• Prologue

    Catherine,
    I never meant for this to happen. What I said, what I did, it wasn’t meant to hurt you. It wasn’t meant to put you in the hospital and it definitely wasn’t meant to put you near death. I’ll be honest and say that what you did was dumb, but me causing you to do it was even dumber. I meant it to be a joke… I wanted to surprise you… I had no idea you’d take it so seriously… If you get this, if you read this, I hope you’ll find it in your heart to forgive me, and understand that I love you.
    Sincerest apologies,
    Matthew

    Matthew stuck the letter he’d written into his pocket, took it out, read it and re-read it again, then stuck it in a plain white envelope with a Valentine’s Day stamp on it. In his neatest handwriting, he addressed the letter to Catherine at her room in the hospital, and set it on his desk. Wracked with guilt, he climbed into bed and tried to sleep.
    The next morning, on his way to school, Matthew took the letter to the mailbox on the corner, let the envelope stay in his hand for a moment, and dropped it into the box. He sighed, stuffed his hands in his pockets, and continued on his way.

    Characters
    Catherine
    Matthew
    Diana (Catherine’s mother)
    Doctor 1
    Doctor 2
    Nurse 1
    Nurse 2
    Paramedic

    Act 1
    Scene 1

    An ambulance is driving towards a hospital, in no particular hurry. Upon reaching the hospital, a doctor questions one of the paramedics about the corpse. The date is February 15th.

    Doctor 1: He looks horrible. What happened to this guy?
    Paramedic: Well, from what we gathered, he’s got water in his lungs, his legs were crushed, his skull is fractured, and his diaphragm might be crushed, too—water pressure.
    Doctor 1: My God… I hear a lot of bad things but… That’s the worst I’ve heard in a while.
    Paramedic: Yeah… I kinda feel bad for him. Wonder what happened… We’re not even really sure if it was an accident or a suicide…
    Doctor 1: These things have a way of revealing themselves in time. Either way, though, the fact remains that we need to get him to the morgue and figure out who he is so we can contact his family.
    Enter Nurse 1, holding a damaged cell phone.
    Nurse 1: I’m surprised this survived, even in all that water. Apparently the last call was from someone’s mother, but the rest of the screen is too damaged to read and the buttons don’t really work.
    Doctor 1: I see… Well, it’s a start, I suppose, but it doesn’t really help to identify the circumstances behind his death. As I’ve said, though, it will all be revealed in time.
    All exit to the morgue with the body.


    Scene 2

    Catherine sits at her desk during class. The date is February 14th.
    Catherine: (thinking to herself) I wonder what Matthew got me… I know we’ve only been dating a few months, but he did promise… I guess I’ll find out when I see him after school today.
    ~*~
    Catherine is walking to the place where she and Matthew always meet after school. She sees him and runs toward him. Upon reaching him, she tries to give him a hug, but he pulls away. She glances at the bag he’s holding.
    Catherine: Is something wrong?
    Matthew: No, nothing.
    Catherine eyes the bag again. Matthew smirks, but she doesn’t notice.
    Matthew: This isn’t for you; it’s for Lily.
    Catherine: Lily? Why would you get a present for her?
    Matthew: Oh, well, we’ve kind of been seeing each other for about a month. I thought I told you.
    Catherine: Actually, no, you didn’t.
    Matthew: (dismissively) Well, yeah, that’s how it is now. I like her much better than you too, so…
    Catherine runs away from Matthew, towards a busy street. Overwhelmed, she ignores everything, including Matthew and the sounds of the traffic up ahead.
    Matthew: Catherine! Cat, I was joking! It was a joke! Come back! Cath—
    Matthew stops cold, and then runs toward where Catherine is lying after having been struck by an oncoming car. The driver of the car, a woman, is crying hysterically. Matthew sits beside Catherine in the middle of the street, holding her in his arms. A few minutes later, the ambulance pulls up and Catherine is rushed to the emergency room.


    Scene 3

    Matthew sits at his desk, nervously awaiting word on Catherine’s condition. His phone rings and he jumps, startled. The date is February 15th.
    Matthew: H-hello?
    Diana: Matthew? It’s Catherine’s mom...
    Matthew: Hi… H-how’s she doing?
    Diana: Well… the doctors… it could go either way. Listen, Matthew, could you please just come to the hospital? I know you were here all last night, but…
    Matthew: Absolutely. I’ll leave right now. See you soon.
    Matthew gets his things and sets off in his car to the hospital. 10 minutes or so into the drive, his phone rings again. He drives with one hand and holds the phone with the other. On the other end is Diana. A few seconds into the call, he drops the phone, beginning to cry. He speeds up, veering towards the guard rail of the bridge. He crashes through it, the car plummeting into the water below. Water begins to flood in through a break in the windshield from when he collided with the rail, filling up the car. He’s trapped inside, his legs broken and pinned by protruding metal. As the car sinks, he thinks back to his conversation with Diana.
    Diana (from offstage): Catherine died just a few minutes ago. She hadn’t gotten the chance to read your letter; it’s still in her hand. The last thing she said was, “Please tell Matthew I loved him, even if he didn’t love me.”
    Matthew repeats his words to Catherine from the day before.
    Matthew: Cat, I was joking… It was just a joke… It was just a joke… It was just… a joke…
    Matthew’s eyes begin to close. The car is filled with water, and he inhales more and more of it. As he does, he thinks a final thought.
    Matthew: ‘I’ll never be able to tell her that I really did love her…’
    His eyes close for the last time, and the car sinks deeper into the river.

    ~End~