“Dead Stars” by Paz Marquez Benitez
Storytelling Script
INTRODUCTION
Once upon a time, in a town not far away, there lived a man named Alfredo Salazar. He was engaged
to a woman named Esperanza but found himself drawn to another, Julia Salas, who lived nearby.
I.
From Alfredo’s window, he looks at the stars while deep in thought about the mess he made in his
life. He thinks of Esperanza and Julia, the two women who caused him to be confused by his feelings.
Despite his thoughts, his father and sister can be heard talking from the azotea regarding Alfredo and
Esperanza’s delayed in marriage despite being engaged for quite some time now. They wonder what
happened to Alfredo who used to be very enthusiastic about courting Esperanza but now seems to
have become cold.
Unbeknownst to everyone, it started when Alfredo went with his father to visit his friend the Judge
who was their neighbor. Julia Salas, the bubbly woman was the one who welcomed them. They found
out that she was the judge’s sister-in-law, and because Alfredo’s father and the judge were usually
immersed in a conversation, Alfredo was often left with Julia to keep him company. During the times
the two were together, Alfredo’s interest in the woman deepened because she was fun to be with.
It got to the point where Alfredo's waiting for his fiancé Esperanza outside the church every time the
Sunday mass ended was replaced by him going straight to the judge’s house to spend time with Julia.
And so…
II.
The time of the procession for the holy week came, and Alfredo and Julia met again, and he
confirmed based on Julia’s treatment of him that the woman had indeed discovered that he was
engaged to someone else and was getting married in May. After their conversation, Alfredo and
Esperanza met, and they had an argument. Because Esperanza already has an idea why Alfredo has
been indifferent to her these past few days, she’s not clueless about what’s happening to Alfredo
because she claims that she sees and hears what some are trying to hide from her, including Alfredo’s
meeting with Julia.
Despite all the ruckus…
III.
Alfredo and Esperanza’s marriage went through while Julia returned to her hometown.
Eight years later, Alfredo visits Julia’s hometown. He saw her looking out the window. Julia came
down, and they talked, and something noticeably changed in the woman. Alfredo reached for Julia’s
hand—experimentally—to find out if it was true that he still had feelings for the woman.
As the night wore on, Alfredo confirmed that whatever he had for the girl had long since ended. He
thought that all these years his mourning and sorrow for the failed love between him and Julia had
been put to waste because it seemed like all these years he had been seeing the light of dead stars—
long extinguished yet seemingly still in their appointed places in the heavens—just like the dead
stars, his feelings had been gone for a long time and only the lingering memories of them stayed. His
love for Julia, the girl he thought was a star that was hard to reach, died a long time ago. Upon
discovering the truth, only sadness dominated Alfredo, the dead love of a vanished youth.
THE END
