THE FINAL HYGGE

Written by
Joseph Frost
Draft
8/27/15
written for the 2015 31 Plays in 31 Days project

Joseph Frost, 2015

4550 Normandy Dr.
Jackson, MS 39206
atticscripts@gmail.com
* member, Dramatist's Guild

A circle of mats, pads, blankets, pillows.

There are candles around, and a tray of snack foods in the
center. Glasses of wine mostly emptied.
Four friends, late 20s/early 30s, comfortably dressed.
HANNE, SOFIE, ERIK, and POUL.
They laugh. Long. It recurs in a few waves. Then
dwindles.
Sofie stares up at the sky.
Hanne takes a drink.
Poul plays with a candle.
Erik takes a bite to eat.
SOFIE
Looking at this sky it reminds me. When I was a kid, I used to think that the sky was like a
paper. A black piece of paper. And the lights in the sky were holes poked in it. Poke
poke poke, like with a pin. And that at night, the black paper was rolled across the sky. So
the lights shining through was still daylight, the sun coming through the poke holes. I
dont know. It made me less sad to think that the sun was there, that it didnt go away at
night. The night was a black piece of paper.
ERIK
Night isnt a black piece of paper?
SOFIE
It is not, in fact.
HANNE
Who rolled it out?
SOFIE
What?
HANNE
The paper. As you imagined it.
SOFIE
I dont think I thought that part through. Or where the paper was in the daytime.

2.
ERIK
This wasnt when you were a kid. This was last week.
SOFIE
I was maybe 5.
ERIK
Last week.
HANNE
Stop it.
(to Sofie)
I like your idea. The black paper overhead. That way the sun is never gone from us. Its
still there all the time. Just hidden. I wish it were true. Things that keep us warm
wouldnt be gone from us.
ERIK
Dont do that.
HANNE
What?
ERIK
Be metaphorical.
HANNE
Im not. I didnt mean to be.
ERIK
Fine.
SOFIE
You didnt finish your story.
ERIK
What?
SOFIE
Before. The cat on the stoop.
ERIK
I finished that story.

3.
SOFIE
When?
ERIK
Before.
HANNE
He did.
POUL
He did.
SOFIE
Where was I?
ERIK
Lost in the sky, maybe. The big black paper.
SOFIE
So what happened?
ERIK
When?
SOFIE
To the cat.
ERIK
I dont know. It never came back.
HANNE
It never did.
ERIK
Not after that day, no.
HANNE
You didnt say that before. You chased it off.
ERIK
Right. And it didnt come back.
SOFIE
I heard that part, the chasing off. I was asking about later. It never came back?

4.
ERIK
No.
SOFIE
What happened to it?
ERIK
How should I know?
HANNE
You didnt go looking for it?
ERIK
Of course not. It threw up things on the stoop. Why would I look for it?
POUL
It was probably sick. Probably died.
SOFIE
No.
HANNE
I wish you wouldnt say that.
POUL
Probably true.
HANNE
Youll upset her.
POUL
With the truth.
HANNE
You know-SOFIE
I dont want to think about it anymore.
POUL
Fine.
A long silence.
Hanne tries to drink from an empty glass.

5.
HANNE
Is there not any more?
ERIK
Wine? In the bag.
HANNE
That it empty.
ERIK
Theres another.
HANNE
That is the other.
ERIK
No.
HANNE
Yes.
POUL
If its all gone-SOFIE
No.
POUL
That means...
HANNE
Dont say it.
POUL
Its time.
Silence.
HANNE
(to Erik)
You are already-ERIK
Yes.
A moment.

6.
SOFIE
I hate this. I love you, and Im happy for you, but I hate this.
ERIK
Thank you. I hate it too.
POUL
It was inevitable.
HANNE
You dont have to say it like that. It wasnt. It didnt have to be.
POUL
It was bound to. Dont make out like it wasnt. Make him feel bad about whats
happened. Whats happening.
ERIK
Make me feel bad.
POUL
Youre leaving. This is it. A long time coming. No one wants this to end. But like this
night, it will end. At some point, the big black paper does roll away to some other place,
and the daylight is no longer obstructed. The light of day shines. And the paper is just a
memory.
SOFIE
You wont miss Erik?
POUL
Ill miss all of you.
SOFIE
What?
HANNE
What are you saying?
POUL
This is it, I expect. Weve gathered this way, the four of us, for a long time. Erik is
leaving for his new job and his new life. I dont expect us three to keep gathering after he
is gone.
ERIK
I hate to think that I--

7.
POUL
Its not a bad thing. No ones blaming you.
SOFIE
You are.
HANNE
You just said it.
POUL
Thats not what I-ERIK
Poul is right. This was my decision. I am ending this.
HANNE
Dont feel that way. Really.
ERIK
I will miss you terribly.
HANNE
I know.
SOFIE
Poul, you are wrong. We will gather again. Hygge is too important. For all of us.
POUL
Im sorry. Im not going to pretend thats true. The wine is gone. The day is coming.
Erik is going. I love you all. I dont expect this to ever happen again.
(he blows out a candle, stands)
Good night. Good bye.
Poul exits.
ERIK
I cant believe he did that.
HANNE
I can.
Hanne reaches over to Eriks face and touches his cheek.
She rises. And exits.

8.
SOFIE
I guess now I know where the black paper goes.
Sofie kisses Erik on the cheek.
She rises and exits.
Erik sits for a moment. Then blows out the other candles.
End.