Post Secret: Some of my favorite memories with you are of us sitting around, reading peoples obituaries and making up stories about their lives. My only hope in this world is that somewhere two people as in love as we were are reading your obituary and making up stories about your life. And, that I am part of their story.

Lights come up on teenage BOY and teenage GIRL. They are sitting on the carpet in BOY'S room, GIRL'S legs are slung over BOY'S lap. They have a few newspapers, and are cutting out the obituaries.

GIRL
whoa.

BOY
What?

GIRL
[reading obituary]
Ruth Sanders, died Nov. 11, 1996. She was 103 years old. A loving Mother, Grandmother, Great grandmother, and Wife. She is survived by her family. [pause] That's probably the oldest one I have come across.

There is a pause, BOY does math in his head.

BOY
She was born around 1893. Can you imagine what her life was like? To see and live through so much?

GIRL
I bet she wanted to actress, but her mother was a strict catholic, and didn't approve of the of that lifestyle. So she ran away, she ran away to New York city. And changed her name, it used to be Maria Talbot.

BOY
Yeah, and when she went to go audition, she would get rejected again, and again-

GIRL
- until she auditioned on Broadway-

BOY
- The director was so captivated by her performance that she got the lead role-

GIRL
Then they fell in love.

BOY
Who?

GIRL
The director and Ruth.

BOY
Oh, ok. So they got engaged to be married, and on the day of the wedding-

GIRL
- She stood him up! She didn't show. She didn't want to be tied down at this young of an age, especially to a man that she found out had been cheating on her with another actress!

BOY
It ruined her career on Broadway. He wouldn't hire her again, and he told the other directors not to hire her again. They closed the doors on her. So she got a job during the day as a telephone operator, but at night she worked at a Jazz club as a waitress-

GIRL
-But she longed to perform.

BOY
So she was just waiting for her chance. She had brought it up to the manager several times, but he had heard of her bad reputation.

GIRL
So she would watch the lead performer do her thing every night, wishing that she was her.

BOY
Then one day, the lead performer didn't show up, she was probably passed out drunk. The manager was frantic, the men came to see a show.

GIRL
Ruth told him that she could do it, that she knew all of the steps, and all of the words from watching it every night. The manager had no choice, he had to put her in. She was a bit nervous but-

BOY
- The crowd loved her! She did an amazing job.

GIRL
So amazing that the manager let her perform on a regular basis.

BOY
While she performed there, she fell in love with the trombone player. Eventually they were engaged.

GIRL
And on the day of the wedding she did show, because she knew that this was the real deal, the kind of thing you only get once in your life.

BOY
She continued to perform, but she found herself wanting something else...

GIRL
She wanted to be a mother.

BOY
So they moved out of the city. He became an insurance salesman, and she got a job as a telephone operator.

GIRL
But it wasn't long until she was expecting.

BOY
They eventually had 3 children.

GIRL
They grew old together, he passed away first, a heart attack. This left her in a state of depression.

BOY
She went to live with one of her children, but eventually they had to retire her to a nursing home, but the visited her regularly. Until one day, she passed away in her sleep.

Pause

GIRL
What a life... Don't you wish your life was that exciting?

BOY
[holding GIRL closer, kissing her on the lips]
No. I'm quite happy with what I have right here.

Lights fade.

Lights come up on older version of boy, probably in his very early 20's, He is in a cemetery standing in front of a headstone. He has placed red roses on the head stone. He is crying, not heavily. It is winter, there is snow in the ground

BOY
[lightly, quietly]
I miss you... [pauses, trying not to cry, louder]I miss you so much. I... [paused]Some of my favorite memories with you are of us sitting around, reading peoples obituaries and... [pausing, trying to control his emotions] making up stories about their lives. [pauses, and begins drawing a heart in the snow with his foot while speaking] My only hope in this world is that somewhere two people as in love as we were [writes her name inside the heart with his finger while speaking] are reading your obituary and making up stories about your life. And, that I [writes his name in the heart while speaking am part of their story.

Lights fade.