WEBVTT 1 00:00:00.320 --> 00:00:05.360 Welcome to ghost Wax, a Foreign Tall Tales production. The following story may 2 00:00:05.400 --> 00:00:15.039 contain graphic content. Listener discretion is advised. Tales from the Vault is a 3 00:00:15.080 --> 00:00:22.239 community sourced variety show featuring readings of classic fiction, real life testimonials, poetry, 4 00:00:22.519 --> 00:00:27.679 music, and stories created by ghost Wax listeners. If you have anything 5 00:00:27.719 --> 00:00:32.479 you'd like to contribute to future Vault episodes, please feel free to email us 6 00:00:32.600 --> 00:01:19.319 at Foreign Tall Tales at gmail dot com. Depths of the Doldrums by Hannah 7 00:01:19.359 --> 00:01:26.519 Brown read by Kate Jackson. Oil spills are loud, chaotic things, with 8 00:01:26.640 --> 00:01:33.040 crews on fireboats yelling, helicopters circling overhead, and the groans of machinery being 9 00:01:33.120 --> 00:01:38.400 dragged down into the depths. But as our crew approaches, the silence is 10 00:01:38.400 --> 00:01:47.000 an oppressive, numbing, like anesthesia in the air. Even Harvey in full 11 00:01:47.079 --> 00:01:53.480 officer mode, barking commands and avoiding his feelings, stops as if his tongue 12 00:01:53.480 --> 00:01:59.000 has grown heavy. I pull our fireboat Arris into a rolling stop beside the 13 00:01:59.040 --> 00:02:05.480 cruelest Leshie and idle the engine framed perfectly by the two halves of the cargo 14 00:02:05.560 --> 00:02:09.039 ship. As they drift apart. Harvey stares down into the viscous oil spill 15 00:02:09.120 --> 00:02:15.159 coalescing in the still ocean waters. Someone has set up an oil boom, 16 00:02:15.319 --> 00:02:20.400 so the spill is edged in the fluorescent orange freeboard, but the oil isn't 17 00:02:20.439 --> 00:02:24.520 touching the edges of the oil boom as normal. The spill is turning inwards, 18 00:02:25.599 --> 00:02:31.080 coalescing. Our engineer, Alex saddles up beside me and mutters, where 19 00:02:31.120 --> 00:02:37.840 the fuck is everyone? The crew of the less She is vanished. No 20 00:02:37.919 --> 00:02:40.919 one shouts from the cargo ship. The water is void of any survivor. 21 00:02:40.960 --> 00:02:46.479 Bobbing in a life jacket, it is still. I grip the helm, 22 00:02:46.759 --> 00:02:53.039 fighting down a reflexive shudder. Alex's voice is muted, but Harvey still turns 23 00:02:53.080 --> 00:02:58.240 to look, and I see it then in his eyes, the same panic 24 00:02:58.319 --> 00:03:00.280 he had on his face when he pulled me in the water after my diving 25 00:03:00.319 --> 00:03:08.719 equipment failed. We are going to die. I shake it off, swallowing 26 00:03:08.759 --> 00:03:15.560 back file and looking past Harvey. Our deckhand Crook leans over the bow towards 27 00:03:15.560 --> 00:03:19.879 the shiny spill hovering on the surface of the water. I watch as the 28 00:03:19.919 --> 00:03:24.400 shimmering oil seems to avoid his questing collection flask, bobbing out of reach, 29 00:03:24.599 --> 00:03:30.800 curling back in on itself. I grabbed the VHF radio and search for a 30 00:03:30.840 --> 00:03:34.719 clear line, But no matter how many times I changed channel, only white 31 00:03:34.800 --> 00:03:42.159 noise greets me. Radio crapped out Eva. I look at Harvey, helplessness 32 00:03:42.319 --> 00:03:49.840 numbing my throat before I choke it back. Something's wrong. I'm the first 33 00:03:49.840 --> 00:03:53.120 one to voice it, that deep seated knowing that lingers in all our bellies. 34 00:03:54.199 --> 00:04:00.879 Something is very, very wrong. We should head back. Alex says, 35 00:04:01.360 --> 00:04:06.159 there's no one here and we need back up. Harvey's lips turn inwards, 36 00:04:06.599 --> 00:04:10.879 loathe to shirk our duties, But then his gaze flickers to me, 37 00:04:12.280 --> 00:04:15.839 and I see it again. He no longer looks at me like a firefighter, 38 00:04:16.399 --> 00:04:21.120 a pilot, a coworker. Instead, he looks at me like I'm 39 00:04:21.360 --> 00:04:30.079 just a woman. Fuck one sweep, I correct Alec before Harvey caves. 40 00:04:30.800 --> 00:04:40.160 They could still be out there. Harvey relents fine Crook. Crook's scream comes 41 00:04:40.160 --> 00:04:43.959 from the bottom of the ocean. We charge towards the bow, towards where 42 00:04:44.000 --> 00:04:46.279 we last saw him, and watch as the oil sucks something wearing a life 43 00:04:46.360 --> 00:04:53.480 jacket beneath. It's not a splash, The darkness simply bubbles up for a 44 00:04:53.519 --> 00:04:58.720 moment, and then draws krook beneath, falling back into calm stillness. Seconds 45 00:04:58.759 --> 00:05:06.160 later, his scream doesn't even echo. Harvey shoves Alex away, stripping his 46 00:05:06.199 --> 00:05:11.639 life jacket and outer layers until only his wet suit remains, grabbing one of 47 00:05:11.680 --> 00:05:15.879 the scooby units and strapping himself in. I help him with numb hands, 48 00:05:16.959 --> 00:05:23.319 Harvey, I say, eschewing his title, as the numbing sets into my 49 00:05:23.399 --> 00:05:30.560 lungs too. You sure? He gives me a stoic nod, and I 50 00:05:30.680 --> 00:05:34.360 step away so he can dive into the water. He avoids the spill that 51 00:05:34.399 --> 00:05:38.600 has been fenced in by the oil boom as he dives, and then swims 52 00:05:38.639 --> 00:05:43.519 over, dipping beneath it. The second he is out of sight, I 53 00:05:43.519 --> 00:05:46.160 turn my attention back to the oil spill, watching as it seems to take 54 00:05:46.199 --> 00:05:50.279 in a deep breath, the edges of the slick turning back in on the 55 00:05:50.319 --> 00:05:58.600 center, becoming darker more opaque. Seconds later, Harvey's head is birth from 56 00:05:58.600 --> 00:06:01.600 the center, his mouth gaping, viscous oil stretching across his skin, blocking 57 00:06:01.639 --> 00:06:08.120 his airways. His eyes ava run, and then he is swallowed again, 58 00:06:08.759 --> 00:06:15.079 his head disappearing below the numbing stillness of the surface. I hear myself scream 59 00:06:15.160 --> 00:06:18.000 as though from far away, the numbness and my lungs leeching into my heart. 60 00:06:19.160 --> 00:06:23.480 Beside me, Alex reaches for the blowtorch. I jolt from my panic, 61 00:06:23.560 --> 00:06:26.959 grabbing it as he does. No, I screamed at him. They're 62 00:06:27.079 --> 00:06:31.240 still out there. Wild eyed, Alex kicks me and my gut, knocking 63 00:06:31.279 --> 00:06:35.800 me onto my ass. I slam into the gunwhale, our lucky fish hook 64 00:06:35.839 --> 00:06:41.319 clattering into the floor beside me in time to watch him lean over the bow. 65 00:06:42.600 --> 00:06:45.519 I griped the fish hook, bracing myself as I catch his ankle, 66 00:06:45.560 --> 00:06:50.279 ready to tug him back onto the deck. Alex extends the ignited blowtorch towards 67 00:06:50.279 --> 00:06:56.920 the oil, but it doesn't ignite. The second he touches the flame to 68 00:06:56.959 --> 00:07:01.800 that inky darkness, the darkness reaches out, sloughing up his arm and yanking 69 00:07:01.879 --> 00:07:06.360 him face first into the void at its center. I'm tugged to my feet 70 00:07:06.399 --> 00:07:10.199 by the motion, forced to let go of the fish hook as my shoulder 71 00:07:10.319 --> 00:07:15.480 screams in protest. I fall back onto the deck and watch as Alex flails, 72 00:07:15.680 --> 00:07:19.720 his arms and legs covered in a film viscous black ooze, before everything 73 00:07:19.839 --> 00:07:30.519 falls silent again. Still the fish hook clatters to the deck. The crew 74 00:07:30.560 --> 00:07:40.959 of the cargo ship, crew of the Lesche Crook, Alex and Harvey. 75 00:07:42.879 --> 00:07:46.399 Whatever this thing is, it took them, and more ships will come. 76 00:07:48.439 --> 00:07:59.759 That numb, horrifying feeling, I understand it with sudden, heartbreaking clarity. 77 00:08:00.040 --> 00:08:05.600 It's the feeling of being beheld by a predator. Beyond knowing. There's only 78 00:08:05.639 --> 00:08:11.680 one thing I can think of, one stupid, deadly thing I can do 79 00:08:11.759 --> 00:08:16.920 to contain it. After all, wear a fireboat. We have a pump 80 00:08:16.000 --> 00:08:20.120 for a reason, only this time it won't be water. I pump, 81 00:08:22.839 --> 00:08:26.959 I grab a sharpie and scrawl across the control panel. Death in tanks do 82 00:08:28.519 --> 00:08:35.679 not open. And then I grab the helm, swallow my fear, and 83 00:08:35.799 --> 00:08:41.799 plunge into the midst of the beast. As the black ooze of silence rolls 84 00:08:41.879 --> 00:08:56.759 up to greet me, I close my eyes and reach for Harvey. And 85 00:08:56.799 --> 00:09:03.600 now a first hand account from Brian Watson Jones. Hi, I'm Brian. 86 00:09:03.639 --> 00:09:09.639 I'm one of the writers and actors on Ghost Wax, and this is a 87 00:09:09.679 --> 00:09:13.840 story that is not fiction and I am not acting. This is a true 88 00:09:13.879 --> 00:09:16.720 thing that happened to me. When I was young, I was obsessed with 89 00:09:16.759 --> 00:09:22.320 the unknown, read books by Charles Fort dug into all the wild stories that 90 00:09:22.399 --> 00:09:26.159 led to both the well known and the obscure Bigfoot and Nessy of course, 91 00:09:26.279 --> 00:09:31.080 rains of frogs and blood and jelly chains and pterodactyls that were cracked out of 92 00:09:31.159 --> 00:09:37.440 coal and mines. A lot of those things have been debunked or have gone 93 00:09:37.559 --> 00:09:43.000 unreported for so long since their initial stories that they became conspicuous in their absence. 94 00:09:43.159 --> 00:09:46.679 But that doesn't change the feeling I had when I was reading them, 95 00:09:46.720 --> 00:09:50.360 and it doesn't make me less likely to chase things that make me feel that 96 00:09:50.399 --> 00:09:54.080 feeling. Again. That's a big part of what brought me to ghost Wax. 97 00:09:54.720 --> 00:09:58.759 I haven't had a lot of my own experiences, but maybe more than 98 00:09:58.799 --> 00:10:03.200 most. Saw you once so a field of ghosts, once heard another ghost 99 00:10:03.279 --> 00:10:09.879 laughing another time. But there's only one time. Something happened that I absolutely 100 00:10:09.919 --> 00:10:13.840 cannot explain, not even with paranormal stories. I have no idea what this 101 00:10:15.039 --> 00:10:20.120 was, what it could have been. I was eleven or twelve and visiting 102 00:10:20.159 --> 00:10:24.120 my step grandmother's house. It's around my birthday, so late spring, but 103 00:10:24.240 --> 00:10:28.360 it's hot. My brother and I are staying in a side room and I 104 00:10:28.440 --> 00:10:33.879 cannot sleep. I am baking. There is no ac there is no window 105 00:10:33.919 --> 00:10:37.159 to crack. It is hot, so I take my sleeping bag out onto 106 00:10:37.159 --> 00:10:41.240 the back porch, where at least there's a breeze. I've been tossing and 107 00:10:41.240 --> 00:10:43.799 turning all nights, so by the time I get out there, the sky 108 00:10:43.919 --> 00:10:50.000 is starting to lighten with dawn. My stepgrandmother lived in a pretty rural area, 109 00:10:50.200 --> 00:10:52.440 but less rural than I was used to. You could see signs of 110 00:10:52.480 --> 00:10:58.279 other properties from the porch, and we weren't surrounded by trees. As I 111 00:10:58.360 --> 00:11:01.840 lay there, trying to get even a little sleep before the day actually started, 112 00:11:01.600 --> 00:11:05.679 I was staring off to the west, away from where the sun would 113 00:11:05.720 --> 00:11:07.919 come up, and aside from a large bush in the yard, I could 114 00:11:07.960 --> 00:11:13.799 see all the way to the horizon. There was a flashing light just at 115 00:11:13.840 --> 00:11:18.360 the edge, cone shaped, pointing a little off from straight up, like 116 00:11:18.360 --> 00:11:28.399 a spotlight, but pulsing regularly, tick tick tick. I could almost hear 117 00:11:28.480 --> 00:11:33.519 it, like that electrical clicking that comes from some appliance getting switched on. 118 00:11:33.600 --> 00:11:37.879 A couple of rooms away. I'm lying there wondering what it was, why 119 00:11:37.879 --> 00:11:41.919 I was doing that so early in the morning. When the bush lights up, 120 00:11:43.320 --> 00:11:48.480 it just illuminates from within, not like Moses's burning bush, more like 121 00:11:48.519 --> 00:11:54.120 a dimmer bulb that got dialed up from nothing to full. No sound, 122 00:11:54.440 --> 00:12:00.720 not even that electrical hum. It just became bright. And I lay there 123 00:12:01.159 --> 00:12:03.960 staring at it, holding my breath, noting that the pulse on the horizon 124 00:12:05.080 --> 00:12:11.279 was continuing and waiting, waiting for the next step in whatever was happening, 125 00:12:11.320 --> 00:12:18.320 waiting for something to escalate or arrive, waiting for whatever this portended to pay 126 00:12:18.519 --> 00:12:24.960 off. And nothing else happened. After a minute, or five minutes or 127 00:12:24.039 --> 00:12:28.879 ten seconds, I have no idea. The bush goes dark again, the 128 00:12:28.919 --> 00:12:33.679 same in reverse, just full light to normal bush. The pulse on the 129 00:12:33.679 --> 00:12:39.679 horizon continued. The sun still wasn't quite up, it was still goddamn hot, 130 00:12:39.759 --> 00:12:43.120 but the spell was broken. I went back inside quick as I could, 131 00:12:43.200 --> 00:12:46.840 scared as hell, and went back to my room. I don't remember 132 00:12:46.879 --> 00:12:52.039 if I slept after that. I never went back to the house after that 133 00:12:52.120 --> 00:12:54.720 trip, and to this day, I have no idea what that was. 134 00:12:56.799 --> 00:13:00.759 I'm certain I wasn't asleep, that's all I'm really sure of. But in 135 00:13:00.840 --> 00:13:05.679 all my weird reading, I've never heard of anything like that. I don't 136 00:13:05.679 --> 00:13:11.000 even have a debunked name to slap on it. It just was, for 137 00:13:11.039 --> 00:13:22.360 a few minutes, just a little slice of broken reality. The Green Bridge 138 00:13:22.840 --> 00:13:31.440 by Marlow Not Found read by Gaylas Stell and Robert Knutson. This is this 139 00:13:31.559 --> 00:13:41.000 is silly. I'm really anxious right now, and I feel this this need 140 00:13:41.039 --> 00:13:48.519 to get this out. I just got out of work, and I have 141 00:13:48.559 --> 00:13:54.039 to wait for my car to warm up. So so I'm just gonna tell 142 00:13:54.080 --> 00:14:03.000 the story from the beginning, just in case when it snows, I take 143 00:14:03.039 --> 00:14:07.399 the long way home. I work the night shift in my office, usually 144 00:14:07.399 --> 00:14:11.679 getting out at midnight. I don't mind the dark on the drive home, 145 00:14:11.960 --> 00:14:18.080 and the snow doesn't scare me much either. Mostly I'm just concerned with assholes 146 00:14:18.120 --> 00:14:22.000 on the freeway rushing home after their shifts end. People who grew up driving 147 00:14:22.039 --> 00:14:28.559 in this weather think they're invincible. I take the second way home, twenty 148 00:14:28.600 --> 00:14:33.480 five miles per hour, through suburbs and into the softly lit town. I 149 00:14:33.519 --> 00:14:41.759 get to enjoy the holiday lights illuminating the freshly fallen snow. It's beautiful and 150 00:14:41.879 --> 00:14:46.799 no one is there to tail gave me a perfect drive with no unnecessary risks 151 00:14:48.600 --> 00:14:54.240 until I get to the bridge. I didn't used to fear the bridge. 152 00:14:56.039 --> 00:14:58.440 I grew up in this town. The distinct green of the bridge is a 153 00:14:58.480 --> 00:15:03.480 symbol of home for me. I remember when they added a beautiful new sidewalk 154 00:15:03.559 --> 00:15:07.159 and I used to hang off the railing to look at the rushing water roar 155 00:15:07.320 --> 00:15:13.399 over the rocks. It was probably eight at the time. I loved that 156 00:15:13.559 --> 00:15:20.639 bridge so much. The sidewalk is at an angle now. The supports under 157 00:15:20.679 --> 00:15:26.919 the bridge are rusted nearly through too many years of town not having the budget 158 00:15:26.960 --> 00:15:31.799 to make proper maintenance. They finally got a grant from the state to build 159 00:15:31.799 --> 00:15:35.360 a new, safer bridge, but bridges take time to build. Until the 160 00:15:35.399 --> 00:15:39.679 new one is built, there are only two ways to cross the river, 161 00:15:39.960 --> 00:15:46.039 the freeway or the green Bridge. The bridge was always part of my winter 162 00:15:46.159 --> 00:15:50.799 risk assessment. The odds of the bridge collapsing are much lower than the chances 163 00:15:50.840 --> 00:15:58.559 of me getting driven off the road on the freeway. Something about the bridge 164 00:15:58.559 --> 00:16:06.960 at night has started to feel wrong, though I know that's really vague. 165 00:16:07.440 --> 00:16:14.919 It's almost as if the bridge has a presence something that I don't feel the 166 00:16:14.960 --> 00:16:21.279 weight of until I'm halfway across. It's been two winters of feeling this weight. 167 00:16:22.200 --> 00:16:26.840 Heading into my third last winter, the street lights on the bridge started 168 00:16:26.840 --> 00:16:32.559 flickering off right as I passed under them. I thought it was a fluke 169 00:16:32.840 --> 00:16:36.960 or that passing under the light and my car roof throwing a shadow over me 170 00:16:37.159 --> 00:16:44.279 just seemed like the lights were shutting off. Easy to explain. Right the 171 00:16:44.320 --> 00:16:48.080 next time I crossed, I paid attention to the lights. The last light 172 00:16:48.159 --> 00:16:53.399 on the bridge shut off right as I passed. I didn't tell anyone, 173 00:16:55.200 --> 00:17:00.440 not until it happened two more times. My coworker shrugged, and so the 174 00:17:00.440 --> 00:17:04.200 city probably shuts off the lights at a certain hour to save energy, since 175 00:17:04.559 --> 00:17:12.240 there's such little traffic after midnights. Anyways, when I explained it wasn't always 176 00:17:12.559 --> 00:17:17.680 all four lights, and that I didn't arrive at the bridge at the same 177 00:17:17.759 --> 00:17:22.839 time every night, she just shrugged me off. Ghosts aren't real, after 178 00:17:22.920 --> 00:17:30.960 all. She didn't believe it was anything strange. It started happening at other 179 00:17:32.079 --> 00:17:38.160 times too, in other seasons a nicer weather. I walked across the bridge 180 00:17:38.200 --> 00:17:45.160 at sunset this summer, and every single light flickered off as I passed, 181 00:17:45.880 --> 00:17:52.839 ignoring the crossing cars completely. I can convince myself it's safe to cross in 182 00:17:52.880 --> 00:17:56.640 the daylight when the lights are already off. Nothing scary happens in the daylight. 183 00:17:56.960 --> 00:18:03.359 It's an easy lie. Early autumn, I drove over it once at 184 00:18:03.440 --> 00:18:07.160 night and the light stayed steady for the first time in a long time. 185 00:18:11.480 --> 00:18:21.680 God, I was so relieved until I dreamt of drowning. That night. 186 00:18:23.759 --> 00:18:27.680 I woke up with my teeth chattering. I couldn't get back to sleep until 187 00:18:27.799 --> 00:18:33.359 dawn. I stopped driving over the bridge entirely after that, I go far 188 00:18:33.440 --> 00:18:37.559 out of my way to cross any other bridge to get home. The dreams 189 00:18:37.960 --> 00:18:44.079 haven't stopped. I remember more and more every time I wake up from them, 190 00:18:44.160 --> 00:18:56.119 and just thinking about that makes me feel so cold. And if I 191 00:18:56.240 --> 00:19:03.359 zone out even a little bit when I'm driving around town, my brain auto 192 00:19:03.519 --> 00:19:11.119 routes me directly to the bridge. It's just I can't avoid it. I 193 00:19:11.160 --> 00:19:15.720 should have called out today when I heard about the weather, but it's too 194 00:19:15.799 --> 00:19:27.640 late for that. Now I think I'm going to die tonight, like I'm 195 00:19:27.720 --> 00:19:34.160 running the risk in my head, and just know if I take the freeway 196 00:19:34.200 --> 00:19:48.079 home tonight, I'll slide and crash. It's It's Murphy's law right where it 197 00:19:48.119 --> 00:19:57.160 only rains if you forget an umbrella. The one day I choose to take 198 00:19:57.200 --> 00:20:02.000 the freeway instead of the back row it's home and a snowstorm will be the 199 00:20:02.079 --> 00:20:11.960 day I wreck my car. The bridge is inevitable for me. It's the 200 00:20:11.160 --> 00:20:19.839 only option. That's why I needed to record this. I need someone to 201 00:20:19.920 --> 00:20:30.880 know about this in case the bridge does collapse tonight. This is so stupid. 202 00:20:33.480 --> 00:20:38.160 The death of j Sterling wouldn't have immediately raised any red flags. It 203 00:20:38.480 --> 00:20:45.960 was how the recording surfaced and its message that finally got our attention. The 204 00:20:45.000 --> 00:20:51.599 bridge did collapse that night. Jay's car was found, but their body was 205 00:20:51.720 --> 00:20:59.839 never recovered. This recording was posted to their social media account two weeks after 206 00:21:00.079 --> 00:21:06.759 their presumed death, giving enough locals affright that it made news stories. We 207 00:21:07.039 --> 00:21:11.680 haven't been able to locate the body of the victim either. This testimony, 208 00:21:11.799 --> 00:21:15.640 recorded before their death, now committed to wax, is all we have. 209 00:21:17.319 --> 00:21:22.440 It's unclear if there were other worldly entities at play on that bridge, or 210 00:21:22.480 --> 00:21:29.559 if the victim just had a latent premonitory ability and predicted their own death. 211 00:21:30.359 --> 00:21:38.759 Until we have more to go on it will remain A cold case feeding by 212 00:21:38.880 --> 00:21:48.079 Sam Taylor, performed by Robert Knutsen. As Van said, Owen sat at 213 00:21:48.079 --> 00:21:53.319 his desk and wondered about his new familiar. The black cat pranced in happily 214 00:21:53.799 --> 00:22:00.039 with something in his mouth. What do you have, Jinx, Owen asked, 215 00:22:00.119 --> 00:22:03.880 with an eyebrow raised. Jinks jumped up to the desk and sat in 216 00:22:03.960 --> 00:22:11.640 front of his necromancer. He sat proud with his fresh kill. Owen observed 217 00:22:11.680 --> 00:22:18.880 the cat and the kill. Is this an offering? Owen asked. Jinks 218 00:22:18.880 --> 00:22:22.599 set the creature down in front of his necromancer. It was bluish, with 219 00:22:22.759 --> 00:22:33.400 eyeballs covering all of it. Jinks looked expectantly at him. Are you wanting 220 00:22:33.480 --> 00:22:40.200 me to eat that? Owen asked. Jinx me out at him and pushed 221 00:22:40.279 --> 00:22:45.720 the creature forward. Owen looked at the creature and back at Jinks. Good 222 00:22:45.799 --> 00:22:51.720 cat. He patted Jinks on the head before picking up the creature and dropping 223 00:22:51.759 --> 00:22:56.920 it in his mouth. The creature was chewy, as Owen made sure to 224 00:22:56.000 --> 00:23:00.440 make it more manageable to go down his throat. It was not the worst 225 00:23:00.480 --> 00:23:04.839 thing Owen had ever eaten. He took a few SIPs of his tea, 226 00:23:06.160 --> 00:23:14.000 and the offering was moving towards his stomach. Oh my God's, Pip said 227 00:23:14.079 --> 00:23:18.200 in the doorway with Luca. You didn't eat that, did you. I 228 00:23:18.279 --> 00:23:26.000 cannot let this hunter's offering go to waste. Owen tried to defend his actions. 229 00:23:26.440 --> 00:23:32.640 Jinks seemed to be in agreement, nodding his head and yowing indignantly to 230 00:23:32.759 --> 00:23:38.240 Philippa. Though I like my offerings cooked, Owen said, taking another sip 231 00:23:38.279 --> 00:24:03.119 of tea and patting Jakes's head again. Good cat, Good cat. Mannekin 232 00:24:03.319 --> 00:24:12.200 Memories by Knox Corvum read by Atlas Gizzi. There's a mannequin in the corner 233 00:24:12.279 --> 00:24:18.759 of my living room, wearing the beginnings of an evening outfit in blue and 234 00:24:18.839 --> 00:24:26.359 purple and black fabric like a galaxy. It is a simple torso and featureless 235 00:24:26.400 --> 00:24:30.319 head, rotten, pale, slightly worn cloth, held up by a pole 236 00:24:30.480 --> 00:24:40.680 to the thick wooden stand. I glance over, and the chin is drooping, 237 00:24:41.400 --> 00:24:48.680 wasn't it looking ahead? I didn't know the neck was posable. I 238 00:24:48.720 --> 00:24:55.279 thought it wasn't. The mannequin wobbles as a book, slides off the top 239 00:24:55.359 --> 00:25:02.160 of the stack on the table, and hits the arm when did he get 240 00:25:02.200 --> 00:25:07.240 an arm? Didn't I buy this one because it was cheaper for having only 241 00:25:07.480 --> 00:25:14.359 the basic form? Why is there only one? Oh? Oh? The 242 00:25:14.480 --> 00:25:18.920 other arm is on the floor. One sleeve is empty. When did I 243 00:25:18.960 --> 00:25:23.839 add sleeps? When I glanced at it on my way out the door, 244 00:25:25.680 --> 00:25:32.400 part of the pin fabric of the collar has fallen onto its feet. When 245 00:25:32.440 --> 00:25:37.400 did it get legs? Wasn't it held up by a pole before? Its 246 00:25:37.400 --> 00:25:45.079 stance is sure? Feet planted? I put the fabric on the desk to 247 00:25:45.119 --> 00:25:51.759 be fixed later, and the mannequin seems to loom over my shoulder When I 248 00:25:51.839 --> 00:25:56.240 return, it gazes longingly out the window and I can't remember why I spun 249 00:25:56.279 --> 00:26:03.039 it around when I have just begun working on the front details. The outfit 250 00:26:03.119 --> 00:26:10.960 is mostly done now, galactic colors sweeping across the limbs and body. The 251 00:26:11.000 --> 00:26:18.880 mankin's feet are offset, hips twisted as if preparing to spin. Why didn't 252 00:26:18.920 --> 00:26:26.240 I buy a more standard mannequin? Did I want the challenge of creating something 253 00:26:26.319 --> 00:26:33.359 around a dynamic shape? The mannequin's face, a plastic mask like thing, 254 00:26:34.200 --> 00:26:40.240 gazes off towards the front door, a small smile, as if holding a 255 00:26:40.279 --> 00:26:51.440 secret on its face what's my name? I have a name, don't I. 256 00:26:51.440 --> 00:26:56.240 I stare into the mirror and panic. I'm mostly sure I recognize the 257 00:26:56.279 --> 00:27:00.839 face that makes up my reflection, but nothing comes to mind when I try 258 00:27:00.880 --> 00:27:07.720 to remember my name. My eyes are wide and so very gray, a 259 00:27:07.720 --> 00:27:17.160 misty forest just before dawn. Perhaps that's my name forest. No, No, 260 00:27:17.240 --> 00:27:25.160 that isn't it. That isn't right, that isn't me. Dawn wrong 261 00:27:25.200 --> 00:27:30.559 again, too colorful, too full of light, and something I can't place. 262 00:27:32.880 --> 00:27:41.359 Gray. Hmm, perhaps gray will do. Why why can't I remember? 263 00:27:44.839 --> 00:27:51.720 The mannikin stares at me through the mirror in two doorways, expression full 264 00:27:51.759 --> 00:27:57.319 of mirth. I lock both doors and go to bed. Some part of 265 00:27:57.359 --> 00:28:03.519 me is afraid of the mannequin's eyes, such a startling color, as they 266 00:28:03.519 --> 00:28:11.480 are silvery, sort of sharp and quiet, gray like woods anticipating the sun. 267 00:28:14.359 --> 00:28:18.839 I remember my face in the mirror, and I wonder how I'm just 268 00:28:18.000 --> 00:28:25.839 now being frightened that the mannequin's eyes resemble mine. I've had it for long 269 00:28:25.960 --> 00:28:30.680 enough that my project is almost done. I should be able to finish it 270 00:28:30.720 --> 00:28:38.759 tomorrow. What was I making again? I cannot sleep, I've just been 271 00:28:38.799 --> 00:28:45.440 sitting up in bed staring at my bedroom door. It took me a minute 272 00:28:45.440 --> 00:28:49.880 to work out just exactly what the sound coming from beyond the two locked doors 273 00:28:51.440 --> 00:28:56.039 is. But I think I just don't want to admit to myself that someone 274 00:28:56.160 --> 00:29:02.720 is using my sewing machine. I don't know when someone could have gotten in 275 00:29:02.880 --> 00:29:07.960 without me knowing, given I've been home for most of the day uninterrupted, 276 00:29:08.160 --> 00:29:12.559 and why would someone break into a home to use a sewing machine in the 277 00:29:12.599 --> 00:29:19.480 dead of night. My breath catches when I hear a hum accompany the noises 278 00:29:19.480 --> 00:29:26.920 of the machine, and I can't quite convince myself that I should go remove 279 00:29:26.240 --> 00:29:32.400 whatever has fallen onto the pedal and take a look at whatever appliance is humming 280 00:29:32.480 --> 00:29:38.960 in my home. I stay like that for several hours, based on the 281 00:29:38.960 --> 00:29:45.839 clock of my nightstand, but there were several moments where I nearly fell asleep 282 00:29:45.839 --> 00:29:52.000 from exhaustion. I'm a little afraid I did. When the noises from the 283 00:29:52.000 --> 00:29:56.960 living room stop, I can just about see you around the room, but 284 00:29:57.039 --> 00:30:03.359 I still haven't heard any move no footsteps on the floorboards, no creak of 285 00:30:03.400 --> 00:30:10.079 a door. I haven't moved for quite a while, and most of my 286 00:30:10.119 --> 00:30:15.519 attention has been focused on the door to the hallway with short glances around my 287 00:30:15.640 --> 00:30:21.480 room and out the window, and suddenly something in the room is unfamiliar. 288 00:30:22.559 --> 00:30:30.680 I didn't think to look down before the figure clad in purple and black and 289 00:30:30.920 --> 00:30:37.400 blue, sitting on the floor next to my bed rises fluidly, far too 290 00:30:37.480 --> 00:30:42.000 quickly, and its eyes are wide and unblinking and gray, and its hands 291 00:30:42.039 --> 00:30:48.240 are cloth and plastic and too warm to be made from non living material. 292 00:30:48.319 --> 00:30:52.880 As they settle on my jaw. My hands are just starting to move, 293 00:30:52.000 --> 00:30:57.079 and the mannequin's almost mirrored eyes, with that face full of mirth, stare 294 00:30:57.160 --> 00:31:03.839 into my own as it snaps my neck. I jul to awake, then 295 00:31:04.480 --> 00:31:10.200 trying to breathe to calm myself from the nightmare, at the same time as 296 00:31:10.319 --> 00:31:15.039 instinctively trying to hold my breath to listen to any noises in my home. 297 00:31:15.720 --> 00:31:21.799 My lungs heave as quietly as I can make them do so, and I 298 00:31:21.839 --> 00:31:26.960 don't hear anything out of the ordinary, nothing I haven't heard before on any 299 00:31:26.039 --> 00:31:32.200 other night, No sewing machine. My alarm will be going off soon, 300 00:31:32.920 --> 00:31:36.359 but I feel as though I really did stay up all night staring at the 301 00:31:36.400 --> 00:31:41.799 door. I go through what routine I can while keeping the door between me 302 00:31:41.920 --> 00:31:48.079 and the mannekin firmly shut and locked. And when I can stall no more, 303 00:31:48.240 --> 00:31:51.839 I know I have to face the thing in my home in the light 304 00:31:51.920 --> 00:31:56.759 of day, not just in the darkness of my dreams. When I opened 305 00:31:56.799 --> 00:32:05.799 the door, the wooden stand is empty. I stop in my tracks, 306 00:32:06.720 --> 00:32:13.400 and my exhaustion does me no favors as a figure swirling in the colors surrounding 307 00:32:13.480 --> 00:32:16.839 the stars, sweeps out from the hallway to my left and takes my hand, 308 00:32:17.839 --> 00:32:22.279 leading me in a strange semblance of a waltz towards the empty stand. 309 00:32:23.640 --> 00:32:30.160 The figure starts to look more and more like the gray in the mirror with 310 00:32:30.279 --> 00:32:34.680 every step, and my own flesh is losing its color, cooling to the 311 00:32:34.759 --> 00:32:38.440 texture of cloth. And there is a moment where neither of us are skin 312 00:32:38.599 --> 00:32:43.200 and neither of us are fabric, but both of us briefly alight in the 313 00:32:43.240 --> 00:32:46.960 same place. In between. The figure gently spins me so that my bare 314 00:32:47.000 --> 00:32:52.319 feet step onto the wooden stand, and my eyes are so heavy, my 315 00:32:52.480 --> 00:32:57.480 joints are so stiff I cannot feel my hands anymore. I'm not sure when 316 00:32:57.480 --> 00:33:00.119 I stopped breathing, but my chest won't move and neither will my legs, 317 00:33:00.200 --> 00:33:06.400 and the figure puts a warm hand on my cheek. Their smile is no 318 00:33:06.599 --> 00:33:12.480 less mirthful, but it seems too bright on a human face. I can't 319 00:33:12.640 --> 00:33:16.279 move as the figure lets me go and steps towards the door, and the 320 00:33:16.359 --> 00:33:22.799 last thing I see before my eyes disappear into cloth and plastic is the galaxy 321 00:33:22.880 --> 00:33:29.480 of fabric disappearing through the front door, and the sound of it closing aligns 322 00:33:30.000 --> 00:33:40.400 with the final beat of my heart. The Oceans Lament by Christine Wolfram, 323 00:33:42.039 --> 00:33:46.880 performed by Stephanie Olsen as Jane, with Brian Watson Jones as Mister Rochester, 324 00:33:47.599 --> 00:33:54.079 Kate Jackson as Leah the Maid, and Adelaide Rochester, Gaylastell as Missus Fairlax, 325 00:33:54.359 --> 00:34:04.920 Missus Ainslie, and Bertha Rochester. Pale. Moonlight streamed through my curtains 326 00:34:04.960 --> 00:34:08.159 when I awoke to the sound of a woman weeping. At first I thought 327 00:34:08.199 --> 00:34:13.320 that it was perhaps one of the other servant girls, so I donned my 328 00:34:13.400 --> 00:34:19.679 slippers and quietly tiptoed down the gallery. Hello are you all right, I 329 00:34:19.719 --> 00:34:24.440 whispered. I heard back no reply, save for the weeping and the sounds 330 00:34:24.480 --> 00:34:30.400 of trickling water coming not from outside, but from within. Along the walls, 331 00:34:30.440 --> 00:34:37.400 the portraits appeared to be crying, tears streaming down their faces. In 332 00:34:37.480 --> 00:34:42.960 the distance, I heard a wet, slopping noise, accompanied by the sound 333 00:34:43.000 --> 00:34:47.800 of something hard dragging across the floor. My thoughts began to churn. Was 334 00:34:47.840 --> 00:34:54.599 I experiencing a haunting with some ghostly apparition trying to communicate with me? A 335 00:34:54.719 --> 00:35:00.760 burning curiosity possessed me. I felt a tug, a pulsion to investigate the 336 00:35:00.800 --> 00:35:06.639 source of the noises, so I ventured onwards. I had reached the main 337 00:35:06.679 --> 00:35:13.440 hallway when I stepped on something. I stumbled, falling out of my slipper. 338 00:35:14.320 --> 00:35:16.880 When I bent down to retrieve it, I was met with a strange 339 00:35:17.079 --> 00:35:24.320 resistance. I pulled it back with a sickening squelch, and as I held 340 00:35:24.360 --> 00:35:31.360 it up in disgust to inspect it, a sticky, viscous slime dripped from 341 00:35:31.440 --> 00:35:37.880 it. I nearly jumped when I heard a voice behind me. What are 342 00:35:37.920 --> 00:35:42.199 you doing wandering about in the late hours of the night. I spun around, 343 00:35:42.679 --> 00:35:46.639 finding myself face to face with the Manner's shrewd and owl like housekeeper, 344 00:35:47.039 --> 00:35:53.039 missus Fairlax. I thought I thought I heard a woman crying, I replied, 345 00:35:53.639 --> 00:35:58.960 this is an old and creaky manner that's prone to drafts. It'll play 346 00:35:59.000 --> 00:36:01.519 tricks on your mind if you let it. You don't suppose it could be 347 00:36:01.559 --> 00:36:07.239 the ghost of Lady Rochester. Do you maybe she still roams these halls, 348 00:36:07.280 --> 00:36:10.639 and that's why the Master fears to spend more than a fortnight here. No, 349 00:36:10.920 --> 00:36:15.079 child, this isn't one of those gothic tales. Now get you back 350 00:36:15.119 --> 00:36:21.000 to bed. I lingered in the hallway, hesitating, debating whether to tell 351 00:36:21.039 --> 00:36:25.559 her about what else I saw when she already thought me silly and superstitious enough, 352 00:36:28.519 --> 00:36:32.079 missus Fairlax drew an exasperated sigh. Well, what else is it? 353 00:36:32.840 --> 00:36:38.239 Out with it? I found this strange substance on the floor. Look, 354 00:36:38.440 --> 00:36:43.000 it ruined, my slipper. Do you know what it could be? It 355 00:36:43.119 --> 00:36:45.599 must be drool from one of the hounds. I'll have one of the servants 356 00:36:45.639 --> 00:36:49.760 clean it up in the morning, but it's far too much. That is 357 00:36:49.880 --> 00:36:53.519 of no concern of yours. You oversee Adele's tutoring, and I manage the 358 00:36:53.519 --> 00:36:58.639 household duties. Those are the roles we play here? Is that clear? 359 00:36:59.280 --> 00:37:04.679 Fighting back protest, I mumbled a yes, ma'am, then good night, 360 00:37:05.599 --> 00:37:09.599 miss Eyre. By morning, my mind was still reeling from last night, 361 00:37:10.119 --> 00:37:15.719 so I set out to investigate the manner for proof that what happened was real 362 00:37:15.119 --> 00:37:22.159 and not imagined. Besides just my soiled slipper, All traces of the slime 363 00:37:22.199 --> 00:37:25.679 had vanished from the hallway, so I backtracked to the gallery, where the 364 00:37:25.800 --> 00:37:32.719 Rochester family portraits scowled down at me with their grim and imperious faces. But 365 00:37:34.400 --> 00:37:39.079 as I stepped forward to examine them closely, I noticed a crystalline residue streaking 366 00:37:39.119 --> 00:37:45.239 down their faces. Curious, I wiped at it with my finger and sniffed 367 00:37:45.239 --> 00:37:52.400 it. It smelt salty, either from tears or salt water. How strange, 368 00:37:53.280 --> 00:37:59.400 Thornfield Hall was miles from sea and by no body of brackish water. 369 00:38:00.320 --> 00:38:05.719 I was convinced that this was no natural phenomenon, and became even more certain 370 00:38:05.800 --> 00:38:12.679 of this when one day I caught Leah carrying a tray filled with parsnips and 371 00:38:12.920 --> 00:38:19.440 bones. Who is that for, I asked. Leah's eyes darted around nervously, 372 00:38:20.280 --> 00:38:22.920 she could barely meet me in the eye. It's a it's for the 373 00:38:22.920 --> 00:38:30.480 little missus rabbit, she squeaked, I shot her an incredulous look. You 374 00:38:30.599 --> 00:38:34.880 give her rabbit bones as if she were a dog. Yes, he likes 375 00:38:34.920 --> 00:38:37.679 to gnaw on em to wear down his teeth. Why not give it something 376 00:38:37.719 --> 00:38:44.679 more suitable then, like a wooden stick. Leah shrugged. He prefers bones. 377 00:38:45.440 --> 00:38:46.119 Now, if you don't mind me, I'll be on my way. 378 00:38:46.960 --> 00:38:52.159 She brushed past me and scurried away with the tray. But something told me 379 00:38:52.280 --> 00:38:55.920 to follow her. I trailed behind her, watching as she set out into 380 00:38:55.960 --> 00:39:02.039 the yard and disappeared down into a cellar. I returned back inside the manner, 381 00:39:02.159 --> 00:39:07.199 even more perplexed. From my understanding, ghosts don't require mortal food. 382 00:39:07.920 --> 00:39:13.679 No, they were keeping some creature of flesh and blood in that cellar, 383 00:39:14.320 --> 00:39:19.639 and I was determined to see it. I waited for the perfect opportunity to 384 00:39:19.719 --> 00:39:24.880 investigate the cellar without anyone noticing. That day came in early November, when 385 00:39:24.920 --> 00:39:31.039 all the servants were bustling about preparing for mister Rochester's arrival. In the chaos, 386 00:39:31.360 --> 00:39:36.840 I donned my shawl and slipped outside, making a beeline for the cellar. 387 00:39:37.599 --> 00:39:43.599 As I plunged down into its depth, darkness swallowed me inside. I 388 00:39:43.679 --> 00:39:51.159 heard the scuttle of insects, echoing drips of water and hushed whispers. Taking 389 00:39:51.199 --> 00:39:55.119 a deep breath, I steeled myself and felt along the damp wall, using 390 00:39:55.159 --> 00:40:00.760 it as a guide. As I continued onward, the whispers grew louder and 391 00:40:00.880 --> 00:40:06.199 louder, and as I rounded a corner, I expected to find some werewolf 392 00:40:06.320 --> 00:40:10.880 like beast chained to the wall. But what I found instead was a different 393 00:40:12.039 --> 00:40:17.800 sort of monster. There was a woman, half snail, half human. 394 00:40:19.599 --> 00:40:24.800 Her skin was a pallid, bluish hue, and upon her back grew a 395 00:40:25.039 --> 00:40:32.719 giant, opalescent shell. She knelt before a makeshift altar, illuminated by dozens 396 00:40:32.719 --> 00:40:39.639 of candles, whispering a chantlike prayer under her breath. I held my breath 397 00:40:39.719 --> 00:40:45.880 so as not to disturb her, and began silently backing my way out. 398 00:40:45.159 --> 00:40:52.199 When a bone crunched beneath my foot, I flinched. Her chanting halted, 399 00:40:52.639 --> 00:41:01.639 and her neck elongated, twisting around to peer at me. I prayed to 400 00:41:02.000 --> 00:41:25.239 the gray man, blood lies, so I can scarcely any more, she 401 00:41:25.440 --> 00:41:32.360 said, dragging her flaccid body towards me. Would you help me? Here 402 00:41:34.840 --> 00:41:43.239 was terror clawed at me as a blood curdling scream escaped my mouth. I 403 00:41:43.360 --> 00:41:46.760 fled, scrambling up the stairs, as if the very hounds of hell were 404 00:41:46.840 --> 00:41:52.119 on my heels. I burst out of the cellar door and ran towards the 405 00:41:52.199 --> 00:41:55.800 manner, my heart pounding in my ears. When a large animal barred my 406 00:41:57.039 --> 00:42:02.400 path, I frozen my tracks when realization hit me. Master had returned. 407 00:42:04.400 --> 00:42:07.599 He stood before me, holding the reins of his black steed as he watched 408 00:42:07.679 --> 00:42:14.559 me with an amused expression. Well, is your curiosity satisfied now, Jane? 409 00:42:15.239 --> 00:42:22.199 Mister Rochester asked, what what was that horrid thing that is my wife? 410 00:42:22.760 --> 00:42:28.519 I thought you said she died in a sense. Is there anything you 411 00:42:28.639 --> 00:42:31.639 can do to help her, something that can revert her back to her natural 412 00:42:31.719 --> 00:42:37.440 state? And what would you have me do? Hmm? Send her to 413 00:42:37.559 --> 00:42:43.000 a madhouse and tell them here's my wife. I'm afraid she's turned into a 414 00:42:43.199 --> 00:42:46.159 mollusk, so please do what you can for her. Or, better yet, 415 00:42:46.599 --> 00:42:52.079 perhaps I should send her to a surgeon who will have her vivisected an 416 00:42:52.119 --> 00:42:58.079 ogle dat before an entire theater. Then we'll find our own way. He 417 00:42:58.239 --> 00:43:02.239 raised an eyebrow. We I'll find a way if you're so content with your 418 00:43:02.320 --> 00:43:08.280 lot. I like to consider myself a pragmatist. But you're free to go 419 00:43:08.400 --> 00:43:14.480 about searching for a non existent cure, so long as you're discreet about it. 420 00:43:15.280 --> 00:43:19.000 I won't tell a soul outside this manner, Sir, Your secret is 421 00:43:19.039 --> 00:43:24.360 safe with me, good because no one will believe you anyway. With that, 422 00:43:24.639 --> 00:43:29.440 he turned on his heel and led his horse to the stables, leaving 423 00:43:29.519 --> 00:43:35.320 me to shiver in the autumn chill. The next morning, I found mister 424 00:43:35.440 --> 00:43:39.800 Rochester sprawled in a chair, staring pensively into the flames of the fireplace, 425 00:43:40.159 --> 00:43:45.800 lost deep in thought. As he nursed a glass of wine. A sort 426 00:43:45.840 --> 00:43:50.760 of bone tired weariness clung to him like a cloak. I could see it 427 00:43:50.840 --> 00:43:53.760 in the shadows of fatigue under his eyes and the strain in his jaw. 428 00:43:55.400 --> 00:44:00.360 Isn't it a bit early for wine, sir? I asked? Yours still 429 00:44:00.480 --> 00:44:05.639 here? He replied? Does that surprise you? I asked, I half 430 00:44:05.719 --> 00:44:08.920 expected you to pack your bags and flee during the night. I scowled, 431 00:44:09.800 --> 00:44:15.519 I'm not so easily deterred, sir. Evidently not. He regarded me like 432 00:44:15.679 --> 00:44:20.880 he was appraising me anew, seeing me in a whole new light. No, 433 00:44:21.320 --> 00:44:25.320 you fancy yourself a noble heroine come to save us from our curse. 434 00:44:27.199 --> 00:44:32.159 And what manner of curse is that he drew a heavy sigh. It's a 435 00:44:32.280 --> 00:44:37.360 bit of a long story, so sit if you wish to hear it. 436 00:44:37.280 --> 00:44:42.199 Pulling a chair, I sat down beside him and listened as he began his 437 00:44:42.400 --> 00:44:46.440 tail. Three years ago, we were on a holiday along the English coast. 438 00:44:47.400 --> 00:44:53.800 We were exploring the tide pools when Bertha came across this giant purlescent shell. 439 00:44:55.119 --> 00:45:00.320 She picked it up and held it to her ear exclaimed that she heard 440 00:45:00.360 --> 00:45:07.400 the ocean along with something else, a chorus of heavenly voices. I didn't 441 00:45:07.519 --> 00:45:10.840 think much of it at first, because she was a bit of an odd 442 00:45:10.920 --> 00:45:16.400 bird, much like yourself. She brought the shell home with us, and 443 00:45:16.559 --> 00:45:22.000 the more she listened to it, the more it changed her from the inside 444 00:45:22.039 --> 00:45:28.840 out. She began to crave leafy vegetables, and I found her gnawing on 445 00:45:29.000 --> 00:45:35.119 discarded bones for their calcium. I presume she began to grow a shell of 446 00:45:35.199 --> 00:45:42.920 her own, and now she spends her days begging to listen to the artifact 447 00:45:43.000 --> 00:45:47.000 once more. But what of you? Are you unaffected by it? Not 448 00:45:47.880 --> 00:45:54.920 entirely, I hear it still calling to me, but I find the ringing 449 00:45:55.000 --> 00:46:00.000 subsides the farther I go from it. And that's why you disappear so often, 450 00:46:00.079 --> 00:46:06.000 and for societal parties and so called business. Correct, clever girl, 451 00:46:06.760 --> 00:46:09.719 surely there must be a better solution, though a permanent one. Alas, 452 00:46:09.920 --> 00:46:14.679 he smiled bitterly as he swirled the wine in his glass. Just as I 453 00:46:14.760 --> 00:46:17.719 cannot bring myself to kill my wife and put her out of her misery, 454 00:46:19.559 --> 00:46:23.559 I cannot bring myself to destroy the cursed shell. What if I destroyed it 455 00:46:23.679 --> 00:46:28.920 for you? Just tell me where? No. I watched in horror as 456 00:46:29.000 --> 00:46:34.360 something inside him shifted, anger, contorting his face. His eyes bulged, 457 00:46:34.639 --> 00:46:37.719 extending unnaturally long, until I was afraid that they might pop out from his 458 00:46:37.880 --> 00:46:44.360 head. Entirely, you would dare desecrate such a sacred thing, he roared. 459 00:46:45.760 --> 00:46:49.920 The wine sloshed from his hand, spilling onto his trousers and jolting him 460 00:46:49.920 --> 00:46:53.239 back to his senses. His feature snapped back into place, but I could 461 00:46:53.320 --> 00:46:58.760 still see that he was visibly shaken. He hunched over, clutching at his 462 00:46:58.880 --> 00:47:06.239 eyes, as if frightened of himself. Forgive me, that was unseemly, 463 00:47:06.719 --> 00:47:13.480 he said, his voice strained. Go now you are dismissed from your service. 464 00:47:14.679 --> 00:47:17.920 He gave a small shake of his head. No, just for the 465 00:47:19.039 --> 00:47:23.119 day. I rose from my chair and bobbed my head in a curtesy as 466 00:47:23.199 --> 00:47:28.599 you wish. As I turned on my heel to leave him, I walked 467 00:47:28.679 --> 00:47:31.559 with a new found purpose. The artifact was taking a toll on him, 468 00:47:32.119 --> 00:47:37.960 wearing him away piece by piece, and I needed to find it and cast 469 00:47:37.000 --> 00:47:43.440 it back into the sea before his condition deteriorated any further. But where would 470 00:47:43.440 --> 00:47:45.840 he hide such a thing. Surely he would keep it close enough that no 471 00:47:46.000 --> 00:47:52.199 random stranger might accidentally stumble across it. Perhaps it was hidden somewhere inside the 472 00:47:52.280 --> 00:47:57.159 manor or on the grounds, and I was determined to find it. I 473 00:47:57.280 --> 00:48:01.159 set out and searched every nook and cranny. I checked beneath loose floorboards and 474 00:48:01.239 --> 00:48:06.840 behind every book in the library. I even went into that frigid attic. 475 00:48:07.519 --> 00:48:13.119 I crawled around on my hands and knees amongst the dust, miscellaneous heirloms, 476 00:48:13.440 --> 00:48:19.119 and moth eaten sheets. My body froze up at the sound of creaking footsteps. 477 00:48:19.880 --> 00:48:22.920 I debated whether to hide or come up with a convincing excuse for why 478 00:48:23.000 --> 00:48:27.559 I was poking around in the attic, but I let out a sigh of 479 00:48:27.639 --> 00:48:31.000 relief when I saw that it was just Adelaide, her hands covered in dirt 480 00:48:31.519 --> 00:48:37.119 and a wrapped bundle in her arms. She scrunched up her face, giggling 481 00:48:37.159 --> 00:48:39.440 at the sight of me. What are you doing. I'm looking for an 482 00:48:39.480 --> 00:48:44.360 old family heirloom, I said, as I stood up and dusted myself off. 483 00:48:45.159 --> 00:48:47.960 Did you find it? Not yet? Ad gestured to her bundle, 484 00:48:49.360 --> 00:48:52.159 But what about you? What do you have there? It's a way we 485 00:48:52.239 --> 00:48:57.400 can all be together. Smiling, I knelt down beside her. May I 486 00:48:57.519 --> 00:49:01.599 see it? She nodded, sheepish, and pulled back the blanket to reveal 487 00:49:02.119 --> 00:49:09.079 a beautiful purlescent shell. When a haunting melody began emanating from it, my 488 00:49:09.239 --> 00:49:15.599 eyes widened in horror and panic seized me. I snatched the shell out of 489 00:49:15.679 --> 00:49:20.280 her hands and fumbled for the stag shaped lamp beside me, and brought it, 490 00:49:20.480 --> 00:49:24.719 crashing again and again as Adelai wailed for me to stop. I don't 491 00:49:24.760 --> 00:49:29.119 know how long I bashed the dreadful thing, but when I looked up, 492 00:49:29.559 --> 00:49:34.639 panting for breath, I saw mister Rochester standing in the hallway, his face 493 00:49:34.760 --> 00:49:39.480 blanched with shock. Jane, what have you done? I hurriedly rose to 494 00:49:39.599 --> 00:49:44.960 my feet as words came tumbling out of me. Adelaide brought the shell to 495 00:49:45.079 --> 00:49:47.880 me. It began playing a song, and I didn't have much time to 496 00:49:49.000 --> 00:49:52.320 think. I just grabbed the closest heavy object next to me to protect us 497 00:49:52.400 --> 00:49:58.239 both. I said. My words couldn't reach him. They slid off him 498 00:49:58.360 --> 00:50:01.440 like rain and glass, as he staggered in a daze and fell to his 499 00:50:01.599 --> 00:50:08.159 knees before the relics remains. No, no, no, he cried with 500 00:50:08.400 --> 00:50:14.199 trembling hands. He sobbed as he tried to piece the shattered shell back together. 501 00:50:14.920 --> 00:50:20.239 He was unrecognizable, a broken man. The very sight of him such 502 00:50:20.320 --> 00:50:24.239 a state sent a pang of guilt through me. I just wanted to help, 503 00:50:24.400 --> 00:50:30.239 I said, My voice smoke. He glared up at me, his 504 00:50:30.440 --> 00:50:36.239 eyes brimming with furious tears, and shot me a look of such utter loathing 505 00:50:36.519 --> 00:50:43.519 that I took a step back. Leave, he hissed. I flinched as 506 00:50:43.599 --> 00:50:47.719 the venom in his voice stung me. As you wished. I tried to 507 00:50:47.800 --> 00:50:52.800 maintain my composure as I stiffly marched back to my room, but my lips 508 00:50:52.840 --> 00:50:58.639 began to quiver. By the time I reached my door, I had fully 509 00:50:58.719 --> 00:51:04.119 broken down. Tears blurred my vision As I shoved my dresses, my sketch 510 00:51:04.159 --> 00:51:08.519 book, and the rest of my meager belongings into my baggage. I silently 511 00:51:08.599 --> 00:51:15.400 departed Thornfield Hall with a strange, aching hollowness inside my chest. I felt 512 00:51:15.440 --> 00:51:21.320 like I had somehow bestrayed mister Rochester. That I had abandoned poor Adelaide, 513 00:51:22.039 --> 00:51:25.159 and I was now leaving behind the only home that had brought me joy. 514 00:51:27.320 --> 00:51:30.559 What options did I have. I couldn't go back to living with my cruel 515 00:51:30.599 --> 00:51:36.840 aunt and cousins. I couldn't live in Millcote. That Shire lay too close 516 00:51:36.920 --> 00:51:40.960 to Thornfield's looming shadow, so I settled for taking a carriage to Morton, 517 00:51:42.639 --> 00:51:46.320 a small town to the east. Sewing was one of the few skills I 518 00:51:46.440 --> 00:51:52.079 had acquired at Lowood, so I found a job there as an assistant at 519 00:51:52.119 --> 00:51:55.639 a seamstress shop. The work was dull, but it kept me fed. 520 00:51:58.239 --> 00:52:04.280 Three months passed without a single word from mister Rochester. I was sketching an 521 00:52:04.320 --> 00:52:08.719 idyllic scene of fairies attending their queen when I heard a rap at my door. 522 00:52:09.960 --> 00:52:13.960 There's a man who wishes to speak to you. He asked for you 523 00:52:14.079 --> 00:52:20.320 by name, said the seamstress, missus Ainsley. My attention piqued. Did 524 00:52:20.400 --> 00:52:22.960 he happen to give his own name as well? No, but he's a 525 00:52:23.079 --> 00:52:27.639 brooding sort of fellow, with a fierce brow and a hawk like nose. 526 00:52:28.199 --> 00:52:31.119 Groaning, I set my sketch book and charcoal pencil aside on my bed. 527 00:52:32.480 --> 00:52:37.880 I know exactly who you're referring to. Shall I tell him you're here? 528 00:52:37.960 --> 00:52:43.199 Or would you like me to send him away? No? I'll see him, 529 00:52:43.800 --> 00:52:49.159 although I cannot fathom what he could possibly want with me. Apprehension crept 530 00:52:49.239 --> 00:52:53.039 over me. I hadn't seen mister Rochester in months, or spoken to him 531 00:52:53.079 --> 00:52:57.920 since I departed the manner. I didn't know whether his anger had waned, 532 00:52:58.440 --> 00:53:02.679 or if his resentment of me had festered like an infected wound. Whatever the 533 00:53:02.760 --> 00:53:09.000 case, I stealed myself and waited. I heard footsteps and looked up to 534 00:53:09.079 --> 00:53:15.800 see mister Rochester standing before me, stripped of his hot e veneer, a 535 00:53:15.920 --> 00:53:21.440 proud man. Undone, Jane, you appear to be in good health. 536 00:53:22.679 --> 00:53:27.079 Have they been treating you well? He asked missus Ainsley. Is fair, 537 00:53:27.519 --> 00:53:30.920 and she provides me with room and board at the deduction of some of my 538 00:53:30.039 --> 00:53:36.519 wages. I stared at him pointedly, But why do you care? Do 539 00:53:36.559 --> 00:53:42.480 you customarily check on the well being of your former employees. I felt obligated 540 00:53:42.599 --> 00:53:46.639 to check up on you, especially after I so hastily removed you from my 541 00:53:46.800 --> 00:53:52.119 service. He awkwardly wrung his hands as he searched for the right words. 542 00:53:52.559 --> 00:53:58.360 You see, the truth of the matter is I have not been myself for 543 00:53:58.480 --> 00:54:04.679 a long time. In the grip of my madness and anger, I lashed 544 00:54:04.679 --> 00:54:09.079 out at you. I treated you most unfairly, even after you had saved 545 00:54:09.159 --> 00:54:15.599 myself and my ward from straying further from our humanity, And for that I 546 00:54:15.719 --> 00:54:21.960 am eternally in your debt. One name in particular was noticeably absent from his 547 00:54:22.119 --> 00:54:27.840 speech. I'm glad I could save you and Adelaide. But what of Bertha? 548 00:54:28.519 --> 00:54:34.199 Have her symptoms improved? I inquired? He smiled ruefully. I'm afraid 549 00:54:34.559 --> 00:54:39.039 she remains a giant snail. Only now a profound melancholy has taken her, 550 00:54:39.639 --> 00:54:47.239 and she scarcely leaves her shell at all. Oh, my heart fell I 551 00:54:47.320 --> 00:54:52.639 had hoped to free her, but it appears I have only made matters worse. 552 00:54:52.440 --> 00:54:58.599 You mustn't blame yourself. There's not exactly a precedent for this sort of 553 00:54:58.719 --> 00:55:00.920 thing, so you couldn't have known. That's what would happen to her. 554 00:55:01.519 --> 00:55:06.679 That's the thing, isn't it. There was no telling what could have happened. 555 00:55:07.400 --> 00:55:09.119 I could have killed her, I could have killed all of you. 556 00:55:10.000 --> 00:55:15.679 I'm just a silly girl whose head is filled with fanciful dreams, and everyone 557 00:55:15.760 --> 00:55:20.760 around me suffers for it. My shoulders racked as I broke down into tears. 558 00:55:21.920 --> 00:55:25.559 Never apologize for that, mister Rochester said. As he crossed the little 559 00:55:25.639 --> 00:55:30.639 distance there was between us. He tenderly cupped my face in his hands and 560 00:55:30.800 --> 00:55:35.880 wiped a tear away with his thumb. That's the very quality that makes me 561 00:55:36.119 --> 00:55:43.239 so fond of you. My cheeks flushed and my heart fluttered wildly. Words 562 00:55:43.320 --> 00:55:46.639 caught on my tongue, and I lost all capacity for speech as I became 563 00:55:46.719 --> 00:55:52.639 suddenly aware of the heat in his body and the length of his dark eyelashes. 564 00:55:52.000 --> 00:55:58.440 As he peered intently down at my lips, his face painted with yearning 565 00:55:58.599 --> 00:56:02.519 and desire. For a moment, I swore he intended to kiss me. 566 00:56:04.800 --> 00:56:08.199 Until the spell between us broke. He dropped away from me, and he 567 00:56:08.280 --> 00:56:13.840 took a step back, clearing his throat. Oh, before I forget. 568 00:56:14.119 --> 00:56:16.880 He reached into his pocket to hand me a check. Here are your monthly 569 00:56:17.000 --> 00:56:21.800 earnings, and if there's anything else I can do to help your life be 570 00:56:21.960 --> 00:56:27.960 more comfortable, Please don't hesitate to ask. I hesitated if I may ask 571 00:56:28.039 --> 00:56:30.400 one favor, sir, there is one household I have my eyes on. 572 00:56:30.960 --> 00:56:35.079 I'd appreciate if you could put in a good word for me there. Of 573 00:56:35.239 --> 00:56:40.679 course, name them and I'll sing your praises to them. It's called Thornfield 574 00:56:40.760 --> 00:56:45.920 Hall. The place is gloomy, and so is its master, but I've 575 00:56:46.000 --> 00:56:52.760 grown fond of them both. Uncertainty flicked across his face, as well as 576 00:56:52.800 --> 00:56:59.239 something else, small spark in him that dared to hope he would still wish 577 00:56:59.679 --> 00:57:02.599 to work for me, after all I've put you through. He asked, 578 00:57:04.280 --> 00:57:08.199 You're the only employer peculiar enough for me and I for him, I replied. 579 00:57:08.960 --> 00:57:13.880 He beamed a rare smile at me, without a trace of his usual 580 00:57:13.960 --> 00:57:20.119 bitterness, warm enough to melt winter snow. Then come, Jane, let 581 00:57:20.280 --> 00:57:25.079 us go home. My heart soared as I caught sight of the iron gates 582 00:57:25.159 --> 00:57:30.920 of Thornfield Hall before us loomed the manor itself, shrouded in fog and latticed 583 00:57:30.960 --> 00:57:37.079 with frost. I once found the castle like structure imposing, but I now 584 00:57:37.280 --> 00:57:42.760 found comfort in its gloom. The carriage rolled to a stop outside of it, 585 00:57:43.199 --> 00:57:46.679 and I took mister Rochester's hand as he helped me down. I strode 586 00:57:46.760 --> 00:57:51.840 up to the front door, where Missus Fairlax greeted us with the small incline 587 00:57:51.880 --> 00:57:55.679 of her head, and for the first time she looked at me with respect. 588 00:57:57.599 --> 00:58:02.280 Welcome back, miss Eyre, she said, thank you, I said, 589 00:58:02.719 --> 00:58:07.880 stepping inside and removing my mittens. It's good to be back. I 590 00:58:08.000 --> 00:58:13.559 glanced around in wonder, absorbing the details of the manner's interior once more, 591 00:58:14.239 --> 00:58:20.480 from its mahogany banister to its austere sculptures, to the sprawling, haunting tableau 592 00:58:20.639 --> 00:58:24.400 towards its entrance. My attention snapped when I heard a clamor of footsteps and 593 00:58:24.519 --> 00:58:31.000 a child shouting miss Eyre. Miss Eyre Adelai came running down the stairs to 594 00:58:31.079 --> 00:58:36.840 greet us, squealing in delight. I outstretched my arms as she flung her 595 00:58:37.000 --> 00:58:40.280 arms around me. Burying her face in my shoulder. I'm sorry, I'm 596 00:58:40.360 --> 00:58:45.199 sorry I yelled you. I didn't mean it. She said, that's quite 597 00:58:45.239 --> 00:58:49.920 all right, Papa, I said, as I smoothed her hair. People 598 00:58:50.079 --> 00:58:55.280 often say things that they don't mean when they are upset. As the days 599 00:58:55.360 --> 00:59:00.440 passed, I sank into the rhythm of familiarity. My tutoring with Adelaide resumed, 600 00:59:00.840 --> 00:59:07.119 but something in my relationship with mister Rochester had shifted. He appeared more 601 00:59:07.199 --> 00:59:10.719 at ease around me and would seek out my company. We took sleigh rides 602 00:59:10.760 --> 00:59:15.360 through the snow and skated on the frozen lake beside the manor, and I 603 00:59:15.480 --> 00:59:22.320 felt a forbidden thrill when we began stealing kisses, deep and fierce in the 604 00:59:22.440 --> 00:59:27.400 shadows of the alcoves. It was like living inside a fairy tale, a 605 00:59:27.559 --> 00:59:36.960 dream. But that dream shattered when I awoke to drip, drip, drip. 606 00:59:37.599 --> 00:59:43.960 My stomach sank as an icy dread sloosed through my veins. No, 607 00:59:45.119 --> 00:59:49.199 I destroyed you. I flung back my sheets and stared at the wall in 608 00:59:49.280 --> 00:59:55.159 disbelief. Dark water poured in rivulets down my wall. No, No, 609 00:59:57.559 --> 01:00:00.639 was it possible someone had restored the shell? Who would do such a thing. 610 01:00:01.360 --> 01:00:07.719 Everyone in the household seems so content, everyone that is, save Bertha. 611 01:00:09.159 --> 01:00:14.280 Marching down the hall, I sought her out to confront her. I 612 01:00:14.400 --> 01:00:19.480 descended into the dark of the cellar with a candle in hand. As I 613 01:00:19.599 --> 01:00:24.320 made my way down the narrow steps, I heard something that was either sobbing 614 01:00:25.760 --> 01:00:32.599 or hysterical laughter. Bertha, I called out, cautious, I treaded across 615 01:00:32.800 --> 01:00:38.519 the floor when something burst beneath my feet, splashing the hem of my dress. 616 01:00:39.840 --> 01:00:46.800 I peered down. Intermingled amongst the puddles of water was cluster upon cluster 617 01:00:47.480 --> 01:00:53.679 of egg like membranes. Swallowing a scream, I hitched up my skirt and 618 01:00:53.840 --> 01:01:00.039 carefully sidestepped them. As I approached Bertha's shadowy silhouette. I know you must 619 01:01:00.079 --> 01:01:05.960 despise me, but there's something I must ask you, I began, to 620 01:01:06.039 --> 01:01:10.320 my surprise. Birth Still, she lifted her head and I could see the 621 01:01:10.519 --> 01:01:17.559 madness in her eyes, glinting in the candlelight. Despise you, she said, 622 01:01:17.960 --> 01:01:22.400 and a voice as deep in cavernous as the sea. No, I 623 01:01:22.719 --> 01:01:34.239 am grful to you. You how me fine? The true? I swallowed 624 01:01:34.280 --> 01:01:42.199 hard? And what truth is that? All time? And my clong onto 625 01:01:42.639 --> 01:01:57.000 my humanity, believing that the great ones were incomprehensible, So far of myry 626 01:02:00.280 --> 01:02:10.559 in true, they of josen me just joy in their ranks. I've snded, 627 01:02:13.679 --> 01:02:20.880 don't you see? I am no longer need the art of bag because 628 01:02:21.119 --> 01:02:28.559 I carry this song with him. She pressed a finger to her lips. 629 01:02:29.480 --> 01:02:37.920 Listen, can you hear? The energy of the cellar shifted? The hairs 630 01:02:37.000 --> 01:02:40.280 on my arm stood on end, and I felt a humming, like the 631 01:02:40.440 --> 01:02:45.760 crackling static that hangs about the air before a lightning strike. I heard it 632 01:02:45.840 --> 01:02:53.480 then, an otherworldly melody that was both early beautiful and filled with such utter 633 01:02:53.760 --> 01:03:01.719 sadness and loneliness, A lament sound in the gulf, enveloping me. It 634 01:03:02.119 --> 01:03:08.760 reached into me and strummed my heart, plucking it like Orpheus played his lyre 635 01:03:08.880 --> 01:03:21.599 before Hades. I wept, tears streaming down my face as I wondered how 636 01:03:22.039 --> 01:03:42.920 I could have ever tried to silence such a wondrous thing. Thank you for 637 01:03:43.079 --> 01:03:46.840 listening to Ghostwax, a production of Foreign Tall Tales. Find us at Foreign 638 01:03:46.920 --> 01:03:52.920 Talltales dot squarespace dot com. Ghostwax is an independent podcast. So if you'd 639 01:03:53.039 --> 01:03:58.679 liked the show. Please rate and review and consider joining us on Patreon at 640 01:03:58.760 --> 01:04:02.920 patreon dot com. Slash feign Tall Tales also give a listen to our fantasy 641 01:04:03.039 --> 01:04:10.280 roleplay show could Have been Heroes for something completely different. Ghost Wax is written 642 01:04:10.320 --> 01:04:15.559 and directed by Robert Knutsen, production and editing by Aaron Schoenrock. Our theme 643 01:04:15.639 --> 01:04:15.960 song is by bo Hoover.