"Sometimes, late at night, you can still feel the loneliness..." "Like an animal in the dark, ready to pounce." "It can make a warm memory seem empty and unfamiliar." "Past things seem insignificant." "And even faith can seem trivial and worthless." "My dear Leon." "I remember the day you were born." "You were my little angel." "Always so full of joy." "So full of life." "And then, one day..." "Everything changed." "Our father who art in heaven," " ...hallowed be thy name." " More than anyone, you deserved... an explanation." "You needed to know why your father did what he did." "But that is God's secret." "You were too young then, too angry to accept it." "Too stubborn to see that the soul lives on long after death." "You closed yourself away, and as you grew," "I prayed that your faith would return." "But you only became more distant." "And sometimes, late at night, you still feel the loneliness, and you've learned that pain doesn't give up that easily." "That despair is an affliction of the godless." "My dear Leon, you are in a terrible danger unless you can recognize that your soul lives on long after death." "It is the only thing that can save you..." "And bring us together again." "Hi." "This is Bill Phillips with tribal trade." "I'm not available at the moment." "Please leave a message, and I'll return your call within 24 hours." "Thank you for using voicemail." "Bill, it's Leon." "Give me a call." "I wish we could talk like we used to." "But once you left, you never came back." "It's been so long since you even called." "It's so hard being alone." "There are always strangers at the door, and they always want something." "This house is a holy place." "And even though you never visited me here..." "I have left behind a few reminders for you." "I leave everything I have to the only person in my life." "You." "I spent the entire week preparing for this, and I walk in, and it's all right here." "I don't know what to tell you, Leon." "I had strict orders to buy everything you sold." "And you didn't think that I'd find that interesting?" "Uh, had no idea." "You don't think it's a little weird that somebody is only interested in items from my personal collection?" "I'm a broker, you know the drill." "Confidentiality is always assured." "Listen to me." "I swear, I had no idea it was your mother who was buying up all your items." "You gotta believe me, Leon." "Hello?" "You there?" "Yeah." "I got enough on my mind just getting the best price, never mind keeping tabs on who's buying." " You know what I'm saying?" " Yeah." "When was the last time you saw her anyway?" "It's been a while." "I'm sorry." "I know it's a tough time." "Listen, if you wanna put any of that stuff back on the market, just let me know, okay?" "I can move it for you all over again, double your take." "Okay." "Yeah." "Um... thanks, Bill." "Yeah." "Don't mention it." "Call me if you need anything, okay?" "Yeah." "Bye." "Come back here." "Believe." "Angry God!" "Ours is a fearful God!" "We have the signs." "We have the word..." "Of his ministers on the earth, and by our faith, we see what the unbelievers cannot." "...hosts of angels." "The world is full of atheists, and sinners of the mind, but we are people of the faith..." "Hi." "Hello." "I'm from next door." "I was a good friend of your mother." " Oh, hi, I'm Leon." " I know who you are." "She spoke about you often." "We're very saddened by what happened." "We mourned her long, and miss her deeply." " Thanks." "I appreciate that." " May I come in?" "Now's not really a great time, but..." " Perhaps later then?" " Yeah." "We are a close community here." "We've had many special moments in this old house." "It is truly blessed." "Do you believe in angels, Leon?" "Your mother believed in them deeply, as do we." "Perhaps you will join us once you're settled in." "Yeah, sure." "Thanks for stopping by." "One more thing." "There's an animal that's come out of the woods." "It's probably sick, so it might be dangerous." "You should be careful." "Okay, I will." "The woods belong to God, but every so often, something bad comes out of them." "Okay, I'll keep that in mind." "Bye, Leon." "God bless you." "Yeah." "Anna." "Leon, what's up?" "Hey." "Uh, not much." "How are you?" "Well, I'm busy, as usual." "Yeah." "Uh..." "You called." "Yeah." "I, uh..." "I..." "I can't remember why I called." "Um..." "Look, I really don't have time for this." "Okay, no, no, no." "It's just, um..." "I'm at my mom's place now." "Uh-huh." "Yeah, it's..." "I had no idea." "Um..." "Something happened that I can't really explain." "What are you talking about?" "Um..." "You know, I was just around and settling in, and, uh, I left the room for a second," "I came back, and there's this statue on the TV when I didn't put it there." "In fact, I distinctly remember seeing it in the basement." " And you're sure?" " I'm positive." "How are you feeling?" "How am I feeling?" "Uh..." "I wanna know why that statue's on the TV." "Tunnel reality." "Tu... what?" "I'm surmising, but the statue has connotations for you." "Probably not positive ones." "Is that true?" " Yeah." " Yeah." "So look, you didn't see the statue, because you didn't wanna see it." "It's probably because you didn't feel emotionally ready to see it, and yet, you clearly have a need to come to terms with it since you were the one that brought it up the stairs, and put it in plain view so that you would notice it." "It's the statue your mother gave you, isn't it?" "Yeah, yeah." "Same one she used to punish you?" "It wasn't..." "It was more of a test." "No, you don't test a nine-year-old boy by lighting candles and asking him if he believes in God." " Could've said yes." " Yes, but you said no." "And then, she'd start to blow out all the candles, and what would she say was gonna happen when all the candles were blown out?" "Leon." "What?" "I want to hear you say it." "Said the angel would turn its back and..." "Stop protecting me." "And that's why I never liked your mother." "Well, you cleared it up for me." "Well, it's far from clear to me." "Okay." "I think you need to give it some more thought, and allow the feelings associated with the statue to... express themselves." " Yeah, yeah." " You need to." "So is that all?" "You still talk like a doctor." "I am a doctor." "Good night, Leon." "Night, doctor." "There was a time when I was everything to you." "A time when you loved me as much as I loved you." "A time when you sought my comfort whenever you were sad, or afraid." "But you never liked the game of candles." "You never could forget it." "And a desperate thought entered your head." "That's when you started to hate me, your own mother." "You left me all alone." "The funeral was empty without you." "When communicating with the dead, it is not necessary to resort to elaborate techniques or obscure occult rituals." "Spirits communicate through the most refined apparatus known to us... our senses." "It is merely a matter of tuning ourselves to the right frequency to achieve discourse with the dead." "All that is required is a quiet place close to the deceased, focused concentration, and a bit of patience." "Find a comfortable place and a relaxing position." "Close your eyes." "Empty yourself of all your thoughts." "All of your feelings." "All of your worries." "Empty yourself now." "All that is left is yourself." "The self you know." "The self that is pure and safe." "You are exactly where you want to be." "You are aware of your self in a way you have never been before." "Spread out into it." "Feel the warmth of your living self." "Feel it." "Someone else is here." "Leon." "You know who it is." "Feel them." "Feel their presence." "Do not rush it." "Think of what you would like to say." "Think of what you would like to say to that person, and say it." "We can see what the unbelievers don't." "Raise your arms." "Raise your arms, and ask the holy host to look upon us as he has in the past, and by his gaze, strengthen our faith." "Ask, children." "Ask, sister." "Look upon her." "Ask, brother." "Look upon him." "Look upon him." "Look upon her." "Look upon us." "Raise your arms, sisters." "Ask the holy host." "Look upon this brother." "This brother of faith." "Look upon us." "Look upon us!" "Look upon us." "Look upon us." "Look upon us." "Look upon us." "Believe or suffer." "This is the message we've been handed." "Our God is a loving God, but he is also a God of wrath and anger." "A God of punishment." "I remember the day you told me that you didn't believe anymore." "That people don't have souls." "We come from nothing and go to nothing." "That's what you said." "How, in one second, you were alive, and in the next, you were gone." "Just like your father." "And all the time you spoke, I listened patiently..." "And then, it was time to play the game of candles, but you got angry and blew them all out." "That's when you felt the darkness touch you, and it felt cold and empty." "I re-lit it just in time." "But you were scared, and you blamed me for scratching you." "But I was only trying to protect you." "Only trying to stop you from making a terrible mistake." "Leon." "Hello." "Hello!" "Anybody there?" "Hello, Mr. Leigh." "How can I help you tonight?" "I just had a disturbance a few minutes ago." "I think, um, someone may have been trying to break in my house." "Would you like me to call the police, Mr. Leigh?" "Uh, no, no." "It's okay now." "Okay." "Very well, then." "You said this happened a few minutes ago." "Yeah, that's right." "If you like, we can review your data online" " with one of our surveillance experts." " Yeah, that'd be fine." " Please hold." " Thank you." "And that was "and the angel said unto them,"" "from Philip Fournier's grey childhood." "You are listening to ascension, music for your salvation." "Good evening, Mr. Leigh." "I understand you've had an incident" " occur outside your home." " Yes." "I also understand you would like to review" " the data online." " Yes." "Are you currently in front of a working computer?" "Yes." "Please access our site at Winchester surveillance now." "Okay." "Please click on the account tab." "Okay." "Can you tell me your password, please?" "L-e-o-n." "Thank you." "You have been connected." "You have a single camera outside your home." " Is that correct?" " Yes." "I will pull the data beginning from midnight." "Does that sound reasonable to you?" "Yes." "You should be able to see our data on your screen." "I'm afraid the lighting is not very good." "I will try to enhance the image." "Just a moment, please." "What is that moving?" "It appears to be an animal." "What kind of animal?" "I regret to inform you that our information is incomplete." "Just a mo..." "Hello?" "Hello." "Fuck." "All right." "How are you, Leon?" "Leon." "Hello?" "Um... there's something happening." "Calm down." "What's the matter?" "There's... there's somebody in the house." " Who?" "Who is it?" " I don't know." "I just..." " Have you called the police?" " No, no, no." "It's, um..." "It's not that kind of somebody." " Okay, Leon?" " Yeah." " I want you to do something for me, okay?" " What?" "I can tell you're upset, so I want you to trust me, okay?" "Yeah." "Yeah." "I want you to close your eyes." " Oh, no..." " Trust me, Leon." "Can you do that for me?" " Yeah." " Okay, good." "Now listen to me." "Leon, I want you to picture a pool of water inside of you." "Can you do that for me?" "Yeah." "The water is warm and calm, and every second, it is rising in you." "Feel it rising in your body, through your chest." "Can you feel it?" "Yeah." "Okay." "Can you feel it spreading out from you, warming and calming everything around you?" "Can you feel it, Leon?" "Yeah." "Flowing through you, calming you, washing away everything around you, until the only thing that is left is the calm." "Now open your eyes." "Leon, are you there?" " Is everything okay?" " Yeah." "Good." "Now listen, it's late, and I really need to get some rest." "Okay." "So no more calls, okay?" "No." "Good night, Leon." "Yeah, good night." "Thank you." "Leon." "Believe." "No." " Believe." " No!" "Believe." "No." "I don't believe it." "Tribal trade." "Bill Phillips here." "Bill, it's Leon." "Leon?" "What time is it?" "I wanna sell everything." "I want it all gone." "I'll send you a full inventory in a couple of days." "Um... yeah." "Sure." "Okay?" "Thanks." "Sorry for waking you up." "Don't go." "There's so much I want to say to you." "So much I need to explain." "I waited so long for you to come back." "I waited so long." "Until I realized you never would." "That night, I saw something through the window, and I told myself it was just a cat." "I tried to occupy myself, but I was afraid." "I could feel it watching me." "I wanted to talk to you to tell you that I'd made a mistake, that you were more important to me than anything else in the world." "But my thoughts were confused, and I kept thinking it was too big to be a cat." "That's when I realized what I'd been trying to ignore for so long." "That you had turned your back on me." "That you abandoned me." "That you no longer cared." "That my little angel would no longer protect me." "And when faith is gone..." "Loneliness can be a monster." "I thought you would come to me then." "But you never did." "The funeral was empty without you." "The loneliness is worse now than it ever was." "And all I can do is remember the way you were, and make believe." "Make believe that you came looking for me." "Make believe that you felt." "Make believe that you hoped." "Make believe that you remembered." "Remembered that the soul lives on long after death, eternally, and without end." "Make believe that you cared." "Make believe that you miss me..." "As much as I miss you."