Day 3 of recording. Two years ago, as a storm raged on Haïti, a young woman opened her eyes in her hospital bed. Next to her was the spirit that saved her life, and with him a choice to make. A deal to seal.
How much can you bargain for when you already have a foot on the other side?
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
- Baron Samedi – AJ Bediako
Soundtrack:
- Music Upbeat Jazz Music – Ross Bugden : https://youtu.be/wnPLbKmYCKQ
Transcript
Please be advised the content of this podcast contains violence, murder, blood, smoking, alcohol, mentions of suicide and driving sound effects. Please avoid listening to this in a car. We also swear… a whole lot. So… there’s that.
ELIO
(sips drink)
Heeey! How are you doing? Good? Good. Do you want a drink?- Okay cool. Oh! Shinji said he
wouldn’t be there today, because he’s saying goodbye to Asher, but I figured we could still get your introduction done and… Oh turn your mic on though, yep!
And feel free to take it from here really. I’ll shut up, and you can start from whenever you want. How did you feel, what was the weather like, I don’t know…
TALIA
It was raining…
SFX: distant sounds of heavy winds, rain, and thunder
A storm was raging at 3am back home in Haïti. And I know because my grandmother told me.
Her name is Laurette and even then, her windows were alight. But not a single lamp shone inside. Only the flames of her candles as the storm made trees and waves dance to its tempo.
She was kneeled in a corner of her living room, praying to an altar. Praying to a picture of me. Home was nice. The tapestries, olls and weird mixtures in the jars used to freak me out when I was a child, but they soon became my own toys.
Grandma’s eyes were heavy from sleepless nights, reddened by dried tears. Her knees were grazed and her voice down to painful whispers…
She had been doing this for days.
But even as thunder shook the foundations of her house, she kept on praying.
Until finally…
Something answered.
The candles were whooshed away at once and she looked up, shaking. She heard footsteps and turned around, fear and hope storming in her eyes.
SFX: steady footsteps
LAURETTE
Who… Who’s there?
VOICE
You tell me, child…
TALIA
A hand hovered above the wick of a candle, and a purple flame repelled the darkness. The other wicks quickly followed, revealing…
A tall black man in an impeccable suit and top hat; an ebony cane in one hand and a cigar in the other. He moved and swayed like under a spotlight. Like the earth was his stage and his life a performance.
And once… he was a god.
MAN
…Who did you call?
LAURETTE
Baron Samedi…
MAN/BARON SAMEDI
Very few still whisper my name.
TALIA
My grandmother kneeled back down, face to the floor.
LAURETTE
Thank you, Baron, thank you…
BARON
Oh, don’t thank me yet.
TALIA
Grandmother closed her eyes, a prayer for mercy in her mind, until she realized how futile it
was. The Baron smiled, and she’s pretty sure he heard. He walked to the altar and picked up my picture.
BARON
What do you want ?
LAURETTE
My granddaughter, Baron. She’s very sick. And she’s all I have left…
TALIA
She bowed down again.
LAURETTE
I beg you, Baron. I beg you to save her. She’s a good child, she’s honored your name every day, just like I did. Please, Baron.
BARON
Stand up, child.
TALIA
And she did.
BARON
I am no god and no lord. I’m a friend. And I haven’t walked this earth in a very long time… A lot has changed since the Old Man in the Sky was born.
LAURETTE
He’s a jealous god.
BARON
Or so I’ve heard. Most of us are gone. Some to never return. But here I stand… thanks to you.
TALIA
He lifted my granddmother’s chin.
BARON
…Your child will live.
TALIA
And then he let go, dropping my picture to the side.
BARON
But I ask one thing in return.
LAURETTE
Anything, Baron.
BARON
Not from you. Your child will live but her life will be mine. And when the time comes, she will kill the priests and burn their churches. She will avenge our people or die trying.
TALIA
To that my grandmother smiled.
LAURETTE
We’ve always been fighters, Baron. She will be no exception.
BARON
Excellent.
TALIA
And the deal was made.
The Baron’s laugh shattered the silence.
SFX: Whirling gusts of wind.
A purple glow lit up his eyes, and in a gust of wind his body became ash, fading away.
And in a hospital not too far away, I jerked in my sleep. Above me, the neons on the
ceiling flickered for an instant. From white they turned purple, and from purple they
went dark.
When they came back the Baron was sitting by my side, cigar between his lips. He walked to the other side of the bed and casually smashed the smoke detector with his cane, then took a deep drag of his cigar.
And in my induced coma I took a deep breath. He exhaled and so did I. My monitors started to shut down one by one, as my breathing followed his and the room grew quiet.
BARON
Welcome back.
TALIA
I sat up, dizzy but awake. Last thing I could remember was lunch with grandmother on the garden table. Days ago, as it turned out. I stared at him for a little too long, not convinced I was awake yet. I said:
Baron? Where am I?
BARON
In hospital.
TALIA
Hospital?
BARON
A couple more days and we would have met on the other side.
TALIA
What happened?
BARON
Your grandmother has many enemies. Some with friends like me.
TALIA
But I’m alive?
He smiled and there was something so insufferable about his know-it-all, all-mighty grin…
I could have punched him.
BARON
I am but a shadow of who I used to be. But I wouldn’t be myself at all if I couldn’t save a single child.
TALIA
… What did she offer you?
BARON
Your service. Which is more than fair if you ask me.
TALIA
I’m not ready, Baron. I… I can’t be one of your pawns.
BARON
I’ll be the judge of that.
TALIA
Look at me! I’m weak, nauseous, I- I haven’t walked in months! I’m not ready!
Samedi threw away his cigar and it disappeared into dust before hitting the ground.
BARON
I like your fire. But I did not expect your anger.
TALIA
I know what your presence means, Baron. You should be dead, and if you’re not then the priests will soon hunt you down. And hunt me down.
BARON
No deal is made yet, child. I could still leave you to die.
TALIA
And where would you go? Who in this world still has faith in your name?
BARON
A few.
TALIA
But none like me.
BARON
Do you wish to die?
TALIA
No. But I’ve heard of other messiahs, Baron. Others, whose beliefs were so strong they resurrected an old spirit like you. All of them gave their body and soul for their masters’ vengeance. And all of them died. You all think you can lead your own crusade against the Old Man in the Sky, but you don’t know how men fight anymore.
BARON
And you do?
TALIA
I’ve spent my whole life waiting for this moment, Baron. For a chance to avenge my people. I won’t let you squander it.
He leaned in and I could tell I had gotten his attention.
BARON
What are your terms, child?
TALIA
You can not possess me. Not now, not ever. But if you give me your powers, I will get our revenge.
BARON
(chuckles)
I will give you a year.
TALIA
A year? – A year for what?
BARON
A year to kill the Old Man in the Sky.
TALIA
… but-
BARON
Bu-but-but? How? He’s a god? He has an army? I’m alone! We know child. If you want to succeed, you’ll have do what witches do. Find others, and plot in the dark.
TALIA
Before I could try to bargain or argue he snapped a finger, and in a blink the room changed.
Heavy curtains suddenly covered the windows and a crystal chandelier was dangling from the ceiling, almost touching the ground. And the baron was sat on a velvet sofa instead of a rusty hospital chair.
There were candles and jazz, faint voices and far away laughter. It was the beginning of a ball. I looked around the room, at loss for words while the Baron got up and took my hand.
He tried to force me up. I tried to say “No – I- I can’t.”
Yet I stood. For the first time in weeks.
BARON
Let’s do it like the old tales!
TALIA
The baron spun and walked backward toward the corridor. The music outside got louder. Ballroom jazz, rising.
I followed him out and as soon as I stepped out of the room I felt my gown weigh heavier on my shoulders. It tightened at my waist and deployed around my legs into a regal ball dress, colour like red wine. It was the most beautiful thing I’ve ever worn. The fabric felt like a breeze between my fingers. Its gold laces softly gleaming under candlelights.
I was no longer in hospital, the entire corridor was dressed in Colonial 19th century fashion. The ground was marble and the curtains velvet, it was all *disgustingly* expensive, and a crowd was gathered against the walls, forming a runway for the Baron and I to walk. They exploded in cheers as he appeared…
SFX: thunderous applause
…their hands hidden by gloves and their faces by fans or hats. They were all so extravagant but also… incredibly frail… Their skin unnaturally white…
And I noticed a glimpse of a face behind one of the fans. It wasn’t a face, at all. They were all skeletons. But the Baron didn’t care, he strolled down the runway, dragging a terrified me behind
him, and he boasted:
BARON
Three gifts for my chosen one.
TALIA
He lifted up two skeletal-women from the crowd and dropped them down to the opposite side.
BARON
You will have my strength.
TALIA
He spun and dipped, hitting every beat of an insane tempo.
BARON
You will have my flair!
TALIA
And then he turned back to me, down on one knee to grab my hand and said:
BARON
And you will have my people. The dead are at your service, lady Talia.
TALIA
The entire court bowed to his words… right before he got up and sent me down the runway.
BARON
You’ve got it all child, now flaunt it! Flaunt it!
TALIA
I broke a nervous smile and the crowd went wild. They all loved me. Praised me. Venerated me. And it felt good. So good. I tried a spin, a wink and in a second I was gone.
And whoever that girl was… in that moment, she drove them all mad.
She laughed and whirled, danced and provoked. She was a party of one. A god reborn. The skeleton court was throwing flowers and glitter as she made her way through the runway.
TALIA (CONT’D)
She slammed the wooden door at the end of the corridor… and stepped out in the rain. The music stopped and the ballroom disappeared.
SFX: music stops suddenly
Behind her, the hospital doors closed back. A few worried patients were staring, while a couple of nurses quickly headed toward her. Her dress was gone as well, replaced by her hospital gown.
She’s back to reality. And she started to run.
Less than a hour later, someone knocks on Laurette’s door.
Laurette turned around, slightly frightened. Who would come in such weather?
Wary, she pulled a strange dagger from her sleeve, before opening the door to… Talia.
Her granddaughter in hospital gown, wet like a dog. It was impossible. The hospital was miles away. Nobody could have run that far, that fast. But, Laurette didn’t think any of it. She brought her granddaughter into an embrace.
LAURETTE
Talia…
TALIA
Her granddaughter broke from her embrace, feigning regret.
I don’t have much time.
LAURETTE
…You met him.
TALIA
Yes. Make the call now, I have to go.
Laurette nodded and retreated to the living room. Talia quickly rushed to grab a change of clothes and a backpack. She was ready to go in less than two minutes, stronger with every second that passed. She’d never felt such power, and yet, it was so familiar.
In the other room she heard her grandmother hanging up the phone. Laurette joined her and embraced her one last time.
TALIA
Where will they take me?
LAURETTE
I don’t know. But don’t stop until you’ve reached Europe.
TALIA
Across the sea?!
LAURETTE
Put an ocean between you and the Church and it might be enough. You’ll need this.
TALIA
Laurette handed Talia her blade, a large dagger carved from bone.
Oh, I can use that.
And Talia just smiled. A little too wide. And somewhere in there, I saw my grandmother take a step back from me.
SFX: A car drives up a gravel path, coming to a slow stop. The engine rumbles softly.
LAURETTE
It’s time. Goodbye, little witch.
That is it for this week’s episode everybody. As always, thank you so much for listening. And thanks to Tammy and AJ for voicing the characters of Talia and Baron Samedi. Thanks to Ross Buckton for the use of his soundtrack, New York 1924. And stay tuned for the next episode! In the meantime, I hope you guys stay safe! Bye!