Be True to Yourself
Characters
Rich man – Mark
Assistant – George
Homeless man – Henry
Cleaner – Jonathan
Officer 1
Officer 2
Office Staff
SCENE I
(Mark is standing and drinking coffee with his assistant standing next to him. Henry, a homeless man, passes by with some old tattered bags. He is wearing torn clothes and broken shoes. As he passes by, he drops a coin into Mark’s coffee.)
Henry: “Here take this!”
Mark (angry): “What nonsense is this?! What do you think you are doing?”
Henry: “Why? Is it less? Here take another!” (He puts another coin in Mark’s coffee while Mark gets furious)
Mark: “Are you out of your mind?”
Henry: “This is to remind you of your selfishness. You are stinking rich, but you never ever thought of helping me out. You never gave me even a small coin. How mean and selfish you rich are! You never think of the poor, only of yourselves and how you can get richer. If I were in your place, I would have always helped the poor.”
Mark (looking at his assistant): “George, stop him. He has opened my eyes. I need to help him.”
(George grabs Henry by the hand and pulls him towards Mark.)
Henry (frightened): “I…I…am sorry. I am really sorry. I think I spoke a bit too much. Please don’t punish me. I won’t speak like this, ever again.”
Mark: “Cool down, man! You have taught me an important lesson. As you said, I was selfish and mean. You have indeed opened my eyes. I will help you now.”
(Henry is all frightened and confused as he is dragged along.)
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Melissa D’Souza, FMA is a teacher at Auxilium High School, Caranzalem, Goa. She is a passionate promoter of environmental safety.