The Antiquarium of Sinister Happenings - Lot 079 : The Woman At The Bar

Episode Date: April 24, 2025

Written by Moe TFeaturing Alice Kremelberg as MonicaJared Rivet as BrianMelissa Medina as The WomanJeffrey Allen Sneed as The GentlemanAdditional voices by Trevor Shand and Michael Strohmanhttps://www....reddit.com/r/nosleep/comments/1eyhksi/theres_something_special_about_the_woman_at_the/ Featuring Stephen Knowles as The Antique Dealer Theme music by The Newton Brothers Additional music byCO.AG (coagmusic@yahoo.com) Vivek AbhishekSUBSCRIBE us on YOUTUBE: https://bit.ly/3qumnPHFollow on Facebook : https://bit.ly/33RWRtPFollow on Instagram : https://bit.ly/2ImU2JV Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

Transcript
Discussion (0)
Starting point is 00:00:00 B equals Y. Ah, you are exactly where you are supposed to be. At the exact right time, my friend. Drawn once again to the quiet hum of forgotten things. Well, you know as I do. The shop has already chosen what you'll receive tonight. Come closer. Here, in this drawer,
Starting point is 00:00:31 Among the relics no one dares ask for. A disc. Plain. Shabby. A white DVD scuffed and worn as if someone tried to erase it with their bare hands. And yet across its face, this curious mark. Not a title, not a name. Just scribbles.
Starting point is 00:00:57 A frantic hand pressing too hard. dragging lines like a warning. It was found abandoned in the back room of a closed-down bar. So sit and listen to the story of a man, a drink, and a conversation he was never meant to have. This is the tale of The Woman. Before we begin, I want to point out some of the customers whose names have been, been etched in brass on this beautiful plaque I had made above the front desk.
Starting point is 00:01:37 These are some of the members of the inner circle of the antiquarium. We go by the Obsidian Covenant. Recent initiates include Justin Bowman, Jonathan Kirkpatrick, Kim Virtue, Rachel the Living Dead Doll, Links Rain Kaylee Walker
Starting point is 00:02:03 Fist and Favis Coven We are ever appreciative of your devotion to The Order Go to The Obsidian Covenant com to receive the sacrament Where were we?
Starting point is 00:02:26 Oh yes Welcome To the Antiquarium of Sinister Happenings and odd goings on. There's something special about the woman at the bar. I still remember the first time she came in. I was tired.
Starting point is 00:03:22 It had been a long shift. I'd chosen to start serving at this particular establishment because it had a reputation for being slow. Had, is the operative word here. At one point in time, I could assemble a drink and have a man, maybe late 50s, early 60s. sit at the bar and look down wistfully. Spouting off his regrets about a wasted life,
Starting point is 00:03:48 I would get to listen. It was background noise. Therapeutic. Honest background noise in a world full of characters and bullshit. But, lo and behold, this particular haunt I picked started becoming all the rage for young people. Who needs them, right? all full of life, vigor, and energy,
Starting point is 00:04:12 smiles and excitement about the future, wanting to party, wanting to flirt, wearing layer upon layer of forced personas. Hey, hey, hey, chief. Says the guy, curling two fingers while dressed up in clothes Daddy Bot. We, uh, one around for this whole group, yeah? He says, forcing his voice down two octaves
Starting point is 00:04:30 while doing his best imitation of an alpha male. Thank you, my man. Just off a bender of binge-watching hours of charisma on command, videos, I'd want to say, but wouldn't. And of course, the people surrounding this man, all wearing masks of their own, fake cheers, fake gratitude, and pretty girls penny pinching through college more than happy to get a free drink off this schmuck before getting the fuck out of Dodge, and God, I was sick of it. But as is the case with life. The places I did want to be were out of range.
Starting point is 00:05:05 Un attainable. The dive bar is filled with the seedy, miserable, philosophical crowd I craved, were just too far away from the shitty apartment I lived in to justify working at. An honest environment would have cost me too much in gas prices, unfortunately. Enough that my non-existent paycheck would have gone towards breaking even at the absolute best. She came in while I was making a rum and coke for someone, a double. I wasn't one to project favorable feelings onto a stranger. I was thrown to find as I saw her wrench of the bar that I didn't immediately hate her. She looked like an absolute stranger to the establishment.
Starting point is 00:05:47 Yet I got no sense that she saw herself as above it. It felt like she was a human being, someone who needed to be here for some reason, but was unequipped for it. Like she felt silly. Like she found the music to be too loud, too overwhelming. I watched her take awkward steps through the chaos of the floor, ever so slowly weaving past people unable to move because they lacked spatial awareness and because she couldn't muster up the words, excuse me, for some reason. She was too kind, too polite, and then she was right
Starting point is 00:06:24 in front of me. She looked up instinctively, as if expecting a menu and then down at the counter as if she was expecting a QR code, and then she just sort of shuffled closer with an energy like she was afraid of interrupting something, even though I was looking right at her, doing literally nothing else, fully prepared to take her order. So, I don't drink. You don't drink? Not really. I'm bad with, like, knowing what to get.
Starting point is 00:06:54 Well, let's keep it simple, I guess. Do you want a beer, more partial to a cocktail, maybe? Ooh, cocktail. I love cocktails. No, so you do drink. Well, I drink, but not, like, in a fancy or informed way. Usually I just get what the other person's drinking. but the other person isn't here yet, so I guess I'll get whatever tastes most like juice.
Starting point is 00:07:15 I failed to suppress a laugh. Hearing those words from a fully grown adult was something else. Oh, I'm sorry. Are you going to look down on me for not being all boozy about my drinks? Well, I guess what I meant to say was, I want something hoppy, aged 24 years from Ireland with a bit of a kick, maybe a sour. You were melding so many unrelated things together. right now, it is crazy. Actually, I'm just a trailblazer
Starting point is 00:07:42 and completely ahead of my time. And then a look in her eyes as if she was beaming the words, yes, I'm aware I'm a dork right at me. And I am absolutely positively not an uninformed loser. I finished making her a pinia colada and handed it to her. I hope you
Starting point is 00:08:01 enjoy your drink, ma'am. A sweet, appreciative curl of her lips as she tapped her card and turned to leave. She was back to the hurricane of people swirling across the room, I watched her body take on an awkward pantomime performance of how the fuck do I find a table through the sea of mayhem. My eyes stayed with her for longer than I'd like to admit. And then I realized, I was smiling. And it wasn't as a courtesy or a lie or a way to make someone think I was listening while I was often maladaptive daydreamland.
Starting point is 00:08:34 She sat in an elevated, rustic corner table by an antique mirror. the one closest to the bathrooms, a table that could seat a lot of people, but only had her. The other person joined her eventually. I caught them talking at odd intervals, as I fell back into my miserable shift at my miserable job, fielding the same two repetitive questions from doe-eyed 20-year-olds.
Starting point is 00:08:57 What's it like being a bartender? And did you always want to get into this line of work? No, I wanted to say to both questions. My eyes would continually drift over to that corner table as the hours ticked away. I felt a pang of jealousy as I saw her hold the hand of the man seated across from her.
Starting point is 00:09:16 A man who looked like he was having a rough go of it, wistful at times, borderline miserable at others and occasionally tinged with nostalgia. He was all emotion. And she was consoling him, it seemed, hearing his heart's story. We closed in on midnight
Starting point is 00:09:35 and the two of them were still there. She wasn't saying much of anything, but he was certainly saying all of everything by the looks of it. Her eyes remained steadfast on him, nodding as she took in his every word. It was early in my late shift, Tuesday night. Things were slow, but not too slow.
Starting point is 00:09:54 It was ideal, quiet. I could focus on the white noise of murmured, tired conversations, the clinking of glasses. It was like a meditation tape, my equivalent of the soothing sounds of the ocean. I had time to make my drinks love.
Starting point is 00:10:11 Not so much love, but focus. That's the word. A man arrived at the counter. He looked familiar. It took a second for me to place him. The gentleman from the other night. The one who sat across from the bashful woman who caught my eye. The one that got to hold her hand.
Starting point is 00:10:40 He, on that particular night anyways, was a basket of complex emotions. Now, however, There was a certain calmness to him, a groundedness. He looked peaceful, like his head was finally above water. You have my permission to surprise me. If this was her boyfriend or husband, he certainly had an interesting rhythm to his moods. I grabbed a glass and a muddler and started preparing an old-fashioned for him.
Starting point is 00:11:07 As I did, in betrayal to my usual approach to customer service, I asked him a non-logistical question. And how's your day? He took a genuine beat to collect his thoughts. Eyes raised diagonally at the ceiling, a thoughtful twist at the right corner of his mouth. Then, a contemplative, repetitive nod as if the words were playing in his head like a metronome. Do you ever just feel grateful? Grateful that everything's finally come together.
Starting point is 00:11:36 It all makes sense now. And it's all going to be all right. I cannot say I know that feeling, but I'm envious for sure. Yeah, I guess I'm quite the lucky man. So, you are. Based on his reaction, I don't think the reference landed for him. It seemed like he had a wonderful woman in his life. Hence, lucky.
Starting point is 00:11:57 He instead seemed to take the message in a much more vague, almost cosmic way. I do have to tell you, though, quite sincerely that it ain't all luck. You gotta really put yourself out there. You have to be open. Emotionally naked. Those are the things it takes to find your home. Your people. I don't think I'll be there any time soon, good sir.
Starting point is 00:12:20 I gave him the drink, and he made his way back to that same corner table. For the few remaining times that night that he accidentally slipped into my eyeline as I was loitering on the clock, he was the perfect picture of contentment. Another busy night in my self-inflicted holding pattern of a career. Some people say that bartenders are modern-day philosophers. Those people are stupid. It's a customer service gig like any other. Only difference here is you give people alcohol to leave you alone, but it never, ever works.
Starting point is 00:12:57 This night was particularly stressful. We were down a person. I hated when we were down a person. When we were down a person, my boss would yell, and then I would wonder why the fuck I didn't just finish college, and so the domino effect of self-loathing would go. There were too many people asking for too many drinks. I almost didn't even notice she was there.
Starting point is 00:13:17 She'd brought a new person this time, arms linked. Girlfriends out for an evening. She approached the bar yet again, sheepish as before. Interestingly, the girl she was with seemed like her polar opposite. She looked decisive, focused, fake. A paper tiger, that was my assessment. Hey!
Starting point is 00:13:40 Wait, shoot. Did I never actually get your name the last time we talked? It's Brian. Which means I never gave you my name either. Nope. I'm Monica. And I'm sorry. I'm usually much better about that.
Starting point is 00:13:54 That meaning polite enough to ask someone's name. I returned her greeting. She gave me one of the firmest handshakes I'd ever received. Okay, so we know each other's names now, which is good. This is Sabrina. And Sabrina, this is Brian. Okay, great, good. Now that we're all friends, Brian,
Starting point is 00:14:15 I'd love it if you could make the same drink that you made last time, if you remember what it was. You mean the one where you asked me to make you juice? Yes, the very same. I watched them from behind the counter later. They were at that same distant table. Of course they were. I wanted to judge them.
Starting point is 00:14:36 I really, really did. The shift had been a headache, and fancying myself as better than the unwashed masses was exactly what the doctor was ordering. I wanted so badly to assume that Sabrina was the shallow friend to Monica, a person who actually seemed somewhat kind, somewhat genuine. But as Monica held Sabrina's hand over the table, looking at her as if she was the only person that existed in our wretched cosmos,
Starting point is 00:14:59 and Sabrina in turn spoke openly as she cycled through ugly laughs, ugly crying, ugly reminiscing, emotional whiplash that I couldn't quite keep up with. All I saw was a person shedding any semblance of a front, peeling off layers of emotional makeup, becoming completely raw to the person they were in front of. Laying it all out there, frankly, for Monica to receive with, quiet nods and gentle affirmations.
Starting point is 00:15:26 Their conversation went on for hours. Their drinks, the pinia collates I made, were still in front of them, chipped away at with only the lightest of sips over the course of their conversation. Glass is half full, or half empty, I guess, depending on how you look at things. Three weeks passed before I saw Monica again. The thought of her would cross my mind every now and then, the strange want to actually talk to her,
Starting point is 00:15:55 with how much my life was dimmed by forced, transactional conversations, it was a foreign feeling. Finally, on a night where I arrived late for work, I saw her, seated in the corner, a barely touched drink in front of her, hand gently resting on the man beside her, as he poured his heart out to her. Completely different guy from the last guy, and at this point I was convinced, as I watched the man emote as if he'd just come from a Brené-Brown TED Talk, that she was some sort of modern new-age therapist.
Starting point is 00:16:25 Fifty-five-minute sessions, psh! What about three? three to five hours at a bar. That'll really help us curb your existential dread, her imaginary words, not mine. I caught some conflicting feelings in myself as I looked on. Despite how awkward she could be, there was some sort of bizarre charisma or allure there, the charisma of someone being completely themselves.
Starting point is 00:16:48 It made me nervous, though it was hard to put a finger on why. Nevertheless, the hours passed. Work was work, and as I finished, costing my reservoirs of nods and smiles in exchange for compliments, platitudes, and the occasional openly rude customer, my eyes flittered over to her table, to Monica, saying goodbye to her new client, or friend or lover, whoever he was.
Starting point is 00:17:13 A long hug, then a very deep glance into the stranger's eyes. An intense glance, a loving glance. And then they parted. Huh. So maybe scratched. therapist. Or alternatively, a very, very new age therapist. Curse you, pangs of jealousy. I'm 35 now. I should be beyond feelings at this point. She approached the bar. How are you? Would it be uncool of me to say I'm tired? Why would that be uncool?
Starting point is 00:17:51 Because you're a bartender, so I'm tired probably describes your entire evening. Oh, well, I mean, if I were off the clock, then I'd say, Absolutely. You're being uncool, you jerk. But since I'm working, no, not at all. Do you have any traumatic stories you wanted to share and war memories of tales about the one that got away? Oh, war stories for days. Bar, right? Yes, I am, actually. You're a therapist? I suppose that's one way to look at it, yeah.
Starting point is 00:18:41 I think I'm a bit confused. I find people who are like me. People who maybe feel like they don't belong. Outsiders. Folks who are tired of pretending that they're okay living in an uncaring world. And I connect with them. And I build friendships with them. Meaningful connections.
Starting point is 00:19:07 How do you know if someone's an outsider? It's all in the eyes. She told me that I was welcome to sit with her on one of my days off. We could go to another pub if I didn't want to spend my off hours where I worked. Strange as the proposition was, I went for it. At this point, I'd sussed her out as being a truthful, open, and vulnerable person. Someone who seemed at times confused about it all. Confused in an endearing way, a way that felt different, special.
Starting point is 00:19:39 A way that made me want to know more. Before we go on, Do you smell that? Strange, isn't it? Like old whiskey and lemon peel. You know no one's had a drink in here for years. It's odd, but sometimes when a story leans into places like that, places where the air is thick with talk and memory, the scent follows. Let me check the back. Could be nothing? Or someone might have left a glass out. Unfinished. wait here I won't be long
Starting point is 00:20:17 The message Favorite shopkeeper I hope this phone call finds you well I just wanted to thank you for those darling little gargoyles I picked up the other day Although when I picked them up
Starting point is 00:20:56 No no Stanford I got one Good boy I anticipated that I knew how to Train these little love bugs And I just wanted to let you know Grotask it down from there Good
Starting point is 00:21:18 Oh just be expecting to see your friends again someday Thanks again, bye Back now Nothing there of course But for a moment the shop Almost felt like a bar, didn't it? That quiet hum
Starting point is 00:21:39 Like glasses waiting to be filled And stories Waiting to be told Whether you want to hear them or not. Strange how certain places find their way into others. But don't mind that.
Starting point is 00:21:56 Let's return. The bar is still open. The night's still young. And there's more yet to see. At this point, I'd sester out as being a truthful, open, and vulnerable person. Someone who seemed at times confused about it all.
Starting point is 00:22:13 Confused in an endearing way, a way that felt different, special. a way that made me want to know more. On a night we both agreed upon, I met her at a different joint in the other side of town. I sat across from her, curiously skeptical about how all of this would go. And then hours passed.
Starting point is 00:22:32 And within them, I opened up, truly. It's sort of hard not to spill it all when someone gives you their absolutely undivided attention. With perfect eye contact and affirmations pulled out of the book of Mr. Rogers. She sat there, statuessque, as I whittled off details about my childhood, my confusion about life,
Starting point is 00:22:54 feelings of aimlessness, shame at how fucking judgmental I could be, and everything more. All of my misplaced anger, my vitriol. There were no real horror stories in my past, it turns out, nor any major present-day ailments that were bringing me misery. Putting up walls and scrutinizing strangers were just my coping mechanisms.
Starting point is 00:23:15 for being over-socialized and in my head about it all. At the end of the night, she gave me the same look of endearment she gave to the other man as a sort of peace. A camaraderie came over me. You're all right. It's the world that's stealing your joy from you. It seemed as if the words held more weight for her than they did for me,
Starting point is 00:23:42 as her hand gently cradled my cheek. But I nonetheless obliged with a sort of silent agreement an internal nod. I felt warm about it all. She gave me the tightest hug imaginable before leaving and whispered in my ear as she did. I know a way things can be better. I hadn't seen her at the bar for quite some time.
Starting point is 00:24:12 And I have to admit, it made me antsy. It was hard to have someone Mary Poppins waltz their way into your life, be utterly emotionally naked with no reservations, allow you to do the same, and then disappear right after teasing. some cosmic secret about the answer to all of life's problems. During this period of lack, I found myself softening in my role as liquid therapist a bit. People's idiosyncrasies, they're faking it personas,
Starting point is 00:24:40 their buried miseries, posturing, need to party, flirt, fight, mentions of Beta Sigma Alpha Omega, ability to lie to themselves, desire to run away from themselves, from everything, actually. I understood it. I sympathized with it. We're all just trying. I mean, I was still a judgmental piece of shit 85% of the time, but, hey, that remaining 15%, we can call that an improvement. I was at the tail end of the kind of slow shift that made you curse yourself forever hating the busy ones. I closed up shop, and there she was. In the doorway, as I was leaving.
Starting point is 00:25:17 I didn't have it in me to pretend I wasn't enthused to see her. Instead, I ran up to her and hugged her. I missed you. hope you've been well. You said that things could be better. I want to know how. Of course. Let me show you.
Starting point is 00:25:38 Do you want to come over? It's funny. There's a certain connotation that comes with being invited to a sort of stranger's place at closing time. Yet I was absolutely sure Monica's head and intentions were in a completely different space from the rest of the waking and drinking world. We sat in her sofa together. She gave me a tender look. I made something to help explain everything you're feeling. I hope it'll be helpful.
Starting point is 00:26:07 I exhaled slowly, then nodded. She got up and popped a shabby, plain white DVD marked with sharpy scribbles into the player. She returned to the couch as the video started on her TV. It was Monica's voice, speaking over footage of the cosmos, galaxies and stars. The delicate, sensitive souls, alias. are. Footage from Earth. Empty woods, empty parks, empty cities.
Starting point is 00:27:11 Our three-dimensional forms holding our souls down. A slideshow of images that resembled pages from a high school biology textbook. A diagram of the human body with a line pointing to the chest saying soul.
Starting point is 00:27:34 Lines coming from the arms, the head, the legs, eyes, ears, all labeled as not soul. If we stay here long enough, Our soul will wither away and die. Another textbook-style diagram, but of a decomposing body this time. Footage of the ocean now. Not us here or why?
Starting point is 00:28:13 The camera panned up from the water and angled sharply to the night sky, facing the glowing moon. To go home now. To go home now. A pitch black door on the left side of the screen. On the right, the same high school textual. diagram of the human body standing upright this time, an arrow pointing to the door. Decide to exit. You the greatest sense of internal comfort. Exit stage left. Go into the light.
Starting point is 00:29:18 Lightly as the video concluded, I felt disturbed. I felt unsafe. I tore my gaze from the TV and turned to her. Her eyes were serene, peaceful, calm. I'm here with you now. Exactly did you mean with that video. I detached my hand from hers and rose from the sofa. She stood up as well. You know what it means. You know it every time you look out aimlessly from behind the counter. I backed away.
Starting point is 00:30:17 I'm going to need you to say it explicitly. We're departing tomorrow. We'll be leaving from the bar. You're welcome to join us at the table. I reached the door. I have to go. reaching behind me to feel for the doorknop. One last good look at her.
Starting point is 00:30:35 She wasn't perturbed, sad, offended, confused, or anything. I'll be seeing you, Brian. And then left. I worked the evening shift the next day. I was dead in the eyes. Exhausted. Not judging a soul, just breathing. Just relishing the intake of stale bar air.
Starting point is 00:30:59 When she arrived, she went straight to the corner table. Slowly others poured in. Some of them I recognized as patrons who had shown up at the bar before. Folks I was unaware were ever associated with Monica. They sat with her. Eyes trained on her. Soon after, her girlfriend from before, Sabrina, pulled up a seat as well.
Starting point is 00:31:27 The two other men I'd seen her with on different nights took their spots too. New faces appeared next. One's unfamiliar to me. By the end, there were 12 at the table. From my distant vantage point, their conversations seemed muted, soft, hopeful, but with a discordant dash of somberness. It was hard to focus on my job,
Starting point is 00:31:52 to focus on the customers coming up to me. I look over to the corner to catch more gentle speaking, the sharing of thoughts, sentiments, words that looked as though they were coming out as whispers. I wanted to be a fly on the wall. I also wanted to be as far away as humanly possible. Was there something I could say here? Something that a Good Samaritan was supposed to be doing right now?
Starting point is 00:32:17 Over the following 45 minutes, give or take, their words stopped. They closed their eyes together in a lengthy, silent moment. It didn't quite seem like a meditation or a prayer. I'm not sure what it was. Eventually they all opened their eyes around the same time and then they turned in unison and looked at me with wide smiles. Their eyes were filled with what seemed like a very disturbing form of love. Image pressed to my memory forever.
Starting point is 00:32:57 Monica alone got up and walked through the crowd, purposeful this time. Once again, she was in front of me on the other side of the counter. They'll join us. Where are you going? You wouldn't believe this, because it's going to sound really silly, but there's actually a special spot in the middle of the ocean, one that leads all the way up to the stars. We thought it might be a good idea to check it out together. She held her hand out for me. If you want to come.
Starting point is 00:33:34 Wasn't sure what it was. Loyalty, a sense of camaraderie, a fear of letting her down. but as much as I was repulsed and terrified by her, I still had to fight the urge to give her my hand. Eventually, she gleaned my decision through my inaction and retracted her invite. Thank you for talking to me and spending so much meaningful time with me, Brian. She returned to the table.
Starting point is 00:34:03 The others rose. They left behind anything they brought with them. Then, all 12 of them linked arms, like they were about to go on a pub crawl together and left. Bodies were found in the ocean a week later. Each of them had worn a weighted metal belt to help them sink.
Starting point is 00:34:28 It's told me that half of the corpses were found in close proximity to each other. The other half were scattered about. I had to assume that the group found clustered together were the ones successfully able to keep their arms linked the entire time. I had the chance to see the photos of the deceased during the identification process. I did my best to provide the authorities with details and the faces I recognized.
Starting point is 00:34:57 Times I'd seen them at the bar, rare occasions where I'd spoken with them. My tiny, insignificant crumbs of information were thankfully counterbalanced by insights provided by some of the regulars who'd known them better. It didn't take long to piece together the identities of the recently departed, not just who they were, but their full history. careers, families, friends, aspirations, anecdotes, blanks filled in. All except for Monica, as it turns out, if she did have a history, it certainly wasn't one with much depth.
Starting point is 00:35:34 She had no known family, no friends aside from the one she left with on her final night, of course. No information on when she'd actually moved to the area or where she'd come from. I was the only one who seemed to know anything about her. As if that wasn't uncomfortable enough of a revelation, the cops decided to keep the hits coming. They must have been in an oversharing mood. They let me know that this recent death event wasn't quite as unique as I might have imagined.
Starting point is 00:36:04 In fact, instances of groups walking into the water together, weights worn, arms linked, had been documented as a recurring phenomena over the last half century or so in our quiet town. The folk tales and horror stories about events like this had, of course, existed for far longer in our little slice of the country. The sort of folk tales I could have imagined a man, maybe late 50s, early 60s, sharing with me on a night where I was tuning him out as a comforting background noise while making a drink. I took one last good look at Monica's photo before I wrapped up with the authorities.
Starting point is 00:36:41 Out of all of the images, hers was the one that looked the most drank. The most at peace. I'll be seeing you, Brian. The incident had left me with a sinking but mostly ignorable feeling. Routine had thankfully proven to be a formidable distraction. I was behind the counter, same as always, in a moment of time where I was unoccupied. No immediate task in front of me, nor some lingering item of work that I'd forgotten to do. I looked out at the bar scene.
Starting point is 00:37:11 Not a miserable look this time, nor an aimless one either. Just a look. Out amongst the crowd of youngsters, characters, and fakes, not mutually exclusive titles, mind you, nor titles I used in a derogatory fashion anymore, I saw someone enter the bar. A new face, unfamiliar, one that had a distinct sort of urgency to them.
Starting point is 00:37:34 They weren't an imposter like all the others. They looked like they felt silly, like they didn't belong here, but didn't see themselves as above it all. In the past, I would have... found this person to almost be charming. Now they were just a person. They took awkward steps through the bar floor.
Starting point is 00:37:55 They were over-polite, and then they were right in front of me. Pena, Calada, please. I suppressed my laugh. Her eyes lit up with a glint of confusion. What? Why are you looking at me like that? It's just, sorry, just a little uncanny. Kind of a throwback there.
Starting point is 00:38:11 You, uh, remind me of someone just now, but that's, anyway. Pena Claude, coming right up. I went to work. When I heard her response, all I could do was continue making her drink, operating off of muscle memory alone. You know, I have to admit, I'm a bit disappointed you didn't join us last time, Brian.
Starting point is 00:38:34 Mechanically continued the process of blending the drink. I don't remember telling you my name. I hope you understand that there's still a lot I need to do here. Like-minded friends to find, meaningful connections to make, Departures to schedule, you know. I throat caught. The ritual of making a drink for a customer was the only bit of normalcy I had left in this exchange.
Starting point is 00:38:56 I tried to cling to it. I tried to drag it out as long as possible, but I had to speak. But when I studied her features, she didn't resemble Monica at all, and I can only assume she knew as much. You can call me Elizabeth this time, and don't worry, I never, ever want to rush you, so.
Starting point is 00:39:16 And then, that same knowing, disarming look, You can join me when you're ready. I struggled to put the finishing touches on the cocktail when I heard my boss's voice. Brian, what are you doing? Hey, what, what are you doing? Making a drink. I looked ahead. There was no one at the bar.
Starting point is 00:39:36 For yourself. I guess, yeah? He gave me a concerned look. The kind of look that asks you to say more and share what might be going on. But I changed the subject. Probably best to keep things surface level. from now on. No need to go
Starting point is 00:39:56 deep. Thank you for your patronage. Hope you enjoyed your new relic as much as I've enjoyed passing along its sordid history. It does come with our usual warning, however. Absolutely no refunds,
Starting point is 00:40:51 no exchanges, and we won't be held liable for anything that may or may not occur while the object is in your. possession. If you've got an artifact with mysterious properties, perhaps it's accompanied by a history of bizarre and disturbing circumstances.
Starting point is 00:41:11 Maybe you'd be interested in dropping it and its story by the shop to share with other customers. Please reach out to antiquarium shop at gmail.com. A member of our team will be in touch. Till next time. We'll be waiting for you whenever you close your eyes. In the space between sleep and dream. During regular business hours, of course, or by appointment,
Starting point is 00:41:45 only for you, our best customer. The Antiquarium of Sinister Happenings, Lot 0.79. There's something special about the woman at the bar, written by Motie, featuring Alice Kremelberg as Monica Jared Rivett as Brian Melissa Medina as the woman Jeffrey Allen Sneed as the gentleman Additional voices by Trevor Shand and Michael Stroman
Starting point is 00:42:25 Featuring Stephen Knowles as the antique dealer Engineering production and sound design by Trevor Shand Theme music by the Newton Brothers Additional music by Coag and Vivek Abyshech The Antiquarium of Sinister Happenings is created and curated by Trevor and Lauren Shand. Follow us on Instagram and Twitter at Antiquarium Pod. Call the Antiquarium at 646-481-7197.

There aren't comments yet for this episode. Click on any sentence in the transcript to leave a comment.