In today’s episode we continue our adventure with Chapter 13 – Where Magpie and Farfalla finally come face to face!

Music: Nightbridge by Cannelle (www.cannellemusic.com)

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TRANSCRIPT:

Things with Wings Productions presents: Episode 13 of The Skylark Bell.  I am your host Melissa Oliveri.  

In our last episode, Magpie came across a photograph of Marius Corbeau, the man from her vision at Mirror Pond, and learned of his tragic disappearance in a snowstorm. 

In today’s episode we continue our adventure with Chapter 13 – Where Magpie and Farfalla come face to face.

It’s time to settle in… grab a blanket and a warm drink… let’s get started!

Magpie stays home for a few days, watching old movies with her mom and reading adventure books up in her room.  It feels good to just be... normal!... and not worry about all the strange things going on in Pocket.  

Magpie slept in this morning and is lounging on the couch in her pajamas when her mom peeks her head around the corner of the room.

“Magpie, I’m heading into town to ship this canvas to a client, why don’t you come with me?” she asks.

“Sure!  Where’s this one headed?” asks Magpie.  She’s always curious about the different places her mother’s artwork ends up.

“It’s going to a gallery overseas!  I’m hoping if they like it they’ll request an entire collection!  It’s a really great opportunity,” she answers, unable to hide the excitement in her voice.

They talk about art and travel while slowly strolling through town. Next to the post office, some children play in a small park. Magpie stops to drink in the joyful sounds of the swings squeaking loudly as they sway back and forth, the children giggling on the see-saw and laughing wildly as they whiz down the slide.  She is finally feeling calm, everything around her looks and feels normal, and it’s been days since she’s had a vision.

A small bell above the post office door signals to the clerk that they have entered. “What can I help ya with?”  Asks the tall gentleman behind the counter, his large mustache bouncing up and down with each word.  Magpie’s mother explains the shipment details to him as Magpie wanders around the tiny space. The floors are crooked, and creak loudly, making her a little self-conscious with every step. On the back wall there are old photographs of Pocket, some with handwritten insciptions detailing the location and year.   She immediately spots a photo of the Pocket General Store, it was taken the year the store opened, and features the Bunting family proudly standing on the large wooden porch.  There are several photos of the high school through the years, some with students sprawled on the front lawn, others showing them neatly lined up on the front steps.  Magpie looks closely to see if she can spot Charlotte Carnifex, or perhaps the mysterious Marius, in one of the photos, but no such luck.  Scanning the wall, she finds a photo of the Redwing Inn; sure enough there are several horses hitched on the posts outside.  It feels strange to think that the people from her visions were living in this time.

“Ready to go?” asks her mom, tucking her wallet back in her bag.  Magpie nods and they head outside. The park is empty now, the children likely having been called in for lunch.  Magpie and her mother keep walking down the main street, smiling at passers-by, but most of them don’t even make eye contact.

“That’s Mrs. Tuffeto!” says Mrs. Phaeton in a hushed voice, nodding toward a woman on the sidewalk ahead.  Her tone tells Magpie her mother’s got a plan.  

“Mrs. Tuffetto!  I must tell you, those cupcakes you make are wondeful!” says Mrs. Phaeton cheerfully as they get closer.  The woman stops in her tracks, like a deer in the headlights, unsure what to do.  

Magpie immediately pipes up, “Not only are they delicious, they’re beautiful, like edible artwork!”  

Mrs. Tuffetto glances around to see if anyone is listening and takes a step closer to them. “Thank you, that is very kind” she says, her voice barely above a whisper, like she doesn’t want anyone to know she’s speaking to them.  Before they can continue the conversation, she scurries off in the opposite direction. 

“Progress!” says Magpie’s mother, cheerfully.  They giggle softly and continue on their way.

As they near the diner, Mrs. Phaeton suggests they grab a late breakfast.  They saunter up the flagstone walkway and Magpie reaches for the door, but before she can grasp the handle, the door swings open and an old woman steps out into the bright light of day, her untamed white hair surrounding her face like a snow flurry, it had to be Farfalla.  Magpie has an instant flashback, Farfalla looks just like the old woman in her dream! She feels the shiver at the back of her neck extend all the way down her spine to her feet.  Farfalla stops in the restaurant doorway and lays her piercing blue eyes on Magpie’s face.  For an instant, Magpie senses a change in her expression, but before she can figure out what it is, the old woman has turned and is headed down the street. 

“Go ahead honey, you’re letting all the flies in!” her mother nudges her from behind, oblivious to the eerie feeling in the air between Magpie and Farfalla.

Magpie shakes her head and walks over to an empty table near the window. She distractedly orders the first thing on the menu, smiling and nodding at the waitress, and politely listening to her mother’s stories, but in her mind, she can’t stop thinking about Farfalla.  What had flashed across her face in that moment?  Fear?  Confusion?  …Recognition?

“…and I’d like to get the fireplace cleaned out so we can use it this winter,” her mother continues, “Magpie, you barely ate your breakfast!” she remarks as Magpie places her napkin on her plate.

“I guess I wasn’t as hungry as I thought,” she says, pushing her chair back to stand, “I do like the idea of the fireplace though,” she adds, forcing a smile.

As she and her mom are walking home she struggles to keep up her end of the conversation, her mind is spinning with images of Farfalla’s face.  They finally walk through the front door of their house and Magpie is thrilled to hear a soft meow as she is unlacing her running shoes. “Scarlet!” she says as the small cat trots down the stairs toward her.  She picks up the cat and carries it up the stairs, cradling it in her arms and nuzzling its soft fur. “I’m heading up to my room for a bit, mom!” she calls as she nears the landing. 

“Sounds good, honey.  Thanks for walking into town with me!” says Mrs. Phaeton.

Magpie gently places Scarlet on the bed and fishes her notebook out from under the mattress.  Between her recent visions, the dream she had a few nights ago, and the run-in with Farfalla this morning, she feels it’s time to see if any of her notes can help fill in some pieces of the puzzle.

Scarlet sits on the bed facing Magpie, a strange look of expectation in her eyes…

Thank you so much for listening.  Join me next week as we pursue our adventure and read Chapter 14 of Meadow Lane and the Skylark Bell, where we get a closeup view of Magpie’s notebook in which she sketches the things she sees in her mysterious visions.

Before I go, I’d like to thank Phaeton Starling Publishing for this fantastically eerie story, and Cannelle Elanion for composing equally fantastic and eerie music for this podcast.

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