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The Russian Corpse 28

The Russian Corpse 28 published on No Comments on The Russian Corpse 28

CHUBUKOV throws down a PICKAXE, a SHOVEL, a HAMMER, and a box of NAILS.
NATALYA
Hammer and nails? But what purpose could we possibly have for
such things? Surely you do not mean to erect a marker for the
grave.
CHUBUKOV
I fear you have misunderstood my intentions from the outset. We
are not the first open this earth. The world beneath us is teeming
with the remains of the dead, as though a battle were fought and
lost by all sides. Mark Lomov’s grave? Not here. To mark a grave
in this field would be blasphemy, for this is the abode of the
nameless, the cemetery of the unknown.
NATALYA
(Trembling) You have not answered me. For what purpose the
hammer? And for what purpose the nails?
CHUBUKOV
My forefather long held that it was bad luck, and poor form, to
forestall action in order to declare one’s intentions. If you truly
cannot follow the deed we must do, then you need follow no more
than my words. Now, take the shovel. (She does.) Dig.
NATALYA looks sadly at the covered corpse of LOMOV as she gingerly holds the shovel with
one hand, by the tip of the handle, as if it were a foul object she didn’t wish to touch.