" Not a single thing." " What do we do?" "Police line." "No one goes in or out!" "But there are other entrances." "Just make it look good." "How are you, Mrs Denning?" "We haven't found them." "Not him, nor the others." "Our town has been dead for six years." "At first we blamed the closing of the mine." "The lack of jobs." "The lack of money." "The lack of everything." "But then we had much worse to blame." "For something had come to Cold Rock." "Something bad that was destroying our town even more." "That morning, nobody knew that Cold Rock case was reaching its conclusion." "Don't drink out on the street, Rolly!" "What street?" "Julia!" "Julia, some help here, please!" "What happened?" "I don't know." "She started screaming all of the sudden, out of nowhere." " How long has she been like this?" " I don't know." " Oh my god!" " You didn't know?" "I'm not equipped for this, Tracy." "Push!" "Keep doing it." "Good, good." "When the contraction comes again, push where you feel my fingers." "Push where my fingers are." "Down." "Push deep and down." "Push!" " Push." " I can't!" "You're doing it." "Keep doing it." "Very good." "Do it again." "C'mon!" "Here it comes." "Good girl!" "That's it!" "Okay." "It's breech." "Which means the feet are coming first." "But that's fine." "I just need you to push really hard." " I can't." " Really big push for me." "Push!" "Push, Carol!" "You did it!" "There it is!" "You did it." "Why is there no sound?" " The baby is fine." "It's good." " Take her outta here." "Good work, honey." "That is my girl!" "You did such a good job." " But the baby..." "I know, honey." "Julia is gonna take very good care of her, I promise you." "C'mon." "Open your eyes." "C'mon." "Take a breath." "You can make it." "C'mon, breathe." "C'mon now, breathe." "Breathe." "Come on." "Okay." "Come on." "Breathe." "Breathe." "You can do this." "C'mon, you can make it." "Open your eyes." "There you are!" "Hello." "It's a big boy." "No hospital, Julia." "He needs monitoring, Tracy." "No." "No way." "Steven." "That bastard never made a secret of a fact that he likes my girls." "He's always parading around in front of them like a rooster." "Bare-chested and cocky with those stupid cowboy boots." "Always showing them things and teaching them this and that." "And Carol falling for all of it." "Did you realise?" "No." "God, no!" "If I had I would've shot him." "Bang, bang." "Goodbye cowboy." "Get rid of him." "This is nobody else's business, Julia, but ours." "No hospital." " They won't ask any questions." " No, we won't go." "I won't put Carol through that shame." "She's not even nineteen." "We take care of our own problems, okay?" "In Cold Rock sometimes children were born when they were not wanted." "People just managed and they didn't go hollering it from the rooftops." "It may have been a bit sad, but it was just good sense." "Because a lot worse things were happening when it came to the children." "Wanted or not, boys and girls, some of them just disappeared." "Something had come to Cold Rock that was taking the children." "Something so menacing, so terrifying that the people finally gave it a name." "She was in her room a few minutes earlier." "Then I came back and and she was gone." "She was just gone." "There wasn't a sound." "There was no scream." "There was nothing." "I just..." "looked outside and he was gone." " I just wish I have been there." " I couldn't believe it." "I looked up and down the street." "I couldn't see her anywhere." "I panicked... and all I could think of was the Tall Man." " I think he's the Devil." " What kind of people take people's kids?" " Talking about the Tall Man?" " No, that's a myth." "There's no Tall Man." " He exists." " The only Tall Man that I've ever seen is the one that kids built, the Scarecrow over there." "If this was a rich town, we'd have the whole army looking for those kids." "I saw him two times." "Going into the forest at nighttime." "Right there, like he was trying to avoid the bridge." "It's such a big place." "We've got so many places for someone to hide." "What are you talking about?" "What else could it be?" "Of course it's a child molester." "A kind of asshole who hurts the kids." " All I'm saying is that..." " What you say is bullshit, Chestnut." "It's not the Boogeyman, or the Devil, or any of that old wives tale crap." "Tall Man my ass." "The guy's got a name, and he'll shit himself like anyone else when we drag him to the chair." "You know about a lot of things, don't you Douglas?" "Give me another hit of that, Beth." "I was sitting back there, listening to you telling the sheriff your nice story." "All I'm saying is you aren't here to catch a ghost." "Right?" "Noted." "I was just making conversation." "Cheers." "Yeah." "Ladies, gents..." " Dark knight is back?" " Arrived this morning." "He's already on his fourth cup of coffee." "Short, black, no sugar." "Well, he's gotta sit up all night in his car." " Hi, guys." " Hi, Julia." "He'll start messing about, making his bullshit rounds, and all that for what?" " You mean Dodd?" " I mean Sherlock Holmes." "Yeah, like clockwork." "Last kid disappeared two months ago." "Won't be long before the next one goes." "Dodd's back on the trail." "What difference will that make?" "Eh, Julia?" "This town is already finished." "Yeah, I guess everyone is feeling pretty down." " Tell me about that." " Mrs Johnson!" " She's gone." " I haven't seen her in weeks." "Sweet Jesus!" "She looks even worse than before." "She wouldn't mind a cup of coffee." "She wouldn't mind a winning lottery ticket." "For you, Mrs Johnson." "From Trish." "Don't you want it?" "I think it may do you some good." "Wow." "I know I might've blacked out last night, celebrating the birth of my baby boy, but I know I didn't order up no nurse." "Good morning to you too, Steven." " What the hell are you doing here?" " Just picking up the pieces." "Really?" "And who do you think you are?" " I know who I am." " What the fuck's that supposed to mean?" " I'm talking to you." " What?" "You wanna hit me too?" "Stay out of our business." "I really care about Carol." "I know." "Like you care about your bike." "I don't like your style." "May he rest in peace, your husband left behind some pretty big shoes to fill." "After all, he was a doctor." "You're just a nurse." "Stick to changing diapers and get off my back." " Hey, Tracy." " Hey." "Come on in, take a seat." "Thanks." "So, how is that sweet boy?" "He's okay." "Actually, I sent them away to my sister's in Seattle." "She's got a big house, and they are close to everything, and... they're just kinda better off." "Carol's in no shape to travel, Tracy." "Yeah, but they made it there fine." "Julia, look, I still have to make a living." "I've got a job interview in Kaslo in 45 minutes." "Good pay, good job, good tips." "I can't be here all day to help Carol." "You gotta understand me." " Yeah, I get it." " You know, I gotta hold on, Julia." "No, honestly, Tracy, I understand." "You want me to make you some coffee or something?" "He's still here?" "Yeah." "You gotta give me some time with that, okay?" "It's not so simple." "He's kinda hard to handle." "Trust me, you just gotta let me handle this." "What about Jenny?" "Hey." "Your mom went to Kaslo." "You haven't been doing your speech therapy, have you?" "Okay." "I'm here now." "So... speak." "Why are you always hiding behind all this hair?" "You're so pretty." "So, you believe it too?" "He was like an ancient legend." "Something from a book of fairy tales, or an old song." "Everyone talked about the Tall Man all the time because everyone was afraid of him." "People were always afraid he'd strike again." "And when he did, they thanked their lucky stars he took someone else's kid." "Maybe they felt a little guilty thinking that way, but that feeling didn't last long." "For everyone's got their problems to deal with." "It's not just good or bad, it's just the way it is." " Hey." " Hi." " Done for today?" " Yeah." "There's some more groceries in the car." "Is everything okay?" "Yeah." "He's been looking forward to you getting home." " Yeah?" " Yeah." "Yes?" "Hey, sweetheart." "That's a beautiful song." "Christine told me that you missed me today." "I missed you too." "What did you do all day?" " We made a baking soda volcano." " And you made it erupt?" " Yeah." " How did you do that?" "We put baking soda and then we put vinegar and then it exploded everywhere." "Guess what we're having for dinner tonight?" "Brussels sprouts!" "Hey guys, dinner's in half an hour!" "Okay!" " Wow, what's that?" " That's a gorilla." " Where does he live?" " He lives in..." "Australia." "You think so?" "Maybe he can live in a jungle somewhere." "This fish can live in our moat." "And he can patrol our waters, so that no one can come by, and he'll eat everybody." " Bomb!" " Bomb!" "Do the number trick." "I taught him a number trick." " Think of a number." " Okay." " Double it." " Wait, that's too fast." "Okay, think of a number." " Double it." "Add on six." " Okay." "Half it and when it's cut in the half, take away the first number you thought of, and your answer is three." "I know!" "I know!" "Works every time!" "Okay, buddy." "There you go." "Do you still have to go to work tomorrow?" "Yeah." "But I'll try not to finish too late." "Can we play together again when you get home?" "I promise." "Good night, David." "What did you guys do today?" "It's not what we did, it's what he asked." " What did he ask?" " Brought up a T word." " Television." " What did you say?" "I said it was an evil brainwashing tool used by big corporations to corrupt the peoples." " Come on!" " Thanks." "He did ask me to buy one to watch cartoons." "And how did you respond?" " I chose to ignore the question." " Right." "Of course." "I saw Tracy today." " The baby?" " Shipped off to Seattle." "Typical." "I saw Steven too." "He informed me how shitty I was compared to my husband." "Yeah, figures." "It's just weird." "They just feel like they own a part of him or something." "That's what he meant to this town, right?" "He... helped them." " He tried." " He was a freaking saint." "I'm just tired talking about it." "I know I bring it up all the time." "I'm sorry." " Ta-da!" " Oh, dear Lord." "You know you love it." "I don't know." "I don't..." " How much?" "Tell me when." " Just a... when." "This is gonna give me such a headache." "Just drink it." "It'll make it go away." "I don't think I can drink that." "This really..." "I'm okay." "I know I am." "All right, you little devil." "Where are you?" "All we have sinned and falling short of the glory of God!" "We're damned!" "We're all going to Hell." "There's nothing you can do." "The only salvation that is possible for you is the blood of the Lamb..." "Christine?" "Last week I was sitting on a plane from Memphis to Orlando." "A gentleman was sitting next to me, a very kind man." "He looked at me and he said:" ""Pastor, I do good works."" ""I take care of my family." "I look after my friends."" "I looked him square in the eye and said: "That's marvelous!"" ""Tell the Devil about it, cause you're going to Hell!"" "Oh my God!" "Christine!" "Tell me." "Tell me." "David?" "David?" "David?" "David!" "David?" "Okay." "Tell me." "Tell me." "David!" "David!" "Stop!" "David!" "David!" "...difficulties we find here is the lack of resolution." "A child goes missing without a trace." "There's no closure." "It's so frustrating." "You would think that..." "David!" "David!" "Mrs Denning?" "Shit!" "Mrs Denning?" "Here, let me help you." "Okay." "Can you stand?" "Lieutenant, request received." "Central is sending reinforcement." "Two cars." "They're leaving Seattle right now." "ETA two hours." "Repeat, ETA two hours." "Dodd, I'm on my way." "I'm on the highway already." "That was the guy we're looking for, right?" "I'm on my way too, lieutenant." "Going as fast as I can." "We're gonna get that son of a bitch." "Come on." "You are gonna be okay." "You're gonna be just fine." "Damn!" " We've got an emergency here." " Oh my God!" "Julia!" "What happened to you?" "I found her on a road." "Asshole who did this is still out there." "You want me to go with you?" "No, you stay here." "Get an ambulance." "Take care of her." "Are you sure?" "Everything will be alright." "Hey!" "Give it a rest." "Give us some space." " You're hurt, sweety." " What happened, Julia?" "It's okay." "It's okay." "Now, you wait right here." "I'll be right back." "Go get cleaned up." "I left a towel and some clean clothes in my office." "And when you're done, maybe you can tell me what's going on." "Thank you." "I don't know what to say." "Be careful, sheriff." "Think about your pension." "How far are you away from retirement?" "Eight months?" "We gotta warn the department of Pittsville." "Yeah, they're armed with two white rabbits." " Wasn't supposed to happen like this." " That's why you have to go to the mine." " I wanna know what she's up to." " Jesus Christ!" " We're on the same boat, brother." " Don't 'brother' me, you prick!" "I have to think." "Let me think!" "Yeah, you do that." "She's looking at the kid's picture." "She suspects something, I can tell you." "What do we do?" " I'll go get her." " Don't move." "Take a seat." "Shit!" "She's left." "That bitch is in the forest!" "Grab what you need out of your trucks." "Steven, I need you to take that group, take them into the forest." "You find her, you bring her to me." " I'll find her." "Don't do anything stupid." "You find her, you hang onto her." "Then leave it to me." "You still need to think, big boy?" "C'mon, all of us!" "Let's go!" "She's not gonna go far." "We'll stop her now!" "Sheriff, this is Campbell." "We just received the call from central in Seattle." "They're sending reinforcement." "It sounds like Dodd is chasing our guy." "Are you hearing this?" "Do you copy, sheriff?" "Yeah, yeah, I'm copying." "Asshole." "How am I even supposed to do this job?" "I've got two lousy cars, I've got a useless deputy." "No, no, she's not caught." "She's hiding in the forest." "They'll get her." "You stay put." "I'll call you." "David?" "Mommy!" "It's all over, angel." "Everything's okay." "She scares me." "It's all over, baby." "It's all over." "It took me an hour to calm him down." "Just to get him to recognize me." "Do you know how a mother feels when her child does not recognize her?" "He'd been brainwashed." "You told him I was gone." "What the fuck are you up to?" "Last night, like almost every night," "I went into the woods to try to find the bastard who took my son." "Tall Man." "Old lady Ashcroft said she'd seen him twice at nightfall." "So I walked." "I walked." "And I walked." "And then by chance I came to your house." "Chance or intuition, call it what you like." "And he was there." "I couldn't believe it, but he was there." "I went round and around and around in my head, trying to make sense of it." "Did I dream that?" "My mind turned to Trish." "She made an altar for him, like she did for all the others." "Four candles and prayers for his return." "When you talk to Trish, she listens." "She never saw me as a freak." "She wasn't the first one I saw." "When I looked into your eyes, I knew I wasn't mad." "It wasn't enough for you to see me like that." "You had to offer me your God damn coffee." "It's your innocent air and your angel face, right?" "Were you worried?" "Did you feel guilty?" "Or are you just the most cynical bitch the world has ever seen that you offer a coffee to a woman whose child you kidnapped." "I waited for you to leave." "I waited for the diner to empty." "At first Trish didn't believe me." "People around here all trust you, Julia Denning." "But I talked and I talked, and I talked, until she started to have doubts." "And when they were big enough, just big enough, I told her I was gonna get my kid back." "And she said "You're gonna break into Julia's house?"" "and I said "If he's not there, you can drive me to the loony bin yourself."" "She decided to keep the diner open all night." "Waiting up for my news with some of the other regulars." "But it's not me they saw arriving." "When I saw you at the window with my son," "I thought about calling the cops." "But I don't trust them." "All they've ever done for me is kick me out of my house." "They don't care." "Look where they forced me to live with my son!" "You took my baby away." "And the other children too." "Where are they?" "Where are the other kids?" "Julia, you tell me what you've done with the other children, or I swear you'll die." "I gave them to the Tall Man." "Who is he?" "Don't you know?" "The whole town is talking about him." "Don't mess with me, Julia." "Who is he?" "He is the one everyone's talking about." "Mommy?" "Come here, angel." "She won't hurt you anymore." "Look at my son, Julia, and tell him you lied." "Tell him you're nothing to him." "He has to hear it from you." "David!" "David!" "No!" "Let go!" "No!" "Where did you learn how to do that?" "This evening police scanners are very busy indeed." "We have noticed a lot of increased traffic." "FBI presence in town, and our news reporter Amy Wilkinson..." " ...can you hear me?" " Yes David, hello, hi." "Yes, it seems that things are finally starting to happen here..." "Thank God, you did it!" " He's never going back there." " What happened?" "We don't have any time." "The whole town will be here soon." "It's over." "Go home, Jenny." "Just go home and don't say anything to anyone." "Remember that number trick that you showed us at dinner?" "You take a number, multiply it by something, add six, and the result is always three?" "You don't know what you're talking about." "It's a really good trick." "It always works." "I just don't remember what you did?" "Want us to go again?" "Please don't ask me to do that." "You couldn't bear it, believe me." "Remember eating the brussels sprouts?" "Doesn't matter what number you take..." "It's always three." "Jenny knows." "She knows." "She's been watching me for weeks." " That's impossible." " We got comfortable." " We got sloppy." " How much does she know?" "She wants to see him." "You take him down and we go." "You do it and we leave, right?" "Tell me you're not gonna stay here." "No!" "Of course you're still here." "I gave him your name, where you live." "Perhaps he'll come." "But if you say anything, Jenny, he'll come for sure." "But not in a way that you want." "Cause he'll do things to you that you can't even imagine." "Get outta here." "Julia!" "Bitch, open up!" " Shut up and let me do the talking." " Julia, open the goddamned door!" "You're not gonna break through." "The cops are coming." "You're dead, bitch!" "The cops are coming." "They'll be dealing with her, do you understand?" "Okay?" "Everything's gonna be fine." "Are you alright?" "For God's sake, Campbell, I told you to keep her away from the window." " Sorry, sheriff." " Keep her away from the damn window." "They wanna tear her apart." "C'mon." "Let's go." " Lieutenant, there's too many." " We're not waiting." "Just keep your looks straight ahead." "Deputy, you're on the right." "When we get out of that door, I want you to head straight for the..." "Shit!" "Come on, let's go." "Keep your head down." "Look at the ground in front of you." "Do not engage." "We're headed straight for the car." "Don't say a word." "Don't talk back." "Look straight down." "Now, let's go!" "You're gonna die!" "Where's my baby?" "Okay, go, go!" "Where's my baby?" "Let's go!" "Go!" "Go!" "Keep your head down, Mrs Denning." "Down!" "Nice little workshop." "Hey." "Shit." "Oh mercy!" "Did you know this house was built over this shaft?" "There are holes everywhere here." "More than 40 square miles of them." "It's gonna be a pain in the ass." " Bad for us, Chestnut." "The whole region is sitting on the same swiss cheese." "If the children are down here." "It'll take us a 100 men and 20 years to find them if they're down here." "And who's to say she didn't use this as a passageway out into the woods?" "No." "Gonna need everybody." "Get them outside." "Gonna need lights." " Not a single thing." " What do we do?" "Police line." "No one goes in or out!" "How are you, Mrs Denning?" "We haven't found them." "Not him, nor the others." "Don't tell me..." "Don't tell me that's what I have to tell the parents." "Keep going." "Now, I'm getting to understand that your husband was a well respected man around here, Mrs Denning." "Yes, he was." "And there was a large age difference between you, isn't that right?" "Yes." "He was a doctor in Cold Rock from 1992. until when?" "Until the end." "His end." "How would you describe his relationship to the people around here?" "He kept this community together." "Cold Rock was dignified then." "He helped to create that dignity." "Yes." "And then the mine shut down." "And moral declined." "And he was gone when the children were paying the price." "The children?" "They were suffering so much." "I had to do something." "Could you explain that for me, Mrs Denning?" "Did you keep them in that room, one after the other?" "In a real children's room, with books." "And toys, and music." "It's filled with beautiful things." "And Christine?" "She looked after the children when you were away?" "Yes." "Apparently, you told David's mother that you delivered the children to someone you called 'the Tall Man'." "The whole of Cold Rock chose that name." "Mrs Denning, is there a man, whatever his name, to whom you delivered the children?" "No." "You acted alone?" "Yes." "You yourself, Mrs Denning, you were never able to bear children, were you?" "We couldn't have children." "Mrs Denning, did you kidnap the children of Pittsville county?" "Yes." "Did you make those children disappear?" "Mrs Denning, are those children dead?" "Did you kill them?" "Did you kill them, Mrs Denning?" "Mrs Denning?" "Cold Rock, USA," "Pittsville county," "Washington State, shut down mine, no school, miles of forest and a labyrinth of tunnels." "Possibly the worst place ever to search for traces of 18 missing children." "Last victim's name," "David Johnson." "How are you managing, Mrs Johnson?" " I'm holding on." " Good." "Okay, you wanna come in?" "Have a seat." "We need you to avoid confrontation." "We need you to appeal to her as a mother." "Do you understand?" "I understand." "If any single remark or question shuts her down, we get nothing." "We have found no trace of the kids, and she doesn't talk to us anymore." "Mrs Johnson, if you feel that you cannot go through with this right now, you need to let me know." "No, I'm ready." "You try not to focus on anything too specific." "You just talk to her, you listen to her." "You try to get her to open up." "If we get anything, it will be because she didn't realise it." "Do you understand?" "I know why you're here." "You want answers." "Yes." "There's nothing I can say that's gonna give you any comfort." "Julia..." "I can't live." "I keep turning things around in my mind." "And I miss him, you know." "It's unbearable, the missing him." "Thinking about him all the time, wondering where he is." "I know." "I don't think you do, Julia." "But I do know." "I was a mother to each and every one of them." "They had everything they could ever possibly need." "Julia, I know I live in a dump." "I don't have a job and life for me is hard, but I would still die for him, you know." "It's the same everywhere." "The defeat and the pain." "It's a cycle." "A cycle?" "You shouldn't have come here." "What cycle?" "The system is broken." "It doesn't work." "There's nowhere to turn, there's no support." "I've seen it all over the world." "It's just easier to give up." "I'm not... any better than you, Mrs Johnson." "I've just seen more." "It's not a matter of being a good person or being a bad person, it's about how you cope." "We are so limited." "But the eyes of every child are filled with potential and hope, and we should embrace and nourish that potential, but we don't." "We continue to make the same mistakes." "We continue to let the children grow up broken and lost, just like their parents." "We have to break the cycle." "It has to be the priority, but it's not." "That's what I've been trying to do." "That's what I've done everywhere." "And what did I change?" "Nothing!" "Yes I cared, I helped, I cuddled." "Thinking I was bringing change, thinking I was making a difference." "But when we asked for real change, all these bureaucrats said:" ""No, you can't do that." "There's a process"." "Every time you question the politicians and the system that makes poor people poor and the children suffer, they said "no you can't do that, there's a process", so the cycle goes on and goes on and goes on." "And the children continue to suffer and no one does anything about it, and the world will never change." "God, I'm just torturing you." "If you're done, can you answer two simple questions?" "The parents of Cold Rock need to know." "Are the children dead?" "No!" "I couldn't keep them all." "Where are they?" "In the forest." "In the tunnels." "Everywhere." "Baby killer!" "You're mine, bitch!" "I'm not bringing her back!" " No." " What do you mean no?" "I don't care what your fucking sister said!" "Carol needs to come back!" "Steven, bring your voice down." "I'm not gonna bring my fucking voice down!" "You're drunk!" "We're gonna talk about this tomorrow." "No!" "It's your fault." "Carol needs to come back." "Do you want me to hit you?" "Don't!" "Don't!" "Learn to goddamn shut your mouth!" "Do you wanna get hit?" "Oh baby!" "Get off me, you little..." "Son of a bitch!" "Baby, come here." "Don't you touch her." "Don't you ever touch her!" "You didn't miss me this time, honey." "Nice shot." "You bastard." "Jenny!" "Jenny, where are you, honey?" "Come back, baby." "It's okay!" "I'm okay!" "I'm probably not what you were dreaming of, but you're not a baby yourself, dear." "Can you wait here for a moment?" "Yes, I think it will be alright." "It has to be." "As far as we're concerned, Jenny Weaver is dead." "Please meet Vera Parker Leigh." "Watch over carefully." "Our field officer wasn't able to give her a proper transition." "Be extremely careful the first few weeks." "Her behaviour can still become suspicious and give us away." " No, ma'am." " Please, I insist." "I don't want your money." "The women who saved this girl paid a high price." "One of them is dead, and the other will never again see the light of day." "I know." "I saw her on the news." "Your money is an insult to their sacrifice." "Will Jenny be the last one being taken care of?" "The last one from my division." "Mrs Parker Leigh." "So, there are more of you?" "How are you, Tracy?" "I wasn't expecting you." "We haven't found Jenny yet." "I guess Chestnut is doing what he can, right?" "I put one of my men on the case." "Thanks." "What about Julia?" "Well, the prosecution's asking for the death penalty this afternoon, but I don't think they're gonna grant it." "In case she decides to tell them where the other kids are buried." "We know that she's not the one who took my Jenny." "Your Jenny ran away." "And I'm gonna find her." "Okay." "Hang in there, Tracy." "I have been doing that for 25 years." "Yeah, I hear you." "My first mother was a good woman." "Hardworking, generous, affectionate." "We talked, we shared, we laughed, but then it stopped." "She couldn't talk to us anymore." "About men, about her dreams, about her pain." "My first mother loved me, and I loved my first mother." "Watch your back!" "My second mother only mothered me for a short time." "I often think about her." "I try to imagine the moment she had in the tunnel, giving one last kid to her husband." "Did he implore her to run away with him?" "Or did they both know someone had to stay." "Be the monster, pay the price, and protect their secret." "Whether she was a good person or not, I'm still not sure." "But my second mother loved me, and I loved my second mother." "My third mother is teaching me about the bigger world." "She says knowledge is the key to open all my doors." "So I stay focused, I observe, and I work hard." " Vera, sweetheart!" "I listen to what she says, I want to please her." "My third mother loves me, and I love my third mother." " You're gonna be late for art class." " I'll be right there." "My world has changed." "I try to follow its rules." "It's a beautiful world, my new mother says." "She tells me to hang on, that I'm doing well, that I'll get used to it with time." "Jeffrey!" "Jeffrey!" "Come on." "Come on, honey." "We're gonna be late." "I'm not like the others." "I guess they've forgotten." "I can't." "Every morning I wake up to the same thought of giving it all up and running back home." "But I remind myself I wanted this life." "I wanted it." "I made it happen." "I guess it's better this way, right?" "Right?" "Right?"