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Speaker 1: Twelve Ghosts is a production of iHeart three D audio

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Speaker 1: and Grimm and Mild from Aaron Manky Headphones. Recommended Listener

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Speaker 1: discretion advised. Yea, The final hour has arrived, and in

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Speaker 1: the forest the footsteps of all being blanketed over. History

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Speaker 1: is erased. It was as if no one ever came

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Speaker 1: down the path. It is the darkest hour of the year. Finally, suddenly,

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Speaker 1: at last, at long last, the fire is dying. We

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Speaker 1: don't let the fire die here on the darkest night

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Speaker 1: of the year. Go ah h, We're halfway through the winter.

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Speaker 1: From here onwards, the night will dwindle a little bit

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Speaker 1: by little bit. Instead of cursing the darkness, we celebrate

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Speaker 1: the slow return of the light, of warmth, of hope. Ah.

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Speaker 1: But I'm just rattling on. You've told me your story. Yes,

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Speaker 1: do you need more from me? It is enough? Where

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Speaker 1: have the others gone? Where they go? Have you always

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Speaker 1: been here? No? No, no, no, I was led here,

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Speaker 1: not to like you. I suspect the person who built

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Speaker 1: this place was led here the same way, though I

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Speaker 1: have no idea where he went when he was done. No,

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Speaker 1: I've been here a long time, but I was born

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Speaker 1: and lived a life, and in the end found myself here.

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Speaker 1: So you just showed up and became the innkeeper. Oh no, no, well, yes,

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Speaker 1: but there's a bit of a story before that. Go on.

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Speaker 1: Then you want to know how I got here? I insist. Well,

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Speaker 1: in that case, another drink, Thank you for courage. I

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Speaker 1: was a child when the sky caught fire. The war

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Speaker 1: once so far away, an abstraction, something only spoken of

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Speaker 1: in whispers around my brothers and I for so long.

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Speaker 1: It finally came home to us. It was a warm home.

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Speaker 1: I remember, dark wood and colorful wallpapers, bookshelves packed tightly,

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Speaker 1: bursting over onto side, tables and chairs, a house of

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Speaker 1: stories of laughter. Mother painted. Her mind was brilliant. She

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Speaker 1: painted the fields and she painted us. She painted the

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Speaker 1: stories in the books and hung them about the house.

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Speaker 1: Walking the hallways was like walking through her mind, a curious,

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Speaker 1: beautiful mind. We were loved, my brothers and me. That

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Speaker 1: glow stays with you, even so far off, even across

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Speaker 1: the is It was Christmas Eve. My mother had managed

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Speaker 1: to pull together something of a feast from the rations,

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Speaker 1: a little borrowed sugar, some ingenuity my father had read

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Speaker 1: to us from Treasure Island, and then we had gone

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Speaker 1: to bed, and then suddenly, terribly the fire, a fire

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Speaker 1: so consuming that it ate away the roof, the walls,

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Speaker 1: the pictures, the father and mother and the little boys.

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Speaker 1: Oh but me, even at its very best, life office subtractions.

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Speaker 1: If you're lucky, they came slowly, her grandfather. When you're young,

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Speaker 1: perhaps an old friend after a long illness apparent in

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Speaker 1: their dotage. But sometimes the subtractions come all at once.

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Speaker 1: Sometimes the home collapses around you, and in the rubble

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Speaker 1: you are suddenly horribly alone. And so it was for me.

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Speaker 1: I remember the heat of the fire too close, the

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Speaker 1: feel of the plaster falling on my face, the sky

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Speaker 1: above me, blood red and roiling, a picture of a

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Speaker 1: perfect hatred. I remember the sensation of weightlessness as my

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Speaker 1: bed fell out from under me, and then I remember

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Speaker 1: nothing else until I woke, unscathed in the center of

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Speaker 1: a crater all the spoke. I called out for help,

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Speaker 1: and none came. And so slowly, painfully I pulled myself

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Speaker 1: up from the wreckage and stood on our doorstep. The

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Speaker 1: welcome map was perfectly unscathed, not a speck of dust

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Speaker 1: on it. Without thinking, I wiped my feet and stepped

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Speaker 1: into the street, dazed, barefoot, bleeding. I do not remember

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Speaker 1: much of the following weeks. I must have been good

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Speaker 1: at stealing, for I was closed and I ate. I

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Speaker 1: must have had a preternatural sense for quiet corners and

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Speaker 1: secret nooks where a lad can rest une troubled, for

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Speaker 1: I slept. The first thing I do remember clearly after

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Speaker 1: those miserable days of wandering alone was the snow. It

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Speaker 1: came suddenly and covered over so many of the scars

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Speaker 1: left on the city. One night, I found myself in

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Speaker 1: the remains of a warehouse that had been shelled days before.

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Speaker 1: I had somehow managed to fall asleep despite the biting cold.

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Speaker 1: When I dreamt, I dreamt up my mother's small studio,

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Speaker 1: the sunlight coming through the west facing window in the

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Speaker 1: late afternoon, How it fell upon the canvases stacked neatly

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Speaker 1: against the wall. My mother sat in the middle of

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Speaker 1: the room at her easel, her back straight and strong,

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Speaker 1: her hand delicately flicking across the landscape forming in front

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Speaker 1: of her. I stepped towards her, anxious that I would

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Speaker 1: startle her, that somehow she would disappear before I could

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Speaker 1: get to her. But you know, dreams the thing that

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Speaker 1: you must wish to avoid is the very thing that

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Speaker 1: is most likely to happen. And as I moved towards her,

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Speaker 1: she froze. I heard her mumble for a moment in thought,

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Speaker 1: before saying, very gently, Darling, I remember that tone of voice.

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Speaker 1: It is the tone of voice that a mother uses

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Speaker 1: when she very much does not want to disappoint her child,

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Speaker 1: but has no other choice. A voice reserved for poor

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Speaker 1: Christmas is for news of her grandmother's death. I felt

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Speaker 1: it hit me before I quite understood it in my heart,

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Speaker 1: the slightest ache. She turned to me and smiled sadly,

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Speaker 1: My poor child, She said, how you have suffered your

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Speaker 1: brothers and your father and I taken from you so suddenly,

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Speaker 1: and how very brave you have been in the face

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Speaker 1: of so much a loss. She stood and moved towards me,

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Speaker 1: somehow suddenly too tall, the light around her shimmering strangely.

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Speaker 1: I recognized this that something was not quite right about her,

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Speaker 1: but I felt no fear. As she crossed the floor

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Speaker 1: of a room suddenly too long, as the sunlight dimmed,

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Speaker 1: as a sudden gust of cold enveloped me, she said,

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Speaker 1: poor brave child, I recognize the strength in you, and

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Speaker 1: a sun's sense of duty with no object to attach

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Speaker 1: you to. But I have a mission for you, something

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Speaker 1: to fill all the restless years ahead of you. Her

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Speaker 1: form had grown to fill the space, and the light

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Speaker 1: in the room had grown dim and cold. And I

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Speaker 1: was sure now that I was not gazing upon my mother,

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Speaker 1: that this being in front of me was not familiar,

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Speaker 1: though seemed at the same time incredibly familiar. I became

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Speaker 1: convinced that I was no longer dreaming, and a couple

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Speaker 1: of shakes of the head sorted me right out. I

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Speaker 1: was was in my mother's studio. I was back in

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Speaker 1: the bombed out shell of the warehouse, and snow was

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Speaker 1: drifting in through a hole in the roof and down

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Speaker 1: onto the form that stood there. Still, I could not

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Speaker 1: make sense of what I saw. The being no longer

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Speaker 1: resembled my mother. In fact, it no longer seemed to

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Speaker 1: resemble any person I'd ever laid eyes on. Incorporeal, translucent,

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Speaker 1: it seemed made of the space between snow flakes, a nonentity,

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Speaker 1: and yet somehow terribly real. It spoke to me again,

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Speaker 1: this time in its own voice, a voice soft like

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Speaker 1: the snow, deep, and hollow, like the cavernous space of

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Speaker 1: the warehouse. I have come to offer you purpose as

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Speaker 1: my agent among the living, it whispered, and reward you

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Speaker 1: when the work is complete. In the meantime, you will

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Speaker 1: always have a roof food in your belly, the knowledge

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Speaker 1: that your days have meaning. Does this please you, child?

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Speaker 1: I had been holding my breath, and when the question

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Speaker 1: was asked, I released it in a great relieved sigh. Food, yes,

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Speaker 1: and end the cold. Yes, yes, all very fine, but purpose.

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Speaker 1: I had not realized until that moment what I had lacked.

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Speaker 1: At the sound of my breath, it nodded. Then an

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Speaker 1: agreement is made, m hm, And with a great gust

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Speaker 1: of wind, the snow scattered and he was gone. But

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Speaker 1: in the dark I noticed a pin brick of light

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Speaker 1: across the expanse of the shattered warehouse, across the rail

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Speaker 1: yard outside, in the trees. Just beyond there, unmistakably the warm,

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Speaker 1: flickering light of a fire. Without further thought, I pulled

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Speaker 1: myself off the cold foe and moved towards it, step

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Speaker 1: by step through the rubble the snow over the tracks.

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Speaker 1: My heart grew lighter as I moved through the trees,

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Speaker 1: I saw it clearly, and in no, no, no, not

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Speaker 1: until much later what I found It was a small

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Speaker 1: cottage at the end of an old cemetery, the hearth

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Speaker 1: fire glowing through the window, and when I went to knock,

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Speaker 1: the door opened on its own. It was a small cottage,

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Speaker 1: quite inviting, though sparsely decorated, a bed, a small kitchen,

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Speaker 1: comfortable chair, by a cheerful fire. But the groundskeeper was

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Speaker 1: nowhere to be found. I called out. I was met

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Speaker 1: with silence. I thought at first that he'd gone out

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Speaker 1: for the night, but to wear And why would he

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Speaker 1: leave a fire so inviting, Why too, would he leave

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Speaker 1: his meal on the table still steaming hot. I thought

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Speaker 1: perhaps he wouldn't mind so much if I waited inside,

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Speaker 1: and so I stepped inside. And then I thought perhaps

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Speaker 1: he wouldn't miss it if I took a bite of

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Speaker 1: his meal, And he had more than enough meat and

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Speaker 1: potatoes on the plate, after all, he wouldn't miss a

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Speaker 1: nibble here and there I handed up, eating my fill.

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Speaker 1: Where was he? Didn't he come home? I don't know

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Speaker 1: for sure where he went, but he didn't come home

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Speaker 1: that night or any after. The place had been quite

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Speaker 1: suddenly abandoned. Forever, and no one came looking for him.

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Speaker 1: Over the following years I pieced together quite a bit

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Speaker 1: about him, A simple man, quiet, lived alone, no incredible tale,

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Speaker 1: just another soul who was and then wasn't. But back

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Speaker 1: to that night, I thought, well, now that I've eaten

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Speaker 1: this man's dinner, i'd best stick around and account for

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Speaker 1: it when he returned, maybe do a little work around

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Speaker 1: the place to make up for it. I sat down

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Speaker 1: in the comfort chair by the fire and didn't move

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Speaker 1: until the morning. And when I woke, warm and refreshed,

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Speaker 1: on the small table beside me was a note written

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Speaker 1: in a delicate spidery hand. Seventeen Wallace Street was all

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Speaker 1: it said, Is everything all right? Would you like another drink? Oh? Yes? Okay.

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Speaker 1: Nothing makes one thirst year than reviewing one's past. I

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Speaker 1: had a soul passed through here years back. Couldn't finish

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Speaker 1: sentences with that becoming terribly parched. I was up and

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Speaker 1: down all night with him refilling his glass. Yes, do

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Speaker 1: go on, friend? Oh another? Why not? And then what

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Speaker 1: did she say? What was that? Seventeen Wallace Street? Nothing dust,

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Speaker 1: rubble bones. It was my first assignment from my employer.

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Speaker 1: He'd sent me home oh yes, oh, nothing had been cleared,

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Speaker 1: though the neighbors had by then taken my family's bodies away,

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Speaker 1: along with nearly anything of value that could be found.

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Speaker 1: Who could blame them? I mean, we were gone and

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Speaker 1: didn't need our things. All that was left was the

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Speaker 1: doormat on us too. I lifted it up and found

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Speaker 1: our spare key, a key to a home that no

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Speaker 1: longer existed. I placed it in my pocket and turned

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Speaker 1: and walked across town back to the groundskeeper's cottage, where

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Speaker 1: dinner was waiting on the table. What did you do

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Speaker 1: with the key? I placed it in a draw Was

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Speaker 1: that what you were employer wanted? I had no idea

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Speaker 1: what my employer wanted, except that the next morning I

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Speaker 1: found another address written in that spindly handwriting, this time

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Speaker 1: my house on the outskirts of town that had simply

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Speaker 1: fallen into ruin. But there, under a sun bleached garden,

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Speaker 1: home the key. I took it home with me and

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Speaker 1: placed it in the drawer. And the next day, same thing,

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Speaker 1: and the next and so on. I was gathering keys

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Speaker 1: to the dead houses. And I didn't know why, and

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Speaker 1: I didn't know how to contact my employer, But every

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Speaker 1: day there was a new address, a new burned husk

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Speaker 1: or dusty shell that was once a home, a new

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Speaker 1: key to collect. How long did this continue? Well, all

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Speaker 1: my life, your entire of life, every day of it

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Speaker 1: the same thing. Oh. I traveled around from time to time,

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Speaker 1: took a knapsack along with me, would stay gone for weeks,

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Speaker 1: seeing the world. But no matter where I lay my head,

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Speaker 1: I'd wake up with an address beside me. So I'd

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Speaker 1: collect a key, toss it in the bag, and I

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Speaker 1: got so I could tell how long I'd traveled by

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Speaker 1: the weight of it. But I always return learned to

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Speaker 1: the cottage, which was always clean and warm upon my return.

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Speaker 1: Many years passed in this manner. I occasionally found a friend,

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Speaker 1: occasionally found love. But the more keys I found, the

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Speaker 1: more drawers and boxes were filled, the less use I

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Speaker 1: had for the living. Mine was a world of liminal spaces,

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Speaker 1: the in between places, and empty homes where no one

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Speaker 1: would sleep again. It was a life of adventure, and

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Speaker 1: though I spent it alone, I was never lonely. And

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Speaker 1: then one day I woke up in the cottage and

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Speaker 1: there was no address waiting for me. I was quite

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Speaker 1: an old man by that time. There was very little

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Speaker 1: space left in the cottage, what with all the keys.

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Speaker 1: But there was still the hearth, the fire crackling happily

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Speaker 1: as it did every other morning. But this morning a

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Speaker 1: figure was sitting in the chair, your employer, Yes, one

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Speaker 1: and the same. He was no giant, no strange spirit

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Speaker 1: of snow and empty space. He was quite short in fact,

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Speaker 1: and quite young looking. He wore a dark suit, simple

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Speaker 1: but well tailored. He had sharp, pale eyes. I got

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Speaker 1: the impression when he smiled at me that he was

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Speaker 1: not much accustomed to smiling. But he was warm and familiar,

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Speaker 1: and furthermore, I knew why he'd come. My time collecting

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Speaker 1: keys was at an end. My time doing anything on

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Speaker 1: earth was at an end, like you. When you arrived,

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Speaker 1: I was dead and didn't yet know it. He asked

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Speaker 1: me to take a walk with him, so I did.

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Speaker 1: We walked quite a long way that morning, out of

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Speaker 1: the city, across the country, and finally into a deep

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Speaker 1: dark wood. He led you here and led me through

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Speaker 1: the front door, and I was home. A hearth, warm fire,

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Speaker 1: a light that leads lost souls out of the wood,

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Speaker 1: a wasteation, a place to rest, an end to life's journey.

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Speaker 1: He offered me a second job. Then it is my

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Speaker 1: privilege to give troubled spirits rest. I have done it

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Speaker 1: very proudly since the day I arrived. I collected this

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Speaker 1: key at one four seven nine Hemlock Road, a farmhouse.

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Speaker 1: Three children were born there, led into the world by

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Speaker 1: a country doctor. The last of those children took over

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Speaker 1: the farm when he grew up, but could not keep it.

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Speaker 1: When I found it, the roof had caved in, but

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Speaker 1: the kitchen was still perfectly clean, as if waiting for

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Speaker 1: the family to come home. No one had been there

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Speaker 1: in a generation. Yeah, this key is yours, Annabel. Take it.

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Speaker 1: Your door is at the very end of the hall

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Speaker 1: on the left. What's on the other side of the door? Respite?

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Speaker 1: What troubles you? It's oh, well, did you ever see

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Speaker 1: your family again? You're asking if you'll see yours. When

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Speaker 1: I first entered this place, my employer handed me the

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Speaker 1: very first key I ever collected, the key to my home,

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Speaker 1: the key my mother had placed under the mat in

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Speaker 1: case one of her boys lost his own. He told

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Speaker 1: me that I my own room here as well, and

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Speaker 1: that it would feel more like home than any place

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Speaker 1: I'd been in a long, long time. This place has many,

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Speaker 1: many rooms, Annabelle, many rest here. If you wish to

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Speaker 1: see your mother again, you will go now up the

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Speaker 1: stairs the last door on the left. That key will fit.

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Speaker 1: Thank you good night, And flights of angels sing thee

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Speaker 1: to thy rat. The fire still burns, the wine is

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Speaker 1: warm on the stove. The door. An will arrive one

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Speaker 1: of these nights. They're perfect, not a thing out of place.

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Speaker 1: None too soon, because coming good evening, I've been expecting

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Speaker 1: you come. In Twelve Ghosts starring Malcolm McDowell as the

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Speaker 1: Innkeeper and Gina Rikiki as Annabelle. Episode twelve Keys to

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Speaker 1: Dead Houses written by Nicholas Dakowski, editing by Chris Childs

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Speaker 1: and Stephen Perez, directed by Nicholas Takowski. Original score and

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Speaker 1: sound design by Chris Child's. Executive producers Aaron Mankey, Matt Frederick,

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Speaker 1: Alexander Williams and Nicholas Takowski. Supervising producer Josh Thay. Producers

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Speaker 1: Chris Child's and Stephen Perez. Casting by Sunday Bowling c

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Speaker 1: s A and Meg Mormon c s A. Production coordinator

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Speaker 1: Wayna Calderon. Recorded at Lantern Audio in Atlanta, Georgia, engineered

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Speaker 1: by Chris Gardner. Aeros Sound and Recording in Ojai, California,

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Speaker 1: engineered by Ken Arros. Twelve Ghosts was created by Nicholas Takowski.

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Speaker 1: Then is a production of iHeart three D Audio and

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Speaker 1: Grim and Mild from Aaron Mankey. Learn more about the

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Speaker 1: show at Grim and Mild dot com and find more

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Speaker 1: podcasts from I Heart Radio by visiting the i Heart

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Speaker 1: Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you listen to your

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Speaker 1: favorite shows.