Character:

Katherine Smith: 14. Small frame, dirty blonde hair, pale, brown eyes, dressed in all black. She is terribly saddened by the death of her parents to a house fire. Before the incident she was a happy go lucky girl.

Setting:

It takes place in a funeral home in Grand Rapids, Michigan. This is where Katherine’s family lived before the fire. This monologue takes place in the hallway of the funeral home where there is a chair, a potted plant, and a crucifix on the wall.

[stage is set at a funeral home; spotlight on Katherine sitting in chair looking down]

*Katherine looks like she’s been crying & is looking down to her lap then looks up at audience hesitantly*

           Katherine:

I bet you’re wondering how I ended up here. It’s not often you see a 14-year-old at a funeral home mourning the loss of both of her parents. *wipes tear from face* Yes, I’ve been crying [pause] since the night it happened actually. I haven’t gotten more than 2 hours of sleep a night for the past week; probably the nightmares. I can’t stop reliving it [pause] the fire. It was around 3am and I was lying in bed attempting to overcome my chronic insomnia, when I smelled the smoke. At first, I figured it was all in my head, from the lack of sleep, you know? That’s when I saw the light under my door and the smoky smell started to get more prominent. I decided to get up and go check it out since I had no intention of falling asleep any time soon. I opened the door slowly and a cloud of smoke practically slapped me in the face. Then I saw it. The entire living room, the living room I grew up watching tv in, having family game night in, ablaze. Immediately my heart started racing and I coughed as I breathed in the smoke. I suddenly felt unable to move. My parents [pause] their room was on the other side of the house, the other side of the burning living room. I screamed as loud as I could, but the blazing of the fire was too loud. I sprinted back into my room and grabbed my phone. I never thought there would be a moment in my 14 years of living where I would need to call the police, but that night it all changed. “9-1-1. What is your emergency?” I hesitated, then the words spilled out all at once in a jumble “m-my house. It’s on fire. The living room is on fire please help-“. I can’t recall what was said after that, but I remember climbing out of the window and onto my front lawn. I turned around to see the entirety of my house in flames. I guess I had pushed that to the back of my mind. The rest of that night is a blur, except for the hospital room, and the doctor telling me I was the only survivor. *places face in hands as if she’s crying* [lights dim]

End play.