Characters
Sweetna
Chan (Sweetna's brother)
Bintu (Sweetna’s mother)
Jon (rapist)
Earl (Jon’s friend)
Lucy (Bintu’s friend)
(In
the background, a radio says “Good Morning Afghanistan! It’s going to
be a good one today.” Sweetna begins writing in her diary while laying
in bed.)Voice in Sweetna’s head as she writes
Dear Diary,(The sun shines through the window and onto her face.)While
in bed, he asked me if I had a good sleep last night. I, Sweetna, had
to answer his question in a polite manner. I didn’t want to get hurt. I
told him that I did have a good sleep. Yet, my crotch burned from the
previous hard usage. I knew that he was going to ask me for something
to eat. I really didn’t want to feed him.(She turned over and looked at him lying there for a few seconds. Then, she continues writing.)After all, I “fed” him a lot of food last night.Sweetna
“Hello Jon dear, would you like some eggs,” she said.Jon
“Yes whore, get to it!”(She
got up and walked to the refrigerator. A plane passed by overhead. She
cracked the eggs over a pan, turned the stove on, and began to cook
them. She finished and handed Jon the eggs on a plate. He immediately
left, slamming the door shut behind him. She walked back to her diary
and continued writing. The voice inside her can be heard.) Voice in Sweetna’s head as she writes
I
had to relax a bit longer. A ten year old like myself needs plenty of
sleep in order to grow. I asked him if I could sleep a bit longer. His
response was not pleasant. So, I assured him that a sandwich would be
made. The tears wanted to roll down my eyes.(She gave a little twitch.)But,
I wouldn’t let them. I had to stay strong because he was the best
caretaker I’d ever had. I got out of bed and walked over to the kitchen
slowly, trying not to flex my genitals. It still really hurt. It felt
like a cactus limb was stuck inside of me. Each step felt like an
attempt to pull it out to no avail. I found it hard to believe what my
mom told me when she gave me to him. She said me that my life would be
better than ever. Maybe she meant that I would feel better in the
future. Needless to say, I still believed her because she had my best
interest at heart as any mother would.(The scene ends with her closing the diary.)
(Jon the rapist is talking to his friend Earl while walking down an old road to work.)Jon
“This
girl is making me sick to my stomach! But, I have to settle for her.
She’s the only “belly-warmer” that I’ve got. Not to mention, she was
pretty good last night.”(He gave a little smirk.)“I
still feel warm and happy. I can’t wait until tonight to go even
faster. I like to hear her scream. Yes, I “love” my wife. That’s funny.
To be honest, this “toy” is doing a fine job of pleasing me.”
Earl
(Earl chuckles.)“Hey man, that’s a little harsh. I mean, that little girl is still a person.”Jon
“Not
really! If only she would clean up after my great performances. All
that she does is sleep. I guess she’s trying to make me think that I
take a lot out of her during the night. But, since I pay her with her
life, she should at least do the chores for me.”(He balls his hand in a fist and frowns.)“Okay, if she wants to be lazy, I will just stop feeding her.”Earl
“Whoa, you’re going too far man.”Jon
“Whatever. But, I can’t let her die of hunger. I need the happiness and relaxation. This world is hard on a man. I need something to look forward to when I come in from work. Or maybe I can kill her and find another “toy”.(He scratches his chin for a few seconds.)Yeah,
an even better toy that will actually take care of the house without me
asking. I’m just as tired of punishing this whore for not doing her
chores as she is from taking it. A hand itself needs a break from
slapping. Oh well, I’ll give her another chance. As long as “it’s”
satisfied, I’m satisfied.”(The scene ends with Earl nodding his head and continuing walking with his friend to work. A look of regret is on his face.)
(Sweetna’s
mother Bintu tells of her feelings towards her decision to give Sweetna
away to her friend Lucy while sitting at home at the dinner table.)(Sweetna’s half-brother Chan runs by. She watches until he is out of sight but says nothing to him.)Bintu
“I really do miss little Sweetna,” she said. “Since my husband left us poor,(She grasps her hand.) I couldn’t afford to feed both her and her brother anymore.”Lucy
“I understand.”Bintu
“Why did he go? Why?”(She began whimpering.)Lucy
(Lucy nodded her head.)“Let it all out dear.”Bintu
“He
took the easy way out and went to give himself a new life after
learning that I was pregnant. That was such a rotten thing to do! I
can’t believe that I was nice enough to send him pictures of his
growing daughter. But, that will stop here!”(She frowned.)Lucy
“Yes honey, if that was me, I wouldn’t send him a thing,” said Lucy.Bintu
“Anyway, I had to do what was best for my Chan.”(She looked at the picture of her son that she had in front of her and smiled.)“He
is more valuable because he can work in the field and bring in more
money. Yet, this could have been avoided had that man not left us. All
that Sweetna could do was make more babies that we couldn’t take care
of. Not to mention, selling her presented us with even more money. Yet,
I still love her.”(She rubbed her head.)“She
is my daughter. I think about her everyday. I wonder if she is being
treated well in her new home. My mind says that this is not possible.
It breaks my heart that this possibility could be true, especially
after I promised her that her life would improve.”Lucy
“Yes darling, but it will all get better in time, I know it.”(She puts her hand on Binut’s are to reassure her.)Bintu
“But, what could I do now? I don’t know where he has taken her. I can simply pray for the best and continue to raise my son.”(The scene ends with Bintu putting her head down as Lucy nods.)(Sweetna’s brother Chan writes in his journal while lying in bed.)Voice in Chan’s head as he writes
Journal #24I thought about my big sister Sweetna. I really do miss her. “Why did she have to leave me?”(He writes this phrase and then repeats it out loud.)I
thought that maybe I was the one with the problem. Was it because she
didn’t like me? That hurts because I really did like her. No, I really
did love her. I remember that we used to play games together. I used to
love when I would win. And, even though she lost, she would always say
“good job” to me. I remember her beautiful face.(He looks up as if he was thinking of her.)Chan
“I’ve never seen another girl with such a pretty smile,” he says out loud.Voice in Chan’s head as he writes
I
wish that I inherited her smiling muscles. Now for the cons, because
she was not perfect. She did get on my nerves at times. Mommy loved her
more than me and she knew it. I remember when she gave me and Sweetna
the notebooks. Mine was plain and ugly, while my sister’s had many
colors. She tried to act dumb, but I knew that her and mommy had a
special relationship.(A tear appeared in his eye.)Every time that I would do something wrong, I would have to apologize, and she didn’t.Chan
“Oh well, I don’t want to think about it anymore.”Voice in Chan’s head as he writes
With all of that said, I still love her, wherever she is.(The scene ends with Chan closing his journal and running towards the kitchen.)
(Sweetna writes in her diary while sitting under a tree at night.)Voice in Sweena’s Head as she writes
Dear Diary,I can’t take this lifestyle anymore. This is the second day since I’ve ran away from him. I am still in search of my mother. (A smile stuck to her face for a few seconds. She continues writing with the voice in her mind being heard.) Maybe she misses me just as much as I miss her. (She looks at the moon for a few seconds.) That
thought is what pushes me to continue my journey. I can’t wait to show
her how much I appreciate this diary. It was the last thing that she
gave me before she took me to him. Anyway, after being with that man
for two years, I don’t think that I could stand another. (The bushes rattled as if an animal was in them.) I
was tired of getting beat up night after night. I am hopeful that my
mom will accept me. If she does then I can continue with my life and be
reunited with my friends and family. I can’t wait to see my little
brother. We have been apart for so long that I finally realized how
much I loved him. I would love another day of his seven-year-old
habits, like copying off of me. (She
gives a little chuckle and suddenly shows signs of fear. Something
sounds like it’s moving through the grass, but she just ignores it.) Oh, but I hope that he isn’t trying to find me. Sweetna
“If he hurts me when I don’t do anything wrong, I can only imagine what he will do if he catches me.”(She
slams the book closed and starts to run to the nearest road. Standing
in the road is Jon with a riffle. She blinks her eyes twice to check
whether or not she is imagining. She is not.) Jon
“I knew that I’d find you, get over here bitch,” he says.(Sweetna
begins running down the road, towards a human walking in the opposite
direction. When closer, she notices that it is Earl. He grabs her.) Earl
“Are you alright,” he said. Sweetna
“No, he’s trying to get me! Oh no!”(Jon
caught up and pointed the gun, he shot Sweetna twice in the chest. She
gives a spine-tingling scream and fall to the ground. Earl looked at
him in amazement. A police vehicle approaches in the background.
Instinctively, Jon runs in the opposite direction.)(Earl screams to him as he runs away.) Earl
“Why did you do this man!”(He goes down and hugs the body Sweetna. He stares at her.)“He killed my daughter,” he said. “Why did I let her go, why?” (The scene ends with Earl crying over her.)