Aurora 2026

Krislyn Moreland

(unhurried, slightly distracted, and yelling into the darkness) Mariana, are you in here? I need to go over the finances from last week. They’ve improved slightly, but we still need to make a change if we want to turn a profit.

silence

Cecily (slightly unsure) Mariana?

Cecily (slightly unsure, but growing exasperated)

Mariana? Mariana? Are you there? We need some new designs if we’ll manage to stay afloat! I know you keep late hours here, but you can’t go on like your father, falling asleep at the workbench! You and he are cut from the same clo- (The lights on the stage come up to reveal Mariana. The workbench has moved, and in its place are two buckets on their side, spilling out thick red liquid. Fabric and sketches lay strewn to the sides, but the knife and scissors from earlier are coated in this liquid. There is a dress manikin standing center stage with a gorgeous garment on it. It is a deep red dress with fabric that appears sheer but covers. Its skirts run down to the floor, and its sleeves bell at the end to give the appearance of blooming flowers. It is, by all accounts, gorgeous. It should be very obvious to the audience that the dress is dyed from her blood, still dripping on the stage.) (Mariana lies to the side of the dress. Her skin is an agitated pink color, and she has several visible gashes on her upper arms and other places. The cuts should not appear in the areas common for self-harm, as this was an act of devotion, not of pain. She groans weakly.)

Cecily (Bloodcurdling scream and flees offstage)

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