Episode Transcript
[00:00:02] Speaker A: Locks in the Box Volume 1.
[00:00:06] Speaker A: Episode.
[00:00:07] Speaker B: 3.
[00:00:10] Speaker C: Then Fatima Rose the barrel of the gun toward us and.
And.
[00:00:26] Speaker D: What are they doing?
[00:00:28] Speaker C: What's going on?
[00:00:40] Speaker E: So you and Fatima, Sharp teeth wife, I guess that's his nickname. Are having an affair.
And who's Jacqueline?
[00:00:50] Speaker C: Jacqueline.
Jacqueline is his pet.
And. Yes.
No, I mean, it just happened. I wasn't.
It was all of a sudden, you know, we both were in a vulnerable place.
Anyhow, let me give you the whole story from the beginning.
When my mother became ill.
[00:01:16] Speaker C: My mother used to work for those safari shops, cleaning and dusting things.
She accidentally inhaled some kind of powder while dusting the furniture.
She became ill, very ill.
That pushed Baba to drink a lot.
I guess he tried to bury his loneliness, to forget.
But that was momentarily, because the pain always came back.
Or like he used to see, we reminded him of it.
The pain, I meant.
At first, I didn't really see it. But Harris did.
He told me all about it.
One night, Harris saw Baba.
Harris, My older brother.
[00:02:05] Speaker D: Dance with me, please. Eh?
Dance?
[00:02:15] Speaker F: What?
[00:02:16] Speaker D: What do you mean, no music? Listen, Listen.
[00:02:21] Speaker D: Oh, the music is so loud now. Can't you see I need you right now?
[00:02:30] Speaker C: My.
[00:02:30] Speaker D: My baby.
[00:02:36] Speaker D: Come on, dance with me, baby.
[00:02:39] Speaker F: Tomatoes.
[00:02:40] Speaker E: Come.
[00:02:44] Speaker D: Oh, I can handle everything.
[00:03:08] Speaker D: You make me so happy.
The obvious.
Everything seems really slow.
[00:03:18] Speaker D: Oh, I love my wife. I love my wife. I love her very, very much. You know, and our. And our boys, too.
Oh, these boys.
These boys, they are something, you know?
One of them is my mirror image. I swear. I swear he is my mirror image. It is just like me, like when I was a little boy. A little boy.
But he has his mother's temperament. He has his mother's temperament. Crazy. Always arguing, arguing, arguing.
Oh, arguing with me. Ah, but he free, free, free.
Free spirited, free spirit. Hmm? The other one, our baby boy. Our baby looks like her.
But he got my things, you know, My personality.
[00:04:10] Speaker D: My everything.
[00:04:12] Speaker D: I think he is a genius.
Just like his dad, eh?
[00:04:18] Speaker B: Common papa, huh?
[00:04:20] Speaker D: Absolutely, eh, he's the youngest, and we love them both. But she's sick.
[00:04:31] Speaker D: These white people, they poisoned my wife.
She cleaned a mess.
And to thank her, they poisoned her.
The doctors, they poisoned her.
[00:04:44] Speaker D: They said they cannot cure her.
We tried. We tried everything.
Traditional medicine, white people medicine. Nothing works.
The only difference is witchcraft. Doctor told us she was sick because of my father's deed.
He killed too many elephants. For fun.
For money. White people money.
And now.
[00:05:11] Speaker D: We are paying the price.
[00:05:14] Speaker D: Now she's tired.
[00:05:16] Speaker B: She's.
[00:05:18] Speaker D: Doesn'T want to eat nor drink.
[00:05:24] Speaker D: Doesn't want to fight anymore.
And the kids.
[00:05:30] Speaker D: And all that. It's been so long.
How do you fight that, eh?
[00:05:38] Speaker D: How do you make her feel better?
[00:05:42] Speaker D: How do you fix that?
How do you fix my father's mistakes?
He's no longer with us.
But I have to pay the price.
His mistakes.
[00:05:56] Speaker D: You selfish.
You are me A selfish father.
You hear me?
I don't want her to suffer no more. I don't know what to do.
I don't know what to do.
[00:06:12] Speaker D: I'm just by myself now.
[00:06:15] Speaker D: I feel.
I feel she's leaving us any moment.
Any moment now. And.
[00:06:26] Speaker D: And then you.
[00:06:27] Speaker F: You.
[00:06:28] Speaker D: You appear.
[00:06:31] Speaker D: Just like that. Like. Like a flower.
It must be a sign. And I.
I, I want you.
No, no, no. I, I, I, I need. I need you. Oh, shit. Shit.
[00:06:49] Speaker D: I love you too, you know.
[00:06:53] Speaker F: Ah.
[00:06:55] Speaker D: Let me tell you a secret. I've seen it.
[00:07:00] Speaker D: I have seen it.
The locks.
But sh.
[00:07:07] Speaker D: The one and only. Mighty locks.
No one else but me.
And they talk to me.
[00:07:20] Speaker D: It said.
It said. What?
[00:07:27] Speaker D: What did he say?
Well, I forgot.
Wait, why? He say. Oh. Oh, yeah.
[00:07:37] Speaker D: Buddy. Oh. What did he say?
Oh, I forgot.
[00:07:46] Speaker B: Oh.
[00:07:47] Speaker G: Hagad.
[00:07:49] Speaker B: Inspector.
[00:07:50] Speaker C: She pointed at Harris, who was quietly watching. During all this time.
After a Nova Kiss attempt failure by Baba, the young lady pointed to the entrance of our hut.
At first Baba denied her request. But she insisted he stopped his physical advances. Then turned his head and looked and saw.
[00:08:13] Speaker D: Say what?
[00:08:14] Speaker G: My God.
[00:08:17] Speaker B: La.
[00:08:17] Speaker C: My brother watched the odd couple while wearing a frown.
[00:08:22] Speaker D: Oh boy.
[00:08:23] Speaker C: To him there was a serious, very serious and unforgivable offense.
[00:08:28] Speaker D: See what I told you? What did I tell you?
[00:08:32] Speaker C: Baba put his head down.
The young lady hugged him one last time, tenderly kissed him on the cheek.
[00:08:40] Speaker B: Then Adam.
Dakot.
Preposteroi.
[00:08:45] Speaker C: Baba shamefully walked toward Harris, who left the front door and quickly entered the hut.
He slammed the wooden door behind him.
Baba was flabbergast by Harris gesture and scratched his head.
[00:09:06] Speaker C: From the same womb and raised by the same parents.
Siblings get hit differently by the same event.
Sometimes I wonder why.
[00:09:20] Speaker C: My mother was this beautiful African woman.
[00:09:25] Speaker C: Soft brown skin, with her joyful voice.
Always happy, always singing.
The last time I saw her alive was that that very night.
She wore this dark sleeping garment with a black scarf on her head.
Laying in bed, she looked extremely frail.
She summoned the both of us, Harris and I.
I was around 10, 11.
I got first at the bedroom door.
Observing her.
[00:10:03] Speaker C: She looked unwell.
My brother abruptly joined me, then stopped.
He said, give me a second.
[00:10:12] Speaker F: I need to talk to Mommy alone.
[00:10:15] Speaker C: So I stayed by the door. I watched him whispering something in her ear.
At the same time, we heard Baba getting inside the hut. I turned my head to see him.
He was now behind me.
Rift alcohol again.
We share the look.
Me questioning him and him just wearing a blank look.
You know, the drunk people look.
[00:10:43] Speaker C: We both watch Harris still whispering something to my mother.
[00:10:49] Speaker C: They looked beautiful together.
Like a mother and their son.
A sacred love.
Sacred bonds.
Sacred space.
Like a mother elephant protecting a cub.
Only now Harris was no longer a cub.
And she could no longer protect him.
[00:11:12] Speaker E: I can relate.
Sorry. Go on.
[00:11:16] Speaker C: My mother looked at Harris after he was done whispering.
[00:11:19] Speaker F: Go.
[00:11:19] Speaker C: God knows what.
They shared a smile.
Then she turned toward me.
She also shared a smile with me.
She asked me to come closer.
I hesitated first. Then I ran to her bedside.
She hugged the both of us and held our hand.
[00:11:40] Speaker C: I remember as if it was yesterday.
[00:11:45] Speaker C: Baba gently joined her.
Stayed behind.
Didn't want my mother to smell the alcohol.
She then placed Harry's hand into mine's and said.
[00:11:56] Speaker G: Your brother.
[00:11:59] Speaker G: Wants to be a Ranger.
He has my blessing.
[00:12:06] Speaker G: What about you?
[00:12:09] Speaker G: What do you wanna be?
[00:12:12] Speaker C: I stay quiet, startled not to know how to respond to that.
I hated Rangers.
I turned toward Baba. He still had his head down. So I took his hand and about to place it on top of her hands too. But he took it away.
[00:12:32] Speaker C: I got sad.
[00:12:34] Speaker C: Mother got sadder.
[00:12:38] Speaker C: Baba left our sacred space as if in a hurry.
He stopped by the door for a second and watched us from afar.
Then Mother said to me.
[00:12:51] Speaker G: It's okay.
[00:12:54] Speaker G: Take your time. But whatever you choose, be proud of it.
[00:13:05] Speaker G: And do, do, do it because you love doing it.
Not because Baba, I ask you to do it.
[00:13:16] Speaker B: Okay?
[00:13:19] Speaker B: Okay.
[00:13:26] Speaker C: She weakly coughed. Then with her hands, asked for a glass of water set by her bedside.
Baba quickly got a glass of water.
She slowly drank and gave the glass back.
She then repeated the same action with my hands. And said the same words.
[00:13:45] Speaker G: Look at him.
[00:13:50] Speaker G: He's your brother.
[00:13:54] Speaker G: Protect him always.
[00:14:01] Speaker G: I will forever love you.
My little men.
[00:14:07] Speaker G: My sons.
[00:14:09] Speaker C: We hug.
Then we all cried knowingly that she was about to depart.
[00:14:19] Speaker E: That's too sad.
[00:14:22] Speaker B: I'm sorry.
[00:14:27] Speaker C: The next day, after the funeral, Laying on our mat while sleeping or trying to sleep.
[00:14:34] Speaker F: Kwame.
Kwame.
[00:14:38] Speaker E: What?
[00:14:39] Speaker F: Are you sleeping?
[00:14:41] Speaker E: I was.
[00:14:44] Speaker E: Now I am not anymore.
[00:14:49] Speaker E: It was a bad dream anyway.
[00:14:52] Speaker F: What was it?
[00:14:54] Speaker E: Nah, I rather not.
[00:14:55] Speaker F: Come on, tell me.
[00:14:58] Speaker E: Words are powerful. If I said it, it might happen.
[00:15:02] Speaker F: Come on.
I'll give you my plantain slices tomorrow if you tell me.
[00:15:10] Speaker E: What if Baba leaves us one day and Never comes back.
[00:15:14] Speaker F: Back?
[00:15:14] Speaker B: What do you mean?
[00:15:15] Speaker F: Leaves us.
[00:15:17] Speaker E: So many hunters leave, we hear the big bang and they never come back.
[00:15:23] Speaker F: Nonsense. Bob is the best at what he does.
Nothing will happen. Stop with this garbage.
You made mommy sad.
[00:15:33] Speaker E: Me?
[00:15:33] Speaker C: How?
[00:15:34] Speaker F: Yes, you.
What do you want to be when you grow up? She will never know.
And don't tell me like Baba, because all you do all day long is reading. Even on the hunt. You're a bookworm.
[00:15:50] Speaker E: I know, I know.
I don't know.
Is there anything else about hunters and rangers?
Mrs. Klossy, the librarian. Yes. She said I can borrow as many books as I want. As long as I return them on time.
The world is so big. So many people, so many things. I see it in the books I read.
[00:16:23] Speaker F: Alright, alright.
I just woke you up to check on you, not for you to tell me how big the world is. I got the radio for that.
[00:16:33] Speaker E: A curator.
[00:16:34] Speaker F: What?
[00:16:36] Speaker E: That's what I want to be when I grow up. A curator.
[00:16:40] Speaker F: What's that?
Witchcraft or something?
[00:16:43] Speaker E: African gallery curator. It's like someone who knows every single book of a big library. But instead of books, it's art. Painting, pictures, sculptures, history.
[00:17:02] Speaker F: How did you come up with that?
[00:17:04] Speaker E: By reading.
Everyone knows everything about the Greco Roman Colosseum in Italy, the Great Wall in China, the Eiffel Tower in Paris, France.
Big Ben in London, England.
The skyscraper was in the us.
Spaghetti, meatballs, french fries. But what do they know about the zoli, the koli and the dances that the King of Pop borrowed? Their origins, their meaning. What about our African food? And our duckling? Beetle Lava.
[00:17:50] Speaker F: You got me at french fries. Then you talked about larva.
Lost my appetite.
[00:17:59] Speaker F: Where is the piece, Kwame?
[00:18:02] Speaker E: What?
[00:18:03] Speaker F: The piece of the lox tusk.
[00:18:06] Speaker E: I. I don't ask Papa.
[00:18:09] Speaker F: He will never tell me.
[00:18:11] Speaker E: Did you ask him?
Shh.
[00:18:17] Speaker E: What about you? Be honest.
[00:18:19] Speaker F: Me?
[00:18:22] Speaker F: I told you already. I want to be the most powerful African ranger the world has ever known.
[00:18:27] Speaker E: Ranger? Are you crazy?
[00:18:31] Speaker F: Rangers are like the police with their baton. They're like the authority. They demand respect. And sometimes they carry guns.
[00:18:39] Speaker E: Rangers make deals. They change their words. They lie and they kill and destroy. That's what Baba says.
[00:18:49] Speaker B: Hunters kill too, to survive.
[00:18:52] Speaker E: You're crazy. Please don't.
[00:18:53] Speaker F: You asked me, so, I told you. Besides, Mommy gave me her blessings.
That's what I want to be.
You cure what?
I have no word for it.
[00:19:07] Speaker D: Hey, boys. Go to sleep now, eh?
[00:19:11] Speaker C: We both turned opposite each other and covered our heads with our own light fabrics, serving as sheep.
[00:19:26] Speaker H: You have been listening to locks in the Box Volume 1A Patrick Cavarty presents Production Box in the Box has been created, written and produced by Patrick and Wendy Cavarty.
Recorded at Soundbox LA, West Hollywood, CA executive producer Wendy Gabarty Original sounds by Pixabay and upbeat IO Edited by Miguel Sol at Soundbox LA Casting by Patrick Caberdy Directed by Patrick Caberty.
[00:20:03] Speaker H: Starring Kirk Taylor as the Priest, J Teddy Garces as Young Baba Baba and Tony Joanima Diaby as Harris Frances Edda Moby as Youssef Shanglimar Garba as Mother Fatima Young Woman and Katalia Emma Garba as Young Kwame Omri Cavarty as Young Harris Mel Uche as Sharpteeth and Hu Liao AJ Lupeskin as Suggest.
[00:20:39] Speaker H: Charlotte Chang as Zhao Patrick Caberty as Kwame and narrated by Patrick Caberty.
[00:20:50] Speaker A: Credits read by Sydney and Omri Caberty.
Special thanks to Tim, Michelle and Miguel at Sandbox la, West Hollywood, California.
Box in the Box is a Patrick Caberty Presents Production.
For a full cast list, go to PatrickCabertypresents.com and listen to the next episode.
Follow us on Social media Thank you for supporting Patrick Cavarty Presents Production and thank you for listening to Locks in the Box.
