Play #72: THE FIST
The play takes place in a doctor’s office. The doctor—who is a generic and therefore nameless doctor—is listening sceptically to a distressed patient, Victor Franken. Franken has been describing what seems to be an unlikely encounter—but an encounter that has resulted, somehow, in the patient’s receiving an injury, a big empurpled black eye.
Doctor: I’m still not sure I understand you, Mr. Franken.
Franken: But I’ve explained over and over, doctor.
Doctor: But what you’ve told me makes no sense at all.
Franken (pointing to his battered eye): Sense or not, here’s the result!
Doctor (patiently): Tell me again what happened.
Franken (sighing heavily): I was walking to work…
Doctor: Uh huh.
Franken: …and I happened to glance up at the sky and there was this small dark cloud hovering over me.
Doctor: Odd.
Franken: Yes. And then the cloud descended a bit until it floated just above my head.
Doctor: Very strange indeed.
Franken (more agitated): Yes. And then, the next thing I know, BAM!!, this huge fist—as big as a pickup-truck—comes swinging out of the cloud and bashes me right in the face!
Doctor: Knocking you down.
Franken (furious): Of course knocking me down!
[both doctor and patient are silent for a moment]
Doctor (quietly): Tell me, Mr. Franken, do you have any obvious enemies?
Franken (outraged): What, in the sky?!!
[The doctor leans back in his chair, presses his fingers together in an attitude of deep consideration and then turns brightly to his patient]
Doctor (quietly): Tell me, Mr. Franken, are you a religious man?
(curtain)