Joseph Visco                                        An Alternate Ending Done Right                                    3/29/16


Nora: No, I can tell you, I couldn't take anything from a stranger.
Helmer: Nora , I am no stranger to you. We have been married for several years and I hope to see a lot more along the way.
Nora: I can't stay a couple of years. There is more to be seen. More to be heard and I feel that anything that has to do with you could jeopardize that.
Helmer: Why are you saying these incompetent things?
Nora: Because I feel I have blundered.
Helmer: What did you blunder?
Nora: Saying yes to marrying you.
Helmer: Oh my God , Nora!!!! I...I don....II...I can not stand to hear this. I do not comprehend why you are starting to act so capriciously. If this is how you view love , then I wish it never existed.
Nora: I know. I feel the same way. Yet I am ready to say yes to anything at this point.
Helmer: Nora, I can not take this.(in a hysteric tone)The thought of losing you has never crossed my mind.
Nora: Neither have I yet I can not imagine the thought of being with you for the next coupe of years.
Helmer: Nora , I do not understand where all of this is coming from. Is it someone else?
Nora: No...I mean yes... I mean I..I just don't know at this point, but I do not want to be pressured into making a decision nor do I want to be trampled for any wrong decision.
Helmer: Then , what is it then? Is it the promotion? Is it when I said no to your expansive shopping spree? Tell me, Nora. Please tell me.
Nora: I have always seen a side of you that just warmed my heart. After seeing you with that letter, the longer I stay here , the colder I feel. Is that wrong? Is it normal to feel ike that?
Helmer: Nora , I'm sorry. I did not mean to treat you like...
Nora:A product.
Helmer: Excuse me?
Nora: A product. Like a doll. Like a pet. You give me everything , but I'm your accessory. You keep me, but you do not let me have my own freedom. DO you know ANYONE who is worried that their loved one will not comply with them or, better yet, do you know anyone who will contradict that person to the point where their ass should be BLACK because they treat them and anyone in a 10 mile radius like garbage? You are literally a ticking time bomb waiting to explode and , consequently, you will not stop at one explosion.(Nora stumbles into the other room looking for her luggage in a distressed manner)
Helmer: But Nora. Black people don't marry white people and even if they did,couples fight. When couples fight, they make up and live happily ever after.
Nora: Sounds more like a fairy tale than reality. And even if that were true, I would not live with that meaning of love either.
Helmer: Why not?
Nora: I do not have time to answer this. Once I get my luggage, I will leave and I will never come back. If you are not okay with this , then I do not know what to tell you.
Helmer: What if you change your min...
Nora: My mind is made up. Do not tell I am one of your protagonists in your story because I am already the protagonist in my own story.(Nora finds her luggage and partially opens the door about to leave)
Helmer: My bare-butt squat weasel.
Nora: (Nora stops)Excuse me?
Helmer: My mini Fauna and Nora.( Nora feels disjointed at his use of arbitrary words) You okay , my little skylark.
Nora:(Nora freezes in shock for a few seconds) What did you just say?
Helmer: After spending so much time with you , I have realized who you are to me. You are my sister. My dimwitted sister who is obsessed with macaroons. My sister with children who I might as well be their uncle. My sister who no matter what kind of person she is, to me and herself, will never look at her in a different light when it comes to being close. I have made my mistakes and you have made yours. I already see a change in you. Now it is my turn. Would you mind helping go through with this change?
Nora: Is there a price?
Helmer: (Helmer smurks in near silent gag) If I said it was free for you , would the seal the deal?
Nora: But I need to teach myself a lot.
Helmer: You could do whatever you want. The only thing I do not want is never seeing you again. So What do you say, my little skylark.
Nora: There is a lot I want to do. Are you alright with any possible trips? Will you solidify my freedom?\
Helmer: It is definitely something never done before in a relationship. (Nora blinks with her grin falling deeper) But I will take any chance not to lose you.
(Nora looks up at Helmer with a smile stretching as high as possible. She then runs up to him hugging him as hard as her strength could handle. A gust of wind then blows the partially open door closed without a trace of sound to be heard.)