Beauty is eternity gazing at itself in a mirror. But you are eternity and you are the mirror.

Waiting for Time (?) A one-man short play written by Alexandru Costin Pintic

The only prop on stage is a video projector screen (it serves as a TV). An older man (around 50, he is actually the young guy disguised with make-up and a fake beard) enters from the right wing. He is holding a remote control. He is talking to the audience.THE OLDER MAN: Look, I want to show you what I have just found. God knows how much I miss those days... Are you ready? Ok, good, lets see.... (he looks at the remote searching for the play button) Any second now.... Ok, here it is!He points the remote at the screen and the lights dim. As the recording starts playing, the guy exits.THE YOUNG GUY: (on the recording; he is around 30 years old; in the background theres a white wall with some warnings, so we understand its a hospital wall) ...Yeah...okay....is it on?...(He finally points the camera at himself) Hello, future me! How are you? Well, I hope you are good. Today is the 20th of December and now its exactly (he looks at his watch) 11:49 PM. Your wife has been in labour for the past few hours. Yeah, future me, you heard me right the first time, today is the day your first baby steps into this world! God, Im so excited right now! The light is turned on and from the left wing enters the young guy with a handycam in his hand. For a few seconds he perfectly imitates the recording, even speaking at the same time. After that, the recording is turned off and its full light on him.THE YOUNG GUY: I dont know if its going to be a boy or a girl, because she didnt tell me. Oh, she loves mysteries. To be honest, I hope its a boy, so I can teach him everything I learned, BUT Id be okay with a girl. Wait no never let anyone hear that. Cut that part when you edit this video. So BUT a girl would be great! However, I should stop bothering you with my concerns, because... well... youre future me, so, obviously, you already know if its a boy or a girl. The most important thing is for the kid to be healthy. Speaking of concerns, there is a public concern floating around. They say that tomorrow, 21st december 2012, will be the end of the world. I mean... how crazy is that? How could one know when will the world end? Im pretty sure that if Id be an ancient Mayan right now Id be pretty irritated by all these guys misinterpreting my work. Maybe they meant the end of the world on a spiritual level, like chi, yin yang and all those unseen things. The world stays the same physically but not mentally and spiritually. Everything is changed while nothing is changed. Like a new generation coming. My child will be born in a new generation, a new world. I hope we wont have a communication problem. Funny thing, dont you think? Technology has evolved a lot these past couple of decades, we now have the internet which is meant to ease communicationand yet We have already started spending more time with our friends online than in real life. We prefer talking to a computer than to a real person. Thats sad. And I hate the fact that my child has to grow up in this world. I feel useless. I mean, look at me. Im alone in this waiting room waiting for the doctors to let me see my wife and my child and Im talking to a camera. If you see this, future me, its obvious that the apocalypse has never come. And I hope you get to see this tape. I mean, how exactly would the aftermath of an apocalypse look like? Would it simply destroy the planet and every living creature on it? Would it be like a post-apocalyptic movie? And just a handful of people would survive just to die of starvation or something? They actually made a movie, called 2012. John Cusack played the leading actor. Hes the only good part about the movie. Well.he and the special effects. The story is quite stupid, to be honest. Classic Hollywood. But you know, they have to make money, after all. And as long as the public pays for that kind of movies, they are going to keep making them. Future me, I hope the public will be changed in your time. I hope Hollywood will start making better films. They have resources, after all. Speaking of John Cusack and bad Hollywood movies, there is also the occasional great one. Being John Malkovich, 1999, also with Cusack in the lead role. Man, that is a greatly written movie. Fun fact, the movie took five years to be made. You knowa baby takes only 9 months. By the way, look, future me. (he pulls out a watch from his pocket) I bought this watch today. I want to give it as a present to my child on his 21st birthday. I think its the best gift a dad can give to his child, a watch. Time, I think, is the most important thing in the world. You can have all the wealth in the world, but as long as you dont have time, you dont have nothing. So my child should know what time it is. Also, a watch is nice, it gives you class. Future me, the adolescents of my days have gone crazy. They no longer can differentiate right from wrong. I think its technologys fault. I dont want to sound old school or something, but really, technology is great for making some things easier and faster, but it also has its disadvantages I meanNURSE(from backstage): Come on, your baby has been born!THE YOUNG GUY: Oh my God, oh my God, ok, ok, ok future me this is it, oh my God! Were going to see the baby!He starts walking towards the exit while still filming. The lights dim again. He exits. On the TV screen we see a montage of the mother holding two babies and other important moments in their life, all filmed with his handycam, like their christening, their first day at kindergarten, their first day at school, etc. The old man enters from the right wing and the recording stops.THE OLDER MAN: So here we are,21 years later. A lot of time has passed and I hope we will be granted more. Now for your birthday gift. As you can see in the recording, I didnt know at that time that you two will happen. So that night I went and bought another one. As this one (he shows us the watch) is manlier, I thought it would be better to buy you a girlier one (he shows us another watch). So here they are, kids, your gifts. May they bring you luck and more time.

-The End-

Time is an illusion. Albert Einstein