WEBVTT 00:00:04.470 --> 00:00:18.870 One more short story. Hello and welcome to episode 00:00:18.870 --> 00:00:23.190 5 of One More Short Story with me, Chris Falwell. 00:00:23.629 --> 00:00:26.649 Really looking forward to sharing these stories 00:00:26.649 --> 00:00:30.629 with you today. again we're looking forward to 00:00:30.629 --> 00:00:33.890 sharing stories from the world of writing battle 00:00:33.890 --> 00:00:36.829 with you writing battle my favorite writing competition 00:00:36.829 --> 00:00:40.070 you get your prompts your genre maybe an object 00:00:40.070 --> 00:00:44.329 or a character or a location and you're off short 00:00:44.329 --> 00:00:48.189 stories here we go the theme for this episode 00:00:48.189 --> 00:00:52.649 is exploration finding things maybe losing things 00:00:52.649 --> 00:00:56.149 along the way we've got three lovely stories 00:00:56.149 --> 00:01:00.500 for you today First up is Spirit Animal by Gail 00:01:00.500 --> 00:01:06.040 Martin. Now Gail had this in the Wonder battle 00:01:06.040 --> 00:01:08.780 last year, one of the first professionally judged 00:01:08.780 --> 00:01:12.760 battles there was. Her prompts were fantasy, 00:01:13.079 --> 00:01:18.260 dreamer and rocking chair. Gail has narrated 00:01:18.260 --> 00:01:20.280 this for us herself and she's got a really, really 00:01:20.280 --> 00:01:23.099 lovely voice. It's like an old school Disney 00:01:23.099 --> 00:01:24.959 narrative voice that I could just imagine reading 00:01:24.959 --> 00:01:28.239 stories. round a fire or at bedtime, so I'll 00:01:28.239 --> 00:01:31.420 let her take it away. Here's Gail with Spirit 00:01:31.420 --> 00:01:36.900 Animal. Wrapped in Nana's throw blanket, Sheena 00:01:36.900 --> 00:01:39.700 ducked out the screen door as forked lightning 00:01:39.700 --> 00:01:44.359 carved up the sky. Sheena Maki, her mother called 00:01:44.359 --> 00:01:48.140 from inside the house. We're not finished talking 00:01:48.140 --> 00:01:51.700 about college. Sheena eyed the approaching storm 00:01:51.700 --> 00:01:55.329 and crossed the front porch. collapsing into 00:01:55.329 --> 00:01:58.269 Nana's rocking chair with its weathered arms 00:01:58.269 --> 00:02:01.989 and once bright indigo paint. She lifted the 00:02:01.989 --> 00:02:05.069 throw to her chin, brushing her fingers against 00:02:05.069 --> 00:02:08.469 its velveteen nap, allowing Nana's scent to wash 00:02:08.469 --> 00:02:13.710 over her. Sheena closed her eyes, picturing the 00:02:13.710 --> 00:02:17.469 crow's feet framing Nana's face, hoping her spirit 00:02:17.469 --> 00:02:22.030 was nearby. Storm watching was something they 00:02:22.030 --> 00:02:26.379 always did together. All the fight had been drained 00:02:26.379 --> 00:02:29.560 out of her. Nana's passing had brought it to 00:02:29.560 --> 00:02:33.479 a head. You're burying Nana in the cold ground 00:02:33.479 --> 00:02:37.879 in a steel casket? Sheena had protested. Nana's 00:02:37.879 --> 00:02:40.659 ancestors had spent their lives freezing and 00:02:40.659 --> 00:02:44.599 starving on the Bering Strait islands. When her 00:02:44.599 --> 00:02:47.819 earthly life was over, Nana had hoped to go to 00:02:47.819 --> 00:02:50.520 the lower world, the warm place full of food. 00:02:51.379 --> 00:02:55.000 You and Dad have many other choices. Like what? 00:02:55.539 --> 00:02:58.900 Setting her adrift on an ice floe? Mom said. 00:02:59.139 --> 00:03:02.199 She never shared her final wishes. See all the 00:03:02.199 --> 00:03:05.939 stress that created? Maybe you weren't listening. 00:03:06.479 --> 00:03:10.159 From this very corner of the world, she and Nana 00:03:10.159 --> 00:03:13.639 dreamt about a civilization that took from the 00:03:13.639 --> 00:03:16.800 earth wisely, where no one grabbed too much, 00:03:16.860 --> 00:03:20.259 so that some were left with nothing. Burying 00:03:20.259 --> 00:03:24.150 Nana in a sturdy alloy? Might have seemed worth 00:03:24.150 --> 00:03:28.050 the expense, slowing the cruelty of decay, but 00:03:28.050 --> 00:03:31.389 it was wasteful, and the embalming used toxic 00:03:31.389 --> 00:03:35.449 chemicals. Mom's ranting continued, floating 00:03:35.449 --> 00:03:38.330 through the screen door. Why did we build this 00:03:38.330 --> 00:03:42.530 business, Harvey? To help people, her dad said 00:03:42.530 --> 00:03:46.449 gently during times like this. Everything was 00:03:46.449 --> 00:03:50.969 for Sheena. Margie, give it a rest. She just 00:03:50.969 --> 00:03:54.729 got back from her Nana's funeral. My mother's 00:03:54.729 --> 00:03:57.949 funeral? Don't I deserve a shred of consideration? 00:03:58.530 --> 00:04:02.689 Her mother's voice grew more shrill. Sheena is 00:04:02.689 --> 00:04:07.830 going to the Institute this fall, period. She 00:04:07.830 --> 00:04:10.009 heard her mother complaining that she'd latched 00:04:10.009 --> 00:04:13.389 onto her heritage because it was the thing kids 00:04:13.389 --> 00:04:17.709 did these days. It's posturing. She's only one 00:04:17.709 --> 00:04:22.129 -eighth Inuit. Sheena needed to clear away the 00:04:22.129 --> 00:04:25.089 negativity. She breathed deeply, stretching out 00:04:25.089 --> 00:04:27.290 her arms and turning her palms toward the evening 00:04:27.290 --> 00:04:31.029 sky, whispering an intercession for Nana's soul. 00:04:32.810 --> 00:04:37.730 Great Spirit, giver of all good things, I deceit 00:04:37.730 --> 00:04:42.089 you in the wild breath of this storm. To protect 00:04:42.089 --> 00:04:45.350 Nana's spirit, she respected everything you made 00:04:45.350 --> 00:04:49.160 and listened to your voice. Make sure her Inua 00:04:49.160 --> 00:04:53.720 is warm and fed and feeling the light only you 00:04:53.720 --> 00:05:01.980 can give. Sheena chanted the prayer twice more, 00:05:02.160 --> 00:05:05.920 opening her eyes. An apparition stood before 00:05:05.920 --> 00:05:12.120 her. She leapt to her feet. Nana! My dear girl, 00:05:12.560 --> 00:05:16.959 Nana said, I awaited your prayer. How are you? 00:05:18.519 --> 00:05:24.259 Now I see many things, things I must show you. 00:05:24.759 --> 00:05:28.959 Nana reached out, clasped her hand, and gestured 00:05:28.959 --> 00:05:33.680 toward the sky. Come. In the next moment, they 00:05:33.680 --> 00:05:36.680 flew above the clouds and landed in a hollow, 00:05:36.939 --> 00:05:40.540 carved into a snow -crested mountain. Are we 00:05:40.540 --> 00:05:45.519 in the Cascades? Sheena asked. Nana nodded. Look. 00:05:45.899 --> 00:05:50.939 at our little friend. A dundrab rabbit sat motionless 00:05:50.939 --> 00:05:54.399 a few feet from them. When there is snow on the 00:05:54.399 --> 00:05:59.480 ground, the snowshoe hare... Snowshoe hare? Sheena 00:05:59.480 --> 00:06:02.860 interrupted. Nana pointed to the patchy snow. 00:06:03.180 --> 00:06:06.939 It should be all white, but the winters are warming, 00:06:06.980 --> 00:06:10.959 so she remains brown. Now the great horned owl 00:06:10.959 --> 00:06:15.720 will find his next meal too easily. Sheena scowled. 00:06:15.720 --> 00:06:20.160 That's not right. We must see other things, Nana 00:06:20.160 --> 00:06:23.860 grabbed hold. Fly with me. In a heartbeat, they 00:06:23.860 --> 00:06:27.740 stood at a river's edge. A pink -bellied fish 00:06:27.740 --> 00:06:30.519 swam against the turn of the current, digging 00:06:30.519 --> 00:06:36.720 its snout among the rocks. A coho salmon, Sheena 00:06:36.720 --> 00:06:39.779 observed. She's looking for somewhere to lay 00:06:39.779 --> 00:06:43.819 her eggs, Nana said. Nothing safe here for her. 00:06:45.120 --> 00:06:48.800 Sheena studied the coho and biology class. Logging, 00:06:48.839 --> 00:06:52.220 overfishing, and agricultural runoff had all 00:06:52.220 --> 00:06:56.240 but decimated them. Nana, help it. Woosh it off 00:06:56.240 --> 00:06:59.399 to a safer part of the river. I can't do that. 00:06:59.779 --> 00:07:03.420 But if everyone did something better than what 00:07:03.420 --> 00:07:08.279 they're doing... Nana paused. Then she took Sheena's 00:07:08.279 --> 00:07:11.459 arm and off they soared, landing on the seacoast. 00:07:12.000 --> 00:07:15.519 Atop a jetty of boulders, the sun was setting 00:07:15.519 --> 00:07:18.759 and it feathered the horizon with purple clouds. 00:07:20.420 --> 00:07:25.279 We've been here, remember? Sheena laughed. We 00:07:25.279 --> 00:07:27.839 held on to each other for dear life on that roadway, 00:07:27.879 --> 00:07:32.439 it. I remember. Orcas were breaching the water, 00:07:32.660 --> 00:07:36.399 tufted puffins and harbor seals everywhere. Be 00:07:36.399 --> 00:07:41.990 still. Where are all the animals? Watch and listen. 00:07:42.810 --> 00:07:45.709 Sheena stared at the ocean, searching for whales. 00:07:46.689 --> 00:07:50.769 One harbor seal, barking and grunting, clambered 00:07:50.769 --> 00:07:55.550 onto a rock pile a few feet away. Sheena flinched, 00:07:55.550 --> 00:07:58.949 stumbling backward. She felt Nana's steadying 00:07:58.949 --> 00:08:02.509 presence on her shoulder. The clamor finally 00:08:02.509 --> 00:08:05.810 ceased and the seal returned to the water. Sheena 00:08:05.810 --> 00:08:10.269 felt numb. The animals are barely hanging on. 00:08:10.490 --> 00:08:14.050 We must do more to help them. What can you do? 00:08:14.829 --> 00:08:17.709 I'll study wildlife ecology in college. Not what 00:08:17.709 --> 00:08:23.149 they want. Without warning, they floated above 00:08:23.149 --> 00:08:26.350 the jetty, landing on the shoreline. The Great 00:08:26.350 --> 00:08:30.870 Spirit wants us to respect our elders. But, Sheena 00:08:30.870 --> 00:08:35.169 felt sheepish. What if they're wrong? Nana took 00:08:35.169 --> 00:08:38.690 her hands. Don't they deserve to be heard? I 00:08:38.690 --> 00:08:41.129 don't want to go to the Institute. I want to 00:08:41.129 --> 00:08:44.950 be a scientist. Your parents are mortuary scientists. 00:08:45.750 --> 00:08:50.269 Nana lowered her gaze. I died sooner than expected, 00:08:50.529 --> 00:08:54.389 without final arrangements. That created unnecessary 00:08:54.389 --> 00:08:58.470 stress for you and your parents. Their work gives 00:08:58.470 --> 00:09:01.470 families peace during times of chaos. That's 00:09:01.470 --> 00:09:05.440 clear to me now. Nana. I don't want to work in 00:09:05.440 --> 00:09:09.059 the family business, Tiny Waves kissed her ankles. 00:09:09.460 --> 00:09:15.460 I want this. Saving animals or penguins in Antarctica. 00:09:15.759 --> 00:09:19.960 Who knows? Something grand. It's your decision, 00:09:20.600 --> 00:09:23.860 Nana said. Perhaps they're willing to listen 00:09:23.860 --> 00:09:27.980 to you now. The next instant, she was back in 00:09:27.980 --> 00:09:30.879 Nana's rocker on the front porch. The storm had 00:09:30.879 --> 00:09:35.389 passed. Nana had vanished. Sheena remained still, 00:09:35.610 --> 00:09:38.169 considering everything she'd seen and heard, 00:09:38.350 --> 00:09:43.049 then slipped inside this green door. Mom? Dad? 00:09:43.809 --> 00:10:02.570 I'm ready to talk. There we go. Thank you, Gail, 00:10:02.610 --> 00:10:05.450 for that really, really lovely story. Great take 00:10:05.450 --> 00:10:10.149 on fantasy as a genre. So for me, when someone 00:10:10.149 --> 00:10:12.929 says fantasy stories, my brain will probably 00:10:12.929 --> 00:10:15.789 leap to sword and sorcery. There's no need for 00:10:15.789 --> 00:10:17.690 it to be that limited, of course. And Gail's 00:10:17.690 --> 00:10:20.929 done a really lovely job here of exploring grief 00:10:20.929 --> 00:10:26.850 and how somebody processes that within a culture 00:10:26.850 --> 00:10:29.259 that I'm... I hold my hands up with the Inuit 00:10:29.259 --> 00:10:31.220 culture is not something I know a great deal 00:10:31.220 --> 00:10:34.100 about at all. So it was great to have a chance 00:10:34.100 --> 00:10:36.480 to reflect on that and think about that throughout 00:10:36.480 --> 00:10:39.360 the story. Thank you very much, Gail Martin with 00:10:39.360 --> 00:10:44.379 Spirit Animal. Our next story today is Futures 00:10:44.379 --> 00:10:48.960 Past by Annie Benham. This story came from another 00:10:48.960 --> 00:10:53.220 professionally judged battle of 2025, the fear 00:10:53.220 --> 00:10:57.279 battle, and it was in the mystery genre. Annie 00:10:57.279 --> 00:11:01.340 had the prompts Mystery, Diplomat and Fossil. 00:11:02.960 --> 00:11:05.519 I really enjoyed what Annie's done with this. 00:11:05.659 --> 00:11:08.679 She was kind enough to let me narrate it, which 00:11:08.679 --> 00:11:12.779 I enjoyed doing too. And yeah, I won't say too 00:11:12.779 --> 00:11:15.299 much more about it. I'll do some more waffling 00:11:15.299 --> 00:11:17.919 about things I enjoyed afterwards. But for now, 00:11:17.960 --> 00:11:22.960 here is Annie Benham's Futures Past narrated 00:11:22.960 --> 00:11:28.690 by me. A biting wind cuts through me as I snake 00:11:28.690 --> 00:11:31.029 my way between the blackened bones of buildings 00:11:31.029 --> 00:11:35.549 forgotten by time. It drives me to pick up my 00:11:35.549 --> 00:11:40.509 pace. The sooner this is done, the sooner I get 00:11:40.509 --> 00:11:45.190 back to my warm lab. Digging in the dirt is Len's 00:11:45.190 --> 00:11:49.029 specialty. I prefer the science of analysis. 00:11:50.610 --> 00:11:54.269 As I join Len by the dig site, assistants scurry 00:11:54.269 --> 00:12:00.200 about below. i ask him have you verified it twice 00:12:00.200 --> 00:12:05.500 it's the real deal come on see for yourself he 00:12:05.500 --> 00:12:07.580 climbs down the ladder and leads me across the 00:12:07.580 --> 00:12:11.500 plot step aside let professor ashing through 00:12:11.500 --> 00:12:16.159 kneeling in the freshly upturned dirt i brush 00:12:16.159 --> 00:12:18.480 away the soil that clings to the object's ivory 00:12:18.480 --> 00:12:25.559 surface you were right len i grin up at him It's 00:12:25.559 --> 00:12:29.759 bone. That's not the best part, he points, and 00:12:29.759 --> 00:12:33.720 my eyes follow. Dozens of bone fragments protrude 00:12:33.720 --> 00:12:41.519 from the site wall. Ritual burial grounds. Neat 00:12:41.519 --> 00:12:44.220 rows of fossils line the sterile table in my 00:12:44.220 --> 00:12:48.100 research lab. Len taps out a rhythm with his 00:12:48.100 --> 00:12:51.039 three fingers. He always does this when he's 00:12:51.039 --> 00:12:55.450 deep in thought. The imager dings as it completes 00:12:55.450 --> 00:12:59.309 the 3D grid models. I flick open a virtual screen 00:12:59.309 --> 00:13:03.549 above the table. Selecting a fragment, the image 00:13:03.549 --> 00:13:07.009 emerges from the screen. This skull shows signs 00:13:07.009 --> 00:13:10.870 of a depression fracture. Len observes the spider 00:13:10.870 --> 00:13:13.830 web of cracks. He pulls up a couple more images. 00:13:14.710 --> 00:13:18.389 But this skull looks intact, and it seems to 00:13:18.389 --> 00:13:21.929 be part of the same remains as this bone. There 00:13:21.929 --> 00:13:23.889 are others just like it that encircle the chest 00:13:23.889 --> 00:13:26.149 cavity, but this one appears to have snapped. 00:13:27.110 --> 00:13:29.529 If it punctured any organs, it could have been 00:13:29.529 --> 00:13:33.730 fatal. Plus, surrounding geology indicates they 00:13:33.730 --> 00:13:38.730 were buried about 50 years apart. Then they didn't 00:13:38.730 --> 00:13:42.710 die from the same cause. Another swipe and the 00:13:42.710 --> 00:13:46.570 3D models disappear along with the screen. I 00:13:46.570 --> 00:13:48.450 thought this burial site would give us answers. 00:13:49.610 --> 00:13:52.149 None of these bodies would explain a single extinction 00:13:52.149 --> 00:13:55.129 event. That probably means that whatever happened, 00:13:55.190 --> 00:13:57.210 they didn't have a chance to bury their dead. 00:13:58.950 --> 00:14:03.009 Or it happened gradually. I stroke the bristles 00:14:03.009 --> 00:14:07.129 on my chin. We have to find a usable genetic 00:14:07.129 --> 00:14:14.590 sample. The soft whir of the fabricator thrums 00:14:14.590 --> 00:14:18.779 through my lab. A warm orange glow emanates from 00:14:18.779 --> 00:14:22.720 behind the thick glass. Automated arms zip back 00:14:22.720 --> 00:14:25.879 and forth, building strand by strand in a mesmerising 00:14:25.879 --> 00:14:29.740 dance. I watch as the shape begins to reveal 00:14:29.740 --> 00:14:34.100 itself with each new layer. I'm guessing you 00:14:34.100 --> 00:14:38.000 found the sample you needed? Twyla's voice interrupts 00:14:38.000 --> 00:14:42.559 my fixation. Yep, and I started work this morning. 00:14:43.500 --> 00:14:46.299 If you didn't hibernate until mid -rotation every 00:14:46.299 --> 00:14:49.659 day, you would have already known about it. Twyla 00:14:49.659 --> 00:14:52.519 flops into the chair, hovering by my desk, letting 00:14:52.519 --> 00:14:54.940 momentum carry it across the room until it bumps 00:14:54.940 --> 00:14:59.100 into the side of the machine. Just please tell 00:14:59.100 --> 00:15:01.820 me this is going to work. I can't take another 00:15:01.820 --> 00:15:07.120 minute with these translations. Seriously. I 00:15:07.120 --> 00:15:09.639 fold my arms across my torso and give her a pointed 00:15:09.639 --> 00:15:13.289 gaze. You're the most obsessive linguist I know. 00:15:14.009 --> 00:15:17.330 Puzzles and codes are literally your thing. She 00:15:17.330 --> 00:15:20.590 leans forward. Yeah, but I have so many samples. 00:15:21.230 --> 00:15:23.789 I'm talking about hundreds from similar sites, 00:15:23.870 --> 00:15:26.450 but there's no context, so I can't figure it 00:15:26.450 --> 00:15:30.789 out. Well, you'd better sort it out soon. I'm 00:15:30.789 --> 00:15:33.289 still going to need some kind of real -time translation, 00:15:33.350 --> 00:15:36.769 or this will all be for nothing. The Ministry 00:15:36.769 --> 00:15:38.889 of Archaeology will have my head if that happens. 00:15:39.759 --> 00:15:42.379 Well, they did invest a fortune in getting us 00:15:42.379 --> 00:15:47.159 here. Everyone's counting on us. If we don't 00:15:47.159 --> 00:15:50.759 find out what happened to them... An error symbol 00:15:50.759 --> 00:15:54.559 blinks on the console. I need to refill the carbon 00:15:54.559 --> 00:16:01.539 cartridge. Hold that thought. I call him the 00:16:01.539 --> 00:16:05.100 Diplomat, I say to Twyla and Len, standing over 00:16:05.100 --> 00:16:07.399 the fluid -filled chamber and the cloned body 00:16:07.399 --> 00:16:15.080 within. A link between our people and his. The 00:16:15.080 --> 00:16:17.840 barely perceptible electrical charge generated 00:16:17.840 --> 00:16:21.299 by our shared excitement leaves a metallic tang 00:16:21.299 --> 00:16:24.899 on my tongue. According to the vitals, there's 00:16:24.899 --> 00:16:27.200 no way this body could survive the world's current 00:16:27.200 --> 00:16:30.779 temperatures. Could the temperature have significantly 00:16:30.779 --> 00:16:34.259 dropped since this specimen was alive? Twyla 00:16:34.259 --> 00:16:36.480 leans in for a closer look at the face under 00:16:36.480 --> 00:16:41.879 the rippling enzymatic fluids. Maybe. I shrug. 00:16:42.759 --> 00:16:45.759 She reaches out, fingers hovering over the fluid 00:16:45.759 --> 00:16:49.019 surface, and I smack her away. We can't risk 00:16:49.019 --> 00:16:53.059 contamination. Len hisses a laugh, and Twyla 00:16:53.059 --> 00:16:55.799 shoots him a glare. Composing himself quickly, 00:16:56.059 --> 00:16:59.940 Len turns back to me. Geological record shows 00:16:59.940 --> 00:17:02.279 there was some kind of a radiological event. 00:17:02.919 --> 00:17:07.299 Do you think they could have, er... We all stare 00:17:07.299 --> 00:17:11.980 at each other. as the realization sinks in. Twyla 00:17:11.980 --> 00:17:15.900 whispers, did they cause their own environmental 00:17:15.900 --> 00:17:21.440 collapse? There's only one way to find out. I 00:17:21.440 --> 00:17:24.279 try to sound confident but my hand trembles as 00:17:24.279 --> 00:17:28.559 I engage the resuscitation protocol. The fluid 00:17:28.559 --> 00:17:30.900 drains from the chamber and the breathing apparatus 00:17:30.900 --> 00:17:35.000 detaches. A stimulant is injected into the body. 00:17:36.170 --> 00:17:40.670 The clone jolts upright in a violent gasp. Twyla 00:17:40.670 --> 00:17:43.990 jumps back, and Len reassures her it's okay. 00:17:44.309 --> 00:17:46.890 They have inflatable bladders in the chest cavity 00:17:46.890 --> 00:17:52.970 for respiration. Easy there. I try to calm our 00:17:52.970 --> 00:17:56.230 new guest. His eyes dart around the room, and 00:17:56.230 --> 00:18:00.609 gibberish spills from his lips. Twyla! On it! 00:18:01.190 --> 00:18:04.200 She cuts me off. engaging the translation program 00:18:04.200 --> 00:18:07.640 she'd finally managed to put together. The stream 00:18:07.640 --> 00:18:10.880 of nonsense transforms to words, and he asks 00:18:10.880 --> 00:18:14.900 me, Who are you? Where am I? That's difficult 00:18:14.900 --> 00:18:19.380 to explain. First, I need to know, what happened 00:18:19.380 --> 00:18:23.740 to your species? His face stares back at me, 00:18:23.880 --> 00:18:29.940 expressionless. What do you mean? Maybe I was 00:18:29.940 --> 00:18:34.440 asking too much, too soon. Let's try something 00:18:34.440 --> 00:18:40.299 simpler. What's your name? Blank eyes hold mine. 00:18:42.480 --> 00:18:49.039 I don't know. I look up at Twyla's gasp. Her 00:18:49.039 --> 00:18:52.099 pupils narrow into slits, her scales draining 00:18:52.099 --> 00:18:55.859 from emerald in the chartreuse. They don't have 00:18:55.859 --> 00:19:00.799 genetic memory. He can't tell us how they went 00:19:00.799 --> 00:19:07.990 extinct. Dread lumps in my stomach. We'll never 00:19:07.990 --> 00:19:11.089 know if we can safely colonise Earth, or if we'll 00:19:11.089 --> 00:19:22.509 face the same end here as humans. There we are, 00:19:22.609 --> 00:19:26.589 Futures Past by Annie Benham. Oh, I really enjoyed 00:19:26.589 --> 00:19:30.240 the chance to read and narrate that again. I 00:19:30.240 --> 00:19:32.480 don't know if, like me, you were someone who 00:19:32.480 --> 00:19:34.700 didn't guess the mystery until right towards 00:19:34.700 --> 00:19:37.099 the end or right at the end. And I'm not ashamed 00:19:37.099 --> 00:19:40.059 to admit that. I was hoodwinked. And then suddenly 00:19:40.059 --> 00:19:41.960 all the little references started to make sense. 00:19:42.140 --> 00:19:44.339 Okay, inflatable bladders in the chest cavity. 00:19:45.799 --> 00:19:49.220 Ancient burial grounds. And then suddenly you're 00:19:49.220 --> 00:19:50.839 looking at it from a whole different perspective. 00:19:51.359 --> 00:19:53.519 I thought it was really nicely done. Thank you, 00:19:53.519 --> 00:19:57.539 Annie. It got Annie to the sweet 16. The last 00:19:57.539 --> 00:20:02.369 16. stories in the knockout tournament out of 00:20:02.369 --> 00:20:03.950 hundreds and hundreds and hundreds that were 00:20:03.950 --> 00:20:05.950 entered and i think she's done herself really 00:20:05.950 --> 00:20:11.009 really proud there so on to our third and final 00:20:11.009 --> 00:20:15.470 story for our exploration episode and that is 00:20:15.470 --> 00:20:19.809 highly appropriately titled found and lost by 00:20:19.809 --> 00:20:24.230 k n celestro Now, Kay and Celestro are normally 00:20:24.230 --> 00:20:27.650 a sci -fi and fantasy writer. I'll tag her on 00:20:27.650 --> 00:20:29.950 socials, as I do with all the writers who are 00:20:29.950 --> 00:20:32.309 on social media or who have websites and things. 00:20:32.789 --> 00:20:34.990 So I'll pop that on the Instagram account so 00:20:34.990 --> 00:20:37.930 you can go and check out their other stuff. Yes, 00:20:38.130 --> 00:20:41.849 so this story came from the Summer Nanofiction 00:20:41.849 --> 00:20:47.390 Competition in 2025. It's a 250 -worder. Well, 00:20:47.569 --> 00:20:50.390 I don't want to spoil this. Her prompts were 00:20:50.390 --> 00:20:55.470 road trip, hippie, and seashell, and I will just 00:20:55.470 --> 00:20:58.150 say from the beginning that it's written from 00:20:58.150 --> 00:21:01.529 the perspective of a seashell on the beach. Now 00:21:01.529 --> 00:21:03.029 I'm not giving anything away, that does become 00:21:03.029 --> 00:21:05.190 apparent in the first line, but I think it's 00:21:05.190 --> 00:21:07.750 useful to have that in your mind as you start 00:21:07.750 --> 00:21:10.529 listening. I really hope you enjoyed it, I very 00:21:10.529 --> 00:21:13.869 much did. This is Found and Lost by Kay and Celestro, 00:21:14.130 --> 00:21:19.390 narrated by Regan Westergaard. You found me in 00:21:19.390 --> 00:21:22.490 the sand. Pulled me up and threaded me with hemp, 00:21:22.670 --> 00:21:25.569 hung me around her neck and laughed as she kissed 00:21:25.569 --> 00:21:28.269 you in the surf, your youth glittering in the 00:21:28.269 --> 00:21:32.630 sunlight. She wore me every day, and I learned 00:21:32.630 --> 00:21:35.630 the shape of summer away from the sea as miles 00:21:35.630 --> 00:21:39.769 bled out behind us in ribbons of tarmac. She 00:21:39.769 --> 00:21:41.990 folded her arms on the passenger side window, 00:21:42.309 --> 00:21:45.470 head lolling as the wind played with her impossibly 00:21:45.470 --> 00:21:50.470 long hair. You watched her and smiled and talked 00:21:50.470 --> 00:21:54.130 about everything and nothing. At night, you traded 00:21:54.130 --> 00:21:57.049 a joint back and forth, giggling in the backseat 00:21:57.049 --> 00:22:00.190 and filling the van with earthen smells before 00:22:00.190 --> 00:22:02.730 you sent your breath shivering across her skin. 00:22:04.529 --> 00:22:07.349 I hung between her breasts and swung with every 00:22:07.349 --> 00:22:12.630 thrust as you rocked away the starlight. Halfway 00:22:12.630 --> 00:22:14.849 to New York and the promise of a million moments 00:22:14.849 --> 00:22:18.069 of bliss sung to you by legends. You picked up 00:22:18.069 --> 00:22:21.710 another man, hitching his way along. You two 00:22:21.710 --> 00:22:25.130 got on great, singing your joys and sorrows into 00:22:25.130 --> 00:22:28.410 the burning sky as immortality stretched out 00:22:28.410 --> 00:22:32.009 before you, infinite as the road. She watched 00:22:32.009 --> 00:22:38.069 him and smiled and held your hand at first. You 00:22:38.069 --> 00:22:42.230 didn't notice when that last thing stopped. Three 00:22:42.230 --> 00:22:45.740 days later, they left. Gone off together in the 00:22:45.740 --> 00:22:49.180 back of someone else's car. She left me on your 00:22:49.180 --> 00:22:55.140 dashboard. You lost yourself in bottles and back 00:22:55.140 --> 00:22:58.920 roads after that. And then, somewhere between 00:22:58.920 --> 00:23:02.539 heartbreak and your destination, you lost me, 00:23:02.680 --> 00:23:16.759 too. I asked Regan to narrate that story for 00:23:16.759 --> 00:23:19.920 us because I just think she really captures that 00:23:19.920 --> 00:23:26.859 kind of soulful longing, the sad, quick -fire, 00:23:26.859 --> 00:23:31.380 burnt -out romance. Yeah, what K .N. Silustro's 00:23:31.380 --> 00:23:36.140 done there in just 250 words is very, very impressive. 00:23:36.400 --> 00:23:40.039 The explosive beginning, the glorious middle, 00:23:40.160 --> 00:23:44.339 and the unfortunate emotional... possibly quite 00:23:44.339 --> 00:23:47.339 destructive end now in that battle last year 00:23:47.339 --> 00:23:50.180 in the road trip genre she got down to the last 00:23:50.180 --> 00:23:54.200 four semi -finalist which is no mean feat and 00:23:54.200 --> 00:23:56.299 again thoroughly deserved really really strong 00:23:56.299 --> 00:24:01.799 work so thank you to gail to annie and to kn 00:24:01.799 --> 00:24:06.000 and to reagan for her narration thank you again 00:24:06.000 --> 00:24:09.259 for joining us on one more short story with me 00:24:09.259 --> 00:24:11.500 chris fullwell we'll see you next time