CHRISTOPHER. So am I.

His honesty doesn’t comfort her. She pulls back a little.

CATHY. What if we all die up here? What if we never experience life? I mean . . .

CHRISTOPHER. I know what you mean.

She moves back to him.

CATHY. I only feel safe in your arms, Christopher.

He puts his arm around her and then kisses her nearly bald head.

CATHY. I’m so ugly now.

CHRISTOPHER. Never. You can’t be ugly. It’s impossible.

They stare at each other. Slowly, their lips move toward each other until they kiss.

CATHY. We’re not in a play now, Christopher Doll.

CHRISTOPHER. I know.

CATHY. I need you with me tonight, beside me. You need me, too.

He nods and takes her hand, and they walk upstage toward the mattresses. She gets into his side of the bed. He stands looking down at her. And then he starts to undo his pants as the lights come down.

Scene 7

The spotlight comes up on Older Cathy sitting in a chair at stage right, her hands over her face, her head down. She lowers her hands and raises her head slowly. She takes a deep breath.

OLDER CATHY. Now we had done what the old witch predicted. I tried to make every excuse I could to quiet my screaming soul, a soul I thought was doomed through all eternity to roast forever and ever. We were just frightened, I told myself. We were both so frightened that we needed to comfort each other. We didn’t mean it to happen. It was just what Christopher had said. Our hormones were raging, and we were not only prisoners in the attic; we were prisoners inside ourselves. All of this sounded reasonable, but none of it could change the looks on our faces whenever we glanced at each other. It would be like that forever, I thought. It was something we couldn’t deny and could never forget. Christopher was terribly ashamed, devastated, hating himself, swearing he would castrate himself before he let it happen again. But it had happened. It wasn’t like writing something on the blackboard and then erasing it.

She stands and walks toward stage left, then stops. She glares back at the scrim and clenches her hands.

OLDER CATHY. Guilt was quickly replaced by anger. It was all Momma’s fault. If she hadn’t brought us here and put us in this situation, it never would have happened. I decided it would be more comfortable to hate her. Although I once thought it impossible, I think Christopher stopped loving her, too. After what we had done, he decided to go out early in the morning, to see if anyone was talking about Cory but also to see what else he could steal. He said he would risk going into our grandfather’s office or even his room. He wanted us to leave more than ever now.

She stares for a moment.