[As the lights rise AMY can be seen twirling slowly, enjoying the swish of her skirt. LIZZY plays with a doll and GLADYCE reads a book. HARRY watches.]

AMY: When I was eight, I was murdered.

LIZZY: I was only seven.

GLADYCE: I was ten and should have known better.

AMY: I was wearing my favorite blue dress.

LIZZY: And playing with Disco Barbie!

GLADYCE: I was reading Nancy Drew.

AMY: I didn’t know it then.

GLADYCE: I later found out—

AMY: He was watching me from his window.

GLADYCE: For days he watched me from his window.

AMY: Sitting in his yellow chair.

LIZZY: He sat in an old yellow chair. And he had a kitty on his knee.

AMY: One foot pressing against the floor.

GLADYCE: Rocking.

LIZZY: Rocking.

AMY: But before he started watching—

GLADYCE: I found out later before he started watching—

AMY: He dug lots of little holes.

LIZZY: Holes and holes and holes!

GLADYCE: He dug hundreds of holes.

AMY: Under the house.

GLADYCE: In Mrs. Stuart’s flowerbed where he saw his cat take a shit.

LIZZY: Around the roots of my daddy’s pecan tree!

AMY: And in these holes—

GLADYCE: One little piece at a time—

AMY: He buried me.

LIZZY: And me.

AMY: First my hands.

GLADYCE: Then my neck. I didn’t know you could separate the head from the neck and the neck from the shoulders.

AMY: But you can.

GLADYCE: He buried me and forgot.

AMY: He buried me and forgot.

LIZZY: And me.

AMY: But first—

[The girls scatter to their original positions. One girl twirling. One girl playing with her doll. The other reading.]

HARRY: Hello, Amy.

AMY: Hello.

HARRY: Hello, Lizzy.

LIZZY: Hi.

HARRY: I’m Harry. Isn’t your name Gladyce? I’m a friend of your mom’s.

GLADYCE: I’ve never seen you before.

HARRY: I’m an old friend.

GLADYCE: What’s her name then?

HARRY: Julie.

AMY: Well, bye now.

HARRY: Where are you going Amy?

AMY: I wasn’t going to say anymore.

GLADYCE: I was going to run.

LIZZY: But then Harry said—

HARRY: I have some kittens. I found them. They’re in a box in my garage. Would you like to see them? You can take one home if you want to.

LIZZY: Kitties?

HARRY: That’s right.

LIZZY: Really?

HARRY: I found some kittens. They’re in my garage. There’s four of them. Would you like to see them?

AMY: What color are they?

HARRY: One is white. Another is an orange tabby. My favorite is the black one. Do you want me to show you?

GLADYCE: I don’t think my mom would like me talking to you. I need to go home.

AMY: I should have gone home.

LIZZY: I didn’t think of going home.

HARRY: She said it would be okay if you came over. I could show you my parakeet.

GLADYCE: When did you talk to her?

HARRY: I called her this afternoon. She said you could come over and see my pets because you love animals. You love animals, don’t you?

AMY: Yes! I sure do! I have a dog. His name is Chew Toy!

HARRY: I know. He’s a big black dog.

LIZZY: He’s a lab! You’ve seen him? Out your window?

HARRY: I sure have.

GLADYCE: I don’t have a dog. And I thought you had a cat. Not a bird.

AMY: When did you call my mom?

HARRY: Today.

AMY: While she was at work?

HARRY: That’s right.

LIZZY: You called my mom?

HARRY: I found her number in the phone book.

LIZZY: Okay.

AMY: He took my hand.

GLADYCE: He was wearing gloves.

LIZZY: He had on funny gloves.

GLADYCE: They were made of rubber.

LIZZY: But they weren’t yellow like mommy’s. They were black.

GLADYCE: Up here—

AMY: From up here—

GLADYCE: You see a lot from this view.

AMY: You see a lot that you can’t see when you’re below.

GLADYCE: He was smiling.

AMY: And I don’t know why, but—

GLADYCE: I felt a little sick inside.

LIZZY: Let’s go see the kitties, can we?

HARRY: Of course. Here. Hold my hand.

LIZZY: Why are you wearing gloves?

GLADYCE: It wasn’t cold.

AMY: It was warm.

HARRY: Because my hands get cold.

LIZZY: Oh.

AMY: But somehow kitties made up for everything.

GLADYCE: Kitties made me curious.

LIZZY: Kitties!

AMY: I thought, maybe, just for a second…

GLADYCE: I thought I would leave, after a minute.

LIZZY: I wanted to go. He had kitties.

GLADYCE: Why do you have dirt on your knees?

HARRY: I’ve been working in my garden.

LIZZY: Your knees are really dirty.

HARRY: I’ve been digging.

AMY: What for?

HARRY: It’s like a little grave.

LIZZY: Did something die?

HARRY: Yes.

GLADYCE: I should have run. I might—

AMY: If only I had run—

GLADYCE: Instead—

LIZZY: A kitty?

HARRY: I think it was sick. Do you still want to see the others?

GLADYCE: Are they sick too?

AMY: The cats are sick?

HARRY: No. I don’t think so.

GLADYCE: Why was I so concerned about cats?

AMY: Well, okay. I want to see them.

GLADYCE: Never mind. I don’t want to see them.

AMY: We walked on the sidewalk together. He held my hand and gave me a piece of candy.

LIZZY: He gave me candy and we were friends.

GLADYCE: I tried to walk away but—

AMY: He started squeezing my hand.

LIZZY: He petted the top of my head like this!

GLADYCE: Let me go!

HARRY: This is my house.

AMY: You live really close to me.

HARRY: Let’s go inside.

AMY: My tummy twisted.

GLADYCE: Intuition.

LIZZY: You said the kitties were in the garage.

HARRY: I made a little coffin for the one that died. It’s in my kitchen.

AMY: Intuition.

LIZZY: I’m scared.

GLADYCE: Stomach twisting.

AMY: I think I should go home.

HARRY: Help me bury her.

LIZZY: No! I wanna go home.

HARRY: Alright. I’ll bury her later. Let’s go to the garage.

AMY: It was a girl?

HARRY: Yes. A little girl. Are you sure you don’t want to see her?

LIZZY: I’m sure.

AMY: He grabbed my hand.

GLADYCE: He dragged me around the corner.

AMY: I tried to walk faster to keep up.

LIZZY: Wait for me.

HARRY: Here, you go in first. I’ll turn on the light.

LIZZY: I’m scared of the dark.

AMY: Where are they?

HARRY: In the corner. Can’t you hear them crying?

AMY: There was nothing.

GLADYCE: Just my heart pounding in my ears.

LIZZY: Kitty? Kitty?

AMY: A light snapped on.

GLADYCE: I was blinded.

LIZZY: I can’t see!

AMY: I turned—

LIZZY: He held me tight.

GLADYCE: He slapped me across the face.

AMY: The brass chain from the light bulb danced above his head.

GLADYCE: The brass chain from the light bulb danced above his head.

LIZZY: Look at the chain dance!

AMY: Too late.

GLADYCE: I was too late.

LIZZY: He pushed me down.

AMY: I don’t want to see them!

LIZZY: Mommy!

GLADYCE: Mama!

AMY: He pushed me into the wall.

LIZZY: I want my—

GLADYCE: He hit me again.

AMY: I couldn’t move.

LIZZY: Stop! Please!

GLADYCE: I saw a flash.

AMY: Something flashed.

LIZZY: I saw silver.

GLADYCE: Oh my God!

AMY: Please God!

GLADYCE: A knife.

AMY: A blade.

LIZZY: What are you doing?

GLADYCE: I’m dying.

AMY: I’m dying.

HARRY: Close your eyes.

LIZZY: Why?

HARRY: So it won’t hurt.

AMY: And it was over.

GLADYCE: It came so quick.

AMY: He kissed me.

GLADYCE: Then he put the knife here.

AMY: Here.

LIZZY: Here.

AMY: I was gone.

GLADYCE: Gone.

LIZZY: Gone?

HARRY: Yes.

AMY: I was so small.

GLADYCE: I never realized how little I was.

LIZZY: Look. A little girl. It’s me.

AMY: It is you.

GLADYCE: I’m Gladyce. This is Amy.

LIZZY: My name is Lizzy.

AMY: Hold my hand.

LIZZY: Why is he kissing me?

AMY: I think he’s saying goodbye.

GLADYCE: He kissed my nose.

AMY: My lips.

LIZZY: What will he do with me?

GLADYCE: He buried my knees next to my mother’s front step. He did it in the middle of the night.

AMY: He’ll put you away.

LIZZY: In little holes?

AMY: In little holes.

GLADYCE: In damned little holes!

AMY: Then he will forget.

GLADYCE: He will forget.

LIZZY: His memory is broken?

AMY: He’ll look out his window.

GLADYCE: He’ll forget and look out his window.

LIZZY: Out his window…

AMY: Again.