1 00:00:01,680 --> 00:00:09,680 Speaker 1: Cool Zone Media book Club book Club book Club. It's 2 00:00:09,840 --> 00:00:14,319 Speaker 1: the Cool Zone Media book Club. That's our new intro. 3 00:00:14,360 --> 00:00:17,159 Speaker 1: I'm totally gonna get it exactly the same from now on. 4 00:00:17,640 --> 00:00:21,759 Speaker 1: I'm very good at consistently making up ditties. Welcome to 5 00:00:21,760 --> 00:00:24,720 Speaker 1: the Cool Zone Media book Club. I'm your host, Martaret Kiljoy, 6 00:00:24,760 --> 00:00:28,040 Speaker 1: and every Sunday I read you a story. It's like 7 00:00:28,040 --> 00:00:30,200 Speaker 1: a book club, only you don't have to do the 8 00:00:30,240 --> 00:00:33,960 Speaker 1: reading because I do it for you. And we read fiction, 9 00:00:34,640 --> 00:00:38,120 Speaker 1: and sometimes we read stories that are like the perfect 10 00:00:38,280 --> 00:00:42,240 Speaker 1: story for Cool Zone Media book Club. Sometimes we read 11 00:00:42,320 --> 00:00:44,920 Speaker 1: stories like the one today today is an example of 12 00:00:44,960 --> 00:00:47,320 Speaker 1: one of the perfect stories in case that didn't come across. 13 00:00:47,680 --> 00:00:50,400 Speaker 1: Because today I'm going to read you a story called 14 00:00:50,400 --> 00:00:57,040 Speaker 1: The Orchard of Tomorrow by Kelseyu. Who's Kelseu? Well, i'll 15 00:00:57,080 --> 00:01:01,080 Speaker 1: read you her bio. Kelsey You as a Taiwanese Chinese 16 00:01:01,120 --> 00:01:04,800 Speaker 1: American writer who is eternally enthusiastic about sharks and appreciates 17 00:01:04,800 --> 00:01:07,319 Speaker 1: a good ghost story. Over a dozen of her short 18 00:01:07,319 --> 00:01:11,679 Speaker 1: stories and essays appear in Clark's World, Apex, Nightmare, Fantasy, Pseudopod, 19 00:01:11,880 --> 00:01:15,679 Speaker 1: and elsewhere. Her debut novella, Bound Feet was a Shirley 20 00:01:15,760 --> 00:01:19,360 Speaker 1: Jackson Award nominee, and her next novella, Demon Song, will 21 00:01:19,400 --> 00:01:23,080 Speaker 1: be published by Titan Books in twenty twenty five. Kelsey's 22 00:01:23,080 --> 00:01:26,720 Speaker 1: first novel, It's Only a Game, is published by Bloomsbury. 23 00:01:27,280 --> 00:01:31,200 Speaker 1: Find her on Instagram and Twitter at a novel Escape, 24 00:01:31,800 --> 00:01:35,280 Speaker 1: or visit her website kelseu dot com. Her name is 25 00:01:35,280 --> 00:01:42,800 Speaker 1: spelled k E l sa yu dot com. Kelsey lives 26 00:01:42,840 --> 00:01:45,320 Speaker 1: in the Pacific Northwest with her husband, children and a 27 00:01:45,319 --> 00:01:51,120 Speaker 1: pile of art supplies. And as one Shirley Jackson Award 28 00:01:51,160 --> 00:01:54,320 Speaker 1: nominee to another, did you get the rock? One of 29 00:01:54,320 --> 00:01:56,280 Speaker 1: the coolest things about the Shirley Jackson Award is that 30 00:01:56,320 --> 00:01:59,160 Speaker 1: if you're nominated, they give you a rock that's engraved 31 00:01:59,240 --> 00:02:03,120 Speaker 1: with you know, Shirley Jackson Award nominee, like whatever year. 32 00:02:03,600 --> 00:02:06,280 Speaker 1: And it makes me really happy because it's a clever 33 00:02:06,400 --> 00:02:10,280 Speaker 1: joke about the story of the lottery. Ooh, I wonder 34 00:02:10,320 --> 00:02:11,799 Speaker 1: if I can read that to you all one day. 35 00:02:12,520 --> 00:02:17,880 Speaker 1: I don't know to figure it out, but this story 36 00:02:17,880 --> 00:02:20,320 Speaker 1: that I'm about to read to you, The Orchard of Tomorrow, 37 00:02:20,960 --> 00:02:24,480 Speaker 1: originally appeared in Clark's World magazine in July twenty twenty 38 00:02:24,520 --> 00:02:27,280 Speaker 1: three and I just want to shout out. Neil Clark 39 00:02:27,440 --> 00:02:31,359 Speaker 1: is the editor of Clark's World. Neil keeps winning well 40 00:02:31,400 --> 00:02:33,720 Speaker 1: deserved awards for his work. He's one of the best 41 00:02:33,800 --> 00:02:37,679 Speaker 1: editors in speculative fiction, and honestly, like, if this is 42 00:02:37,720 --> 00:02:39,799 Speaker 1: the only place you get your stories, that's great. I 43 00:02:39,840 --> 00:02:41,800 Speaker 1: love the stories that I read to you. But there 44 00:02:41,840 --> 00:02:46,799 Speaker 1: are a bunch of really good speculative fiction magazines out 45 00:02:46,800 --> 00:02:49,840 Speaker 1: there right now. Like we are actually living in a 46 00:02:49,919 --> 00:02:53,000 Speaker 1: golden era of short fiction, which is interesting. We are 47 00:02:53,040 --> 00:02:57,160 Speaker 1: not in a golden era of short fiction readership. We 48 00:02:57,200 --> 00:03:01,440 Speaker 1: are in a golden era of short fiction authorship and 49 00:03:01,680 --> 00:03:05,520 Speaker 1: publish ship. We're also not in a golden era of 50 00:03:05,560 --> 00:03:09,239 Speaker 1: Margaret making up words. We're in a pretty mediocre era 51 00:03:09,400 --> 00:03:14,040 Speaker 1: of that. But I highly recommend Clark's World, Strange Horizons. 52 00:03:14,720 --> 00:03:16,760 Speaker 1: I don't know, it's just the magazines that are out 53 00:03:16,919 --> 00:03:20,440 Speaker 1: right now full of good stuff. You should read them 54 00:03:20,480 --> 00:03:23,079 Speaker 1: if you like stories, which you probably do, or you 55 00:03:23,080 --> 00:03:27,880 Speaker 1: wouldn't be listening to this. The Orchard of Tomorrow by 56 00:03:27,960 --> 00:03:32,240 Speaker 1: Kelsey U in the rich even tide glow, I wait 57 00:03:32,280 --> 00:03:34,880 Speaker 1: for her in the place where the peaches once grew, 58 00:03:35,680 --> 00:03:39,240 Speaker 1: mouth watering, little golden dusts to signal the arrival of summer. 59 00:03:40,000 --> 00:03:44,080 Speaker 1: Hefty o Henry's skin, dark as rust honey, yellow flesh 60 00:03:44,120 --> 00:03:48,720 Speaker 1: bursting with flavor, Dainty summer ladies, impossible to eat without 61 00:03:48,800 --> 00:03:53,120 Speaker 1: juice dripping down your chin, and reliably sapid fair times 62 00:03:53,240 --> 00:03:56,880 Speaker 1: to close out the season. As our elders tell it, 63 00:03:57,440 --> 00:04:00,880 Speaker 1: this orchard was once bursting with variety of the fuzzy 64 00:04:00,920 --> 00:04:05,600 Speaker 1: skinned fruit. I kneel down, dig my fingers into the soil, 65 00:04:05,720 --> 00:04:10,360 Speaker 1: and scoop up a handful. It's dry, too dry, and 66 00:04:10,440 --> 00:04:14,040 Speaker 1: it crumbles in my hand. I close my fist, sweat 67 00:04:14,040 --> 00:04:16,240 Speaker 1: from my palm, soaking the dirt as I try to 68 00:04:16,279 --> 00:04:19,720 Speaker 1: imagine a time when the ground was rich with nutrients, 69 00:04:20,080 --> 00:04:23,960 Speaker 1: when the landscape was filled with ripening peach trees, silhouettes 70 00:04:24,000 --> 00:04:27,880 Speaker 1: full and dark against the twilight sky, When my grandparents' 71 00:04:27,920 --> 00:04:31,200 Speaker 1: backs and arms ached something fierce after a full day 72 00:04:31,600 --> 00:04:36,120 Speaker 1: of picking fruit. All I had, all Lane and I 73 00:04:36,240 --> 00:04:39,360 Speaker 1: ever had, were stories to show us what the world 74 00:04:39,400 --> 00:04:43,479 Speaker 1: had been like. The sun dips below the horizon, and 75 00:04:43,560 --> 00:04:46,800 Speaker 1: my hope sinks with it. So much has changed in 76 00:04:46,839 --> 00:04:50,320 Speaker 1: all the time that's passed, but her haunts remain the same. 77 00:04:51,480 --> 00:04:54,200 Speaker 1: I would rather have sat outside her place, the one 78 00:04:54,200 --> 00:04:57,680 Speaker 1: that was once upon a time my home too, and 79 00:04:57,720 --> 00:05:00,920 Speaker 1: awaited her return. I knew I should give her the 80 00:05:01,040 --> 00:05:04,400 Speaker 1: choice to see me or not. After eight years apart 81 00:05:04,440 --> 00:05:06,520 Speaker 1: and everything I said to her when we last spoke, 82 00:05:07,080 --> 00:05:09,839 Speaker 1: It's the least I owe her, So I shoved a 83 00:05:09,839 --> 00:05:13,320 Speaker 1: note under her door. Meet me at the orchard at sunset. 84 00:05:14,279 --> 00:05:18,480 Speaker 1: It was the right thing to do. Yet here I am, now, 85 00:05:18,640 --> 00:05:23,040 Speaker 1: in the gloaming, all alone. I unclenched my fist and 86 00:05:23,080 --> 00:05:26,640 Speaker 1: a dead beetle tumbles out with the clumped dirt. It 87 00:05:26,760 --> 00:05:29,440 Speaker 1: lies belly up on the ground that once teemed with 88 00:05:29,480 --> 00:05:32,839 Speaker 1: its kind. I brush my hands off and reach into 89 00:05:32,839 --> 00:05:35,840 Speaker 1: the pocket of my thin coat, checking to make sure 90 00:05:36,160 --> 00:05:40,440 Speaker 1: it's still there. The surprise I've saved for Lane, the 91 00:05:40,440 --> 00:05:43,800 Speaker 1: one that might be my saving grace if she gives 92 00:05:43,839 --> 00:05:48,000 Speaker 1: me the chance to show her. I turn, making my 93 00:05:48,080 --> 00:05:50,000 Speaker 1: way toward the tree at the edge of the field, 94 00:05:50,320 --> 00:05:54,039 Speaker 1: the lone survivor. It's bare and a fruit now, but 95 00:05:54,120 --> 00:05:58,239 Speaker 1: it's still standing, leaning back against its trunk. I close 96 00:05:58,320 --> 00:06:00,920 Speaker 1: my eyes, thinking of when Laine and I spent all 97 00:06:00,960 --> 00:06:05,719 Speaker 1: our days whispering secret dreams for a hopeful future. So 98 00:06:06,080 --> 00:06:09,520 Speaker 1: what you're back now? I open my eyes to see 99 00:06:09,560 --> 00:06:13,160 Speaker 1: a hollow, cheeked version of Lane, wraith like and disconnected 100 00:06:13,160 --> 00:06:15,200 Speaker 1: from the version of her that lives in my memory. 101 00:06:16,040 --> 00:06:19,479 Speaker 1: Her sloppily patched shirt is too large, hanging strangely on 102 00:06:19,520 --> 00:06:24,080 Speaker 1: her bony shoulders. Eight long years filled with who knows 103 00:06:24,120 --> 00:06:27,960 Speaker 1: how many hungry days, hungry nights, have whittled her away 104 00:06:28,400 --> 00:06:33,440 Speaker 1: to this. Guilt twists in my gut, leaving me momentarily speechless. 105 00:06:34,680 --> 00:06:37,559 Speaker 1: If she's shocked by how different I am, it shows 106 00:06:37,600 --> 00:06:40,520 Speaker 1: only in the slight narrowing of her eyes, the same 107 00:06:40,680 --> 00:06:44,320 Speaker 1: warm brown as I remember, but ringed with dark circles. Now. 108 00:06:45,440 --> 00:06:48,520 Speaker 1: Lane was always closed off to anyone outside her tight circle, 109 00:06:49,040 --> 00:06:52,320 Speaker 1: and I'm no longer snugly on the inside. I suck 110 00:06:52,360 --> 00:06:55,200 Speaker 1: in a breath, sharp with the pain of distance between us. 111 00:06:56,960 --> 00:06:59,920 Speaker 1: This is a waste of time. She turns to leave. 112 00:07:01,839 --> 00:07:05,560 Speaker 1: The movement is so like her, so very lame, that 113 00:07:05,640 --> 00:07:08,040 Speaker 1: it reminds me of how things used to be, of 114 00:07:08,080 --> 00:07:11,480 Speaker 1: why I'm here when I made her angry too many 115 00:07:11,480 --> 00:07:15,320 Speaker 1: times near the end, she did this. She was usually 116 00:07:15,360 --> 00:07:17,960 Speaker 1: the one to run from our fights first, but she 117 00:07:18,000 --> 00:07:23,080 Speaker 1: always came back, unlike me. I reach out to grab 118 00:07:23,120 --> 00:07:29,040 Speaker 1: her sleeve. Lane. Wait, she crosses her arms. What do 119 00:07:29,080 --> 00:07:31,800 Speaker 1: you want to go back to the way things were? 120 00:07:32,280 --> 00:07:37,200 Speaker 1: I bite back the words. I miss you want to 121 00:07:37,240 --> 00:07:41,160 Speaker 1: share a tale with you? It's a dirty trick. The 122 00:07:41,240 --> 00:07:44,160 Speaker 1: Terrible Winter. After Lane's parents died in a flash flood, 123 00:07:44,640 --> 00:07:48,160 Speaker 1: she moved in with me and mom. On cold nights, 124 00:07:48,160 --> 00:07:50,680 Speaker 1: when Lane's grief threatened to swallow her whole, Mom would 125 00:07:50,720 --> 00:07:53,080 Speaker 1: wrap us up in blankets and tell us stories of 126 00:07:53,160 --> 00:07:58,360 Speaker 1: Swan Wukong, the monkey King. I see longing cross Lane's face. 127 00:07:58,800 --> 00:08:02,160 Speaker 1: Then she straightens, her veil of indifference falls back into place. 128 00:08:02,680 --> 00:08:05,240 Speaker 1: She pulls away, forcing me to let go of her sleeve. 129 00:08:06,200 --> 00:08:11,760 Speaker 1: I don't want to hear it. Please, I say, Andrea, Please. 130 00:08:13,120 --> 00:08:15,640 Speaker 1: She sighs, and I still know her well enough to 131 00:08:15,680 --> 00:08:19,840 Speaker 1: know it's a victory. However, small, somewhere inside the prickly 132 00:08:19,880 --> 00:08:22,920 Speaker 1: creature standing before me, the ghost of my former best 133 00:08:22,920 --> 00:08:28,080 Speaker 1: friend lives on. In the celestial gardens of Shi Wong Mu, 134 00:08:28,440 --> 00:08:31,680 Speaker 1: the Queen Mother of the West, three types of peaches 135 00:08:31,720 --> 00:08:35,120 Speaker 1: of immortality grew. The first bloom to what once every 136 00:08:35,160 --> 00:08:38,320 Speaker 1: three thousand years, granting an extension of life equal to 137 00:08:38,360 --> 00:08:42,200 Speaker 1: its growth time to anyone who consumed one The second 138 00:08:42,240 --> 00:08:46,560 Speaker 1: grew for six thousand years, offering immortality and strength of body. 139 00:08:47,559 --> 00:08:51,400 Speaker 1: The third ripened every nine thousand years, and its gifts 140 00:08:51,400 --> 00:08:54,240 Speaker 1: were the most precious of them all. For the consumer 141 00:08:54,520 --> 00:08:56,880 Speaker 1: of the rarest peach would become as eternal as the 142 00:08:56,920 --> 00:08:59,719 Speaker 1: sky above and the earth below, and live as long 143 00:08:59,760 --> 00:09:03,600 Speaker 1: as the fiery Sun and the frigid moon. To celebrate 144 00:09:03,640 --> 00:09:06,760 Speaker 1: the ripening of the peaches, Shi Wongmu and her husband 145 00:09:07,520 --> 00:09:11,200 Speaker 1: Yu Wong, the Jade Emperor, would invite all the deities 146 00:09:11,200 --> 00:09:14,719 Speaker 1: to their Azure banquet hall on Mount Kunlan for a 147 00:09:14,800 --> 00:09:19,120 Speaker 1: magnificent gathering. There they would present the peaches of immortality 148 00:09:19,160 --> 00:09:24,559 Speaker 1: for all to partake, thereby ensuring the deity's continual immutable existence. 149 00:09:26,600 --> 00:09:29,200 Speaker 1: In the brief space of my tail, Lane's eyes have 150 00:09:29,320 --> 00:09:32,880 Speaker 1: grown wide and attentive. Her arms are still crossed, but 151 00:09:32,960 --> 00:09:37,080 Speaker 1: her posture has loosened. I can't help myself. I shift 152 00:09:37,120 --> 00:09:40,280 Speaker 1: toward her. The movement so slight, I hope she won't notice. 153 00:09:40,880 --> 00:09:44,640 Speaker 1: Instantly she's on guard. Lane steps backward as if I'm 154 00:09:44,640 --> 00:09:48,320 Speaker 1: a creature bearing fangs. Her shoulders stiffened, and she presses 155 00:09:48,320 --> 00:09:51,760 Speaker 1: her arms tightly together again, narrows her eyes as if 156 00:09:51,760 --> 00:09:56,120 Speaker 1: to remind herself to stay wary. When she speaks, her 157 00:09:56,200 --> 00:10:00,800 Speaker 1: voice is pure ice. Let me guess you learned that 158 00:10:00,920 --> 00:10:05,480 Speaker 1: story from one of the dragons. She spits, the diminutive 159 00:10:05,559 --> 00:10:08,840 Speaker 1: that we and most other common born folk used to 160 00:10:08,840 --> 00:10:13,560 Speaker 1: refer to the world's wealthy elite. I WinCE, No, it's 161 00:10:13,600 --> 00:10:17,240 Speaker 1: not like that. Did you enjoy it there? Waking up 162 00:10:17,280 --> 00:10:19,880 Speaker 1: on a clean, fluffy bed every morning for eight years, 163 00:10:20,200 --> 00:10:23,960 Speaker 1: eating your fill each meal, and spending your leisure time 164 00:10:24,040 --> 00:10:27,079 Speaker 1: enjoying all the things they stole from us, everything they 165 00:10:27,120 --> 00:10:30,240 Speaker 1: hoarded in their precious locked towers so they could continue 166 00:10:30,240 --> 00:10:32,720 Speaker 1: to live in comfort while the rest of us died 167 00:10:32,880 --> 00:10:37,680 Speaker 1: for scraps. Lane's voice breaks at the end. Her choked 168 00:10:37,679 --> 00:10:41,080 Speaker 1: sob is a thing with spikes lodging itself deep inside 169 00:10:41,080 --> 00:10:44,600 Speaker 1: my heart. This is so much worse than the way 170 00:10:44,679 --> 00:10:46,880 Speaker 1: she screamed at me when I first told her the 171 00:10:46,960 --> 00:10:49,320 Speaker 1: dragons had offered me a job in one of their 172 00:10:49,360 --> 00:10:54,079 Speaker 1: distant preservation greenhouses. Back then, Lane and I spent most 173 00:10:54,120 --> 00:10:56,160 Speaker 1: of our days doing any work we could find in 174 00:10:56,240 --> 00:10:59,760 Speaker 1: exchange for food and basic comforts her mom for her 175 00:11:00,080 --> 00:11:03,400 Speaker 1: or me whenever we had moments free. My mom would 176 00:11:03,440 --> 00:11:05,800 Speaker 1: rest at home while Laine would visit the elders in 177 00:11:05,840 --> 00:11:08,839 Speaker 1: the community, listening to their stories as she helped them 178 00:11:08,840 --> 00:11:13,000 Speaker 1: in any way she could. I, meanwhile, spent my time 179 00:11:13,040 --> 00:11:16,440 Speaker 1: applying the knowledge passed down through my family, trying to 180 00:11:16,480 --> 00:11:19,319 Speaker 1: work out how to restore the damaged soil so it 181 00:11:19,360 --> 00:11:22,959 Speaker 1: would grow things again. The planter at our tiny shared 182 00:11:23,000 --> 00:11:26,280 Speaker 1: house had barely begun to sprout my first successful attempt 183 00:11:26,600 --> 00:11:30,240 Speaker 1: when a recruiter showed up. Lane was gone. Knowing the 184 00:11:30,280 --> 00:11:33,040 Speaker 1: dragons as I do now, he likely waited until I 185 00:11:33,120 --> 00:11:35,960 Speaker 1: was alone to approach me. I took in his clean 186 00:11:36,080 --> 00:11:41,120 Speaker 1: tailored clothes, his rosy cheeks, untroubled eyes, and perfectly styled hair, 187 00:11:41,960 --> 00:11:44,680 Speaker 1: the disdainful look he directed at the home I shared 188 00:11:44,760 --> 00:11:48,080 Speaker 1: with the ones I loved most, and I told him 189 00:11:48,400 --> 00:11:53,000 Speaker 1: to go to hell. Sure, he said, with a dismissive 190 00:11:53,040 --> 00:11:55,719 Speaker 1: little laugh, I'll do that, but first you'll want to 191 00:11:55,760 --> 00:11:58,600 Speaker 1: hear this. We can give you all the resources you 192 00:11:58,679 --> 00:12:01,680 Speaker 1: need to grow things, real things, not this child's play. 193 00:12:02,120 --> 00:12:07,719 Speaker 1: Your grandparents were farmers, right, I glared at him. They 194 00:12:07,760 --> 00:12:10,760 Speaker 1: had an orchard back before the world broke, before assholes 195 00:12:10,800 --> 00:12:12,959 Speaker 1: like you came and took the last of their fruiting trees. 196 00:12:12,960 --> 00:12:15,480 Speaker 1: And exchange for resources that should be freely shared. Now 197 00:12:15,520 --> 00:12:19,280 Speaker 1: get the hell out. I was ready to run inside, 198 00:12:19,760 --> 00:12:22,480 Speaker 1: grab my amahs old shovel and smack him on the head. 199 00:12:22,679 --> 00:12:26,920 Speaker 1: Consequences be damned. And then he made me an offer 200 00:12:26,960 --> 00:12:30,880 Speaker 1: I couldn't refuse. I did enjoy it for a time. 201 00:12:30,920 --> 00:12:33,200 Speaker 1: I finally admit to Lane thinking about the day I 202 00:12:33,320 --> 00:12:37,559 Speaker 1: entered the Dragon's Lair. I won't lie to her. At first, 203 00:12:37,800 --> 00:12:41,640 Speaker 1: it was a relief. Lane stares at me, and I'm 204 00:12:41,679 --> 00:12:44,640 Speaker 1: afraid I've made things even worse. But she doesn't say anything, 205 00:12:44,760 --> 00:12:49,760 Speaker 1: so I go on. I it's useless to describe what 206 00:12:49,800 --> 00:12:51,360 Speaker 1: it felt like to get a full night sleep, to 207 00:12:51,360 --> 00:12:53,800 Speaker 1: have so much food available that I gorged myself sick 208 00:12:53,840 --> 00:12:56,240 Speaker 1: for a week before learning to take it slow, to 209 00:12:56,240 --> 00:12:58,439 Speaker 1: know my mom would stay alive for three more years 210 00:12:58,440 --> 00:13:01,720 Speaker 1: thanks to the pills the Dragon's horse for themselves. I 211 00:13:01,760 --> 00:13:04,120 Speaker 1: can't say any of it. Lane would only hate me 212 00:13:04,160 --> 00:13:06,320 Speaker 1: all the more, so I say the only thing I 213 00:13:06,360 --> 00:13:10,839 Speaker 1: can say. I missed you, Blaane, I'm sorry I left. 214 00:13:11,920 --> 00:13:15,599 Speaker 1: She presses her lips together and turns away. She's tense, agitated, 215 00:13:16,080 --> 00:13:18,920 Speaker 1: fingernails digging into her own arms, and she's about to 216 00:13:18,920 --> 00:13:22,080 Speaker 1: begin pacing. I can't tell if I'm closer to regaining 217 00:13:22,080 --> 00:13:24,760 Speaker 1: her trust or losing her forever. So I begin the 218 00:13:24,800 --> 00:13:27,400 Speaker 1: next part of the story knowing it'll be hard for 219 00:13:27,440 --> 00:13:30,080 Speaker 1: her to resist a tale about the one character she 220 00:13:30,120 --> 00:13:34,560 Speaker 1: always loved hearing about the most, which is these ads. No, 221 00:13:34,840 --> 00:13:37,040 Speaker 1: it's not part of the story. I just there's ads 222 00:13:37,080 --> 00:13:39,400 Speaker 1: and they come here that This is where the ads go. 223 00:13:39,760 --> 00:13:41,679 Speaker 1: This is where the first of the two breaks go. 224 00:13:41,960 --> 00:13:44,480 Speaker 1: I trust you to find the four to fifteen second button. 225 00:13:44,520 --> 00:13:46,920 Speaker 1: I mean, listen to these wonderful deals that we all 226 00:13:46,920 --> 00:14:04,000 Speaker 1: believe in. Here they are, and we're back. In the 227 00:14:04,040 --> 00:14:06,640 Speaker 1: course of his journey to the West, Swung Wu Kong 228 00:14:06,880 --> 00:14:10,160 Speaker 1: angers several gods and gains heavenly powers, thus attracting the 229 00:14:10,200 --> 00:14:14,440 Speaker 1: attention of the Jade Emperor. At first, Yu Wong appoints 230 00:14:14,480 --> 00:14:17,280 Speaker 1: him Keeper of the Horses, the lowliest position in heaven, 231 00:14:17,679 --> 00:14:19,800 Speaker 1: intended as both a slight and a means to keep 232 00:14:19,880 --> 00:14:24,600 Speaker 1: him under observation. An outsider to the deities politics, Swan 233 00:14:24,680 --> 00:14:28,440 Speaker 1: Wukong does not immediately recognize the offense. Once he learns 234 00:14:28,440 --> 00:14:32,240 Speaker 1: of it, he's outraged to contain the vengeful, destructive monkey, 235 00:14:32,880 --> 00:14:35,680 Speaker 1: Hu Wong sends a band of his celestial warriors, but 236 00:14:35,760 --> 00:14:39,680 Speaker 1: Swong Wukong defeats them all. In doing so, much to 237 00:14:39,800 --> 00:14:43,960 Speaker 1: Hu Huong's chagrin, Sunghu Kong earns himself the revered position 238 00:14:44,080 --> 00:14:48,880 Speaker 1: as guardian of Chi Wang Mu's private orchards. Swang Wukong 239 00:14:49,000 --> 00:14:51,680 Speaker 1: is pleased with his new role, having witnessed a fellow 240 00:14:51,680 --> 00:14:54,640 Speaker 1: monkey die of old age earlier in his adventures, he 241 00:14:54,720 --> 00:14:57,920 Speaker 1: fears death. He will do anything to avoid him, and 242 00:14:57,960 --> 00:15:00,600 Speaker 1: his fortune is great for his appointment come insides with 243 00:15:00,640 --> 00:15:04,200 Speaker 1: the rare ripening of the precious fruit. He watches as 244 00:15:04,280 --> 00:15:08,040 Speaker 1: preparations begin for the banquet, anticipating both the taste of 245 00:15:08,120 --> 00:15:11,920 Speaker 1: heavenly fruit and an end to his mortality. For surely, 246 00:15:12,080 --> 00:15:15,000 Speaker 1: as protector of the peaches, he is guaranteed a spot 247 00:15:15,000 --> 00:15:19,200 Speaker 1: at the table. Yet the feast of peaches approaches and 248 00:15:19,320 --> 00:15:23,960 Speaker 1: still no invitation arrives. Swoon hou Koon thinks of the 249 00:15:23,960 --> 00:15:26,960 Speaker 1: peaches of immortality laid out on a serving dish in 250 00:15:27,000 --> 00:15:31,240 Speaker 1: the azure banquet hall, awaiting the arrival of Chi Wong 251 00:15:31,320 --> 00:15:34,840 Speaker 1: Mu's honoured guests. He thinks of the way that gods 252 00:15:34,840 --> 00:15:37,680 Speaker 1: slight him at every opportunity. He thinks about how they 253 00:15:37,720 --> 00:15:40,520 Speaker 1: never wanted him here, and how now that he's forced 254 00:15:40,520 --> 00:15:43,720 Speaker 1: his way in, they still find ways to exclude him, 255 00:15:44,600 --> 00:15:49,800 Speaker 1: and he finds a way to sneak inside. Lane's eyes 256 00:15:49,800 --> 00:15:52,400 Speaker 1: are a war zone, torn between the hurt that must 257 00:15:52,400 --> 00:15:55,400 Speaker 1: have been festering during our time apart and the legend 258 00:15:55,400 --> 00:15:58,760 Speaker 1: of the Monkey King. She loves so much, and this 259 00:15:58,920 --> 00:16:02,680 Speaker 1: tale is new to her. I discovered a translated copy 260 00:16:02,800 --> 00:16:05,480 Speaker 1: of Journey to the West in the Dragon's library the 261 00:16:05,520 --> 00:16:09,200 Speaker 1: month after Mom died. Each night, curled up alone and 262 00:16:09,320 --> 00:16:13,120 Speaker 1: on my warm, cozy bed, I read. If I held 263 00:16:13,160 --> 00:16:15,760 Speaker 1: the book at just the right angle, kept him only 264 00:16:15,800 --> 00:16:18,200 Speaker 1: my bedside lamp on, and turned away from the empty 265 00:16:18,240 --> 00:16:20,600 Speaker 1: bed on the other side of the room, I could 266 00:16:20,600 --> 00:16:23,680 Speaker 1: almost pretend Mom was still there, just out of sight, 267 00:16:24,320 --> 00:16:28,880 Speaker 1: softly snoring as I whiled away the evening. Weeks passed 268 00:16:28,880 --> 00:16:31,360 Speaker 1: before I read far enough to discover the tale of 269 00:16:31,400 --> 00:16:35,000 Speaker 1: Swan Wu Kong and the Peaches of Immortality, a tale 270 00:16:35,000 --> 00:16:37,520 Speaker 1: Mom never told me. In Lane, despite the fruit at 271 00:16:37,560 --> 00:16:42,440 Speaker 1: the heart of it, Despite my grandparents peach orchard, this 272 00:16:42,520 --> 00:16:45,120 Speaker 1: one where my mom and Lane's mom grew up playing 273 00:16:45,200 --> 00:16:49,640 Speaker 1: together while their parents picked fruit, Or maybe because of 274 00:16:49,680 --> 00:16:53,640 Speaker 1: this orchard. When Lane and I were a ten and eleven. 275 00:16:54,600 --> 00:16:57,160 Speaker 1: Lane's mom told us about the scorching hot summer when 276 00:16:57,160 --> 00:17:00,360 Speaker 1: a wild fire destroyed most of the peach trees. The 277 00:17:00,400 --> 00:17:03,520 Speaker 1: way the sickly scent of charred fruit and thick miasma 278 00:17:03,560 --> 00:17:06,800 Speaker 1: of smoke lingered for days, The way volunteers from town 279 00:17:06,960 --> 00:17:10,080 Speaker 1: came over to help glean the salvageable fruit and discard 280 00:17:10,119 --> 00:17:12,760 Speaker 1: the ruined ones, to call the dead trees and cut 281 00:17:12,800 --> 00:17:16,080 Speaker 1: the rotten bits from the ones that could be saved, 282 00:17:16,119 --> 00:17:18,720 Speaker 1: To make jokes with my awe Gong, to distract him 283 00:17:18,720 --> 00:17:21,800 Speaker 1: from the pain of seeing his precious trees charred to ash, 284 00:17:22,280 --> 00:17:25,040 Speaker 1: and bring my Almah discreet tissues to soak up the 285 00:17:25,080 --> 00:17:29,560 Speaker 1: tears she pretended she hadn't shed. Lane's mom was the 286 00:17:29,560 --> 00:17:32,080 Speaker 1: one to tell us because decades after the fire, it 287 00:17:32,119 --> 00:17:34,560 Speaker 1: was still too painful for my mom our grandparents to 288 00:17:34,600 --> 00:17:38,360 Speaker 1: speak of. And even though it was my family's history, 289 00:17:38,560 --> 00:17:42,320 Speaker 1: my family's tragedy, Lane, as much as I soaked up 290 00:17:42,359 --> 00:17:45,239 Speaker 1: every word, it was Laine who wanted to write what 291 00:17:45,320 --> 00:17:48,040 Speaker 1: she saw was a terrible wrong. It was Laine who 292 00:17:48,040 --> 00:17:51,040 Speaker 1: wanted to bring the orchards back to life, to restore 293 00:17:51,080 --> 00:17:54,639 Speaker 1: the land to what it had once been. It was 294 00:17:54,720 --> 00:17:56,800 Speaker 1: Laine who first suggested it would be worth trying to 295 00:17:56,840 --> 00:18:00,520 Speaker 1: restore the soil, revitalized the land, to pick up the 296 00:18:00,560 --> 00:18:03,600 Speaker 1: work my mom had begun before she had me, The 297 00:18:03,640 --> 00:18:06,760 Speaker 1: work Mom would have continued once I was grown, had 298 00:18:06,800 --> 00:18:10,960 Speaker 1: she not become ill. It's Lane who stands before me, 299 00:18:11,040 --> 00:18:14,359 Speaker 1: now surrounded by the ghosts of my family's peach trees 300 00:18:14,880 --> 00:18:17,600 Speaker 1: in the orchard that my grandparents had once thought would 301 00:18:17,600 --> 00:18:22,080 Speaker 1: sustain my family forever. Why are you telling me this tale, 302 00:18:22,280 --> 00:18:26,200 Speaker 1: she asks, voice wavering between confusion and anger. Did she 303 00:18:26,960 --> 00:18:31,560 Speaker 1: did your mom? Is this one of her stories? Mom 304 00:18:31,600 --> 00:18:34,480 Speaker 1: died five years ago. My voice is even I've learned 305 00:18:34,520 --> 00:18:38,439 Speaker 1: to mask the ache that accompanies those words. Lane worries. 306 00:18:38,480 --> 00:18:44,240 Speaker 1: Her lip bites back a tear. I'm sorry, Andrea, I nod, 307 00:18:44,280 --> 00:18:46,800 Speaker 1: but I'm frustrated with myself. I would do almost anything 308 00:18:46,840 --> 00:18:49,680 Speaker 1: to repair Lane's in my friendship, but I won't use 309 00:18:49,720 --> 00:18:53,159 Speaker 1: Mom's death. I won't use Lane's compassion, her grief, her 310 00:18:53,200 --> 00:18:57,119 Speaker 1: sympathy to my advantage. She didn't tell me about the 311 00:18:57,160 --> 00:19:02,280 Speaker 1: peaches of immortality. I learned about them later. Lane stiffens, 312 00:19:02,280 --> 00:19:06,720 Speaker 1: her voice grows hard again. The dragons they had a library, 313 00:19:06,720 --> 00:19:10,720 Speaker 1: and Lane kicks the base of the tree hard enough 314 00:19:10,720 --> 00:19:14,119 Speaker 1: to make me flinch. A fucking course, a private little 315 00:19:14,160 --> 00:19:17,120 Speaker 1: library they keep for themselves and their sick offense. How 316 00:19:17,160 --> 00:19:18,720 Speaker 1: did it feel to work for them, to help them 317 00:19:18,720 --> 00:19:21,919 Speaker 1: preserve the fruits they plundered from us, from farmers like 318 00:19:21,960 --> 00:19:25,520 Speaker 1: your grandparents, to keep safe in their walled off greenhouses. 319 00:19:25,720 --> 00:19:28,359 Speaker 1: How did it feel to read the stories they made 320 00:19:28,400 --> 00:19:31,480 Speaker 1: sure to save, to collect for themselves under the claim 321 00:19:31,480 --> 00:19:34,959 Speaker 1: of preserving knowledge for the good of humanity? Why are 322 00:19:34,960 --> 00:19:37,239 Speaker 1: you really here? Did they finally let you off your 323 00:19:37,280 --> 00:19:40,080 Speaker 1: leash for one evening? Or are you on some mission 324 00:19:40,119 --> 00:19:43,399 Speaker 1: for them? You know what, Andrea, it doesn't matter. I 325 00:19:43,400 --> 00:19:48,920 Speaker 1: don't need you anymore. I'm done. Lane turns and strides off. Lane. 326 00:19:49,080 --> 00:19:52,359 Speaker 1: I left, I left my work there. I'm done with them. 327 00:19:53,200 --> 00:19:56,040 Speaker 1: She stops for a second, but doesn't turn around. I 328 00:19:56,040 --> 00:19:58,560 Speaker 1: see her take a deep breath. Then she shakes her 329 00:19:58,600 --> 00:20:00,800 Speaker 1: head as if to remind herself that she's done with me, 330 00:20:00,960 --> 00:20:05,359 Speaker 1: and starts off again. I hurry to catch up. I 331 00:20:05,400 --> 00:20:08,320 Speaker 1: didn't just leave, I call out after her. I also 332 00:20:08,400 --> 00:20:13,080 Speaker 1: stole something precious from them. This time she does turn around. 333 00:20:13,880 --> 00:20:17,920 Speaker 1: You did what let me finish? The tale. Please, then 334 00:20:17,920 --> 00:20:21,360 Speaker 1: I'll tell you everything fine, but I'm gonna keep walking, 335 00:20:22,119 --> 00:20:25,960 Speaker 1: all right. I walk alongside lane, hoping like hell it 336 00:20:26,040 --> 00:20:30,800 Speaker 1: isn't the last time I get the chance. Swan Wokong 337 00:20:31,080 --> 00:20:34,480 Speaker 1: eyes the centerpiece of the celestial banquet table, a bowl 338 00:20:34,520 --> 00:20:39,080 Speaker 1: of eternal peaches, larger than any earthly peach, perfectly proportioned 339 00:20:39,160 --> 00:20:43,080 Speaker 1: and plump with juice. His stomach growls something fierce, and 340 00:20:43,160 --> 00:20:45,920 Speaker 1: his heart fills with longing for the fruit of the gods. 341 00:20:46,880 --> 00:20:50,800 Speaker 1: The key to shedding his mortality lies within reach. He 342 00:20:50,880 --> 00:20:53,879 Speaker 1: takes one, waiting for Hu Wong to appear in a rage, 343 00:20:54,200 --> 00:20:56,879 Speaker 1: for a band of celestial warriors to attack, for the 344 00:20:56,920 --> 00:20:59,280 Speaker 1: guests to arrive and show their outrage in any number 345 00:20:59,320 --> 00:21:03,960 Speaker 1: of ways, but no one stops him. Swan Wu Kong 346 00:21:04,520 --> 00:21:08,359 Speaker 1: eats the peach of immortality. One is all he needs, 347 00:21:08,640 --> 00:21:11,639 Speaker 1: One is all anyone has ever needed. But he eyes 348 00:21:11,680 --> 00:21:16,160 Speaker 1: the bowl of precious fruit grown in Shi wang Mu's sacred, 349 00:21:16,200 --> 00:21:20,040 Speaker 1: guarded garden, hidden away and cultivated for her innermost circle, 350 00:21:20,640 --> 00:21:24,720 Speaker 1: a guarantee that they'll stay eternal, stay in power, a 351 00:21:24,760 --> 00:21:28,359 Speaker 1: gift for those who already have everything. The peaches are 352 00:21:28,359 --> 00:21:31,880 Speaker 1: not meant for folk like him. Swan Wu Kong eats 353 00:21:31,920 --> 00:21:35,480 Speaker 1: another peach, then another, his heart hardening with each bite. 354 00:21:35,800 --> 00:21:38,639 Speaker 1: He's full to bursting, so full that hunger is not 355 00:21:38,840 --> 00:21:41,680 Speaker 1: but a distant memory. But he keeps eating until he's 356 00:21:41,720 --> 00:21:44,680 Speaker 1: finished every last one. He washes them down with a 357 00:21:44,760 --> 00:21:48,960 Speaker 1: vessel of heavenly wine, and just despite them further. He 358 00:21:49,000 --> 00:21:52,000 Speaker 1: seeks out the corner of Lautza, the father of Taoism, 359 00:21:52,400 --> 00:21:56,560 Speaker 1: and steals his infamous pills of immortality. Swan Wu Kong 360 00:21:56,760 --> 00:22:00,520 Speaker 1: swallows those two before he leaves shi wang mus palace. 361 00:22:01,119 --> 00:22:05,560 Speaker 1: He knows that what the hell, Andrea Lane interrupts, Is 362 00:22:05,560 --> 00:22:08,200 Speaker 1: this supposed to be some sort of allegory? Are you 363 00:22:08,240 --> 00:22:10,879 Speaker 1: supposed to be Swan Wokong, the heroic monkey king who 364 00:22:10,960 --> 00:22:13,840 Speaker 1: stole something precious from the corrupt elite? Are you going 365 00:22:13,880 --> 00:22:16,159 Speaker 1: to try to convince me you work there because you 366 00:22:16,160 --> 00:22:18,000 Speaker 1: wanted to get close to them, to do something for 367 00:22:18,080 --> 00:22:23,000 Speaker 1: good for us commoners? Lane's practically breathing fire. She's so angry. 368 00:22:23,480 --> 00:22:25,159 Speaker 1: You know, when I saw your note, I wondered how 369 00:22:25,200 --> 00:22:27,360 Speaker 1: you'd play it. Half the reason I'm here is because 370 00:22:27,359 --> 00:22:29,280 Speaker 1: I wanted to know what excuse you'd come up with. 371 00:22:29,760 --> 00:22:32,080 Speaker 1: Now I know you're going to paint yourself as some 372 00:22:32,080 --> 00:22:34,840 Speaker 1: sort of fucking martyr. At least I win that bet 373 00:22:34,880 --> 00:22:38,840 Speaker 1: with myself. No, Lane, I don't think I'm the goddamn 374 00:22:38,840 --> 00:22:41,320 Speaker 1: monkey king. I know I have no right to be mad, 375 00:22:41,600 --> 00:22:44,199 Speaker 1: but her accusations cut away at my self control. My 376 00:22:44,240 --> 00:22:47,280 Speaker 1: words tumble out unvarnished. Of course, I don't fucking think 377 00:22:47,280 --> 00:22:49,679 Speaker 1: I'm Swan Wokong. And he wasn't doing it for the 378 00:22:49,680 --> 00:22:52,280 Speaker 1: common good? Didn't you listen to the story? He was 379 00:22:52,280 --> 00:22:54,960 Speaker 1: selfish as fuck. He only wanted to take because he 380 00:22:55,000 --> 00:22:58,639 Speaker 1: was pissed that he wasn't invited. Everything else was a justification, 381 00:23:00,119 --> 00:23:04,680 Speaker 1: unlike these ads that have no justification for being here 382 00:23:04,840 --> 00:23:18,159 Speaker 1: except for the way our economic system works. Here's ads, 383 00:23:20,640 --> 00:23:26,680 Speaker 1: and we're back then? Why bother telling me the story? 384 00:23:26,840 --> 00:23:28,640 Speaker 1: Is it because you think I sit around all day 385 00:23:28,680 --> 00:23:32,000 Speaker 1: and daydream about stories, because I'm a dreamer who doesn't 386 00:23:32,080 --> 00:23:34,520 Speaker 1: understand what the real world demands. That sometimes people have 387 00:23:34,560 --> 00:23:37,359 Speaker 1: to give up childish ideals in favor of security and 388 00:23:37,400 --> 00:23:40,119 Speaker 1: shelter and medicine. That things are more complicated than I'm 389 00:23:40,160 --> 00:23:42,880 Speaker 1: willing to admit. That some people grow up and grow 390 00:23:42,920 --> 00:23:46,400 Speaker 1: out of being dreamers, while others let themselves get left behind, 391 00:23:46,560 --> 00:23:50,720 Speaker 1: until all they have are dreams worth less than poisoned dirt. 392 00:23:52,680 --> 00:23:56,480 Speaker 1: Her words steal away my anger, my breath, because they're 393 00:23:56,520 --> 00:24:00,000 Speaker 1: not her words. They're mine, thrown at her in anger 394 00:24:00,160 --> 00:24:02,560 Speaker 1: on that last day before I left to work for 395 00:24:02,600 --> 00:24:07,240 Speaker 1: the Dragons. She says it like she's repeated the words 396 00:24:07,280 --> 00:24:10,280 Speaker 1: in her head a thousand times, like she replays them 397 00:24:10,320 --> 00:24:13,400 Speaker 1: in her mind before she goes to sleep, like every 398 00:24:13,400 --> 00:24:19,000 Speaker 1: word is a fact, an inarguable truth, a bludgeon. Her 399 00:24:19,000 --> 00:24:21,880 Speaker 1: words hit me the same way my first taste of ripe, 400 00:24:21,960 --> 00:24:25,760 Speaker 1: juicy peach did four months ago, the moment that knocked 401 00:24:25,800 --> 00:24:29,560 Speaker 1: me from my comfortable complacency, that reminded me of how 402 00:24:29,640 --> 00:24:32,040 Speaker 1: much I loved the woman before me, who should have 403 00:24:32,080 --> 00:24:34,760 Speaker 1: been there to taste that wonderful fruit we once dreamed 404 00:24:34,800 --> 00:24:38,000 Speaker 1: we'd share some day when we'd regrown the peach trees. 405 00:24:39,359 --> 00:24:42,840 Speaker 1: I feel it again, the self loathing for every fiber 406 00:24:42,880 --> 00:24:46,440 Speaker 1: of my well rested, well fed being, not only because 407 00:24:46,440 --> 00:24:48,960 Speaker 1: I was willing to leave her behind, but because I 408 00:24:49,000 --> 00:24:51,720 Speaker 1: was willing to stay long after I should have left 409 00:24:51,720 --> 00:24:54,880 Speaker 1: the dragons. I want to crawl into a dark hole 410 00:24:54,920 --> 00:24:57,840 Speaker 1: in the ground and wait there until my body grows still, 411 00:24:58,040 --> 00:25:01,479 Speaker 1: my flesh cold, and I'm nothing, meat and bones, feeding 412 00:25:01,520 --> 00:25:07,960 Speaker 1: the insects. I almost turned to leave again, but Laine 413 00:25:08,000 --> 00:25:11,320 Speaker 1: deserves better. Lane always deserved better than I gave her. 414 00:25:12,920 --> 00:25:15,679 Speaker 1: I'm sorry. The words are a drop of water on 415 00:25:15,720 --> 00:25:19,040 Speaker 1: a forest fire, as pointless as staying silent. I wish 416 00:25:19,040 --> 00:25:21,560 Speaker 1: I could take back what I did. All I can 417 00:25:21,600 --> 00:25:23,440 Speaker 1: do is tell you that I was wrong. I was 418 00:25:23,480 --> 00:25:30,480 Speaker 1: absolutely wrong. I know her words cleave mine, sudden and vehement. No, 419 00:25:30,800 --> 00:25:34,520 Speaker 1: she says again, that's the worst fucking part that you 420 00:25:34,600 --> 00:25:38,800 Speaker 1: were right when you left. I had nothing without you. 421 00:25:38,920 --> 00:25:41,760 Speaker 1: My dreams felt worthless, all the things I thought we 422 00:25:41,800 --> 00:25:44,440 Speaker 1: could do to change the world. She shakes her head. 423 00:25:45,080 --> 00:25:47,880 Speaker 1: I've gone so many days without food, seeing so many 424 00:25:47,880 --> 00:25:50,320 Speaker 1: people suffer and die because of the greed of people 425 00:25:50,400 --> 00:25:53,280 Speaker 1: like the dragons, And as much as I want to say, 426 00:25:53,320 --> 00:25:55,720 Speaker 1: all it did was make me more determined, that would 427 00:25:55,760 --> 00:25:59,760 Speaker 1: be a goddamn lie. Sometimes I wonder why bother. We're 428 00:25:59,800 --> 00:26:02,560 Speaker 1: too small to change anything, We're too insignificant to do 429 00:26:02,680 --> 00:26:06,240 Speaker 1: anything but do what we can to survive. She lowers 430 00:26:06,280 --> 00:26:08,280 Speaker 1: her voice to a whisper, and she won't look at me. 431 00:26:09,480 --> 00:26:13,359 Speaker 1: Too many nights I lay awake, wishing had gone with you. 432 00:26:15,200 --> 00:26:17,720 Speaker 1: I put my hands on Lane's shoulders to stop her 433 00:26:17,720 --> 00:26:20,560 Speaker 1: in her tracks, because I can't let her go another moment, 434 00:26:20,640 --> 00:26:24,040 Speaker 1: believing this, because it breaks me to see her so broken. 435 00:26:25,680 --> 00:26:28,720 Speaker 1: Lane doesn't pull away. She's shaking, and when I draw 436 00:26:28,760 --> 00:26:31,600 Speaker 1: her close, I realize she's sobbing with her entire body. 437 00:26:32,440 --> 00:26:35,560 Speaker 1: There's so little of her left. I hug her, and 438 00:26:35,600 --> 00:26:38,000 Speaker 1: she cries on my shoulder, the same way she did 439 00:26:38,440 --> 00:26:41,479 Speaker 1: half our lives ago, the day she showed up at 440 00:26:41,480 --> 00:26:44,680 Speaker 1: my house newly orphaned, face a wreck of blotchy tears. 441 00:26:45,640 --> 00:26:48,320 Speaker 1: I listen now as she tells me how the last 442 00:26:48,320 --> 00:26:52,879 Speaker 1: few years have been especially hard, so goddamned heart, I 443 00:26:52,960 --> 00:26:55,760 Speaker 1: swallow a reply when she whispers that this doesn't mean 444 00:26:56,080 --> 00:26:59,760 Speaker 1: that she forgives me. I wait until her tears run, 445 00:27:00,400 --> 00:27:02,480 Speaker 1: until she wipes her face on the hem of her shirt, 446 00:27:02,960 --> 00:27:08,120 Speaker 1: until she's spent, Lane, I say, and she looks up. 447 00:27:09,240 --> 00:27:12,760 Speaker 1: You weren't wrong. Lane starts to shake her head, but 448 00:27:12,760 --> 00:27:15,520 Speaker 1: it's half hearted, like she's too tired to care anymore. 449 00:27:16,600 --> 00:27:18,880 Speaker 1: I put more force into my voice. I need her 450 00:27:18,880 --> 00:27:22,600 Speaker 1: to know I'm not just saying it. I'm the one 451 00:27:22,600 --> 00:27:26,159 Speaker 1: who was wrong. We need dreamers. We need people like 452 00:27:26,200 --> 00:27:29,320 Speaker 1: you who can imagine the way things could be. Dragons 453 00:27:29,359 --> 00:27:31,840 Speaker 1: think they're the only ones who are truly free because 454 00:27:31,880 --> 00:27:35,280 Speaker 1: they've shackled everyone else. They think that access to all 455 00:27:35,320 --> 00:27:38,520 Speaker 1: the world's most precious things makes their lives richer, fuller. 456 00:27:39,359 --> 00:27:42,320 Speaker 1: But all they've done is create private, little fortresses of fear. 457 00:27:42,840 --> 00:27:45,280 Speaker 1: They play petty games with each other because they fear 458 00:27:45,320 --> 00:27:49,080 Speaker 1: one another too. They've taken everything, and so they're afraid 459 00:27:49,080 --> 00:27:53,159 Speaker 1: to lose anything. I wish I could say that I 460 00:27:53,200 --> 00:27:56,800 Speaker 1: regret my choice to leave. I can't not when that 461 00:27:56,920 --> 00:28:00,600 Speaker 1: choice gave my mom three more years. Shouldn't have said 462 00:28:00,600 --> 00:28:02,680 Speaker 1: the shit I said just to make myself feel better 463 00:28:02,680 --> 00:28:05,199 Speaker 1: about what I was doing. I shouldn't have stayed for 464 00:28:05,280 --> 00:28:08,479 Speaker 1: five years after she died. I want to say I 465 00:28:08,520 --> 00:28:10,800 Speaker 1: did it because I had some grand plan to learn 466 00:28:10,800 --> 00:28:14,159 Speaker 1: what I could from them and upend everything. But the 467 00:28:14,200 --> 00:28:18,440 Speaker 1: truth is I got comfortable. I told myself the security 468 00:28:18,520 --> 00:28:22,200 Speaker 1: was worth it. Leariness has seeped back into Lane's expression, 469 00:28:22,280 --> 00:28:27,119 Speaker 1: but she doesn't leave. At least she's listening. People like 470 00:28:27,200 --> 00:28:31,040 Speaker 1: me lack imagination. I swallow hard. It's not an admission. 471 00:28:31,040 --> 00:28:34,760 Speaker 1: I like to make people like me can only see 472 00:28:34,800 --> 00:28:38,080 Speaker 1: what's right in front of them. Sometimes you never could 473 00:28:38,120 --> 00:28:41,520 Speaker 1: see the orchards the way I could. I look around, 474 00:28:41,560 --> 00:28:43,520 Speaker 1: trying to picture the trees the way they were in 475 00:28:43,600 --> 00:28:47,840 Speaker 1: Lane's mom's stories. I wished for so long that I could. 476 00:28:47,880 --> 00:28:53,440 Speaker 1: I say, Lane's sighs. It's a long, weary sound. What 477 00:28:53,440 --> 00:28:55,760 Speaker 1: does it matter anymore, It makes no difference if you 478 00:28:55,840 --> 00:28:59,920 Speaker 1: regret it or not. It happened. You left, I stayed. 479 00:29:00,160 --> 00:29:03,160 Speaker 1: We're here now, and it's too late. The world has 480 00:29:03,200 --> 00:29:06,560 Speaker 1: only gotten worse. There's nothing to come back to. All 481 00:29:06,560 --> 00:29:10,360 Speaker 1: my dreams crumbled to dust, just like you knew they would. 482 00:29:10,920 --> 00:29:14,480 Speaker 1: You should have stayed where you were. I shake my head. 483 00:29:15,800 --> 00:29:18,280 Speaker 1: There are two things I learned there in the dragon's enclave. 484 00:29:18,960 --> 00:29:21,840 Speaker 1: First that the fruit of today never tastes quite like 485 00:29:21,880 --> 00:29:25,360 Speaker 1: the fruit of yesterday. Thanks to breeding, to natural selection, 486 00:29:25,480 --> 00:29:29,320 Speaker 1: to climate change, fruit evolved in taste and texture over time. 487 00:29:30,040 --> 00:29:32,520 Speaker 1: There's evidence that peaches were domesticated as far back as 488 00:29:32,520 --> 00:29:35,560 Speaker 1: eight thousand years ago in northwest China. But those ancient 489 00:29:35,640 --> 00:29:41,960 Speaker 1: Chinese peaches, they're gone forever. She eyes me, okay. And Second, 490 00:29:42,640 --> 00:29:46,680 Speaker 1: there is one good thing about the dragons. Lane's lips 491 00:29:46,680 --> 00:29:49,800 Speaker 1: turned down. I almost laugh at the skepticism radiating off her. 492 00:29:50,160 --> 00:29:53,320 Speaker 1: Oh yeah, what the hell is good about them? They 493 00:29:53,400 --> 00:29:56,160 Speaker 1: keep really good records on how to care for their 494 00:29:56,160 --> 00:29:59,680 Speaker 1: precious things. I pull something from my pocket and hand 495 00:29:59,720 --> 00:30:03,040 Speaker 1: it to you. Lane's eyes narrow, but she accepts the 496 00:30:03,040 --> 00:30:06,320 Speaker 1: small journal filled with the notes I memorized and painstakingly 497 00:30:06,320 --> 00:30:09,040 Speaker 1: copied from the Dragon's records over the course of the 498 00:30:09,080 --> 00:30:14,680 Speaker 1: last four months. Her brows furrow. What's this? I hand 499 00:30:14,680 --> 00:30:17,200 Speaker 1: her the other item from my pocket, the thing I've 500 00:30:17,240 --> 00:30:21,800 Speaker 1: been saving, hoping it'll be enough, A small cloth wrapped bundle. 501 00:30:22,920 --> 00:30:25,920 Speaker 1: She unravels the cloth, and her breath catches. Is that 502 00:30:27,440 --> 00:30:29,840 Speaker 1: is it? What I think it is? The wonder in 503 00:30:29,840 --> 00:30:33,560 Speaker 1: her voice makes everything that went into this moment worth it. 504 00:30:33,560 --> 00:30:38,800 Speaker 1: It is. Lane turns over the ridged, blush pink peach pit, 505 00:30:39,440 --> 00:30:42,800 Speaker 1: running her fingers over its smooth grooves. She wipes her 506 00:30:42,800 --> 00:30:46,080 Speaker 1: eyes and laughs involuntarily, a little hiccup of a thing, 507 00:30:46,920 --> 00:30:51,360 Speaker 1: and then her shoulders slouch again. But it's a waste. 508 00:30:51,680 --> 00:30:54,320 Speaker 1: You should have smuggled out food in medicine. That's what 509 00:30:54,360 --> 00:30:58,840 Speaker 1: we need most. I did that too, She shakes her head, 510 00:30:58,880 --> 00:31:01,960 Speaker 1: still staring at the peach. Then why bother with this 511 00:31:02,000 --> 00:31:05,160 Speaker 1: one tree won't change the world. Besides, it's not just 512 00:31:05,160 --> 00:31:08,640 Speaker 1: that the dragons stole the last fertile peach trees. It's 513 00:31:08,680 --> 00:31:12,000 Speaker 1: that this soil won't grow them anymore. Your grandparents orchard 514 00:31:12,000 --> 00:31:14,760 Speaker 1: will never go back to what it used to be. No, 515 00:31:15,360 --> 00:31:20,560 Speaker 1: it won't, I say, surprise a lights Lane's face. It 516 00:31:20,640 --> 00:31:24,720 Speaker 1: probably won't, I amend. Maybe someday the peaches will return here. 517 00:31:25,040 --> 00:31:27,160 Speaker 1: But there are pockets of the world that it will 518 00:31:27,160 --> 00:31:29,480 Speaker 1: still be able to grow them, or places that will 519 00:31:29,520 --> 00:31:31,840 Speaker 1: be able to grow them for the first time. This 520 00:31:31,960 --> 00:31:34,440 Speaker 1: isn't the only peach pit or the only fruit we 521 00:31:34,520 --> 00:31:37,000 Speaker 1: want to bring back to the world. Outside the dragon's 522 00:31:37,040 --> 00:31:40,880 Speaker 1: protective little bubbles, there are many of us, so many 523 00:31:40,920 --> 00:31:44,000 Speaker 1: more than I ever could have imagined, smuggling out the 524 00:31:44,040 --> 00:31:48,280 Speaker 1: things they hoard, the plants, the animals, the stories, the technology. 525 00:31:49,200 --> 00:31:52,200 Speaker 1: Others are fighting in small ways, setting up a future 526 00:31:52,560 --> 00:31:55,320 Speaker 1: where we take back what is ours. But this is 527 00:31:55,440 --> 00:31:59,120 Speaker 1: part of it. People wrote stories about fruit trees, built 528 00:31:59,200 --> 00:32:03,400 Speaker 1: legends around them because they mattered. You were right to dream. Lane. 529 00:32:04,880 --> 00:32:07,840 Speaker 1: Hope flares in her eyes, and it's the most beautiful thing. 530 00:32:09,680 --> 00:32:12,920 Speaker 1: We'll travel. Find a spot for this pit. I have 531 00:32:12,960 --> 00:32:16,720 Speaker 1: a few places we can start. I gesture towards the notebook, 532 00:32:16,760 --> 00:32:19,560 Speaker 1: and Lane hands it back to me absently. And if 533 00:32:19,600 --> 00:32:22,520 Speaker 1: those ones don't work, we'll find another and try again. 534 00:32:23,240 --> 00:32:26,600 Speaker 1: We'll test them, we'll grow them, We'll keep trying. We'll 535 00:32:26,600 --> 00:32:29,480 Speaker 1: do anything we can. Our world is never going back 536 00:32:29,520 --> 00:32:31,880 Speaker 1: to what it used to be. Peaches aren't what they 537 00:32:32,000 --> 00:32:35,080 Speaker 1: used to be. But with a lot of effort and 538 00:32:35,080 --> 00:32:37,320 Speaker 1: a little luck, maybe you and I will be the 539 00:32:37,320 --> 00:32:40,160 Speaker 1: first to taste the peaches from the orchard of tomorrow. 540 00:32:41,520 --> 00:32:44,480 Speaker 1: I reach out my hand, throat tight with hope. I 541 00:32:44,520 --> 00:32:46,880 Speaker 1: don't deserve a second chance, but Lane was always a 542 00:32:46,880 --> 00:32:50,680 Speaker 1: better person than I. Laane looks at me a gaze 543 00:32:50,720 --> 00:32:53,680 Speaker 1: that pierces me through. Then she looks beyond me. She 544 00:32:53,760 --> 00:32:56,800 Speaker 1: takes several deep breaths, and I brace myself for her refusal, 545 00:32:57,280 --> 00:33:00,600 Speaker 1: for the pain I know I deserve. This time, she'll 546 00:33:00,640 --> 00:33:03,960 Speaker 1: be the one to walk away. She wraps the precious 547 00:33:04,000 --> 00:33:06,640 Speaker 1: pit back up in the cloth and tucks it away, 548 00:33:07,240 --> 00:33:10,000 Speaker 1: and she places her hand in mine, and though her 549 00:33:10,040 --> 00:33:14,240 Speaker 1: skin is cold, warmth floods me, lighting up my entire body. 550 00:33:15,000 --> 00:33:17,840 Speaker 1: She glances my way, and her expression is still wary, 551 00:33:17,960 --> 00:33:21,360 Speaker 1: still uncertain, but she doesn't loosen her grip or let go. 552 00:33:22,800 --> 00:33:24,200 Speaker 1: You are going to tell me the end of that 553 00:33:24,240 --> 00:33:28,280 Speaker 1: swan Mukong taiale, right. I smile at her, blinking back 554 00:33:28,320 --> 00:33:30,960 Speaker 1: the tears that fill my eyes. I'll tell you on 555 00:33:31,000 --> 00:33:34,719 Speaker 1: the way. I'll tell you every tale I read. She 556 00:33:34,760 --> 00:33:37,640 Speaker 1: squeezes her hand in mine, and together we take our 557 00:33:37,680 --> 00:33:40,800 Speaker 1: first steps towards the place where the peaches will grow 558 00:33:40,840 --> 00:33:46,000 Speaker 1: once more. And that's the story. I hope you all 559 00:33:46,040 --> 00:33:48,360 Speaker 1: liked it half as much as I did, because then 560 00:33:48,400 --> 00:33:51,640 Speaker 1: you still liked it a lot. I don't know. It's funny, 561 00:33:51,760 --> 00:33:53,000 Speaker 1: like you know, I usually have so much to say 562 00:33:53,000 --> 00:33:56,200 Speaker 1: about these stories. And one thing I like about this 563 00:33:56,320 --> 00:34:02,400 Speaker 1: writing is that it's just clear right. There's allegories, there's 564 00:34:02,480 --> 00:34:05,560 Speaker 1: like thoughts and concepts in it and stuff, and they're 565 00:34:05,600 --> 00:34:07,120 Speaker 1: just written in a way where you don't need to 566 00:34:07,200 --> 00:34:10,960 Speaker 1: like really dig in to be like, well, I wonder 567 00:34:10,960 --> 00:34:15,360 Speaker 1: what this one little thing here means or whatever, you 568 00:34:15,480 --> 00:34:18,920 Speaker 1: just know. And it's also not heavy handed, like I think, 569 00:34:18,960 --> 00:34:22,080 Speaker 1: this is an amazingly well read, well written story. I 570 00:34:22,160 --> 00:34:24,879 Speaker 1: must said, well read story, and you know well that too. 571 00:34:24,920 --> 00:34:26,319 Speaker 1: I don't know, I have no idea if it did well, 572 00:34:26,320 --> 00:34:32,080 Speaker 1: but whatever, so if you enjoyed this story, if you 573 00:34:32,160 --> 00:34:36,440 Speaker 1: go to Kelseyu's website, which is k E L s 574 00:34:36,520 --> 00:34:42,319 Speaker 1: E a yu dot com, all of her publications are 575 00:34:42,520 --> 00:34:45,040 Speaker 1: listed and linked there, so you can read so much 576 00:34:45,040 --> 00:34:47,759 Speaker 1: more of her work. And when I asked her what 577 00:34:47,800 --> 00:34:49,960 Speaker 1: she wanted to tell you all, like what's a plug 578 00:34:50,040 --> 00:34:54,640 Speaker 1: here at the end, she said, the story's most likely 579 00:34:54,680 --> 00:34:57,040 Speaker 1: to fit a similar audience as the Orchard of Tomorrow 580 00:34:57,080 --> 00:35:01,520 Speaker 1: are in memories, We Drown from Clerk's World, a Scarcity 581 00:35:01,520 --> 00:35:06,680 Speaker 1: of Sharks in Reckoning, and Harvest of the Deep in fantasy. 582 00:35:07,480 --> 00:35:10,080 Speaker 1: I have two books out Bound Feet, which is a 583 00:35:10,080 --> 00:35:12,839 Speaker 1: horror novella and It's Only a Game, which is a 584 00:35:12,840 --> 00:35:16,640 Speaker 1: young adult thriller that just came out last Tuesday. And 585 00:35:16,680 --> 00:35:19,560 Speaker 1: I have another horror novella coming out next fall with 586 00:35:19,719 --> 00:35:23,560 Speaker 1: Titan that's called Demon Song. It also ties in Swan 587 00:35:23,640 --> 00:35:27,000 Speaker 1: Wu Kong and Chinese folklore, so anyone interested in that 588 00:35:27,120 --> 00:35:32,160 Speaker 1: story element might enjoy it. And I'm looking forward to 589 00:35:32,320 --> 00:35:36,600 Speaker 1: finding those books. They seem really good. All right. Well, 590 00:35:36,680 --> 00:35:39,480 Speaker 1: if you listen to this on Cool People Did Cool Stuff, 591 00:35:39,520 --> 00:35:41,440 Speaker 1: you should also check out it could Happen here. And 592 00:35:41,480 --> 00:35:42,880 Speaker 1: if you listen to this on it Could Happen Here. 593 00:35:42,920 --> 00:35:45,080 Speaker 1: You should also check out cool People Who Did Cool Stuff. 594 00:35:45,280 --> 00:35:47,279 Speaker 1: I'm Margaret Kildoy and I will talk to you all 595 00:35:47,320 --> 00:35:50,919 Speaker 1: next week with another episode of cool Zone Media book 596 00:35:50,920 --> 00:35:56,520 Speaker 1: Club Club It Could Happen Here, as a production of 597 00:35:56,560 --> 00:35:59,439 Speaker 1: cool Zone Media. For more podcasts from cool Zone Media, 598 00:35:59,520 --> 00:36:02,399 Speaker 1: visitor site cool Zonemedia dot com, or check us out 599 00:36:02,400 --> 00:36:05,319 Speaker 1: on the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you listen 600 00:36:05,400 --> 00:36:08,319 Speaker 1: to podcasts. You can find sources for It Could Happen Here, 601 00:36:08,400 --> 00:36:12,880 Speaker 1: updated monthly at Coolzonmedia dot com slash sources. Thanks for listening,