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SILVER: Tales from the Fringes of Reality. Episode 26 – Family Ties.

OPAL: Oh, Whim, good you’re here. I just spoke with your parents, there’s been–

(loud bang)

ALASDAIR: For fuck’s sake!

OPAL: –A bit of a problem. Alasdair’s been doing a bit of tinkering, but it doesn’t appear to be going well. (tapping) ‘What sort of problem?’ Creatures spawning where they aren’t meant to, including but not limited to the moon. Lots of Spellerman’s eggs which, as you might recall, is not common. Alasdair has been able to remove them, but their attempts at retracing their origins have been… Less than successful.

(footsteps)

ALASDAIR: Opal, have you seen– Good morning, Whim. Have either of you seen Silver? 

OPAL: I’m sure she’s with Memo, likely doing some damage control. It feels like people are falling through reality much more than ever before.

ALASDAIR: They are. I’ve detected some… fraying. Between the realities. Which has definitely been caused by outside interference which can only mean–

ALASDAIR AND OPAL: Minerva.

ALASDAIR: Wherever she is, it’s making her more powerful. That’s the working theory, at least, but it shouldn’t be possible unless she was hiding in the plane of magic and we know she isn’t there because it’s impossible to hide in the plane of magic. She would just dissolve.

OPAL: That could be a way to spin things to Silver. Minerva wouldn’t be dead, just as any soul who has ever lived isn’t truly dead. They simply exist in the magic, reborn or resting as they please.

ALASDAIR: I don’t think that would cause any comfort, though. I mean, think of Mari and Xander. She knows that he’s just in the magic, but it doesn’t make the fact hurt any less. And it doesn’t make him any less likely to come back; you’ve seen the heartline just as well as I have, Ope. It wouldn’t just… do that.

OPAL: Hmm. I suppose you’re right, though Mari would have more expertise on the area. Minerva would need to be fully deconstructed in order for us to ensure that she wouldn’t come back; that definitely won’t sit well with Silver.

SILVER: What won’t sit well with me?

OPAL: Nothing that can’t wait, darling. There are, however, urgent matters to attend to. Or at least it seems that way given that Alasdair was looking for you.

SILVER: Oh?

ALASDAIR: I need you to find someone for me. I’d ask Guillermo to do it, but I think he might… take it a little worse than you would.

SILVER: Uncle Alasdair, if it’s related to my mom… (heavy pause) It is, isn’t it. And you don’t want him to know.

ALASDAIR: I don’t want him to worry. Not more than he already is. And I know putting that onto you isn’t fair, but you didn’t know them like he did; he wouldn’t be able to detach himself enough from the situation to focus and they need to go home, Silver. 

SILVER: Who is it?

ALASDAIR: It’s your aunt. Rosalina, your mother’s youngest sister. She and your father were good friends and I can’t… How can I tell him that she’s gone missing? That me removing creatures from her reality may have made her disappear to begin with? 

SILVER: It’s not like you put the monsters into that world, Alasdair. I know my mom came from a non-magical world, this isn’t on you. You were just doing your job and–

And there’s every likelihood that Minerva moved her on purpose. That she targeted that reality on purpose. That she knows it was my mom’s reality and that it’s my aunt and… I’ll find her. Just… Keep my dad away from those files for a little bit, alright? Whim, you wanna come with me while I work?

(footsteps)

(sigh)

I haven’t… I haven’t heard my tia’s voice in ages. Stars, I haven’t even seen her since I was a child and I just… I never would’ve imagined that this would be how I heard her voice again. That this is what it would take for me to break that wall that I put up when my mom passed and I chose to live here on the Fringes. (slams fist on table) Why would Minvera do this? What does she hope to achieve by moving my aunt, by taking my family? First she takes me, then she took you, and now she’s taking the family that I haven’t had in so long and for what? 

(tapping) ‘We won’t let her hurt you.’ She already has, Whim. And she keeps hurting the people I care about. Isn’t it… Never mind, we should get to work. (tapping) ‘Silver?’ Don’t worry about it, Whim. I just… I just need to find my aunt. 

ROSALINA: Meirda, that hurts significantly more than Memo and Luce ever said it did. Why would they never say how much that hurts? Dios mio, I will have words for Memo the next time I see him.

MEABH: Where in the name of the holy Serpent did you come from?

ROSALINA: Whoa, whoa, easy there. I come in peace?

MEABH: Answer my question or face the consequences.

ROSALINA: My name is Rosalina, I came from… Hm, I suppose you wouldn’t have a Humboldt Park here, would you? Or a San Juan–

MEABH: You fall from the sky and speak of unknown places with a surprising amount of calm, Rosalina. A suspicious amount of calm. The amount of calm I would expect from someone sent by the Raven’s Coven–

ROSALINA: Easy there, miss- mister- mx. Dios, Silver would have my head if he could hear this. I’m not from any coven and I didn’t mean to fall out of the sky. From what my brother-in-law has told me, this is not a typical occurrence, least of all for me. Can you please tell me where I am? Or at the very least tell me your name?

MEABH: They call me Meabh of the Serpentine Sword. And I will give you one final chance to explain yourself before I remove your head from your body.

ROSALINA: I promise this doesn’t need to come to decapitation. My name is Rosalina, I come from Humboldt Park, a neighborhood in Chicago. My parents moved to the city from San Juan before me or any of my sisters were born. My older sister Lucinda was married to a man called Guillermo who told us all about this… reality business. There was always part of me that doubted him but seeing as I’m god knows where staring down the end of a crossbow, I don’t think I’m in a place where I can doubt him anymore. I promise you I will leave, I just need you to tell me where we are so Memo can find me and get me out of here.

MEABH: That’s not possible.

ROSALINA: Look, Meabh–

MEABH: Guillermo is a myth. A legend that was told to the Serpent long ago– he isn’t real, there aren’t–

ROSALINA: There are. I mean, look at yourself and then look at me. Do I look like anyone who would truly exist in your world? You’re covered in leather and furs and armor, I’m wearing jorts. You probably don’t even have denim here! Do I really look like a threat? Like someone who would come to you as a threat on purpose? Do people usually fall out of the sky in unknown clothing talking about unknown places and mythological men?

MEABH: …I suppose you have a point. Serpent’s spines, the stories are actually true. There are other worlds out there, worlds beyond what the Serpent can see.

ROSALINA: I couldn’t believe it either when I first found out. God, it almost killed abuela when she found out that her granddaughter was dating a god and not the catholic kind. These things… They feel too big to be real but I promise you they are. And I promise you they’re kind.

MEABH: You say you need to make contact with this Guillermo?

ROSALINA: Him or someone else in his family, yeah.

MEABH: Then we shall visit the Serpent’s shrine. They say that the Serpent can make contact with those beyond our realm, can see through the layers of this world into the infinite abyss. I have never doubted my Serpent, but I did doubt the complexity of this world.

ROSALINA: It’s easy to doubt the multiverse until it comes crashing directly into you.

MEABH: …Quite. Come, you were fortunate not to land far from the shrine.

ROSALINA: It’s beautiful here.

MEABH: The holy Serpent provides for us well. Fertile lands and abundant resources– all things that the Raven’s Coven wants to steal from us. But we shall not let them; the Serpent shall remain.

ROSALINA: It must be incredible to have so much faith in your god. Never really got the appeal myself, but I can see how it could be comforting.

MEABH: Does your god not provide for you?

ROSALINA: It’s… more complex than that where I am from.

MEABH: Perhaps you are better off staying here then.

ROSALINA: My family is back home. Mama already lost a daughter, I won’t allow her to lose another.

MEABH: Very well then. The shrine is just up this hill, follow me.

(tapping)

SILVER: I’m sorry, Whim, I… I didn’t even need to play it for that long, I just missed her voice. Gods above, I missed her voice. 

She, um. She’s in reality 2782-T. I’m going to move her, do a little memory alteration with Meabh, and then… I can’t go down there, that’s exactly what Minerva wants. But I also can’t just… let her think she’s gone through this alone. Even with the rest of the family knowing the truth of the matter, it doesn’t make it any easier. Stars, Minerva knew exactly what to do, didn’t she? She played the perfect card that makes me want to leap down there and see my tia but I can’t! I can’t because then Minerva will get me again and- and I can’t do anything. I can’t do anything! (slamming)

(quick footsteps)

ALASDAIR: Silver, are you alright?

SILVER: I’m– No. No, I’m not fine. She has so perfectly gotten under my skin and I can’t do anything about it! I can’t go see my tia to make sure she’s okay now that I’ve moved her back. I can’t have my dad go down there because what if Minerva does something to him? I can’t actually help my family because trying to help my family puts me in danger and it’s not fair. 

ALASDAIR: Hey, hey, Silver… Oh, Silver, I’m sorry. I know it’s not fair, kiddo, it really isn’t, but it’s also not your fault. You did what you could, you found your aunt and got her home. That was all you, Silver, all you. And even if you can’t tell her that, I’m sure she knows. Rosalina was always good at that sort of stuff, even when she didn’t fully believe it was happening. She could feel it, though; could feel the difference between you and your dad. For a woman in a non-magical world, she had quite the aptitude for it.

ALASDAIR (CONT.): The world isn’t fair sometimes. What’s happening with Minerva isn’t fair. But stars above, Silver, don’t ever doubt that you’re still doing good. I know it hurts, I know it’s scary, but you’re helping. You’re not putting anyone in danger by trying to help us, by trying to help your mom’s family, by trying to help Whim. You’re not a danger, buddy.

SILVER: As long as Minerva is out there, I am.

ALASDAIR: That’s what she wants you to think.

SILVER: Well, she’s succeeding! 

(footsteps)

OPAL: We managed to remove the last of the anomalies! Everything is– Oh, Silver, darling what’s wrong?

ALASDAIR: Someone is taking after their family a little too much and trying to carry the weight of the world upon their shoulders.

OPAL: Ah. The age old trap that all of us fall into. Did you find your aunt?

SILVER: I did.

OPAL: Did you move her back home?

SILVER: Yes.

OPAL: Then you have done all you can do in this situation, and done it with speed and care. It likely doesn’t feel like it, but sometimes that is enough. (pause) But you know this already, don’t you? That’s not truly what’s bothering you, is it?

SILVER: I just want to know if she’s okay.

OPAL: Oh, is that all? Well, I have a solution for that. Come, follow me.

OPAL (CONT.): Al and I invented this while we were looking for you. We were hoping it would help us find you, but it hinges on us actually knowing where people are so I’ve mostly used it to talk to Sapphire. It helped a lot to talk to her when I couldn’t go to the Valley since we were so busy with our search. Alright, here we go! Just hold it in your hands and think about your aunt.

SILVER: Opal, I’m not sure– (noise) Stars!

ROSALINA: Silver? Silver is that you?

SILVER: Tia Rosa?

ROSALINA: Oh, Silver, mi precioso, it’s so good to hear your voice! You’ll never believe the day I had, chiquito– Or maybe you will. It was you, wasn’t it?

SILVER: You knew?

ROSALINA: Oh, mijita, I could feel it in these old bones of mine.

SILVER: Tia you’re only 47.

ROSALINA: And my bones are at least 87. That’s why they could feel it was you carrying me home.

SILVER: I miss you so much, tia.

ROSALINA: We miss you too, precioso. I don’t blame you for leaving, never have and never will, but god do I miss you. Your father has told me you’ve gotten into a bit of trouble recently– not your fault, I’ve been reassured, but trouble nonetheless. Are you taking care of yourself, mijito?

SILVER: I’m… Trying really hard to, tia. I’m trying really hard.

ROSALINA: I will tell you what your mother told me when I would overwork myself: El mundo girará contigo o sin ti.

SILVER: The world will spin with or without you. But what if I’m the one putting the world in danger?

ROSALINA: You’re not.

SILVER: You don’t even know what’s going on.

ROSALINA: But I do know that you would never do anything that would cause harm to anyone. And I know that your family– here and there– would never let you get to a point where you were putting us in danger.

SILVER: But what if–

ROSALINA: No buts, mi vida. Your family over there will not hear it and neither will I. (buzzing) Oh, your tia Julieta is ready to go visit your abuelita. I love you so much, mi Plata. Never forget that.

SILVER: Te amo mucho, tia. Say hi to the others for me?

ROSALINA: Of course, mi vida, of course.

(noise)

OPAL: Did that help? (hugging) Oh! It seems it did. I’m sorry I never told you about this, dear heart. I never thought–

SILVER: Neither did I. Thank you, Opal. 

OPAL: Of course, Silver. 

ALASDAIR: She was right, you know. 

SILVER: Yeah. Yeah, I think I do know.