AudreyStories

“The Listener." Ecuador. Our story waits in Ecuador, in a tiny town against the western slope of a majestic mountain. Six extraordinary girls live here. There was a terrible cyclone the year of their birth and everybody believed that this storm blew in six special talents. Support the Show.

10. ENGLISH. BEDTIME STORIES FOR ADULTS. 10. "The Brave Bridge." Mostar. Bosnia. Once upon a time, in 1555 to be exact, there was an architect named Mimar. He was very talented, and a little arrogant. He told his friends that he would build something spectacular one day. His dream came true when Suleiman the Magnificent commissioned him to rebuild the wooden bridge over the Neretva river. Mimar was delighted. He hurried to the river and then … burst out in tears. “It’s 1555, for goodness sake! Impossible. The span is 30 meters. It cannot be done. No …!” Suleiman the Magnificent said: “I say yes! If you do not build a bridge with the limestone from the hills, I will kill you in a very cruel way.” Suleiman was the Sultan of the Ottoman Empire with a very bad reputation for gruesome executions, Support the Show.

9. ENGLISH. BEDTIME STORIES FOR ADULTS. 9. "The Chef on the Ship. 1521. Mexico. Our story sails on a ship in the year 1521. Hernán Cortés is 19 and on his way to conquer and command for Spain. On his ship is an important man: the chef Martin. He is also on a quest -- not for a medal, but for spices and herbs. In Mexico, Martin and the local chefs trade recipes and share secrets. The Mexican chef makes the best dish. It contains a delectable spice. Paprika. Martin takes it back to Spain, plants it and after his first harvest he trades with a Turkish chef. Support the Show.

5. ENGLISH. BEDTIME STORIES FOR ADULTS. 5. "Aurora Borealis." Teenagers find it hard to immigrate. In this story, Carissa stays with her piano teacher in Canada while her parents urgently go back to South Africa for 6 weeks. "I did not want to immigrate! South Africa did not bother me! I want to go home." I lived in a small town in Canada for the first 4 years after immigrating to Canada from South Africa. Those were hard years, we struggled, our 4 children struggled. I had to leave my one daughter in Canada to attend to a family matter in South Africa. This story is for her. I am South African. The Aurora Borealis is one of the most magical things on earth. Support the Show.

"The Not-so-Secret Suitcase". Cuba. Aug 13. 2016. There is a 90th birthday celebration for Fidel Castro in the town of Santa Clara, Cuba. Maricela is having a mini-nervous breakdown. A total stranger — a tourist, called Linette, is on her way to see Maricela, to give her a massive black suitcase. Everybody knows. In Cuba, that is a bad thing. Linette gets onto a bus in the beach/tourist district of Varadero. All the other tourists on the bus are going to the museum of Che Guevara. Not Linette. She is on a frantic search to find a specific Cuban woman. Nobody know why. But the Neighborhood Watch in Cuba? They're waiting, watching and wishing for the event to take place. **I went to Santa Clara on Fidel Castro's 90th birthday: 13 August 2016. I had a bag filled with gifts to give away. I did. (And I am not Linette. But a fabulous story waited under a tree in this town. All the other tourists went to the museum of Che Guevara. I sat under that tree covered with pink flowers and all the neighbors watched and whispered and waited...) Support the Show.

19. ENGLISH. BEDTIME STORIES FOR ADULTS 19. "The Heir." A Journey. Part 6. The End. Panama/Colombia. This is the final episode of our story. We are at the birthday party of Maximillian II in Cartagena, in Colombia. Karli adjusts to the life of "the rich and famous". We then travel to the cities of Medellin and Bogota, where the adventure travel of Karli and Willrich continues. Support the Show.

18. ENGLISH. BEDTIME STORIES FOR ADULTS 18. "The Heir." Part 5. Trip to Colombia. In this episode, Karli and Willrich travel to Colombia. They do not take one of Willrich's private jets. They fly into the town of Cartagena on a commercial aircraft in economy class, and they live in an AirBnB in the "old town". They have a taxi driver called Carlos. He is the second cousin of a friend of Karli's. They have 3 wonderful days of "normal" travel. This is the adventure of a lifetime for Willrich. The go to a beach only locals use, attend the birthday party of an uncle of Carlos and go to the neighbourhood where Carlos lives. Then .... disaster. It was bound to happen in Colombia. Support the Show.

17. ENGLISH. BEDTIME STORIES FOR ADULTS 17. "The Heir." Part 4. Willrich and Karli. PANAMA. Why did Willrich (73) decide to give 4 billion dollars worth of "things" (as Karli calls his possessions), to a complete stranger? He was born a billionaire. His grandfather made glue for shoes. Then better glue. He built a fortune. His son and 2 grandsons increased the wealth by making great money-making plans. This is a family business. But -- Willrich never married, has no children and decides that Karli Richter will inherit Kleber Industries. We are in Panama City for this episode, where we find out more about the "things" Willrich will give to Karli. We also find out more about The Storyteller. As Willrich gets to know her, he becomes afraid that his empire will change her. He wants to give his money away to be free. But, he needs Karli to tell stories, so that he can fall asleep. Will money change her? Should the money rather go to his older brother in Berlin? Support the Show.

"The Heir." Part 3. Karli's Story. PANAMA. Willrich Otto Schneider picked an heir to his fortune. She is Karli Richter, a woman who tells stories as Podcasts. The German Billionaire is in Panama City. Karli is also here. Willrich organized a Podcasting Conference to lure her to Panama. Eustacio is Willrich's personal banker in Panama, and he is very worried/upset about Willrich's decision to give 4 billion dollars to "The Storyteller". In this episode Eustacio tries to change Willrich's mind. In this episode, we also hear Karli's story. Who is she, and why did Willrich pick her -- only her stories? Maybe not a good enough reason for being chosen as an heir to billions? Is Willrich dying? Support the Show.

"The Heir." Part 2. Willrich's Story. PANAMA. This is the 2nd part of the story "The Heir." In this part we hear the life-story of a 73-year-old billionaire. He is called Willrich Otto Schneider of Kleber Industries. We are in Panama City. Willrich had decided to give his entire fortune away -- to The Storyteller. Her name is Karli Richter, and she makes Podcasts. The rich man cannot sleep at night, but when he listens to Karli's stories, he falls asleep. So -- he had decided that she would be his heir. But stories are never that simple, are they? This story has a beginning, a middle and an end. And every good story ends with a little twist. Support the Show.

14. BEDTIME STORIES FOR ADULTS. "The Heir." Part 1- Meeting The Storyteller. PANAMA. 73-year-old German Billionaire -- Willrich Otto Schneider -- is in Panama City at a Podcasting Conference. This rich man decides to give his entire fortune to "The Storyteller". He has never met her. He listens to her stories every night, and falls asleep. After 53 years of suffering from insomnia, Willrich decides to retire and to give this woman his entire fortune. This is PART 1 of our humorous story, where we meet Willrich, the Storyteller and we embark on this journey of two extraordinary people. (And of course the billions of dollars.) "The Heir", Part 2 -- Willrich's Story, is the next episode. Support the Show.

I travelled on my own to a small village in the mountains of Mexico: San Sebastian del Oeste. I wanted to stay. I had to leave. Therefore—the story of somebody who also wanted to stay, and could. "Katerina liked the name of the town, so she stayed. The road to town had washed away during the rainy season of August and September. She wrote pages and pages of piano music..." Support the Show.

6. ENGLISH. BEDTIME STORIES FOR ADULTS. 6. "Hadim's Secret Tulips." Constantinople. 1518 (Ottoman Empire time). Hadim is a merchant. He travels the 6000km Silk Road to bring back fine silks, new spices and exotic perfumes. He is in love with Safiya the Beautiful and promises her to bring back something special. Something never seen in the city. The Emperor of the time is Selim the Grim. Support the Show.

8. ENGLISH. BEDTIME STORIES FOR ADULTS. 8. "The Magician of Sarajevo.". Bosnia.They met in a thunderstorm in Sarajevo, Bosnia and fell in love. This was a love such as no other, for she was in his city on a soul-searching pilgrimage: to ask the Latin Bridge some questions about war. By the river Miljacka, she sat down and wept. Lightning struck: a thunderstorm attacked Sarajevo. She ran. To him, for safety and shelter. "You're here," he said when she fell into his magical space. "I've waited so long for you to come." He winked. She ran to the man. "I'm a deserter," she said. "I fled from my country. South Africa." In this tiny place, in the summer of 2010, they find truths and tell secrets. Support the Show.

12. ENGLISH. BEDTIME STORIES FOR ADULTS. 12. "Maximilian Smiles." Britain. Maximilian the Second always smiled and that was a problem. Support the Show.

ENGLISH. BEDTIME STORIES FOR ADULTS 2. Fun/serious story with a tiny important twist. Do not let the beginning frighten you. I wrote the outline to this story in Guatemala -- because I am a photographer. I took pictures of beautiful churches in small towns in Guatemala. And of the people. I try to tread lightly on the souls of humans. But do I? There was a Teresa begging in front of a yellow church. This is a true story? (Or not?) Support the Show.

13. ENGLISH. BEDTIME STORIES FOR ADULTS. 13. "Kidnapped in Colombia." Cartagena. 2020. Carlos kidnapped me in Cartagena in broad daylight. I blame the Marxist guerilla group -- the ELN for this. I was not supposed to be in town on that Saturday, February 15, 2020. But this was the news report that kept me in Cartagena: "The National Liberation Army (ELN) is planning to hold a nationwide armed strike from Friday, February 14, through Monday, February 17. According to an ELN statement, the group plans to restrict the movement of vehicles and people during the 72-hour strike. Defense Minister Carlos Holmes Trujillo announced on Monday, February 10, that the military has been placed on maximum alert. I spent Saturday in town, on my own. I took photos, stayed too long, got lost and then...Carlos! Support the Show.

English Fiction 1. "Storks in Serbia". This is my first English Podcast. I speak Afrikaans as a first language and I write in Afrikaans. This story was published in South Africa in the magazine SARIE. I wrote this in Serbia, in the town of Mokrin, when I visited a family in 2010. There are really massive lamp posts in Mokrin, and there are storks on most of them. They sit in nests. I have 4 children. One day, I sat under a stork. I had a chat with this stork to clearly explain that I did not want any more children (you all know that storks bring babies, right? The people of Serbia found my chat with storks on lamp post hilarious. But -- this story "Storks in Serbia" was the "baby" the storks brought me on that day. I want to dedicate this first English story to my friend, Linda Weed, for her encouragement to speak in English. Without her, every Podcast would still be in Afrikaans. Support the Show.

This version of the story "Carmen Lombardi" has a music and sound effect track added. Bedtime Stories for Adults: set in Italy. Carmen was born invisible. She was child number 5 of 9 children of the famous Lombardi family in Italy. The Lombardi family was genetically superior. Lucky children born into this bloodline, soon showed traits and talents of Michelangelo, Leonardo da Vinci, Galileo, Marco Polo, or Dante. Since the 1500's, every generation brought at least one genius. Music clips from Pixabay Free Music. Thank you to all contributing artists: "Frost Waltz " by Kevin MacLeod is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 licence. https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/ "Lone Harvest" by Kevin MacLeod is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 licence. https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/ "Let the mystery unfold" and "Hiding place in the forest" : Music by Geoffrey Harvey from Pixabay "Sad piano atmosphere no pad" by Musictown from Pixabay "Waltz for Piano and Violin" by Music For Videos from Pixabay "Peaceful Classical Piano And Violin" and "Sad Melodic Classical Waltz" by Ashot-Danielyan-Composer from Pixabay "For When It Rains" Music by Juan Sanchez from Pixabay "Moonlight Sonata" Music by 23843807 from Pixabay Support the Show.

Jack wants to move to Canada with his wife Sheila, and their two children. He asks on all social media platforms about money. How much will be enough for his family? This question is the first question all immigrants ask when they have a job offer. Will this amount be enough for us to live in Canada? Support the show