(A cabin. BETSY sits in a rocking chair by the fireplace; it and she are rocking. A YOUNG CHILD lies on the floor sewing, as all young children are prone to do in their free time.)(Long silence.)
YOUNG CHILD: I'm going to sew a new flag every single day!!
(BETSY chuckles.)
YOUNG CHILD: Why the chuckle, Betsy?
BETSY: My dear one, you have so much left to learn.
YOUNG CHILD: But I'm going to do it, Betsy. And do it well! A flag every single day of the year, every year until I die!
(BETSY chuckles some more.)
YOUNG CHILD: Again with your chuckling. Why Betsy Ross, why?
BETSY: Life will surely get in the way. It always does.
YOUNG CHILD: But I promise. And a promise is a promise is a promise. Quote me on that one, Betsy Ross. Quote me.
(BETSY thinks long and hard about what she's heard. She moves to say something important; then she chuckles.)
YOUNG CHILD: This is becoming a pattern. A deliberate one. You chuckle at everything I say. Why Betsy Ross, why?
BETSY: Because for a short while there - a mere second, a flames's flicker in time - I almost believed you.
YOUNG CHILD: You still can! A flag every day.
BETSY: I'm sorry my dear one, but I believe and believe strongly that you will inevitably - (Beat.) you know what? I'm going to go make tea. Some hot tea with sugar. Yes.
YOUNG CHILD: You were about to say something, Betsy. That you believed me? That's all I need and I can do this thing. A flag every day if you believe me Betsy. I promise.
BETSY: A hot cup of tea will have me sleeping in no time. (She goes to exit.) A flag every day... so long you.
(BETSY disappears behind the kitchen door. She chuckles wildly as the YOUNG CHILD sews.)
YOUNG CHILD: Four consecutive chuckles. Dang it. That's a new record.
(The flames in the fireplace and the dreams of the YOUNG CHILD diminish slowly and then...)
BLACKOUT
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