0:00

We-time meets me-time, where magic meets the

0:02

sea on a Disney cruise. Adults can

0:04

relax and enjoy dedicated spaces designed just

0:07

for them. Indulge in a

0:09

massage at Census Spa, or take a

0:11

dip in Quiet Cove, an adult-exclusive pool.

0:14

Don't worry, the kids are having some

0:16

me-time of their own at incredible kids'

0:18

clubs. And there's amazing

0:20

we-time, like entertainment, imaginative dining,

0:22

character encounters, and more around

0:24

every corner. A magical vacation

0:26

at Sea Awaits on Disney

0:28

Cruise Line. Here

0:56

we go. Every

1:26

culture has its own myths and folk tales.

1:28

Those stories told and retold over time. Those

1:48

folk heroes that are a part of

1:51

our collective story. I

1:53

was fascinated as a kid by Johnny Appleseed,

1:55

John Henry, Paul Bunyan, those large-scale- larger-than-life

2:00

figures that sort of pointed us in

2:02

the direction of what was possible for

2:04

humanity, right? Now,

2:07

those heroes can defeat tyrants and

2:09

impossible match-ups like David and Goliath.

2:12

They can outsmart animals or monsters

2:14

like the Inuit folk hero, Kivyuk.

2:17

They can be tricksters who use

2:19

their wits to free themselves, like

2:21

John the Conqueror. Their

2:24

stories serve many purposes, of course, but

2:26

one of them, as I

2:28

said, is to inspire, to empower

2:30

us, to give us hope. In

2:34

today's story, K.T. Briski has

2:36

created a mythos and a folk

2:38

hero for the land of the

2:40

dead. It's called, Folk

2:42

Hero Motifs in Tales Told by

2:45

the Dead, and it was originally

2:47

published in Strange Horizons. K.T.

2:49

Briski is a Canadian author

2:52

whose short fiction has appeared

2:54

in many publications, including Lightspeed,

2:57

Nightmare, Strange Horizons, and The

2:59

Deadlands. K.T. has been

3:01

a finalist for The Sunburst, The

3:03

Aurora, and the U.G. Foster Memorial

3:05

Award, and they also

3:08

co-founded and co-chair the ephemera

3:10

reading series. If

3:13

you are so inclined, you will find

3:15

a content advisory in the episode description.

3:19

And now, if you're

3:21

ready, let's take

3:23

a deep breath. Folk

3:43

Hero Motifs in Tales Told by

3:45

the Dead By

3:47

K.T. Briski. At

4:00

the end. So.

4:03

Skull been hero. Trickster.

4:06

Corpse. Plans. To

4:08

dive into the great mosque that

4:10

rains the sea ice far beyond

4:13

our gravelled so. Against

4:16

the frozen waves model

4:18

blue and classy white

4:20

the more yawns Impenetrable.

4:23

It's the abyss. The days is

4:25

back. A great round drink

4:27

in the pure snow world we

4:30

woke up in. The

4:33

rays of the midnight sun is don't

4:35

penetrated. There's. Never been

4:38

a corpse that leaped in

4:40

and return to sell the.

4:45

But skull bone is the

4:47

original corpse. The same

4:49

cadaver who walked to the

4:51

living lands and returned with

4:54

his lover see tunnels under

4:56

the mountains and brought darkness

4:58

to these lands of light.

5:00

perpetual is met a torsos

5:02

were the first frigid/to tread

5:04

upon this windswept snow. So.

5:07

Skull Bones ties a piece of

5:09

rope around his front and waste and

5:12

gives the other end to his fellow

5:14

corpse. As

5:16

long as I keep talking on

5:18

the rope Regular says scumbags. Let

5:21

me be but if

5:23

I told three times

5:25

only best. His

5:28

fellow corpses not. Truth

5:30

is every one and the after

5:32

death wonders what weights and them

5:34

off. But. No one's

5:36

been ready to take that last.

5:41

Year. I. Go. Skull

5:43

don't cause. Dead

5:46

souls slapping the ice

5:48

skull bones flings himself forward.

5:51

For a moment he hangs

5:53

suspended in cold air, his

5:55

arms outstretched has withered face

5:57

time with sectors. Then.

6:01

He. Drops into the much.

6:05

For a while the tugs

6:07

com regular on the real,

6:10

the corpses pure over the

6:12

maus edge, but they don't

6:14

dare slide their greed toes

6:16

past the ice within the

6:18

mosque. Nothing not water, not

6:20

darkness. Not chaos, just.

6:23

Voice. Tones.

6:27

Stop. Coming. They

6:29

hold the wrote back instructions be

6:32

damned. Sit slithers out of the

6:34

mall with in frayed and know

6:36

school bone inside. The

6:39

tricksters luck finally ran

6:41

out. The corpses

6:43

toss the rope in the mall and

6:45

high tail it back to their lonely

6:47

list. That was

6:49

the end of Scum Own. If

6:52

he's not climbed out of the more

6:54

yet been he's in there still. As

6:58

for the rest of us, We.

7:01

Stayed this. Happily.

7:04

Ever after. That's

7:09

always not it. My knickers.

7:12

The way our fairy tales and. When.

7:15

I breathed and bled and

7:17

sank. Story is ran, they

7:19

lived happily ever after. But.

7:22

You can't verb death. It's

7:24

a sentence all on it's own. Still,

7:28

A desk happily ever after would

7:30

be my druthers. But. Language

7:32

grinds down even slower than

7:35

the mountains that ring arcs

7:37

cadaverous village. Stories

7:39

move quicker at least.

7:42

When. You got an eternity to spend

7:44

you craft stores for the selling

7:46

and tell. Tail

7:48

finished I were do my wine

7:51

purple toes near the lifeless Would

7:53

Stoltz. Poignant. Irony.

7:56

Having a wood stove and neither

7:58

matches nor breast North. Kindling,

8:01

And. Signal for another beaker of

8:03

Bryony seawater. Work.

8:06

Set sit by my elbow. Good.

8:08

Sort. Works. Best.

8:11

Bartender we've ever had. The.

8:14

Midnight sun lances the

8:16

tavern windows striking might

8:18

long waxy singers. A

8:21

lie limp. Out of practice.

8:24

For. The brittle fingernails. I tap

8:26

a rhythm on the beaker.

8:28

Oh music. not quite. Someone.

8:32

Else spins a new yarns thread.

8:35

I've heard every story

8:37

before. This. One. Bores,

8:40

Me to oblivion. Songs.

8:42

Khatab says crossed with half

8:45

remembered science fiction. Leaning.

8:48

Back I gaze out the window.

8:51

A frozen sea stretches

8:53

forever. It's. Me their skin

8:55

carved by the we're just. A

8:58

few corpses stroll the shoreline,

9:00

gathering stocks for gambling. I

9:04

spy something. He. A

9:08

small Darth says staggers

9:10

across the sea ice

9:12

birch disjointed. No.

9:15

One I recognize. When.

9:17

Eternity piles up like

9:19

snow drifts. Curiosity bites

9:21

deep. I have

9:23

rise from my ceased ignoring

9:25

the unfolding story as the

9:27

diminutive strangers struggles up the

9:29

shallow slope before the towers.

9:33

Kissed. Died.

9:35

Or really poor sod.

9:37

he looks nicer tests.

9:40

Stick. Glimpse of green shot

9:42

of fluorescent shorts and tee

9:45

shirts. Despite myself, I flinched.

9:47

Corpses don't get chills, but

9:50

old habits die hard. the

9:54

kids slips inside shoulders clinched

9:56

as every i phones on

9:58

him Not panting,

10:01

but tensed like he wants

10:03

to. New arrival,

10:06

Ward asks him. His

10:09

eyes flicker. I came

10:11

out of the maw. Almost

10:14

dropped my damn beaker. Silence

10:17

falls sharp. The

10:19

kid juts his chin against our

10:21

gaping stairs. Yeah, I

10:24

came out of the maw, he

10:26

repeats. And Skullbone

10:28

was there. Before

10:38

he went into the maw, Skullbone

10:40

traveled to the living lands. When

10:43

he was a breathing man, he'd

10:45

had a lover, and the longer

10:47

Skullbone deft, a keener,

10:50

that separation stung. Towards

10:53

the corpse's village there arose

10:55

great mountains. These

10:57

mountains went, Skullbone, for it was

10:59

out of the mountains we had

11:02

come. He told

11:04

no one of his journey. None

11:06

accompanied him but the biting wind

11:08

and the crunching of ice against

11:10

the rock. At

11:13

the mountain's feet, the wind

11:16

spoke. Should

11:19

you find your lover

11:21

and bring him back, then

11:24

walk you first along

11:26

the path, with your

11:28

lover following behind. Do

11:32

not look back

11:35

until you feel the

11:37

snow beneath your feet.

11:41

Skullbone bowed. For

11:44

in the land of the dead, the wind too has

11:46

eyes. With

11:48

strong, gnarled fingers, he climbed

11:50

until he heaved himself onto

11:52

a path which wound steadily

11:55

upwards. Singing to

11:57

himself, Skullbone Walked up the

11:59

mountain path. Then into the lands

12:01

of a living. He

12:04

staggered into a velvet summer

12:06

nights warm breeze ring upon

12:08

his rotting flesh. The sequence

12:10

stars fricking his eyes. He.

12:14

Stumbled to his old village. Is

12:17

deathly grace slipped away. And

12:20

in his own bed, skull

12:22

bone south his lover. Die

12:27

cannot repeat bear conversation

12:29

but. At length his lover

12:32

gathered his shoes and coats and

12:34

followed skull bone into the night.

12:37

Is living singers corral

12:39

in skull bones. Dead

12:41

was. I must. Not

12:44

the best skull bones just.

12:47

Or or Saudi lost.

12:50

His. Lover squeezed his hand. Sweat.

12:53

Slicked skull bones papers pass

12:55

fighting shudder school bone strode

12:57

towards the mountains distant me

12:59

is lovers puns and breaths

13:01

dragged across the back of

13:04

his neck. Flair

13:06

of panic kindles beneath skull

13:09

bones, ribs. He loosened his

13:11

grasp, but his lover squeezed

13:13

tighter, his red red hearts

13:16

sudden like judgment nailing and

13:18

skull bones eager. To

13:21

smells, sounds, the inescapable wants.

13:23

What a a steak school

13:26

bone had made. You.

13:29

Must go back. School bone

13:32

cried. His

13:35

lover whispered. With life's

13:38

relentless reasons. I

13:40

saw a whole. School

13:42

Bone flailed interest and scattered

13:45

stones of the mountain pass

13:47

rattled underfoot. Far below, the

13:49

midnight sun glinted off the

13:52

villages silver rules and School

13:54

Moon glanced down snow and

13:56

not yet pass under his

13:58

first. You

14:01

cannot follow tier. School.

14:03

Them Said: If the wind

14:05

surge up you look back

14:07

and gazed upon his lovers

14:09

fleshy face splashed with tears

14:11

and plump with blood it's

14:13

snarls and fast. Back to

14:16

the Living Last. So

14:19

Skull bones saved the village

14:22

from the horror of is

14:24

living lovers and learned a

14:26

valuable lesson that he is

14:29

always listen to the with.

14:37

If you want to spark chaos among

14:40

the dead, Liven. Things up

14:42

as it were. Pulling the

14:44

words more and skull bones.

14:47

Into conversation. As

14:50

the kid crosses his arms,

14:52

week clustered corpses gasp. Truth

14:55

be told, the last storyteller looks

14:57

and newest. But. Even sees

15:00

listening six. I

15:03

speak first. Move.

15:05

Came out of the most

15:07

jump since forever ago. The

15:10

kid says carelessly. Don't

15:12

know how long. Dogs.

15:14

All around. Time

15:16

and Eternity and all about. But.

15:21

I miss Go Boom there and he

15:23

pushed me out and. The

15:25

he's waiting. Around

15:27

the tavern. Corpses. Sneak

15:30

peeks out the windows, their

15:32

leathery tongues licking dry lips.

15:34

Every one wonders what the

15:37

more hosts. It it's

15:39

like die all over again.

15:41

No one returned to say

15:43

whether it's utter oblivion or

15:45

a paradise more fantastical than

15:47

this one, which would be

15:49

hard. This. One but

15:51

said it's not just from the

15:53

cold. War. Sidles

15:56

up to me. What? Do

15:58

you think I'd is. I'm

16:01

the de facto leader. Kill

16:03

me now. Oh.

16:05

Wait, I

16:08

sigh. Let's

16:10

go see. Not

16:14

one stiffs stays behind.

16:17

Makers life forgotten and war

16:19

doesn't even shut the door

16:21

properly. The. Ice grows

16:24

and cracks beneath us. glazed

16:26

we'll belly blue. The and

16:28

with white didn't specify the

16:30

bubbles. The

16:34

kids keeps glancing over his shoulder. Until

16:36

I try to catch up. What's

16:38

your name? I. Asked. Simon.

16:43

A Pos. That's

16:45

my living mean. Hard

16:48

not to roll my eyes. We.

16:50

Don't know our names when were born

16:52

and we lose them when we die.

16:55

Split. The certainty in the kids

16:57

voice seeks. Scoble.

17:02

Tell you so. Yeah.

17:05

Not a smart know

17:07

why name, just a

17:09

child's implacable logic. It.

17:12

Sends shivers down my spine. Metaphorically:

17:15

Speaking. Around

17:17

the mall the ice rears

17:20

up. white jacket snow racism

17:22

or a rough and surface

17:24

if I could breed my

17:26

lungs with crack with frostbite.

17:31

The more you office

17:34

impenetrable as always. Absolutely.

17:39

Nothing. They're. Certainly

17:42

not school loan. A

17:44

corpses lurch to will host

17:47

the kids. Shoulders slumped, no

17:49

one speaks but the wind

17:51

screaming around are dead den

17:54

busts. the

17:56

kid bites his lip baby teeth

17:58

leave in dense and the pallid

18:00

flesh. Turning his back on

18:02

us, he plops cross-legged in the

18:04

snow. When

18:07

he comes back, you'll be sorry. Wart

18:10

snorts and turns away,

18:12

then another corpse, then

18:15

another. One

18:17

by one, the corpses trail back to

18:19

the village, a slow-moving

18:22

band of wizened bodies bent

18:24

against the wind. Here's

18:27

the thing about oblivion.

18:31

The longer you hang around the maw, the

18:34

more insistently it calls. I

18:37

find myself edging nearer, my

18:40

bare toes pushing up crushed

18:42

ice. They look like frozen

18:45

grapes, the nails shiny-swollen. Simon,

18:51

I say, gentle. His

18:54

little spine stays ramrod straight. He'll

18:58

come back? I said so.

19:01

Then, defiantly, Skullbone

19:03

never breaks a promise. Now,

19:24

let's get back to our story. Before

19:31

Skullbone braved the living lands, he

19:33

yearned to bring darkness to the

19:35

dead. For here,

19:38

the midnight sun shines always

19:40

overhead, shadows never

19:42

lengthen, and days never

19:45

pass. That

19:47

light perpetual weary is the dead

19:49

like winter. Its rays

19:52

strike the snow petalously, the

19:54

chill is the pokeryl. So

19:57

Skullbone searched the after-death's

19:59

far reaching emptiness for

20:02

darkness. The

20:04

ocean he besieged, to

20:06

the wind he pleaded, but though

20:08

he crossed from horizon to horizon,

20:11

he found neither shadow nor gloom

20:13

nor pall. At

20:16

last he came to the mountains.

20:19

Blankly they regarded him, bearded

20:21

with the snow and cragged with

20:24

the winds ravaging. Have

20:27

you any darkness among your

20:29

roots? asked Skullbone. The

20:33

mountains said, dig.

20:39

We bring nothing into the living

20:41

world, and it is certain we

20:44

carry nothing out. With

20:46

only his bare hands, Skullbone thrust

20:48

his fingers into frozen earth. Still

20:51

by little he tunneled under the

20:54

mountain, wriggling forward like a worm.

20:57

How long, Skullbone dug, I cannot

20:59

say, but how familiar

21:01

it felt, the wet earth

21:04

papped around his nostrils and his

21:06

fingernails clawing stones from his path.

21:11

Far from the sky's blue

21:13

stare, beneath the mountains' roots

21:15

there nestled a patch of

21:17

darkness. Skullbone

21:20

cupped it in his hands, and

21:22

carefully he bellied from the tunnel.

21:26

Once outside, he put one eye to

21:28

a crack in his fingers. The

21:31

darkness rested safe within.

21:35

News of the darkness soon spread,

21:37

and corpses lined up nearly to

21:39

the maw for the chance to

21:42

peek into Skullbone's clasped hands. Far

21:45

did a single look content them. Again

21:48

and again they returned until

21:50

Skullbone's temper frayed. I

21:53

can't stand here for eternity,

21:56

can I? He

21:58

snapped, but the corpse Houses

22:00

wailed as he turned to leave,

22:02

their dead fingers clutched at his

22:04

elbows, his hair, his ankles. When

22:07

he leaped, they followed. In

22:10

a fit of peek, Skullbone hurled

22:12

the darkness overhead, saying, See

22:15

it then! For

22:17

an instant, it blotted out even

22:19

the midnight sun, and all the dead

22:22

stood in the shadow of the grave.

22:26

But then it burned away

22:29

like mist, and

22:32

only the light remained.

22:38

A long time after I reclaimed my

22:40

seat, Simon slouches in.

22:43

No one glances at him as he slinks

22:45

between the chairs and tables. Bart

22:48

pretends not to hear when he asks for

22:50

a drink, sighing, I

22:53

signal for an extra beaker. Where

22:57

you from, kid? Salt

23:00

and snow sparkle in his limp hair. The

23:03

maw! No, really. Really?

23:06

Okay. My voice

23:09

stays easy. What's it like

23:11

then? Nothing

23:14

passes over the kid's face. Not

23:17

a shadow, not precisely, but then

23:19

it's gone. Unease

23:22

steals through me again like

23:24

wind off the frozen sea.

23:27

But then he's shrugging. I

23:29

don't know. Kids. It's

23:33

nice, he ventures at last.

23:36

There's… there's stars

23:38

at night. They

23:41

got night times there. Night

23:44

time? Day time? The

23:47

kid starts kicking his legs against my chair.

23:50

Skullbone goes on adventures every day. And

23:53

if you're his friend, you

23:55

can come. And

23:57

Everyone's his friend. It

24:00

does. No. One

24:03

cares. He sucks is lower lip.

24:06

They. Got all the games I played

24:08

before and no one says it's not

24:11

your turn. No. One's mean

24:13

at all and they got you.

24:15

Know those like. Candy

24:17

tubes. My fingers

24:19

a suddenly. What?

24:21

I wouldn't give sell hack.

24:24

Asked for one hour with

24:26

a piano. Have

24:29

consciously I press an old

24:31

favorite on my thighs: Haydn's

24:33

Surprise Symphony. Sometimes.

24:37

I want to wish. For. Wanting to

24:39

here to do. They

24:41

not. Use it. I

24:44

ask seeming nonchalance. She

24:47

got every says. Melodies

24:49

surge up inside like ice

24:52

crash upon the so. Mumbling,

24:55

An excuse I wonder to a group

24:58

on the taverns our side. Their

25:00

retelling skull bone bringing the

25:03

darkness. but the words rush

25:05

past my fingers, marks half

25:07

remembered phrases across my skin,

25:09

dancing of patterns I can

25:12

almost taste. And

25:15

walk out into the brilliant

25:17

like. stumbling, single minded, scarcely

25:19

watching my step, but. I'm

25:22

not surprised when I reached the

25:24

mall. Empty.

25:27

Voracious, he teases

25:29

back. Cooley,

25:32

I scoop a chunk of ice from the

25:35

ground and hurl it is. Nothing

25:38

happens. Of course, it

25:41

vanishes, disappearing forever in

25:43

a starry night. A

25:46

swell of music. Scraping

25:50

behind me. Worked

25:52

clears his throat, looking sheepish.

25:56

What? Are you doing here? Due

26:00

Diligence Six I try to

26:02

laugh. War doesn't

26:04

buy it for a moment.

26:06

He stands on tiptoes peering

26:08

over the edge in his

26:10

face clouds over. Kids

26:13

tells a good story but skull

26:16

bones? Just a ferry to. Yeah.

26:20

Ease. And the

26:23

dead, We got nothing but

26:25

stars. Easy to

26:27

see how this one could get out of.

26:31

Still, fairy tales have an

26:33

annoying habit of being true.

26:54

Long before skull bones found darkness

26:56

and of the mountains there was

26:58

another corpse with a story he

27:00

covered. Her. Tail remembered whole

27:03

from the land of the

27:05

list. Try those

27:07

go bone might He could not

27:09

persuade the corpse to part with

27:11

her stores tight lipped see kept

27:14

it to ourselves and not a

27:16

more Sullivan did. she slipped into

27:18

another tests. I'll

27:20

sell it. She. Said. Oh

27:24

for the right price. Diverse.

27:27

Hundred thousand stories threaded through

27:29

my marrow. Said. Scott

27:32

know Hundred thousand. Poland

27:34

is besides summer truth

27:36

all our reach. What?

27:39

Will you take forest? The

27:42

other corpse smiled. A

27:44

glass of wine. Only.

27:46

Salt water flowed in the Land of

27:48

the Dead. But. School Bone

27:50

gathered beakers from the village

27:52

has and strode on to

27:54

this. when he returned the

27:56

other corpse scoffed. Months

27:59

know. The water for this tales.

28:02

Is is not fermented yet.

28:05

And scope bone placed speakers in

28:07

the windows size. Each.

28:09

Time he passed, he adjusted

28:11

their position and shook limits

28:13

just so. Other

28:16

corpse watched. Ten.

28:19

Friends and eventually asked. What?

28:22

Now. They. Must rest in

28:24

the snow snow. You know nothing

28:26

about the wine of the Dead.

28:29

Embarrass. The corpse helped him

28:31

bury the beaters in a snow bank. They.

28:34

Are they list while school bone

28:36

ignored. You. Mustn't

28:38

look at them at this stage.

28:41

He said seats. Nas.

28:44

You know, The. Other

28:46

courts averted her eyes. But

28:49

at last school bone uncovered his

28:51

beakers. While. The corpse

28:53

watched a stoned it's t whispered

28:55

to them seat spice when he

28:58

finished. He. Raised a beaker to

29:00

his. Remember.

29:03

Only true story tellers can

29:05

taste my wine. The

29:08

court sees another. Let

29:11

me try. But

29:13

those you drink and ranks coldness

29:15

and salt only met her tongue.

29:18

The trickster corpse tilted his head.

29:21

Was it. To. Your liking.

29:25

She. Hesitated. Of

29:28

course he went off the

29:30

richer the tails, the rich

29:33

other body. It.

29:35

Was. Wonderful see

29:37

croaked. He smiled.

29:40

Then. I'll have my.

29:44

Duly sold. Truly

29:46

top. Once. He had

29:48

learned her tail be shared it freely

29:51

among the dead. You've. heard

29:53

too so we shall test

29:55

another tough Home

30:11

again, home again. If

30:14

I were living, I'd say that

30:17

days passed, but there's no time

30:19

in the after-death, only

30:21

eternity. Hers

30:24

is an asymptotic existence, nearing

30:27

the day after forever, never

30:30

actually arriving. I

30:33

try to forget, Simon,

30:35

to scrape the possibility

30:37

of skull bone from my mind. Since

30:40

there isn't a stick of furniture in

30:43

my hut, I lie flat on my

30:45

back and watch the light play across

30:47

the corrugated tin ceiling. After

30:50

my breath, I hum a mass

30:52

that haunts me like a ghost. D

30:55

minor. But I don't

30:57

have perfect pitch and no way

31:00

to tune myself. If

31:02

I could cry, I would.

31:06

I sit up, rub my dry

31:08

eyes, curse myself once

31:11

or twice, and then amble

31:13

back to the tavern. Simon

31:16

sits in a corner by himself, staring

31:18

across the ice. When

31:21

he sees me, he straightens with

31:23

a guilty shiver. No

31:26

time to waste words. Corpses

31:30

jump into the maw all the time,

31:32

I say. How'd

31:34

you manage to climb out? He

31:38

shrugs. Sighing,

31:40

I lower my voice. You

31:45

heading back to the maw soon? What's

31:49

your name again? Haydn.

31:53

Was that your living name? No.

31:57

I Fail to keep the bitterness out. I'm

32:00

afraid Skull Bone hasn't shared mine with

32:03

me. Simon.

32:05

Stands up against his

32:07

cloud gray face. His

32:09

eyes are wide and

32:11

dark. Miniature maus. Then

32:14

he offers his hand. For

32:17

a moment. I stay the

32:19

rigor Mortis rigid, cold inside

32:21

and out. Sized

32:24

as a piano with cut

32:26

streets, Simon doesn't flinch at

32:28

my scouts, doesn't turn away.

32:31

Just leaves. His hand. Against

32:35

my better judgment when you it.

33:00

Let's. Get back to our stores. In

33:07

the earliest days of his death,

33:09

School Bone made a bet that

33:11

he could tell a story to

33:13

fill eternity. Once.

33:15

Upon a Time. He said.

33:18

There was acquired naming

33:20

the skull bones t

33:22

know a story that

33:24

could fill eternity. This

33:27

is how it went.

33:30

Once upon a time it's there

33:33

was a corpse named Scumbag Steve

33:35

know a story that could see

33:37

his eternity. See is how we

33:40

at least once upon a time

33:42

there was a false names come

33:44

on steam new story that to

33:47

sell eternity. This is how it

33:49

went. He didn't

33:51

tell it further everyone had

33:53

guess the anti. P.

33:57

won the bet know As

34:06

we stagger over plunging cracks

34:08

and wind-sculpted ridges, I

34:10

croon to Simon what I can remember. Symphonies,

34:14

oratorios, half a

34:16

concerto. My fingers tense

34:18

and release where they should, but

34:21

the phrases start and stutter and

34:23

stop like a failing heart. Like

34:26

mine did, maybe. The

34:29

wind flings loose snow into my eyes.

34:32

It stings my bloodless lips. To

34:35

every side the ice stretches

34:37

gleaming to the horizons. Heads

34:39

bowed against the keening gales

34:41

we stagger through barrenness. Here's

34:45

the thing about the after death. When

34:48

you first get here, you're relieved.

34:51

This is it? This is death? Okay.

34:55

This is okay. This you

34:57

can handle. Other corpses

35:00

for stories and chat, seawater

35:02

to sip. Cold

35:04

as the devil's ass crack, but hey, we're

35:07

dead. Chills as

35:09

natural to us as warmth

35:11

to the living. But

35:14

when that sun doesn't set, when

35:17

you rouse yourself and the

35:19

same stories droning on, and

35:22

the ice and mountains crowd

35:24

like claustrophobia made manifest, you

35:26

realize this is it. This

35:32

is death. Or worse, this

35:34

is what comes after. Be

35:37

grateful. It's not total oblivion we

35:39

tell each other. But

35:42

sometimes I wonder, isn't

35:45

this oblivion too? The

35:49

maw's blank indifference weakens my

35:51

knees. The wind roars

35:54

over it, offended by its

35:56

gaping negative space, Hand

35:59

slipping free from sight. humans grip.

36:01

I need to see a stray

36:03

I spell. it's cascade into the

36:05

abyss. Should

36:08

we wait? I ask? Simon.

36:12

Shuffles. Yeah. Fine.

36:15

By me. Nice to

36:17

chest. I sit on the wind

36:19

ruff and ice, stare into the

36:21

void. likes I'll glimpse angelic choirs

36:23

on the far side, but the

36:26

mas emptiness sets my head spinning

36:28

so I retreat a little rest

36:30

my eyes on the thin greece.

36:34

Simon's. On site. His

36:37

shoulders slumped. Chin

36:39

up kid, I say. Even

36:41

this hope sinks in my

36:44

chest. Okay,

36:46

He whispers. For

36:49

a long, long period. We

36:52

wish. Just the to

36:54

us sitting at the end it into

36:56

the unknown. The

36:58

wind shreds our dead skin is.

37:01

Peaceful and patient. The dead may

37:03

rest, but. Not fools.

37:07

The. Capsizing ceiling in my belly

37:09

strengths by the time Simon

37:11

sidles away from me. I

37:14

know. He's

37:19

Not coming. Simon. Shakes.

37:22

His head. But. Incest

37:24

as feast. I'm

37:27

not. Did

37:30

you make the whole thing up? It

37:33

was a good story he whispers.

37:36

Was a A. Legend

37:42

has it that Skull Bones was

37:44

the first courts to walk this

37:46

frozen waste. But. That's

37:48

most. See. Wasn't

37:50

a fucking homo erectus. was

37:53

a. Square. do you

37:55

draw the line anyway it

37:57

all these australopithecus go somewhere

37:59

else But the story

38:01

goes like this anyway. Once

38:04

upon a time, well beyond the

38:06

mountains of the dead, there lived

38:08

a man. He lived,

38:11

he loved, and then he

38:13

died. And

38:15

he ended up here, mottled

38:18

gray feet flat to the snow,

38:21

liver mortise flush reddening his

38:23

jawline and the undersides of

38:25

his arms. The

38:28

first of all corpses wandered a

38:30

senseless path through the snow and

38:32

found only a frozen sea, a

38:34

clutch of hovels and the great

38:36

maw opening like a hellmouth in

38:39

the middle of it all. He

38:42

wasn't a trickster then. He

38:44

was just a man, now

38:47

dead. He cried

38:49

for his mother, his

38:51

grandmother. He shouted at the

38:53

wind and the mountains until his voice

38:55

rasped to silence. Nothing

38:58

changed. Nothing ever

39:01

changed. But

39:04

eventually we named

39:06

him Skullbone. We

39:08

told all sorts of stories about

39:10

him. They

39:13

kept us going more than anything

39:15

else, lent meaning to

39:17

the emptiness, connected

39:19

us each to each,

39:22

and nerved our hearts to

39:24

take that final step into

39:27

whatever follows next.

39:31

And maybe he never existed.

39:35

Probably he didn't. Maybe in

39:38

the end, that doesn't matter

39:40

as much as the fact that

39:42

the stories do. Silence.

39:58

Even The wind dropped. the down. Waiting.

40:01

For me to snap. But.

40:03

I edge nearer the more my

40:06

toes caressing the I still and.

40:09

Simon. Stay safely distance. His

40:12

hands thrust deep into the pockets

40:14

of his neon shorts. I'm

40:17

sorry. He whispers i just.

40:20

I really wanted. You.

40:23

Wanted it to be true. That.

40:26

Least dead hearts. Can't.

40:29

Breathe. Blue. Sky

40:31

above black mark below.

40:35

My. Toes curl into the

40:37

snow digs. Test.

40:41

Watch. Out Simon says.

40:44

But. No one falls into the

40:46

moth. Not. Really? That's

40:49

the thing about the after death. We

40:52

largely don't choose. when we entered.

40:55

But I think all of us choose

40:57

when we. Turn

40:59

as he. Islam and all

41:02

space. I glance

41:04

over my shoulder. You

41:06

can't Simon says and

41:09

certainly a it wasn't

41:11

real. That

41:13

doesn't mean it's not true.

41:16

Simon shivers and shudders chewing

41:19

his lip. With a smile,

41:21

I offer my hand. For.

41:24

A moment he stays

41:26

there. Rigor mortis switched

41:29

site is the snow.

41:32

This possibly against is

41:35

better judgment. He

41:37

takes. Music

41:39

buzzes at my lips as we

41:42

stand at the moment. Age. Or

41:45

requiem. Is

41:48

have to laugh. I'd

41:50

expect nothing less. For

41:53

any. I ask simon. Now

42:03

and year among the dead, our

42:06

fairy tales and and to be

42:08

guess. Be

42:11

to. Say.

42:23

T tells a hell of a story.

42:26

Don't. Think. I

42:29

love. Stories about

42:32

storytelling. I

42:34

think. The Princess Bride

42:36

has gotta be in my top

42:38

three favorite stories about storytelling and

42:41

this one is. This

42:43

was in the top five. I

42:46

love this story. I love kitties

42:48

use of language. It's. On.

42:52

It's. It's flowery.

42:55

But. It's absolutely appropriate to

42:57

the subject. Ten

42:59

that the characters scold them

43:01

as the kids that the

43:04

bartender. I mean, these. These

43:06

are characters that really just

43:08

sprung up the page for

43:10

me. I mean

43:12

I I. I absolutely love the idea

43:14

of. Stories. And

43:17

storytelling being the currency in

43:19

this after world. And

43:21

the idea that you know

43:24

the story may not be

43:26

real, but it doesn't mean

43:28

it's not true. Because.

43:31

There is this

43:34

unspoken contract between

43:36

storyteller and story

43:38

listener. And

43:41

yes your we can You

43:43

know have to shout our

43:45

stories into the void. Weekend.

43:49

We can yell into the

43:51

mom but. What

43:53

satisfaction is there in the

43:55

past? The.

43:58

point of be alive

44:01

or in this case dead

44:04

is to have

44:06

community to

44:08

share something of value each

44:13

to each they say

44:15

each to each and

44:19

for me that's the magic of

44:22

storytelling it's

44:27

best enjoyed in

44:29

the company of others that's

44:33

why I do this because

44:35

I love the idea of sharing

44:38

stories that I love

44:41

with people that I love

44:45

and you all are certainly among

44:48

that number in

44:50

any case while we are here

44:52

in the land of the

44:55

living I

44:57

will go on reading stories to

45:00

you because

45:04

that's my story and

45:06

I'm sticking to it my

45:22

thanks today to KT Briski for allowing

45:24

me to read their story if

45:27

you enjoyed it please check out

45:29

lots more of KT short fiction

45:31

and novels and scripts at

45:34

KT briski.com

45:37

our producer on this episode of LeVar

45:40

Burton reads is Julia Smith

45:42

she is the best in the business

45:44

y'all our fabulous researchers LD

45:46

Lewis always happy to have you

45:48

aboard my sister we had

45:50

additional research support this season from

45:53

Talon Stradley and Josephine Marjorana theme

45:55

music by the extraordinary Editing

45:59

And. The design courtesy of

46:01

the fantastic skills of Mr. Casey

46:03

Horford. If you

46:06

enjoy this podcast, sleep, tell a friend

46:08

about it or leave us a review

46:10

on Apple Podcasts. Like I say, share

46:12

the short fiction. Well, The

46:16

Barber To is a production of

46:18

Sitter and Levar Burton Entertainment or

46:20

executive producers are Josephine More her

46:22

on us and yours truly Love

46:25

Arbor And if you want find

46:27

me on the internet time Lavar.burden

46:29

on Instagram at Levar Burton on

46:32

As for you can simply go

46:34

to the Barberton.and also join my

46:36

book club at Sable Dot C

46:39

O Last of our I'll see

46:41

you next time. Be.

47:05

I it's Levar Burton. I've got a

47:07

brand new podcast called Sound Detectives. It's

47:09

a comedy adventure about the magic and

47:12

mystery of sound and it's fun for

47:14

the whole family. In this world, Sounds

47:16

have gone mysteriously missing. Follow Detective Hundred

47:18

and his sidekick Audi. Be here as

47:21

the track them down and find the

47:23

nefarious sounds. Mint or with a little

47:25

help from me. Love! You can listen

47:27

to Sound Detectives on Sirius Xm, Pandora,

47:30

or wherever you get your podcasts. And

47:32

don't forget to follow the show so

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you never. Miss an episode. Sound

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good to you. Sounds great to me.