strokes his hair. )

ISABELLA.

Our mission: the glory of God. All to the One True Faith. Didn’t Columbus say as he stood before us: (As Columbus.) “I plead with your majesties to spend all the treasures from this enterprise on the conquest of Jerusalem.” All the hairs on the back of my neck stood on end, and I thought about you, my Liege, in the Holy Land. This is not about India or China. This is not about trade routes, silk, spices. Wherever Columbus goes, he will bring souls to Christ.

FERDINAND. Three ships. What’s the matter with one?

ISABELLA. He knows what he’s doing.

FERDINAND. Three ships destroyed at sea. That money is better spent on the religious courts.

ISABELLA. But, my Liege, this will support the Inquisition.


(Now FERDINAND rolls his eyes.)

ISABELLA

All the wealth he’ll bring back. Straight to the Grand Inquisitor. Our cup would overflow. (Pause.) Take off your shirt.

(FERDINAND does. ISABELLA gives him a long look and hands FERDINAND the shirt she’s been sewing. ISABELLA watches as he puts it on.)

My Liege, you’re magnificent.

FERDINAND. Like Charlemagne. I am grateful to my wife.

ISABELLA. But my lord, you deserve silk.

FERDINAND. Isabella, Columbus is on his way to France.

ISABELLA. Only moments ago. Call him back.

FERDINAND. No.

ISABELLA. It’s an investment. You must spend money to make money.

FERDINAND. No.

ISABELLA. God rewards our piety. The mosques are now cathedrals. The priest waves incense where the infidel once sat. Granada has fallen. We have prospered.

FERDINAND. No.

ISABELLA.

Yes.

FERDINAND. I will not spend my money on this.

ISABELLA. (Pause. Then,) Our money. Columbus is onto something. Don Abraham says --


FERDINAND. Don Abraham? The wealthiest man in Spain? The largest landlord? The Jew? I’m sure he has advice, but does he invest? Of course not. We’ve decided. No.

(As Ferdinand has been speaking, Isabella’s idea has begun to form.)

ISABELLA.

Ferdinand, there are apostates among us. Every day, hideous confessions to the most unimaginable sins. It is such a relief when these people are hanged, drowned, burned. Torquemada insists it is the Jews that pollute the kingdom. (Helping FERDINAND to take the sewn shirt off.) We’ve failed.

FERDINAND. We’ve had great success in battle.

ISABELLA. Nothing we do dissuades the Jews from their war against the True Faith. We must remove them.

FERDINAND. What?

ISABELLA. They must go.

FERDINAND. But Don Abraham? Don Isaacs? Our closest advisors?

ISABELLA. Our closest advisor is Christ. Why don’t they convert?

FERDINAND. Much of the administration –

ISABELLA. The Jews must go. All of them. They don’t belong here. (She gives him back his original shirt.)

FERDINAND. (Considering it all rationally.) True. To vanquish the Moors and retain the Jews. . .

(As they speak, FERDINAND puts his shirt on. She is making a few


adjustments on the shirt she’s sewn.)

ISABELLA.

Absolute madness.

FERDINAND. But how?

ISABELLA. Order them out.

FERDINAND When?

ISABELLA. Immediately.

FERDINAND. They’ll need time. To make arrangements.

ISABELLA. A deadline.

FERDINAND. Exactly.

ISABELLA. July.

(Silence. She sews.)

ISABELLA. And their property?

FERDINAND. What?

ISABELLA. Their lands? Their holdings?

FERDINAND. Much of it will revert to us.

ISABELLA. So we’ll have a cushion. ( Stops sewing.) A safety net.

FERDINAND. Yes.

ISABELLA. (She goes to him.) A bit to spare. To invest.


FERDINAND. I suppose I could get someone to call back Columbus.

ISABELLA.

(Kisses him then breaks away.) My liege, you’ll be glorious riding into the Holy Land, wearing silk.

(LIGHTS DOWN.)


SCENE 2

Santa Maria Discovers A New World, October 1492 (Sound of hawk bells.)

(The lights come up. It is October 13, 1492. The island of Guanahani. The CACIQUE, MACANA, GUAMO, CAREY, and KARAYA stand together, ringing the bells they have been given by Christopher Columbus. The Indians are having a strategy session, trying to make sense of their encounter. The CACIQUE, the oldest of the four, is trying to get the advice from his lieutenants. They peer out at the audience where Columbus’s ships are anchored. At different points during the scene, they ring the bells.)

THE CACIQUE.

So?

KARAYA. They’re from the Land of the Dead.

MACANA. That guy isn’t dead.

THE CACIQUE. Then where?

GUAMO. Who knows?

MACANA. Does it matter? Send these guys down towards the Caribs. Let them give those guys a scare.

KARAYA. Look at their clothes, the size of their boats. They must be dead.

MACANA. Then why are they out during the day? Are dead people so stupid, they’d sail around here in boats that big?

KARAYA. They need gold to bring them back to life. That’s why they take our nose rings and give us these. (She rings her bell.)


(As the Indians continue their conversation, the VIRGIN MARY enters, weeping. They cannot see or hear her.)

THE CACIQUE.

Trying to come back to life? Could be.

VIRGIN MARY. I am so over-dressed.

(The VIRGIN MARY walks among the Tainos, but she is caught up in her own feelings and predicament, oblivious to theirs.)

CAREY.

They’re hungry too.

VIRGIN MARY. One doesn’t want to appear out of place.

MACANA. Like a shark swimming with manatees.

THE CACIQUE. We’ll keep giving them food, but are the dead usually so hungry?

GUAMO. Maybe they’re lost.

VIRGIN MARY. (Taking a deep breath.) It’s as if I’ve never breathed before.

KARAYA. They ARE lost. If they’re not dead, where did they come from? Why --

MACANA. Dead or alive, send them off to mess with the Caribs.

KARAYA. Hello. I’m right here. You keep interrupting me.

VIRGIN MARY. Not one breath.

MACANA. (To KARAYA.) Go ahead.


(MACANA makes a show of waiting. KARAYA shakes her head. MACANA picks up where he left off.)

MACANA.

They’re not dead, but it doesn’t matter. They’re trouble. Lots of weapons. Let them use them on the Caribs. These guys are on their way, the Caribs are out of our hair.

VIRGIN MARY. At home I felt so boxed in . . .

THE CACIQUE. Play them off against each other. Sure. You know what bothers me most? No women.

VIRGIN MARY. Like I was folded up into a tiny square of dough or rolled up like an old rag.

MACANA. Women? Look at them. Ugly. Sickly. Crazy clothes. Hair all over their faces.

KARAYA. Dead.

MACANA. They dress funny to keep everybody off-kilter.

(The VIRGIN MARY walks around, taking in the scenery.)

GUAMO. If they’re traveling, trading, maybe they don’t need their women.

THE CACIQUE. Not even one? While we talked to them, I sent my nephew to swim out and look in their boats. Not a single woman anywhere. How can you trust men like that? (Turning to MACANA) Send them on their way. Let THEM worry about the Caribs. (To the others.) You think?

GUAMO. Let me talk with them.

CAREY. (Laughing.) He likes them.

VIRGIN MARY. It’s beautiful here.


GUAMO. I like their words. The way they all run together.

VIRGIN MARY. Beautiful. Nothing like Bethlehem or Seville.

GUAMO. Like music.

VIRGIN MARY. Green and wet. (She extends her arms, breathes deeply.)

THE CACIQUE. But what are they saying?

KARAYA. That they’re lost. They need help.

MACANA. They’re saying they want our wives, our land, that’s what they’re saying.

THE CACIQUE. Or not saying.

VIRGIN MARY. Here a woman could feel as wide as the sky. Here (She breathes again.) I am the song of the seasons, the stages of life itself -- seed, blossom, fruit.

GUAMO. I look at those guys and I want to laugh, but when they speak, the words pull me in, everything sounds like a whisper or a song.

VIRGIN MARY. Here My Son doesn’t need to die.

GUAMO. With just the slightest effort I could understand them.

KARAYA. Now Guamo can talk to the dead.

CAREY. He can talk to anybody.

VIRGIN MARY. My son needs no resurrection, because I am rebirth herself. I’ll stay here forever. (She slowly pulls off layers of her clothing.)


THE CACIQUE.

(To GUAMO.) Learn their language. Ingratiate yourself. We’ll be hospitable, but the goal is – whether they’re dead or alive – to get rid of them.

GUAMO. It’s like I already know what they’re saying.

MACANA. Well? What’d he say?

GUAMO. I mean I don’t know. But I know.

THE CACIQUE. So?

GUAMO. He needs us, that guy.

THE CACIQUE. Good, then let him help us with the Carib. Let me meet with him again. Comfort them, in case they are dead -- try to heal them a little, a blessing, a mask. (To GUAMO.) You talk to them, study them. Learn everything. Then – they’re gone.

(THE VIRGIN MARY, naked, walks blissfully into the forests of the “New World.”)

(COLUMBUS enters.)

COLUMBUS.

(Speaking to the CACIQUE very slowly with hand gestures.) It is a pleasure to see you again. (The CACIQUE nods and greets

COLUMBUS. MACANA, GUAMO, CAREY also nod. KARAYA exits. When the Indians are only talking to each other, their physical behavior is circumspect. GUAMO is straining to understand, but he loves talking to COLUMBUS, still amazed and delighted they can communicate. MACANA is trying to control his disgust at the whole process.)

(COLUMBUS takes CAREY by the


shoulder and then touches the piece of gold in his nose.)

COLUMBUS. (To CACIQUE.) Our King, -- King – like you -- Ferdinand of Castile, desires this gold.

THE CACIQUE. (To GUAMO.) Stuck on this. Always stuck on this.

GUAMO. (To CACIQUE.) We get him this, they go. He needs it for his king.

THE CACIQUE. (To GUAMO.) I got that. Tell him he can get more gold from the Caribs.

GUAMO. (To COLUMBUS.) There’s more gold on other islands.

COLUMBUS. I would need help finding the way. Some of your men must come with me.

(COLUMBUS gestures at CAREY, who is pleased to be singled out.)

THE CACIQUE.

(To GUAMO.) Tell him the Caribs have a lot of it. Not us.

GUAMO. (To COLUMBUS.) The Caribs have gold. Lots of it.

THE CACIQUE. (To GUAMO.)Tell him they’re tough, vicious, but we know he’s tougher. He can take them. But it’ll be a fight.

GUAMO. (To COLUMBUS.) You’ll need courage. They’re ruthless, blood-thirsty, but loaded with gold. Might be a terrible fight, but you’re tough. You’ll win.

THE CACIQUE. (To GUAMO.) Tell him we want to give him something.

GUAMO. (To COLUMBUS.) We have a gift.

(KARAYA brings out a huge mask with gold sticking out of the eyes, ears, nose and mouth, glittering and terrifying. Ritually they present the mask to


COLUMBUS who is overcome by all the gold on it. He strokes it and cradles it like a baby.)

MACANA.

What an idiot.

THE CACIQUE. (Speaks directly to COLUMBUS, who, of course, can’t understand him.) This mask let’s you have the pleasure of gold without having to struggle to get it. Wear it. Be satisfied and return to your people who love you and miss you. (To GUAMO.) Tell him to wear it.

GUAMO. (To COLUMBUS.) It’s for you. Put it on.

(COLUMBUS doesn’t understand. He just wants the gold. The CACIQUE takes the mask from him and puts it over COLUMBUS’s face. COLUMBUS is overcome with delight as he wears the mask. The INDIANS watch – awaiting his transformation. COLUMBUS is overjoyed.)

COLUMBUS.

Thank you, my friends, thank you.

(Still wearing the mask, COLUMBUS begins to dig the gold out of the mask. He holds each piece up to the light. CACIQUE, MACANA, GUAMO, CAREY, and KARAYA all react differently, but are all amazed at his reaction, unable to figure it out.)

THE CACIQUE. (To the others.) Not dead. Something else. (LIGHTS OUT.)


SCENE THREE

First Baptism

(COLUMBUS is baptizing CAREY, holding him underwater. GUAMO is watching, listening, enjoying translating. )

COLUMBUS.

Let this servant of Christ be baptized in the name of the Father and the Son and in the Holy Ghost. (COLUMBUS pulls him up.) And I name you, Diego, after my son.

GUAMO. Your son?

CAREY. (Wiping the water off his face. To Guamo.) Tell him to do it again.

COLUMBUS. What?

GUAMO. He wants to do it again.

COLUMBUS. Only once.

CAREY. (To COLUMBUS.) Your turn.

(CAREY takes COLUMBUS and tries to dunk him as well.)

COLUMBUS.

No, Diego, I was baptized long ago. I myself have taken your spiritual life into my own hands.

GUAMO. (To CAREY.) This is a big deal. He doesn’t usually do it, but he wants to take care of you, like a son.

CAREY. (Not comprehending, but enthusiastic nonetheless.) Thank you.

COLUMBUS. And your gods you must disavow.


CAREY.

(To GUAMO.) What?

GUAMO. (To COLUMBUS.) What’s that: “Disavow”?

COLUMBUS. Cast aside. Because our God is the creator of the universe and the savior of the world.

GUAMO. Which world? Which god?

COLUMBUS. Listen to me, Diego.

(COLUMBUS walks CAREY away from GUAMO, who follows.)

COLUMBUS.

My god is not a game. Your gods are like the pretend games of children – dolls, tin soldiers. Not really Gods at all, just stones and make believe.

CAREY. (Looking at GUAMO.)Our gods?

COLUMBUS. Yes, but my God, Christ and his father, the savior of all.

GUAMO. Christ and his father. Gods. YaYa, Attabey --

COLUMBUS. God. One god. Creator of the universe.

GUAMO. The universe is alive with gods. More gods make the world more friendly.

COLUMBUS.

There is only one God.

GUAMO. (Laughing.) One?

(CAREY smiles. GUAMO thinks this is hilarious.)

COLUMBUS.

One.


GUAMO. (Tries to be very serious like COLUMBUS, but it isn’t easy.) Your god is very interesting.

COLUMBUS. (To CAREY.) Diego, you will receive eternal life. Don’t you understand? I was sent by God to save all of you -- from the tiniest baby to the great Khan himself.

GUAMO. (Being polite.)You were lost.

COLUMBUS. You do not understand the scope on which I am speaking.

GUAMO. Your god probably wants you to go home, to see your people.

COLUMBUS. (Referring to Carey.) His God -- if he has truly disavowed.

CAREY. (To Guamo.) What?

COLUMBUS. Your gods.

GUAMO. Which ones?

COLUMBUS. Carey, that is, Diego, is now baptized in the Holy Spirit. When he dies, he will enter heaven.

GUAMO. Where?

COLUMBUS. (To them both.) Together we can tear down this Tower of Babel and incite the Final Judgment. (To Guamo.) Everything I say you must explain to your family, your friends, everyone. The world depends on it.

GUAMO. It’s hard to explain. Even you find it hard to explain.

COLUMBUS. It’s not hard to explain. God speaks to me. Through me. He has grand plans.

GUAMO. About the fight among all these gods.


COLUMBUS. One god. The father, the son and the Holy Ghost.

GUAMO. Yes.

COLUMBUS. A baptism like Carey’s crystallizes everything, illuminates it, makes it burn with holy fire. (Pause.) This moment would be so galvanizing in Spain.

GUAMO. Spain?

CAREY. (To GUAMO.) What?

COLUMBUS. Spain.

GUAMO. (To Carey.) His home.

COLUMBUS. With the king and queen. Let Torquemada do the baptism.

GUAMO. Your king and queen miss you. We can help you get ready to leave.

COLUMBUS. We’ll bring birds, plants. And, for the King and Queen, gold. And of course, Diego, you.

CAREY. Me?

GUAMO. He lives here.

COLUMBUS. The world must know about you.

GUAMO. The world knows all about him. We all do.

COLUMBUS. (To GUAMO.) Anyone who would join me would receive a royal welcome. As a translator you would be received as a diplomat.

GUAMO


Diplomat?

COLUMBUS Someone who speaks between two worlds. I appreciate your humility. Both of you. You’re a bridge, don’t you see? Between the Christian world and this. As God has profound plans for me, he must also have great plans for you. Don’t step back from the chance to spread the Light of the World. Help me fulfill destiny. Don’t shrink back, my friends. The world calls. (CAREY rings his hawk’s bell.)

(LIGHTS OUT.)

SCENE FOUR

An Adventure Begins

(ATTABEY, enters, gathering up the VIRGIN MARY’s clothes, and giving them to her, The VIRGIN MARY is following her.)

VIRGIN MARY.

We have so much to say to each other. Really we do. We both believe in the power of compassion. We’re both moms, we love children --

ATTABEY. I just don’t think you’re completely happy here, even though you’ve made yourself at home --

(THE CACIQUE and MACANA enter, MACANA talking with vehemence.)

VIRGIN MARY.

Not happy? I’m utterly happy. I’ve never felt so – myself – so fully myself –


THE CACIQUE. They like to trade.

MACANA. They like to take.

THE CACIQUE. Everyone is being fair.

VIRGIN MARY. It’s as if -- for the very first time -- I am really me and not what someone else wants me to be – do you understand? Do you get --

ATTABEY. (Cutting her off.) You talk too much. I’ve never felt that someone who is really happy talks so much.

(CAREY runs in, followed by Guamo.)

CAREY. He wants us to meet his king.

THE CACIQUE. His king is coming here?

CAREY. I’m going there.

MACANA. You’re crazy.

VIRGIN MARY. I talk because I’m happy.

CAREY. It’s just a thirty-day trip.

THE CACIQUE. Thirty days. A lifetime.

MACANA. Let them go back alone.

VIRGIN MARY. I talk because I feel free.

CAREY. He wants to show me off.

MACANA. Like you’re a dog. Nice doggie.


GUAMO. (To the CACIQUE.) Because I speak their language, I could be your representative, if you approve, of course.

VIRGIN MARY. Something in me has been released for the first time.

ATTABEY. If you’re so happy, why must you go over and over every little detail?

MACANA. How will you get home?

GUAMO. What?

MACANA. For you to come back, they’ll have to come back. Don’t give them an excuse.

THE CACIQUE. Come back? (To GUAMO and CAREY.) You must come back.

ATTABEY. Nobody believes in you here so you can be quite irresponsible.

GUAMO. I’ll learn all about their world.

CAREY. Huge cities, enormous animals.

MACANA. Monsters. Not a surprise.

VIRGIN MARY. Columbus is devoted to me.

MACANA. You speak their language. Say “no.”

VIRGIN MARY. He talks to me all the time.

MACANA. Tell Columbus to go.

VIRGIN MARY. I just don’t want to listen.

ATTABEY.


It would be wrong not to comfort him.

VIRGIN MARY. Comfort him? I inspire him, inflame him, but it’s the old me -- the silly but devoted girl from Galilee who begat a Prince of Peace.

GUAMO. It’s okay. First, we’ll escort them to our old pals, the Caribs. They’ll get gold – or worse. Then we’ll head home and they’ll head to their home, unless (to the CACIQUE.) you agree we could go with them.

CAREY. We’ll be celebrated by his king. (To MACANA.) Come with us, old man. When have you ever resisted an adventure?

MACANA. If you go, don’t come back.

THE CACIQUE. Look, the best thing is to get them on their way. Then come back and tell us everything.

MACANA. Today you have a choice. Tomorrow, nothing. Is this an invitation or a command?

THE CACIQUE. You trust those guys. . .

MACANA. With their swords, their cannon.

THE CACIQUE. (To Macana.) Let’s see them off.

MACANA. Not me. Not for the world.

(THE CACIQUE, GUAMO and CAREY exit.)

VIRGIN MARY. (As she speaks she begins to weep.) I will never go back. Never. I want to find common ground. I want to share. You inspire me. The way you watch over the waters, the rivers, the streams. We are friends, aren’t we? I’ve always wanted a friend with whom to share my world. The Lady of the Winds, she’s too silent. But you –


(While the VIRGIN MARY speaks, ATTABEY had a vision of the taking of Macana’s family.)

ATTABEY.

(To MACANA.) Why do you sit here? His men took your two daughters, so your son went after them. They took him, too, so your wife tried to get him back and they took her too --

MACANA. What?

ATTABEY. Scabby One, they’ve stolen your family. The ships are leaving. Get your canoe.

(MACANA exits.) (LIGHTS OUT.)


SCENE FIVE

What the Virgin Saw

(VIRGIN MARY enters and speaks to the audience.) VIRGIN MARY.

The damp makes my hair wavy and soft as clouds, but does

Columbus have to call me every night and bless me again and

again in his journal for the Queen? His ships lumber from

island to island but I’d rather swim in these beautiful

waters and sink into all this green. How could he crash the

Santa Maria on those magnificent rocks? Couldn’t he see the

ship is just too big? So the wood from my beautiful ship

becomes a fort and men who worship me end up staying behind.

But still he has room in the two remaining ships for the

children of Attabey. On the beach today I collected white

shells and, as those two ships sailed away, I drew a map in

the sand and waved good-bye.

(VIRGIN MARY blows a kiss.)

(LIGHTS OUT.)


SCENE SIX

The Triumphant Arrival, April 1493.

VOICE OF A PAGE.

Open wide the palace door. Pull down the wall, as they did at Troy. Make room for Columbus, the man who arrives with a world.

(FERDINAND and ISABELLA enter.)

(Cheers of thrilled crowds.)

(A grand procession winds through the theatre: CHRISTOPHER COLUMBUS, followed by GUAMO, CAREY, MACANA, and KARAYA, carrying bars of gold, strange plants, bouncing balls, with parrots on their shoulders or flying around their heads. COLUMBUS comes before FERDINAND and ISABELLA and kneels.

COLUMBUS.

Illustrious, Prince, and you, sublimed Princess, in eight months, I have given you another world to rule. The first fruits of this universe are here: this gold, these plants and animals, these men.

FERDINAND. Rise, new Alexander. The Macedonian spent his entire life conquering only a fraction of the known world-- in eight months you have conquered a new one.

ISABELLA. (Gesturing at GUAMO, CAREY, and MACANA.) And to them, you opened the door of Heaven.

COLUMBUS. Your majesty, these Indians come instructed in the Holy Faith and beg you for Baptism.

FERDINAND. I myself shall be the Godfather.

COLUMBUS. They humbly thank you. For you great queen, who so staunchly defended this crusade, I present my journal, the record of this remarkable voyage.

(COLUMBUS gives her the Journal and she takes it, smiling.)


ISABELLA.

We are impatient to hear this tale from your own lips.

FERDINAND. Come, Isabella, let us witness the baptism and then hear the strange tale of a world unknown. (ALL exit.) (LIGHTS OUT.)


SCENE SEVEN

After Baptism

(In the private throne room of ISABELLA and FERDINAND.)

(The curtain lifts to reveal a

private audience with ISABELLA, FERDINAND, COLUMBUS, GUAMO, MACANA, KARAYA and CAREY. ISABELLA, FERDINAND, and COLUMBUS, can only understand GUAMO, and only when he speaks directly to them. Otherwise, GUAMO, MACANA, KARAYA and CAREY are speaking their own language – which the audience and the INDIANS understand, but sounds like gibberish to ISABELLA, FERDINAND and COLUMBUS. The INDIANS have very little affect. They are watching, waiting, considering, most of the time unless otherwise stated in the stage directions.)

(COLUMBUS gestures for GUAMO, MACANA, KARAYA and CAREY to stand before ISABELLA and FERDINAND. Parrots fly around the heads of the royalty and make them giggle.)

COLUMBUS.

Your newest subjects, newly baptized, renamed, reborn.

FERDINAND. Naked--

ISABELLA. --Like Adam before the fall.

KARAYA. (To Guamo.) Ask her what she’s done with them.

GUAMO. (To FERDINAND and ISABELLA.) I am the official representative of our Cacique --

ISABELLA. He speaks wonderful Spanish. Adorable.


GUAMO.

(To FERDINAND and ISABELLA.) I must explain our situation--

KARAYA. (To ISABELLA, who can’t understand her.) Where are my kids?

CAREY. (To GUAMO)Tell them we need to go home.

KARAYA. (To ISABELLA.) When they died on the ship I left my body. I was flying above the sails like a gull. I saw the sailors throw their bodies overboard. Macana restrained me from diving after them.

ISABELLA. (To COLUMBUS and FERDINAND.) What a strange language they speak. How marvelous, like children.

KARAYA. Did they swim here? I need to find them.

FERDINAND. And the gold they wear.

KARAYA. Where are you keeping them, Queen of the Dead?

COLUMBUS. They are all learning Spanish.

(FERDINAND touches MACANA’s nose.)

MACANA. Touch me again and I’ll kill you. (To GUAMO.) Tell them I will kill them all to avenge my kids.

(FERDINAND takes the gold from MACANA’s nose. MACANA reaches for FERDINAND’s arm but restrains himself as GUAMO speaks.)

GUAMO.

(To MACANA.)No threats. There are rooms full of soldiers.

KARAYA. (To MACANA.) Kill her? Make her give them back.

ISABELLA. Like children. Admiral, you must return them to their land when you go back, and you must treat our children kindly.


(During her speech, FERDINAND is looking at the gold from MACANA’s nose, entranced.)

COLUMBUS. They are docile people. They will do anything we say.

KARAYA. (To GUAMO.) You talk to her.

GUAMO. (To ISABELLA and FERDINAND.) Please let me explain. We have tried to be tolerant, but we are your guests as he has been ours --

MACANA. We are never going back.

CAREY. I am. I dream it every night.

KARAYA. I don’t trust her. Is she hiding them?

GUAMO. (To Isabella.) You must understand --

ISABELLA. God’s creatures are wonderful.

(COLUMBUS pulls out a cigar and lights it.)

COLUMBUS. These are the hardiest, the healthiest. The ones that survived the voyage. (Handing her the cigar.) Try this. A plant. Delicious.

(ISABELLA takes a long inhale through her nose and passes the cigar to FERDINAND who smokes. ISABELLA and FERDINAND continue to smoke throughout the scene, the stage fills with smoke. COLUMBUS passes the cigar, but does not smoke.)

ISABELLA.

(Touching the men.) They are beautiful. (She coughs.) But even after the baptism I can’t tell them apart. Which is which?


COLUMBUS.

(Pointing to CAREY.)This is Diego Colon. He reminds me of my son. And here is Don Juan, named after your son. And Karaya, who, of course, I call Maria. KARAYA. (To GUAMO.)Tell her they are mine.

GUAMO. (To Isabella.) You must listen to me. I am a diplomat. I am a representative of the Cacique.

COLUMBUS. (Pointing to GUAMO)May I present Joseph of Aragon, named after your esteemed father.

GUAMO. (To ISABELLA and FERDINAND.) My name is Guamo –

COLUMBUS. They are eager to be of service after this momentous voyage.

GUAMO. (To COLUMBUS.) Liar. (To MACANA, KARAYA and CAREY.) I can’t do this. I’m going to run for it.

MACANA. They will find you and kill you. Kill them first.

ISABELLA.. So friendly. So sincere. (To the INDIANS.) I am honored to call you my subjects, to be your God-mama.

MACANA. (Very serious.) I will strangle every one of them.

CAREY. Columbus will take us back. He said he would.

GUAMO.

I’m done here. You will never see me again. I will disappear like smoke.

MACANA. We can each strangle one. I’ll do Columbus. You take the woman. The king’s all yours.

KARAYA. You can’t kill what’s already dead.

CAREY. Don’t you see. He’ll go back for the gold.


GUAMO. You’ll die on the voyage.

MACANA. Or they’ll kill us.

FERDINAND. (Blowing smoke, staring at the gold.) The Indies. How marvelous it is.

COLUMBUS. They are so ready for subjugation.

ISABELLA. Glorious souls. (To Macana.) Perhaps, you could stay behind.

(ISABELLA claps her hands in delight. She takes MACANA’S hand and begins to dance with him.) MACANA.

(To ISABELLA, though, of course, she can’t understand him.) Keep smiling. It makes me know what your skull will be like, little one, when I have hacked you to death.

FERDINAND (Noticing that an Indian is dancing with his wife.) Shouldn’t they kneel?

COLUMBUS. They are strong and healthy. They do whatever we say. They will help us mine the gold.

FERDINAND. Kneel.

GUAMO. They want us on our knees. (Only CAREY kneels.)

KARAYA. On stone?

MACANA. (Stopping dancing.) They’re idiots.

ISABELLA. (Patting MACANA.) You must kneel like a good boy and say your prayers.

MACANA. Over your dead body.


(GUAMO pushes through and out of the window and into the audience and runs out of the theatre. Some parrots follow, the rest fly up into the sky. ISABELLA shrieks.) FERDINAND.

Stop him! (COLUMBUS pulls his sword and puts it to MACANA’s throat. FERDINAND keeps his sword trained on CAREY. There are alarms, ringing of alarm bells, sounds of soldiers. LIGHTS OUT.)

SCENE EIGHT:

Promises made before the Second Voyage

(A room in the palace. MACANA and

KARAYA are talking.)

KARAYA. Maybe he ran away to find our kids.

MACANA. They’re dead.

KARAYA. So they must be here. He’ll find them. We’ll be together.

MACANA. You saw it. The sailors threw their bodies overboard.

KARAYA. Then they’ll swim here. We’ll find them. They’ll find us.

(CAREY enters, dressed in European clothes.) MACANA.

The illustrious son of the Admiral of the Ocean Sea, ferrying between home and death.

CAREY. This is Spain. They’ve made the world so much bigger, but smaller too, so many possibilities.

MACANA.


I can imagine you standing on the deck of a great ship scanning the horizon of this big world, eyes pealed for gold.

CAREY. Home. Looking for home. Come back with me.

KARAYA. I will not get on those boats. Let the living have their peace.

MACANA. (To CAREY.) What do you think has happened back home?

CAREY. Come and find out.

MACANA. You saw how it was going, and how it goes here. I’m to stay. Part of the retinue. Cultural exchange. Entertainment for the educated. The Queen’s dog.

CAREY. I’ll get Columbus to take you back.

MACANA. Oh, no. I’ve found my calling. I’ll stay behind and charm the queen. I’ve never been in demand because of my charm, but this is a new world.

CAREY. (To KARAYA.) What is he talking about?

KARAYA. He thinks he’s can kill them.

CAREY. What? (He laughs.) You’ve never killed anybody in your life.

MACANA. I’m patient. I’ve got time. I go to sleep each night debating – strangling? Poison? A smashed skull?

CAREY. You love to talk.

MACANA. Kill Columbus. Then leap into the sea.

CAREY. Not me. I want to see my folks.

MACANA.


Do it as the ship drops anchor, then swim to shore.

CAREY. They’ll kill me.

MACANA. You’ve got nothing to lose. (Gesturing at KARAYA.) She thinks we’re already dead.

CAREY. I want to see my parents, play with my nephew. But look where we are. Despite it all, don’t you feel the potential? Doesn’t it feel like anything’s possible?

(KARAYA and MACANA don’t say anything.)

CAREY. There’ll be another voyage.

MACANA. When I’m done here, I’m dead. Like our little ones. Hug your nephew, my friend, and whisper a new world’s greeting from one of the dead. (LIGHTS OUT.)


SCENE NINE:

In Which Isabella and Don Juan Explain the Creation of the

World

(ISABELLA and FERDINAND’s private quarters in the palace.)

(ISABELLA reads from COLUMBUS’s Journal. MACANA considers her, plotting his strategy.)

ISABELLA. “They ought to be good servants and of good intelligence. I believe they would easily be made Christians because it seemed to me they had no religion.” (To MACANA.) As your godmother, I must teach you everything. Do you know how God created the heaven and the earth? Do you know how the world began?

(MACANA puts up his hammock.)

ISABELLA. What are you doing?

MACANA.

My hammock.

ISABELLA. What?

MACANA. My hammock. A good place for learning.

ISABELLA.

What is it?

MACANA. A place to learn how the world began.

(ISABELLA peers at it, then MACANA helps her sit in it.)

ISABELLA. How funny. The Old Testament describes –

MACANA.


Once there was one whose name nobody knew. Let’s call him “Yaya.” His son was called son of YaYa.

ISABELLA. Is this a family story?

MACANA. Yaya sent his son away because Yaya’s son wanted to kill him.

ISABELLA. How awful.

MACANA. Banished for four months.

ISABELLA. Only four! Didn’t he realize it was a trap?

MACANA. When he came back, his father killed him –

ISABELLA. We knew that was coming.

MACANA. -- and put his bones in a gourd which he hung from the roof of his house --

ISABELLA. As a warning.

MACANA. One day Yaya said to his wife, “I want to see our son.” She was thrilled.

ISABELLA. Surely she knew her husband could be cruel.

MACANA. She took down the gourd, turned it over and out poured a school of fishes. Seeing that the bones of their son had been turned into fish, they ate them.

ISABELLA. What?

MACANA. They ate the fish.


(MACANA moves to strangle her but she, thinking he wants to seduce her, moves out of the hammock.)

ISABELLA.

What are you doing?

(Unnerved, MACANA backs off. He steels himself and then moves towards her again. ISABELLA gestures “Don’t touch me.”)

ISABELLA.

This is not the New World where people run about. (She makes a gesture that makes it clear that she thinks he was planning to seduce her.)

MACANA. You thought -- (MACANA laughs.) (Isabella laughs.)

ISABELLA. My child, I am your godmother. Your queen. I must raise you up. Your family has suffered a great tragedy, Don Juan. But you are not alone. Tragedy colors the world. Even my family suffers. My eldest daughter, Isabella -- you’ve seen her. She was married to the King of Portugal but a month after their marriage he was thrown from his horse. Killed. She has vowed never to marry again. And, I have yet to disabuse her, but, of course, she must marry because how else do we hold the world together? But we were not talking about affairs of state, we were talking about –-

MACANA. How the world began. YaYa’s wife, The Ancient Bloody One, gave birth to four twins.

ISABELLA. Four.

MACANA. Always four. The first-born was called “The Scabby One” because of his infected skin.

ISABELLA. Like you. You’re not talking about yourself, are you?

MACANA. Yaya was away and these twins were hungry. They ate the fish out of the gourd, he’d hung on the roof of his house. Suddenly, (He makes the sound of Yaya’s footsteps.) they heard Yaya’s footsteps. Quickly, they reached up to put the


gourd back, but it fell and cracked. Out poured fishes and eels and dolphins and the water covered almost all the land. To escape their father, the four twins climbed into the broken gourd, and paddled down from the sky.

ISABELLA. Did your mother tell you this story?

MACANA. The story is true. It goes on every day.

ISABELLA. Don Juan, the first man was Adam, created by God. Eve, the first woman, was made from Adam’s rib.

MACANA. A rib? What’s a rib?

(ISABELLA goes over to him and touches his chest.)

ISABELLA.

A rib. A bone.

MACANA. A bone. (He laughs.) The first woman was made from a bone. (He continues to laugh.)

ISABELLA. Yes. We were made from the rib of Adam, the very first man.

MACANA. No. One rainy day, three twins were bathing. They wanted women but women couldn’t be found. And as the men washed, they saw, falling through the branches of the trees, people who were neither men nor women.

ISABELLA. How could that be?

MACANA. They had no private parts.

ISABELLA. What?

MACANA. These people wriggled like eels. They were so slippery the men couldn’t catch them. So the three twins went and got “The Scabby One,” because his hands were rough and he could catch them.


ISABELLA. (Laughing.) Somehow these stories are always about you.

MACANA. But they still had a problem: How could the twins make these people into women? They caught a woodpecker called the “Son of the Ancient One.”

ISABELLA. A woodpecker?

MACANA.

A bird. (He gestures and makes a noise like a woodpecker.) He pecked holes making them women.

ISABELLA. Pecked holes?

MACANA. Yes.

ISABELLA. That’s a very strange dream.

MACANA. Everyone has it.

ISABELLA. I don’t.

MACANA. No?

ISABELLA. My dream is one world united in Christ. At peace. And, of course, my daughter is key to that, but she is so depressed, so sad. Always weeping. But she absolutely must get married.

MACANA. (He considers, softens to her, then says.) I can’t marry your daughter. She never smiles.

ISABELLA. What?

MACANA. I already have one sad wife. I don’t want another.

ISABELLA. Don Juan, you are naked, married, not royalty, not Spanish, and you believe that women’s private parts were created by woodpeckers. You may not marry my daughter.


MACANA. She could marry my Cacique. He’s good to all his wives.

ISABELLA. She will marry her dead husband’s brother. She will marry Portugal. But she weeps, strokes my hair. Still, for everyone’s happiness, she must choose Portugal. Choose. Ferdinand says force her.

MACANA. Have Portugal steal her.

ISABELLA. What?

MACANA. Tell him to sneak in at night with his friends and carry her off.

ISABELLA. (Thinks. Then,) No. She’s too sensitive. Still, we must secure our world. Only through marriage can people who hate each other unite. She must be a healer, demonstrate that a kingdom can be purified, cleansed. “Isabella,” I will tell her, “This is not a marriage, but an act of devotion. You must tell Portugal that you will marry him but, as a tribute to your union, he must make a profound gesture of healing.” Let him expel all of Portugal’s Jews. (LIGHTS OUT.)


SCENE 10

A few months later, Joseph of Aragon Misses the Boat

(On the docks of Cadiz. A FORTUNE TELLER sits staring out at the horizon.)

(Enter GUAMO, in European clothing, running, out of breath.)

GUAMO.

The ships! Where are the ships? The Admiral of the Ocean Sea?

FORTUNE TELLER. Columbus? Gone this morning

GUAMO. No.

FORTUNE TELLER. Quite a pageant. Flags. Seventeen boats. Christopher Columbus, himself, prancing on the deck. And all those soldiers on board. It’s as if he didn’t need sailors anymore, only soldiers. And priests.

GUAMO. All of them? Gone?

FORTUNE TELLER. Yes.

GUAMO. I missed it.

FORTUNE TELLER. You were supposed to sail?

GUAMO. Gone. I’ll never get home.

FORTUNE TELLER. You’re a foreigner? You people are always late. (Taking his hand.) For a coin I can see your future.

GUAMO. I have no future.

FORTUNE TELLER.


But do you have cash?

(GUAMO ignores her. FORTUNE TELLER makes a gesture of disgust. She takes out a deck of cards and begins to shuffle.)

FORTUNE TELLER.

In seven short months the world has utterly changed. And to think with these cards I predicted the whole thing. The triumphant adventure. The strange animals. The bizarre food and the savage men. Who believes that kind of prophesy? If you don’t tie it to religion these days, no one buys it. (Shuffling the deck.) All the secrets of the world, right here. A coin? Anything?

GUAMO. Every night I dream of the Cacique’s eldest daughter. How she looked before Columbus arrived. Her eyes sparkled like the stars.

FORTUNE TELLER. Oh, my God. You’re one of the wild men? One of the savages? Do you have one of those little green birds?

GUAMO. Parrots.

FORTUNE TELLER. Without Columbus, you’ll never get home. Wait! Go overland. Long and hard but quite the adventure. So many countries and regions to explore. And the weird natives with their strange customs. Of course, if you’re a seafaring man, it may not light your fire. But I always advise people who are stagnating to try new things.

GUAMO. (Using a parrot voice.)”Try new things, Try new things.” (As himself.) I once taught a parrot to imitate my mom. It drove my dad insane. We used to catch frogs, swim with turtles. Everything green. Wet. Blue.

FORTUNE TELLER. Silence, sir! Cut the cards! For a citizen of the New World, a reading gratis! I give it to you as a charity because I have never before met a wild man. Although, of course, no gratuity is considered too small. But are you sure you don’t have a coin? I’ve heard tell you Indians are very rich. Your islands are made of gold and, on top of that, Isabella and Ferdinand gave you all the money of the Jews and the Moors. Oh, yes, your future. First, the Past. (She pulls a card.) The Tower – a man leaps from a dark


tower. Your life has been utterly destroyed. Perhaps you are still floating through the air and yet to crash to the ground. Perhaps, an angel, without or within, will save you from utter destruction. Then again. . . (She shudders. Then she pulls another card.) The Present: crossroads. These days, of course, I always interpret this card as a card of our Christ. (She crosses herself.) The old interpretations – freedom, choice, --sound so out-of-date. The future?

(The FORTUNE TELLER turns over a card and reacts in surprise and horror. Then she starts going through the deck, frantically.)

GUAMO.

What?

(FORTUNE TELLER holds up the card but it’s blank.)

FORTUNE TELLER. Empty. Nothing. (Trying to make the best of it.) A clean slate. A pure heart. Perhaps, we could say new beginnings?

(FORTUNE TELLER reaches out her hand for a tip.)

(LIGHTS OUT)


SCENE ELEVEN

Diego Colon’s Song for the Homeward Voyage

(On the deck of Columbus’s ship heading back across the Ocean to the Indies. A huge moon. COLUMBUS and CAREY are on deck together. CAREY is dressed now as a sailor but with feathers about his neck.)

COLUMBUS.

(Sings.) Oh, holy land where Christ was born, Where he suffered endless blows on our behalf Torture, torments and grisly death, One day my unworthy eyes will behold thee. (Speaking.) Sing with me.

CAREY. Yes. But in my own language. (Sings.) Oh, blessed isle where I was born, Where I played carefree in the turquoise sea World of strangers, I say good-bye. Each day my roving eye scans the horizon. Oh, blessed isle, float in my heart, Your waters warm and your breezes wet Sweet air that tastes like nowhere else Let it be today that I will embrace you.

(COLUMBUS and CAREY sing together.) COLUMBUS. (Sings.) Oh, holy land where Christ was born, Where he suffered endless blows on our behalf Tortures, torments and grisly death, One day my unworthy eyes can behold thee.

CAREY. (Sings.) Oh, blessed isle where I was born, Where I played carefree in the turquoise sea World of strangers, I say good-bye. Each day my roving eye scans the horizon.

(LIGHTS OUT.)


SCENE TWELVE

In which Don Juan teaches Queen Isabella to play ball

(The Private Apartment of ISABELLA and FERDINAND. MACANA and ISABELLA are both standing.)

MACANA. (Holding a black ball.) First we place our bets.

ISABELLA. Bets?

MACANA. A wager. Who will win the game?

ISABELLA. You think because I’ve never played before I’m going to lose. Well, don’t count on it.

MACANA. You could wager a trinket or jewelry, but royalty usually antes up a person.

ISABELLA. (Laughing.) A person?

MACANA. Yes, someone who you have a right to wager. Someone close to you. Perhaps, your husband.

ISABELLA. Ferdinand. (She bursts out laughing.) Why not. Who will you ante up?

MACANA. I’m not royalty. I’ll wager this cross. (It is around his neck.)

ISABELLA. I will give it back to you after I win it.

MACANA. (Holding up the ball.) The rules are simple. You try to get the ball over there. I try to get it over here. If it touches the ground, it is dead.


ISABELLA. Dead? Can that be the right word?

MACANA. And you cannot touch it with your hands or feet.

ISABELLA. No hands.

MACANA. Hips. Thighs. Elbows. Fine.

ISABELLA. I don’t think I’m understanding.

MACANA. Let me show you.

ISABELLA. I cannot understand a thing you say.

MACANA. See.

(He takes the ball. Knocks it with his hip. It flys up in the air.) (ISABELLA shrieks, stares, giggles.)

MACANA.

You try.

ISABELLA. I couldn’t.

MACANA. (Demonstrating.) Like this. You’ll be a great ballplayer.

ISABELLA. I can’t. I couldn’t possibly. It’s not for a Queen. Or a woman.

MACANA. Women play all the time. My wife. She’s a better player than me. Brilliant. Try.

(MACANA does it again. ISABELLA tries. Fails. Tries again at MACANA’s urging. Succeeds. She’s pretty good and the more she plays the better she gets – and it’s fun. She shrieks with laugher. They keep playing.)


MACANA. My wife doesn’t believe you’re the queen since you don’t have a ball court.

ISABELLA. I am the queen. (She lobs the ball back at him, hard, with her hip.) I’ve only met one Indian woman.

MACANA. My wife. I knew you’d be good at this.

ISABELLA. Your wife? I didn’t realize she was here. She’s very serious.

MACANA. She’s in mourning.

(FERDINAND enters, paying no attention to them.)

FERDINAND.

Finally. A ship back from the Indies. Bloodshed and gold. As bad as things sound, I wonder if they are still sugar coating the situation. (Noticing MACANA and ISABELLA.) What are you doing?

ISABELLA. (Playing ball.) Watch.

(She knocks the ball at MACANA who knocks it back to her.)

FERDINAND.

You must stop this instant.

ISABELLA. It’s a game.

MACANA. You try.

FERDINAND. Me?

ISABELLA. Sir, you’re a natural.

(FERDINAND considers. ISABELLA passes the ball to him with her hip. He takes the ball in his hands.)


ISABELLA.

No hands.

FERDINAND. What?

ISABELLA. Your hips, your hips. Pass it to me.

FERDINAND. Isabella, Columbus sent a boatload of Indians to trade for cattle and supplies. Now, you’ve always resisted slavery as an income-generating measure. They are, after all, citizens of the great Khan, though he doesn’t seem to pay much attention to them. As Columbus predicted, these Indians are marvelous workers. Although they seem to have a penchant for suicide and swindle.

ISABELLA. Our mission is to redeem them.

FERDINAND. Columbus’s point is that they could pay for our mission.

ISABELLA. With their gold.

FERDINAND. With themselves. You’ve resisted African slavery, but this way the islands might even become a profit center. Where is my shirt?

ISABELLA. Your shirt? It’s not done.

(FERDINAND drops the ball and exits.)

(MACANA knocks the ball at ISABELLA who misses.)

MACANA.

I win. The king is mine.

ISABELLA. Take him.

MACANA. Now I must decide: Should he live or die?


ISABELLA. What?

(ISABELLA laughs until she realizes he’s serious.)

MACANA. Should he live or die. You wagered him.

ISABELLA. I don’t understand.

MACANA. I’ve won him. I must --

ISABELLA. What are you talking about?

MACANA. -- Kill him. But how?

ISABELLA. What are you saying?

MACANA. A blow to the head.

ISABELLA. What?

MACANA. Quick. Painless.

ISABELLA. You are the most stupid and vicious man I have ever met.

MACANA. But we agreed.

ISABELLA. Are the Indies really so savage or is it just you, Don Juan?

MACANA. We had a bet.

ISABELLA. We played a silly game.

MACANA. He is mine to dispose of.

ISABELLA.


Don’t be ridiculous. Ferdinand is a great warrior. The hero of the war against the Moors. God marches with him. In our kingdom, people are destroyed for lack of faith. The King is surrounded by soldiers who, if you made the slightest move against him, would smash you like an ant.

MACANA. Call him. Call his soldiers.

ISABELLA. You think you could kill the king and live?

MACANA. My faith is to kill the king. Call them.

ISABELLA. Savage. (She doesn’t move.)


MACANA.

(Moving to exit.) I’ll get him.

ISABELLA. (Stops him.) Live. (MACANA breaks away.)

ISABELLA. If they kill you, who would I talk to?

MACANA. The game. Beg.

ISABELLA. Release him, I beg you.

MACANA. Why?

ISABELLA. He is the noble enforcer of the One Truth Faith. (MACANA shrugs.)

ISABELLA. Because he is the king.

MACANA. I have my own.

ISABELLA. Because he is mine.

(After a moment, he dismisses her.)

MACANA. Take him. (ISABELLA exits.)

(MACANA is furious with himself for not following through.)

(LIGHTS OUT.)

SCENE THIRTEEN:

The Map Of the World

(A Room in a monastery at night.)


LEDA’S VOICE SShhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh.

(GUAMO and LEDA enter. LEDA holds a candle stick. They are cautious, obviously sneaking around.)

LEDA.

(She gestures to the fourth wall.) There. Mappas Mundi. The whole world.

(The map LEDA refers to fills most of the fourth wall. At moments in the scene they look at different portions of the map, point to specific places as GUAMO tries to figure it out.)

GUAMO.

It’s flat.

LEDA. Of course, it’s flat. It’s like a picture -- of everywhere.

GUAMO.

Where are we?

LEDA. The monastery of –

GUAMO. I mean on the map.

LEDA. You’re so smart, handsome, you’ll figure it out.

(Silence as LEDA and GUAMO peer at the map.)

LEDA.

Moments like this I am so glad I can’t read. It would just be confusing. This way I can relax and enjoy all the colors.

GUAMO.

All that blue. Must be water.

LEDA. Who knows what it is, but it looks pretty.

GUAMO. Water all over and I’m walking. This way?


(GUAMO continues to scan the map. LEDA watches him. Finally.)

LEDA.

Take me with you. We can find it together.

(Guamo ignores her.) Don’t you love me?

(Silence.)

(LEDA starts to cry.)

(GUAMO puts his arm around her, but LEDA shakes him off.)

All you wanted was this map. You wanted my help to break in here. (Her voice rising.) I thought you were so brilliant, so kind, so out of this world, but all you want is to get the hell out of here. Well, did you ever think what would happen to me if they found us up here? I’d be out on the street. You’d be in jail.

(GUAMO puts his hand over her mouth.)

GUAMO.

Sssshhhhhhhhh.

(LEDA pulls away from him. She talks softer, but no less emphatically.)

LEDA.

You think you’re so smart. But face it, you don’t know where you are, you can’t find where you’re from, and you have no idea where you’re going. Well, mister, you can’t stay here. Find your own map of the world. Get out!

GUAMO.

Look at this. Please. I’m trying to figure it out, going backwards.

(He takes white stones and one red stone from his pocket and puts them on the floor to mark the places he says.)

The ships leave port here. Follow these currents, past these islands. Then, if you’re lucky, greet this wind. A long journey. But the current is glad you’re there. Then, the wind will change and the air will get silky with the sun and


then you’ll see islands. Like this, and this, and the most beautiful one, of course, mine. More this way. And here. Oh, and I almost forgot, here underwater, this reef – I’ve always loved. I played there so much when I was kid. It’s rough, red as blood, and always in my dreams.

(Lights Out.)

Scene Fourteen

The Homecoming of Diego Colon

(Guanahani. On stage are corpses. The corpses should not be realistic, but theatrical. COLUMBUS and CAREY enter. They turn over the first corpse and peer into its face. They look and say nothing. They turn over another corpse and stare at his face.) COLUMBUS.

These are my men.

(COLUMBUS can’t figure it out. He holds onto CAREY. COLUMBUS is more overcome the further they walk. They look at another corpse. Then another.) COLUMBUS.

My men. All of them.

(COLUMBUS sits and starts to cry.)


(The VIRGIN MARY ENTERS and puts her arms around COLUMBUS.) (CAREY keeps walking, looking at corpses. CAREY discovers the THE CACIQUE, sitting amid the corpses, smoking. He puts the cigar to his nose, not to his mouth.) (ATTEBEY sits near him. She is no longer giving birth and has no baby.) CAREY.

Where are my parents? My cousins?

THE CACIQUE. You’re back. Where are the others?

CAREY. Dead, ran away, stayed behind. Where’s my family? What happened?

THE CACIQUE

The sailors took women. They fought each other, fought with the other people.

(COLUMBUS and the VIRGIN MARY make their way over to hear what is said.)

They didn’t act like guests. They thought we were servants.

CAREY. Servants? Who killed –

THE CACIQUE The Caribs came. We fought, but it was hard. People ran. But I fought – wounded.

(It is not clear if the Cacique is really wounded.)

CAREY.

Where are my parents?

THE CACIQUE. I don’t know. The Caribs. I fought them. My leg.


(The CACIQUE shows them a wound on his leg, but it looks phony.)

COLUMBUS.

Thank you, old friend.

THE CACIQUE. I fought.

CAREY. (Grabbing his shoulder.) What happened? (Gesturing at the wound.) What is that? Is this make-belief?

(COLUMBUS stops CAREY from roughing up the CACIQUE.)

COLUMBUS. (To THE CACIQUE.) Thank you for your sacrifice.

CAREY. You believe this?

COLUMBUS. Without the common language of trust, friendship is only a game.

(LIGHTS OUT.)


SCENE 15

Don Juan takes a Bath

(Bright sunlight. KARAYA is giving MACANA, who is quite sick, wasting away, a bath in a large wooden tub. She pours glittering water over him and it sounds like bells.)

MACANA. Every night I wake up asking: why haven’t I killed them? Why don’t I strike? I need time. (He coughs.) Don’t worry. I’ll kill them.

(KARAYA makes a gesture to be quiet. MACANA ignores her.)

You think it’s talk.

KARAYA. (Touching him sadly.) So thin.

MACANA. You don’t think I can kill them. I’ll kill them. (Pause.) If I can’t kill them, why am I here?

(KARAYA pours water from the tub over him.)

I dreamt last night your face was covered in blood. Like that ball game all those years ago celebrating the birth of the Cacique’s fourth daughter. You got kicked in the face by –

KARAYA. It was an accident. She said.

MACANA. You cried and cried because you were afraid your team would lose.

KARAYA. Remember: Her foot slipped. She said.

MACANA. I stopped the game. And I went to you and wiped your face with my hand. The blood on your face was so soft. It was all over my hands. You demanded to stay in the game.


KARAYA. (Laughing.) When people talk about her they still talk about that. I wanted to stomp her. What were we? Fifteen?

MACANA. What does it mean that I fell in love with you when your face was all bloody?

KARAYA. You didn’t want to see my face.

MACANA. You were snarling and angry at first, then you cried and cried. That day we understood each other.

KARAYA. I still have dreams of kicking her. Don’t tell anyone.

MACANA.

Who would I tell? We’re the only two people left.

KARAYA. She was my best friend. And we lost. You kissed me. I still have the scar.

(MACANA rises onto his knees and kisses her.)

KARAYA.

What’s this?

MACANA. I don’t want to die here.

KARAYA. When the kids come, you’ll all swim off together.

MACANA. Not here. I never liked anywhere but home.

KARAYA. How often were you there?

MACANA. I didn’t want –

KARAYA. Always on the water, visiting, trading, Always the first to go --

MACANA. I wanted to be home.


KARAYA.

You wanted to be somewhere else. Don’t worry. The kids will find you. They’ll be swimming, wriggling like eels.

MACANA. And you.

KARAYA. When you’re gone, no one will know me. I’ll have disappeared like dew.

MACANA. Maybe Carey will come back. He will know you.

KARAYA. Leave home again to come back to the Land of the Dead? No. He’s young, not crazy.

MACANA. People here know you.

KARAYA. Not me.

(KARAYA scrubs MACANA’s back.)

MACANA. I know who knows you.

KARAYA. Who?

MACANA. Columbus. If he ever comes back.

KARAYA. Him?

MACANA. When I’m dead. If you need someone from those times find him. (Change of thought.) You were always beautiful playing ball. Free. Ferocious. Did I ever tell you that I used to watch you play and dream that we would be together forever? (KARAYA laughs.)

Do you remember after that game, you swam far away from me. I chased you and chased you in all the blue and silver. Do you remember what the water felt like? The sun? (KARAYA pours water on his back.)


(LIGHTS OUT.)


SCENE SEVENTEEN

The Death of Don Juan

(The private suite of ISABELLA and FERDINAND. FERDINAND is talking. ISABELLA is weeping.)

FERDINAND.

Isabella, even I am overwhelmed. We are redeeming the Tower of Babel. It is a great responsibility. My mind explodes. Despite all the reports of war, bloodshed, every ship back from the Indies fills me with hope. The future sails to us. What was it that scholar told you when he presented you with a printed grammar of your beloved Castilian? “Language is always the companion of empire. Language and empire are born, increase and flourish together.” (Looking at her.) Are those tears of triumph? You taught our daughters to read Latin. Who could imagine? Girls. We move toward perfection. The world we have built --

ISABELLA. He’s dead.

FERDINAND. Who?

ISABELLA.

Don Juan.

FERDINAND. Who? Which? The wild man? (He pats ISABELLA’s arm. Continuing.) A world more vast --

ISABELLA. No one had ever met anyone like him before.

FERDINAND. Many more where he came from.

ISABELLA. He was brand new.

FERDINAND. And now the goldmines of the Indies will bring us great wealth. True, there are complaints, challenges, but these are questions of process. We must investigate Columbus’s efforts in the New World. They say he’s over his head, but anything is possible as long as it’s properly managed and marketed.


(He starts to exit.)

ISABELLA.

It was my idea. Not yours. The voyage. You dismissed it. I wanted it. Now he’s dead.

FERDINAND. Isabella, I always credit you with your foresight and imagination.

ISABELLA. You think the world was created one way, but the world was created more ways than you could ever dream.

FERDINAND. “In the beginning was the word.” You will find comfort with a new servant. (KARAYA enters.)

ISABELLA. His wife?

FERDINAND. Her presence will console you.

(FERDINAND exits. Silence.) (ISABELLA hands KARAYA her hairbrush. KARAYA brushes ISABELLA’s hair as they speak.) ISABELLA.

We have lost someone very dear.

KARAYA. I thought we were already dead.

ISABELLA. He had so many dreams.

KARAYA. He’s dead. I’m not dead.

ISABELLA. We must take comfort in his baptism.

KARAYA. All this time, I’ve been alive.


(KARAYA gives ISABELLA the hairbrush. KARAYA reaches into her dress and pulls out the hawks bell and rings it.) ISABELLA.

A bird bell, how funny.

KARAYA. That’s the sound of my little girl’s laughter. (She listens.) That’s the only sound that’s left. (LIGHTS OUT.)


SCENE SEVENTEEN The Secrets of the Philosphers

(An alchemist’s workshop, hidden away. A fire. A vessel.) (BOMBASTUS and GEBER enter, talking.) GEBER.

He is enlightened.

BOMBASTUS. Can he make gold?

GEBER. I found him by the side of the road, incredibly sick. I brought him here. He gets stronger every day. His life story is so fantastic it can only be an allegory. He’s mysterious, strange, an enigma, a living metaphor. He must have the philosopher’s stone. He can teach us all the secrets of tranmutation.

BOMBASTUS. Is he rich?

GEBER. He wants for nothing.

BOMBASTUS. Has he transcended time?

GEBER. He is inexplicable.

BOMBASTUS. Immortal?

GEBER. He coughs, he’s thin, frail, but still he’s graceful, accomplished –- (GUAMO enters.)

GUAMO. I had the worst dream. Blood red coral, fish glittering and changing colors. The most beautiful fish had the sharpest teeth. The waters pulled me down. I couldn’t see the sunlight. I couldn’t rise.


(GEBER and BOMBASTUS exchange looks.)

GEBER.

(To GUAMO.) Sir, may I introduce a fellow student of the philosophy of transmutation.

GUAMO. I’m no philosopher. I’m one of the wild men. I was brought by Columbus. I thought I was a bridge between two worlds, but the King and Queen--

BOMBASTUS. Cut the act. The Queen’s wild man has been dead for at least three years.

GUAMO. Dead? Macana.

GEBER. (To BOMBASTUS.) It’s allegory: the wild man is the Prima Material, the queen and king are silver and gold. Every word he utters is transmutation. Perhaps, we could trade secrets.

GUAMO. I have no secrets. (Pause.) He died?

BOMBASTUS. A wild man who speaks perfect Spanish?

GEBER. He speaks Arabic, Hebrew, Latin, Portuguese. He’s a cosmopolite, a citizen of the entire world.

GUAMO. What about the wild man’s wife? Karaya?

BOMBASTUS. Don Juan of Castile didn’t have a wife. He was the Queen’s pet.

GUAMO.

Maybe they’re both dead.

BOMBASTUS. And you just happen to turn up here, studying our efforts. Just hanging around. Got nothing better to do.

GUAMO. I’ve been sick. Your friend helped me.

BOMBASTUS. You don’t seem sick to me. You seem very healthy. What’s your plan?


GUAMO.

Go home.

BOMBASTUS. (Threatening GUAMO.) Liar. Who are you?

GEBER. Stop it.

GUAMO.

Don’t push me.

BOMBASTUS. Smooth guy, you have my friend under your spell. Trying to steal our secrets, trying to steal our gold.

GUAMO. Trying to get home.

GEBER. Bombastus, let him be.

BOMBASTUS.

A wild man? No. Moor – could be? Jew? Probably.

GUAMO. Steal gold? From here? I cleaned up the kitchen when the experiment blew up, scraped up bloody waste, smelled charred shit.

BOMBASTUS. A wild man. Really? You must know Christopher Columbus. Think he’d recognize you?

GUAMO.

Columbus? Is he alive?

BOMBASTUS. Retired. Pathetic.

GUAMO. Alive? I’ll find him. (GUAMO begins to exit.)

BOMBASTUS (Stopping him roughly.) Search his pockets.

GUAMO Don’t touch me.

(GUAMO shows he has nothing.)


GEBER.

Stay. We need your wisdom.

(GUAMO ignores him and exits.)

GEBER. He knew something.

BOMBASTUS. Thief. Liar. (Laughing.) “Wild man.”

(LIGHTS OUT.)


SCENE EIGHTEEN

The Beloved Queen is Dying

(Isabella and Ferdinand’s private quarters. ISABELLA is bundled up, sick, but reading from Columbus’s Journal. KARAYA sits with her and sews.)

ISABELLA.

“. . . There came alongside in a canoe, the husband of one of these women we had taken and the father to the three children, one male and two female; and he asked me for him to go with them and he implored me greatly; and all of them were consoled by him, for they must all be related.” Maria, you never had any children?

KARAYA. Yes, your majesty. Three.

ISABELLA. Three?

KARAYA. Two girls and a boy.

ISABELLA. Are they happy?

KARAYA. They are dead.

ISABELLA. Dead. Why didn’t you tell me that?

KARAYA. I did.

ISABELLA. Why do I always forget that we share that tragedy? Isabella, my eldest and my poor little son Juan. How did your children die?

KARAYA. They died on Columbus’s ship.

ISABELLA. How awful.


KARAYA. They threw the bodies overboard. I always imagine them swimming in the sea. Some day they’ll get to Spain.

ISABELLA. How old were they?

KARAYA. (Thinks.) Nine, eleven and thirteen.

ISABELLA. Were they baptized?

KARAYA. No, of course, not.

ISABELLA. There is a place for little children. A place to stay forever. God is not so cruel. It’s all right. Your dear children are in limbo.

KARAYA. No, there is a place where the dead go. It’s not so fancy. My children are there. (KARAYA sews.)

ISABELLA. I should have loved to have been on one of those voyages. You were so lucky. To think you’ve lived in two worlds.

(KARAYA puts her sewing aside and sits ringing her bell.)

ISABELLA.

I love that sound. May I have it?

(KARAYA ignores her.)

ISABELLA. I said, may I have it?

KARAYA. It’s mine.

ISABELLA. Yours? You must have gotten it somewhere.

KARAYA. I traded for it.

ISABELLA. Trade? Well, perhaps, you’d like my scarf.


KARAYA.

No.

ISABELLA. This ring? It glitters like the sun.

(KARAYA shrugs.)

ISABELLA. Surely, there is something you would like?

(KARAYA points at the Journal.)

ISABELLA. Absolutely not. Columbus wrote this book for me. There are three copies, but this is the original – in his hand. It’s marvelous.

(KARAYA ignores her and rings the bell.)

ISABELLA.

Besides you can’t read. (She reads.) “When I arrived in the Indies, I took some of these people by force in the first island I found, so that they might learn our language and give me news of what existed in these parts. And so it happened, for later they understood us, and we them, either by speech or by signs: and they have been very useful to us. I am bringing them with me now, and they still think I come from heaven.”

(KARAYA sits ringing the bell, ignoring ISABELLA, who gives in finally.) ISABELLA.

(Offering it up.) Here.

(KARAYA takes the journal, ISABELLA, the bell. ISABELLA rings the bell and KARAYA, with the journal in her lap, sews.)

(LIGHTS OUT.)


SCENE NINETEEN:

The Long Walk Home

(Silent night. Quiet. Dark Grey. Bleak.)

(Enter GUAMO, wrapping his tattered clothes tightly about him to protect himself from the cold, obviously tired, but walking, head down, painfully, until a snowflake drifts down to him. He looks up. There are more. He pushes them away as if they were a swarm of insects. He feels the cold on his skin, sees the moisture they leave, is utterly surprised by this, watches them melt on his hands, puts his face up and feels them there. Smiles. Touches them, tries to figure them out, licks his lips. Laughs. Shakes off his exhaustion and fear and dances in the snow.)

(LIGHTS OUT.)


SCENE 20:

The Final Days of the Great Explorers

(COLUMBUS, white haired, exhausted. He can barely see.) (The sound of a bronze bell. Columbus hears it, listens, tries to remember, shakes his head. The bell rings again.)

(GUAMO enters with bell.)

GUAMO. Admiral? Admiral of the Ocean Sea?

COLUMBUS. Did the Queen send you?

GUAMO. Admiral, do you remember me?

COLUMBUS. Of course not, but many have seen me, so perhaps. . .

GUAMO. May I tell you a story, Admiral? When I was a young man, I found a poisonous snake, diseased, exhausted, glittering in the sun. I took a sharp rock, lifted it and struck. The snake’s body suddenly coiled to strike. But the head flew up in the air --

COLUMBUS. The Holy Virgin Mary comes here every evening . . .

GUAMO. --and the snake spoke to me. It offered me anything my heart desired. Being young and curious – or maybe just dissatisfied -- I asked to go where the sun was born --

COLUMBUS. And, yet, there is something about her --

GUAMO. Then you came.

COLUMBUS.


--that is not quite right. Did you see Her? The Holy Virgin? I warn you. Don’t believe a word she says.

GUAMO. You don’t remember me?

COLUMBUS. When did you crew, boy? I am your commander. Everything I have ever done was an act of mercy for the world. The people who have betrayed me, will be punished by God. I am anointed to bring forth The Last Judgment. Let us go to the Queen and demand our due --

GUAMO. For months, she’s dead.

(COLUMBUS starts to cry.)

COLUMBUS. Isabella, how could you die without seeing me?

GUAMO. I saw you. I remember your boats drifting towards us like storm clouds. Your people exhausted, starving, hairy, triumphant. I was so excited.

COLUMBUS. Isabella dead? Who will defend me?

GUAMO. It was fantastic, then funny, then terrifying, then exhilarating. Those enormous boats creaked. You gave me this bell. (He rings it.) And on the beach, we talked.

COLUMBUS. Are you a ghost?

GUAMO. You wanted gold.

COLUMBUS. I spit up blood.

GUAMO. So do I. We --

COLUMBUS. The Virgin pretends to comfort me. She dabs at my mouth with a cloth. She’s tender but can’t be trusted.

GUAMO. Try to remember. (Pointing to himself.) Guamo. I helped you. I translated.


(COLUMBUS peers at him. There is, perhaps, a flicker of recognition, but it vanishes.)

COLUMBUS.

They are all dead. Those people

GUAMO. Not me.

COLUMBUS. Every one. Dead. They were handsome. Docile. Stupid. Children of God. I remember every detail of each and every one of my voyages, no matter what the Virgin says.

(GUAMO attacks COLUMBUS, but they are both frail, and Columbus pushes back.)

I knew you’d try. You can’t kill me. Every man who ever sailed with me tried. The Indians tried. The plotting courtiers tried. I will outlive you all. (He looks off stage.) Look! The Virgin. Friend, let us at least trust one another.

(KARAYA enters, a parrot on her shoulder. GUAMO lets go of COLUMBUS.)

KARAYA.

(To COLUMBUS.) Admiral, time to read from your journal of that first great voyage.

GUAMO. (Recognizing her.) A ghost.

COLUMBUS. (Conspiratorially to GUAMO.) Go back to the Queen. Tell her there is something very wrong with the Virgin. Remind Isabella, I gave Her Highness a world. The stories, the gossip, the dissatisfactions: trivial. God asks for empire, empire asks for gold, gold asks for sacrifice. They were children. They could see I came from heaven. The men who betrayed me are the very men I lifted up.

KARAYA. (Seeing GUAMO.) Guamo. I thought you were dead. I thought I was the only one.

(KARAYA and GUAMO embrace.)


COLUMBUS. The sailors, mutinous. The natives, duplicitous. The crown, vacillating. Only God and Isabella, stood by me. (Seeing them.) Stop it.

(COLUMBUS separates them, but it doesn’t matter.)

COLUMBUS.

Tell Isabella this latest voyage may have been my most magnificent.

GUAMO. (To KARAYA.) My heart breaks. Macana. Dead.

COLUMBUS I discovered the strait that Marco Polo claimed linked the Indies to the Indian Ocean.

KARAYA. (To GUAMO.) A long time ago.

COLUMBUS. A two-day walk and I would have met the Great Khan.

GUAMO. (To KARAYA.) He stayed –

KARAYA. (To GUAMO.) -- with the Queen.

COLUMBUS. But then -- the fiercest storms that anyone had ever known.

KARAYA. (To GUAMO.) After he died, I combed her hair and sewed her gowns.

COLUMBUS. One of the captains made a canoe --

GUAMO. (To KARAYA.) And Carey?

COLUMBUS. --went to Santa Domingo demanding ships, but that bastard --

KARAYA. (To GUAMO.) Columbus curses him as a turncoat. He went back to his family. Now -- I don’t know. Endless war.

COLUMBUS -- wouldn’t send a boat for seven months. Seven months. The Admiral of the Ocean Sea and no ship.


KARAYA.

How did you find me?

GUAMO. When I heard Macana died, I decided to kill him. (gesturing at Columbus.)

KARAYA. He’s an old man. All he has to live for are his stories. (She gestures with the journal.)

COLUMBUS. (Confidentially to Guamo.) Every night The Virgin reads to me from my Journal, but when she reads, it’s all wrong.

KARAYA.

(Showing COLUMBUS the journal.)Your Journal, my child, your gift to the Queen. The story of the bravest of explorers.

COLUMBUS. (Touching it.) My Journal. But when you read it, I’m erased.

KARAYA. Admiral, listen. A story of great discovery.

(KARAYA opens the book and pretends to read. COLUMBUS sits, listens, but as she speaks he can’t make sense of it.)

Long, long ago, the ancient bloody one dies as she gives birth, so they slit open her stomach and pull out four mewling twins. The first-born is called, “the scabby one,” because of his rough skin. One day when their father, YaYa is away, they break open a gourd and out pours all the waters of the world. They climb into the gourd and paddle down from the sky and into the world. . .

(LIGHTS OUT) --END OF PLAY--

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