Desperado – Season 1, Episode 12: The Kyteler Temperature

Elio captured and the goddess removed from his body. Talia found and rescued, but now weak and fragile. And Shinji nowhere to be found…

You can find more information, including our full cast list and transcripts, at DesperadoRadio.com.

Credits:

Written and produced by Samy Souissi.

  • Elio – Samy Souissi
  • Shinji – Tibet Boyer
  • Talia – Tami Ige
  • Samar – Kawtar Morchadi
  • Asher – Patrick Hutchinson
  • Zylla – Caroline Mincks

Soundtrack:

  • Royalty Free Epic Middle Eastern War Music – Escape From Hell
  • Traditional Middle Eastern Royalty Free Oud Music – Oud Sphere
  • Royalty Free ambient music to meditate or Sleep – Aurora
  • Nick Froud – Breaking Sky

Transcript

Previously on Desperado…

After our unfortunate evening at the Belltower, Elio was captured by the S.C.U., and the goddess removed from his body. Talia was found in a hospital and rescued by Samar. And as for Shinji, he lost consciousness after being attacked by Asher. 

This… is Desperado…

SHINJI

I didn’t recognize where I was when I woke up. And I had no idea when I had fallen asleep. Even more confusing, why did I wake up ? It was the middle of the night, I was exhausted, and I had a weighted blanket on, why would I-?

ASHER

The fatigue will pass, give it a second.

SHINJI

Asher. I was still in his flat. In his bed, and… There was something- cold. A soothing balm on my ribs. Just now drying up.

ASHER

Is it still sore?

SHINJI

The events of earlier came back to me at once but… I didn’t move. It was umm… a strange distance to these memories. An apathy. It was so familiar… but I just couldn’t place that feeling.

Without a word, Asher put down a cup of tea on the bedside table next to me, then he sat on a chair he had brought from the living room. The dim lights did not do the bags under his eyes any favor. I frowned, wondering why I was not jumping out the window- why I wasn’t even considering it? And then it hit me:

“Are you doing this?”

ASHER

…Most people don’t notice.

SHINJI

It was akin to Marcus’ power. But… Colder. It was about dissociation rather than reassurance.

ASHER

…Wait, please. I just wanna talk.

SHINJI

…How long… how long did you make me sleep?

ASHER

Little over four hours.

SHINJI

(slightly shocked)

Four hours…

ASHER

Sorry about- The wind. Elements aren’t my strong suite. I’m better with people. Perception crafting, if you know the term.

SHINJI

I think you mean manipulation.

ASHER

Well… You make it sound bad.

SHINJI

…Am I a prisoner?

His face fell all of the sudden. And for the life of me I could not figure out what I had said that broke his composure. Without a word, he took out a folder paper from one of his pockets, and dropped it on the bed. 

“What is that?”

ASHER

Your application form. Alternative witchcraft. I filled out most of it, we just need your signature, date of birth and current address. There’s also an pysch test we have to go through but… then… you can go.

SHINJI

…Why are you doing this?

ASHER

I just thought you’d be safer here, rather than flying over London.

SHINJI

…I don’t understand you.

ASHER

You don’t have to. After a while in this job, you get to understand how much is lost in translation. How much could be fixed if we just took the time to sit down and… talk.

SHINJI

Even after someone threatened to kill you?

ASHER

You’d be surprised how often it happens…

SFX: phone ringing

SHINJI

Oh.

ASHER

It’s okay, go ahead.

SHINJI

It was one of the circus assistants. They got Marcus on the line and I reassured him I was alright. He asked me if I was safe and… I looked up at Asher again. Then I said yeah.

I added how I had thought it’d be better to not come back till later, which was… not a complete lie, and somewhat explained my radio silence. To my surprise, he approved. He said you had both been located, and that was it. No details. He then said it was probably safer for me to lay low until morning. And he just hung up. I put down my phone. Took a deep breathe, then I looked back at Asher, and said:

“Should we ummm… should we try that again?”

He gave me one of those, exhausted, meaningless smiles…the ones you answer everything with when you’ve done too many night shifts…. then he leaned in to shake my hand.

ASHER

Hi. I’m Asher.

SHINJI

Shinji.

ASHER

Oh.

SHINJI

Yeah.

ASHER

Nice to meet you, Shinji.

SHINJI

I then pointed at his own cup of tea, and asked: “Can I buy you that drink?”

ASHER

…I’d like that.

ELIO

The earliest thing I can remember was hours after what happened. 

They left me in the vault, naked with just a blanket over me. And a grey prison uniform thrown on top of it. No shoes. I could not move. I just needed to lay there for a minute. An hour maybe… just… forever. 

When I was fifteen, my first real girlfriend… broke my heart when she moved to [Guadalajara]. I didn’t smile for almost two weeks. Until one day when my mom slapped the back of my head and told me to get it together, basically. 

ELIO (CONT’D)

“¡Es una benedicion!” she said. And obviously, we got into a huge argument about that, but- yeah, I got over it, eventually. 

Then when I was nineteen, my abuela fell very sick. There was… nothing to do. Her light went quick, but her funerals were sweet. She led a good life, and we wanted to celebrate that. She was a tiny – very loud- tiny woman, so we always joked that you had to find her by ear if you were looking for her. 

After she passed, it was just a depressing… year… for everybody. She had always been a constant. The sun was still shining, doing the same thing it always does. And so did the grass, the wind, the seasons. So why couldn’t she? Why did she have to go?

Four years later… everything burned. I felt on my skin the heat of the stake they had built for my mother as it burned. I saw my father shot in front of me. (A long beat.)

And still…. Nothing compared to how I felt down in that vault. 

Catrina had been the only thing that kept me going. She had carved the love of my people on my skin. She had my father’s accent and my mother’s smile. 

And now they were all… 

I wasn’t wishing for death, I don’t think, but I was just waiting for it. Then it would just… stop. I was okay with that. At one point, the Vault opened again, and a Witch stepped in with my dinner in hands. In full gear, sword across the back and handgun on her waist. Like I could be a threat in my state, but… She put the tray next to me, then…

ZYLLA

How are you feeling?

ELIO

I didn’t reply, didn’t move at all. My mind was completely blank, so… that’s why even the most obvious clues did not register. How, for starters, unusually tall she was…

ZYLLA

…Pulse is stable. Breathing is… fine… Any pain?

ELIO

That joyful rhythm in her speech. Who did it remind me of? Who spoke like that?

ZYLLA

I’m sorry. I’m just gonna have to make sure. Does it hurt when I move your arm? No?… Okay… Here? No? Good. No wound, no scar… Very clean job. You got very lucky, Mr. Garcia.

ELIO

And finally, the thing that even in my state made me glance.

ZYLLA

I understand this can be a very traumatic experience, but believe me the worst is behind you.

ELIO

Her accent. Her fucking accent. Her FUCKING accent. HER-

ZYLLA

My name is Zylla, and I’m here to guide you through this new beginning.

ELIO

I still couldn’t MOVE! And she must have seen the look on my face because she put a hand on my shoulder and said:

ZYLLA

It’s okay. With you, I don’t have to hide. You’ve wandered far, little one, but the Lord is patient. Repent. Leave this burden in His light.

ELIO

And in that Vault, alone and hidden from the rest of the world- from the entire S.C.U corps she had spent years burying herself into… The High-Inquisitor Zylla revealed her halo.

ZYLLA

Pledge your faith, and find peace.

ELIO

How many of them? How many? If someone had managed to infiltrate the heart of the S.C.U., how many of them were out there? How long until the Old Man ruled another continent.

SAMAR (V.O.)

(a faint whisper in the air)

Elio?

ELIO

Had – Had I just heard that right?… I could feel her presence – almost all around me, like standing in her shadow or sensing her breathing on my skin… What was happening?

ZYLLA

Believe…

SAMAR

(Interrupting)

Oh! Excuse me?

ELIO

Zylla jumped on her feet, like that (clicks fingers). And Samar was… Here. Just standing right there! A backpack in one hand and… what looked like a biking helmet in the other. But the door behind was still closed- She had just appeared.

SAMAR

…I was just looking for the bathroom?

SFX: Gunshot

(laughing) Alright. Sorry. Okay.

ELIO

Zylla just… shot… And it went right through Samar, leaving a trail of smoke as they hit the metal door behind her.

SAMAR

(laughing)

Okay… okay…

ZYLLA

What…are you?

SAMAR

No, no. no. No. We don’t have to do that. I’m just here for him.

ZYLLA

(smiling)

Come then.

SFX: metal slides as sword is drawn slowly

SAMAR

To you the honor.

SFX: Another sword is drawn quickly, followed by the clash of metal as they duel

ELIO

The rest is a fucking blur. Zylla dashed forward and when her sword hit the ground, the entire cell felt it. And Samar did what she always did. Knees bent, she slipped under Zylla’s sword, found herself behind the Inquisitor, then stood up with a little twirl.

That’s it. Her two sabers simply followed, and it was over. 

SFX: Slash, slash!

The first slashed Zylla’s left calve.

The Inquisitor was brought down to one knee halfway through a volte- face; and the edge of her sword tapped against the ground… 

SFX: Steel hits floor

…Halting her movement. Samar didn’t even adjust her position. Zylla’s throat offered itself to her right on time for the second blade. 

ELIO (CONT’D)

A thin red line marked the ground, as Samar put away her blades.

SAMAR

Strong…

ELIO

She said, already walking toward me like nothing happened. Like this was a done deal. Like… saw it, hated it, killed it. Moving on. Zylla brought a trembling hand to her wound, choking in her own blood. She stumbled forward…

SFX: deep, ragged breathing

SFX: sword whoosh

Panic jolted my body awake.

But I barely managed to lift my arm from the ground, trying to warn Samar, but… 

But… I saw her realize a second too late. And Zylla’s sword sliced her in half. 

I haven’t slept… properly, in… a while. Sometimes it’s the fires and sometimes it’s the Vault. In that split second, before I realized Zylla had cut right through nothing. Haze. No blood, no bones. Samar’s body…evaporated… 

To reform right behind me, gritting her teeth.

And although her body seemed unharmed, the stiffness in her legs betrayed pain.

ZYLLA

Quick.

ELIO

Zylla rolled her shoulders and wiped the blood off her throat. The wound was gone, with no scar left. Straight away she rushed again. I slowly managed to drag myself in a corner, as Samar dodged the… fucking monstrous blade.

SFX: steel against steel as the battle continues, Indian music plays in the background

It didn’t matter how many time she struck Zylla, or where she did, the wounds would close back almost immediately, drawing next to no blood. And the Inquisitor knew how to fight with her gift. Even when Samar plunged her blade into the Inquisitor’s torso, it failed to slow her down. Samar barely dodged. She reappeared right in front of me, down on one knee, heaving…

Battling to break out from the mist- her body still translucent, it was struggling to anchor itself. A few steps away, the inquisitor cracked a smile, then opened a small pouch from her belt. She poured its content on her blade, and the smell of gasoline spread in the air.

Seriously, she could have been giggling as she presented us with a sample of her favorite book…

ZYLLA

And as they sin more and more, they will be like the morning mist. Like the early dew that vanishes. Like chaff, blown from a threshing floor.

ELIO

Zylla scraped the ground…

SFX: metal against concrete

…igniting a flurry of sparks that turned into tongues of fire, engulfing her blade.

ZYLLA

For the Lord is a consuming fire.

ELIO

Despite literally being against the wall, I still tried to crawl back. Even Samar froze… but not for the same reason.

SAMAR

…What are you doing?

ELIO

She said it as if this was the dumbest fucking thing she had ever witnessed. And I think it was, because then Samar got up, and despite clearly being in no state to fight anymore, she still had that look of absolute outrage on her face.

Zylla didn’t seem to question that reaction. Instead, she… Well. She tried to take one step forward. And immediately got hit by something.

Samar started that throw holding nothing but air, yet I saw, for a brief moment, locks of mist around her fingers… And at the last second, Basim dropped a bottle in her hand.

SFX: glass shatters, followed by a whoosh of flames

The gasoline scent… goddess, the smell. As fire devoured Zylla entirely… And from outside the vault, nobody heard her scream. The Inquisitor fell to the ground, as Samar cursed her burning body:

SAMAR

Fire? FIRE? Are we in the 12th fucking century? Who the fuck did you think I was?

ELIO

She turned to me, and said:

SAMAR

Is it not a thing here? Or in the Americas? Did your parents never told you don’t play with fire??? It’s the one fucking thing you can’t control- who does that?

ELIO

Goddess I had never wanted to embrace someone so strongly in my life- but I barely managed to lean forward- incapable to utter a single word still. And… to my surprise, she did not make any effort to help me. She didn’t even seem to realize the state I was in. She just walked away, and said:

SAMAR

Savages… fucking savages everywhere. I’m SO tired of this country.

ELIO

She went to recover the helmet and backpack, then dropped them down at my feet.

SAMAR

Come on, put that on before someone comes looking for her.

ELIO

She laid out a warlock uniform on the ground, then… then just stared at me, waiting. And I was just like “what the fuck do you expect me to- my… my body is… that’s all I can do is just shake on the floor. In pain. That… that’s it. What do you want me to-?”

SAMAR

You have to.

ELIO

…Samar…

SAMAR

I can’t carry you. Get up.

ELIO

(breathing raggedly)

…Please…

SAMAR

No. That’s how the world is now, Elio. You’ve got no God, no kin, no one. Either you fight for yourself, or you die. Get up.

ELIO

Yep. Those faces… you two. Yeah. She said that. But I wouldn’t… I wouldn’t fault her for it. That’s… how she grew up.

TALIA

And what did you do?

ELIO

Whatever I could…

I leaned forward, fell face to the ground- then tried to push myself up. It wasn’t… I’m not sure painful is right. My mind and my body were adjusting to this new balance, to this lack of guidance and the exhaustion was tearing through my muscles. I was sweating and shivering and crying… the whole fucking shebang and she still refused to help. After an eternity I finally got to one knee, looked up at her and I just said:

Fuck you.

She had come all the way here, just to watch me suffer? Wasting our time while we were surrounded by enemies and she was ready to leave me to die rather than lend me a hand?! Hadn’t I done enough? What else did I need to prove to be worth saving? You know what she replied?

SAMAR

Get up, Elio.

ELIO

Yeah like that was fucking easy. BUT I did. I got up and looked down at her, but she didn’t care for my contempt. She passed me the jacket. I tried to take a step forward, but my legs gave up, and… She caught me.

SAMAR

Come on, almost there.

ELIO

She helped me put everything on, kept me from falling when I tried to slip into the trousers- then passed me the helmet.

SAMAR

That should do. Wish me luck.

ELIO

I frowned, as she went toward the door, took a deep breath… and unraveled herself again, fading in the mist. I was left alone for a few seconds. Then a few more. A minute maybe. Nothing. And then a noise, behind me.

SFX: wet, somewhat muddled noise as flesh comes together

A cold wave went through my veins, as I looked back at Zylla’s body.

SFX: flesh continues to repair, labored breathing

Her arm had moved. Her- Her… I wasn’t imagining it. She was… breathing- She was healing back!

“Samar… SAMAR!”

SFX: clang of heavy door

SAMAR

Scream louder?

ELIO

She’s still alive!

SAMAR

No she’s not.

SFX: heavy breathing

No… She can’t do that.

ELIO

And it’s the first time I ever saw Samar truly… truly rattled.

SAMAR

Get out. Get out, now!

ELIO

She rushed me out the door, didn’t even close the vault, just shoved me inside the elevator. I could feel her thoughts going a hundred miles an hour but she didn’t say anything till we reached the ground floor. She put on a poker face as the door opened- Then corridors, exit and freedom. Just two agents finishing their shifts after a particularly rough day. Samar even gave the reception a nod on her way out. 

We walked around the corner and got into the backseat of a car, and the driver started before Samar had even closed the door. I collapsed as soon as I sat down, fully expecting to pass out. But… something kept me awake. My mind still somwhere else. Samar slipped a hand under mind, then looked at me. 

SAMAR

You okay?

ELIO

With the little strength I had left, I squeezed her hand. 

When Zylla finally emerged from the vault, we were long gone. She alerted the entire city. Demanded CCTV footage and the names of everyone that had entered and left the building. But unfortunately for her, she had gotten in her own way. The Old Man is a twisted god, who’s power ignited through cinema and mass media. Manipulating images is one of the most common gifts amongst his followers, and… no doubt this is why Zylla had been so comfortable revealing herself. Before going down the vault she had looped the footage of the camera inside my cell, and when her agents went to check the live feed, the loop was still going. They saw me still unconscious in a vault and deduced someone must have hacked their system and she… certainly wasn’t going to contradict them. Because it was that or blow up her cover. So all she could do was give our descriptions and put us on the most wanted list, which is still a fucking pain, but manageable. 

En route to the hideout, we changed cars, after about fifteen minutes, then drove almost an hour to the outskirts of London.

By the time we arrived the sun had started rising, and Marcus’ assistant dropped us by… what looked like an abandoned house, really. I don’t remember much to be honest, just that Samar unlocked the door, then laid me down on a bare mattress, in a room that just… smelled small. I drifted in and out of consciousness for what felt like a few hours… but turned out to be three days.

She never left my side during that time. Not once. 

ELIO (CONT’D)

SFX: soft rain falls outside 

I think I was delirious during most of it. I remember just bits and pieces of conversations, there, and there. On what must have been the 2nd night, I remember seeing her reading a book at the light of a candle, amber shining on her dark hair. I didn’t make a noise, just glanced to the side, but she immediately looked back at me. I had never seen her so tired.

When was the last time she had slept? Funnily enough, the first thing she said to me was:

SAMAR

You look terrible.

ELIO

(weakly)

I got thrown in jail. What’s your excuse?

SAMAR

I got cut in half.

ELIO

Fair. What are you reading?

SAMAR

I asked Marcus to send me what he has on American history.

ELIO

Depressing, isn’t it?

SAMAR

Mhm… Do you know what the Kyteler Temperature is?

ELIO

SAMAR

Alice Kyteler was one of the first recorded person to be condemned for witchcraft. You’d think she was burned at the stake and that’s why they named a temperature after her, but no. She was rich, so she fled the country, and it’s her servant who got it.

ELIO

Sounds like America alright.

SAMAR

No, that was Ireland.

ELIO

Not a really good book then, is it?

SAMAR

Anyway, the Kyteler temperature is the point at which magic fails.

ELIO

…Why?

SAMAR

Particles. In essence, that’s what magic is, the control and re-ordering of particles – and – You know what Heat is, right?

ELIO

I mean… yeah, I heard of it.

SAMAR

Atoms in motion. That’s it. And past a certain point, they become too agitated to control.

Now I’ve known that since I was a kid – And- Have you heard of the Salem witch trials?

ELIO

Wait.. have you… Have you not?

SAMAR

No, I had… stuff going on, growing up. But that means they know about fire too, so why would she put herself at risk like that?

ELIO

I think you’re taking genies for granted.

SAMAR

I don’t need Basim to make a Molotov.

ELIO

Mhm… well, I guess we lost some knowledge in the past few… genocides. So, they took advantage of it. (A beat.) Am I going to die?

SAMAR

No.

ELIO

I can’t move.

SAMAR

It’ll come back.

ELIO

You… don’t know.

SAMAR

Uhh… no, no. I do. Believe it or not we go through Detachment voluntarily at home. Around 16-18, you’re expected to live on your own for a few years. We call it growing up.

ELIO

Someone did this to you…?

SAMAR

The ancestors left me on their own, when I was of age. And then you have to prove worthy of their return. Takes a few years for most people… decades for others.

ELIO

How do you do it?

SAMAR

Depends on the family. Some want you to be strong, kind, or clever- It doesn’t even have to be noble. The Belkacem for example just want to see how stubborn you can be.

ELIO

(scoffs)

Really?

SAMAR

Yeah they never let things go. It’s exhausting, but they make good fighters.

ELIO

What did you have to do?

SAMAR

Hunt. It’s in our blood.

ELIO

How long did it take?

SAMAR

Ten months.

ELIO

I thought you said-

SAMAR

Yeah, but, I learned a very difficult trick during that time and they really wanted it in the spiritual line so… They took me back quick.

ELIO

Is it… what I saw?

SAMAR

Yeah.

ELIO

…Are you okay?

SAMAR

It’s, erm… dangerous, yeah. Peaceful. No pain, no tether… It’s… freedom. Atoms to Atoms. 

SAMAR (CONT’D)

And it would be so easy to leave everything behind and return to the Quiet. So you’d have to be pretty stupid to do it 4 times in a row.

ELIO

…I’m sorry.

SAMAR

It’s not your fault.

ELIO

No it really is, I-

SAMAR

What I do for you, is up to me. And it’s not that bad. If you survive the first try, it gets a lot easier.

ELIO

If?!

SAMAR

Yeah, the first attempt is the real bitch – the first ever, I mean- but in my case it was pretty safe. You need a good anchor to bring yourself back, someone to return to, and not a lot of people have that. Not really. So the mortality rate is pretty high for first timers. I think the statistics used to be… 73% for men, 70 for women, but-

ELIO

3? You call a 3 percent difference pretty safe?

SAMAR

But… After digging into public records, researchers noticed that, historically, the vast majority of survivors were transgender. The real determining factor is whether or not you experience gender dysphoria. If you don’t, the mortality rate goes up to 95%. If you do, it’s down to 0 point something so… Pretty safe.

ELIO

… How come?

SAMAR

Because you get the chance to come back as who you know you are. It’s a good anchor.

ELIO

That must be quite a day.

SAMAR

Very emotional, yeah. You’re not sure if you should dress for a party or a funeral.

ELIO

(painful laugh, slight cough, followed by a silence)

… What am I gonna do?

SAMAR

You’re gonna rest. Then you’ll get up.

ELIO

…Why? To keep hiding, and losing? I- I’m tired Samar. The only people I want to talk to are gone. They burned down my home and sent me to this… cold fucking place– Why would I get up?

SAMAR

I think my family would like you.

ELIO

What are you talking about?

SAMAR

I’m saying it because you’re calm, and patient, because I’ve thrown you to the ground more times than I can count and you laugh instead of getting angry. Because you hold your weapons carefully and you hesitate every time you say goodbye. 

And because- I mean, look at those biceps, come on.

ELIO

(laughing, if a bit painfully)

Don’t make me laugh.

SAMAR

And… because I love you. And it’s not a demand, or a contract, really it doesn’t concern you at all. It’s just a fact that there is someone out there who loves you… and I can’t just sit there and let you drift away. Let me be your anchor. Okay?

ELIO

Okay.

SAMAR

Then rest. And when you’re ready, we’ll get your goddess back.

SFX: car drives along gravel

TALIA

We changed cars once as well, halfway through my drive back from the Hospital. I never made it back to Nova either. Different hideout but same story. The place was better furnished though, with a proper bedroom, a TV and a stocked kitchen.

ELIO

Okay… Was it a safe house or did y’all just book a hotel room?

TALIA

I mean, the continental breakfast was alright.

ELIO

Oh, ew… Were the toasts a bit burnt?

TALIA

I wouldn’t know, they only had croissants.

ELIO

Don’t even- Did y’all get that all inclusive running-from-the-law package? Is that right?

TALIA

Could you imagine?… But yeah you and Samar definitely got the backup place. An agent of the Path was waiting for me and went to replace the out of date groceries. He barely spoke a couple words, then patrolled around the building that whole night. I watched him from the 2nd floor window as he went to chat with the clerk from the corner store, asked for cigarettes from anyone that stumbled into our street.

He was both building himself an alibi and gathering as much intel as he could on how the city felt.

Did the party goers have a good time? Had they simply had enough of the clubs or were venues getting shut down? What about the tube? He had a grating South-London accent that made locals relax and foreigners slightly anxious. He was broad and tall, salt and pepper hair… he probably had a family he wanted to return to… a partner and children who either worried for him or didn’t know about any of this. He was what Marcus calls a Koi. Like the fish.

Kois were survivors who had escaped the fires, survived the road, and somehow found a home. Kois were quiet, with a kind heart and a strange sense of humor but… a little erased. Always wary of saying too much. And what’s another word for shy?

ELIO

Coy.

TALIA

Yeah. And like the fish, survivors will gorge whatever food someone puts in front of them. Because even after decades, you never really know when your next meal will be. And that’s exactly what he was risking for me. His comfort, stability… and his next meal. He was yet another stranger, made to dance on the edge of a precipice… for me.

I couldn’t stand it. This weakness, this… dependency on others… And the numbing henna on my skin. Like some fucking, spiritual childproofing. I could almost sense my grandmother’s disappointment from across the ocean. Was that really the child she had raised?

Daughter of the bloodiest swordsman on the island? Granddaughter of the last free woman in Haiti?…

I would have given anything to speak to her. Even though I knew exactly what she would say… (Chuckle)

…I remember I complained to her one day about feeling restless. I had been sitting for too long, powering through some history books she wanted me to read- and I said 

TALIA (CONT’D)

“Do you ever get that weird…frustration, in your muscles? Like you want to walk, and do something but you’re… stiff and tired, so you’re just… Stuck?” 

She looked at me straight in the eye and said “No. When I want to walk, I walk.”

ELIO

(snort)

Okay. Damn, Grandma.

TALIA

Yeah! That’s pretty much how she led her life. Never doubted, never complained. And I could never compare. Because I was just a kid, and kids complain. They get – tired, scared… They’re weak. If I couldn’t be like her, maybe I was just… weak.

ELIO

Or maybe you were just a kid.

TALIA

Yeah, but you don’t have that perspective growing up so… You bury that shit down and you carry on. That’s the goal, that’s what being strong looks like. Until something happens and you realize how terrified you are. All the time. It’s why you’re surprised at how hard you’re crying sometimes… and why you get angry afterward.

Because Grandmother wouldn’t cry, you stupid girl. 

And that’s why I couldn’t stay put that night, in the safe house. No. I had asked the Koi to bring back some smokes along with the groceries. After he left, I pushed all the furniture against the walls and lit one of the cigarettes. 

SFX: lighter flicks, cigarette begins to burn

I closed my eyes in the dark, and stomped the ground. For the first time since I left the island.

I flicked the cigarette to the ground. And as soon as it hit the floor you’d have thought a smoke bomb went off in the apartment…

SFX: a burst of smoke drifts up into the air

The world turned grey, drowned by the smog. And in the air I could smell the sweet scent of celebration.

Sugar… sweat… and alcohol. If he was strong enough to possess me, he’ll be strong enough to talk. The henna sent a heatwave through my body, and the smoke recoiled from me-

SFX: smoke curls out from around Talia

He would be just strong enough to talk.

SFX: clanging, eerie music as if a spirit has entered the room

SFX: fast paced music, heavy drum beats… it’s tribal… primal…

TALIA

“It ain’t much, oh mighty Samedi, I know – but your… daughter thought of you. And on this wicked earth, she calls you. I said… answer me, Samedi.” 

SFX: noir style saxophone music enters, as a deep chuckle emanates from the ether

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