Introducing A Terrible Depth, a story that follows a young man named Alec Saeiao throughout the course of his life as he confronts--or is confronted by--his mental illness in various, dynamic forms. Alec's story is one of love, loss, isolation, support, and continuous healing.
"There are no beautiful surfaces without a terrible depth." - Friedrich Nietzsche
[song]
Transcript below the cut.
[Swear to shake it up, if you swear to listen!]
[Oh, we're still so young,]
[desperate for attention]
[I aim to be…]
[your eyes,]
[trophy boys,]
[trophy wives!]
[And I believe, this may call for a proper introduction, and well, don't you see?]
[I'm the narrator, and this is just the prologue.]
JIP. I just can’t believe she’s actually getting married. It feels like we just heard about this guy.
GWANG. She’s pregnant. You know my parents are traditional, at least when it comes to that. And my father can be…persuasive. Besides, better for Fon to have to deal with her than us.
JIP. That’s your sister.
GWANG. Yes, and with the shit she’s put my parents through, she’s lucky we’ve held onto her this long. You’ve been around since she was diagnosed; you’ve seen it. Maew being my sister is the only reason I still care.
VAN. Gwang, put a smile on your face, would you? This is a day for celebration. Jip, are you alright? You seem a little under the weather.
JIP. Oh, yes, Maae. I’ll be fine. Just a little run down, but don’t worry–I’m ready to party. I didn’t fly all this way not to dance.
VAN. You better be. I can’t celebrate by myself, what with our husbands being so blah. Gwang, a drink already?
GWANG. Yes, Maae, a drink already. Now that you mention him, where is my father?
VAN. He’s with Maew already. Gwang, for goodness sake, put that drink down and tie your tie. We need to finish getting ready so we can arrive early.
GWANG. [knocking on bathroom door] Honey, are you almost ready? We need to get going, we don’t want to be late. My mother might bite our heads off.
JIP. [sitting on the toilet, holding a positive pregnancy test, trying to sound normal] Uh, yeah. I’ll be right out! [quietly, to self] Definitely not just run down.
GWANG. Are you guys ready to meet your baby brother?
JENNA. Yes!!! Eddie, it’s our brother! You’re not the littlest anymore!
FAA. You know I’ve got to check on my baby.
JIP. Thank you, Maa.
FAA. Your father would be so proud of you. I know I am.
JIP. Come on, don’t make me cry!
FAA. I’m sorry! I just wish he could see this beautiful family you’ve created. We are so blessed.
JENNA. Papa, what’s his name?
GWANG. His name is Alexander, but we’ll call him Alec.
JENNA. Ohh, Alec. Hey, why’s he in this box?
GWANG. He was so excited to meet everybody, he came out before he was supposed to. His little body needs some help learning to be outside of Mama’s belly before he can be on his own.
FAA. [Soft laugh] Alec is such a perfect name. It’s so close to lek—small. He’s such a tiny little thing.
DR. DAVIS. [Smiling] Jip, I didn’t expect to see you so soon.
JIP. Yeah, neither did we. This is too soon. Is there a way to help him…I don’t know…bake a little longer?
DR. DAVIS. Things don’t always go as planned. I hear your water broke after you checked in?
JIP. Yes.
DR. DAVIS. You’ve lost a lot of amniotic fluid. Baby can’t stay without it.
GWANG. So, he’s coming now? Will he be okay?
DR. DAVIS. He’ll be considered late pre-term. We’ll have to monitor him. Extra risks. He should be okay. Look, Jip, you’re not very far dilated right now. Try to get some rest.
GWANG. My love, what is it? Dr. Davis said he’ll be okay.
JIP. She said he should be okay.
GWANG. Jip…we’ve done this before. It wasn’t like this with Jenna and Eddie. I should feel like I know what I’m doing, but I feel lost. I can’t protect him.
JIP. You can’t control everything. We’re in the right place; we have a good doctor. This is the best possible thing for him.
DR. DAVIS. Good morning, Mom and Dad. Jip, how are you feeling?
JIP. Exhausted. Scared.
DR. DAVIS. I know the nurse has been performing cervical exams throughout the night…we haven’t seen much change.
GWANG. What does that mean?
DR. DAVIS. We’ll continue to monitor and try to help you along, but I want to prepare you for the possibility of an emergency C-section.
JIP. Oh, no! Dr. Davis, I can’t do that.
DR. DAVIS. I know how you feel about a C-section; that’s why we’re doing everything we can to avoid it. Still, depending on how things move along with your cervix, it may be unavoidable.
Hours later
JIP. Gwang?
GWANG. [Stirring] Hm? How long’s it been? Ugh, I’m so sorry, I didn’t even realize I fell asleep.
JIP. [Sighs] Too long…we’re not making progress.
GWANG. Even with the Pitocin?
JIP. The Pitocin is moving the contractions along, but my cervix won’t budge. Dr. Davis stopped by earlier—
GWANG. You didn’t wake me?
JIP. [Sighs] She said that because my water’s already broken, he’s running out of amniotic fluid…and time.
GWANG. Has she given any updates as far as a C-section goes?
JIP. They’re going to try a couple things to get my cervix to soften and dilate, but she said a C-section was likely.
GWANG.I’m sorry. I know all this is so different than what you had in mind.
JIP. All I’m asking for now is a healthy baby.
Hours later
DR. DAVIS. Alright, Jip, you’ve been here almost two full days now. I hate to be the bearer of bad news, but…
GWANG. It’s time.
DR. DAVIS. Yes. We’ve taken it as long as we can—it’s no longer safe for baby or mom.
JIP. Thank you for trying, Dr. Davis. I know I’ve fought the idea of a C-section this whole pregnancy, but I’m so exhausted. I’m ready to meet our baby.
GWANG. I just got off the phone with my mother! Hey, scoot, make some room on the couch. What do you need a whole couch for, huh?
JIP. [Laughing] I’m lounging for two right now. What did your mother say?
GWANG. Maew had her baby! He was born early this morning, around 4am their time. 7 for us.
FAA. Gwang, congratulations! What did they name him?
GWANG. Kasemchai, but they’re calling him Trin.
JIP. Oh, that’s so exciting! Baby Trin. You guys hear that? Your baby cousin was just born!
JENNA. A baby! Eddie, a baby! Even smaller than you, baby!
FAA. Ah, Gwang, maybe when things calm down for them you can ask them to send over some pictures for us to see him!
GWANG. Of course, Maa.
…
GWANG. Hey, what’s going on? Are you okay?
JIP. Oh, yeah, I’m fine. I’ve just been thinking about your sister. The way she was feeling at her wedding, I just get nervous for her.
GWANG. [Sigh] I know, me too. I’m nervous for Trin, too. But she’s not alone, you know? We may be across the country, but she still has my parents, and Fon.
