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. Jonah stares out the window. His cellmate, an old crank by the name of BENEDITO (54) sits in the corner with his back on the wall. BENEDITO Sit yer 'self down. JONAH He, hasn't made himself shown yet. BENEDITO Because it isn't the crack of dawn, mate. My brother never once made himself ready before dawn. Not even the once. JONAH And why is it your brother's involved in the bird's actions? BENEDITO He's the wind beneath the wind, weren't you to worry. 2. Jonah turns his attention to Benedito. JONAH Your brother, is it he's passed on? BENEDITO Ay. Do you know about the Albatross? JONAH No, 'n, no. Benedito scoffs. He spits onto the floor. BENEDITO What business is it you have on here vessel if'n you're not a sailor? JONAH Wrong place I spose. I'm not long for this world. Lot's of wrong things I've done. Benedito clears his throat. He pulls his cap down over his eyes. JONAH Will you tell me about the albatross? BENEDITO Hmm. He keeps his eyes closed and clears his throat once again but this time with more sincerity. The cough of a thespian. BENEDITO "And through the drifts the snowy clifts Did send a dismal sheen: Nor shapes of men nor beasts we ken- the ice was all between." He clears his throat. BENEDITO CONT'D "The ice was here, the ice was there, the ice was all around: It cracked and growled! And roared and howled! Like noises in a sound!" 3. He picks up his voice and the words drip with passion. Jonah watches in silence. Benedito's spit dribbles and sprays as his cadence increases. BENEDITO CONT'D "at length did cross an Albatross, Thorough the fog it came; As if it had been a Christian soul, We hailed it in God's name. 'God save the3, ancient mariner! From fiends, that plague thee thus! Why look'st thou so? With my cross bow I shot the albatross!" He clears his throat, spits onto the floor, and returns to resting against the wall. JONAH What is it, the meaning behind it? What is it you're trying to say? BENEDITO Don't kill a fucking albatross. Bad fucking luck. My brother, he's helping that bird fly, don't you see it? JONAH I don't know nothing about your brother but what you've just told me. BENEDITO How old are you? JONAH Forty-two, uh no forty-four, somewhere in there I forget. BENEDITO Hmm. Well, you're older than he ever got to be, rotten sickness. Took him, my ma and pa, but they're fucking pricks. Not the ones to carry. Carry under the wings, beside Christ. Benedito begins to doze off. JONAH Could you say them fancy words again? 4. BENEDITO Hmm? The poem. JONAH Would you say the poem again? BENEDITO Would you make a deal, huh? JONAH A deal? Sure, if'n I was to hear about it first. BENEDITO Well- JONAH Why the fuck do you need a deal 'nyway? BENEDITO Why is it you need to hear the poem, I don't owe you shit. They both fall quiet, only the sounds of the waves and sporadic throat clearings. JONAH God is speaking through you. He told me as much in my dream. Benedito erupts in laughter. He goes to speak but gets caught up on his cough. BENEDITO God's got no control over my lips, my tongue, my heart, my soul. He spits onto the floor. JONAH What is it you wanted? BENEDITO Hmm? JONAH The deal, I- BENEDITO I know you were meaning the deal. I want you to answer a question. 5. JONAH So what is it? BENEDITO Why is it you found yourself here? JONAH Why? BENEDITO Enlighten me, would you? Jonah look back out the window. JONAH I took something that don't belong to me. BENEDITO Fucking get on with it. Spill your guts, would you? JONAH It's not like you're offering up your crimes. BENEDITO I fucked a woman. A beautiful woman, with hair like silk and the voice of a robin. JONAH What? There's no crime to be had in that. BENEDITO I fucked the "wrong" woman. I mean I've fucked plenty of wrong women, but never was I caught, til Cape Verde. Portside, looking for fun. A peddler of silks and shit, came back to find me with my cock in her mouth and my fingers wrapped around her cunt. Almost severed the tip of my prick, she was screaming so loud. (laughter) Had to stop 'em screaming though, I put my blade into his chest and then into her's. Damn shame, she had a beautiful voice. And tits like rolling hills! 6. Benedito is absorbed in his own disgusting antics. Jonah's once inquisitive look turns to dissapointment and then to anger. BENEDITO So what did you do. What did you really fucking do? JONAH He was all over her, nothing I could do to stop short of smashing his skull in, so it's what I did. BENEDITO So if'n you- JONAH That is all. I answered. Benedito clears his throat. BENEDITO "The albatross-" JONAH I'm fine without it. BENEDITO I insist. JONAH Don't open your pig mouth again, I mean it. BENEDITO Fuck you. You're the one that's asking me for the fucking thing. JONAH Fuck you! Benedito goes back to sleep as Jonah gets back closer to the window. He looks out across an endless sea searching for the bird. He can see the sun rising like a blazing stigmatization. Dawn has come and still no bird. Jonah stares over his sleeping cell mate. After a quiet bit of contemplation he walks over to the edge of the cell and grabs a loose bucket. JONAH God is not speaking through you. You are the devil-spawn cast from his light. 7. He lingers for a moment before smashing the bucket down onto Benedito slumbering head. He wakes up in pain but before he can react the bucket comes down and knocks him unconscious. He rains the bucket down over and over and over and over again. JONAH MY HAND ALONE CARRIES HIS MESSAGE, I AM THE TEETH OF HIS SHINING GRIN, I AM THE SUN AND THE MOON, I AM HIS APOSTLE OF RIGHTEOUS FURY. He continues until crew members of the ship come down to restrain him.