Welcome to the May 2022 issue of Write Bites! As you know, Barely Seen had to take a short break but we are so grateful to be able to continue publishing works from talented writers. This month we have F.J. Hartland and Gail Knowles with their one-page plays “Packing Up” and “Hypnotist”. Enjoy and thank you for reading this month’s Write Bites!
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PACKING UP
F. J. Hartland
CHARACTERS
LEE, any gender
PAT, any gender
SETTING
A bedroom.
(PAT enters in time to see LEE putting a few items into a suitcase)
PAT
What are you doing?
LEE
What does it look like?
PAT
Is it someone else?
LEE
You tell me. And consider your answer carefully.
PAT
Yes.
LEE
Good. Me, too.
PAT
Who?
LEE
Me. My priorities used to be you first, our relationship second, me last. Now my priority is just me.
PAT
I’ll change.
LEE
I’ve heard that before.
PAT
Please don’t go.
LEE
Oh, I’m not going anywhere.
(LEE slides the suitcase across the floor to him)
You are.
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THE HYPNOTIST
by Gail Knowles
HYPNOTIST: Most people who come to see a hypnotist want to stop something…like smoking, drinking, overeating…
MARY: Not me.
HYPNOTIST: Or sometimes, they want to remember something about their past.
MARY: No, I want to know about the future.
HYPNOTIST: I don’t see how I can help you with that.
MARY: You have to try. I have these visions…they are so vivid. I’m somewhere in space, looking down at the earth.
HYPNOTIST: I can hypnotize you, but it is very unlikely that I will be able to help you see into the future.
MARY: Please...you’re my only hope.
HYPNOTIST: Okay, concentrate on my pocket watch as it moves back and forth. That’s it, back and forth, as your eyelids get heavy. You are very sleepy and need to just close your eyes so you can have a nice, deep sleep. Now, I want you to think about your body floating. Can you feel yourself floating up in the air, Mary?
MARY’S VOICE: Not Mary. It’s Belinda.
HYPNOTIST: Belinda, what are you doing in Mary’s mind?
MARY’S VOICE: Just visiting the past. It’s part of my college thesis to explore the mindset of humans in the 21st century.
HYPNOTIST: So you’re from the future, and have the ability to not only time-travel, but to mind-meld with a living being from this century?
MARY’S VOICE: Sure, because Mary is my great-great grandmother, so it was easy to find her.
HYPNOTIST: I’m sorry, but your little experiment is affecting Mary’s psyche. She is somehow seeing through your eyes, watching earth from outer-space, and it’s alarming her.
MARYS VOICE: That’s amazing. I didn’t think she would be able to see my view from the space station.
HYPNOTIST: I’m going to ask you to leave Mary alone and I’ll convince her that it was a dream.
MARY’S VOICE: I wish you could just tell her that her great-great granddaughter stopped by for a visit.
HYPNOTIST: And what makes you think she’d believe that?
MARY’S VOICE: Because she believes that hypnosis can open your mind to endless possibilities.
HYPNOTIST: If I could help people see into the future, I would be the most famous hypnotist of all times.
MARY’S VOICE: You will be, Dr. Fox. Your name is in my history book.
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Thank you for reading this month’s issue of Write Bites! Come back next month for more entries by our talented writers!
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