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Leanne:

Wasting Company Time presents Tell No Tales, Episode Twenty-One: Our Own Homes

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[SFX: Recording Begins]

[SFX: Classical music playing]

Leo:

Audio diary of Leo Quinn, assistant to Frank Williamson, director of Better Place. I haven’t had a good night’s sleep in days. Between trying to help out Riley and find time for another case file, and Julia’s been off sick for three days, and she’s been completely off the radar, which means I’ve had to fill in as Riley’s research assistant. But I’m not great at it, so they’ve decided to plow ahead on their own tonight, which should mean a night of rest for me, but nope. It means a case file. Because it’s been a couple days and I really should. Riley’s working themselves to the bone, Julia’s off god knows where putting herself in god knows what danger. I can quit being a lil bitch and do another late-night case file. Alright. Here we go.

Case MS#2241, Category… oh shit. Category three. Well. Erm. Okay, I mean. Hm. It doesn’t hurt to read the file. It’s the only case I’ve got. Maybe my last chance to take a case for a while. I could, uh. I mean, I’ll read it. I might not take it, but I can read it. Er, yeah, category th-three, case status, active. Reported by Margaret Wilson via email, initial report:

Dear Better Place Customer Service, I run the site maintenance team at Stanstead airport, and I’m writing to report a fairly alarming development with what we are confident, now, is a haunting. The issue started, we believe, with some passengers reporting an odd feeling when they would meet their friends and families at Arrivals. They reported, in one passenger’s words, “a warm feeling. Like one of being loved. But not how it usually feels. More… unusual.” Obviously these reports were few and dismissed, due to the assumed likelihood at the time that this was just the feeling of being reunited with a loved one.

However, several years later some couples — always couples — would report the airport around them darkening when reunited, the whole place seemed to fall away around them leaving just the couple, standing in what seemed to be a spotlight in an empty stretch of blackness, ending only when they would step away from each other. Again, I’m sure you can understand why these were dismissed as a cliche, an over imaginative result of heightened emotions. However the reports continued over the years, all identical, which in itself was concerning, until last month we received reports of people’s knocked over suitcases and dropped items being caught and returned to them by unseen hands. This more than anything has confirmed for us that the reports are connected to a particular ghost who is haunting the Arrivals area. We haven’t shut the area at the moment, as this would cause enormous disruption, and the spirit appears to be harmless, but we may be able to for a short time if you give us plenty of advance notice of your visit.

Kind Regards,

Ms. Margaret Wilson, Stanstead Airport Maintenance.

Okay. So. Fairly benevolent manifestations, at least. What else do we know about this spirit… Okay so Maya was the lead on this, she was thorough enough. She found that spirit is likely that of Miruna Vulpe, a Romanian woman who spent a lot of time in Stanstead airport visiting her long-distance girlfriend in London. The girlfriend, Ashley, actually tried to petition the airport to name the Arrivals area after Miruna after her passing, which is how Maya was able to find the connection so easily. Looks like Miruna died in 2003, cancer, only 35 years old. Oh, she relapsed quite suddenly, it looks like. Just a little before she was due to visit Ashley. She became too sick to fly and passed shortly after. Ashley was never able to say goodbye in person.

So, okay, so she haunts the arrivals of Stanstead airport, because it’s her happy place. The scene of all these happy reunions, and one she never got to have. And now she watches other happy couples reunite, makes them feel like the only two people in the world. As far as manifestations go that’s pretty wholesome. Shouldn’t be scary. Still is though. Scary, I mean. Terrifying, actually. But… God, if any category three is going to be perfect to ease myself back in, it’s got to be Miruna, right? Right. Fuck it. I’ll head over now. Gives me less opportunity to chicken out.

[SFX: Recording Ends]

[SFX: Recording Begins, classical music playing]

Julia:

You want to recount it?

Leo:

I, er… I think… (BREATHING SHAKILY)

Julia:

Hey. Hey, you’re okay. Breathe with me. I’ve got you. You’re safe now, you’re home, and I’ve got you.

Leo:

That’s the thing. I was never not safe. I knew that, logically. God that was so stupid.

Julia:

I don’t think that’s how trauma works.

Leo:

Yeah, well, trauma’s stupid too.

Julia:

(SOFT LAUGH) Yeah, fuck that guy.

[SFX: Phone buzzes, phone unlocked]

Julia:

It’s Riley, they’ve just seen your missed call, they’re on their way.

Leo:

No, they don’t have to—

Julia:

It’s okay, looks like they’ve found something they want to share anyway. And so have I, actually. Don’t look at me like that, it can wait until they get here. So, shall I make the notes about the airport?

Leo:

No, er… No, I’ll do it. Let me sit up though, I… Thank you, but you don’t have to… Hold me, like that, I’m okay.

[SFX: Fabric rustling]

So, erm. I went to arrivals, it was strange, the first time I’ve had to do this in a busy place. With the last case, on the bus, I could wait for it to empty out, but there’s never really a time when the airport isn’t busy. I did try to be subtle with the EMF reader. Still got a few strange looks but, hey, what’s new? Except, when I found her, I just… I choked. I knew that if I just talked to her. Sat with her for a while, I knew, I knew it would help. Remind me that she’s just a person, no more or less likely to harm me than any other person in that airport. (INCREASINGLY FRANTIC) But I couldn’t. I couldn’t speak I couldn’t breathe I couldn’t even run I was just stuck there, stuck in that airport with the feeling of her all around me and I- I, I couldn’t—

Julia:

Hey. Hey, you’re okay. That’s when you called me, right? Or Riley first, but they had their phone off while they worked.

Leo:

(DEEP BREATH) Right. And when you came, and sort of talked me off the ledge, we went to a quiet corner, then you took the EMF Meter to see where she was and spoke to Miruna on your own for a while and you asked her to follow you to where I was sitting. And when you brought her over you kind of… introduced us, I suppose. Like you would introduce two perfectly ordinary friends. And that helped, I think. Picturing her sitting there with us, cross-legged in a quiet corner of the airport. And I started to speak to her then, with the recorder. And it just started feeling… Routine, I suppose. Yeah, no it felt routine. Like I’d done it a thousand times. It was calming somehow. Like, okay here’s what I know how to do. I might not know how to get a good complete lungful of air in that moment. I might not know how to get my hands to stop shaking. But I know how to conduct this interview. I know how to nod and listen attentively to words I can’t hear as I press my palms against the cold tile I’m sitting on to ground me. I know how to show her I care while I count the distant conversations I can still hear, of families and couples and friends, to remind me that I’m not in that alley. That I’m safe.

Julia:

Shall we listen to the recording?

Leo:

Yeah, lemme just find the file. Here we go.

[SFX: Mouse click]

Leo (On Recording):

(SHAKILY, BACKGROUND NOISE) Okay, so, Miruna, can you tell me a bit about yourself? The basic biographical info to start?

Miruna:

Oh sure, start with the boring stuff, why not? My name’s Miruna Vulpe, date of birth 23rd March, 1968. That makes me an Aries, in case you’re wondering. Died some time in, oh, I suppose the spring of 2003, it was all a bit of a blur. Also it was, I think, about twenty years ago? So forgive me if I’m a bit hazy on the details.

Leo:

And can you tell me a little bit about your life?

Miruna:

Oh, my life. My wonderful, wonderful life. My life was summer in London, winter in Bucharest, spring and fall spent between both, sometimes it was just a weekend in London, sometimes it was whole months. Always with Ashley. Being with Ashley, and dreaming of being with Ashley, were my two favourite things to do. I loved her, so much. But I loved Bucharest too, and she loved London. I was a tattoo artist, you know? Damn good at my work. I had a portfolio that would make a renaissance artist feel unproductive. I could have up and moved to London if I wanted, would have found the clients wherever I went. And Ashley was a doctor, she could have found a job anywhere too. Her Romanian was… Well it was okay, it was getting better. She could have come to Bucharest too. But the thing about home is, well, it doesn’t always stay home when you spend too long away from it.

But me and Ashley, we loved each other enough to know that time, distance, those things wouldn’t be a problem. Difficult, of course, but nothing we couldn’t handle. We meant the world to each other, but we were not each others’ whole worlds. We had our own lives. Our own homes. And the fact that our lives were able to intertwine when we could manage it, that was a blessing of its own. And we both had brilliant lives, full of those kinds of blessings. The kind that you could, theoretically, live without but it wouldn’t be nearly so fun. Or, I did. Had I mean. Past tense. Hopefully she still has. So, to sum up, in general my life was awesome. Does that answer your question?

Leo:

And can you tell me a bit about your after-life, being tethered here to the airport?

Miruna:

Hmm, yeah, the airport. Weird choice. I’m not actually sure I chose it. I suppose it’s a case of the spirit wants what the spirit wants? It does make sense, a little. When I’d dream of being with Ashley, especially after spending much of the winter apart, I’d imagine the small things, being curled up together in bed, a hand reaching out, fingertips over hair across temples behind ears. Closed eyes and contended smiles. But when a visit was close, a trip booked, a flight coming up. That’s when I’d picture here. This place. The moment I’d see her and she’d see me and her whole face would light up and we’d run, bags forgotten, crowds ignored, and it would just be us.

It wasn’t always perfect, of course. Two women in the nineties. Sometimes we got cat-called. Sometimes worse. Things seem different now. Not completely, but better. I see so many couples here, every day. Most times, nobody looks twice at the two women kissing, the two men, foreheads resting together, smiling. But just in case, I do what I can, to help them. To make them feel like the world isn’t there any more. Most times they barely notice. I love it when that happens. They’re so lost in each other they can’t even tell that what’s happening is paranormal. It’s been about fifteen years, since I got here. And it’s not the worst place to spend eternity. Lots of people watching. Lots to learn, too. I feel very old sometimes. The world has changed so much. But lucky for me, I have all the time in the world to keep up with it.

Leo:

Thanks, Miruna. I’m not sure if you’re aware that Better Place has been called to remove your spirit from here. I’d like to know your feelings about this, if you don’t mind.

Miruna:

Ugh, my feelings are a big fat no, thank you. You’re telling me I’m just now able to touch things, to interact with the world like a living person again, and now I’m going to have that taken away from me? Sure it isn’t ideal that I’m trapped in an airport, but I can still have a life. I could set up my own little tattoo booth. Give out stick and pokes to bored people waiting for delayed flights.

Leo:

And, before I go, is there anything else you’d like to say? Anything you’d like to pass on to anyone living?

Miruna:

Not Ashley. Don’t tell Ashley I’m here. I’ve seen her here, a couple of times, you know? But I don’t want her to know. She deserves to move on. I do have a sister, back in Bucharest. If you could find her, I’d like that. But no, other than that, I said everything I needed to say in life with my art. That’s all that matters.

Julia (Not on recording):

Hey, reckon if I brought my own stick and poke kit to the airport I could get her to-

[SFX: Doorbell ringing once]

Leo:

I’m going to answer that before I think too hard about what you just asked.

[SFX: Doorbell ringing more frantically, footsteps]

Julia:

(CALLING AFTER THEM) What? She’s a trained professional!

[SFX: Door opens]

Leo:

Jesus, Riley, did you run here from the tube?

Riley:

(OUT OF BREATH) You okay?

Leo:

Yeah. Yeah, Julia’s here, I’m fine, honestly.

[SFX: Door closes, footsteps]

Riley:

Julia, are they lying?

Julia:

Eh, only a bit. It’s been a rough night but they’re handling it.

Leo:

Wow, loving this shift in dynamic between you two.

Julia:

Hey, a shared goal will do that to a person— Oh! I had news! I almost forgot, what with-

Leo:

Sorry.

Julia:

You have nothing to apologise for.

Riley:

(OVERLAPPING) don’t you dare apologise

Leo:

I… Julia, your news?

Julia:

Right, yes, so I’ve been tailing Frank.

Leo:

You’ve been what?

Riley:

(OVERLAPPING) Do you have a deathwish?

Julia:

Chill, I was fine, I did it for three days and he never saw me. (SMUGLY) I’m very sneaky. Anyway, so, those workshops he’s been going to? Not workshops. He’s been at the warehouse. Yup. Hours at a time. And most of the night, too. Usually stays until about one in the morning. So he’s definitely doing something in there. He comes out all exhausted, usually looks pissed all the way off.

Riley:

I… Actually don’t know how this connects, but I found something too. I’ve been looking into early records of Mortui Non Morden, which, there’s still some stuff floating around, ledgers, some correspondence, a surprising amount considering it’s a couple centuries ago. But then around the 1970s, a little while after it becomes Better Place and goes corporate, radio silence. Nothing at all. We know that Montgomery Whitley was succeeded by his son Edgar in 1936, and then Edgar’s son Edward in 1970. So, we can just assume that Edward was probably still director for a while, but there’s no information on when he retired, or who took over before Frank. Except this.

[SFX: Paper being unfolded and spread out, long pause as everyone gathers round to read]

Julia:

I’m… lost.

Leo:

Yeah, what are we supposed to be looking at?

Riley:

(SIGHS IN FRUSTRATION) This is an old archived copy of a local newspaper. A tiny village in Yorkshire, the kind of newspaper that, if a company was hiding form the press or public record, they might not think to check. See this article?

Leo:

Making Our Village a Better Place? Last Tuesday, tensions were stirred up when the ever-growing national company Better Place was called by the village council to remove the spirit affectionally known to some as Smoky Joe.

Riley:

Right, and then, here look. “Better Place is a London-based company, which was once a small operation, but seems to have plans for world domination, spear-headed by their new director Edward Whitley, pictured above.”

Julia:

That can’t be….

Riley:

No, it can’t. But it’s uncanny, right?

Leo:

I… Maybe it’s… I mean the picture isn’t the best quality, it’s clearly just been snapped on his way out the building.

Julia:

Yeah, it’s not the best picture but… I’m not crazy right? candid or not, that’s definitely… I mean, you know him best, Leo, do you think?

Leo:

Yeah. That looks like Frank.

Julia:

But it can’t be, surely? He looks the same age there, if he was roughly in his forties then, that’d make him, like….

Riley:

Old as balls? Yeah.

Julia:

Fuck.

Riley:

Yeah

Julia:

I… So I’ve given this some thought, I swear. But this just solidifies it. We need to find out what Frank’s up to. We need to break into the back room of the warehouse.

Leo:

Not a chance in hell.

Riley:

(OVERLAPPING) Yes. We absolutely are doing that.

Leo:

(WHISPERED) This is too much. (NORMAL VOLUME) I think I need… A minute.

[SFX: Recording ends]

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Leanne:

Episode Twenty-One of Tell No Tales, Our Own Homes, was written and performed by Leanne Egan. You also heard the voices of Shannon Kelly as Julia, Phil Thompson as Riley, and Ana Balaci as Miruna Vulpe. And if that last name sounds familiar, that’s because Ana does the cover art for our show, so everyone give it up to Ana for being multi-talented. If you enjoyed this episode, the best way to support the show is to spread the word. Leaving us a rating and review in your listening app of choice is a huge help, or you can follow us on Twitter or Tumblr @tellnotalespod Links and information about transcripts can be found in the show notes. Tell No Tales is distributed by Wasting Company Time Productions, under a Creative Commons attribution non-commercial share-alike 4.0 international license. Thank you for listening, and remember: the dead don’t bite.

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