ACT 2 SCENE 1
{The next morning,lily(mom) wakes up,prays and starts to get ready for the day as it was another market day after a while she feels perplex as to why mercy was not awake yet so she went into her and her sister's room to wake her up,she go their to meet an empty cold bed,she calls her to her maybe she's in the bathroom or toilet but no answer)
Lily(mom)
Mercy!mercy!!(Calls out no response)
Rebecca
(Wakes up, rubs her very sleepy eyes and rolls on the bed,she feels something under her tummy and sits up) Mommy, mommy
Lily (mom)
Rebecca do you know where your sister is?(She question while neating Rebecca's bed hair)
Rebecca
No mommy,but the tooth fairy left me a letter see(shows her the paper she found)I told you she'll come mommy she was just a bit late
Mom(lily)
(She took the paper from her wondering where the letter came from as she knows no tooth fairy delivered the letter)let me read the content out for you alright? Your name is beautifully written on it"TO REBECCA"
Rebecca
(Nods excitedly) Read it mommy, I'm all hears
Mom(lily)
(Reads out loud)
"My sweet Rebecca,
If you wake up and I am not by your side, don't cry, my sunshine. Smile for me. You are my little star, my laughter, my strength. Take care of Mama and be her helper. Eat well, sleep well, and don't forget to pray for me. I promise I will come back to you with gifts brighter than gold, and when I do, we will never be apart again.
I love you with all my heart, my girl.
— Your Mercy"
Rebecca
(She stares confused at her mother)That letter is from mercy mommy, where did she go to? I dreamt about her overnight she told me in my dream that she's going on a treasure hunt i thought it was all a dream (teary eyes and quivering lips) mommy is mercy gone?has she left us (burst into tears)
Lily(mom)
{Her breath catches. The words blur as her vision clouds with tears. She presses the paper closer to her face, as if reading it again would change its meaning)
No… no, no… this… this is just Mercy being playful, right? Just a game… she wouldn't… she wouldn't leave—
Rebecca
(Hiccups through her heavy cries)
But mommy the letter (cries harder)i...i..thought it's the..the three of us against the world
{Lily's chest tightens. She stood up pacing around fanning herself even though it's a cold morning,her hands tremble so badly the letter nearly slips from her grasp. For a moment she feels like the ground is moving beneath her feet.
(Whispers, almost to herself) God, no… she didn't… she couldn't…
{Her frantic eyes dart around the room, searching, hoping Mercy will suddenly appear from the corner with her stubborn smile. But her gaze falls on the small table where a second letter lies waiting. She stares at it as though it's a snake ready to bite. Her lips part in disbelief, her whole body trembling, before she lunges toward it}
To My Beautiful And Strong Mother
"Mama,
If you are reading this, it means I couldn't stay any longer. Please don't be angry, please don't hate me. I don't know if I am doing the right thing, but I feel like I have no choice.
I don't know what is waiting for me out there. Maybe I will fail. Maybe I will get hurt. Maybe I will even regret this one day… but Mama, I can't keep hiding behind you while they keep coming for me. I don't want you and Rebecca to suffer because of me.
I am scared, Mama. My hands are shaking as I write this. I don't know if I will succeed, but I promise I will try with everything inside me. I want to come back stronger — strong enough to protect you, to protect Rebecca, strong enough that no one can ever laugh at us again.
Take care of my little star, Rebecca. Tell her I love her with my whole heart. Tell her I went on that 'treasure hunt' I told her about, and even if I return empty-handed, at least I went searching.
Don't cry too much, Mama. If you cry, let it be because your daughter was brave enough to step out… even if she didn't know what waited for her.
I love you. One day, I will make you proud.
— Your stubborn Mercy."
{Lily's clutches the letter with trembling hands. At first, silence — the silence of disbelief. Then it shatters. She lets out a heart-wrenching scream, crumpling to the floor, the paper pressed against her chest. Rebecca, frightened, runs to her but lily pulls her close, weeping into her daughter's tiny shoulders.}
Mom(lily)
Aahhhhaaaaaaaa(she screams out in pain rocking Rebecca close to her with pool of tears flowing through her face)my child she's gone..my..my...my poor girl (she cries out again)You foolish girl… you foolish, stubborn girl… how could you do this to me?
Rebecca
(Seeing her mother's agony cries brought tears to her eyes and she also begins to cry)
Mama… what did Mercy write to you? When is she coming back?
{Lily hugs Rebecca so tightly, as if trying to pour all her remaining strength into the child. Her lips tremble.}
Lily
(Voice breaking) She… she's gone, Rebecca. She's gone.(Shouts out)she left!!!
(A knock comes from the door, a concerned voice — lily's neighbor friend.)
Elena
Lily, are you okay? I heard shouting… what happened?lily!(Continue knocking and calling her name)can you hear me?lily!
(Lily(mom) opens the door a crack, tears spilling. She forces a whisper.)
Lily(mom)
Please… please keep Rebecca for me. I need to—
(Rebecca immediately clings to her waist, crying out.)
Rebecca
No! Don't leave me! I'll come, Mommy. I'll come with you!
(Lily kneels, hands trembling as she tries to soothe her.)
Lily
Rebecca, listen…(sniffs)I need to find your sister. I can't do that if you're with me. Please, my baby, let elena hold you. I'll be back soon
Elena
Rebecca, shhh. Your mama will bring Mercy back. Let me hold you,hm? Be strong for her.
(Rebecca struggles, but the Elena gently pulls her back.lily kisses her head, voice breaking.)
Lily
Don't make me weak, Rebecca. Let me bring your sister home. Please, my child.
(Rebecca collapses into sobs as the mother, heart shattering, tears herself away and runs out barefoot,her heart feels like it about to burst out of her chest. Her cries echo as the neighbor rocks Rebecca, whispering comfort.)
(Outside, the compound is alive with murmurs. Neighbors gather, curious. The mother staggers from door to door, breathless, clutching Mercy's second letter in one hand. She bursts into compounds, searching corners, shouting.)
Lily
Mercy! Mercy!
(Children bursts outside to check, women carrying buckets pause mid-step, men at the roadside watch silently. Her desperation becomes the center of attention. Some neighbors whisper with pity, others with judgment.)
NEIGHBOUR 1
(Hissing) Hmmm, I said it — that girl is stubborn like her father's people. See now, she has disgraced the poor woman.
NEIGHBOUR 2
(Clucking tongue) Some children don't know their mother's sacrifice. That poor woman has been carrying load alone since her husband abandoned her.)
NEIGHBOUR 3
(With mock sympathy)But I pity Rebecca. The small child, what does she know? It's not her fault she was born into this dramatic problem.
(The lily hears every word. Each sentence burns her chest, and she feels their eyes piercing her like daggers, she ignores them, running, sweat and dust covering her. She bangs on neighbors' doors, peers into corners where children usually play, asks frantically if anyone has seen Mercy. Each "No" cuts deeper. With every step, guilt crashes over her — images of Mercy laughing as a child, Mercy stubbornly promising to be her protector, Mercy swearing never to leave her. Now gone. Possibly forever.)
(Thinking aloud, crying as she runs)
Maybe she left because of me… maybe I pushed her too much. Maybe I was too hard, too bitter, too angry at the world and I poured it all on her. What kind of mother loses her child? First her so called husband left her… now her daughter runs from her too.
(She slows for a moment, clutching her chest)
What if she never comes back? What if she falls into the wrong hands? She is only fifteen… she doesn't even know how dangerous the world is. Lord, I have failed. I couldn't give her money, I couldn't give her protection, I couldn't give her peace. I am nothing but a broken mother. But lateef is the cause of all this I'll surely make their family pay(she swore)
(Finally, driven mad with anguish, she turns toward her exhusband's family compound. The distance is long, but she does not feel it. Her feet blister, her chest burns, yet she runs, fueled by grief and rage. Passersby stare at her, whispering. Some shake their heads, others laugh cruelly. She does not stop.)
(At last, she arrives, pounding on the gate with both fists. Neighbors nearby poke their heads out, curious. She screams with a voice like thunder, a voice born from heartbreak.)
Lily (screaming):
Open this gate! Where is my child? You people have succeeded! Are you satisfied now?!(She shouts with anguish)
(Inside, a guard rushes forward, blocking her. He grips her wrists tightly, holding her back from the gate.)
Guard (firm, cold)
Madam, you cannot enter here. Move back before you cause trouble.
(She struggles against his grip, eyes wild with grief, voice breaking into a roar.)
Lily
Let me in! That girl is my blood! You will not keep her from me!(She managed to free herself from him kicking him where the sun doesn't shine and screaming like a mad woman, during her fits another guard manages to hold her down)
(The guard tightens his grip, pushing her back. Neighbors begin to gather outside the gate, whispering, some mocking, some pitying. The mother thrashes like a trapped animal, kicking against the dust, screaming louder.)
Lily(crying, fighting)
Leave me! Do you know what you have done?! Do you know what your master has destroyed?!
(The commotion grows until a tall figure steps out from inside the compound — Lateef, calm, arrogant, watching the scene with cold eyes. He adjusts his flowing kaftan and approaches slowly, surveying the crowd and the woman clawing at the gate.)
(The mother's voice rises, her tears burning into fury. She glares at him, her chest heaving. The crowd hushes, waiting.)
Lily
(spitting the words, voice shaking but strong)
Lateef… ask your dogs to let go of me!
(The guard stiffens but does not release her. Lateef stops a few steps away, his expression unreadable. The air is tense, the crowd silent, all eyes fixed on the confrontation. The mother's wrists bleed against the guard's grip, but her eyes blaze with defiance)