This Beautiful Future

Rita Kalnejais

• Publisher: Oberon Books
• Year: 2017
• ISBN:
  9781786822109
• Edition: 1
• Topic: Literature
• Subtopic: Drama
• Index: Literature

Elodie is 17. She's French. She washes her legs before going to church. She believes in God. Otto is 15. He's a German soldier. Bulletproof skin. Eyes that could pierce tanks. He was part of a firing squad today. It's 1944. Outside, the world around them is exploding. Inside, the room shakes. Elodie and Otto's naked bodies touch.

PART 1: THE BEDROOM

A bed. A chair. A wash basin. A window. It’s a quiet night. The Summer was late but now it’s lingering. A bunch of flowers, wilting. A Wehrmacht uniform (Field Blouse Model, M44) hangs over the back of a chair.

OTTO is asleep curled up tight on top of the sheets. He has stripped to his underwear – white shorts and a singlet. ELODIE has just run in. Her cheeks are flushed. She wears a skirt and blouse and smells like sweat. A small silver crucifix round her neck. She has two lines drawn in pen up the backs of her legs. A satchel. Her hands are bloody. She is out of breath.

ELODIE

Otto –

OTTO sits up fast, stumbles to his feet. Wipes his mouth. His eyes are red.

ELODIE (Cont’d.)

Are you drunk?

OTTO

What time is it?

ELODIE

It’s only midnight.

OTTO

I thought you’d changed your mind.

ELODIE

/ No.

OTTO

Is that blood?

ELODIE

/ Yeah –

OTTO

Elodie! Shit!

ELODIE

There was a fox in the Gornall’s chicken coop –

OTTO

What?

ELODIE

Those chickens survived the bomb –

OTTO

What are you talking about?

ELODIE

A bomb took out the Gornall’s house and barn on Tuesday. And everyone was saying it was a miracle with the chickens. I was cutting through their farm just now ’cause I didn’t want to be seen and there was a commotion and this fox was in there looking like fucking Saint Nicholas with all the feathers round his mouth. I was going fuck off and he just looked at me like what do you want for Christmas? They’re all dead. The chickens. And the eggs were cold. ’Cept look –

She opens her hands. A dirty, bloodied egg.

OTTO

We can have it for breakfast.

ELODIE

No. It’s still warm ’cause its mum fell on it when she died.

He looks at the egg.

OTTO

Is it broken?

ELODIE

No.

OTTO

Is there a chick / in there!?

ELODIE

Yeah! It’ll be out by morning. In six months we’ll have cake!

(Giving him the egg to hold.) Are your hands warm?

OTTO

I’ve not seen that before.

ELODIE uses her teeth to make a tear in a pillow. She pulls out feathers, spits some from her mouth.

ELODIE

(Sorry Mrs Levi)

We have to keep it warm.

She makes a small nest in her shoe as she speaks.

ELODIE (Cont’d.)

Quite a bold choice waiting with your kit off.

OTTO stands self conscious – unsure whether to get dressed again.

ELODIE (Cont’d.)

How are you?

OTTO

Good.

ELODIE

Tomorrow I’ll take it to someone with a broody hen to raise it.

OTTO

Won’t you give it back to the Gornalls?

ELODIE

Why?

OTTO

It’s their’s.

ELODIE

They don’t know I was there. I’ll just say I found it.

(The nest.) That looks good.

OTTO pulls his socks from his boots and wraps them round.

ELODIE (Cont’d.)

...

Table of contents

• Cover
• Half-title Page
• Title Page
• Copyright
• Contents
• The Characters
• Part 1: The Bedroom
• Part 2: The Birds, The Deer, The Tanks, The Tar, The Spoon
• Part 3: Their First Meeting – at the Lake
• Part 4: The Medals, The Clean Hair, The Hoofed Animal in the Square
• Part 5: The Morning, The Chicks