"(? "theme from the twilight zone"?" ")" "(heartbeat)" "toby." "toby, toby... toby!" "mary:" "ernest, it's so quiet." "is he all right?" "he's fine, dear." "he's just playing." "you know i worry, ernest." "i know, dear." "bring." "dinner's ready." "toby?" "toby, are you hungry?" "doughnuts, mama." "doughnuts!" "no, no, no, son." "you had doughnuts yesterday." "come on, toby." "you like chicken." "toby, toby... come on." "doughnuts!" "you eat the dinner your mama cooked." "maybe for dessert." "ifyou eat your dinner." "toby, chew your food." "doughnuts." "all right, toby, let daddy get the picture." "doughnuts!" "doughnuts!" "bring!" "he didn't look at the picture." "mary, he did it without the picture." "he's never... yes, he has." "it's only doughnuts, ernest." "you know how he loves them." "toby:" "mama, doughnut." "chew, chew." "(whimpering) toby, shh!" "hurts, mama." "toby... toby... all right, now, toby." "mama's going to take your temperature." "hurts, mama!" "hurts!" "i was afraid of this." "it's those doughnuts." "two. he only had two." "if he doesn't need to see the picture anymore, he could have had another dozen after we put him to bed." "he eats anything he can fit in his mouth." "mary:" "he's burning up." "call that nice dr. keller." "i know he'll come." "he doesn't make house calls any more." "no one does." "he'll have to." "tell him it's an emergency." "he'll say that's what emergency rooms are for." "we've been through this." "tell him!" "just tell him!" "tell him what?" "mama!" "please." "are you calling dr. keller?" "i'm calling an ambulance." "we can't!" "(screaming)" "is he all right?" "what's wrong with toby?" "food poisoning." "we pumped his stomach." "he'll be fine but he should stay overnight for observation." "overnight?" "is that necessary?" "our boy is very uncomfortable away from home." "don't worry." "we'll take good care of him." "the children's ward has color television, comic books, games... no." "if he must stay, he must have a private room." "my wife and i will stay with him." "no television." "no comic books." "very well." "i'll make the arrangements for the room." "good morning." "mr. and mrs. ross, i'm miss kemp." "this must be toby." "toby." "i'm miss kemp, toby." "toby seems just fine this morning." "we'd like to take him home." "oh, i'm sure the doctor will be discharging him shortly." "in the meantime, i'd like to have a little chat with you." "chat?" "i... i... i think we would just prefer to take our son home as soon as possible." "i understand that." "but i do have a few questions." "i'm with children and family services." "with regards to your son's schooling, we have no record of any." "toby's retarded." "he doesn't understand." "he's a very special boy." "he's very excitable." "i wasn't talking about an ordinary curriculum." "you do know, don't you, that even the most severely retarded children can be educable?" "there are special classes for children like toby." "ernest:" "we do appreciate your concern, but we prefer to care for our son ourselves." "he's very suggestible." "he's a sweet boy, but he doesn't understand." "we've made such great strides in treating special children like toby." "we can teach them almost anything... ernest:" "what?" "!" "no, toby!" "pictures. give!" "no pictures!" "miss kemp:" "it's all right." "i've read it." "let him have it." "pictures." "pictures, mama." "(shrieks) toby, it's all right." "mama's here." "we'll take you home." "you can look at your toy book." "don't cry." "we don't allow him to look at such things." "it was only a magazine." "there's nothing wrong with a magazine." "we'll be the judge of what's right and wrong for our son." "get his things." "we're leaving." "you can't just walk out." "can't we?" "i feel sorry for the kid." "anything we can do?" "i can look into the home situation." "these aren't the dark ages." "i expect i'll be seeing a lot of the ross family." "we're home." "everything will be fine now." "you go play." "be a good boy." "what will we do?" "i know he saw it." "he stared at it all the way down the block." "what if he brings it?" "he has his toy book." "he will forget." "it was only a squirrel." "it will be dead if it arrives." "i will bury it in the backyard with the others like i always do." "please, remember your heart." "you know i worry." "ernest, that woman-- miss kemp... she won't bother us." "i'll take care of it." "mary, please." "he's a good boy, ernest." "he just doesn't understand." "maybe that woman is right." "maybe a class... some kind of a special teacher... mary." "just a little help." "just for a few days." "just a couple of hours." "that's not wrong of me, is it?" "for just... just a few hours." "maybe we could... we could go to dinner to a nice restaurant." "just the two of us." "maybe we could go to a movie." "how long has it been since we've seen a movie?" "i know you're tired." "it would be nice to have someone share the burden, but we can't, mary." "we can't. he's ours." "our son. our responsibility." "if we leave him alone for just a few hours, there's no telling what sort of things he might see... or what he might bring." "bring." "mary." "i made you some tea." "how nice." "you didn't need to do that." "where's toby?" "still in his room, playing or sleeping." "he's fine." "try not to worry." "you know i can't help it." "i'll just peek in and see if he's all right." "i'll be right back." "toby?" "toby?" "toby?" "toby, what are you...?" "ernest:" "mary?" "mar... mar... mary!" "(doorbell)" "i hope i'm not disturbing you, mr. ross." "i'm so sorry about your wife." "oh, yes." "well, thank you." "thank you." "mary. she was so very tired." "she was never a very strong woman, and all the stress... hello, toby." "toby." "you've come about toby, of course." "i don't mean to intrude on your grief, mr. ross, but i believe you need my help now more than ever with your wife gone." "i've brought some literature you may want to take a look at." "you want to put him in an institution?" "pictures!" "it's very nice." "i won't... send toby away." "ernest:" "now, if you're done, i'm very tired." "i'm not done." "i've done some investigating since the last time we spoke." "i've talked to your neighbors and former employer and your wife's family." "unless you'll listen to reason, i have grounds to remove toby from your custody." "i see." "how you treat him is appalling-- almost medieval." "your neighbors say he is a virtual prisoner here." "you never take him outside-- not even for walks." "you've boarded up the windows of this house." "you don't allow him to play with other children." "you don't take him to the park or the zoo." "your wife's sister says you don't even allow him the meager solace of a television." "no. no, we don't." "it's all right, toby." "(whimpering) she won't hurt you." "no, i think you've hurt him enough." "sit down, miss kemp." "don't say another word." "sit down." "you want to take toby from me?" "then maybe it's time you knew something about him." "dad... boo... boo... book!" "toby." "toby, toby!" "boy loves books-- photo books, comics, magazines, anything with pictures in it." "toby... come, toby." "come to papa." "come here." "bring for papa." "bring it here." "bring... bring, bring, toby." "bring." "ernest:" "sharp!" "no, no, no." "sharp." "there are a lot of sharp things in this world." "a lot of dangerous things." "do you understand?" "i'm trying to talk to you about your son's future, and you're doing parlor tricks." "prove it to yourself." "go on." "all right, toby." "bring this." "mr. ross, this is not... bring!" "(screams)" "what is this, mr. ross?" "some kind of... a miracle?" "a miracle?" "no, miss kemp." "it's more like a curse." "why do you say that, mr. ross?" "this boy has a gift!" "he has a talent nobody else has ever had." "he saw a puppy on television one day before we got rid of the set." "he wanted it so he brought it." "it was dead when it arrived." "he can bring back living things, but he forgets." "our back yard is full of what i've buried there." "do you still want to take him to the zoo?" "do you still think he needs to play with other children?" "most of the time, he needs a picture." "now sometimes toby just remembers." "i owe you an apology." "toby was never the prisoner." "it was us-- mary and me." "all right, mr. ross, listen to me." "it doesn't have to be that way." "toby still needs help." "he needs it now more than ever." "you know what kind of help the world will give him?" "they'll lock him up-- run their tests and experiments-- use him if they could for whatever they want." "toby won't say no." "he can't say no." "when they're finished with him, what will the life of one little retarded boy be worth?" "he is my son, and this is his home." "get out!" "out!" "get out!" "get out!" "i can't leave and forget this." "get out!" "i have to report... no, toby, don't." "mama." "toby!" "bring!" "no, toby!" "toby, don't look." "don't look." "that's not mama." "that's not mama." "i'll take it away." "i'll take it away." "i'll take it out." "i'll get rid of it." "it's all right." "it's all right." "i'm sorry, mary... the picture... he doesn't understand." "it was my fault." "i never should have... (distant siren) it's time." "it's time." "toy." "(approaching siren)" "(approaching siren)" "good boy, toby." "you've always been such a good boy." "book." "book, toby." "look." "look." "see?" "oh, isn't that pretty?" "pretty... yeah." "the colors-- like a sunset-- red and yellow and orange." "isn't that pretty?" "(approaching siren) i love you, my good boy." "toby:" "bring."