In today’s episode we read Chapter 5 – The Clawfoot Gallery – where mysterious occurrences continue as we join Magpie and Lucas for the grand opening of Mrs. Phaeton’s art gallery exhibit
Brought to you by: Phaeton Starling Publishing and Things with Wings Productions.
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Author/Producer: Melissa Oliveri - http://www.melissaoliveri.com
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FULL TRANSCRIPT:
Things with Wings Productions presents: Episode 5 of The Skylark Bell, Wingspan. I am your host, Melissa Oliveri.
In our previous episode, Magpie had a strange, and rather frightening encounter with a mysterious woman who seemed to provide her with a bit of a warning.
In today’s episode we read Chapter 5 – The Clawfoot Gallery – where mysterious occurrences continue as we join Magpie and Lucas for the grand opening of Mrs. Phaeton’s art gallery exhibit.
Now, it’s time to settle in… grab a blanket, and a warm drink… and let’s get started.
Magpie and her mom are applying the finishing touches to their makeup in the brightly lit mirror of their hotel room. Magpie rarely wears makeup, and is usually clad in jeans, a sweater, and sneakers, so it takes her some time to get ready for the fancy gallery event. Her mom looks stunning in a simple burgundy halter dress and black satin heels. “Mom, you look amazing!” she says.
Mrs. Phaeton smiles warmly at her and takes a deep breath, “I could say the same about you!” she says. “I still can’t believe you found that dress for such a great price, and that it fits perfectly!” She blots her lipstick onto a tissue and checks her face in the mirror one last time before turning to Magpie. “Alright, are you ready?” she asks.
Magpie nods and walks cautiously toward the door in her high heeled shoes. She pulls the door open and finds Lucas standing there with his hand up like he is about to knock. “Oh, hi Lucas! Wow, you look great!” she says, noting his black dress pants, black dress shirt, and gray tie to match his eyes. Lucas stands in the doorway, transfixed. “Hello, earth to Lucas!” giggles Magpie, waving a hand in front of his face.
“You look beautiful,” he manages to choke out, looking at Magpie wide-eyed. Magpie blushes slightly and thanks him, then grabs his arm as they walk down the hallway toward the elevators.
The Clawfoot Gallery is located on the corner of a busy intersection. The black taxicab that Magpie, Lucas, and Mrs. Phaeton are riding in pulls over to let them out. Lucas and Magpie wait on the sidewalk while Mrs. Phaeton settles up and thanks the driver. “This is it!” she says, turning to them, visibly nervous.
“You’re going to be great, mom. This is what you’ve been working for your whole life. You deserve all the praise and recognition,” says Magpie. Mrs. Phaeton smiles at her as they walk into the gallery.
Inside, the gallery has an industrial feel, with concrete walls and an unfinished ceiling that shows all the duct work, pipes, and support beams throughout the space, which is entirely covered in a coat of matte black paint. The dark background is perfect for showcasing Mrs. Phaeton’s brightly coloured landscapes.
“Ah! The guest of honour!” says a tall, slim man in a vintage suit. He has a French accent and gesticulates widely as he speaks. “Welcome! Welcome!” he adds jovially, “I am Monsieur Ernest, owner of the gallery. I hope the hotel is to your liking, oui?” he asks.
“Everything is absolutely wonderful, thank you so much Monsieur Ernest,” says Mrs. Phaeton. “This is my daughter, Magpie, and her friend Lucas,” she says, waving a hand toward them.
“Enchanté!” says Monsieur Ernest with a slight bow. “I must go tend to our guests, but please make yourself at home. We have some canapés, petits fours, champagne… please, please, whatever you desire!” He says before dramatically walking away to charm the other people in the room.
“This is amazing mom!” says Magpie as the three of them circle the room looking at Mrs. Phaeton’s art. They make their way to the food and drink table and help themselves to some of the delicate little cakes.
“I have to go prepare for my speech,” says Mrs. Phaeton, wiping the sticky icing off her fingers with a napkin “You two enjoy the party and I’ll see you in a little while!”
Lucas and Magpie stand in a corner of the room, observing. There is quite a crowd already, the event is a huge success. Magpie’s gaze is travelling across the vast space when she sees a woman at the other end of the room, partially hidden from view behind one of the pillars, her eyes fixated on Lucas. It is the same woman from her vision on the cobblestone street earlier in the day. “Lucas, look over there!” she whispers, squeezing Lucas’ arm and nodding in the woman’s general direction. Lucas turns to look, but the woman is gone.
“What? I don’t see anything.” He says, confused.
“I… I thought… Never mind. I was wrong,” says Magpie. But deep down, she knows what she saw, the woman was staring at Lucas like she knew him.
Magpie shudders. “Why don’t we walk around and have a look at the paintings, maybe each pick out our favourite!” she says, shaking off the sense of unease that is threatening to take hold. Lucas nods and they start making their way around the room.
“I think my favourite is this one” says Lucas. They are stopped in front of a painting that was clearly inspired by Mirror Pond. A large grey rock sits in the center of a blue circle, strange plant-like streaks growing out of it, mimicking the cattails that grow out of the little pond in Pocket.
“That is a great one” she says, nodding. “I think my favourite is the one that has a house like the one on Meadow Lane… help me find it,” she says, as they keep strolling through the gallery.
They find the painting Magpie is referring to at the very back of the room. It features a small two-storey house in the center of a large field. The entire painting is done in shades of orange, like a blazing sunset has taken over. Magpie and Lucas stand before it, admiring the artistry. Suddenly Magpie leans forward, looking more closely at the house. “I never noticed this before, there’s someone in the window!” she says, surprised. She’s looked at these paintings countless times while her mother was creating them over the past two years, and never noticed this detail. Just then, loud feedback from a microphone causes everyone in the room to jump.
“My apologies, ladies and gentlemen!” Monsieur Ernest’s voice cuts in through the speaker. “Thank you so much for being here! It is my great honour to present to you our guest artist, all the way from “across the pond” as you say – Mrs. Daniella Phaeton!” the crowd claps as Mrs. Phaeton steps onto the stage and begins her speech.
Magpie turns back to the painting, scanning the windows of the painted house looking for the woman, but there’s nothing there. “I feel like I’m losing my mind,” she whispers to herself.
“What’s that?” asks Lucas, turning toward her.
“I think the jetlag is catching up with me, do you mind if we head out after my mom’s speech?” she asks.
“Of course!” he answers, his warm smile instantly making her feel better.
Magpie glows with pride as she watches her mother on the stage talking about how the town of Pocket inspired the paintings that are hanging around the room tonight. She recalls the events of the past two years and feels grateful that the frightening episode of Meadow Lane and the Skylark Bell is over.
Slowly, a shiver starts making its way down Magpie’s spine, and she shudders as she recalls the words of the woman in her vision, the whisper that echoed off the walls of the row houses lining the cobblestone street: “It has ended, yet it has not even begun…”
Thank you so much for listening. Join me next week for Wingspan chapter 6, Skylarks over Scotland, where a stunning vision while travelling to Scotland throws Magpie for a loop.
Before I go, I’d like to thank Phaeton Starling Publishing for this fantastically eerie story, as well as Cannelle for composing eerie, mood-setting music for this podcast.
If you are enjoying this story, please consider leaving a rating or a review, they’re both greatly appreciated. You can also support my work through a donation via your podcast provider or by subscribing to my Patreon where you get early access to episodes as well as MP3 downloads of the music, artwork, writing, recipes, and more! Checks the show notes for links.
Thank you
