ACT IV
THE DEVIL ENTERS
Thunder. A crown made of contracts. Facts are obedient little creatures.
Thunder. BELIAL, THE DEVIL FATHER, appears. He is not a realistic character. He is theatrical. He wears a crown made of contracts.
BELIAL
You call me a devil.
ORPHEUS
No. I call you what you became in my story.
BELIAL
Stories are useful.
ORPHEUS
So are facts.
BELIAL
Facts?
He laughs.
BELIAL
Facts are obedient little creatures. Put them in a report and they sit quietly.
ORPHEUS
You think you can control the story.
BELIAL
I do not need to control it. I only need to tell it first.
THE REPORT looks at him.
THE REPORT
Interesting.
ORPHEUS
Do not encourage him.
THE REPORT
We are merely considering all accounts.
THE FOOL
How many accounts?
THE REPORT
Several.
THE FOOL
And how many truths?
Silence.
THE REPORT
That remains under assessment.
THE VISA
A passport lies on the table.
A passport lies on the table. ORPHEUS picks it up.
ORPHEUS
There was another lever. Paper determining whether I could remain in the country where my child lived. I say my immigration position was used against me. I say events concerning my status need to be examined.
THE REPORT
Can you prove intent?
ORPHEUS
That is the question. Not— Was she emotional? Was she difficult? Did she complain? Did she ask too many questions? But— What happened? Who initiated what? What communications were sent? What did he know? What did he intend? What consequences followed?
THE REPORT
Those matters are separate.
ORPHEUS
Nothing is separate when a mother is trying to remain legally present in the country where her child lives.
THE REPORT
The court cannot decide every matter.
ORPHEUS
No. But it can ask questions.
THE FOOL takes the passport. He opens it. Inside are blank pages.
THE FOOL
Funny. A passport full of stamps. And not one stamp saying: “Mother.”
This is a work of fiction. Characters, events and circumstances have been fictionalised.