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Good morning, Cicely! You're listening to KBHR, and this is Chris-in-the-morning, here to get you through the dark and dreary days of late January.
And these days are darker than most, what with these storms that have been around this week. Even the daylight hours we get are dim and full of dark clouds. But the weather report says the storms should clear in a few days, and the we'll get the limited sun back.
News you might have missed if you weren't up early this morning, like yours truly: we've got visitors in town, a rarity in these dark winter days!
A van rolled down Main Street this morning and came to stop in front of Kenny Park's garage, which was lucky for them, because the van's busted. So the owners are staying in town for a few days while Kenny works on their van.
Another bit of news: the van contained a band, a rock band. Yep, not often we get guests like that here in Cicely! Band's called Even the Odds, and I'm sure you'll be seeing all members around town. No autograph requests, though — treat'em like them they're your neighbors! Now here's one of their hits, Film at Eleven, so you can tell them you're a big fan when you meet them…
~~~
As Chris's voice trailed off and the music came over the truck radio, Maggie had to laugh. "Treat them like they're your neighbors" might not have been the best advice — Cicely was sure to be a bit strange to a world famous rock band, and maybe treating them like stars would be better for everyone.
She pulled up to a mountain of snow in front of Kenny's garage and jumped out, making her way through the drifts into the garage, where Kenny stood with four … well, yes, they did look like rock stars — multi-colored hair, piercings, leather pants — but they also looked absolutely freezing. Leather pants were all well and good on stage, but warmer clothes were needed in Alaska in Cicely.
Kenny spotted her as she entered through the bay door. "Maggie! Glad you're here. We're gonna need a part for this van. I already put in the order to Auto Zone in Anchorage, so next time you go that way, can you pick it up?"
"Sure, but it's not going to be any time soon," she said.
"Why not?" one of the band members — the one with blue hair — asked. He was a young man, about Fleischman's height, and seeing how all the others looked to him, Maggie guessed him to be the leader of the group.
"Because of the weather," she replied. "I'm sure you've noticed the snow? And the lack of daylight?" When they all nodded, she went on. "I can't fly in this. But the good news is that the weather is predicted to clear by the end of the week."
"Well, that's not good. I think we need —," blue hair started but another young man — no blue hair but wool cap pulled over his ears — standing next to him interrupted.
"Thank you in any case, Maggie. Sorry, we don't mean to be ungrateful, but we're all freezing."
"And I've lost my dog," the sole girl amongst them said in a worried tone.
"He's not really much of a dog, is he?" the tallest of the bunch said, and she gave him a withering look.
"He's a good dog. I have to find him."
"Well, you're going to have a long time to look!"
The four started bickering amongst themselves and Maggie sighed. "Before we worry about tracking your dog, let's get you all warmed up. The Brick's right across the street — you can get a warm meal, and Holling and Shelly will have some spare winter gear for you. Come on along with me." Maggie waved to Kenny and headed back out the bay door, making sure the four were following her.
They were, like freezing baby ducks. The one with the wool cap caught up to her. "Thank you again, Maggie. I'm Daniel, by the way. This is Tommy — " blue hair gave a half-hearted wave — "and Sophie and Nate."
Sophie and Nate gave her "nice to meet you" but they all were glum and shivering as the snow drifted down on them, and Maggie wondered what exactly brought a world famous rock band to Cicely in the darkest days of the year.
"Big fan of your music!"
~~~
She didn't have to wonder long. Over moose burgers fresh off the grill, they explained. They had just ended their world tour in Anchorage. They wanted to see the Northern Lights before leaving for LA, so they rented a van, and headed out on the road. But the storms hit as they were driving, they got lost, the van had started making a terrible noise, and luckily had found themselves in Cicely when it died, not stranded on the side of the road somewhere.
"We never even saw one light," Tommy said mournfully.
"You can't see the lights when the sky's so stormy," Maggie explained. "But once the weather clears, you'll see them, don't worry."
"We've got other problems," Sophie told her. Shelly had loaned her some warmer clothes, and she was wearing one of the brightest pink sweaters Maggie had ever seen, and it was a bit too big. The girl was lost in a sea of bright pink.
"Yes, you mentioned your dog. What happened there?"
"When we got out of the van, he jumped out and there was a moose walking down the street?!" Sophie said this as if it were the most amazing thing in the world, and outside of Cicely, it probably was. "Albie saw him and ran off after him. We have to find him before he dies!"
That seemed a little alarmist, but they weren't used to moose. "Well, it hasn't been too long, I'm sure he's still fine."
"He's a robot," Nate said. He was the tallest member of the band, light brown skin and shaved head (now covered by a fur lined hat loaned by Holling), and lots of tattoos and piercings. "When she says 'die' she means his battery will run down. He needs to be charged."
"A robot?" Maggie blinked at them, but they were all nodding seriously.
"I got him in Japan," Sophie explained. "He's a prototype! I don't think he's made for cold. But he was sure interested in that moose."
"Oh… okay. Well, we'll get someone to help you find him," Maggie said. Perhaps Cicely's oddness had nothing on Even the Odds. But Holling was an expert tracker and she was sure he'd take a robot dog as a challenge.
"That's not our only problem," Daniel said. He'd been quiet, eating his moose burger, but now he looked up at her, misery clear on his face.
"What else?" Maggie asked. Hopefully not another lost robot.
The loss was not electronic. "I've lost my voice."
"And he's our lead singer!" Tommy looked equally miserable as well as guilty. Maggie noticed he hadn't eaten a thing, but she just imagined he didn't care for moose burgers. Now she wondered at that.
"Well, I'll take you to see Dr. Fleischman. I'm sure he can help with that.
Daniel frowned. "It's a little weird."
"A little?!" came from Nate and Sophie in unison.
Maggie looked back at Daniel, but the answer came from Tommy. "Our singer's a light show."
~~~
Hello Cicely! Glad to see you're all taking care of our visitors, opening doors and closets to them. Maggie and Kenny report they'll be here with us for a few days while they wait for a part for the van.
But Even the Odds needs your help finding a lost dog. Or a lost robot. In any case, it's a robot dog named Albie. He looks like a cross between a retriever and a sheepdog, he's brown and fluffy, and he's a robot. So he shouldn't be hard to spot. Last seen chasing a moose down Main Street.
Holling Vincoeur's organizing a search party and Ed Chigliak will be documenting the event. Head over to Brick if you'd like to help out.
Now let's get back to the music with Even the Odds' last hit, "Daydreams at Night."
~~~
Joel wasn't sure what he was hearing. Seeing. Whatever.
O'Connell had delivered two members of Even the Odds to his office, with a smirk on her face. Unsurprising. There was usually a smirk on her face when she looked at him. But at least this time there was a reason for the smirk — she knew he'd be stumped and she was not wrong.
He was pretty sure Daniel was singing. But he was also quite sure he wasn't hearing the song; instead he was seeing it. Each note was a different color, a different flash of light.
It was fascinating.
"Can you sing something else? Does it happen with every song?"
It did. Song after song, color after color — every time Daniel opened his mouth to sing, all that came out were flashes of light.
"How long has this been going on?" Joel asked. The kid was a singer. Even the Odds was a very successful band. This had to be something new.
"It started right after our last show," Tommy, Daniel's blue-haired friend who wouldn't stay in the waiting room, volunteered. "The next day, when we got in the van, he started to sing and it was all flashing lights!"
"Hmm…" Joel was puzzled. He'd seen a lot of strange ailments since coming to Cicely, things he'd never even dreamed of when he was in med school, but this was one of the strangest.
"What's wrong with me?" Daniel asked, his voice as hopeless as the look on his face.
Joel didn't get a chance to reply before Tommy jumped in. "There's nothing wrong with you."
Daniel turned on him, temper flaring. "Of course there's something wrong with me! Every time I sing, it's like fireworks going off!"
"Not really fireworks," Tommy said thoughtfully. "More like… a light show tuned to music."
"I don't think that's any better!"
"Well, it's not any worse!"
"How is it not worse? I'm a singer!"
Tommy looked thoughtful again. "You know what it's like? It's like synesthesia, but in reverse!"
"In reverse?"
"Yeah, instead of hearing songs in color, you're singing them in color."
"I don't think that's what reverse means!"
They continued bickering and Joel had a thought: this is what O'Connell and I sound like.
Then he had another thought, and turned to Tommy. "You. Out of here. Go wait in the waiting room. I'm going to give your friend a full physical to see if I can find anything actually wrong."
"But — "
"I said out!"
The door banged shut behind Tommy and Joel turned to Daniel. "Now you. Stick out your tongue and say ah."
~~~
Maggie was still smiling when Tommy came into the waiting room. She couldn't help it, the whole thing was too good. Exactly the kind of case she wanted Fleischman to have, to puzzle over, to stay up nights researching and worrying about.
She glanced at Tommy who was standing in front of the exam room door, tugging at his blue hair.
"What the matter?" she asked, while Marilyn looked up at the young man, quiet as always but interested in the answer.
Tommy rolled his eyes, indicating what he thought of Maggie's question. "What's wrong is that Daniel can't sing."
"Yeah, but Dr. Fleischman is going to fix him up." Even though she wanted Fleischman to work at it, she didn't want it to be a permanent thing for Daniel, who was a nice guy. Tommy was too — a little more annoying, more Fleischman-esque even, but right now he looked terribly worried. "I mean it. Dr. Fleishchman will take good care of him."
Tommy let out a dramatic sigh. "It's my fault," he announced. When neither Maggie or Marilyn replied, he repeated, "It's my fault."
"How is it your fault that Daniel is singing in colors?" Maggie asked patiently.
"I was the one who wanted to stay here after the tour ended," Tommy explained. "Everyone else wanted to go home, but I wanted to see the Northern Lights."
"So? I'm still not sure how that makes it your fault." Maggie looked to Marilyn for support, but Marilyn, of course, didn't say a word, just watched Tommy's face.
"I made them stay! If Daniel caught something that will ruin his voice forever, it's my fault." Tommy tugged again at his blue hair. "What if he can never sing again? What if the band breaks up? I was the one who wanted to see the Northern Lights!"
"Okay, that's a little dramatic," Maggie started but Tommy continued.
"And when I couldn't see them because of the storm, I wished I would be able to see them right away, and then the next morning, Daniel started singing in color!"
Hmmm. Maggie and Marilyn exchanged a look, both taking in this new information. Maggie thought the kid was exaggerating before, but this idea of Tommy's? Not completely far-fetched.
She wondered if she should give this information to Fleischman, but decided to let him figure it out on his own.
Marilyn put down her knitting and gestured Tommy over to her desk, still not speaking.
Tommy went, dragging his feet and stood sullenly before her. "Yeah?"
"It's not your fault. Everyone wishes. Sometimes the wishes just get caught up in other things."
~~~
O'Connell was paging through an old magazine and Tommy was pacing around the waiting room, circling the desk where Marilyn sat knitting, when Joel opened the door and led Daniel out.
"Well?" Tommy asked. "Is he going to be okay?"
"No," Daniel said, at the same time Joel said, "I don't know."
"Is he going to die!?" Tommy ran up and grabbed Daniel's hands
Daniel looked horrified as he pulled his hands away. "Why would you think I'm going to die?"
"Because you're singing in color?"
Joel cleared his throat. This was very annoying, and he was the doctor, he got to make the pronouncements. "He's not going to die."
"How do you know?" Tommy whipped his head around to stare at Joel. "Do you even know what's wrong with him?"
"As far as I can tell, he perfectly healthy, so he's not going to die." Joel held up his hands as they both glared at him. "I'm going to do some research into the lights. The singing. The not-singing. I'll figure it out."
"See?" O'Connell said to Tommy. "I told you."
"It's the aurora."
Everyone turned to stare at Marilyn, who hadn't looked up from her knitting. "Do you mean the northern lights?" Tommy asked.
Marilyn nodded calmly. "The aurora."
Joel considered this and had to admit that Marilyn had a point. "I knew it looked familiar!"
"How can I be singing the aurora?" Daniel demanded. "That doesn't make any sense. Why would the aurora come out of my mouth?"
Joel was at a loss for an answer, which wasn't unusual for him in Cicely. He looked at O'Connell who was smirking again, and then at Marilyn but she didn't explain. "It'll pass," was all she said.
"How do you know?" Tommy asked at the same time Daniel shouted "When?!"
Marilyn just shrugged.
"Well, I did want to see the Northern Lights," Tommy said and burst into laughter, which Joel felt was a bad move.
This was confirmed when Daniel punched him, and then Joel had a whole different problem on his hands.
~~~
Good morning, Cicely! You're listening to KBHR and this is Chris-in-the-morning with some updates.
Weather's still on track to clear in a few days. We'll finally see the sun again and be able to put the snow shovels away, at least until the next storm comes by.
Even the Odds are still in town. The good news is that Albie the robot dog has been found, and is warm and comfortable and plugged into his charger. Thanks to everyone who helped in the search, and Holling Vincoeur reports it's much easier to track a robot dog than a bear. Ed Chigliak's got the whole search on film, and Sophie and Nate confirm that the band will be using the footage in their next music video.
Dr. Fleischman's confirmed that Daniel's got a bad case of the aurora borealis, but Marilyn Whirlwind predicts it'll pass. Singing the aurora is a new ailment, Joel says, but he's hoping to submit a paper on it, so let's be glad Dr. Joel will get 15 minutes of fame out of it.
Speaking of singing the aurora, Even the Odds have decided to play a show for us, Cicely! This Friday, we're setting up outside the Brick, and you're all invited! Maurice Minnefield has loaned the stage from town hall, Holling and Shelly will have food for everyone, Ed will, of course be documenting it all on film, and yours truly will be the emcee of the evening. You might not hear any songs, but you sure will see them! Everyone come by and see a show like you've never seen before.
It's a strange thing, I always think, not to see the aurora for the storms. These dark times, it's something to look forward to, to remind us that even though we don't get much daylight, we get all the light we need at night. It's even stranger still to see the aurora as a song, but thanks to Daniel we're going to get that bright spot in our night once again.
Let's listen to another one of their songs, Sorry Again, and get ready to see it on Friday.
~~~
The night of the concert, Joel found Maggie in the crowd outside The Brick. "You're here early," he said, brushing the snow off the seat beside her before dropping into it. "I didn't realize you were that big of an Even the Odds fan that you needed a front row seat."
"Not that it's any of your business, Fleischman, but Chris and Maurice asked for my help getting the stage set up. And Tommy saved a couple of seats for me as thanks." She gestured to the stage where the band was all set up, Albie the robot dog was sitting and barking at the crowd, Chris was testing the microphone, and Tommy was leaning in to whisper to Daniel while the others readied themselves to play.
"Is he actually persuading Daniel to sing? Or flash some lights?"
"Yeah, about that. Haven't you figured out what's wrong with him yet? What kind of doctor doesn't even try to help his patient?"
Before Joel could dignify that with a heated response, Chris stepped up to the mic. "Ladies and gentlemen, it's time for the show to start. Not sure if we're going to be getting songs, or a visual display tonight, but I'm sure it's going to be a show to remember. Let's hear it for Even the Odds!"
The crowd responded in applause and cheers, and the band began to play. Daniel stood in front of the mic taking deep breaths, and finally opened his mouth to sing.
Joel had seen Daniel sing before, in his office, but seeing him sing with the band playing behind him was something else entirely. The words turned into light as they left the singer's mouth and combined with the music. The effect was breathtaking.
“It really is the aurora,” he heard Maggie whisper as she gazed in awe at Daniel.
She wasn’t the only one. The crowd fell completely silent — even Albie the robot dog stopped barking — as they watched Daniel sing, and his bandmates were staring at him too — playing along, the music they made adding to the wonder.
Joel could never be sure afterward if he actually heard something — clearly Daniel was singing, but all that he that he knew for sure was that he heard was the music the band played, and the light that somehow came out of Daniel.
The band played on, different versions of their hits lighting up the room in colors that seemed to come from a fever dream. As they played, the snow stopped falling, and the clouds cleared from the night sky, the stars finally visible after weeks of stormy weather. But no one even noticed, so focused were they on the strangest of concerts ever played.
And when the music came to a stop, all was silent for a moment before the Cicelians erupted into thunderous applause.
Probably the smallest crowd Even the Odds had played for in years, but no one had ever seen a show like that before. The band member were beaming at each other over the applause, even Daniel finally losing the look of woe he’d worn since he’d stepped foot into Joel’s office.
When the applause finally died down, Joel saw Marilyn at the front of the stage, pointing up at that sky in the dark January evening. “The storm’s passed,” she said clearly, then turned to smile at Daniel.
When the aurora lit the sky again, this time Daniel's voice could be heard loud and clear.
Joel leaned into Maggie and whispered, "I guess that one's on Marilyn." O'Connell was going to rub it in, he had no doubt, but the joy on Daniel's face as he sang made him not mind the thought of it.
But she surprised him, turning to him with a smile. "Well, I guess if you're going to come down with a case of aurora borealis, there's no better doctor to treat you."