SCENE (7) – THREE TRUTHS OF ONE DEATH
(VERSION I – Bayazid as murderer of himself)
Setting:
- Bayazid’s private chamber. Night.
- A single lamp. BAYAZID SHAH and SAFA.
BAYAZID SHAH
You came to watch me fall.
BAYAZID SHAH
If I say I killed myself, they call me monster. If I say no, they call me puppet.
SAFA
Which are you?
BAYAZID SHAH
A solution.
SAFA
Then whose knife waits for you?
BAYAZID SHAH
Everyone’s.
SAFA
You are not afraid.
BAYAZID SHAH
I was born in the harem. Fear learned my name early.
SAFA
Then why stay?
BAYAZID SHAH
Because someone must hold the throne long enough for others to prepare their lies.
SAFA
And tonight?
BAYAZID SHAH
Tonight I make myself necessary. Or disposable.
(A sound outside. Bayazid exhales.)
BAYAZID SHAH
Tell them – I ruled without illusion.
(Lights cut. A body falls—offstage.)
(The lamp is extinguished.)
(VERSION II – Ganesh as architect, unseen)
Setting:
- A shadowed corridor.
- RAJA GANESH and a CAPTAIN.
CAPTAIN
You asked for silence.
GANESH
I asked for resolution.
CAPTAIN
Is this command?
GANESH
It is correction.
CAPTAIN
The Sultan is—
GANESH
—temporary.
CAPTAIN
And if he resists?
GANESH
Everyone resists briefly.
CAPTAIN
And the body?
GANESH
Leave it intact. Let rumors do the damage.
CAPTAIN
Poison or blade?
GANESH
Neither leaves truth.
CAPTAIN
You are certain?
GANESH
I am tired of uncertainty.
(The Captain exits.)
(Moments later—a distant cry. Then nothing.)
GANESH
(to himself)
Forgive me.
No
—understand me.
(The lamp is extinguished.)
(VERSION III – Fate, chaos, or convenient coincidence)
Setting:
- The palace bathhouse. Steam. Guards nearby.
FIRST GUARD
He dismissed everyone.
SECOND GUARD
Sultans enjoy privacy.
(A crash inside. A choking sound.)
FIRST GUARD
Did you hear—
(They rush in.)
SECOND GUARD
The lamp—it fell.
FIRST GUARD
The oil—
SECOND GUARD
—or the wine was bad.
FIRST GUARD
He’s already gone.
SECOND GUARD
Who will we tell?
FIRST GUARD
Whoever speaks first becomes guilty.
(They look at each other.)
(The lamp is extinguished.)
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