a morality play.

An Improvised Play, created in the medium of Instant Messenger, by K. M., E. L., and P. D.

Dear Elizabeth,
The winter has not been kind to us. Bobby and Timmy were lost to the fever, and Jenny's health is also failing. I fear we may not make it through these most bitter months. My body freezes, but my heart is slightly warmed by thoughts of you. I dream endlessly of the day I can return to your smiling face. It is that faintest of hopes that keeps me strong enough to face each day. And I must be strong, if not for me but for Robert and Jenny's sakes. This may be my last farewell. I've loved you dearly all my days and I pray you'll remember me fondly, should I not be able to run into your arms come the Springtime. I seal this letter with my deepest of kisses. I must keep this message brief so as not to waste the kindling. Take care, my love. I think of you always.
Yours in greatest love,
Kaitlin


Dearest Kaitlin,
The news of Bobby and Timmy strikes a great chord of grief in my sad heart. I pray that you will be strong and we shall be reunited once again when the icy fingers of winter have faded away and the gentle buds of spring return. Think of those days, and the joyous memories behind us, to sustain you. As for Jenny, and I say this not lightly, she has always been faint of heart. Do not tax yourself too greatly for her welfare. God intended the strong to survive, and while it grieves me to say so, I fear that Jenny was never much for this Earth. I pray this letter reaches you in time, before your precious life has ebbed away.

Also, take heed. The gentleman caller you have staying with you, I fear he is not trustworthy. Do not turn your back on him for a moment; I fear your life may depend on your vigilance. I know you are too true of heart to turn him into the cold, but do not, my sweet Kaitlin, allow him to take advantage of your kind heart.

I must go now. The children are crying, and I must attend to them. I wait every day for a letter from you, assuring me of your good fortune. May God be with you, dearest Kaitlin, and know that my heart certainly is.
Love and affection always,
Elizabeth


Dearest Elizabeth,
I fear that the winter was too much for me. I tried to remain strong, but alas, Kaitlin is with us no more. I had no choice. I had to sustain myself somehow. I am sorry for my brevity, but I cannot find the words. I am not even sure what to call this letter. A confession? A boast? Would that I were man enough to even fear the wrath of God.
Sincerely,
Robert
Post script:
I have enclosed a fine recipe from the Post Gazette for leg of lamb. Other meats seem to substitute well. I do hope you enjoy it.


Dear Sir,
I can barely call you Sir, for you are a cad! Know that I, though being a feeble woman, will have justice for your wrongdoing. To take advantage of the truest heart I have every known is unforgivable. It rattles my Christian heart to say this, but I am not sure that Almighty God, in His infinite mercy, could forgive you. You will certainly reap your reward when you meet your maker, but know this, if I should come upon you first, though I be a Christian woman, you will pray to God that you had met any heathen rather than I, my wrath shall be so great. If there be any fear of the Lord in your heart, I suggest you remand yourself to the police, lest I come upon you before you do. Be sure that any punishment they may dole out will be nothing to match my wrath. Heed my warning. Do not dismiss it as the empty threats of a woman. I trust that God will give me the strength of a man to wield His fiery sword.
With deepest animosity,
Elizabeth


My most dear and true Elizabeth,
I am ever grateful for the blessings of your kindness and affections upon my withering life. Your sentiments were correct - in all aspects. Jenny has always been feeble and Mr. Robert Goodfellow... well, I dare say I've never been so shocked or appalled at a man's behavior, nor made such an egregious misjudgment of character in all my years. His feigned kindnesses were in an attempt to cause division between myself and dear Jenny. I, with deepest sorrow, do now tell you that Jenny has passed. I fear she did so thinking ill of me, but it is too late for misgivings. With dear Jenny gone, Mr. Goodfellow's charade became apparent, as he made clear his intent to keep me and then use me merely as sustenance for his own survival. With the most desperate and clever deceits and trickeries, I managed an escape. Poor Jenny had been left in the ice and well preserved enough to bear a suitable likeness to myself, had I been frozen as Mr. Goodfellow intended. I fear he's ravaged her body most horribly for his own gluttonous purposes. I do pray that my deceit has gone unnoticed and he is not in search of me for sake of vengeance or some other crazed motive.

I grow weaker each day still, living in hiding in makeshift shelters and off of the very scarce sustenance Mother Nature's icy, barren womb has to offer in this season. If this is to be my last goodbye, I wish you all my love.

Should you come across Robert Goodfellow again some day, take care and take what vengeance you may. He is the most vile of earth's creatures. I am faint.

Take care, my love. If not in springtime, then in dream I see you soon...
With all my weak heart,
Your Kaitlin


Dearest Kaitlin,
You have no idea the good your letter has done my poor heart. I went into hysterics when I received Goodfellow's letter with the news of your death in it; I was forced to bed rest for days and prescribed a strange, though marvelous device by the local psychiatrist. Regardless of the contraption's miraculous healing powers, I still felt sick with grief. I vowed revenge on Goodfellow, and while now my heart is considerably lighter with the news of your escape, I still feel he must be punished for his atrocious deeds. At dawn, I plan to steal my husband's finest horse and come to find you. Please do not try to dissuade me, for I shall already be on my way when you get this letter. Once you have regained your strength, I feel it is our duty, as instruments of God's will, to seek out Goodfellow and make him feel the weight of God's wrath. Know that help is coming, and though my heart is heavy with all the losses, there is a beacon of hope in my anguished soul: the hope of your recovery. Together, we will right the wrongs of this evil man. I feel that God's hand will guide me to you, and with His divine intervention, we may overcome the weakness of our sex and triumph for right.

Be strong, dear one. I anticipate our joyful reunion.
With all the love in the world,
Elizabeth


Dear Madam,
I am a vile creature, not worthy of speaking your name, nor that of any other Christian woman. I am now alone with the winter and its midnight noises, the winds of death, the falling of snow from barren trees. In my solitude, I have finally realized fully the horrors I have committed. In my hunger, I felt as if I had been possessed by some devil, some mad thing that would give me survival in exchange for my soul. A soul seems a trifling thing when one is so very hungry. I see now that I myself am that devil. I can make no excuse for my unspeakable deeds. I go out into the wilderness at sundown. I wish for a slow death, for Kaitlin's sake, for Jenny's, and for yours.
My deepest regrets,
A creature less than a man. One who deserves no Christian grave.


In the Wilderness:

Kaitlin: Dearest E...lizabeth... You've... finally come for me... It's so... so... cold... I never thought I'd live to see... this... this... day... I grow so much stronger... just to look upon you. I thank you. I thank you truly and... and... with all my being. Let us go now together.
Elizabeth: Please, dearest lady, save your thanks. It is my greatest joy to find you alive. I know now, upon seeing your sweet face, that all will be right with the world.
Kaitlin: Your faith and fortitude is awe-inspiring. My grammar fails me in this feverish state.
Elizabeth: Do not worry yourself. Words mean little now, it is enough just to see your shining face.
Kaitlin: Bless you, my love. Bless you.
Elizabeth: Thank you dear Lord, for this greatest gift.
Kaitlin: Have you knowledge of the whereabouts of our antagonist?
Elizabeth: No. As I left, I saw a letter from him in the hall, but I stopped not even for a moment in my haste to find you. I fear I may have derailed our efforts.
Kaitlin: Fear not, oh most good of women. If it is God's Will, as I do believe, for us to rid His finest earth of that horrid man, then we shall meet success.
Elizabeth: You are so right my loveliest and most brilliant friend. Your sharp mind is nearly equal to a man's!
Kaitlin: Please do not flatter me so, dear lady. I know my place. I am merely grateful to be an instrument of God's good Plan.
Elizabeth: Nay, but it is the truth. I would never accuse you of not knowing your station. But God has gifted you with almost the brains of a man, in truth, and I suspect they will do us well in our endeavor
Kaitlin: I thank you most graciously, madam. Let us away and to these woods. I suspect Mr. Goodfellow be not far.


Deeper in the Wilderness Still:

Kaitlin: Hush, my love. I believe I hear something...perhaps someone.
Elizabeth: Yes, I heard a rustle not too far off.
Kaitlin: Are you ready to fulfill our crusade, should this be the time and place?
Elizabeth: My heart is steadfast.
Kaitlin: Dear Jesus, we prepare ourselves to serve in Your sweet name.
Robert: Forgive me. Forgive me. Forgive me. Oh! No. I am not even worthy of the sting of the willow branch. Damned! Damned!
Kaitlin: It is not our forgiveness you need seek.
Robert: What? Oh! Angels of mercy and grace! You live? You are a ghost?
Elizabeth: You are not fit to touch the hem of good Kaitlin's skirt.
Kaitlin: Oh, I live. I live but for the love of this woman at my side.
Elizabeth: How dare you plead with her for mercy?
Robert: Oh, gentle, kind soul. I beg of you, take my life.
Elizabeth: Good Kaitlin, is this another one of this cad's trickeries?
Kaitlin: I hold similar suspicions. I look upon his pleas with incredulity.
Elizabeth: As do I.
Robert: Though even the ground below shall be defiled by the stain of my blood, and, horror of horrors, your gentle, womanly hands should be brought to such a task, I fear that I, who deserve nothing, must ask this thing of you. Do this, if Christians you be. Remove the plague of my being from the earth, for truly I have sinned.
Kaitlin: You speak truly of your deserving nothing. I feel now that I may grant you a mercy in ending your life with the swiftness and celerity I had originally intended. This unsettles me so. Does it you, good Elizabeth?
Elizabeth: It does. However, I fear that his superior brain may be playing with our frail sensibilities
Kaitlin: As I also suspect.
Elizabeth: Could he be using the newfangled psychoscience to muddle our brains?
Kaitlin: My weak mind lacks the capacity for such lofty ideas and could easily be clouded so.
Elizabeth: Perhaps we should continue on our original quest.
Kaitlin: Dear Lord, please grant we ladies - two of your weaker sexed creatures - a moment of true wisdom that we may serve you justly. We are true of heart. Look - lightning has struck that tree beyond.
Elizabeth: It is God's place to judge this foul creature.
Kaitlin: It is His sign. We strike.
Elizabeth: Agreed.
Robert: Then strike true, soldiers of the Lord, though women you be.
Elizabeth: Death to you, foul devil!
Robert: You are both stronger by far than I. Forgive me. Forgive me.
Kaitlin: Pray He shows some kindness ot you. I dost doubt it, though.
Elizabeth: May the Lord God have mercy on your soul, although we cannot.
[Kaitlin steadies crossbow]
Robert: I die! I die! I... die...
Kaitlin: You lie! You coward! I shall not be deceived as I had done you. You are a weak man.
Elizabeth: Only one thing will assure his death. Beheading.
Kaitlin: Your evil lowers your strength and intellect to that beneath even we women. Indeed. Steady, Elizabeth.
Elizabeth: My hand will strike true. Into God's hands, I commend your spirit!
Robert: Pater noster qui es in coelis, sanctificetur nomen tuum; adveniat regnum tuum, fiat voluntas tua, sicut in coelo et in terra. Panem nostrum quotidianum da nobis hodie, et dimitte nobis debita nostra, sicut et nos dimittimus debitoribus nostris. Et ne nos inducas in tentationemsed libera nos a malo. Amen.
Kaitlin: Your tongue is not worthy of His holiest of prayers! Silence him, Elizabeth! You are strong in the Lord! You are strong in the Lord!
Elizabeth: God be with me. [Elizabeth strikes, picks up severed head.]
Kaitlin: In nomine Patri, et Fili, et Spiritus Sancti. Amen.
Elizabeth: I fear I shall never quite be the same after this ordeal.
Kaitlin: It is done. You have served our good Lord and Creator truly, my love. You have been made an instrument of His Will. You are forever changed, but for the better. What troubles you?
Elizabeth: Let us return home to the city.
Kaitlin: Let's.
Elizabeth: I long for home, and I hope you shall remain there with me.
Kaitlin: Of course. I long for nothing more in this mortal world.
Elizabeth: Life in the outdoors is no place for a woman.
Kaitlin: Certainly not. I yearn to cook and wash and return to my place in the home. I've missed my duties.
Elizabeth: we shall recover together, with each other to strengthen us.
Kaitlin: You speak well and truly, love.
Elizabeth: Yes, I think returning to normal domestic life will do us both good... help us to forget this atrocity.
Kaitlin: I am brought to tears as I count the blessings of our good fortune. Let us turn our back to this - now our past.
Elizabeth: Indeed.
Kaitlin: And look to our future together.
Elizabeth: To the future!
Kaitlin: Here, here! Let us away, sister in Christ!
Elizabeth: Away indeed.

Exeunt.
Fine.