ZULEKHA AND KHATIJA'S HOUSE DIVIDED

ZULEKHA AND KHATIJA'S HOUSE DIVIDED
A PERFORMANCE NOVELLA
IN FOUR SEGMENTS

IST SEGMENT:

ZULEKHA AND KHATIJA:  TWIN SISTERS BORN CENTURIES APART IN DIFFERENT LANDS.

2ND SEGMENT:

IBSA (IN BABYLON SOULS ALONE)

3RD SEGMENT

INJSA (IN NEW JERSY SOULS ALONE) TWIN SISTERS BORN ENTURIES APART IN DIFFERENT LANDS

FOURTH SEGMENT

JAFFER;  A SPINLESS MAN AFRAID TO EXPRESS ANY OPINION IN CASE HE OFFENDS
                  THE POWERFUL, SO HE STAYS INVISIBLE...

IBSA: (In babylon souls alone AND INSA: (In NJ souls alone.

SOMEHOW?

What is the meaning of this vague word,

SOMEHOW?

Things have to happen somehow...

Somehow they got to Babylon

And left you in NJ

Wasn't that your town once?

No, it was my sister's...my sister Ibsa was born in Babylon

I was born in NJ

Babylon belonged to my sister

What belongs to your sister, belongs to you...

Babylon was yours

Now it's not...

Go and claim it

How?

Somehow, I don't know...tell them to get the hell out...

But they will tell me to get  the hell out of NJ

So get the hell out of NJ, no big deal

Where do I go?

Go to Babylon

They won't let me in

Tell them you were born there

No, it was my sister Ibsa.  Ibsa is Babylon but not of Babylon at the same time.

She lives at an ancient cemetry...where the insects crawl all over the graves but

at least she has company.  The ancient insects are more loyal then the modern people.

Listen Injsa, forget about sad things.  Forget about sad places. Go back to NY.

Isn't NY the place where happy people live?  Happy because it's the city where everyone gets

awards? By the way did you get your Obie?

 INJSA: Oh! Ibsa, for Centuries old person, you have a great memory.

When you lived in NY you talked about it for 30 years.  Did you get it?

INJSA: Oh! they decided to give it to me last year but then the village voice lost its business

IBSA: What's village voice?

INJSA:  It was a news paper.  A free news paper...

IBSA: A news paper gave an award?

INJSA: Yes...

IBSA:  Whyied about getting an award, an award with a lousy name from a free news paper the hell

you were so worried about getting an award with a lousy name from a free news paper? A paper

which couldn't even sustain its own business...

INJSA:  Oh! every one was getting it, so I didn't want to be excluded...

IBSA:  Injsa, if you are going to have pain of exclusion, have the pain of exclusion from Babylon...

I have no place here either, only the cemetries.  I walk around all night looking at the headstones of

my great, great, great ancestors.  I can't move outside of the cemetry, there are guns there...guns and

bombs....and dead people...Babylon is nothing but darkness now, but not for the armies who came

here, they put neon lights and drink their beer...You want to have pain sweetheart, have pain for your

graveyards...You say you perished in Manhattan...you are afraid to go back...maybe you are right.

 Maybe you did perish.. does anyone see you? does any one know you? You are invisible in NJ as

well.

Yoiu are not there either. Maybe you are in Babylon...No one see you.  No one sees me either.

We are as ancient as our graves, as invisible as Babylon. Maybe You are Babylon.

Please do not scare me with your story.  I don't want to know your story.  I do not want to hear your

story.

Your story sounds familiar.  It scares me to death.  How many times you want me to die?

I am not interested.

Go write a happy story

If you can

With a happy ending

Then com back

And then perhaps I will look at it

And make sure there is an angle to the story

The angle to make money

You are in 21st Century

And you are writing about 3BC

Not interested....

And that how it goes and goes

In IBSA'S mind

In  INJSA'S mind

Two twin sister's minds

It goes and goes

It gets around and around and Centuries keep passing...