Episode 8: Antigone
SFX: Ignition. A van engine rumbles. The god radio hisses as someone turns the dial to tune into a station. The opening theme plays, at first distorted before clearing up.
THEME: (sings)
If there’s a stranger all alone
Set her back to walk the stone
TITLE:
Hearthbound
Episode 8
Antigone
THEME: (sings)
Will she find her way back home?
SFX: Someone hammers on a rooftop. Piano plays from inside the lodge. A common loon calls, crickets chirp, and intermittently, a bullfrog bellows. A car pulls away. A screen door swings open.
CIRCE: You coming into dinner, or are you gonna perch up there like a gargoyle for the rest of the night?
ODESSA: In a minute. I wanna patch this leak before the next storm.
CIRCE: Suit yourself. We’ll keep a plate warm for ya.
SFX: Circe goes back inside. Just night sounds. Then the creak of a bicycle wheel.
ODESSA: Hey, Echoman.
SFX: After a beat, the Echoman replies. The creature noises and the sound of revelry fall away. Below, small boats knock against the dock on the lake.
ODESSA: View’s nice up here, isn’t it?
SFX: In the distance, a motorboat sputters past.
ODESSA: I think that’s Cassandra’s boat across the lake there. Like a firefly on the water. Are you keeping them company, too?I could sit up here forever. Just looking at the black lines of the trees against the sky. The lake’s not the sea, but… it’s something like it. Kinder. Slower. I guess I don’t have to tell you that. If anything knows sorrow, it’s the sea. If you’re gonna stay for a while… mind giving something a listen?
SFX: Odessa picks up her guitar.
ODESSA: (sings)
Spare your horses
Delight not me
Stray off course
Staring at the kerosene
People change
And people don’t and
Which I wonder
Scares me most
For you are all
Five years away
And the ghost light dances
On an empty stage
I’m losing still
Perhaps your face
How soft’s the sound
Of fading grace
Let your eyes be the same
Let your voice ring the way I remember
May these memories make it through
The frost and the blue of December
A rolling stone
Collects no loss
A wretch alone
Found tempest tossed
I’m afraid when it’s said and done
Silence stops the pendulum
So could I have this dance again
Are these still the hands you remember
Will you teach me the steps again
By the low winter sun of December
People change
And people don’t and
Who I wonder
Makes it home
SFX: The screen door opens.
CAL: Who’re you talking to?
ODESSA: Nobody.
SFX: Cal climbs up the ladder.
CAL: Brought you dinner. And beer. Aunt Circe said you weren’t coming in until you finished, so I thought I’d just bring it up here.
ODESSA: Thanks.
SFX: Cal hands Odessa a plate and some utensils. They crack open the beer bottles.
ODESSA: Cheers.
SFX: They clink.
CAL: How much longer do you think?
ODESSA: I can finish the patch tonight, before those clouds out there roll in tomorrow.
CAL: That’s not what I was asking.
ODESSA: Circe’s got some solar cells that she wants installing. If I get them in for her, she says she’ll give us a couple for Alby.
CAL: And then we’ll go?
SFX: Odessa swallows her beer.
CAL: It’s been a month. I think Alby’s pretty roadworthy at this point.
ODESSA: I don’t want her crapping out on us.
CAL: She won’t.
ODESSA: I’ll get the solar cells in first. Circe mentioned she had a few more parts coming in. I want to see what she found.
CAL: Okay.
SFX: They drink in companionable silence.
ODESSA: Look. That’s Vega.
CAL: That star?
ODESSA: Yeah. She’s the weaver. And that’s Altair. The oxherd. All the way on the other side of the Milky Way. They were in love, you know? But their love was forbidden. They were banished to the other side of the heavenly river from one another. But on the 7th day of the 7th month, the magpies form a bridge across the river– that star in the middle there, Deneb– and the oxherd can brave the dangerous river crossing to visit the weaver for a single day. On that day, if it rains, it’s said that the river sweeps the bridge away, and they can’t meet that year.
CAL: But if they get to reunite, why would they leave each other again?
ODESSA: I don’t know. There’s a poem about it. It’s said that as long as their hearts are always with each other, why would they need to stay together every day and night?
CAL: That’s stupid.
ODESSA: Maybe.
CAL: I let Cassandra read my cup last week.
ODESSA: (snorts) Was that fun for you?
CAL: No. You should come inside. Finish this tomorrow morning. The rain won’t come until later.
ODESSA: Yeah. You’re right.
SFX: Odessa gets up and stretches.
ODESSA: After you.
SFX: They climb off the roof. The lodge piano fades back in as they head inside.
CAL: Someone new came in today.
ODESSA: Yeah?
CAL: Their name’s Tig. Whole lodge has been listening to their stories all night.
ODESSA: Any good ones?
CAL: Yeah. I think they make up half of them on the spot. But they’re fun.
SFX: A mandolin and upright bass join the piano.
DRUNKEN SINGERS: (sings)
Here’s to lying (here’s to lying)
Here’s to stealing (here’s to stealing)
Here’s to cheating (here’s to cheating)
Here’s to drinking (here’s to drinking)
Here’s to lying (lie with your lover)
Here’s to stealing (steal a kiss)
Here’s to cheating (cheat death)
Here’s to drinking (drink with us)
Here’s to lying (here’s to lying)
Here’s to stealing (here’s to stealing)
Here’s to cheating (here’s to cheating)
Here’s to drinking (here’s to drinking)
Here’s to lying (lie with your lover)
Here’s to stealing (steal a kiss)
Here’s to cheating (cheat death)
Here’s to drinking (drink with us)
SFX: Uproarious cheers. Someone slips off a table with a thud.
TIG: Whoops. Thanks buddy. Almost took a tumble there. Y’all wanna hear another?
SFX: Patrons shout in approval.
MEDEA: Hey Odessa. Tired of patching infinite holes?
ODESSA: Yeah, thought I’d check out tonight’s main attraction.
TIG: This one’s for all the assholes who thought they could own me, motherfuckers!
(sings)
Down by the field where I buried my dead, they buried me alive
Down by the field where I buried my dead, I crawled out of the well
And I survived
I survived
I let in the crows with the keys to my cell
And I laughed as their kingdom crumbled and fell
I laughed as their kingdom crumbled and fell
Mama said, mind the hand that feeds you
Mama said, don’t bite the hand that needs you
Mama said, though it bleeds you dry
Kiss the hand that made you cry
I defy I defy I defy
I defy I defy I defy
I defy I defy I defy
SFX: Tig climbs over the furniture, kicking over cups.
TIG: (sings)
I went down to the river and learned to float
I went down to the river to drown my ghosts
I went down to the river and followed the sun
I went down to the river, and I went on the run
Mama said, mind the hand that feeds you
Mama said, don’t bite the hand that needs you
Mama said, though it bleeds you dry
Kiss the hand that made you cry
Mama said, mind the hand that feeds you
Mama said, don’t bite the hand that needs you
Mama said, though it bleeds you dry
Kiss the hand that made you cry
I defy I defy I defy
I defy I defy I defy
I defy I defy I defy
SFX: Tig jumps off a table as patrons whoop and clap.
ODESSA: So that’s Tig.
SFX: Tig approaches with swagger.
TIG: Hey, you! Haven’t seen your face around yet. Can I get a drink for my new friend here?
ODESSA: Actually, I’m good.
TIG: Nonsense. No one’s ever good. So let’s be bad while we can get away with it right? Cheers.
SFX: Tig takes a swig of their drink. They burp.
TIG: Cal, your friend is a drip.
CAL: She’s just been working on the roof all day.
TIG: Then take a load off!
SFX: They shove a drink in Odessa’s hands.
TIG: Here you go. Hey, you know, you sound kinda familiar. Have we met?
ODESSA: I don’t think so. Are you just passing through?
TIG: Yep. Heading out later tonight.
CAL: So soon?
ODESSA: They must really want to get to where they’re going.
TIG: Wherever that is. Nah, I just don’t like staying in one place for too long. People start having expectations of you. Before you know it, obligations, attachments, stains that you hate, but you know you’ll miss. From what I hear, though, you’ve got places to be, too.
ODESSA: Is that so?
CAL: Yeah… sorry. I’m sobering up.
TIG: No, no, it’s okay! Come on, sit down.
SFX: Tig settles onto a bench. They pat the seat next to them. After a beat, Odessa slides into a chair across the table.
TIG: Cal says you’ve got someone waiting at home for you.
ODESSA: My wife, Penelope.
TIG: So, what’s keeping you?
SFX: Odessa doesn’t respond. Tig slaps the table.
TIG: That’s exactly it! You don’t know, do you? But here’s the thing, you feel bad, right? But if you don’t want to go home, maybe your gut is telling you something you should listen to.
SFX: Odessa abruptly stands.
ODESSA: I’m sorry. It’s been a long day. It was nice meeting you, Tig, but I think I’m going to turn in.
SFX: She starts to walk away.
TIG: You feel good out here, don’t you? On the road? It feels like anything can happen. That there’s always somewhere else to go if things don’t work out. You’re not trapped by anyone or anything.
ODESSA: That’s not it, Tig. Good night.
SFX: Odessa heads upstairs to her room. Mack greets her happily. She sits on the ground next to him and leans back against the bed. She scratches his neck. Crickets chirp, and the lake laps against its shores outside the open window.
ODESSA: Hey, Mack. Good boy.
SFX: The door opens.
CAL: I’m sorry. I shouldn’t have said anything to them. They don’t know you.
SFX: Cal sits on the bed.
ODESSA: I don’t feel trapped.
CAL: I know.
ODESSA: I really like it here. Maybe even enough to stay.
CAL: Oh.
ODESSA: Remember last week, when we went out to the brambles with Circe and Dee?
CAL: Yeah. Circe had closed the lodge and told everybody to come back for dinner, so that the four of us could take the day off.
ODESSA: Remember when Circe pointed out the shrub with the red peely bark and was like, “Do you know what this is?”
CAL: And when we said no, she said, “Eat some.”
ODESSA: And I said, “What is it?”
CAL: And she said, “Eat some and I’ll tell you.”
ODESSA: And she popped some berries in her mouth. Seemed harmless, right?
CAL: Speak for yourself. I wasn’t gonna eat something I didn’t know the name of.
ODESSA: It was so sour! And made my mouth so dry!
CAL: That’s on you.
ODESSA: She laughed so hard. Spat out the handful she had chewed up. “Manzanita, they’re called,” she said. “Little apple.”
CAL: They grow well in poor soil and little water. Hardy bitches.
ODESSA: Real astringent and tart when eaten raw.
CAL: But incredible when made into cider.
ODESSA: And paired with the roast we had that night in the backyard? All the lights lit up. The other guests sitting on logs, quiet with us for once. And we all looked up at the stars.
SFX: A comfortable quiet.
ODESSA: I don’t know what’s waiting for me at home. And this place… it feels as close to what I had before. And I’m here right now. It would be so easy to stay.
CAL: I think… I think you’d hate yourself for it. If you never go back. If you stay here forever, not knowing.
ODESSA: What if Penelope’s gone? Or worse, what if she hates me? What if it’s been too long? What if I’ve failed her?
SFX: Mack whines.
CAL: I guess you won’t know, huh?
ODESSA: I guess.
CAL: Do you want to know what I think?
ODESSA: Yeah. I do.
CAL: I think… I think you love so big that it hurts. That you need somewhere to put it. And it used to belong at home with your wife and your friends and your hills. But you’ve been carrying it with you this whole time alone. And you finally have somewhere to put it, right here. But if you go, and you go home, and you see for yourself if there’s room for your big fucking heart where there used to be, you know that there’ll still be room here for you. If everything’s gone and it hurts too much, you can always come back. Hell, if Penelope has been standing by the door waiting for you, loving you all these years, you can still come back. Even for just a little bit. And you can bring her. If she’s anything like you’ve said she was, I think she’ll love it here, too. I think she’d love anything you love. I know what it means to say goodbye to something good. And I know what it’s like to stay somewhere because it’s too scary to know what leaving might mean. But I left, didn’t I? With you.
ODESSA: I’m scared.
CAL: So was I.
SFX: The moment holds.
ODESSA: One more week.
SFX: Mack perks up.
CAL: Yeah?
ODESSA: Yeah. One more week to finish things up with the van and with the roof. I’ll let Circe know that we’ll go then.
CAL: Actually. I think I’m… I’m going to stay.
ODESSA: Oh! No, I mean… Yeah! I’m sorry. I never asked you what you wanted, did I? I just took for granted…
CAL: No, it’s okay! I’ve been thinking a lot about it. I meant to tell you.
ODESSA: You should stay. That makes sense.
CAL: I’ll miss you.
ODESSA: I’ll miss you, too.
SFX: Cal gets down and hugs Odessa. They let go.
CAL: I won’t miss the snoring.
ODESSA: Oh, you will. But we’ll see each other again.
CAL: We will.
ODESSA: I’m gonna… I’m gonna go down and tell Circe.
CAL: Cool. I’ll be here.
SFX: Odessa leaves the room. Cal scratches Mack, jingling his collar.
CAL: I’ll be here.
SFX: A loon trills softly. The god radio hisses, then clicks off.
THEME: (sings)
If there’s a stranger all alone
CREDITS:
Hearthbound
Episode 8
Antigone
Features the voices of
Jo Chiang as Odessa
Manami Maxted as Cal
Liba Vaynberg as Medea
Arielle Yoder as Circe
Blair Medina Baldwin as Tig
Odessa's Guitar by Pete Lanctot
Piano by Ali Dineen
Mandolin by Dylan McKinstry
Upright Bass by Jared Engel
and Anya Bosworth, Daanyaal Rangwala, Isha Racho, Joan Racho-Jansen, Jude Shimer, Keifer Chiang, Lulu Tang, Maayan Voss de Bettancourt, Mercedes Li, Pete Winfrey, and Rishika Nath as Drunken Singers
Hearthbound is created, written, and produced by Jo Chiang
Directed by Jack Towhey Calk
Music directed by Ginger Dolden
Sound design and editing by Levi Sharpe
Additional dialogue editing by Anna Kelly Rodriguez and Amador L. Rodriguez
Music production, additional engineering, and mixing by Pete Lanctot
Production managed by Charlotte Muth & Neaco Fox
Special thanks to Multitude Studio, Sunny’s Bar, and our illustrator, Anya Boz
Stay in touch with us on hearthboundpod.com
You get home safe now, you hear?
THEME: (sings)
Set her back to walk the stone
You may wonder, but never know
Will she find her way back home
JO: Hi! Jo here. The story of Altair and Vega is an old Chinese folktale about the Cowherd (Níuláng), who we know as the star Altair, and the Weaver Girl (Zīnü), symbolized by the star Vega. It was one of the first folk tales my mother told me, and it felt important to include in Odessa’s journey, a piece of my own motherland’s mythology to hold up next to this western classic that we know so well.
And as Odessa sets off on the road again, I gotta shout out our own Circe’s Lodge: Sunny’s Bar in Red Hook, Brooklyn, a bar with over a hundred years of history. Her owner, Tone, let us record “Tig’s Song” and the “Drinking Song” in their backroom on their out-of-tune piano. It’s a little haven for musicians and local artists by the docks of the East River, and I try to go whenever I can to breathe in the ocean air and listen to some live music. If you’re ever in the neighborhood, you should definitely swing by.
Finally, for a wilder, weirder west than ours, might I recommend MERCY: A Queer Eldritch Western. This cinematic, full-cast audio drama by Strangekind Studio follows Wayne Sawyer, a grizzled jack-of-all-trades, who helps the folk of Mercy for a mere pittance. When he meets the bizarre and enigmatic academic, Doctor Daisy Gray, they are both thrust into dangers beyond human comprehension. It’s giving The Witcher meets Red Dead Redemption, but with more unfathomable sky jellyfish. Have a trailer!:
SAWYER: (voice over) My name’s Sawyer. I help people. I try to anyway.
SFX: Sawyer brutally beats someone.
SAWYER: BASTARD!
SFX: Sawyer yells at Bell.
SAWYER: Get lost!
BELL: This is my parlor!
SAWYER: SCRAM!
SFX: Sawyer battles a monster.
SAWYER: I killed you once, I can kill you again!!
SFX: Sawyer hangs from a tree during a rainstorm.
SAWYER: I mean…mind your own DAMN BUSINESS!!
GRAY: (voice over) Sawyer’s vocabulary is limited to five letters and is littered with malapropisms.
SAWYER: (voice over) I speak just fine!!
SFX: Montage of Sawyer ‘speaking just fine’.
SAWYER: The green leafy stick that tastes like nothin’!
GRAY: Is that a moniker of yours?
SAWYER: Huh? My eyesight’s fine.
SAWYER: Our Leasha Medusa. Lenin Medusa. Lester Medusas? The Lotion Medusas!
GRAY: Laetitia Medusas.
SAWYER: I was tryna wear this damn thing and it got caught on this thing and the other thing and I dunno what’s up or down or inside or out and I reckon I’m about to suffocate to death!!!
GRAY: (laughing) Sorry?? (Voice Over) My name is Daisy Gray. Doctor Daisy Gray. I am a student of the occult and preternatural phenomena.
SFX: Gray is chased by a Laetitia Medusa.
GRAY: We are witness to the miraculous metamorphoses of impossibility joining the realm of true possibility!
SFX: Gray fangirling over Laetitia Medusa.
GRAY: She’s here!!! Laetitia Medusa, Sawyer! Do you see her? Isn’t she majestic?!
SFX: Sawyer confronts Gray in the streets of Mercy.
SAWYER: What the hell is wrong with you?!
GRAY: Why, a great many a thing, Sawyer, I’m sure.
SAWYER: Yeah, I’m beginning to realize that!
SFX: Gray wrestles with someone.
GRAY Shoot them in the head!!
SFX: Gray wields a weapon.
GRAY: This battle requires a sturdy weapon for close combat!
SFX: Schiing!
SAWYER: A shovel?
GRAY: (laughs maniacally)
LILA: There are rumours abound of fearsome monsters prowling the farming towns of Temperance.
SFX: Gray flips open her notebook.
GRAY: It appears that the deceased was a victim of exsanguination.
SFX: Ruin’s voice is heavily layered, echoey, and eerie.
RUIN: He was struck on the head several times.
SFX: Gray and Sawyer speak in the Boomer & Ceely office.
GRAY: You loved him.
SAWYER: I just met the man.
GRAY: You know who I’m talking about.
SFX: Gray and Sawyer in the Gunwhale.
GRAY: Who cares about other people?!
SFX: Sawyer breaks down.
SAWYER: I can’t do this again, please! I just can’t!
SFX: Lila and Gray in a boat as they are being chased by something.
LILA: We’re not gonna make it!
GRAY: We will make it! We must make it!
SFX: A murder of crows cawing and flying about in a frenzy. Cross embraces Sawyer tightly.
CROSS: Continue to imperil yourself, Mister Sawyer. And I shall lock you up…and swallow the key.
SAWYER & GRAY: (voice over) MERCY.
SAWYER: (voice over) A queer eldritch western that you’re gonna wanna buckle up for 'cus it’s gonna be one helluva ride!
SFX: A horse gallops past, neighing, as a fire erupts.
JO: That’s all for now! And once again, thank you for listening to Hearthbound.
