Timestorm Episode 15 Transcript

NARRATION
Previously, on Timestorm:

RAMIRO
The cultural event the library’s organizing. At Branch Brook Park? We’re all going together. It’s a big deal for the library.

CLARA
April’s a busy month at the park with all the Cherry Blossom events.

ANGIE
Well, they’re in full bloom, so your attendees will have a lovely view as they walk around.

JOSIE
You’re really interested in that wall.

JANELLY
Before...there was some kind of...

JOSIE
What?

JANELLY
Nothing.

JANELLY
Hey, Beni...the huge hanging wall art thingy? It was gone. Whatever was hanging there - it must have been taken it down. But why?

JOSIE
It such a bulky tapestry. I'm sure it wasn't easy taking it down and hiding it so quickly.

DATU
It was a close call, Josie. 

JOSIE
We've got to replace that doorknob as soon as possible

BENI
We just helped a cacique learn his lines for an areíto?

MUSIC: THEME SONG - "IN THE TIMESTORM"

Witness. Find. Remember.
The hidden past seeks its dawn,
showing us that we all belong.
Horacio, Alexa, and Beni take back time,
find history in the timestorm.
Witness. Find. Remember.

2018. THE VENTURA’S MINIVAN. NEWARK, NEW JERSEY. 

MUSIC: “MINIVAN” TRANSISTION.

RAMIRO is driving the minivan.

REPORTER
(via car radio) As Puerto Rico continues to experience school closures and recurring energy blackouts, government officials are calling for a count of the death toll as the accuracy of the previous numbers is being called into question.

RAMIRO
Ay. Those official numbers never made any sense.

REPORTER
We’ll continue to bring you updates as the situation unfolds. 

RAMIRO turns off the radio.

RAMIRO
What’s up with you two?

BENI
I’m just reading about Agueybana on my phone.

ALEXA
Me too.

BENI
Did you know that Agueybana the First, the leader of Puerto Rico when Juan Ponce de Leon arrived, Agueybana welcomed him into the village and they were friends at first?

ALEXA
Or that after Agueybana the First died in fifteen ten, his brother - he led an army to fight against the Spanish, but he was killed by Ponce’s men in the Taíno Rebellion of fifteen eleven.

RAMIRO
Let’s see, I remember something about a cacique. But I didn’t know any of that other stuff.

BENI
Isn’t it kind of messed up how we never learned anything about these brothers before?

ALEXA
Right? Like, don’t their lives count?

RAMIRO parks the car.

2018. TAINO COMICS AND GAMES. NEWARK, NEW JERSEY.

MUSIC: “TAÍNO COMICS AND GAMES” TRANSITION.
SFX: DOOR OPENS/LASER BELL/CITY STREET SOUNDS.

JOSIE
Hello there, Janelly.

JANELLY
Hey, Josie.

JANELLY walks back to the gaming area. She sees a LOCKSMITH handing DATU a set of keys.

JANELLY
Huh.

DATU
Thanks for your help. I really appreciate the lock change on such short notice.

LOCKSMITH
Yeah. Sure thing. You want me to lock the door now?

DATU
Oh. No, you can go ahead and leave it open. Thanks again.

LOCKSMITH
Yeah. No problem.

LOCKSMITH walks away.

JANELLY
Hey Datu, what’s going on?

DATU
Hi Janelly! Nothing serious, just fixing a lock. 

JANELLY
Lock?

DATU
Yeah. I should go update Josie now that it’s done.

POLITE GAMER
Janelly, do you want to join our game?

JANELLY
Oh, yeah, sure thing!

FOCUSED GAMER
Here’s a character card, dice, and a player piece. You can play as the Rogue.

JANELLY
(distracted) Uh-huh, sure, the Rogue.

HYPERBOLIC GAMER
This is gonna be amazing!

DATU
(distant whispering) ...door should stay shut now... 

SFX: DICE ROLL.

JOSIE
(distant whispering) ...they can’t know...where I live... 

POLITE GAMER
Hello? Janelly?

FOCUSED GAMER
You just roll the dice now.

HYPERBOLIC GAMER
My fate lies in your hands, Janelly!

JANELLY
I’m sorry, what did you say?

POLITE GAMER
It’s your turn.

JOSIE approaches the GAMERS.

JOSIE
Ooh, Gaze of the Beholder! I love this game.

JOSIE walks into the office.

JANELLY
I’ll be right back, I’ll join the next round.

JANELLY rushes to the office.

2018. TAINO COMICS AND GAMES, NEWARK, NEW JERSEY.

JANELLY
Hey, Josie. What’s going on?

JOSIE
The lock was broken so we had it replaced.

JANELLY
That’s it? Nothing else?

JOSIE
No. 

JANELLY
Okay, I have to ask - do you live inside the store?

JOSIE
(laughs) In this tiny office?

JANELLY
I don’t know...maybe like an apartment, you know, attached to the store. 

JOSIE
Does it look like there’s an apartment tucked away anywhere? 

JANELLY
Uh...

JOSIE knocks on the wall.

JOSIE
You think these walls are hiding a secret door?

JANELLY
No, I guess not. I don’t know what I was thinking. 

JANELLY picks up a solar-powered light cube.

JANELLY
What is this?

JOSIE
A solar-powered light cube. They were a big help during blackouts after Hurricane Maria. Kinda looks like an origami balloon. 

JANELLY
Uh, yeah. Guess I’ll get back to that game.

JOSIE
Who are you?

JANELLY
Oh. Uh, the Rogue.

JOSIE
Ah. It’s always fun being the rogue.

2018. BRANCH BROOK PARK. NEWARK, NEW JERSEY.

MUSIC: “CHERRY BLOSSOMS ARE DOPE” TRANSITION.

ALEXA
Ooh. The Cherry Blossoms are so pretty.

BENI
Hey, Alexa, remember when you climbed up one of the trees and Pa had to carry you down?

BENI laughs.

RAMIRO

Ay, Beni.

ALEXA
You bring that up every time we come to the park. I bet I’d have no problem climbing these trees now.

MUSIC: REGGAE RHYTHM IN THE DISTANCE.

BETINA approaches them.

BETINA
Ramiro! Kids!

BENI | ALEXA | RAMIRO
Hi! | Hey, Betina.

BETINA
Hi, hello! Sorry, I’ve just been running all over the place, there’s still so much to do.

RAMIRO
Betina, have you seen Clara?

BETINA
Last I saw her, she was by the Octagon Shelter.

CLARA approaches.

CLARA
Ramiro! 

BETINA
Found her!

RAMIRO, ALEXA, BENI, and BETINA laugh.

CLARA
I can’t wait for you kids to hear all the musicians we have lined up. 

ANGIE approaches.

ANGIE
Clara? Hey there, everyone. Welcome to Branch Brook Park. Sorry to interrupt—

CLARA
Is everything alright, Angie?

ANGIE
The reggae musicians are asking for another power strip. 

BETINA
I brought extra power strips. I’ll take care of this.

ANGIE
I need to greet the mayor and set him up for his opening remarks.

RAMIRO
Clara, go ahead and take care of things. I’ll take the twins to look at the Cherry Blossoms while the musicians warm up.

CLARA
Ay, gracias, Ramiro. I’ll catch up in a bit.

ANGIE
You might want to walk along the Lenape Trail. Just follow those little yellow blazes. See that one on the tree there?

ALEXA
Oh yeah! I see it.

ANGIE
Walk in that direction and you’ll find more painted marks to follow.

BENI
I never even noticed those yellow spots.

ANGIE
Plenty of Cherry Blossoms along the way. Enjoy your visit!

RAMIRO
Bueno, let’s go follow this Lenape Trail.

THE TIMESTORM. ANOTHER DIMENSION.

MUSIC: "TIMESTORM" TRANSITION.

ATABEY
Lieutenant, ready for another round of our favorite game?

HORACIO
Guess! The! Year! I’m ready, Atabey. What have you got?

ATABEY
Alright, first moment from Puerto Rico’s past in the windshield in three, two, one...

SFX: CHANNEL CHANGE.

PIRATE
La libertad cuenta!

SFX: CHANNEL CHANGE.

HORACIO
Oh, come on, this one’s easy. That’s the pirate Cofresí and, judging by how he’s running through the brush, this is right after he abandoned his ship the Anne in…eighteen twenty-five, the year he was captured.

ATABEY
Let’s give you something a little more challenging.

SFX: CHANNEL CHANGE.

GENERAL
Las cuatro vientinueve!

SFX: A SWORD BREAKING THROUGH THE FACE OF A LONG-CLOCK.
SFX: CHANNEL CHANGE.

HORACIO
That was a long-case clock, right?

ATABEY
I’m not saying anything.

HORACIO
It was a long-case clock. The one in La Fortaleza.

ATABEY
The game is Guess-the-Year, not the location, Lieutenant.

HORACIO
I know, I know. I happen to remember a certain Ricardo De Ortega striking a long-case clock with his sword, stopping the clock, and marking the exact time Spain lost control over Puerto Rico, right before the United States invaded in... (drum roll) Eighteen ninety-eighty!

ATABEY
Good job. Another?

HORACIO
Please!

SFX: CHANNEL CHANGE.

CROWD
Cuatro mil siescientos cuarenta y cinco! Cuatro mil siescientos cuarenta y cinco! Cuatro mil siescientos cuarenta y cinco!

HORACIO
What...wait what’s this? 

SFX: CHANNEL CHANGE.

ATABEY
You weren’t supposed to —

HORACIO
Was that the Río Piedras Massacre? No, that was in nineteen thirty-five. Could it have been the UPR student strikes in twenty-ten? No, that’s not it.

ATABEY
It was...Mardis Gras, in New Orleans.

HORACIO
I know the streets of Viejo San Juan.

ATABEY
You’re right, Lieutenant. It was a protest in Puerto Rico.

HORACIO
What year?

ATABEY
I can’t tell you the year.

HORACIO
Enough! I’ve had enough of your rules! I’m stuck inside the Timestorm. I can never go back to Earth! The least — the LEAST you could do is tell me the answer to this...silly game.

ATABEY
Twenty nineteen.

HORACIO
Twenty...nineteen? But the twins are in Twenty eighteen. I’ve never seen —

ATABEY
You’ve never seen past the twins’ present. You’re not supposed to.

2018. BRANCH BROOK PARK. NEWARK, NEW JERSEY.

MUSIC: SALSA MUSIC.

CLARA and RAMIRO dance in a crowd.

CLARA
Oh, Ramiro, when was the last time we went salsa dancing?

RAMIRO
Too long. (quietly) …two, three...five, six.

CLARA
Forget about counting it out, Rami, just feel the rhythm.

The music ends and the crowd applauds.

BETINA
Ramiro, Clara, you two are such good dancers.

CLARA
Thanks, Betina!

RAMIRO
No, no. It’s all Clara, she makes me look good. She doesn’t even make a face when I step on her feet.

BETINA, RAMIRO, and CLARA laugh.

CLARA
Oh, Rami. I better go see if anyone needs anything. Can you check in with the twins?

RAMIRO
Sure thing. 

MUSIC: “BOMBA ES VIDA” TRANSITION.
MUSIC: BOMBA DRUMMING.

ALEXA and BENI dance in a crowd.

BENI
This is amazing. It reminds me of the baby-naming ceremony with the musicians circling around the dancers.

ALEXA
It’s kind of like the areíto, too, in a way. 

BENI
I mean, the instruments and the rhythms are different. But, still, it feels like they’re all related.

ALEXA
Related across time! 

RAMIRO
Wepa! Look at you two. 

ALEXA
Come on, Pa!

RAMIRO
Ay, more dancing. You know I have no rhythm.

BENI
Who cares? Let’s go!

MUSIC: BOMBA SONG PLAYS FOR SEVERAL SECONDS.

The crowd dances and claps along with the rhythm.

2018. TAINO COMICS AND GAMES. NEWARK, NEW JERSEY.

MUSIC: TRANSITION MUSIC: “TAÍNO COMICS AND GAMES.”

JOSIE
Thanks for the assist again, Datu. 

DATU
Of course. 

JOSIE
I think I’ll leave the tapestry up now that the lock is fixed. I better get back to the other store. It’s getting late.

DATU
Hey, Josie? Do you have anyone helping you? At the other store, I mean.

JOSIE
Well, no, but I get by —

DATU
I was just wondering because if you ever needed help, I’d be willing. 

JOSIE
Oh, I appreciate it, Datu, but the location...

DATU
Right. The location, right—

JOSIE
It’s just, I don’t know if, like—

DATU
No, I get it. It must be difficult, of course. All the back and forth.  

JOSIE
It’s not like a door, you know that, right? There are rules. Steps you have to take. You know what? Maybe we could test it out.

DATU
Really?

JOSIE
Help me lock up.

JOSIE sets the alarm. DATU turns the deadbolt lock. They walk into the office and lock the door.

DATU
So...

JOSIE
Stand in front of the tapestry.

DATU takes a couple of steps.

JOSIE
Now, place your hand on where the design appears 3-D.

DATU
Here on this archway?

SFX: ELETRICAL BUZZ.

DATU
Whoa.

JOSIE
Yeah. You’re gonna feel a sort of electrical current. It’ll feel strange, like, you’re outside of your body for a few seconds. But considering what’s happening, it’s understandable.

DATU
How does this work?

JOSIE
Electricity. Here.

JOSIE tosses DATU a solar-powered light cube.

JOSIE
A solar-powered light cube. I’ll go first, so you know what to do. There’s one more thing. A word you have to say.

DATU
A word?

JOSIE
Locus.

JOSIE gasps.

SFX: TAPESTRY VORTEX WHOOSH.

DATU
Josie? Wow. She really did disappear. Not disappear. She...traveled. And now it’s my turn. Alright, Datu. You’ve got this. Locus.

DATU gasps.

SFX: TAPESTRY VORTEX WHOOSH.

2018. TAINO COMICS AND GAMES. SAN JUAN, PUERTO RICO.

DATU
Whoa...

JOSIE
You’re here! It worked! 

DATU
What do you mean it worked? Were you expecting it not to?

JOSIE
I’ve never let anyone use the tapestries to travel through the vortex before. 

DATU
Tapestries?

JOSIE
Look back at the wall.

DATU
Oh. That’s almost identical to the one that’s hanging on the office wall in Newark. 

JOSIE
I finally have someone to share my secret with. 

DATU
But...you told me about traveling between the two stores months ago.

JOSIE
Having someone know about it is different than someone traveling with me. 

DATU
I can’t believe we traveled all this way in an instant. Where are we exactly?

JOSIE
Old San Juan, Puerto Rico. Welcome to the other Taino Comics and Games! 

DATU
Amazing.

JOSIE
There’s still a lot of renovating that needs to happen, but that’s true of a lot of the businesses here. Remember, it’s only been seven months since Hurricane Maria. 

DATU takes off his jacket.

DATU
Wow, this is some heat and humidity. It really reminds me of home.

JOSIE
Home? Oh. The Philippines.

DATU
I remember, as a kid, going on walks with my Lolo and Lola on nights just like this. I loved gazing up at the stars with them.

JOSIE
Oh yeah? Follow me.

DATU
Where are we going?

JOSIE
It’s not the Philippines, but a few blocks away, in front of El Morro, the fort. There’s a wide-open field where we can stare at the stars.

2018. THE VENTURA MINIVAN. NEWARK, NEW JERSEY.

MUSIC: “MINIVAN” TRANSITION.

CLARA
Did you two have fun?

ALEXA
Yes! The bomba tent was the best. I loved the dancing. And Beni even got to play the barrel drum.

RAMIRO
I saw that. You weren’t half bad, Beni.

BENI
Yeah.

ALEXA
That Lenape Trail was cool, too. Can you believe it starts here in Newark and goes all the way to South Mountain?

CLARA
Wow. That’s over by West Orange and Millburn. 

ALEXA
You’re not supposed to walk it all in one day, though. That’d be a really long walk. Right, Beni?

BENI
Yeah.

RAMIRO
But not a long drive.

CLARA
Rami, where are you going? This isn’t the way home.

RAMIRO
I heard South Mountain and thought we could take a ride up to look at the stars.

2018. THE LAWN IN FRONT OF EL MORRO. SAN JUAN, PUERTO RICO.

MUSIC: “OLD SAN JUAN” TRANSITION.
SFX: COQUIS CROAKING.

DATU
I would never guess those were frogs.

JOSIE
Tree frogs. Coquis. Tiny, loud ones.  

DATU
They don’t have those in the Philippines.

JOSIE
I need to take more time to do things like this.

DATU
I never thought that tonight I’d be looking out at the night sky in Puerto Rico. It really does remind me of the Philippines.

JOSIE
Must be something about islands, huh?

DATU
Yeah. Thank you, Josie. Thank you for bringing me here.

SFX: COQUIS SINGING.

2018. SOUTH MOUNTAIN RESERVATION, WEST ORANGE, NEW JERSEY.

MUSIC: “OLD SAN JUAN” TRANSITION.
SFX: AN OWL HOOTS.

The Venturas exit the van.

CLARA
Alexa, Beni, zip up your jackets! It’s chilly.

The Venturas walk across a gravel parking lot.

RAMIRO
Look. Check out this sky. 

CLARA
Wow, it’s even nicer than I imagined. 

RAMIRO
New moon, clear skies. Perfect for stargazing.

ALEXA and BENI stop several yards from their parents.

ALEXA
Okay. What’s up? You hardly talked the whole car ride over. 

SFX: AN OWL HOOTS.

RAMIRO
I wonder what the twins are whispering about. You ever look at our kids and think they’re just amazing?

CLARA
All the time. Oh, Rami. This was the perfect end to the night.

SFX: OWL HOOT INTO COQUIS SINGING.

CREDITS

MUSIC: THEME SONG: "IN THE TIMESTORM" (INSTRUMENTAL).

NARRATION
This episode was written by Andrew Siañez-De La O with story and direction by, me, Dania Ramos with audio engineering, sound design, and original music by Michael Aquino. 

The role of Alexa Ventura was played by Leilany Figueroa. Beni Ventura was played by Claudio Venancio. Ramiro Ventura was played by Walter F. Rodriguez. Clara Ventura was played by Jennica Carmona. Janelly was played by Frances Ramos. Josie was played by Angelica Ubiera. Datu was played by Joel Arandia. Horacio Méndez was played by Orlando Segarra. Atabey was played by Alicia Rivas. Betina was played by Amanda Faison. Angie was played by Jane Mandel. This episode also featured Trevor Brown, Florence Faison, Daniela Palacios, and Gary Kayi-Fletcher.

The featured guest musician was Luis Díaz. Additional original music by Deivis Garcia and O. Y. Maldonado.

Timestorm is produced by Cocotazo Media and is a proud member of TRAX from PRX. To learn more about TRAX, visit TRAX dot fm: that’s t-r-a-x-dot fm. 

If you enjoy the show, ask your parents to subscribe to Timestorm on Google Podcasts, Apple Podcasts, or the Kids Listen App. 

A quick message for our adult listeners, please be sure to check out our free resources, including episode guides and transcripts over at Timestorm Series dot com. And if you're interested in more bonus and behind-the-scenes content, we hope you’ll consider joining our Patreon community over at Patreon dot com slash Timestorm. You can also show your support for the series by leaving a rating and review on Apple Podcasts and Podchaser. 

Timestorm is produced in Essex County, New Jersey, which is situated on the traditional territory of the Leni Lenape people.

ATABEY
Witness. Find. Remember.

END OF TIMESTORM - EPISODE 15: KEEPING COUNT