[Click. Otto presses record. The tape rolls.]
OTTO: During our fourth session, developments in Noone’s case unearthed echoes of past failures. The girl recalled a familiar figure...
[Click, Otto plays a tape]
Recording of Noone: “The Candleman stood before me, on the rooftop. He wore… a long filthy jacket. His presence… it reminded me of… when the tide goes out.”
[Click, Otto pauses the tape]
OTTO: An uncanny sense of deja-vu, for Noone has seemingly encountered my CiCi's [distorted] Ferryman. I thought him lost forever. Yet, if true, he’s somehow found a way back to where he began. And who is he? Some deranged bedlamite? A mutual dreaming savant, invading the nightmares of innocents? It seems absurd. All I know for certain is that I must dig deeper.
[Tape rewinding]
[Intro plays]
[Various clicking]
OTTO: This is the Counselor. Tape number 57, Session number 4, Patient number… Hm, patient Noone. [Tapping and shifting]
OTTO: I was presumptuous. Judgmental. Now I feel it’s paramount to prioritize Noone’s treatment over several other cases, due to demonstration of abnormal oneirological faculties. [Shifting sounds] To disinter further, today, I’ll venture an unconventional method. [something electric is turned on]
[Beeping. Otto sighs]
OTTO: Admittedly dated but this device should help attain further clarity.
[Beeping alts. Audio cuts]
[Steps, pages shuffling. Someone knocks on the door]
OTTO: (cheery) Please, come in!
[Door creaks open and closes]
OTTO: How are we doing today, Noone?
NOONE: Otto, what happens to a stone that has overcome its greatest fear?
OTTO: You're telling... a joke?
NOONE: Yes, but I never got the punchline.
OTTO: I’ll have to think about that –
NOONE: There! Look! A moth!
[Otto shifts to look]
OTTO: Mhm.
NOONE: We went on vacation once. Under my doctor’s advice. Swarms of moths gathered 'round that balcony each night. They fascinated me. Their little ways.
OTTO: [Attentively] Hm.
NOONE: How they just… existed. I collected them in mum’s plastic jars.
OTTO: Well, this might be a good time to tell me about your mother?
NOONE: …I’d rather not. Mum didn’t share my enthusiasms for crawlies. But moths were my favorite-drawn to light, under some kind of spell.
OTTO: Perhaps you see a bit of yourself in the moth? Vulnerable, caught in the spotlight. The fame you received after the cure –
NOONE: I don’t feel cured. At all.
OTTO: …You feel you’re still in the dark?
NOONE: Yes. But I'd like to try to fly towards the light.
OTTO: Hmm. Then let me be that guiding light. And eventually, together, we’ll leave your darkness behind.
NOONE: How you said that… reminds me of the place I visited.
OTTO: On your vacation?
NOONE: No. Last night. In my dream.
OTTO: Let’s make sure you’re comfortable before jumping in.
NOONE: Oh, I feel at ease. Calm even. Can I tell you about it?
OTTO: If you like, then I suppose you could –
NOONE: I awoke to wet air on a rooftop.
NOONE: Peeking over the ledge, I saw an ocean stretching all the way to the horizon. On the nearer shore, giant fish-like contraptions crawled out from the waves. And from their mouths, plump men and women emerged. Faces hidden behind wooden masks, bodies tucked away beneath mucky brown robes. Some used sticks to labor up the long, winding boardwalk leading from the beach to the lantern-lit market below.
[Bells and steps]
NOONE: Their destination was behind me: a distant, crooked bathhouse. A voice whispered, “Hey!”, and I turned to see a grubby, breathless boy stepping off a ladder. He dressed in tatty shorts and… shirt covered in pin badgers. He said, “Do you know a way out of here?”.
[JESTER (overlapping with NOONE): Do you know a way out of here?]
NOONE: I told him I was equally lost, but he insisted on traveling together. He went on, “Other kids call me Jester, because I never run out of jokes. I can tell you some along the way!”
[JESTER (overlapping with NOONE): Other kids call me Jester, because I never run out of jokes. I can tell you some along the way!]
Noone: I didn’t reply, so he blurted, "A man tells his friend to stop looking for the perfect match"
[JESTER (overlapping with NOONE)]: Umm. A man tells his friend to stop looking for the perfect match…]
Noone: But, he stopped. I could tell he realized that parts of him… were missing. As if… just being here… [slimy, crawling sound] was changing him. I realized something too, my headache was gone. Jester yelled out, "Oh! He tells him to...use a lighter!"
[JESTER (overlapping with NOONE): Oh! He tells him to… use a lighter!]
[Otto interrupts the narration]
OTTO: Then this boy was the impetus for your joke? [Shifting] You met a child in your nightmare prior. But this one sounds far more… normal.
NOONE: He looked like the kids from school, only… kinder. The ones at school teased me... well, until I fell ill. After the water sickness, the same children who made me dread walking through those rotten gates, began sucking up. But I’ve always been the same me...
NOONE: Funny, I feel less me now than before.
OTTO: Children can be cruel. I had my share of tormentors in adolescence.
NOONE: Really?
OTTO: It’s regrettably common. [Shifting] Tell me what happened next.
NOONE: Jester pulled my arm. “Look”, he said, pointing me to long planks of wood laid down like bridges between the rooftops. …Other children had traveled this path before.
OTTO: Other children? [Otto writing]
NOONE: The walkways had been placed there. They were too narrow for those swollen adults below. It must have been other children. And Jester – he was real too.
[Writing]
NOONE: I felt his presence just as I feel yours... here in this room. [Pause] Could that… be the dream sharing you spoke of?
OTTO: Let’s not leap to assumptions. Go on. The planks...
[Pause. Sounds of slow steps on wood]
NOONE: We carefully walked each one, building to building. [Steps on terrain and wood, as well as faint bells] Below, the masked figures continued their walk too. Every now and then, a traveler would leave their place in line to take goods from the many merchants who’d offered all manner of soaps and perfumes. Their flowery smells mixed with… the fishy stench, pouring from the chimneys of the bathhouse…
[Walking and bells continue]
NOONE: When we reached our final building, our only option was to head down the long ladder, snaking around the side into an alleyway below. Jester was a nervous sort, so, I did my best to stir his courage and asked, “Have you another joke?”,
[Dream NOONE overlapping: Have you another joke?]
NOONE: And he replied, "Oh. Right. What happens to a stone that has overcome its greatest fear?"
[JESTER (overlapping with Noone): Oh. Right! What happens to a stone that has overcome its greatest fear?]
NOONE: And there it was again, that… lost look, like granny used to get. I asked him, “You don’t remember?”
[Dream Noone overlapping: You don’t remember?]
NOONE: And Jester simply said, “I’ll know it by the time I reach the bottom.”
[JESTER (overlapping with Noone): I’ll know it by the time I reach the bottom.]
NOONE: But, before I could follow… something called out from across the rooftop. A muddled voice... and then… I saw him. That man with- the impossible face. The same one from the room of glass jars. But...I can never focus on him!
[Narration stops]
OTTO: Noone, I need you to recall fine details.
NOONE: I told you!-
OTTO: Especially when speaking about persons you’ve seen multiple times. Recurrence implies significance.
NOONE: He’s a… broken mirror, or a photograph all torn up. Impossible to piece back together.
OTTO: I have something... [Otto gets up from his chair, steps] A magic glue for your mind.
[Steps, shifting, Otto sets the device up. Beeping and buzzing.]
NOONE: I don’t want to wear that.
OTTO: (immediately) You must. If you cannot remember specifics then I cannot help you. I must know about this mystery figure. I… simply must.
[Shifting]
NOONE: ...Uhm… Alright then.
[The sound of the hypnosis device sliding over Noone's head.]
[Otto fumbles in his pocket, the tiny chain of a pendant uncoils before Noone's eyes.]
NOONE: ... A pendant?
OTTO: This belonged to someone very important. Gazing into its spiral always gave me relief. I've found it can be used to offer my patients that same relief through hypnotherapy. Which will help you remember this, um…
NOONE: The Candleman... S'my name for him.
[Shifting]
OTTO: I’d like you to gaze into the spiral. Watch it sway. Back... and forth... Back...and forth. Fall into the endless turning of the pattern within. As you drift away, drift back into dreaming. Drift into a world coming clearer.
NOONE: Y-Yes… I see.
OTTO: Then tell me of… the Candleman.
NOONE, narrating: …The Candleman stood before me on the rooftop.
[Faint, low breathing]
NOONE: He wore… a long filthy jacket. His presence…. it reminded me of… when the tide goes out. And his face… it moved beneath his hat. like soup. Bits and pieces rising and sinking. Wait… I can see a little better now.
NOONE: H-His eyes… are long slits. Skin rough, sagging… like melting wax. He didn’t speak, but somehow I knew... the Candleman wanted me to open myself... to this place. Yes, he has for a while now. Every night.
OTTO: (muffled) Every night?
NOONE: Oh. I can see it all. A web. He’s… been with me this whole time. Watching. Observing. Waiting…
OTTO: What does he want?
NOONE: I don’t know…
[Jester's distant scream is heard]
NOONE: Someone shouting. I turn to look,
OTTO: I’d like to keep talking about-
NOONE: No! When I turn back, the Candleman was gone. I-I rush to the ladder
[Dream Noone running, clunk sounds].
NOONE: At the bottom stood a wart-covered brute with filthy arms. He must have broken away from the boardwalk. And something hung in his hand, flapping l-like a fish. He headed to the Bathhouse and… something told me to follow.
[Clanking]
NOONE: As I climb down the ladder, I passed by an open shop window and poked my head inside. The Merchant… spoke in a raspy voice, “What’s your pleasure?”
[ Merchant (overlapping with Noone): What’s your pleasure? ]
NOONE: A desperate moan came from the customer, and he said, “Suds. To cleanse this profound skin.”
[Customer (overlapping with Noone]: Suds. To cleanse this profound skin.]
NOONE: And then… the merchant lifted a bottle of pink liquid and said, “This'll ease your pain.”
[Merchant (overlapping with Noone): This'll ease your pain.]
[Sounds of stepping on a ladder. Dream Noone continues climbing down the ladder, lands]
NOONE: At the bottom of the ladder, Jester wasn’t there, so… I set off, making my way through the overgrowth that had eaten up the land around the Bathhouse.
[Plants rustling]
NOONE: Until, I reached some vines, crawling up a fogged window.
[Window being opened, Dream Noone entering and landing on the floor]
NOONE: I was in some kind of store closet.
[Water dripping]
NOONE: The shelves were lined with… cleaning chemicals, and… brushes and buckets. The stink of bleach stung my eyes, so I rushed through the door.
[Heavy door opening, bath splashing echoing]
NOONE: A room with shallow pools. And the same polluted taste in the air, as the stream by our apartment.
OTTO: [writing, muffled] Water parasite preoccupation-
NOONE, stops narrating: (distressed) Something lives on! Even after the cure! Pinching my skin, pulling my organs. My head’s like cracked pavement and my scalp is- itchy!- So itchy- urgh!!!
OTTO: Enough! Enough scratching...
[Beeping, clicking as Otto removes the apparatus. Beeping powers down, audio is clearer]
OTTO: (comforting) Noone. Listen. There’s nothing on you. Nothing inside either. It’s only you and me, and nothing else.
[The sound of Otto snapping his fingers twice. Noone gasps, audio is completely clear]
OTTO: It’s alright. You’re back. Safe and sound, as promised.
NOONE: …Did…did it work? Were details glued back together?
OTTO: Some. Though many pieces are still missing. And this continual mention of headaches concerns me. I’ll look into possible causes and see what can be done. For now-the Bathhouse, you were inside, right?
NOONE, narrating: Yes. And, there was steam hung in the air, making it hard to see anything but… shapes. The shapes of… Bathers. Unrobed and unmasked. Some lathered away, some crouched in the water, others huffed the sauna steam. The biggest… sat scrubbing himself with…
[Child struggling]
NOONE: ... with something that appeared alive.
[Distant splash, sounds of raspy breathing through an open mouth, more struggling noises, loud scrubbing of a brush]
NOONE: Creeping through the steam, I hid behind a bucket.
[Splash. Child whines. Growly mumbling]
NOONE: The big one… was before me, barely resembling a human.
[Child yelling. Growly voice]
NOONE: His- body was… raw and brown, and he rapidly repeated “Divide the grime from the divine” over and over. I suddenly realized wha-
[Splash. Jester struggling]
NOONE: Who… the creature was scrubbing with.
[Jester yells. Loud scrubbing]
NOONE: It was poor Jester. Sobbing and thrashing for his life. S-Stumbling in horror, I… I slipped on the slimy tile and-
[Squeak, dream Noone falls ]
[All background noise stops]
NOONE: The whole room went silent as they turned their heads… and began a haunting chant.
[BATHERS (whisper overlapping with Noone): Cleanse her, cleanse her! ]
NOONE: “Cleanse her, cleanse her!” Voices piled as their shapes stood and staggered into view. Th-their bodies scrubbed into- raw spectacles, there was nothing I could do for Jester! So, I- I picked myself up, and ran for the door-but it was shut tight!
[Door clicking, dream Noone frantically breathing, Bathers whispers getting louder]
NOONE: The Bathers drew near, arms reaching out.
[Dream Noone struggling]
NOONE: My hands grazed a crevice on the wall, which- which I slipped through just in time.
[Whispers stop. Sounds of loud banging. Frantic jiggling of a door knob. Dream Noone breathing hard]
NOONE: There I stood in the storeroom once more. The window was open- my one chance to escape.
[Loud knocks on the door]
NOONE: I climbed the shelves, avoiding the jars and containers that filled the room with chemical stink.
[Jars clinking]
[Loud knock, door breaks down]
NOONE: Glancing back, I saw the monster standing in the broken door frame, Jester’s limp body under his arm.
[Clanking]
NOONE: His… wart-covered hand reached up.
[Growl, Bather's heavy breathing. Dream Noone yelps]
NOONE: Grabbing my leg, violently pulling me away,
[Shelf creaks, glass jars clinking]
NOONE: And all I could do was reach and hope...
[Shelf creaks. Dream Noone yelps]
NOONE: My hands grasped a jar full of white liquid.
[Shelf creaks, Dream Noone yelps]
NOONE: And as he ripped me down-
[Entire shelf breaks, Dream Noone gasps]
NOONE: The jar followed.
[Sound of a glass jar smashing. Horrifying gargled screams and thrashing on squeaky tiled flooring. Everything quieting down]
NOONE: The liquid covered him, head to toe, unleashing a cloud of gas that burned the very air, washing over me, sending me into darkness. …A strange satisfaction came from melting down that vile man. I wasn’t like that moth, searching for the light... I was quite… happy, surrounded by the dark.
NOONE, finishing: Soon enough… I was back here... in the Copy (C.P.I.).
OTTO: …Hmm… A more intense, personally rooted conflict this time. A desire to be "clean". Perhaps to wash away memories of an invasive experience that your anxiety's fixated on. Yet, what bemuses me is your insistence on actuality. Claiming material presence of others, and environment.
NOONE: But, didn’t you say I could be sharing dreams?
OTTO: Yes, but that’s a different phenomenon... We must prescribe further research. I will need to begin nightly tests and observations to aid in reaching differential diagnosis.
NOONE: Experiments!? Do we have to, Otto?!
OTTO: They’ll help you feel better. And that’s what you want, isn’t it?
NOONE: …Well… yes. Of all things, it’s the sound of mum saying, “Night-night”, I miss most.
[Sounds of writing. Noone gets up from her chair, ready to go.]
OTTO: The stone becomes a little boulder!
NOONE: Pardon?
OTTO: The answer. To Jester’s joke. It’s an old one.
NOONE: (quietly whispering) The stone becomes a little boulder… Oh.
[Noone giggling]
OTTO: Now, before you pop off to bed.
[Glass jar scrape and clicking]
OTTO: Pick out another colorful delight for being such a good girl...
[Glass jar opening. Sounds of touching wrapped candies. ]
OTTO: Sweets, for my sweet.
[Click]
[Outro plays]