“March”

“How could you do that to me?” yells Lacey at Lem.

September by Wallerstedt plays.

And in the shadows Putin stands. He lights a cigarette. A coy aristocrat. An F. Scott Fitzgerald man…if there’s no reincarnation and Jesus was never reincarnated. A rare soul.

Rainy. Dark. Twilight.

“I’m insecure.” jokes Lem.

“That’s not funny.” says Lacey.

“I’d never leave you!” he says.

“But you’d let me go!?” says Lacey. “I mean that’s what it really comes down to.”

“If he did…I’d be ten steps behind him.” says certain dead British aristocrat. “I’m real, regardless of reincarnation. And I understand her constant…obsession. WITH EVERYTHING.” he smiles. “Not…not you.” Then he walks off.

“By ten steps behind him do you mean…you’d love me?” says Lacey.

“YES!!” he yells.

“No. Never.” says Lem.

“How sure of them are you?” asks Lacey.

“Eternally sure. As sure I as need to be to keep you forever.” Lem says.

“Good. Because I’m terrible at that. I just love. Turns out.” says Lacey. “I hold on to my children. Not you. …But I’m also devastated at the thought of you letting go. At all.”

“I’m not Eve. We’re just like him. In some way.” Lem says about the dead British aristocrat walking off in the English mist.

“I can’t stand this.” says Lacey.

Putin smirks. Leaning on a tree.

The song ends.

It’s quiet and then The Firebird Suite plays. Perfect. In the background.

“I am Alexei Romanov.” says Putin, jokingly.

He throws his cigarette onto the ground. Extinguishes it.

“Look…I miss old Russia.” he says.

“That’s HOME for me.” says Putin.

“I miss my family. I miss HOME.” says Putin.

2:00

“I miss my FATHER.” says Tsar Vladimir Putin.

“Papa!” says Tsar Putin, if there’s reincarnation.

“That’s me!” says Putin. “I was very close to my sister. My family loved Russia…but we struggled to…manage. Anything. …It was…a daily battle towards the end…and I often worried I was going to die. I really did!

But…is there reincarnation? Or am I just making up nonsense based on what I know?” says Putin.

“He’s was a dear, kind, loving man…even if he was a supposedly bad tsar.” says Tsar Vladimir Putin.

“That is my palace now.” says Tsar Vladimir Putin.

Lacey laughs and he laughs with her.

“How do they not understand!?” says Lacey. “You are a president but you’re also a tsar. You live in a palace.”

Round Dance of the Princesses plays.

“I think they know…” he says.

“Oh my.” says Lacey.

“Yeah.” says Tsar Nicholas II. “Lem is with you for eternity. He is your twin flame as they call it. But if my ‘son’ really wanted to be with you and it wasn’t in the Lord‘s will for Lem to be with you, there would be nothing that would stop him. Why are you worried about him?” 

“Because I relate to him. I relate to him and I worry that he’s getting very, very tired.” says Lacey. 

“He really is very capable though.” says Tsar Nicholas II.

“ the thing is, if there’s reincarnation you all got shot and people can be tortured. I am being tortured it’s him it’s true and I think after the life that I have lead, I don’t have any more faith in God in the sense that I have I believe in him. I have faith in him, but I don’t have faith in him the way that I would like to be able to because I’ve been through so much pain and betrayal that it’s hard for me to believe that he’s trustworthy. It’s not that I see him is not being God. It’s just my mind can’t quite him I don’t. I think I don’t trust him anymore the way that I probably am supposed to and I can’t quite figure out what I am supposed to do but I don’t have trusted him the way that I used to, it’s it’s not as weird though because this is cognitive dissonance I do believe in Jesus I very much do I very much have faith that he’s God. I just can’t quite believe I just can’t quite believe for some reason, but it’s not for some reason, but I just I can’t quite I can’t quite make myself, trust him that much it isn’t that he doesn’t deserve it. Isn’t that hard it’s really it probably is cognitive dissonance I just I can’t. Oh, it’s really hard to explain but I think I definitely believe in God I believe he’s all powerful and all all all good and that it’s just a fallen world, but it is hard for me to believe that everything is going to work out because I am not happy and I don’t for see myself ever really being happy ever the way that things are whether I was with your son so to speak or lamb I’m profoundly hurt and offended, and I feel incredibly betrayed by God and I know he exist but no I can’t. I can’t I can’t I can I I can’t fathom it. I cannot fathom him right now and I say that knowing that there Hass to be some explanation most likely knowing that there is God most definitely that he’s all good but I just I can’t. I can’t wrap my brain around it.” says Lacey.

“ but if you were here with me right now, no no no no what if you were in bed with me and we were watching television together and cuddling then how would you feel?” says Tsar Vladimir Putin to Lacey.

Lacey thinks. “ I would be a heck of a lot happier I would probably be incredibly happy but I would still have so many questions about so many things and that’s the part of me. That is definitely not what it’s I think eat you know I don’t know 88 I don’t think so, I would be a lot happier. I would be a lot happier but I’m still very upset. I still feel like God is I’m furious with him. I’m absolutely furious with him.” says Lacey.

“ I can handle that. Lem can handle that. God can handle that. What are you going to do?” says Tsar Putin.

“ I am going to talk to God, and force Him to explain himself upon penalty of me, destroying Him and making myself God and forcing Him to help me or something like that.” says Lacey.

“people don’t take you seriously enough they really don’t. I know you very well and that’s possibly not something that was supposed to have happened but I know you very well and I don’t think that you would stop until he was overthrown.” says Putin. “ do you feel like we’re being swallowed up?”

“ is that really you saying that?” says Lacey.

“ yes!” he says.

“ I think you’re smarter than me and I don’t say that to very many people. Yes, I do feel like we’re being swallowed up.” says Lacey.

“ I don’t think it’s likely to work.” he says.

“ why?” says Lacey.

“ because I don’t think things disappear like that.” says Putin.

“ I don’t think they do either.” says Lacey.

“They can’t. I swear!” he says.

“Then where do you think they go!??” says an astrophysicist.

“EXACTLY!” says Putin.

“Do they get inverted?” says Lacey.

“I wouldn’t rule it out.” says Putin.

“Oh dear! You’re seducing me.” says Lacey. “I better take off.”

So she does.