Like Dreaming, Backwards
By Kellie Powell
Like Dreaming, Backwards is a series of monologues and scenes about the suicide of a young college student named Nell. Natalie is one of Nell's closest friends. The play also includes monologues from an acquaintance, Yale, and her mother, Leah.
NATALIE:
I dropped her off, that night, about a quarter to two. I should have asked her to come over. Or at least asked her if anything was wrong. But she seemed normal. Not happy, exactly. But... like herself.
I met her freshman year, in Introduction to British Literature. We made each other laugh. She was... bitter, and cynical, but still, really nice... I knew she had depression... but... it was weird. We had fun together, you know? I never really made sense of that.
That night, we saw a play. And then we went to a midnight movie. I was nodding off through the last half of it, I'd gotten up early that morning to go running. And, I keep wondering... if there was something... in the play, or in the movie, some trigger, or... some reason. Something that could... set her off, you know? Something I missed.
I just keep trying to look for clues. For answers. She had survived so much. Why that night?
