How Does This End?

Philippa lives for experiences and not material goods. When she refuses to be the emotional doormat in her relationship any longer, the thought of her boyfriend in his rightful place beneath the crushing weight of her heel is something she will want to relive again and again.

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Support the podcast on Patreon at www.patreon.com/hdte

Cover Art by Diego Almazan (@warpedcorestudio / www.warpedcorestudio.com)

Music is Hop the Turnstile by peerless via http://share.epidemicsound.com/s8W7c

CREDITS AND ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS

How Does This End? is a StumbleWell Production with original written works by Christopher Narvaez. This episode was recorded and edited by Christopher Narvaez with the final sound check by Hallease Narvaez. Our cover art for season 3 is designed by Diego Almazan, check out his work on Instagram @warpedcorestudio. The music is from Epidemic Sound. Try it out for free on your next project: http://share.epidemicsound.com/s8W7c

Azar hates who he’s become within his glass kiosk at Vanguard but struggles to remove himself from the situation. With help from his former tormenter, he’ll rediscover his purpose.

Follow us @hdte.mp3 on Instagram and Twitter

Support the podcast on Patreon at www.patreon.com/hdte

Cover Art by Diego Almazan (@warpedcorestudio / www.warpedcorestudio.com)

Music is Fuse by Lukas Got Lucky via viahttp://share.epidemicsound.com/s8W7c

CREDITS AND ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS

How Does This End? is a StumbleWell Production with original written works by Christopher Narvaez. This episode was recorded and edited by Christopher Narvaez with the final sound check by Hallease Narvaez. Our cover art for season 3 is designed by Diego Almazan, check out his work on Instagram @warpedcorestudio. The music is from Epidemic Sound. Try it out for free on your next project: http://share.epidemicsound.com/s8W7c

A reporter’s account of cynicism’s inevitable end product.

Follow us @hdte.mp3 on Instagram and Twitter

Support the podcast on Patreon at www.patreon.com/hdte

Cover Art by Diego Almazan (@warpedcorestudio / www.warpedcorestudio.com)

Music is Spring Cleaning by Dillon Sitts viahttp://share.epidemicsound.com/s8W7c

CREDITS AND ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS

How Does This End? is a StumbleWell Production with original written works by Christopher Narvaez. This episode was recorded and edited by Christopher Narvaez with the final sound check by Hallease Narvaez. Our cover art for season 3 is designed by Diego Almazan, check out his work on Instagram @warpedcorestudio. The music is from Epidemic Sound. Try it out for free on your next project: http://share.epidemicsound.com/s8W7c

After years of setbacks and medication side effects, Rho is finally stable. A sentinel in a fetid jean jacket stationed on a dusty bus bench tells her tumult is coming and offers Rho a chance to stop it.

Follow us @hdte.mp3 on Instagram and Twitter

Support the podcast on Patreon at www.patreon.com/hdte

Cover Art by Diego Almazan (@warpedcorestudio / www.warpedcorestudio.com)

The music for this episode is "Rare Breed" by Matt Large: http://share.epidemicsound.com/s8W7c

CREDITS AND ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS

How Does This End? is a StumbleWell Production with original written works by Christopher Narvaez. This episode was recorded and edited by Christopher Narvaez with the final sound check by Hallease Narvaez. Our cover art for season 3 is designed by Diego Almazan, check out his work on Instagram @warpedcorestudio. The music is from Epidemic Sound. Try it out for free on your next project: http://share.epidemicsound.com/s8W7c

Conrad is content to judge as his neighbors pack around a rusting sedan while a shifty character pulls out free gifts for them. There's malintent in the act. Conrad is sure of it. Drugs. The passing of stolen goods. Something. When he discovers the source of the hand-outs, he's proven right and wrong. 

Follow us @hdte.mp3 on Instagram and Twitter

Support the podcast on Patreon at www.patreon.com/hdte

Cover Art by Diego Almazan (@warpedcorestudio / www.warpedcorestudio.com)

The music for this episode is "Sherm Stick" by Jharee via http://share.epidemicsound.com/s8W7c

CREDITS AND ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS

How Does This End? is a StumbleWell Production with original written works by Christopher Narvaez. This episode was recorded and edited by Christopher Narvaez with the final sound check by Hallease Narvaez. Our cover art for season 3 is designed by Diego Almazan, check out his work on Instagram @warpedcorestudio. The music is from Epidemic Sound. Try it out for free on your next project: http://share.epidemicsound.com/s8W7c

This episode is another scrapper.

It played a bit part in another story I submitted to Nature Magazine’s weekly science fiction feature ‘Futures’. Again, my limited abilities were a disservice to the story, but I felt there was something here.

Humans are capable of limb regeneration, did you know that? Not whole arms and legs, though. Not hands or even entire fingers—but the tips of a finger are capable of growing back. It’s documented in pediatric emergency medical journals that a child, younger than 11 or 12 years old, can regrow the part of the finger so long as a portion of the nailbed remains. Fingernails are like human hair and continuously grow with the help of stem cells. This ability is limited in adults, possibly due to a change in response, where instead of initiating regeneration it, instead, triggers inflammation.

So like public discourse on the internet, people get more inflammatory as they age.

I’d also like to comment on why many of my stories take place in Texas. It’s Stephen King-esque and fantastical that all these stories can happen in one state, but it’s done out of convenience more than anything. I’ve seen the way the grass grows across the different climates, ranging from brown, patched with dirt, and infested with fire ants in the valley, to the rich green carpets of the east and north. The way the moon as a gunmetal medallion or crimson sunsets gleam against both fresh and salt bodies of water. These visualizations are easier to parse out in my mind and allow me to step into my characters.

This story is called “Left in the Texas Sun, Fruit Turns to Leather.”

Chopped: How Amputated Fingertips Sometimes Grow Back

CREDITS AND ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS

How Does This End? is a StumbleWell Production with original written works by Christopher Narvaez. This episode was recorded and edited by Christopher Narvaez with the final soundcheck by Hallease Narvaez. Our cover art for season 2 is designed by Edgar Lushaju, check out his work on Instagram @drawhapa. The music is from Epidemic Sound. Try it out for free on your next project: http://share.epidemicsound.com/s8W7c

This episode was a long time coming.

Some digital platforms on the internet advertise writing competitions hosted on their websites with large cash prizes (in the ballpark of $10-20,000). Enticed by the thought of the prize money and the potential for increased promotion of my work, I submitted an entry to two contests.

I wrote that last sentence like I was calm and composed at the time. Remember that people like money, and I am trying to write for a living. What is closer to the truth was that I was the manifestation of a cartoon character, dollar signs for eyes, hitting my laptop over my head in my frenzy, as I strung together words mainly from the English language to form clumsy prose.

I did not win, nor did I place, in either of the competitions.

Through the clarifying lens of hindsight, I understand that those contests are a pretty one-sided affair regarding who benefits from them. Yes, talented, experienced writers deservingly did well, but the platform itself truly benefits. You see, once you’ve submitted a written work to them, it’s considered ‘published’ by many, if not all, publications that would consider publishing your work. It also generates a lot of content for the platform and buzz.

No, I’m not just bitter, but it is one of my dominant emotions.

Anyway, this story was one of two that I submitted. I’ve improved in my writing since then. Also, I feel the story was hampered by the writing prompt, which I fixated on, not devoting as much time to the story itself.

The story initially ended tragically. While it doesn’t end with a picnic under a rainbow, the conclusion reflects humanity’s ability to adapt to hardships—especially those that come from the deep…

This story is called “At These Depths, Everything Tries to Squeeze the Life Out of You.”

Enjoy the podcast? Support it on Patreon. Patreon.com/howdoesthisend

Give direct feedback via Instagram. @hdte.mp3

CREDITS AND ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS

How Does This End? is a StumbleWell Production with original written works by Christopher Narvaez. This episode was recorded and edited by Christopher Narvaez with the final sound check by Hallease Narvaez. Our cover art for season 2 is designed by Edgar Lushaju, check out his work on Instagram @drawhapa. The music is from Epidemic Sound. Try it out for free on your next project: http://share.epidemicsound.com/s8W7c

This episode is about inheritance. All of us are amalgamations of our parents, who are, themselves, a mixture of their parents, and so on. As a result, we are their mirror image. That includes the beneficial, benign, and malignant. I, for one, have a family history of breast cancer, thyroid cancer, colon cancer, asthma, seasonal allergies, and a male-pattern underbite that sees my mandible creep forward as the years go on so that eventually, I’ll have the same smile as a bulldog. Some of these disorders have come to bear, and I deal with them as best I can. Others, well, I hope they don’t.

We are also recipients of the planet they were stewards of. Unlike some jewelry or timepieces that have been well-preserved and looked after for generations, the world has seen better days. The Pacific garbage patch, microplastics literally in every source of potable water, the wildfires that sweep over the Western part of the country, and the retreat of the ice caps. I can still remember news articles from decades ago with conservative politicians outright denying climate change. Most are dead now, no longer accountable for the state of things. So it goes.

I wanted to know, even if it was just a scenario played out in my mind, what happens if we turn things around? Except, it’s not preventative, not, quite, in time. More like, drastic, emergent action was taken to prevent humanity from tumbling into extinction. Stasis, you could stay. Then, we have the gall to continue to bring children into such a world.

Imagine a cookie that drops to the floor. Your favorite brand, just to help you visualize it. Maybe it gets kicked around a bit but never stomped on. It develops a thick coating of mold and dust so that it looks like a furry, gray hockey puck. You take notice one day, brush off as much of the detritus as you can, then place it before your child, pleased, at your accomplishment to provide for them. What would you expect their reaction to be? Don’t be surprised if that confectionary antiquity is not received like a gift from Santa on Christmas day.

As an aside, I like the title of this piece because it jives with my lived experience. It explains why, even though our parents warn us with wisdom derived from their own mistakes, children must make those same mistakes themselves.

This episode is called The Lessons Best Remembered Are Self-Taught.

Enjoy the podcast? Support it on Patreon. Patreon.com/howdoesthisend

Give direct feedback via Instagram. @hdte.mp3

CREDITS AND ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS

How Does This End? is a StumbleWell Production with original written works by Christopher Narvaez. This episode was recorded and edited by Christopher Narvaez with the final sound check by Hallease Narvaez. Our cover art for season 2 is designed by Edgar Lushaju, check out his work on Instagram @drawhapa. The music is from Epidemic Sound. Try it out for free on your next project: http://share.epidemicsound.com/s8W7c

This episode is a work of catharsis. An attempt to understand the loss of a family member who’d been with Hallease and me since we first married. The family member just so happened to be a dog, which many will say trivializes my grief. You may believe what you’d like, but the heart does not know the difference when something or someone leaves your life. It just feels the vacuum of love, and the pain flows just the same.

In September of 2021, amidst a global year of pain and uncertainty, our dog Dakota yielded to the ravages of time. She was an old, dazzling soul, and it was just her time.

She came down with vestibular disease, a benign name that distances the disturbing symptoms that dogs elicit. It’s an old dog’s disease and idiopathic, meaning the exact cause is not well understood. She cocked her head to her left side, her eyes darted back and forth in lateral drift, and she vomited viciously.

Meds alleviated symptoms somewhat, but she couldn’t stand on her own, and Hallease and I had to cart her to and from the apartment to void her bowels and bladder. She would only eat when hand-fed, and she soon stopped drinking. Eventually, she lost control of her bladder, and we acquiesced to the writing on the wall.

If you'd like to see some photos and videos of Dakota (because we have many) head over to @hdte.mp3 on Instagram. I'll post some there. 

I wrote about the experience, hoping it would start the healing. I give thanks that I could process the loss in such a way and create something that I feel is deeply beautiful and resonates with my understanding of the world.

I want nothing but love for each and every one of you. If you’ve known pain or loss since the start of the pandemic, know that you are not alone. Though I have serious reservations about the moral failings of humanity as a whole, our most outstanding achievement is the relationships that we form and maintain. Though loss and pain feel like they will pull you apart. When you are stretched that thin, the bonds, friendships, and love that connects you to other people will be visible. They will strain, but they will not yield.

This episode is called “Autumn Seeds Take Root in Winter.”

Enjoy the podcast? Support it on Patreon. Patreon.com/howdoesthisend

Give direct feedback via Instagram. @hdte.mp3

CREDITS AND ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS

How Does This End? is a StumbleWell Production with original written works by Christopher Narvaez. This episode was recorded and edited by Christopher Narvaez with the final soundcheck by Hallease Narvaez. Our cover art for season 2 is designed by Edgar Lushaju, check out his work on Instagram @drawhapa. The music is from Epidemic Sound. Try it out for free on your next project: http://share.epidemicsound.com/s8W7c

This episode is some old-school stuff. Middle school. 20-years ago type of stuff. The kinds of silly things that people used to go crazy over seem so innocuous and innocent now: trading cards. Beanie Babies. Dial-up internet.

But that’s when the story is based. We have to go further back for more context.

According to the Corpus Christi Caller Times, in November of 1975, in the small town of Robstown, TX, there were widespread reports of a winged menace. This was more than a peeved-off pigeon, though. As the locals told it, it lived in a forested grove on the west side of town, was between 2 and 6 feet tall, with a human face, and both human and animal feet. Two San Benito policemen reported seeing a bird with a 10-12 foot wingspan over a lagoon. It would only fly around, but the locals were unnerved, and justifiably so. It was theorized to be an escaped pet bird, a non-native Andean condor by the associate director of the Gladys Porter Zoo in Brownsville, TX, and a hoax.

A man purportedly came face-to-face with it. Alverico Guajardo of Brownsville heard a noise outside his trailer. He met with a 4-foot tall bird with a long beak and eyes as big as silver dollars, its face more like a bat than a bird. He told a reporter, “that animal is not from this world. I was scared.”

What it was feared to be is the subject of this story.

Three months later, a giant dummy was reported to the police, and a picture of it was circulated, effectively killing the rumor along with further reports and sightings.

A funny thing about the things we fear—when you speak of them in hushed voices at midnight, whether they’re real or not is irrelevant. What matters—is if it gets you.

This episode is called “Not Worth The Paper They’re Printed on.”

CONTINUED READING

‘Did La Lechuza Terrorize Robstown in 1975?’ Corpus Christi Caller: https://www.caller.com/story/news/special-reports/building-our-future/throwback/2020/10/21/corpus-christi-ghost-stories-did-la-lechuza-terrorize-robstown-1975/6005182002/

Enjoy the podcast? Support it on Patreon. Patreon.com/howdoesthisend

Give direct feedback via Instagram. @hdte.mp3

CREDITS AND ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS

How Does This End? is a StumbleWell Production with original written works by Christopher Narvaez. This episode was recorded and edited by Christopher Narvaez with the final soundcheck by Hallease Narvaez. Our cover art for season 2 is designed by Edgar Lushaju, check out his work on Instagram @drawhapa. The music is from Epidemic Sound. Try it out for free on your next project: http://share.epidemicsound.com/s8W7c