MonkeyTales – Episode 10 – “Reminiscence”
by Luísa Lopes
D.J. SYLVIS
You are listening to MonkeyTales, a hope-punk anthology podcast. Welcome.
Today’s episode is “Reminiscence” – written by Luisa Lopes, featuring Mandy Wong and JayJay.
INT./EXT. OLLIE’S HOUSE/BACKYARD’S DEPO – LATE AFTERNOON
SFX: heavy door sliding open
OLLIE
… so we have a lot of work to do before bringing the pots inside.
MIA
It’s okay, Ollie, it’s good enough to have a new home for my plant babies where they’re not constantly stepped over.
OLLIE
I highly doubt you’d be one to step over your own babies, Mia.
MIA
Well, I never did, but I also couldn’t let any guests come over because there’d be next to no available space to sit and chat. You and your father are lifesavers. Quite literally.
OLLIE
(snort)
You say that now because your strawberries aren’t ripe yet. Wait until he comes around demanding fruit and you’re gonna change your mind.
SFX: rusted pushcart wheels turning
MIA
(laughing)
So he’s just like any one of my clients, flocking to me like kids after ice cream.
OLLIE
Not sure about a kid, but a stubborn old man, that he is…
MIA
I don’t mind at all. After helping mom like he did, and now helping me… It’s the least I could do, give the man some food.
OLLIE
You DO know that food isn’t cheap, right? I bet you’d get a nice cash in with your berries.
MIA
Renting any space is also expensive, Ollie. It’s really a fair trade. You don’t have to worry about me so much.
SFX: pushcart stops
MIA
Oookay… Enough about your dad. I guess we’ve got too much work on our hands for this. Did you bring enough brooms?
OLLIE
Yes, Mia, I did.
MIA
Are the trash bins nearby?
OLLIE
‘course they are.
MIA
Are they sorted by material to be recycled?
There’s a beat of silence
MIA
Ollie!
OLLIE
I know, I know! I should’ve brought them right when you asked, but it was just so much work…
MIA
(sighs)
Fine, we’ll make do. But be sure I won’t let you go until we’ve got all of the trash sorted by its correct type. Deal?
There’s a pause.
MIA
(disapprovingly)
Ollie…
OLLIE
(tired sigh)
Yes, Mia. I’ll stay here with you until way past midnight if I have to. I wouldn’t let you sorting stuff out by yourself, anyways, no need to ask.
SFX: wood being moved around and clattering with the impact
MIA
You’re being awfully defensive today… What’s gotten into you?
SFX: broom swiping the floor while wood is still being thrown around
OLLIE
It’s not you, Mia. I’m just… In a mood. Still no return from the interviews I went to a fortnight ago. It’s kind of… Well, I’ve been lacking enthusiasm, let’s put it this way.
SFX: the clattering of wood stops, but the broom keeps swiping
MIA
Have you been taking your meds, Ollie?
A beat of silence,the broom stops.
MIA
Ollie?
OLLIE
Well… Sometimes I forget? Then I just remember when I start crying out of the blue.
MIA
(sighing)
Do you want some help? Maybe I could call you and make sure you took it at the right time.
OLLIE
Are you my friend or my parent?
MIA
Whichever I need to be to help you get up from this slump, buddy.
Ollie chuckles and there’s a beat of silence.
OLLIE
Hey… Hey, Mia! Come over here! Look at this!
SFX: clattering wood and footsteps with the broom dragged along
MIA
If it’s another cockroach I swear I’ll…
OLLIE
(defensively)
I did it once, Mia, once! C’mon, I wouldn’t do it again. No, it’s… Looks like a box of my dad’s old stuff. Probably doesn’t even remember he has some of these things…
SFX: metal and other objects being moved around in the box
MIA
Whoa… He sure accumulated a ton of stuff, didn’t he?
OLLIE
He’s a hoarder, that’s what he does. Still has some of my stuffed toys from my toddler years.
MIA
He is attached to the memories. I think it’s cute.
OLLIE
(snorts and mumbles)
Wait until you see the cupboard with expired medicine…
SFX: more moving around the box and a loud cling of metal
MIA
What is it? Sounded quite big.
OLLIE
Yeah, hurt my finger… Looks like a metal box.
SFX: metal box being pulled out of the box, making the other objects move around
MIA
Is this…?
OLLIE
What? Have you ever seen one of these?
MIA
I… I think so. Is it sealed shut?
OLLIE
Yup.
MIA
With some kind of engraving or note attached to it?
OLLIE
Huh… Let me…
SFX: turning the box, sound of something sliding on metal
OLLIE
Yeah… There’s a price tag glued to the side with a date. And… “Do Nat”… No, it’s “Do not open”… “…for… fifty years”? What the—?
MIA
Oh. My. God. It’s. It’s a time capsule! Holy cow, Ollie, this has probably been sealed for decades!
OLLIE
It has. 46 years, if I read that date right.
MIA
I’m… This is so awesome! Your father must’ve had an iron self-discipline to keep it sealed for such a long time. My sister tried to make one with her friends. Didn’t last a month.
OLLIE
What did they even put in a time capsule? Newspaper titles? Secret notes? A picture of their high school sweetheart?
MIA
Well, I don’t really know, I never actually saw them putting the stuff inside the box. I just know they promised to put something meaningful and recognizable. Maybe she put a lipstick or something.
OLLIE
Doesn’t sound all that impressive to me…
SFX: turning the metal box around once more
MIA
Why? Don’t tell me you wouldn’t have anything of value to put into the box, Ollie. I’ve known you for a lifetime. I know you’re just as attached to some things as your father is.
OLLIE
(sigh)
You’re not wrong, but I don’t know. Seems like a long time, fifty years. You might as well give it away or sell it.
MIA
There are some things you can’t sell, silly. I know that I’d choose stuff that has meaning for me, not for some… Some buyer.
OLLIE
(amused)
Oh, yeah? What would you put into a time capsule?
MIA
Easy. Dried flowers. A couple of poems handwritten in nice lettering. Some seeds… Maybe even a few coins, to have something recognizable from now.
OLLIE
You’d put money in there? Are you mad? With everything that’s been going on?
MIA
Shush, Ollie. A few coins never killed anyone.
OLLIE
Well, the bus drivers would certainly disagree.
MIA
Oh, Ollie, c’mon. Try not to be a killjoy for once. What would you put there? And give it some thought, I don’t want a lazy answer.
SFX: settles the box on the ground and taps on it rythmically with the tips of their fingers
OLLIE
Well… You sure hate working with easy questions, don’t you?
MIA
(cheerful)
It’s not that hard. I’m already thinking about some of our pictures together, the funny ones. These sure would be a nice thing to remember a few years from now.
OLLIE
What, you want to put my ugly face inside your precious time capsule? I’m flattered.
They both laugh.
MIA
You’re not ugly… Besides, wouldn’t it be nice to show them to our children if someone else found them and saw how much we cared for each other?
OLLIE
You’re right… It would be so nice. Showing how important our friendship was through these days… How much you helped me…
There’s sniffling
MIA
(softly)
Hey… Hey, Ollie, why are you crying? What is it?
OLLIE
I’m just… Sometimes I wonder why you like to hang out with me so much. I… I know I’m always being a pain, with how grim I paint the future, and you’re just… so…
SFX: rustling of clothes as Mia hugs them
MIA
Shh… We all have our ups and downs, Ollie. No need to worry about it, okay? I love hanging out with you. Was it me calling you a killjoy?
OLLIE
(taking deep breaths and trying to calm the crying)
No… I was just… When you asked me about what I’d put in the time capsule, my mind was a blank. I didn’t even think about including a picture with you or something that reminded us of our friendship. What kind of friend am I?
MIA
A thoughtful one. Close your eyes, take a deep breath and let your mind be blank for a moment. Then you can think of an answer.
OLLIE
(breathing coming back to normal)
Alright… Okay.
There’s a couple of deep breaths being taken.
OLLIE
I would… Put a picture of your eighteenth birthday there. The one we printed twice, remember? I wrote a poem for you behind mine. And… And maybe I’d add a few pieces of paper with my writings. Perhaps even a full page of my journal, let myself be surprised about stuff that seems so heavy right now and will look quite silly a few decades from now…
MIA
That’s nice… Keep going.
OLLIE
I’d also add a letter to whoever finds the box. I think even if we ended up opening it in the end, it would be nice to have a message from the me from now.
MIA
You’re right… That’s such a nice idea, Ollie. Leaving your future self a message. I’d totally write one for my future self, too.
OLLIE
Yeah… It would be so nice.
SFX: a deep sigh and clothes rustling as they entangle themselves.
MIA
See? Much easier than you thought.
OLLIE
Thank you, Mia. By the way, you just made me wish we could start our own time capsule right about now with all this talk.
SFX: clothes rustling and feet on the ground as they get up, the metal box in hand, with the contents sliding on metal
MIA
We can build our own. After you help me clean this place, move my precious babies inside and sort out the trash with me.
OLLIE
You sure love ordering me around, don’t you?
MIA
And you sure love getting yourself into situations I’m obligated to do so.
(giggles)
Are you feeling better? For real?
OLLIE
Yes, mama, I’m alright. I’ll be alright. You really have a way with words, Mia, are you sure you’re not the writer of our duo?
MIA
(laughs)
Pretty sure. I may copy poems with pretty lettering, but you, my dearest friend, is the words-tamer. You’re a beast with a piece of paper and a pen.
OLLIE
Flatterer.
(They laugh)
SFX: broom begins swiping again and wood is thrown around
(There’s a moment where they’re just cleaning)
MIA
You know what would actually really brighten the mood after this whole heart-to-heart stuff?
OLLIE
Hmm… What?
MIA
(lets the broom fall)
Tag, you’re it!
SFX: running steps
OLLIE
Hey! That’s not fair, I wasn’t ready!
SFX: wood thrown over the ground and added set of running steps
D.J. SYLVIS
This episode was written by Luisa Lopes, and featured Mandy Wong and JayJay. It was directed by D.J. Sylvis, with audio production by Trace Callahan. MonkeyTales cover art is by Cora May. Our theme song is “Follow the Muse” by Deborah Linden. You can find more information on our website: https://monkeymanproductions.com, or on Twitter under MonkeyManProductions or MonkeyTales. Our Patreon backers make the show possible – join them in support of independent audio fiction at: https//patreon.com/monkeymanproductions.
Welcome to a new year, with new hope and new battles to be fought. We’ll be here beside you all the way – and back soon with more stories to share. Take care friends, and don’t forget to light a bonfire.
MUSIC
(lyrics)
Follow the muse
Follow the muse
Whenever the storyline starts to get confused..
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