The Skylark Bell Season 2 - Wingspan

In today’s episode we read Chapter 3 – The Blue Dress - in which Magpie and Lucas discover an odd vintage shop on a sides treet, and its mysterious owner seems very much invested in Magpie purchasing her blue dress.

Brought to you by: Phaeton Starling Publishing and Things with Wings Productions.

The Skylark Bell official website - http://www.theskylarkbell.com

The Skylark Bell on Instagram: @theskylarkbell

Author/Producer: Melissa Oliveri - http://www.melissaoliveri.com

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Melissa on Instagram: @the.mop.pod

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All music by Cannelle - http://www.cannellemusic.com

Cannelle on Instagram: @cannelle.music

FULL TRANSCRIPT:

Things with Wings Productions presents: Episode 3 of The Skylark Bell, Wingspan. I am your host, Melissa Oliveri.  

In our previous episode, Magpie had an eerie premonition as she, her mom, and Lucas were flying across the ocean toward their destination.

In today’s episode we read Chapter 3 – The Blue Dress - in which Magpie and Lucas discover an odd vintage shop on a sides treet, and its mysterious owner seems very much invested in Magpie purchasing her blue dress.

Now, it’s time to settle in… grab a blanket, and a warm drink… and let’s get started.

Magpie yawns loudly and stretches her arms up above her head. “That’s the jetlag talking” laughs her mother. Magpie smiles and rubs her eyes before tossing the blankets aside and hopping out of bed. 

“No time for jetlag, today’s your big day!” says Magpie excitedly. She scurries to the bathroom to splash some cold water on her face and brush her teeth, then heads over to her suitcase to dig out her jeans, a tee shirt and cardigan. “Mom, have you seen my shoes?” she asks, scanning the messy, dimly lit room. 

“How about we open these curtains and get some light in here, maybe that’ll help,” says Mrs. Phaeton in her usual practical tone of voice as she pulls the curtain cords, instantly washing the room in bright sunlight.

Magpie spots her shoes under the couch at the other end of the room. She is just bending down to grab them when a knock on the door startles her. She looks through the peephole and sees Lucas’ black curls on the other side of the door. She slides the security chain off and greets him with a smile.

“Good morning!” she says cheerfully. 

“Hey,” he groans, walking slowly over to the couch before letting himself drop on it like a potato sack.

“Oh my, someone needs some breakfast and a nice cup of coffee!” says Mrs. Phaeton. “Magpie, why don’t you and Lucas head down to the café across from the hotel, and I’ll catch up with you later on, there are a few phone calls I need to make.”

“Sounds great, see you in a bit!” says Magpie, walking over to the couch and grabbing Lucas’ hand to help pull him to his feet. “Come on sleepy-head!” she says, giggling, “let’s get you fed and caffeinated!” 

Two doormen in suits and top hats hold the front doors open for Magpie and Lucas to step through as they head outside. “I feel like royalty!” whispers Magpie, giddy. 

“I feel like a nap…” yawns Lucas, earning himself an elbow to the ribs from Magpie. 

They wait for a cab to drive by then cross the street to the small café, choosing a table outside in the sun. 

A waiter in a crisp white shirt and black dress pants approaches their table almost immediately. He does a double take when he sees Magpie but catches himself and almost immediately regains a neutral facial expression. “Welcome to the Sparrow Café, what may I get you this morning?”  he asks politely. Magpie and Lucas order some French pastries and a pot of coffee. They chat until the food comes, then they sit quietly and take in the scenery as they savour sweet, flakey almond croissants and hot coffee. They are just wrapping things up when the waiter walks over with their bill. 

“May I ask, miss, are you related to the woman with the white dress? She was here earlier, a very charming lady. If I may say so, you look very similar.” he says, pointing to something behind Magpie. Magpie turns and sees a woman in a long white dress walking away, her bright red hair piled up on her head in a messy bun. “She left this behind on the table…” he adds, placing a small square beverage napkin in front of her. There is a rough sketch on the napkin, it looks like an archway or rainbow going over a path lined with trees on either side.

Magpie knits her brow “No, the only other person with us is my mom, and she hasn’t left the hotel since last night,” she answers. 

“Ah, I apologize, I must be mistaken. Well, I hope you enjoy your time in London, we at Sparrow Café look forward to seeing you again soon,” says the waiter, bowing slightly before walking away.

Magpie pushes the strange encounter to the back of her mind as she and Lucas stand up. “I’m feeling a lot better,” he says, “let’s go exploring!” Magpie has an instant flashback to the weeks when she and Lucas first met, when they would go exploring the area surrounding Pocket every day. She feels a warmth wash over her that spreads to her cheeks and hopes he doesn’t notice her blushing. 

“Sure! But this isn’t Pocket, we’ll have to actually keep track of time, and of where we’re going!” she says as they start walking toward the busy street ahead. Suddenly, something makes Magpie turn and run back to their table at the café. “Hold on a sec, I’ll be right back,” she shouts over her shoulder, trotting back to their table. She grabs the napkin with the strange sketch and tucks it in her bag before jogging back to Lucas.

~~~~~~

Magpie and Lucas have been wandering the streets of London for some time when they come upon a small shop tucked away on a side street made of cobblestone. Magpie feels inexplicably drawn to the shop. “Let’s go in here!” she says, grabbing Lucas’ hand and pulling him in. A bell above the door rings as they enter. The shop is quite small and filled with vintage clothing and accessories. They giggle at some of the old styles, especially the dresses and shirts from the 1960s and ‘70s. At the very back of the shop, hanging high on the wall, is a gorgeous blue sequin dress. Magpie stops to stare at it.

“Beautiful, isn’t it?” the voice is coming from behind them. Magpie and Lucas spin in unison, and find themselves facing a petite older woman in a long black dress, a string of pearls around her neck creating a stark contrast against the dark background of her clothes. “You should try it on, I believe it is your size” she says, her eyes fixed on Magpie.

“Uh... ok. It is very pretty,” concedes Magpie. She did pack a dress for tonight’s event but, if she’s being honest, she doesn’t care much for it. This dress would be perfect.

“Magpie, it’s getting late, we should probably get going,” says Lucas, suddenly feeling uncomfortable in the small shop.

“I will make you an offer you can’t refuse,” says the woman, “you can have the dress for 10 pounds, and I will include these shoes.” Her eyes are still fixated on Magpie as she grabs a pair of dainty cobalt-coloured high-heeled shoes.

“Oh my, I suppose at that price I don’t have much to lose even if it doesn’t fit!” replies Magpie.

“It will fit.” Says the woman, smiling, as she walks to the back of the store and uses a long pole with a hook to lift the dress off its hanger. She carefully folds the dress and wraps it in tissue paper, then slips the shoes into a box. She packs everything into a large, unmarked bag and hands it to Magpie. Magpie settles up, and she and Lucas head out the door.

“Something in there didn’t feel right,” says Lucas quietly as they start heading back toward the hotel.

“Oh, I think it was just a little cluttered and stuffy,” says Magpie, cradling the tissue-paper wrapped dress against her chest.

“If you say so...” says Lucas, the tone of his voice indicating that he’s not convinced there wasn’t something very wrong in the little store on the cobblestone street.

As they walk away, the old woman stands in the shop window, her unwavering gaze fixed on them. The lights in the shop behind her go dark, making her almost entirely disappear save for the string of pearls around her neck, and she flips the small sign in the window to “closed”.

Thank you so much for listening.  Join me next week for Wingspan chapter 4, The End is the Beginning is the End, where Magpie has an inexplicable, and dangerous, experience on the cobblestone street outside the vintage shop.

Before I go, I’d like to thank Phaeton Starling Publishing for this fantastically eerie story, as well as Cannelle 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. You can also support my work through a donation via my podcast provider or my subscribing to my Patreon where you get early access to episodes as well as MP3 downloads of the music, artwork, writing, recipes, and more!

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