Letters from Afar
Characters:
LEONARD LINMORE: (32) He has a daughter, MATILDA LINMORE, and parents waiting for him to get home from war. He wants nothing more than to have the war end so he can go home to see his family again. He and Joseph are close friends, even considering him his brother, as they have known each other since childhood.
JOSEPH MURPHY: (31) Joined the military to die with meaning and purpose. He has a very morbid outlook on life, with no living, blood-related family. He harbors jealousy toward LEONARD LINMORE and holds on to guilt from when he lived with and depended on the Linmores.
MATILDA LINMORE: (10) LEONARD LINMORE’s daughter.
UNNAMED SOLDIER: He is a part of the same squad as LEONARD LINMORE and JOSEPH MURPHY.
Core Idea: The friends are writing letters to those who would miss them should they die in the war when Joseph slips up and says that he joined the military to die, since he had no one back home. Leonard is livid to hear that Joseph is basically throwing his life away and that he means nothing to him. Joseph dies that same day, by an artillery shell. Leonard returns home, and it’s been a year since Joseph’s death. He has carried the letter his friend wrote to him all this time and has only just gotten around to reading it. At the end, Joseph signs the letter as “friend and brother.” This whole script is centered around the idea of survivor’s guilt from Leonard’s point of view.
AT RISE: On the left of the stage a disheveled LEONARD LINMORE sits slumped on a recliner at home. The stage is dark except for a cold spotlight on LEONARD. He holds a fragile, overly folded paper in shaky hands. This paper holds some of the last thoughts of the man he saw as a brother. He takes some deep breaths, steeling himself for what he’s about to read.
LEONARD: “December 19, 1943. Hey Lennie, guess if you’re reading this, then I beat you to the finish line. You were right in the end; I did have someone to write to. I don’t even know what to write, but hell – if I’m gonna die….”
[There is a brief pause. Leonard continues reading]
“…if I’m gonna die…”
[A pause again, before he crumples, folds the paper, and puts it into his jacket pocket. He holds his head in his hands.
Dammit, Joseph….
[In the darkness JOSEPH speaks as he runs up to where LEONARD is. He’s sort of shout-whispering.]
JOSEPH: Hey Lennie—
[Present day LEONARD looks up sharply and slowly as we see him fall back into their fox hole. LEONARD takes on a more carefree attitude as he becomes LEONARD from the past.]
Ya’ know when the new unit is gonna show with that winter gear? Don’t get me wrong, I’m willing to give my life for my country, but making me freeze my ass off is just cruel.
LEONARD: Well, your ass is just gonna have to suck it up for another two days. They’re supposed to be here by then, but with the way the weather’s been lookin’ recently … well, we’ll see.
JOSEPH: Yeah, well, if they don’t show by then, all they’re gonna be findin’ is a buncha’ frozen men.
[LEONARD gives a grunt of agreement, and the men share a laugh. LEONARD wistfully speaks up first.]
LEONARD: If you weren’t here, what’d you be doing right now, Joe?
JOSEPH: Again, with this, man, c’mon-
LEONARD: No, no, I’m being serious here.
JOSEPH: It’s a waste of time thinkin’ ‘bout it, Len.
LEONARD: Not like we got anything better to do right now.
[There’s a heavy pause. JOSEPH resolutely stays silent. LEONARD takes a moment to look at his friend before he speaks again]
LEONARD: Hey, you remember when we were in school, and they asked us, “Where do you see yourself in 10 years”?
JOSEPH: [answers tentatively] Yea, what ‘bout it?
LEONARD: Well, remember how I said I was gonna be a movie star, and there were only two people who didn’t laugh an’ call me insane?
[He nudges JOSEPH’s shoulder, both grinning over the memory]
JOSEPH: Course Len. Peg and I knew you were insane long before then.
LEONARD: Well then remember what you said after me?
JOSEPH: I remember making a fool of myself for you is what I remember.
LEONARD: [in a mocking/joking tone] “Well, I wanna join the circus and fly with the elephants.”
JOSEPH: [he’s grinning as he gestures to where they are] Oh boy, did I get one hell of a circus.
LEONARD: I’m surprised that you didn’t get a paddling for that.
JOSEPH: I’m surprised Peggy stayed with you after that.
LEONARD: [he smirks as he shrugs and says] Worked out in the end, didn’t it? At least I didn’t scare off any possible sweethearts saying, “I wanna join the circus”.
JOSEPH: Hey, I never lied. I just didn’t say which kinda circus I saw myself joinin’.
LEONARD: [still smiling] I’m sure all of us had life planned out before this. I would have given just ’bout anything to meet the likes of Greta Garbo, maybe even Rita Hayworth, rather than looking at a picture—if you know what I mean…
[He playfully nudges JOSEPH, and the men share a laugh]
JOSEPH: Rita Hayworth, really?
LEONARD: What’d ya mean “really”? You tellin’ me you wouldn’t wanna make time with someone like her?
JOSEPH: Not what I’m saying at all! I just meant you could do better than Hayworth. Hell, you did do better than Hayworth by marrying Peggy. Now that, that was a woman.
[There is a sad tone to the men’s laughter this time.]
LEONARD: Yeah, there’s never gonna be another woman quite like Peggy. It’s strange but even after five years…. I still wake up some mornings and expect her to be back in bed with me, but then I remember that she’s [a pause] gone. God, I miss her, ya know.
JOSEPH: [He thinks on this a moment.] She was something else Lennie… and man do I miss her cooking—
[at that LEONARD chuckles. JOSEPH chuckles right along with him.]
-If it wasn’t for her lunches, I’m sure I would’ve been dead by now from my own cooking. I couldn’t make any kinda food for shit then.
LEONARD: Then?! You still can’t cook for shit now!
[All of a sudden JOSEPH stops laughing and becomes eerily serious.]
JOSEPH: Now. Now? NOW?!
[LEONARD recoils at JOSEPH’s sudden outburst]
JOSEPH: I’m dead now Len! I died for you, for our home and you’ve only just read the letter?! I’ve been dead for a year! You’re weak, Linmore!
[LEONARD stares at JOSEPH in disbelief. As JOSEPH says these things, LEONARD is curling into himself and covering his ears]
LEONARD: Stop it, Joe! Please!
JOSEPH: I guess I really did mean so little to you!
LEONARD: Stop!
[At this point LEONARD has his eyes shut tight as well. JOSEPH makes a slow and menacing exit, but continues to speak off-stage]
JOSEPH: You should be here with me, Linmore! You should be dead too.
LEONARD: [He stands and shouts at the spot where JOSEPH was] I WISH I WAS, JOE!
[As LEONARD opens his eyes, he realizes JOSEPH is gone. Slowly Leonard comes to terms that it was all in his head, as he runs a hand over his face and looks around. He goes back to where he was at the beginning of the script and pulls the letter from his pocket. After a deep breath, he unfolds the letter and with a shaky breath he begins to read again]
LEONARD: “—I don’t even know what to write, but, hell, if I’m gonna die, [LEONARD pauses here again, takes a deep breath and continues] I might as well spill it to you. I’m jealous of you, Lennie. You got everything I wanted outta life. You have your parents, friends, hell, you had an amazing wife, and the sweetest kid a man could ask for. I never had any of that. Never had any of those worthwhile connections… ’cept for you. Remember when we were kids, and you would drag me ‘round everywhere? [LEONARD huffs a sad laugh at the memory] You and your family gave me everything I have. Every day of living there, I felt guilty cause I had nothing to give your parents for the kindness they showed me. That was until the draft came, and I realized that this was my chance. I could make it all worth it by being a soldier. I can hear you now about how this is all crap, that I never had anything to prove. But this is all I have, Len. I guess it was a good thing we fought earlier. I don’t think I’d have written this otherwise… [At this he drifts off into memory again. He folds and places the paper into his chest pocket again.]
JOESPH: [Once again running up to LEONARD, this time with some paper] Hey, Lennie, the boys wanted to write those letters home. I told them it was a waste ’ of time, but they insisted… Here, I grabbed you paper.
[JOSEPH gives a confused-looking LEONARD a small piece of paper. As LEONARD takes it, he becomes LEONARD of the past again. JOSEPH holds the paper, playing with it rather than writing.]
LEONARD: Give the guys a break. I can’t blame them for wantin’ to write home with the way this winter is shaping up to be.
JOSEPH: Yeah, well, that doesn’t change the facts. I bet half of these letters don’t even get to the person they’re meant to, so what’s the point?
LEONARD: C’mon, Joe, it’s just a letter.
[There is awkward pause as JOSEPH seems to avoid responding. The only sound is LEONARD scribbling away on his paper as he begins to write.]
LEONARD: Alright then, Joe, so who are you writin’ to then?
JOSEPH: No one really… [JOSEPH deflects quickly, still playing with the paper in his hand] What about you, who you writin’ to?
LEONARD: I’m writing to Mattie. Guess I’ll write to Mom and Pop too, while I’m at it. I’m telling Mattie that Dad’s gonna come home, so is Uncle Joe [LEONARD nudges JOSEPH’s shoulder], and that everything’s gonna be just fine.
[There’s an odd beat of silence as the men respectively think about life after the war. It seems like a distant dream at this point for one; for the other, it’s an impossible image.]
LEONARD: What’d you say to a Lucky? Pops sent me a carton a while back, and I never got to smoke ’em. I was gonna give Richie a pack yesterday, but then his hole got overrun, and he…
[Another beat passes. Leonard obviously mourns his friend, Richie, and Joseph feels conflicted over how to feel.]
JOSEPH: Men die every day here, Len. Best we can do is remember them and make sure they didn’t die for nothin’. At least Richie died the best way a man could during these times. He gave his life for his country and—
LEONARD: —but what about his family! What about those who were waiting for their son or husband or brother or whatever …to get back home…. Jesus, Joseph….
[An awkward and tense moment passes between the men as LEONARD is upset over JOSEPH’s lack of empathy]
LEONARD: I mean, think about it, man, how would you feel knowing that everyone is waiting for you to get back, and then you don’t show? Imagine [JOSEPH grows more visibly uncomfortable and aggravated as he goes on] having some strangers show up at your door, tellin’ ’em you died thousands of miles away in some God-forsaken hole in the ground. Imagine—
JOSEPH: STOP! Just stop! Look, I get you’ve got a family; you’ve got something to look forward to! Well, I don’t! I don’t, man!
[There’s a short silence.]
JOSEPH: You’ve got people waitin’ on you, and that’s great, but what do people like ME have?! Nothing! I’VE GOT FUCKING NOTHING!
[LEONARD takes these words in. The more JOSEPH talks, the more he becomes hurt and upset. JOSEPH knows that he shouldn’t have lashed out at his friend, but there is no going back now.]
LEONARD: Wha-What about Mom and Pops? WHAT ABOUT MATTIE?! WHAT ABOUT ME?! YOUR FAMILY?! Do we mean anything to you?
[JOSEPH remains silent.]
LEONARD: I thought we were…. [There’s a pause as LEONARD swallows and tentatively continues.] I thought we were family. I thought we were brothers.
[There is a tense pause before JOSEPH speaks with conviction.]
JOSEPH: I’m not like you, Linmore. No parents, no daughter [another short pause] … and I don’t have any brothers. My people are here, ready to give their lives when necessary.
[As he says this, he starts to walk away from LEONARD. LEONARD tries to call out to him and run to grab him, but it’s as if he is fighting an invisible force that’s keeping him in place.]
LEONARD: JOE! JOE COME BACK! JOSEPH PLEASE!
[Once JOSEPH is gone, LEONARD collapses.]
LEONARD: Joseph, please come back!
[There is a moment of silence.]
LEONARD: PLEASE! [Said desperately.]
[LEONARD is a mess as a young girl enters. It is MATILDA, his daughter. She sees her father crying.]
MATILDA: Dad, what’s wrong?!
LEONARD: Nothing, sweetheart, just… just thinking about someone. You remember, Uncle Joe, right?
[MATILDA nods in response]
LEONARD: You remember how we said goodbye to him?
[MATILDA nods, slowly and sadly.]
LEONARD: Well, I was just reading a letter he wrote me, and… and I…I… [He drifts off as another memory surfaces.]
[MATILDA exits as the memory begins and JOSEPH returns to the stage. This is it, JOSEPH MURPHY’s final moments alive. LEONARD must watch his best friend, his brother, die right before his eyes while unable to stop it. LEONARD has the piece of paper he had been writing on, and we see him write things down only to scratch them out. He gets more and more frustrated each time he scratches something out. He gets fed up eventually.]
LEONARD: Damnit, Joe! [LEONARD sighs heavily, letting his head fall into his hands. As he raises his head, he rubs his eyes and pinches the bridge of his nose. An UNNAMED SOLDIER enters.]
UNNAMED SOLDIER: Hey, Linmore, Murphy’s looking for you. Said he’s got somethin’ to give you.
LEONARD: [Confused and somewhat surprised about this] Alright… [LEONARD pauses, shakes his head and continues.] Uh, right, how far is he?
UNNAMED SOLDIER: ’Bout 50 feet down the line-
[Their conversation is interrupted by the sound of gunfire and the boom of the heavy artillery.]
UNNAMED SOLDIER: Fuck! I gotta get back to my position; cover me.
[The UNNAMED SOLDIER exits. We hear JOSEPH call desperately from offstage to the sound of gunfire and artillery shells going off.]
JOSEPH: LENNIE!!
[LEONARD stands quickly, trying to escape the spotlight he’s in. He looks off to the side of the stage from where we heard JOSEPH call from.]
LEONARD: JOSEPH—
[LEONARD’s call is cut off by the sound of an artillery shell going off (on one side of the stage, quite loud) and JOSEPH giving a short cry of pain. At the same time, we see a red light come from the side that all the noise came from, signifying JOSEPH’s death. LEONARD sits back down; he’s shaking and seems to be struggling for air. He has the letter back out, and it appears that he’s having difficulty even holding onto it. MATILDA reenters quickly as she rushes over to her dad. She kneels beside him and very tentative and cautiously she rests her hand on the one holding the letter. LEONARD jumps a bit at this, but after looking at the point of contact and seeing his daughter, LEONARD comes back to the present. He looks around quickly, taking in his environment as he takes the letter into his other hand and grasps MATILDA’s hand even tighter. MATILDA speaks quietly, her words choked as if she could cry any moment.]
MATILDA: I miss him too, Dad.
[LEONARD takes a deep breath.]
LEONARD: I … I … [He seems to be at a loss for words. His hand with the letter is still shaking slightly. MATILDA grips his hand and squeezes lightly. He looks down at her, and she nods toward the letter.]
MATILDA: Read the rest of it to me.
LEONARD: [Stunned for a moment, he squeezes her hand back.] Of course.
[They sit there as LEONARD gets ready to read the letter again. MATILDA keeps her hands wrapped around his.]
LEONARD: “I guess it was a good thing we fought earlier. I don’t think I’d have written this otherwise, and I don’t think I would have realized I was wrong. You were right! I do have a family and something to return to, and I’m sorry that I can’t be there with you now if you’re reading this. Tell Mom and Pops I love them, and I’m sorry for all the trouble they’ve gone through for me. And tell Mattie that I left her a whole tin of candies in my old room, in the back of the dresser.
[At this MATILDA looks up at LEONARD and then down at their hands, silently asking if he’d be okay without her. He smiles—it’s a little weary—and nods his head in the direction of offstage. She gets up, squeezes his hand once more, and then exits. His eyes follow her exit, his smile becoming sadder. He looks back to the paper and reads again.]
LEONARD: Lennie, all I can say is that I’m sorry for everything. I’m sorry for blaming you and being jealous of everything you had. Keep living, Leonard. Don’t stop because of me.
[There is a pause before LEONARD reads the last line.]
LEONARD: Your friend… and brother.
[LEONARD folds the paper and places it on the piece of furniture he was sitting on earlier in the script. He lets out what sounds like a laugh and a sob, finally feeling a weight lift off his shoulders. Across the stage, JOSEPH enters, and the men look at one another. Off stage, MATILDA can be heard.]
MATILDA: DAD, UNCLE JOE LEFT US SO MANY CANDIES! COME HAVE SOME! GRANDMA, GRANDPA, UNCLE JOE… [her voice fades]
[The men look off in the direction of MATILDA’s voice and then back to one another. JOSEPH smiles and is the first to speak.]
JOSEPH: See ya around, brother.
[JOSEPH slowly and calmly makes his way off stage. This time LEONARD does not move to chase after JOSEPH, instead he stands where he is calmly. He steps out of the spotlight, and as he does, the whole stage is lit in a warm yellow/orange light. He smiles at the spot where JOSEPH was.]
LEONARD: Yeah… see ya around.
fin
