The Fantasticks: Luisa

The Fantasticks by Tom Jones and Harvey Shmidt

Luisa:

This morning a bird woke me up. 

It was a lark, or a peacock; or something like that. 

Some strange sort of bird I'd never heard. 

So I said hello. 

And it vanished, flew away, the very moment I said hello! 

It was mysterious. 

So do you know what I did? 

I went to my mirror, put on my mother's necklace 

and the minute the jewels touched my skin, my eyes turned mauve. 

No, honestly! Mauve! Then blue. 

Then sort of a deep magenta when the sun hit it.... 

I'm sixteen years old, and every day something happens to me. 

I don't know quite what to make of it. 

When I get up in the morning and get dressed, I can tell... something's different. 

I like to touch my eyelids, because they're never quite the same. 

Oh, oh, oh! I hug myself till my arms turn blue, 

then I close my eyes and cry and cry 'til the tears come down and I can taste them. 

I love to taste my tears. 

I am special. I am special! 

Please God, please, don't let me be normal!