SILVER: Tales from the Fringes of Reality. Episode 28 – A Nice Day for a Simple Moss.
(footsteps)
SILVER: Okay, no holes in reality there… Next spot then. Everything looks good there… Wait! Someone’s about to… There you go! You’re staying right there where you belong, little buddy. Okay, next one and– Ah! Stars above, Whim, where did you come from? (tapping) ‘Did you sleep at all’ I… I’ll sleep eventually.
(footsteps)
Hey! Where are you going?
(grouped footsteps)
GUILLERMO: Silver–
SILVER: You told on me? To my dad?
GUILLERMO: So you didn’t go to sleep last night.
SILVER: I’m not even tired! And besides, now you don’t have as much stuff to work on today. You don’t have to work at all today if you don’t want, I can keep going–
ALASDAIR: Silver, you need to sleep.
SILVER: You told Alasdair too? (tapping) ‘They were together when I went to get your dad’ I can’t believe you’ve done this.
GUILLERMO: Is there a reason you’re not sleeping, kiddo?
SILVER: …is the right answer yes or no?
ALASDAIR: The right answer is an honest one so we can help you.
SILVER: I don’t technically need to sleep. I’m magic enough to not sleep.
GUILLERMO: So are we and we still sleep. What’s going on, Silver? You seem… More on edge than usual.
ALASDAIR: Which is saying a lot, all things considered!
SILVER: I’m just trying to get ahead of Minerva is all. If I’m watching everything, I can catch people when they fall. Or stop them from falling entirely. It’s what I’m good at! I used to do this all day every day back when– Back then. I didn’t even start taking breaks until– (deep breath) I can do this, dad. You don’t have to worry about me.
GUILLERMO: You’re my kid, Sil. Of course I’m going to worry about you.
SILVER: I’m fine!
ALASDAIR: It’s okay if you’re not, Silver. With everything that happened… No one is expecting you to be perfectly okay. None of us are perfectly okay, and we didn’t go through nearly as much as you did.
SILVER: I’m not some helpless child who needs minding, I just need to– Oh no.
ALASDAIR: Silver? What’s wrong?
SILVER: No, no, no, no, no. I– I saw them. If I had just been paying more attention– Someone fell. Someone was in this file right in front of me and they fell and I– I failed them. I was right here and I failed them.
GUILLERMO: Woah, hey, Silver, you didn’t fail anyone. This stuff happens all the time, kid, you can’t catch everyone. If you tried, you’d drive yourself crazy. Just breathe, let yourself calm down some. It’s all going to be okay, we’re going to find them and bring them home. That’s what we always do, right?
SILVER: But I was right here! I could’ve stopped them–
ALASDAIR: And we could have too. You don’t have to put all this blame on yourself, Silver. We’re here, we’ll help you bring them home.
SILVER: But what if I can’t?
ALASDAIR: I’ve never seen someone find and put people back as quickly and carefully as you, and my brother invented this system. You can do this, Silver. And if you can’t, then we’ll be here to make sure things go as they’re supposed to.
GUILLERMO: You’re not alone anymore, kiddo. You don’t have to worry about all of this alone. And you don’t have to stay up all night doing a job that no one asks of you; you’re allowed to rest and recharge and not be on 100% of the time. Do you trust me?
SILVER: You know I do, dad.
GUILLERMO: Then trust me when I say there isn’t any fault at play here. It’s a natural part of reality and it’s something we can fix. Okay?
SILVER: …Yeah, sure. Okay.
ALASDAIR: Should I pull up the file for us to listen to then?
GUILLERMO: I think that’d be a good idea. Are you sure you want to stay, Silver? You can always go to sleep.
SILVER: Let me just get this one home. Then I’ll go to sleep.
(tapping)
COLE: Well. This is unexpected.
(tapping)
SILVER: Is that–
ALASDAIR: Our charming moss friend has fallen through reality it seems.
SILVER: Oh gods…
(tapping)
COLE: I don’t think I’ve ever seen a sky so blue before. And the sounds here are different too! Oh, what a day you’re going to have for yourself, Cole. Moss on the move! Or as much on the move as you can be, all things considered.
RHYS: …No, I must be imagining things.
COLE: Hello there!
RHYS: Or maybe I’m not. Are you… Talking moss?
COLE: I’m going by Cole for today, but yes I suppose that would be an accurate description of my whole deal. Can I get your name, stranger?
RHYS: Am I really going to talk to moss? Moss on a rock? Is this what we’ve become, Rhys? Is this who we are now?
COLE: Rhys is your name, I take it?
RHYS: Damn it all. Yes, my name is Rhys and I’m talking to moss, apparently. Where did you come from? Wait, no, that’s rude, isn’t it? You could be from here and I’m the one in the wrong for never having met talking moss before. But I’ve met regular moss– not that you’re irregular! Well you are for this city’s standards and– I’m digging myself into a hole here, aren’t I?
COLE: We mossfolk are very forgiving, don’t you worry. I could be more forgiving if you would put me up somewhere a little higher, though. It’s weird talking to you at this angle, you’re all… Huge looking. Most people are crouched down when we chat, but I’m alright being taller if you can make that happen. I’ve never been tall, always wondered what it’s like.
RHYS: Sure, I can do that. Here, there’s a wall– There we go! Tall enough for you?
COLE: Thank you kindly!
RHYS: So, Cole… Are you from here?
COLE: Hmmm… No, I don’t think so. This place feels different. It’s loud. And the sky is so blue! Back home it’s just the grey skies around the tower and all the other moss and rocks. This place has other towers and blue skies and whatever that sound is, so it can’t be home.
RHYS: You mean the ocean?
COLE: What’s that?
RHYS: Have you never… Here, can I pick you up again? Carry you somewhere?
COLE: If you’d like!
RHYS: Here, let me just… Comfortable enough like this?
COLE: Is this what moving is like? Don’t really move around much at home, not much to move for. This is… Nice. I like it.
RHYS: You said there’s a tower, right? Never got curious about the tower?
COLE: I’m a simple moss with simple dreams and a lack of a death wish. Don’t know what goes on in the tower and don’t know any mosses who have gone there before. Better to stay where I am, with my band, then to die in a search for the unknown.
RHYS: Is a band like… What a family of moss is called?
COLE: What? No, a band is a group of people who make music together. Does no one know that mosses are musically inclined?
RHYS: Is this a conversation that you’ve had before?
COLE: Actually yes. And fairly recently! You’d think that people would know this crucial fact about moss by now. But I suppose I can forgive you for this as you’ve allowed me to experience movement for the first time. Man, I’ll be able to write one hell of a song about this. I don’t think anyone else in the band has ever moved before, they’re not going to believe me when I explain– Wait, what’s that thing?
RHYS: That’s the ocean, my friend. It’s what’s making the noise you were commenting on.
COLE: It’s beautiful!
RHYS: Isn’t it just? It’s the one good thing about growing up in this place; can just go and stare at the sea whenever I want. I can’t imagine never having seen it before.
COLE: There’s not much outside of the moss and the rocks back home. Even the tower is more theoretical than anything else. Nothing changes. That’s why it’s good to have a band; if the world won’t change, the music will.
RHYS: Don’t you get bored?
COLE: Oh all the time! But that’s why we have the band and the nice lady who drops from the sky every now and then.
RHYS: A lady falling from the sky?
COLE: One of her kids fell from the sky recently too. And her grandkid, apparently. They’re a nice set of folks, spent time chatting with me. Kind of like you did, come to think of it. Not everyone would be so kind as to chat with a bit of moss that they found. I appreciate it, Rhys.
RHYS: It was kind of nice to take a moment to stop and just. Talk to someone about the simple beauties of the world. Or… Something? Would you consider yourself a someone or something?
COLE: Hmmm… I think I’d like to be someone today.
RHYS: Then it was nice to spend the day talking about the beauties of the world with someone who’s experiencing them for the first time. (pause) Do you know how you’ll get home?
COLE: Not quite sure. But I have faith that the family I mentioned will bring me home. That’s what they do, or at least that’s what I’m told. But they don’t have a reason to lie to a moss like me, so I’ll choose to believe in them.
SILVER: I found him.
GUILLERMO: (encouraging) Yeah?
SILVER: Yeah. Yeah I found him. (tapping sound) He believed in me. In us.
ALASDAIR: He did.
SILVER: And I found him.
GUILLERMO: You did.
SILVER: So why does it still feel like I failed?
GUILLERMO: Silver–
SILVER: I didn’t stop Cole from falling, but I found him! I found him so fast too! He wasn’t gone that long and he was with someone so kind when he fell. He doesn’t even seem particularly bothered that he fell through reality! But I still feel like I didn’t do enough or do it fast enough. He believes in me. And I still let Minerva drag him away.
ALASDAIR: You don’t know it was her. People fall out of reality all the time, Silver. It could be completely unrelated to you and Minerva.
SILVER: I’d believe that if I hadn’t been there before you all found me again. I’d believe that if the past few people I saw and helped hadn’t been people that I had read about when with her or places I’d fallen to or people I love who had been moved. I’d believe that if it didn’t seem like she was getting stronger every fucking day and we’re not closer to being able to stop her and–
GUILLERMO: Oh, baby, come here.
SILVER: I just don’t know what to do, dad. I don’t know how to make this all stop and get better. She keeps messing with everything and everyone that I’ve come in contact with and I can’t do anything to stop it. I can’t fix it.
GUILLERMO: It’s not your job to fix it, kid.
SILVER: But–
GUILLERMO: It isn’t.
ALASDAIR: You’re not responsible for what Minerva does, Silver. None of us are. I know how hard it can be to believe that– trust me, I helped build her, I know how hard it can be to remove yourself from her actions. But you didn’t do anything wrong. And you didn’t fail any of these people that she’s moved. She’s making a choice, a malicious one at that, and that’s not your fault.
SILVER: If I were still with her–
GUILLERMO: No. We’re not– You’re not at fault here for breaking away from someone holding you hostage, Silver. She should never have done that in the first place. Sweetheart, please tell me you know that it’s good that you’re out of there.
SILVER: …I know it’s better. It just… Would it be different if I was still there?
ALASDAIR: She would still be moving people to get us off her trail.
SILVER: But– (pause) Never mind.
GUILLERMO: Silver?
SILVER: It’s nothing, dad. You’re right, I’m just being… Sad, I guess. It feels like this is all my fault even if it’s not. I know Minnie is the one who is actually doing all of this, but I feel like I should be able to stop her. To help her.
GUILLERMO: It’s not your job to fix her, Silver.
SILVER: But what if I can save her?
ALASDAIR: But what if you can’t? Is it worth breaking yourself over?
SILVER: It feels like I should at least try. Don’t I owe that to her?
GUILLERMO: (firmly) You don’t owe her anything.
SILVER: But–
GUILLERMO: She hurt you, Silver. You don’t need to bend over backwards for her after she kidnapped you and manipulated your memories. You don’t owe her a stars-damned thing.
ALASDAIR: Brother, I’m not sure this is helping.
GUILLERMO: …You’re right. I’m sorry, Silver. I just… I don’t want you to carry the guilt of her actions on your back. You can forgive her if you feel it’s right, but you don’t owe her that. You don’t owe her anything. Whatever you choose, we’ll support you. I promise.
SILVER: Thanks, dad. I should get some sleep, shouldn’t I?
GUILLERMO: I think that’s probably for the best. Come on, I’ll tuck you in.
SILVER: Dad…
GUILLERMO: Just let me do this for you, kiddo.
SILVER: Fine, fine. Alasdair, do you mind keeping an eye on things here? I’d sleep a little better knowing someone is watching it.
ALASDAIR: Of course, Silver.
(footsteps)
ALASDAIR: Are you sticking around then, Whim? You’re welcome to go elsewhere, if you’d like, but I’d never reject your company. (pause) Staying it is then. We’ll get through to him eventually, Whim. We have to.
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