ACT 2, SCENE 3 — "The Long Morning"
{A crowded bus park area at dawn. The air smells of smoke and fried food. People rush past, barely noticing the small girl curled up beside a closed kiosk}
[Mercy stirs, her body stiff from the hard ground. She rubs her eyes and looks around — dazed. Her school bag, her only belonging, lies beside her. The world around her seems to move on like she doesn't exist]
MERCY (inner monologue):
(softly)
Morning already…
I made it through the night.
(looks up at the sky)
Maybe that means I can make it through today too.
(She gets up slowly, brushing dust from her skirt. A woman selling bread glances at her with mild curiosity but says nothing. Mercy clutches her bag tighter, trying to appear brave)
WOMAN (vendor):
You there, small girl — where's your mother?
MERCY:
(quietly) She's… at home.
WOMAN:
And you're here alone? This place isn't for children. Go home before something happens.
MERCY:
(whispers, almost to herself)
Home isn't safe either.
The woman shrugs and turns away. Mercy sighs and walks off, blending into the crowd. The city noise grows louder — laughter, shouting, the sound of engines roaring.
MERCY (inner monologue):
I don't know where I'm going.
I don't even know what I'll eat.
But I can't go back.
I can't let them see me as weak again.
They'll think I ran back because I couldn't survive one night.
(her eyes glisten)
Maybe I am weak… but I'll learn to be strong.
(She stops near a bus station, watching passengers board. A man in his late thirties, dressed like a driver, notices her staring)
STRANGER (Bus Driver):
You going somewhere, little one?
MERCY:
I… I don't know yet.
STRANGER:
You can't just wander here. People get lost. Or worse.
MERCY:
(firmly) I'll be fine.
STRANGER:
(hesitant)
You sure? You look hungry.
He offers her a small loaf of bread. Mercy hesitates, then takes it slowly.
MERCY:
Thank you.
STRANGER:
(sighs)
Where are your people?
MERCY:
Gone.
(He looks at her for a moment — concerned — but doesn't press further. He nods and leaves for his bus. Mercy stands quietly, clutching the bread)
MERCY (inner monologue):
Gone. Maybe that's the truth now.
I have no one.
No one but God.
(looks up at the sky)
Please… just let me survive today.
Hours pass. The sun burns hotter. She walks along the roadside until she finds an old wooden bench near a mechanic shop. She sits, exhausted, watching people go about their lives.
MERCY (inner monologue):
Everyone's moving somewhere.
Everyone belongs to someone.
(her eyes fill with tears)
Why don't I?
(She curls up on the bench, trying to sleep, ignoring the stares of people walking by)