The tree man

Father  and Son are sitting in a waiting room of a dentist cabinet. Stranger enters the waiting

room wrapped in a thick coat. He hides something underneath his clothes. While he takes off his
coat he smiles:

Stranger: What a day, am I right?

Father: Yes, yes, who could have predicted snow?

The Stranger puts his coat in a hanger. When he turns around we can see that he has a small
tree growing out of his belly button. Father covers Son's eyes with his hands.

Father: Sir, excuse me!

Stranger doesn't react.

Father: Sir, please! There are children here!

Stranger looks at Father and points at his belly button.

Father: Yes, I'm talking about the tree!

Stranger: sorry if I'm being impolite, but can I ask you what is the problem?

Father: How can you ask something like this? There's a child here!

Stranger: And is it bothering him?

Pause. Father takes his hands from Son's eyes.

Father: It's just a way of saying. Why can't you simply go to another cabinet?

Stranger: What's wrong with this cabinet?

Father is reddened with anger.

Stranger: Excuse me if I'm too insistent, but...

Father: Please, let's not continue this arg...

Stranger: But I really don't understand what did I do wrong!

Father: You have a tree inside of you!

Stranger: So what? Did I ask you to water it?

Father explodes. He grabs Son by his arm and throws him into the wall of the waiting room. The
wall falls. Now a completely white background stands behind them.

Stranger: (screams) What are you doing with the child!?

Pause.

Father: Leave him. He was just a pretext. He didn't even have any lines.

Stranger: So what? You just broke the convention like that, out of a sudden?

Father: It doesn't matter anymore. 

Stranger sights. He comes to sit down next to Father. The tree pokes Father with a twig.

Stranger: Ouch, sorry!

Pause.

Stranger: Why are you so sad?

Father: This could have been a perfect text. Until you came in!

Stranger: This is my text too!

Father: You have a tree in your belly!

Stranger: And you have hair! What's the problem?

Father: Don't be ironic to me!(pause) I just wanted to appear once in a normal text, without
insects with heels, butterflies in chains or any other absurd stuff! I've had enough of this!

Stranger: I didn't see any butterfly in chains but I understand you! Nobody should...

Father: And I've had enough of your stupid tree as well! Was it necessary to have a tree growing
out of you?

Stranger: It's not a polite thing to ask.

Father: It's illogical! It makes no sense! It's just there for no reason!

Stranger: Oh no!

Father: Oh yes! 
Stranger: If you want to know, mister Logic, I ate yesterday an apple and I didn't clean the
seeds. This morning I woke up with a tree in my belly!

Father: Woo, what an explanation! And does it seem normal to you?

Stranger: It's a medical issue!

Father: Why didn't you go to a forester?

Stranger: You're upsetting me!

Father: Or a doctor? Why didn't you go to a doctor?

Stranger: I was at a doctor before you threw your child and broke the cabinet's reality.

Father: Why a dentist?

Stranger: The apple entered through the mouth, right?

Father gets up to leave.

Father: If you're making fun of me I'm leaving.

Stranger: Where?

Pause. The father sits down again.

Stranger: You can't. We are stuck here and we can only exist as long as somebody is watching
this.

They look at the audience.

Father: What?

Stranger: Otherwise I can't see how we are still alive. We don't have our own lives so we live in
the mind of the person that is watching us. We are characters. 

Father: What if they leave?

Stranger: Void!

Pause.

Stranger: So tell me, what's the problem with trees breaking the convention if the convention
itself doesn't make any sense?
Pause

Father: Now what?

Stranger: We only have two lines left.

Father: What should we do with them?

Stranger: I fear that if I tell you the play is over.

Curtain.