Timestorm Episode 19 Transcript

NARRATION
Previously, on Timestorm:

HORACIO
Somos primos.

BENI
Cousins?

ALEXA
Yeah right.
***
Ma went on that genealogy website. Horacio's listed on our family tree. He's our distant cousin.

***
ATABEY
…they can truly understand where they fit. The personal connection they have.

HORACIO
That we have. We are cousins, after all.

ATABEY
Si, tus primos.

***
JANELLY
The cassette tape. It’s yours, Datu?

DATU
No. But it’s been in the store for about a year now.

ALEXA
Did you post the audio online?

DATU
I did. But only because the person who gave me the cassette asked me to.

***
JOSIE
I gave it to him.

BENI | ALEXA | SONIA
No way! | Whoa! | Really!

JOSIE
I’m L. J. Ortega.

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. TAÍNO COMICS AND GAMES NEWARK, NJ.

MUSIC: “TAÍNO COMICS AND GAMES” TRANSITION.
SFX: DISTANT THUNDER.

BENI
You are L. J. Ortega!

JOSIE
Liliana Josefina Nevarez Ortega.

JANELLY
Also known as Josie Nevarez.

JOSIE
Yes, Janelly.

BENI
You created Take Back Time.

ALEXA
Horacio Méndez - is he based on anyone?

SONIA
What’s the last page mean?

JOSIE
The last page means what it means.

JANELLY
Come on! Don’t you think your fans deserve an answer? And what’s up that audio recording? You can’t even hear what’s being said. Maybe this is a big joke and you’re not really L. J. Ortega! 

ALEXA/BENI/SONIA
Janelly.

SFX: DISTANT THUNDER.

JANELLY rushes down the stairs.

SONIA
Janelly! 

SONIA rushes down the stairs.

SFX: THUNDER.

JOSIE
I didn’t expect Janelly to find that cassette. 

BENI
Why’d you give it to Datu?

JOSIE
He was keeping it safe for me here in the store…because that audio and the cassette were always meant to be given to two special fans.

BENI
These two fans are they...

ALEXA
...us?

JOSIE
Yes. I know the audio sounds like gibberish, but the moment it captures—- or really what comes after—matters to all three of us.

ALEXA
Why? What happens?

JOSIE
The three of us need to record what’s on that cassette in nineteen ninety-nine.

BENI
But how?

SFX: THUNDER INTO BAROMETER BUZZ.

JOSIE
Wow. It’s glowing, just like I remember. 

BENI
So you know about this barometer?

JOSIE
You’ll use the timestorm and the barometer to meet seventeen year-old me in ninety-nine. Here. Take the cassette.

JOSIE hands ALEXA the cassette.

ALEXA
But how are we supposed to—

SFX: DRAMATIC THUNDERCLAP.

THE TIMESTORM. ANOTHER DIMENSION.

MUSIC: "TIMESTORM" TRANSITION.

HORACIO
Hola, primos!

BENI
You knew who Josie was this whole time?

ALEXA
And you said nothing?

HORACIO
I wish I could have.

ATABEY
I asked the lieutenant not to tell you.

BENI
That’s not right. 

ALEXA
We’re family, Horacio.

HORACIO
Yes, but—

ATABEY
There’s a reason why. You’ll understand soon. Ahora, I see that Josie gave you the cassette.

ALEXA
She said we gotta record what’s on it?

BENI
But the audio’s already on there. How are we supposed to—

ATABEY
Artifact cloud, emerge.

SFX: ARTIFACT CLOUD RHYTHM.

HORACIO
The cassette is another artifact of time.

ATABEY
Artifact attained.

SFX: ARTIFACT FLOATS INTO CLOUD.

HORACIO
A record of what happened on earth.

ATABEY
Artifact cloud, retreat.

SFX: ARTIFACT CLOUD RETREATS.

HORACIO
You need to go back in time to make it happen. Clothing!

SFX: WHIR OF CLOTHING CHANGE.

ALEXA
Pink cargo pants.

BENI
Khaki cargo pants. Nice.

HORACIO
Those bucket hats are adorable on you.

SFX: ZAP INTO BAROMETER BUZZ.

ATABEY
Mil novecientos noventa y nueve / nineteen ninety-nine / San Juan / Puerto Rico / Calle del Cristo / Parque de las Palomas / cassette recording / grabadora de casetes / voices / voces /primos / cousins. Your quest: Record an onslaught from above and find a message from your family in San Juan in nineteen ninety-nine. Quest begins now.

SFX: DRAMATIC THUNDERCLAP INTO PORTAL FX.

ALEXA and BENI shout as they travel through the portal.


1999. A CAFE IN OLD SAN JUAN, PUERTO RICO.

SFX: RAIN AND A CLAP OF THUNDER.

JOSIE sits in a busy cafe. It’s raining outside. She press record on a portable cassette recorder.

JOSIE
El cuatro de Junio, mil novecientos noventa y nueve. I can officially call myself a high school senior. I just came from Titi Mari’s. She gave me these two beautiful handmade tapestries. Luckily, I had room in my backpack for them. I’m at my favorite spot for drawing, the little cafe at the end of Calle del Cristo. Brought a set got coloring pencils and a sketch pad. Hoping to draw. But everything I start feels like it’s not good enough. Unoriginal. I’m starting to think maybe drawing’s not for me.

SFX: DRAMATIC THUNDERCLAP.

JOSIE yells as she travels through the portal.

THE TIMESTORM. ANOTHER DIMENSION.

MUSIC:"TIMESTORM" TRANSITION.

JOSIE laughs as she lands in the timestorm.

HORACIO
Josefina?

JOSIE
Ahhh!

HORACIO
Sorry. I didn’t mean to frighten you.

JOSIE
Where’s the cafe?

HORACIO
Right where you left it, Josefina. In San Juan.

JOSIE
How do you know my name? Have we met?

HORACIO
I’ve heard a lot about you. And you’ll come to learn a lot about me.

JOSIE
¿Y quién eres?

HORACIO
Horacio.

JOSIE
Why are you dressed up like G. I. Joe?

HORACIO
It’s not a costume. It’s a uniform.

JOSIE
Oh, sí. You’re in a uniform. Inside a...

HORACIO
Helicopter. 

JOSIE
Sure—why not? If I’m gonna fall asleep in a cafe and have a dream, might as well make it as strange as possible.

HORACIO
That’s quite a bit you’re holding there.

JOSIE
Apparently, my dream brain wanted me to bring everything. My pencils, sketch pad, tape recorder, even my waterproof camping backpack stuffed with—

SFX: ZAP.

ATABEY
The tapestries your aunt made for you.

JOSIE
Ayyyy!

ATABEY
Hola, Liliana Josefina Nevarez Ortega.

JOSIE
Disembodied voice? My dream just turned straight-up sci-fi. Must be all the comic books I’ve been reading.

HORACIO
I summoned you to help you understand what’s about to happen.

ATABEY
Who you’re about to meet.

JOSIE
Aha. Si. A robot? Chupacabra? El cuco? 

SFX: ZAP.

HORACIO
Look at that image in the windshield. See those twins?

JOSIE
In the hats? Frozen in a laugh?

ATABEY
Alexa y Benito Ventura.

HORACIO
When you go back to San Juan, they’re going to approach you. Trust them.

JOSIE
Claro. I’ll trust these random kids.

HORACIO
In time, you’ll become their anonymous guide helping them on an important mission.

JOSIE
Ooh. Now there’s a mission. 

ATABEY
When you return to San Juan, you’ll know this wasn’t a dream. Don’t be afraid of your role in this mission. In time, you’ll use all you’ve brought here into the timestorm.

JOSIE
The timestorm?

SFX: DRAMATIC THUNDERCLAP.

1999. CAFE/PARQUE DE LAS PALOMAS, SAN JUAN, PUERTO RICO.

SFX: RAIN AND A CLAP OF THUNDER.

JOSIE, ALEXA, and BENI all laugh as they land in the cafe.

JOSIE
Who else is laughing? No puede ser. It was just a dream. Un sueño.

ALEXA
There’s Josie, sitting at that table.

BENI
She’s so young. 

ALEXA
I think she recognizes us. 

BENI
That box thing she’s holding...I think it’s a cassette tape recorder!

JOSIE
Uh....

JOSIE tosses money on the table and rushes out of the cafe.

ALEXA
She left her umbrella.

ALEXA grabs the umbrella. ALEXA and BENI rush into the rain. ALEXA opens the umbrella.

ALEXA
Here. We both fit underneath.

BENI
Maybe she went in that way. Down Calle Tetuan?

ALEXA and BENI rush down a side street with the umbrella.

SFX: BAROMETER VIBRATES.

BENI
What’s that?

ALEXA
The barometer? Horacio’s contacting us!

BENI grabs the barometer out of a pocket.

BENI
Hi, Horacio!

HORACIO
(Through the barometer) Turn around. Back towards the cafe. Across from it, you’ll see el Parque de las Palomas.

ALEXA and BENI turn around and rush back.

BENI
The pigeon park!

ALEXA
Look! Josie’s over there—on that bench under the tree. 

BENI
I think she’s recording herself on that cassette recorder.

ALEXA
So...this is where we record the audio. Time to deliver an umbrella.

HORACIO
(Through the barometer) Before you approach, I’ve got additional instructions for Beni’s part of the quest. Once Alexa faces the onslaught from above—

ALEXA
Onslaught from above? 

HORACIO
(Through the barometer) —you’ll go to the corner where the stone walls meet. At the bottom, you’ll find a brick that slides out. Something is waiting inside for the three of you.

SFX: BAROMETER DISCONNECTS.

ALEXA
No! Horacio! 

BENI
We’re on our own again.

JOSIE is under a tree. It’s raining.

JOSIE
(Recording herself) ...and then I was back in the cafe - laughing. But I wasn’t the only one. The two kids were also there - laughing. The ones from my dream. I must’ve seen them before I fell asleep. That’s gotta be it. They’re strangers. I’ll never see them again. I’ll just stay on this bench under this tree until the rain stops. Me and the pigeons. Solita por un momento—

ALEXA and BENI approach JOSIE.

ALEXA
(A bit distant) Hola, Josie! (Closer) You forgot your umbrella! 

BENI
Hola, somos—

JOSIE
Ay, no quiero hablar—

SFX: PIGEONS RUSTLE LEAVES ABOVE.

JOSIE
Mira, arriba!

A bird flaps its wing.

BENI
Look out!

JOSIE
Esa paloma!

ALEXA
Ahhh! 

JOSIE stops the recorder. 

BENI
(Laughs) That pigeon just took poop on your hair! Got on the hat, too.

ALEXA
It couldn’t have done that when I was holding the umbrella?

JOSIE
Here. A tissue.

ALEXA
Gracias. Ew. Gross.

BENI
The rain should help rinse it out.

ALEXA
Yeah. With these curls? It was like a surprise pigeon attack.

BENI
That’s the onslaught from above! Wait a minute.

BENI walks over to the stone wall.

ALEXA
No kidding. Onslaught from above.

JOSIE
Thanks for returning the umbrella. 

JOSIE stands.

ALEXA
No, no, no, no! Don’t leave! 

JOSIE
Why are you staring at my tape recorder?

ALEXA
Were you recording by any chance?

JOSIE
Do you always ask strangers to share their business?

ALEXA
I’m not a stranger.

JOSIE
Mira, I don’t know you or your twin brother, okay?

ALEXA
How do you know we’re twins?

JOSIE
I guessed.

ALEXA
Why were you laughing inside the cafe?

JOSIE
You’re keeping track of everything I do?

ALEXA
We all laughed at the same time. 

JOSIE
I must have thought of something funny.

ALEXA
Or...traveling through an inter-dimensional portal kinda tickles?

JOSIE
I don’t know what you’re talking about.

BENI
Found it!

ALEXA
You did!

JOSIE
Found what? 

BENI walks over to them, brushing off a metal tin.

BENI
A metal tin.

JOSIE
I’m getting out of here I don’t know what kind of illegal—

BENI
It’s not illegal.

JOSIE starts walking away.

ALEXA
Josie! Wait!

JOSIE turns.

JOSIE
Who’s Josie?

ALEXA
Sorry, that’s not your name. Yet.

BENI
Liliana Josefina.

JOSIE
How do you know my name?

ALEXA
We’ve met before.

JOSIE
When?

ALEXA
You wouldn’t remember us.

JOSIE
Is that what the guy in the soldier costume asked you to say?

ALEXA
Horacio. 

JOSIE
Is he a film student? Hiring child actors is—

ALEXA
We’re not actors.

BENI opens the tin.

BENI
Oh, wow.

ALEXA
What is it, Beni?

BENI
Horacio’s ID tag. 

JOSIE
A military ID. Horacio Méndez. 

BENI
There’s a note. Para mis primos: Benito, Alexa y…Josefina. Abrazos y besitos, Horacio.

JOSIE
Primos?

BENI
Oh man.

ALEXA
We’re cousins.

BENI
I can’t believe it.

ALEXA
All of us.

SFX: BAROMETER BUZZ.

JOSIE
What is that noisy, glowing thing?

SFX: DRAMATIC THUNDERCLAP.

JOSIE
Where’d they go?

2018. PATIO OF TAÍNO COMICS AND BRICK CITY CAFE. NEWARK, NEW JERSEY.

SFX: RAIN ON THE PATIO.

SONIA opens the back door and walks onto the patio.

SONIA
What ya doing out here in the rain, Janelly?

JANELLY
Hey, Sonia. I needed some air.

SONIA
Well, now that we know who L. J. Ortega is...I guess it’s case closed?

JANELLY
Yeah. Case closed on who she is. But how many other mysteries is Josie keeping quiet about? 

SONIA
Maybe we don’t need all the answers.

JANELLY
I think Beni and Alexa know what the ending of Take Back Time means.

SONIA
Okay. So, they’ve got their theory and they don’t want to tell us. What are you gonna do? 

JANELLY
They told me they had a cousin named Horacio who died in the Vietnam War.

SONIA
Wow. That’s a crazy coincidence.

JANELLY
They think the comic book is about him.

SONIA
What do you mean? Like Josie used him as inspiration for her comic book story?

JANELLY
I know this is gonna sounds nuts, but what if everything in Take Back Time is real? 

SONIA
Except for the time-travel.

JANELLY
I think Alexa and Beni have been time-traveling. 

SONIA
I know you like to get lost in all of this sci-fi stuff, but Take Back Time is just a comic book.

JANELLY
Wouldn’t it explain all these secrets? 

SONIA
That’s not the only explanation—

JANELLY
How they’re tired and forgetful—

SONIA
I’m tired and forgetful all the time—

JANELLY
—whenever there’s a thunderstorm?

SONIA
Weather affects people in different ways.

JANELLY
Especially if they’ve been time-traveling! 

SONIA
I think it’s just a story, Janelly.

JANELLY
Just a story. Stories, myths, legends—they all come from somewhere. There’s some part of them that’s true.

SONIA
Okay. But the time-travel part? 

JANELLY
Yeah. I was just kidding. 

SFX: PHONE NOTIFICATION.

SONIA
My mom’s here. Want a ride?

JANELLY
No, thanks.

SONIA
Maybe we can rehearse the song tomorrow? I’ll reserve a room at Brick City cafe.

JANELLY
Sounds good.

SONIA heads inside, letting the door close behind her. DATU opens the door and walks onto the patio.

SFX: THUNDER AND AND A GUST OF WIND. 

DATU
Lots of storms this weekend, huh?

JANELLY
Oh. Hey, Datu.

DATU
I always thought there was something mystical about lightning. How about you?

JANELLY
I used to imagine it was a zap of energy from another time and place.

DATU
Makes sense. 

JANELLY
Most people would think that’s crazy. 

DATU
I bet Beni wouldn’t.

JANELLY
I guess he wouldn’t.

DATU
Did something happen upstairs? I saw you rush down from the reading room.

JANELLY
Sometimes I just need to leave a place if things get—if I’m overwhelmed by…

DATU
Josie told you who she is.

JANELLY
Part of me thinks…wow! This whole time I’ve been hanging out with L. J. Ortega! But then, I don’t understand why she’s kept so many secrets. I thought maybe if I could just find some answers, things would go back to how they were before all the mysteries. Things are just different now.

DATU
When I was your age, my cousin Chris and I were inseparable. You could always find us on a tennis court.

JANELLY
Really? You played tennis, Datu?

DATU
Oh yeah. We competed in local tournaments. Boys doubles. We even won a few times.

JANELLY
Can’t imagine you as a tennis champion.

DATU
I never did very well in the singles matches. But Chris? The summer before we started high school he joined the junior circuit and eventually turned pro.

JANELLY
Wow. You must have been proud.

DATU
I was eventually. But at the time, I was sorta hurt that my best friend left me behind.  

JANELLY
Yeah. I get that.

DATU
And I was also kinda jealous. Chris was traveling all over and having these extraordinary experiences. And I was stuck home. That’s when I really got into reading comic books and drawing. Tennis was Chris’s thing, but it wasn’t mine. And that was okay. 

JANELLY
Do you still draw, Datu?

DATU
Not as much as I’d like. 

JANELLY
I’ve got a sketchbook at home.

DATU
Oh yeah?

JANELLY
I’m not that good. I mostly draw for me.

DATU
Lydia wants to start a drawing club in the reading room. 

JANELLY
Really?

DATU
Oh yeah. You should ask them about it. Bring in your sketchbook tomorrow.

JANELLY
Okay. I will.

THE TIMESTORM. ANOTHER DIMENSION.

MUSIC: "TIMESTORM" TRANSITION.

The twins laugh as they land.

HORACIO
You found my message in the tin! 

ALEXA
Josie’s our cousin!

BENI
Why go through all that trouble when you could have just told us in person?

HORACIO
You weren’t supposed to know about before the quest.

ATABEY
You all had to find out at that moment.

BENI
Here’s your ID tag and note.

ATABEY
You’re bringing that back to earth.

HORACIO
It’s for three of you to share. Like I said in the note: Para mis primos.

ATABEY
You’ll be working together soon.

ALEXA
Josie’s gonna time-travel with us?

HORACIO
She’ll guide you from your own time.

BENI
Like our commander back at home base.

ATABEY
Home bases. 

ALEXA
There’s more than one?

HORACIO
You’ll have two headquarters. Ask Josie about the tapestry and the other location.

ATABEY
Locus.

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

MUSIC: “TAÍNO COMICS AND GAMES” TRANSITION.

ALEXA and BENI laugh as they land.

JOSIE
You just got back from nineteen ninety-nine, didn’t you?

ALEXA
You were so young!

BENI
Look! The tin with Horacio’s ID tag and the note it was wrapped in.

JOSIE
Para mis primos: Benito, Alexa y Josefina. Abrazos y besitos, Horacio. 

ALEXA
He said the ID tag is for all three of us. You should keep it here in the store.

JOSIE
Thank you.

BENI
You knew we were cousins the whole time?

JOSIE
I couldn’t say anything. You had to find out at the Parque de las Palomas in nineteen ninety-nine.

ALEXA
Oh. Did Atabey tell you that?

JOSIE
Atabey?

BENI
Bossy incorporeal entity in the timestorm?

JOSIE
Ah, yes. Never had a name to put to the disembodied voice. The voice has come to me many times. It’ss guided me to create Take Back Time, sketch the barometer, save that cassette tape. And it was the voice that told me about—

SFX: PHONE NOTIFICATIONS.

BENI
Ma’s outside.

ALEXA
What’d Atabey tell you?

BENI
She says to hurry, she’s double parked.

JOSIE
I’ll show you next time you’re here. 

ALEXA
Tomorrow?

JOSIE
Tomorrow. And maybe...dress in layers.

BENI
Like a winter coat?

JOSIE
(Laughs) Definitely not. Maybe wear a t-shirt under a jacket you can take off.

2018. THE VENTURA HOME - THE KITCHEN. NEWARK, NEW JERSEY.

MUSIC: "HOME" TRANSITION.

CLARA, BENI, and ALEXA climb the steps to their apartment.

CLARA
I hope you’re hungry. Your father’s about to fire up the griddle for the chocolate chip pancakes.

ALEXA
Beni and I want to check out something on the Heredity account real quick. 

CLARA
Can’t it wait until after dinner?

BENI
It’s important research. Personal research.

CLARA
Oh. Anything I can help with?

ALEXA
No. We’re good.

BENI
Yeah, Ma. We got it.

CLARA unlocks the apartment door. ALEXA and BENI rush past him.

ALEXA
Hi, Pa!

RAMIRO
Hey, hey! Ready for pancakes?

BENI
Just need a few minutes!

ALEXA
Be right back!

RAMIRO
What’d I miss? What’s more important than chocolate chip pancakes?

CLARA
Top-secret personal research that involves our Heredity account.

2018. THE VENTURA HOME - THE OFFICE. NEWARK, NEW JERSEY.

MUSIC: THREE MOTHERLANDS TRANSITION.

BENI and ALEXA are on the computer. ALEXA types.

ALEXA
I think if go here...

BENI
It’s Pa’s side of the family tree.

ALEXA
So many of branches. 

BENI
How do we find Josie in all this?

ALEXA
I’ll do a search.

ALEXA types.

BENI
Ooh! One of the boxes is highlighted.

ALEXA
There she is: Liliana Josefina Ortega Nevarez. Born: nineteen eighty-two. 

BENI
Wow. And where’s Horacio?

ALEXA
There he is. If I zoom out. Look, we’re here. There’s Josie. We can trace each line up to find where the branches split off.  

BENI
Good idea. If we follow this line to this generation...

ALEXA
Here’s our great-great-grandfather.

BENI
Lupito Martinez. And if we follow Horacio’s line it connects to—

ALEXA
Manolo Martinez. Alright Josie’s connected to Lupito’s sister...

BENI
Elba.

ALEXA
Manolo.

ALEXA/BENI
Lupito.

FLASHBACK:

PITO
I’m Pito.

ELBA
Lupito! 

PITO
...my sister. Elba. 

ELBA
Manolo.

FLASHBACK END.

ALEXA
Manolo Martinez. Born: eighteen ninety.

BENI
That’s when we were there!

ALEXA
Pito’s Lupito! And he’s our great-great grandfather! 

BENI
Wait a minute. Lupito’s great-grandfather was Idrissa—

ALEXA
They called Idrissa Gabriel!

FLASHBACK:

IDRISSA
Me llamo...my name...

PITO
His name is Gabriel.

FLASHBACK END.

ALEXA
Gabriel Lopez. 

BENI
That’s him. That’s Idrissa! And he’s...

ALEXA
Our ancestor.

CREDITS

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

NARRATION
This episode of Timestorm was written and directed 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. Josie was played by Angelica Ubiera. Janelly was played by Frances Ramos. Sonia was played by Jessica Bracken. Horacio Méndez was played by Orlando Segarra. Atabey was played by Alicia Rivas. Datu Ancheta was played by Joel Arandia. Clara Ventura was played by Jennica Carmona. Ramiro Ventura was played by Walter F. Rodriguez.

Timestorm is produced by Cocotazo Media and is a proud member of TRAX from PRX. 

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

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

As always, thanks for listening.

ATABEY
Witness. Find. Remember.

END OF TIMESTORM - EPISODE 19: PRIMOS