Beauty is eternity gazing at itself in a mirror. But you are eternity and you are the mirror.

Waiting for Time (?)

A one-man short play written y Ale!andru "ostin #inti$% The only prop on stage is a &ideo pro'e$tor s$reen (it ser&es as a T(). An older man (around )*+ he is a$tually the young guy disguised with ma,e-up and a fa,e eard) enters from the right wing. -e is holding a remote $ontrol. -e is tal,ing to the audien$e. T-. /01.2 3A45 0oo,+ 6 want to show you what 6 ha&e 'ust found. 7od ,nows how mu$h 6 miss those days... Are you ready? /,+ good+ let8s see.... (he loo,s at the remote sear$hing for the play utton) Any se$ond now.... /,+ here it is9 -e points the remote at the s$reen and the lights dim. As the re$ording starts playing+ the guy e!its. T-. :/;47 7;:5 (on the re$ording< he is around =* years old< in the a$,ground there8s a white wall with some warnings+ so we understand it8s a hospital wall) ...:eah...o,ay....is it on?...(-e finally points the $amera at himself) -ello+ future me9 -ow are you? Well+ 6 hope you are good. Today is the >*th of 1e$em er and now it8s e!a$tly (he loo,s at his wat$h) ??5@A #3. :our wife has een in la our for the past few hours. :eah+ future me+ you heard me right the first time+ today is the day your first a y steps into this world9 7od+ 68m so e!$ited right now9 The light is turned on and from the left wing enters the young guy with a handy$am in his hand. Bor a few se$onds he perfe$tly imitates the re$ording+ e&en spea,ing at the same time. After that+ the re$ording is turned off and it8s full light on him. T-. :/;47 7;:5 6 don8t ,now if it8s going to e a oy or a girl+ e$ause she didn8t tell me. /h+ she lo&es mysteries. To e honest+ 6 hope it8s a oy+ so 6 $an tea$h him e&erything 6 learned+ B;T 68d e o,ay with a girl. WaitC noC ne&er let anyone hear that. "ut that part when you edit this &ideo. DoC B;T a girl would e great9 -owe&er+ 6 should stop othering you with my $on$erns+ e$ause... well... you8re future me+ so+ o &iously+ you already ,now if it8s a oy or a girl. The most important thing is for the ,id to e healthy. Dpea,ing of $on$erns+ there is a pu li$ $on$ern floating around. They say that tomorrow+ >?st de$em er >*?>+ will e the end of the world. 6 mean... how $razy is that? -ow $ould one ,now when will the world end? 68m pretty sure that if 68d e an an$ient 3ayan right now 68d e pretty irritated y all these guys misinterpreting my wor,. 3ay e they meant the end of the world on a spiritual le&el+ li,e $hi+ yin yang and all those unseen things. The world stays the same physi$ally ut not mentally and spiritually. .&erything is $hanged while nothing is $hanged. 0i,e a new generation $oming. 3y $hild will e orn in a new generation+ a new world. 6 hope we won8t ha&e a $ommuni$ation pro lem. Bunny thing+ don8t you thin,? Te$hnology has e&ol&ed a lot these past $ouple of de$ades+ we now ha&e the internet whi$h is meant to ease $ommuni$ationCand yetC We

ha&e already started spending more time with our friends online than in real life. We prefer tal,ing to a $omputer than to a real person. That8s sad. And 6 hate the fa$t that my $hild has to grow up in this world. 6 feel useless. 6 mean+ loo, at me. 68m alone in this waiting room waiting for the do$tors to let me see my wife and my $hild and 68m tal,ing to a $amera. 6f you see this+ future me+ it8s o &ious that the apo$alypse has ne&er $ome. And 6 hope you get to see this tape. 6 mean+ how e!a$tly would the aftermath of an apo$alypse loo, li,e? Would it simply destroy the planet and e&ery li&ing $reature on it? Would it e li,e a post-apo$alypti$ mo&ie? And 'ust a handful of people would sur&i&e 'ust to die of star&ation or something? They a$tually made a mo&ie+ $alled >*?>. Eohn "usa$, played the leading a$tor. -e8s the only good part a out the mo&ie. WellC.he and the spe$ial effe$ts. The story is Fuite stupid+ to e honest. "lassi$ -ollywood. But you ,now+ they ha&e to ma,e money+ after all. And as long as the pu li$ pays for that ,ind of mo&ies+ they are going to ,eep ma,ing them. Buture me+ 6 hope the pu li$ will e $hanged in your time. 6 hope -ollywood will start ma,ing etter films. They ha&e resour$es+ after all. Dpea,ing of Eohn "usa$, and ad -ollywood mo&ies+ there is also the o$$asional great one. Being Eohn 3al,o&i$h+ ?AAA+ also with "usa$, in the lead role. 3an+ that is a greatly written mo&ie. Bun fa$t+ the mo&ie too, fi&e years to e made. :ou ,nowCa a y ta,es only A monthsC. By the way+ loo,+ future me. (he pulls out a wat$h from his po$,et) 6 ought this wat$h today. 6 want to gi&e it as a present to my $hild on his >?st irthday. 6 thin, it8s the est gift a dad $an gi&e to his $hild+ a wat$h. Time+ 6 thin,+ is the most important thing in the world. :ou $an ha&e all the wealth in the world+ ut as long as you don8t ha&e time+ you don8t ha&e nothing. Do my $hild should ,now what time it is. Also+ a wat$h is ni$e+ it gi&es you $lass. Buture me+ the adoles$ents of my days ha&e gone $razy. They no longer $an differentiate right from wrong. 6 thin, it8s te$hnology8s fault. 6 don8t want to sound old s$hool or something+ ut really+ te$hnology is great for ma,ing some things easier and faster+ ut it also has its disad&antagesC 6 meanC 4;2D.(from a$,stage)5 "ome on+ your a y has een orn9 T-. :/;47 7;:5 /h my 7od+ oh my 7od+ o,+ o,+ o, future me this is it+ oh my 7od9 We8re going to see the a y9 -e starts wal,ing towards the e!it while still filming. The lights dim again. -e e!its. /n the T( s$reen we see a montage of the mother holding two a ies and other important moments in their life+ all filmed with his handy$am+ li,e their $hristening+ their first day at ,indergarten+ their first day at s$hool+ et$. The old man enters from the right wing and the re$ording stops. T-. /01.2 3A45 Do here we are+>? years later. A lot of time has passed and 6 hope we will e granted more. 4ow for your irthday gift. As you $an see in the re$ording+ 6 didn8t ,now at that time that you two will happen. Do that night 6 went and ought another one. As this one (he shows us the wat$h) is manlier+ 6 thought it would e etter to uy you a girlier one (he shows us another wat$h). Do here they are+ ,ids+ your gifts. 3ay they ring you lu$, and more time. -The .nd-

Time is an illusion. G Al ert .instei