Episode 21: Faro

TAINO COMICS AND GAMES - NEWARK, NJ & SAN JUAN, PR.

A DOOR OPENS, TRIGGERING A LASER BELL. A CITY STREET IS HEARD. THE DOOR CLOSES.

DATU
The Ventura twins have arrived.

ALEXA | BENI
Hi, Datu. | Hey.

DATU
You’re here pretty early for a Saturday.

ALEXA
We’re meeting Josie at the other store.

DATU
Ah, a research day over in San Juan.

BENI
Janelly’s joining us after she’s done with her drawing class.

DATU
Let’s get you into the office before anyone else shows up.

DATU, ALEXA, AND BENI WALK TOWARDS THE OFFICE.

BENI
(to himself) Faro. Tibes. Torre más alta.

DATU
Still trying to figure out those clues you got in the timestorm, Beni?

ALEXA
I love that you finally know about the timestorm, Datu.

DATU
I’m honored that you trust me with your secret.

DATU UNLOCKS AND OPENS THE OFFICE DOOR.

DATU
There you go. The magical tapestry on the wall is ready to teleport you to San Juan.

DATU CLOSES THE DOOR.

BENI
Okay. Ready to step into the tapestry and land in San Juan?

ALEXA
Yep. Ready.

TAPESTRY ELECTRICITY.

ALEXA
Locus.

ALEXA GASPS, THEN TRAVELS THROUGH THE TAPESTRY VORTEX.

BENI
Locus.

BENI GASPS, THEN TRAVELS THROUGH THE TAPESTRY VORTEX. A WHOOSH AS HE LANDS IN THE STORE IN SAN JUAN. BENI PUSHES A CURTAIN ASIDE.

ALEXA/BENI
Hi, Josie.

BENI CLOSES THE CURTAIN.

JOSIE
Hey, you two!

JOSIE
Welcome back to San Juan.

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

MUSIC: “TAÍNO COMICS AND GAMES - SAN JUAN” TRANSITION.

A WHOOSH AS JANELLY LANDS A FEW YARDS AWAY. JANELLY PUSHES ASIDE THE CURTAIN SEPARATING THE BACK AREA.

JANELLY
I came as soon as my drawing class finished!

ALEXA
Hey, Janelly.

BENI
What’s up?

JANELLY UNZIPS HER BACKPACK. SHE PLACES IT ON THE TABLE.

JANELLY
I’ve got a new book to add to the pile.

BENI
Dibujos de faros del caribe.

JOSIE
A coloring book of Caribbean lighthouses? Huh. We should carry that in our stores.

JANELLY
Puerto Rico gets its own chapter. The table of contents shows where you can find each lighthouse.

ALEXA FLIPS OPEN THE BOOK.

ALEXA
Aguadilla, Arecibo, Cabo Rojo, Culebra, Fajardo, Rincón, and San Juan.

BENI
Nice find, Janelly. You’re good at this.

JANELLY
Yeah, well, I am the research captain.

ALEXA
(giggles) Captain?

JANELLY
I thought I needed an official title. It can be a tough job. Especially since some of the things we’re looking for can’t be found on the internet.

JOSIE FLIPS THE PAGES OF THE COLORING BOOK.

JOSIE
All these drawings make me want to go on an old-fashioned road trip.

JANELLY
Teleporting through the tapestry getting old, Josie?

JOSIE
Never. It’s just...Titi Mari and I visited a bunch of these lighthouses together. But she’s older now and, honestly, I haven’t thought too much about day trips since the hurricane.

BENI
Oh. That makes sense. You’ve got a lot going on with the store in Newark and renovating this one.

ALEXA
And organizing all these pamphlets and fliers for the community.

JOSIE
Speaking of fliers, let me move these for the Save-A-Gato Sanctuary to the counter. You need your research space.

LALO OPENS THE FRONT DOOR. STREET SOUNDS AND RAIN ARE HEARD THROUGH THE DOOR BEFORE HE CLOSES IT.

JOSIE
Hola, Lalo!

LALO
Buenas, buenas, Josie. Hola, muchachitos.

ALEXA | JANELLY | BENI
Hey, Lalo! | Hi! | Hey!

LALO
¿Y qué es todo esto? ¿Faros?

ALEXA
Uh…oh…we’re helping Josie with a project about lighthouses.

BENI
Hey, Lalo. When are you gonna take us on that ghost tour?

ALEXA | JANELLY
Ooh. Yeah. | I wanna go too.

LALO
When my tours are running again, you’ll be the first to know.

JOSIE
How are you and Oscar holding up?

LALO
Tu sabes, I’m still looking for work. Y Oscar? He’s selling his pottery online now.

JOSIE
Wow. Nice! And did he get his heart medicine?

LALO
Oh sí, sí, sí, sí, sí. Thank you for recommending that health clinic.

JOSIE
Ni lo menciones. Here’s the box of fliers for free meals and health services.

JOSIE HANDS LALO A BOX OF PAPER HANDOUTS.

LALO
Perfecto. I’ll make sure every family in my barrio gets one.

JOSIE
Gracias, Lalo. Stop by when you need more fliers. Okay?

LALO
Claro, chica. Siempre lo hago.

LALO WALKS TO THE FRONT DOOR. HE OPENS IT AND THEN CLOSES IT BEHIND HIM. RUMBLE OF THUNDER.

JANELLY
Hmm. Faro, Tibes, torre más alta. Do you think all the words lead to one place?

THE BAROMETER BUZZES. A RUMBLE OF THUNDER.

BENI
Sounds like we’re about to find out.

JANELLY | JOSIE
Have fun! | Be careful!

ALEXA AND BENI RUSH TO THE BACK. ALEXA SLIDES OPEN THE CURTAIN. THUNDERCLAP.

THE TIMESTORM. ANOTHER DIMENSION.

THE TWINS LAUGH AS THE LAND IN THE TIMESTORM.
MUSIC: “TIMESTORM” TRANSITION.

HORACIO
Hola, primos. Ready for the Great Guanín Hunt?

ALEXA
We’re ready to go, Horacio.

BENI
Great Guanín Hunt. That sounds epic.

HORACIO
¿Verdad que sí?

ATABEY
Humans.

ALEXA/BENI
Hey, Atabey.

BENI
Faro, Tibes, torre más alta. Do these clues all point to one location?

ATABEY
The clues are for three separate quests. First up: FARO.

BENI
I love lighthouses.

HORACIO
When you travel into the past for your next three quests, you won’t be there to find the artifact.

ATABEY
But you’ll learn where to look in your own time.

HORACIO
Clothing!

WHIR OF COSTUME CHANGE.

ALEXA
Whoa. Check out the pleats in this skirt.

BENI
Ooh. Handkerchief. Fancy.

ALEXA
There’s one in my bag, too.

ATABEY
Now, just like your past quests, these clothes and the barometer instill in you customs and language of the time and place you visit.

ZAP INTO BAROMETER BUZZ.

ATABEY
Mil novecientos dieciocho / nineteen eighteen / Punta Borinquen / Aguadilla / faro / lighthouse / influenza / la gripe / psychic / la médium / terremoto / earthquake. Quest: Learn the hiding spot of the guanín medallion. Begin now.

THUNDERCLAP. THE TWINS YELL AS THEY TRAVEL.

1918. ORIGINAL PUNTA BORINQUEN LIGHTHOUSE, AGUADILLA, PR.

THE TWINS HOLD BACK LAUGHTER AS THEY LAND INSIDE THE LIVING QUARTERS OF THE LIGHTHOUSE. TWO LARGE DOGS BARK.

ALEXA
Those are big dogs.

BENI
Good doggies.

LEANDRA ENTERS THE ROOM.

LEANDRA
¡Cállate!

THE DOGS STOP BARKING, THEY WHINE.

ALEXA/BENI
Hola.

LEANDRA
¡Ay!

BENI
We didn’t mean to scare you.

LEANDRA
How dare you enter my family’s home.

ALEXA
We’re so sorry. We just—

LEANDRA
Stay back.

BENI
We’re looking for the lighthouse.

LEANDRA
This is the lighthouse.

ALEXA
Oh, the living quarters. You live here?

LEANDRA
Of course. My father is the keeper.

BENI
It’s such a nice home.

BENI TAKES A FEW STEPS.

LEANDRA
Stop there. (covers face with a cloth) It’s bad enough you enter without being invited. But to leave your face uncovered with the current state of...the world?

ALEXA
Right. The current state of the world.

BENI
Uh. What a...year it’s been, huh?

LEANDRA
Ay, sí. In a couple of months, everyone will rejoice in saying goodbye to nineteen eighteen.

ALEXA
Nineteen eighteen. It’s been the worst.

BENI
Oh, of course! The world war.

LEANDRA
Most of the world, anyway. Five years is a long time to pray for a war to end. But the illness made the year more horrific than we could have imagined, hasn’t it?

ALEXA
The illness.

LEANDRA
Our family has kept safe by staying away from town.

ALEXA
Uh. Excuse us, please.

ALEXA PULLS BENI ASIDE. THEY WHISPER THE FOLLOWING LINES.

ALEXA
Beni, the illness she’s talking about is—

BENI
The worldwide flu pandemic of nineteen-eighteen. I know. It’s in Mircobia.

ALEXA
Uh, yeah. I guess that makes sense.

BENI
Man, a pandemic. I can’t imagine that happening in twenty-eighteen.

ALEXA
Yeah, me neither. We need to stay long enough to find out the hiding spot of the guanín medallion.

BENI
But that girl thinks we’re from her time and possibly contagious. Wait a minute. Handkerchiefs!

ALEXA
That’s right! We’ve both got them.

BENI GRABS THE HANDKERCHIEF FROM HIS POCKET. ALEXA PULLS OUT HERS FROM THE BAG.

BENI
Sorry, we forgot to put these on.

ALEXA
We hope you’ll forgive our manners.

THEY COVER THEIR FACES WITH THEM.

LEANDRA
Why are you looking for the lighthouse?

ALEXA
For our father.

BENI
Yeah. He...builds lighthouses.

LEANDRA
Oh. I see. He must be working on the new lighthouse being built on higher ground.

BENI
Yeah, that’s right.

ALEXA
He wanted us to check on this building. You know, what it’s made out of.

LEANDRA
Brick and stone. Shouldn’t he know this?

BENI
He knows that much, of course. But he wasn’t sure if there was any metal.

LEANDRA
Just the iron staircase up to the tower.

BENI
No special parts made out of, say, some kind of rare bronze?

ILEANA ENTERS. THE DOGS WHINE.

ILEANA
Why didn’t you tell me we had visitors, Leandra? (to ALEXA and BENI) Hola.

ALEXA/BENI
Hola, señora.

ILEANA
Me llamo Ileana.

ALEXA | BENI
Aleksandra. | Benito.

ILEANA
Leandra, please check on your brothers and then see if your father needs anything.

LEANDRA
But Mami—

ILEANA
Take the dogs with you. I’d like a word with the visitors. Alone.

LEANDRA
We don’t know where they’ve been. At least take my handkerchief for cover.

ILEANA
Gracias, mija.

LEANDRA EXITS THE ROOM. THE DOGS FOLLOW HER.

ILEANA
You’ll have to excuse Leandra. She’s become protective of the family since the illness arrived on the island.

BENI
How long has your family stayed away from everyone?

ILEANA
A few months. I knew to prepare. I sensed it coming before it reached our shores.

ALEXA
Sensed?

ILEANA
I sense the unseen.

BENI
Really?

ALEXA
Like tarot card readings or something?

ILEANA
Ah. You are a skeptic.

ALEXA
But I’ve been proven wrong before.

ILEANA
You are searching for...a metal.

ALEXA
Uh-huh. That’s what we were talking to your daughter about.

ILEANA
A rare, bright bronze once worn by rulers of this island. Not colonizers. Caciques.

BENI
You really can sense things.

ILEANA
You may remove the handkerchiefs. I have been quarantined for months. And I know you cannot infect me. You have not been exposed because you are...travelers.

ALEXA
We’re from—

ILEANA
Otra época. What year?

ALEXA
Twenty-eighteen.

ILEANA
A century from now. I wonder how people in your time look back at this moment in history. Have you ever seen such a massive illness infect so many?

BENI
No. Nothing like this in twenty-eighteen.

THE DOGS BARK FROM INSIDE THE HOUSE.

ILEANA
¡Ay!

ALEXA
Are you seeing something right now?

ILEANA
Mi mente...

ALEXA
Maybe a hiding spot of the medallion?

ILEANA
...these visions are a jumble. The thoughts come like a flood. I see land. Water. A serpent-like fish.

ALEXA
Maybe the metal is in the ocean?

ILEANA
This is about something else. Los pajaritos. All silent. They sense it coming. (she gasps) Look out this window! The serpent-like fish is dead on the shore. An omen. (she takes several steps)

ILEANA TAKES SEVERAL QUICK STEPS.

ILEANA
We must leave! Francisco! Leandra!

BENI
But what about the hiding place of the—

ILEANA
Leave before the tremors!

ALEXA
Tremors?

ILEANA
Disease, war, an earthquake. Qué mas? How much more can we take?

LEANDRA ENTERS WITH THE DOGS BARKING NEXT TO HER.

LEANDRA
Mami?

ILEANA
Leandra, we must leave at once!

LEANDRA
In the rain? Where to?

ILEANA
Get your brothers! Ahora mismo.

LEANDRA RUSHES OUT OF THE ROOM. THE DOGS BARK.

LEANDRA
Tito! Berto!

ILEANA
(to ALEXA and BENI) You must return to your time!

ALEXA
I don’t think we can leave until you tell us the hiding spot.

ILEANA
The hiding spot?

BENI
Of the guanín medallion.

ILEANA
El guanín....está en la boca de una gallina de palo.

BENI
In the mouth of a stick-chicken?

ALEXA
Are you sure that’s—

A BAROMETER BUZZ INTO A THUNDERCLAP. THE TWINS ARE ZAPPED FROM THE ROOM. ILEANA GASPS. LEANDRA, BERTO, AND TITO ENTER THE ROOM. THE DOGS BARK.

LEANDRA
Aquí estamos.

ILEANA
Leandra!

TITO/BERTO
¿Mami?

ILEANA
Go outside. Away from the shore.

LEANDRA
Pero, mami. The illness.

ILEANA
A different danger is coming.

LEANDRA
The kids. Where did they go?

ILEANA
Forget them. Go as far inland as you can.

LEANDRA, THE BOYS, AND THE DOGS RUN OUTSIDE. FRANCISCO RUNS DOWN STEPS.

FRANCISCO
Ileana?

ILEANA
Francisco!

FRANCISCO
¿Qué pasa?

ILEANA
¡Afuera!

FRANCISCO AND ILEANA RUN TOWARD THE KIDS.

TITO/BERTO/LEANDRA
Mami!

ILEANA
Keep going.

THEY ALL RUN.

LEANDRA
Why are we running inland?

FRANCISCO
What has happened, Ileana?

ILEANA
Not what has happened—what’s about to.

THE EARTH BEGINS TO SHAKE. THE BOYS AND DOGS WHIMPER. ILEANA GASPS.

FRANCISCO
Terremoto.

LEANDRA
No.

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

NARRATION
This episode of Timestorm was written 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. Horacio Méndez was played by Orlando Segarra. Atabey was played by Alicia Rivas. Datu Ancheta was played by Joel Arandia. Lalo was played by Kelmi Bermúdez. Leandra was played by Leslie Gideon. Ileana was played by Natasha Yannacañedo. Additional voices by Kristian Otero and Angelica Ubiera.

Timestorm is produced by Cocotazo Media and is a proud member of TRAX. Support for TRAX comes from the Corporation for Public Broadcasting. Learn more at t-r-a-x-dot fm.

All episodes of Timestorm are available at TimestormSeries dot com and on all podcast apps. If you enjoy the show, please share it with two friends.

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

ATABEY
Witness. Find. Remember.