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stories is the

2:42

last reading of

2:44

Madame Twilight, written

2:46

by David Thomas

2:48

and narrated by

2:50

Erica Ventura. Madam

3:00

Twilight sat down, took out

3:02

her tarot cards from her

3:04

handback, and placed them into

3:06

a neat pile on top

3:08

of the smooth green silk

3:11

cloth that covered her table.

3:13

She truly did believe that

3:15

her cards were doorways that

3:17

led to tomorrow's meanings. Yet,

3:19

for far too long, she'd

3:22

been giving bad readings with

3:24

them. For whatever reason, they

3:26

were as silent as the

3:28

cold grave. It

3:33

didn't help either that no

3:35

one really wanted their fortunes

3:37

told anymore. The age of

3:39

information had arrived. Everyone was

3:41

connected to everything. Yet to

3:44

her, it felt like the

3:46

modern world for all its

3:48

science and discovery, for all

3:50

its speed and progress, had

3:53

lost the magic and mystery

3:55

of life. They had lost

3:57

a sense of God. A

4:01

single knock came at her

4:03

door. She didn't need the

4:06

cards to tell her that

4:08

it was Joe, the charge

4:10

hand asking if she wanted

4:12

a cup of tea. You okay?

4:14

He said as he poked

4:16

his head in. By the

4:18

look of his face, even

4:21

he could sense the doom

4:23

and gloom in the small

4:25

room. Yes, I'm fine. She

4:28

said with a quick smile.

4:30

No tea tonight Joe Think

4:32

I'll give it another half

4:35

hour then call it tonight

4:37

His eyes gave a soft

4:39

look of concern You need

4:41

anything just let me know

4:44

okay? She nodded and

4:46

he was gone back

4:48

to his business He

4:50

was a good lad they

4:52

all were but she knew they

4:54

all thought she was a

4:57

little mad a little left

4:59

behind in a bygone age. Her

5:01

little star-painted wagon,

5:03

which was at the end

5:06

of the carnival strip, was

5:08

starting to look more like

5:10

a ghost house than Madame

5:13

Twilight's mystical grotto. She

5:15

was sure Big Mac, the

5:17

carnival owner, only kept her on

5:19

as some sort of lucky

5:21

charm. She had only done

5:23

one reading that evening. to

5:26

a fat traveling salesman with

5:28

bad breath, who wanted to

5:30

know if his wife was

5:33

having an affair while he

5:35

worked away. The cards had

5:37

told her nothing, of course.

5:39

All she could do was

5:41

advise him to check his

5:43

wife's dancing shoes for

5:45

scuff marks. Picking up

5:47

the cards, she stared

5:49

at them hard and

5:51

whispered. Why won't you

5:53

speak to me anymore?

5:56

Why? Her voice

5:58

felt flat. and

6:00

worn. Felt like it was

6:02

on the end of a

6:05

telephone line, waiting for the

6:07

carts to pick up. A

6:09

sudden urge went through her

6:12

to throw them across the

6:14

table. Instead, she put them

6:16

gently back down on the

6:19

table, like there were a

6:21

stack of hundred dollar bills.

6:23

Outside, the sound of the

6:26

carnival cried out. There was

6:28

good business out there tonight.

6:30

Plenty of people, plenty of

6:33

money, but none in here,

6:35

none for her. She looked

6:38

again at the cards, and

6:40

with a slow and weary

6:42

shrug, took out a cigarette

6:45

from her red handbag and

6:47

thought about her life. Whenever

6:56

the punters asked she always said

6:58

she was a true-blooded gypsy, who

7:01

as a teenager had traveled around

7:03

with her family, learning the secrets

7:05

of the art. But in reality,

7:08

she was far from that. Her

7:10

father painted billboards in Camden, while

7:12

her mother worked part-time in the

7:14

canteen of a local car factory.

7:17

But she never thought about them

7:19

much anymore. Nor the shame they

7:21

felt for having a crazy daughter

7:24

who liked to play the devil's

7:26

game Anyhow it was all too

7:28

far back down the road to

7:31

worry about All she could really

7:33

think about now was wishing she

7:35

had back what had always been

7:38

there for her Wishing it like

7:40

her soul depended on it She

7:42

took out a silver lighter from

7:44

her inside pocket and waited across

7:47

the end of her cigarette and

7:49

sent a bluey gray mushroom cloud

7:51

up to the ceiling, and idled

7:54

with the thought of what she

7:56

would cook for dinner, tomato soup,

7:58

or cheese sandwiches. Her

8:01

mood was grim. She

8:03

felt old and forgotten.

8:05

Again she looked at

8:07

the cards. Her thoughts

8:09

reached out towards them

8:11

with all the jittery

8:13

longing of a desperate

8:15

prayer. And before she

8:17

could think about it,

8:19

a word rolled off

8:21

her lips like a

8:23

soft kiss. Please. Her

8:25

outside thoughts. instantly felt

8:27

embarrassed by what she

8:29

had said, but her

8:31

inside emotions did not.

8:33

She wanted them back,

8:35

wanted them more than

8:37

anything else in the

8:39

world. But all she

8:41

got was that irritating

8:43

silence that befalls the

8:45

desperate in their hour

8:47

of need. What would

8:49

she do? She didn't

8:52

really know. Work on

8:54

the hot dog stand

8:56

until her age finally

8:58

got the better of

9:00

her. seemed the only

9:02

logical thing. She rolled

9:04

that thought in her

9:06

mind as the sounds

9:08

of the carnival outside

9:10

filled the night sky

9:12

like fireworks. Her eyes

9:14

almost filled with tears

9:16

as the reality dawned

9:18

on her that things

9:20

were changing and it

9:22

wasn't for the better.

9:26

Then a knock came at

9:28

her door. For a split

9:30

second it made her jump,

9:33

but she quickly gained her

9:35

senses and placed her cigarette

9:37

into a nearby crystal ashtray,

9:40

coughed lowly, and spoke in

9:42

her best Eastern European accent.

9:44

You may end that. The

9:56

door of her booth

9:58

creaked open and stood

10:01

before her was a

10:03

little boy, no more

10:05

than 10 years old,

10:07

wearing an oversized Parker

10:09

coat. Can I come

10:12

in? He said shyly.

10:14

She felt flustered and

10:16

annoyed and waved her

10:18

left hand. Ice cream

10:20

van is that way,

10:23

boy. What happened to

10:25

your voice? He said,

10:27

confused. She crunched up

10:29

her cigarette in the

10:31

ashtray and spoke in

10:34

her usual London accent.

10:36

Look, the show's over.

10:38

I'm closing up now.

10:40

It's been a long

10:42

day for me. He

10:45

stared blankly at her,

10:47

then cocked his head

10:49

to one side and

10:51

looked at her cards.

10:53

Are they yours? He

10:56

took a step forward.

10:59

Can I see them? His

11:01

eyes grew wide with excitement.

11:03

What could she do? She

11:05

nodded her head and beckoned

11:07

him over to sit in

11:09

the chair opposite her. He

11:12

moved in a flash, yet

11:14

all the while keeping his

11:16

eyes on the cards. She

11:18

had kids come in before

11:20

asking questions. It always made

11:22

her smile when they asked

11:24

if she knew Father Christmas.

11:28

What would you like

11:31

to know, boy?" Her

11:34

mood felt a little

11:36

better. It always did

11:39

around children. The boy

11:42

snapped out of his

11:44

days and looked at

11:47

her and said, Are

11:50

you like Mary Hex?

11:52

Mary who? She said

11:55

squinting her eyes. From

11:58

his coat pocket he

12:00

quickly pulled out a

12:02

battered comic book and

12:04

placed it in front

12:06

of her. Do you

12:08

see she fights bad

12:11

guys with her spell

12:13

cards? Looking down at

12:15

the cover of the

12:17

comic, she could see

12:19

a scantily-clad woman throwing

12:21

flaming tarot cards at

12:23

a masked bank robber

12:25

holding a machine gun.

12:27

I'm just April, she

12:29

said. April Irving. She

12:31

never lied to children.

12:34

They always deserved better

12:36

than that He pondered

12:38

her answer for a

12:40

second before saying Yeah,

12:42

but do you have

12:44

special powers like Mary

12:46

Hex? She leaned back

12:48

in her chair Not

12:50

anymore. I don't Why

12:52

did you do something

12:54

wrong? No, I didn't

12:57

do anything wrong I

12:59

just I can't feel

13:01

the cause any longer,

13:03

that's all. His face

13:05

became sad. I'm sorry.

13:07

He reached over and

13:09

took his comic book

13:11

back. I just wanted

13:13

to see if the

13:15

cards were real. That's

13:17

all. She looked away

13:20

from him. Everything felt

13:22

wasted and used. A

13:24

tear unexpectedly ran down

13:26

her face. She quickly

13:28

wiped it away. and

13:30

composed herself. I'm sorry,

13:32

but the cards have

13:34

all closed up. He

13:36

tucked his comic back

13:38

into his pocket and

13:40

stood up. Well, I

13:43

have to go now.

13:45

My mom and dad

13:47

don't know I'm here.

13:49

Yes, of course. Well,

13:51

nice to meet you.

13:53

And you, April? He

13:55

then walked over to

13:57

the door. Two

14:07

figures were stood outside. It

14:09

was Big Mac and Joe.

14:12

The child sidestepped them and

14:14

left. They in turn stepped

14:16

in. Madam Twilight put on

14:18

her best smile and gestured

14:20

for them to sit down.

14:22

Joe pulled up a spare

14:25

chair and they both sat

14:27

down in front of her.

14:29

No one said anything until

14:31

finally Big Mac rubbed his

14:33

chin and spoke to Joe.

14:36

How old is it

14:38

then? Joe leaned closer

14:40

towards her. Not sure.

14:42

Eight months? Maybe even

14:44

ten. Pardon? She squawked.

14:46

She couldn't understand what

14:48

the hell they were

14:50

saying to her. Ah

14:52

shit forgot. Joe said...

14:55

and took out a

14:57

small purple disc and

14:59

placed it on her

15:01

hand. As it touched

15:03

her skin, her hand

15:05

gave a quick spasm

15:07

that knocked her cards

15:09

off the table and

15:11

onto the floor. Then,

15:13

as if she had

15:15

turned into ice, she

15:17

froze like a mannequin.

15:19

Tell me, Joe. Big

15:21

Mac said, Why do

15:23

you think it broke

15:25

down? Records show it

15:27

was running smoothly. Joe

15:29

scratched his head and

15:31

raised an eyebrow. I

15:33

say it isn't really

15:35

broke. Just good programming.

15:37

What do you mean?

15:39

Well, look at it

15:41

like this. It's built

15:43

like an old woman.

15:45

Made to act like

15:47

an old woman. The

15:50

AI these days Mac

15:52

is very sharp. I

15:54

think it just thought

15:56

itself old in its

15:58

face recognition and subtle

16:00

body detection just fizzled

16:02

out like it would

16:04

if it were real.

16:06

I say if we

16:08

put a younger skin

16:10

casing over it. Then

16:12

I reckon that would

16:14

straighten out the encoding?

16:16

Big Mac gave a

16:18

snort. Bloody neuron programmers

16:20

are too clever by

16:22

half. Nah. Think I'll

16:24

close this all up

16:26

and reboot it for

16:28

cleaning duties. Wasn't making

16:30

much money anyway? A

16:32

noise came from behind

16:34

them. They both turned

16:36

to see the little

16:38

boy stood in the

16:40

open doorway Big Mac

16:42

called out to him.

16:45

Hey, come on now.

16:47

You didn't think it

16:49

was real, did you

16:51

kid? The child took

16:53

a step back. Turned

16:55

a step back. Turned.

16:57

and ran through the

16:59

carnival. Everything around him

17:01

faded into a slip

17:03

stream of light as

17:05

his eyes filled with

17:07

tears. He was beginning

17:09

to understand a cruel

17:11

fact to life. There

17:13

was no magic or

17:15

mystery to any of

17:17

it. It was all

17:19

just wires and stupid

17:21

comic books. Joe gave

17:23

a wince. I hate

17:25

it when that happens.

17:27

Then pressed the reset

17:29

button in Madame Twilight's

17:31

pupil. Big Mac gave

17:33

a cold-hearted shrug of

17:35

his shoulders and glanced

17:37

at the cards that

17:40

were on the floor.

17:42

Every one of them

17:44

was faced down, except

17:46

for one. He picked

17:48

it up and stared

17:50

at it a little

17:52

too long. It was

17:54

the Ace of Swords

17:56

in reverse. I

18:03

hope enjoyed today's episode of The Up

18:05

Stories, The Last Reading of Madam Twilight,

18:07

was written by David Thomas, narrated by

18:10

Erika Ventura, produced by Carl Heaves of

18:12

music by Dark Fantasy Studio, and Tom

18:14

Robson, in Santa Feftified by Free Sound,

18:17

Dog. The episode illustration was provided by

18:19

Luke Spoon of Carry on House. Joshua

18:21

Bouché is our story programmer and along

18:24

with Jasmine Art and his eyeless ones,

18:26

Mary Bistrano and Cody Sarzasti, he helps

18:28

to manage our community. And a big

18:30

thanks to Benaritan for the ongoing

18:33

explosion of content he fires out

18:35

of his social media canon. David

18:37

Thomas is a comic book writer

18:39

from Cardiff Wales who only believes

18:41

in science, art and fortune tellers.

18:43

Eric Matora is an artist, mother,

18:45

bilingual narrator and her husbandry technician.

18:47

How does she manage it all?

18:49

No idea, but her artwork can

18:52

be seen on Instagram can be

18:54

seen on Instagram, on Instagram. at

18:56

E-F-E-E-E-N-T-U, where you can visit her

18:58

artist page on facebook.com/bio-artsy. The episodes

19:00

is a production of the

19:02

Story City Hall and

19:04

Cleaver and has brought

19:06

you with a greater

19:08

commons, attribution, non-commercial, no-driven

19:10

services license. That means

19:12

don't change it, don't sell it,

19:15

but by all means share the hell

19:17

out of him. Until next time.

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the water's surface puts

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manatees in danger of

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boat strikes. Tune in

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today to Mutual of

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the podcast, to meet

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routines. Or it might mean more

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right, so we aren't actually 35 anymore. But we

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listen. New episodes drop Mondays

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and Wednesdays.