In today’s episode we continue our adventure with Chapter 24 – Everything Finds its Way in Time - where Magpie and Lucas learn about the curious connection between Farfalla and Lucas’ Grandmother, Mrs. Starling.

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

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TRANSCRIPT:

Things with Wings Productions, with the support of Whimsical Productions and Collected Sounds presents: Episode 24 of The Skylark Bell.  I am your host Melissa Oliveri.  

In our last episode, Magpie successfully found the Skylark Bell, bringing sound and life back to Meadow Lane.

In today’s episode we continue our adventure with Chapter 24 – Everything Finds its Way in Time - where Magpie and Lucas learn about the curious connection between Farfalla and Lucas’ Grandmother, Mrs. Starling.

So get comfortable… grab a blanket, and a warm drink… and let’s get started.

Magpie bursts through the front door of her house, **DOOR OPENING** races to the sunroom and grabs her surprised mother by the arm.  Mrs. Phaeton, standing at her easel and working on a brightly coloured landscape, drops her paintbrush on the floor, spattering paint in a long, red streak.  “What on earth…?!  Magpie, what is this about?!” she asks.

“There’s no time to explain right now, we need to get to Lucas’ house, come on!” shouts Magpie, pulling her bewildered mother out of the old farmhouse.  They race up the driveway to Lucas’ house **GRAVEL RUNNING** and Magpie starts feverishly knocking on the door. **KNOCKING** She hears rapid footsteps approaching from the other side **FOOTSTEPS** and stares at Lucas’ exhausted, confused face as he swings the door open. **DOOR OPEN**

She doesn’t give him a moment to breathe before launching into a jumble of information.  “Lucas!  I found your grandmother!  Then I ran into Farfalla, and she’s my great-great-grandmother, and she was in love with Marius but ended up marrying James Carnifex!  She told me the silence was spreading to the whole town so I went to Meadow Lane and found the Skylark Bell and…”  

“Whoa, whoa, Magpie, slow down!” he says, gesturing for her to come in.

The living room is lit with candles, and in their glow she can see Lucas’ grandmother sitting on the couch.

“Grandma,” he says calmly, “this is my friend, Magpie, and her mom, Mrs. Phaeton.”

The old woman smiles at them, then focuses on Magpie and pats the empty space next to her on the couch.

Lucas leans over to whisper in Magpie’s ear, “It’s the strangest thing, about an hour ago everything changed, it’s like a fog lifted completely from her mind and she’s back to her old self again!”

Magpie walks over and settles into the couch next to Lucas’ grandmother.

“It’s lovely to meet you,” she says sweetly, something flickers in her eyes as they rest on Magpie for a moment.  She slowly lifts her arms and cups Magpie’s face in her hands, studying it, before softly adding, “time does have a way of repeating itself.” 

“What do you mean?” asks Magpie, confused, and more than a little concerned that Lucas’ grandmother isn’t quite back to her old self like Lucas thinks she is.

“You look a lot like Farfalla did, many years ago” Lucas’ grandmother says, smiling fondly at the memory. ““I still remember the day she came back to town...” she adds, reminiscing. “When Farfalla first returned, she had been gone so long it was like she didn’t remember anyone. She seemed completely lost, but somehow, she connected with me, and we forged a kind of kinship. I did all the talking, of course, but she was always happy to hear my stories.”

Magpie is staring at the floor, her brow furrowed.  “You said when Farfalla returned to town – How long had she been gone? And where had she been all that time?”

“Oh, she had been gone for nearly 30 years if my memory serves me right. She was very secretive when she came back. I’d heard the rumours that she had died at sea, and I tried to get her to tell me where she’d been, but she kept her past under lock and key. For years we would meet once a month or so, and in all that time I never really learned anything about her” Mrs Starling takes a wistful breath filled with quiet regret.

“If she never spoke, what did the two of you do when you got together?” asks Lucas, a little perplexed. 

Mrs. Starling smiles “I taught her how to knit, and shared my mother’s recipes with her, that’s how she got so good at making blackberry jam! We mostly would just enjoy each other’s company, and I learned to just leave it at that.  She only ever told me one thing, almost 10 years after her return…” says Mrs. Starling with an air of mystery.

Magpie, Lucas, and Mrs. Phaeton lean in a little more closely as Mrs. Starling takes a pause, lost in a moment that happened long ago. 

“What was it?!” asks Lucas, unable to contain his curiousity any longer

“It was the year my son, your father, was born, ” she says, looking up at Lucas with a warm smile, “My life got busy, and I hadn’t seen Farfalla for several months.  One day I ran into her on my way to the general store.  She looked very upset, and when I asked her what was wrong, she whipped out a small notebook and quickly scrawled some words that I will never forget.”

Mrs Starling’s captive audience leans in, waiting on the edge of their seats to hear what she will say next. Finally, to everyone’s relief, Mrs Phaeton breaks the silence “What did she write?!” she asks, unable to contain herself any longer. 

“She simply wrote ‘Marius is gone, my heart is broken’. I had heard about the love story between her and Marius, and about him disappearing in a snowstorm, but to my knowledge he had never been found, so it was strange that she would be so upset by it nearly half a century later...” Mrs. Starling heaves a long sigh. “She walked away silently after that, and after that day we never really connected again.” She adds, wistfully.

Silence echoes in the small living room as Magpie, Lucas and Mrs. Phaeton absorb the story.

Mrs. Starling takes a breath and resumes, “A few years later, I lost my husband, and eventually my son and his wife in that car accident…” she glances at Lucas who looks down at the floor. “I thought of Farfalla often in those times, all the pain and loss she had suffered. I took in Lucas, and he brought joy and light back into my life.” This time Lucas looks back up at his grandmother and winks at her. “I just wish there was something that could bring joy and light back into hers…” she says, her voice full of regret.

Suddenly, Magpie remembers the photo in her jacket.  “I found this on the mantle at Meadow Lane,” she says, carefully pulling it out of her pocket, “it was too dark for me to see, but I felt an urge to take it with me.”  She gingerly holds up the photograph, it is clearly visible now.  A handsome young man with dark wavy hair stands next to a girl with long curls down to the middle of her back.  They are looking at one another, smiling, love emanating from their eyes.  

“Look, there’s an inscription on the back!” says Lucas, grabbing the photo out of Magpie’s hand “it says: My heart is yours, and yours is mine. All will find their way in time.”

“That’s what Farfalla said to me at the diner.  She told me to find the Skylark Bell and that everything would find its way in time,” says Magpie in amazement.  

“There’s something else, too” adds Lucas “in a different language, I’m not sure what it means.” He shows Magpie, whose eyes widen immediately.

“Those are the words that were carved into the Skylark Bell!” she exclaims! 

“It looks like Gaelic, but I don’t know enough to translate.” Says Mrs. Phaeton, peeking over Lucas’ shoulder.

Lucas flips the photograph over in his hand, and immediately freezes in shock. “It… they… that photo, Marius and Farfalla… Magpie, they look just like you and me!” he stutters, turning to look at her, “How is that possible?!” He asks, his eyes wide.

“That, my darlings, is a question for another time,” says Mrs. Phaeton.  “It’s already sunrise!” Through the window, the first splash of colour hits the sky.  “Let’s get some rest, it’s been a long night.”

“Tomorrow we can visit Farfalla and bring her this photograph,” says Magpie, “I bet she’ll have some answers.”

Everyone nods in agreement.

Thank you so much for listening.  Join me next week for the 7th installment of Fantome Friday where we will hear the story of The Bridge – in which a premonition foretells a major tragic event, that potentially saved our lives. Then, the following week, we pursue our adventure and read Chapter 25 of Meadow Lane and the Skylark Bell – My Dearest Magpie – where Magpie and Lucas get some shocking news about Farfalla.

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. If you are enjoying this story, please consider leaving a rating or a review, they’re both greatly appreciated.

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