Following Footprints

A One Act Play

By Love DiGiorgio

Troupe 2329
Susan Gerdeman
Lyman High School
2/19/2023
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ADALIE …………………………… A young woman in her early twenties who

has forgotten what love feels like.
YOUNG ADALIE …………… A little girl from the past around six
years old who is leading ADALIE home.
MOM …………………………………… An older woman around 40-50 who misses
her daughter.
PAUL ………………………………… A young man in his mid twenties who is
terrified of a loveless life.
LITTLE GIRL 1 ………… A little girl enjoying life.
LITTLE GIRL 2 ………… A little girl following her friends.
LITTLE GIRL 3 ………… A little girl learning to have fun.

Synopsis

Above all, this is a play about love. It follows a young

woman who just realized that her boyfriend is no longer the
man she fell in love with. She is led by the girl she used
to be back to a love she can never lose: the love of her
mother.

Setting

This play takes place in a modern city in America.

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ACT 1

SCENE 1

It is a peaceful night. A street

light casts a door in full light,
but nothing else. Only that door.

YOUNG ADALIE stands downstage from

the door. Her nightgown is torn
and she’s lost her shoes, leaving
her in dirty socks.

YOUNG ADALIE cries as she looks

everywhere but the door. She trips
over her feet while walking
towards it, and hesitates to knock
when she’s inches away from the
wood. Before she can wait much
longer, the door swings open.

MOM bends over and frantically

pulls YOUNG ADALIE into a tight
hug.

Lights dim.

SCENE 2

The scene is that of a small

dining area.

ADALIE sits at a dinner table with

her head bowed. She wears a large,
baggy shirt and a long skirt as if
to hide in the fabric. The food in
front of her is untouched, and
will likely remain that way. PAUL
sits at the opposite side of the
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table in a similar position before
raising his head to look at her.

PAUL
(He talks softly)
Do you still love me?

ADALIE
(She keeps her head down and
talks as if she were bored.)
Of course, Paul.

PAUL
Of course, of course. Except you won’t even look at me and
I’m pretty sure you’re disgusted with me.

ADALIE
Paul, I’m not disgusted with you. I’m just tired. You don’t
need to look into my every action so closely. You’re acting
paranoid.

PAUL
(He sighs frustratedly and
talks with his hands.)
Well, maybe I wouldn’t be paranoid if we didn’t do this
every night.

ADALIE
(She looks up and speaks
softly.)
What do you mean?

PAUL
This! This pretending that I don’t exist so that you don’t
have to deal with the fact that you messed everything up!

ADALIE
(Shocked.)
What did I do wrong?
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He pounds his fists against the
table.

PAUL
(Shouting.)
I do everything for you! I have put everything into this
relationship, and it’s like you don’t even care! What have
you given me? Nothing! I feel like I am trying so hard for
this relationship when you don’t even care.

ADALIE
(Her voice breaks trying to
hold back tears.)
Why do I have to sacrifice something to show my love for
you? What do you even want from me?

PAUL
I want you to care! You’re like a zombie, or a corpse!
Everyday, you just sit there! You barely talk, you barely
breathe, you barely do anything! Tell me, Adalie, do you
even care about me? About us?

ADALIE
(She hesitates.)
I-I don’t know.

PAUL pushes his chair over as she

stands up and walks in a small
circle before standing right by
her like a scolding mother.

PAUL
(Terrified.)
How could you not know?

ADALIE
You get mad when I do anything! Last week you yelled at me
because I was breathing too loudly, of course I barely
breathe around you!

PAUL
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You weren’t just breathing! I was trying to sleep and you
were panting like a dog!

ADALIE
(Shouting back.)
Just please, stop yelling at me!

PAUL
I’m not yelling at you!

ADALIE
Yes you are!

She stands so that she can look

him in the eye.

PAUL
This is so stupid. I feel like you’re trying to start a
fight with me or something. You think I don’t see it? Every
day I wake up hoping you’re in a good mood today. That
you're happy. It’s like I’m never enough for you anymore,
Adalie! You’re like a ghost of a human. You don’t care
what’s going to happen to you. The entire world could burn
down and you would still be sitting here waiting for
somebody else to fix your problems for you. I am trying so
hard to make you happy, but you won't even tell me what’s
wrong! You’re lifeless, Adalie!

ADALIE
(Angry.)
Why do you think I’m like that, Paul? I wasn’t like that
before I met you!

PAUL
Don’t blame this on me! I have always loved you! I don’t
think you’re even capable of love! You like the idea of
someone loving you and taking care of you, but you never
did love me! You’re so obsessed with this idea that someone
is going to come in and make everything better for you, but
you won’t even try to help yourself! You can’t possibly
love me! This isn’t love! I can never tell if you’re gonna
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be here in the morning! I always think you’re just going to
leave one day without telling me all because I can’t live
up to your story book standards of love!

ADALIE
(Crying.)
Your fears are not my fault! I do love you! At least I
thought I did until you turned into a rude, aggressive man!
If I had known this is the man you would turn out to be, I
never would have agreed to move in!

PAUL
If I had known you would treat me like a painting on the
wall you only keep because you’re too lazy to get rid of, I
never would have started dating you!

They’re so close their noses are

touching as if they were about to
kiss, but there’s no love between
them. Only animosity.

The wind whistles.

ADALIE walks to downstage center

while PAUL stands still, breathing
heavily, as if he were frozen in
time. She wipes tears off her
cheeks and takes a moment to calm
down so that she can speak clearly
enough.

ADALIE
(She speaks shakily.)
People must change. That is the only explanation I have for
what happened to us.

(Pause.)

We fell in love so quickly, I thought I finally understood

what the fairy tales were talking about. And I still love
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Paul. I love Paul with every inch of my heart, but this
Paul isn’t the one I fell in love with. I fell in love with
spontaneous picnics and butterfly kisses... Now, for some
reason I look into his eyes and my heart drops. My skin
gets clammy and my throat closes up. It’s as if I’m
preparing for a battle I have no chance of winning... I’m
wondering if there’s something wrong with me. I feel as
though my heart ran out of love and all that’s left is
fear.

She looks back at PAUlL who is

still standing where they were
talking and breathes heavily.
ADALIE tries to find a part of her
that still loves him, but she
feels indifferent. She turns back
to the audience feeling disgusted
with herself.

My God, Paul is right. I finally found my fairy tale love

and I became the villain. I ruined Paul. I ruined myself. I
killed the joyful girl I used to be and now I can barely
bring myself to exist. I’ve been trying so hard to
disappear in the back of my head, I lost Paul.
But he can’t be completely gone. No one can completely lose
the person they used to be. But looking at this man, I know
now I am unable of love... He is not who I fell in love
with and I am out of love.

(Pause.)

That is the reality of love. This is what Mom was always

trying to tell me. Love isn’t a fairy tale...
Love is gone.

The wind whistles once more, and

ADALIE returns to her place in
front of PAUL. Time resumes as he
sees the tears on her face. He
takes a shocked step back and
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reaches for her, but she flinches
and steps away.

PAUL
(Guilty.)
I’m sorry. I didn’t mean it. Please don’t leave me, I can’t
live without you. You’re my everything, Lily. Please, I
can’t lose you.

He reaches out to her again and

she gives in. He pulls her into a
hug as she sobs. She’s trapped in
his embrace, but she doesn’t have
the energy to fight it. She never
was a fighter. She’d always rather
take the chance to run.

ADALIE
(She whispers a lie.)
I won’t.

He nods.

They return to their spots at the

table and resume the tense silence
with their heads down. After a
moment, they both leave in
opposite directions.

When night comes, ADALIE returns

to the dining area with a coat and
a bag holding everything important
to her. With one last look at the
place she’s called home for years,
she leaves.

SCENE 3

ADALIE walks onto the street of a

shopping district. She holds her
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bag close to her. It's quiet due
to the early hours of the morning.
The only people walking about are
a man on his way to work with his
morning coffee, and three young
girls playing hopscotch in front
of a bakery.

ADALIE
(She talks softly as if she
were talking to herself.)
This is close to my childhood home. My mom used to bring me
here in the mornings before she went to work.

YOUNG ADALIE, dressed in purple

overalls, walks up to the bakery,
but is hesitant to get any closer
to the girls.

LITTLE GIRL 1
(Noticing YOUNG ADALIE)
Do you want to play with us? It’s easy. You just jump.

YOUNG ADALIE nods and walks

towards the three girls. She
watches them jump through the
chalk drawn path a couple times
before joining them. She stops in
the center of the path and looks
around proudly, but is quickly
panicked by the absence of MOM.
YOUNG ADALIE steps away from the
other girls who continue to play.
A middle aged woman with rosy
cheeks and tired eyes walks down
the opposite side of the street,
and ADALIE watches as YOUNG ADALIE
runs up to MOM and jumps into her
arms. LITTLE GIRL 1, 2 & 3 leave
the stage.
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ADALIE steps forward to MOM and
YOUNG ADALIE and calls out to
them.

ADALIE
Mom? Who is this? Why are you here?

MOM
(Ignoring ADALIE.)
My baby, did you have fun?

She kisses YOUNG ADALIE on the

forehead and sets her on the floor
in front of her.

YOUNG ADALIE
I did! But then I couldn’t find you and I thought I was
lost.

MOM
Do you know where you are, Adalie?

YOUNG ADALIE
Yes, Mama.

MOM
And do you know where you’re from?

YOUNG ADALIE
Yes, Mama.

MOM
Then you will never be lost. Even if you think you are,
there will always be a place where you can find me. Just
remember where you are from, and I will be there.

(Pause.)

YOUNG ADALIE
I’m ready to go home, Mama.
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MOM
Then let's go home.

The wind whistles as MOM walks

away with YOUNG ADALIE following
behind her. The whistle comes to a
stop when YOUNG ADALIE stops
walking and MOM disappears into
the wings. YOUNG ADALIE turns to
ADALIE and stares.

ADALIE
Who are you?

YOUNG ADALIE tilts her head

animal-like.

YOUNG ADALIE
You don’t recognize me? I’m you. Before you forgot.

ADALIE
You’re me? How is that even possible? What did I forget?

YOUNG ADALIE
I don’t know. I recommend sleeping; it might fix the seeing
things problem.

ADALIE hesitates before nodding.

(Pause.)

ADALIE
Well, what’d I forget?

There’s a pause and YOUNG ADALIE

steps close enough to ADALIE to
touch her, but she doesn’t.

YOUNG ADALIE
Why aren’t you going home? Don’t you miss it?
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ADALIE squeezes her bag.

ADALIE
Of course I miss it. But I can’t possibly go back home, not
now. I haven’t talked to Mom in almost a year, and the last
time I did we got into a massive fight. She never liked
Paul, you know. She thought he was so focused on the bad in
life that he would never be able to cherish something as
good as love.

MOM
(When she starts talking,
she’s still offstage, but
slowly walks towards ADALIE.
The wind makes a constant
whistle over her voice, but
quiet enough to hear her
words.)
He doesn’t love you, baby.

ADALIE
(Towards the audience.)
I was so mad at her for saying that. I thought she was
jealous that I found somebody before her. She’s my mother,
how could I possibly think that about her?

MOM
He doesn’t make you happy! I can tell just by looking at
you that you’re nervous just being around him. That isn’t
love!

ADALIE
I couldn’t believe she was trying to tell me what love was.

ADALIE turns to face MOM. The wind

stops whistling and she’s now a
part of the memory.

How could you tell me what love is when you left the only
man you ever loved without even a warning! You made a
mistake, not me. So don’t pretend we are the same.
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MOM is close to crying. She turns

and walks just as slowly away as
she came. The wind whistles.
ADALIE realizes what she’s said
and turns back to YOUNG ADALIE.

ADALIE
I can’t believe I said that. And now I’ve gone and done the
same thing to Paul she did to dad...we really are the same.

YOUNG ADALIE
Did you mean it?

ADALIE
I don’t know. At the time, I think I did.

YOUNG ADALIE
But why won’t you come home?

ADALIE
Don’t you understand? I couldn’t possibly face her after
that.

YOUNG ADALIE
(She’s scowling like a child
denied candy.)
You’re lying.

YOUNG ADALIE resumes her place in

the memory when the wind whistles
and follows MOM’s trail offstage.
ADALIE walks in the opposite
direction, but doesn’t leave the
stage.

SCENE 4

Around ADALIE, the scene changes

to a bench beside a bus sign. MOM
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and YOUNG ADALIE sit side by side
with their heads down. MOM looks
like she’s been crying, but YOUNG
ADALIE ignores it in favor of
playing with the straps of her
back pack.

ADALIE
This was the day my parents officially broke up... I say
that, but I don’t think my dad knew what was going on. He
was never really good at picking up on what was going on
around him. I used to wonder if he ever noticed we were
gone.

(Pause.)

As soon as my dad left for work, Mom had a moving company

help her put everything in a truck. I didn’t know why it
was happening or where we were going. Mom just had me throw
everything into a couple of boxes, and that was it.
When I tell people that story, they typically assume he was
abusive. He wasn’t, not that I can remember. But I realize
now he wasn’t the best dad, and definitely not the best
husband.

She fiddles with the strap of her

bag the same way YOUNG ADALIE
does.

We came to this bus stop. We were gone before lunch. I

never understood how my mom could do that to him... Just
disappear... I was mad at her for years because of it.
...for the first time, I think I understand her.

MOM turns to YOUNG ADALIE and

holds her hand.

MOM
Your dad is a really great man, Adalie. I want you to know
that.
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YOUNG ADALIE
Then why do we have to leave?

MOM
Just because your dad is a great man doesn’t make him mine.
The people in your life don’t always stay.

YOUNG ADALIE
But don’t you love dad?

MOM
I thought I did. For a long time, he made me really, really
happy. I thought I had everything I could possibly want in
life. But then I was given you, and I love you more than I
could possibly love your dad. One day I woke up, and I
realized that I didn’t love your dad. Maybe I never did,
but he always fascinated me I guess.

YOUNG ADALIE
But what if you wake up and you don’t love me anymore?

MOM pulls YOUNG ADALIE to her and

hugs her tightly.

MOM
That would never happen. You’re my baby. There’s nothing in
the world that could make me not love you. You taught me
love. You made me see how amazing life is, and I want to go
live it with you. I never wanted to do that with your dad.

YOUNG ADALIE
Aren’t we already living?

A bus moves across stage and stops

a little off to their side.

MOM
You are so young. If there comes a day where you have to
choose between living your life and living for someone
else's life, always choose your own.
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It will be better, I promise you. Just let me show you.

She kisses YOUNG ADALIE’S forehead

and gets off the bench to get on
the bus. YOUNG ADALIE hesitates.
MOM turns around to offer YOUNG
ADALIE her hand.

Are you coming?

The wind whistles again and time

pauses around MOM the same way it
did for PAUL. YOUNG ADALIE ignores
MOM and turns to ADALIE, who has
been watching from afar.

YOUNG ADALIE
Are you coming?

ADALIE
You don’t get it. I’ve already lived. I’ve already done all
of this! You are me, I know what you’ve done and what
you’ll do. I don’t need Mom to tell me she loves me, or
tell me people make mistakes. I know! I know all of that.
This is me living! This is what she wanted! Why would I go
back? I’m fine. I know what I’m doing. I don’t need her.

YOUNG ADALIE stomps like a toddler

throwing a tantrum.

YOUNG ADALIE
(Angry.)
You’re lying.

The wind whistles as she marches

away and time resumes for MOM.
YOUNG ADALIE takes her hand and
they walk onto the bus together.
ADALIE waits for a moment, and
then decides to get on the bus
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behind them. It takes them off
stage.

SCENE 5

It is a peaceful night. A street

light casts a door in full light,
but nothing else. Only that door.

ADALIE and YOUNG ADALIE stand side

by side downstage staring at the
door. Once again, YOUNG ADALIE
wears a torn nightgown and no
shoes.

ADALIE
(She whispers.)
Why am I here?

YOUNG ADALIE
Because It’s your home.

ADALIE
No, it’s your home. I just left my home.

(They’re both silent.)

YOUNG ADALIE
So are you going to go in?

ADALIE
No! I told you, I can’t go back. She’s probably still mad
at me about what happened a year ago. Not to mention I have
absolutely nothing. She wanted me to live! I went and
lived, and let me tell you, it’s nothing like you think.
It’s cruel, and messy, and scary. I messed everything up! I
can’t even blame her for breaking her promise anymore,
because she was right! Life was so much better without dad,
and then I ruined it all.
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YOUNG ADALIE
Stop lying!

ADALIE
I’m not lying!

YOUNG ADALIE
Yes you are! Why won’t you go home?

ADALIE walks away only to turn

back around.

ADALIE
She can’t possibly love me anymore! I don’t even love me
anymore!

YOUNG ADALIE
You don’t even know what love is!

ADALIE
Oh, and you do? You’re me! Even worse, you’re baby me! How
could you possibly know what love is?

YOUNG ADALIE
I do know love! I love more than you! That’s why I can
still go home!

ADALIE
That’s not the same! When you get older, love is different!
It’s more complicated and painful. Of course I love Mom,
but there’s so many more things now. More feelings, more
problems. The way I love Paul is so much different than how
I love Mom. It’s two different things.

YOUNG ADALIE
You’re wrong! You don’t love Paul, you want Paul to love
you! It’s different! Getting older doesn’t change love, you
just forgot it! You’re wrong! Wrong! Wrong! Wrong!

ADALIE
Oh my gosh, you’re such a child!
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She takes a moment to calm down.

It doesn’t matter either way. Mom still won't want to see

me. Last time I saw her, I told her to stay out of my life!
I told her she just wanted to mess up my relationship like
she did her own!

YOUNG ADALIE
You don’t know! She could have been waiting for you every
day at the front door like when I ran away and tried to go
back to dad! She could be holding her phone while she
sleeps to see if you call her!

ADALIE
How could you know? I didn’t run away, I grew up! It’s not
the same!

The wind whistles. MOM walks on

stage with a wide smile as YOUNG
ADALIE runs to her and jumps into
MOM’s open arms.

MOM
My baby! How was your day at school? I missed you all day,
it was crazy. I’ll love you forever and ever and ever. My
baby.

YOUNG ADALIE giggles and MOM sets

her back on the ground. MOM turns
away and walks back off stage.
YOUNG ADALIE watches her leave
with a smile until she is
completely off stage when the wind
whistles, and then looks back to
ADALIE.

ADALIE
That’s just something moms say to their children to make
them feel special!
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She turns away from YOUNG ADALIE
and lets her bag fall from her
shoulder.

I messed up. I need to go back. I can’t believe I’ve done

this. I’m an awful, awful girlfriend.

YOUNG ADALIE throws her hands up.

YOUNG ADALIE
Are you kidding me? This is the bravest thing you’ve ever
done, and you just want to go back? What are you going to
do when you get there?

ADALIE
(Stressed.)
Probably beg for forgiveness. You don’t understand. He’s
the only person who’s ever loved me, and he’s probably the
only one who ever will. You can’t find love like that in
the real world!

YOUNG ADALIE
Yes, you can! Love is not a resource people have to search
for. You’ve been loved since the minute you were born, and
you can’t tell me that’s not the real world. There’s
nothing more real than the love between a mother and her
child!

ADALIE
Maybe when you’re a child, but not anymore. Paul’s love is
the most real thing I have.

YOUNG ADALIE
How does he make you feel? That’s real, but don’t lie to me
and call that love.

She picks up ADALIE’s bag and

holds it out for her to take.

We deserve something better than Paul, and you know it. We

deserve love. We deserve Mom, and Mom deserves us.
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ADALIE stares at the bag, but is

scared to grab it.

ADALIE
I’m scared.

YOUNG ADALIE
Me too. But we have a lot of living left to do, don’t you
think? We shouldn’t waste that on some guy like Paul.

ADALIE
What if I mess up again?

YOUNG ADALIE lowers her arm, but

remains holding the bag.

YOUNG ADALIE
I’ll bring you home again. I’m always here, you know? I’m
you and you’re me. Time doesn’t kill people. They just get
lost sometimes, but I will always be. You just have to find
me, and then I will bring you home.

(Pause.)

ADALIE reaches for the bag and

YOUNG ADALIE gives it to her.

ADALIE
Thank you.

YOUNG ADALIE
She nods.

YOUNG ADALIE walks towards the

door, and ADALIE watches. She
could walk the path with her eyes
closed, she knows it so well.
Nothing has changed. She follows
YOUNG ADALIE until they’re
standing right in front of the
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door. ADALIE goes to knock and
hesitates the same way YOUNG
ADALIE did in SCENE 1. YOUNG
ADALIE holds her hand. Before
ADALIE could knock, the door
swings open and MOM pulls her into
a hug, and ADALIE drops YOUNG
ADALIE’S hand.

YOUNG ADALIE smiles and walks off

stage.

MOM
(Sobbing.)
I love you so, so much.

ADALIE hugs her back.

The wind whistles.

THE END.