The woman growls softly at FRANCIS and PETER. Both boys are startled. They stand up and look at her. BETSHEB is young, dirty, and dressed in a nineteenth-century dress patched in various colours as if repaired over many years. She bares her teeth at them, almost like an animal, then screams violently as if cursing them. She turns and runs away. Blackout.

SCENE FOUR

A river bank, afternoon. BETSHEB sits on the bank with STEF, a boy aged between fifteen and eighteen. It is hard to tell his exact age because his behaviour is so infantile. His limbs seem spastic. His gaze is distant. The woman wears the same dress as before. The boy wears only a filthy pair of long johns, years old. The woman chews up a piece of meat and passes it into the boy’s mouth by placing her mouth on his, like a bird feeding its chick. He is not very hungry and protests. She gets up and goes to the river where she wets a rag. As she does so she hums to herself a tune reminiscent of a Victorian ballad. While she wets the rag the boy tries to stand, but flops down and in the process tumbles over. The woman sees him and laughs. The boy finds himself flat on his back, like a beetle that cannot right itself, as his legs and arms don’t function properly. Even though he wants to get up he doesn’t call out. Eventually he rights himself. The woman comes over as the boy begins to crawl towards something of interest, like a crippled child in a Muybridge photograph. The effort is too great and he flops down. The woman wipes his face, then her own. She then blows loudly and theatrically on his face, pretending to be the wind. The boy pathetically tries to mimic her. She stands up and spins around in her beloved dress for him. He takes no notice, his eyes looking past her. Abruptly she drops to her knees and slaps him on the face. He yelps in pain. She kisses him where she has hit him and then moves away so he can see her properly. She smiles broadly and stiffly, trying to teach him. She pushes at his mouth until it turns into a smile, but when she lets go his face returns to its expressionless mask. She is frustrated. She hums. He follows suit, but his gaze is distant. She bites his leg and he yelps in pain. As he cries out she mimics him. He looks at her for a brief moment, then beyond her. The routine is over. The woman gets up and does a whirling dervish-like dance and hums loudly to herself. Suddenly she notices something and stops. Frightened, she runs to the boy and tries to drag him off, but he is angry and fights. She drops him and heads off. She exits and moments later FRANCIS hurries on, followed by PETER.