"Noah?" " Noah Locke." " Mr. Reed." " Welcome home, son." " Thank you." "Look at you, you're our hero." "We heard you were awarded a Purple Heart." "Your mama and daddy would have been real proud." "Thank you, sir." "Mama." " Can I help you?" " No, ma'am." "This was my home before the war." "You're one of the Locke family?" "Yes, ma'am." "We're farming this land now." "Understand." "Sorry for the interruption." "Locke, you got a visitor." "I was just driving the car." "I didn't even have a gun." "You don't understand how hard it was with Mama sick." "I had to get out." "I couldn't breathe." "They said I could go to Mama's funeral." "But I'd have to be in chains." "And I couldn't do that, there." "No, sir." "No contact with the prisoner." "Time's up, Locke." "You disowning me, Noah?" "You're the only family I got, Travis." "My brother's 17, Mr. Kates." " Shouldn't there be some leniency?" " No, sir." " Not a chance." " Travis is a good boy." "He just made a bad decision and I wasn't here to help him." "I'm sorry about your kid brother." "We thank you for your service over there." "Thank you, Mr. Kates." "If I were you," "I'd focus on what I was gonna do now this war is over." "Yes, sir." "It's like water everywhere else, boy." "It's wet." "You feeling for life in that river?" "Oh, it's just an old habit." "I didn't mean to spook you." "You got that look about you." "Man that's ready to duck down." "I'd say you was in the war." "Was you?" "Yeah, I was." "Fishing's best from the bend." " Help yourself to the worms." " Thanks." "I saw you coming a long way off." "You had company." "I saw a man and a woman walking beside you." "That wasn't me, sir." "I'm alone here." "It was you." "Man was lame." "Woman was awfully pretty." "Petite little lady." "Sounds like you describing my folks." "They died." "That's awfully sad." "Look, look." "You got you one." "You say you've seen my folks." " How's that?" " Oh, it's" "It's just a gift that come to me, five years ago." "Seeing the other side." "Well," "I don't believe in ghosts." "Neither do I." "Only angels." "I'll be." "Will you look at that?" "Thank you." "You just wandering around?" "You going somewhere?" "I guess I'm wandering." "Just looking for a sign that tells me to stop." "If you're just walking willy-nilly, you ought to go over to those mountains there." "Just over the ridge." "There's a nice little valley." "Born and raised there." "Oh, awfully nice people." "Good fishing too." "There's a little lake over there." "The locals call it the Lake of No Fish." "And, boy, it's got the biggest bass you ever saw." "I hooked him once." "Fought me like the devil." "You gotta take your time with him." " You gotta aggravate him so." " Yeah." "Yeah." "I've seen fish like that." "It must be as big as Jonah's whale by now." "Well," "I guess I best be getting home." "Thank you for your hospitality, Noah Locke." "You said you've seen my folks." "My ma, my pa." "Do you still see them?" "Bright as day." "And there are others too." "Your Army buddies." "You don't wanna lose them either." "What you wanna lose is that cloak of grief about your shoulders." "You did your best to save them." "You go on over to that valley." "Try to catch my fish." "If you do, you tell him Hoke Moore has been thinking about him a long, long time." "Old Hoke Moore told me about you." "I'll see you later." "Quiet down now." "Welcome." "You wouldn't be lost, now, would you?" "Well, I never been here before, so I guess I am." "Looks like we got us a wandering sheep." " Where are you from?" " Asheville." "I had a cousin lived there." "Name of Wally Mayfield." "Do you know him?" " No, sir." " You didn't miss much." "You serve in the war?" "I did." "Europe or the Pacific?" " Europe." " What outfit?" "42nd Infantry." "Whitlow Mayfield." "When I'm not walking behind a plough, I'm the sheriff of this county." "Marshall here's my deputy." " Pleasure." " Howdy." "Howard Reynolds." "This here's Matthew." "My name is Noah Locke." "What you doing with yourself these days, Noah Locke?" "I pick up an odd job here and there." " Mostly I do me some fishing." " Fishing?" "Well, if you come for the fishing contest, friend," "I'm afraid you're a bit early." "I don't know nothing about no fishing contest." "We have a fishing contest here in about two weeks." "Costs 2 dollars to get in." "Draws a crowd and we wind up with a little money for the school." "You could walk away with $20." "And give Littleberry some competition." "That'd be Littleberry Davis." "He has won our contest the last five, six years in a row by my count." " Six." " Six." "You're a fisherman, I tell you what." "You go down to that river there and catch me a mess of them river cats before sundown," "I'll give you a dime for every fish big enough to fry." "My boy likes catfish." "Don't let them bait you, friend." "You not knowing the river this time of day," "I'd say you'd be wasting your time." "Oh, I'll do it." "All right, to get to our house, take that road there past the meadow till you see a little grey house." "Yes, sir." "Thank you." "Well, you've been here five minutes, already you got you some business." "And that is four." "Oh, you got a smorgasbord there." "Ma'am." "Taylor." "We captured us here a Noah Locke." "Travelling fisherman, if you can believe that." "Is that so?" " Marjorie, you take care." " I will." "This is my cousin, Taylor Bowers." "And if he don't have what you want, he just go ahead and try to sell you something else." "Some folks are born-again Christians." "Taylor here is a born-again talker, worse than I am." "And that's going some." " How can I help you?" " What do you need, son?" "Sardines, some canned tuna?" "That would put a hole in your fishing story." "Well, yes, it would." "I'll just have a bag of coffee, a soap bar and a shirt if you got it." " Will chambray do?" " That will be fine, thanks." " Eleanor." " Taylor." " Whitlow." " Good afternoon, Eleanor." " Anything I can get for you?" " Oh, I know where everything is." "All right then." "Don't you go raising prices on our friend here." "He's an Army man." "Just like my boy." "You know you're the only one I cheat around here, cousin." " Nice to meet you, sir." " Same here." "You really make a living fishing?" "Well, now, that depends on what you call a living." "I eat a lot of fish." "You know of any jobs around town?" "I got one right here." "You see those two fools yakking over there?" "They're supposed to be painting this store." "You witness even one foot of pine board painted out there when you walked up?" "Coffee is right behind you." "Eleanor, are you finding everything all right?" "Oh, now, what is that?" "What is that there in your ear?" "Well, now, look at that, a nickel." " You want some candy?" " Yes." " Chocolate?" " I can wait my turn." "Oh, no, no, no." "That's fine." "Please, go ahead." "This is Noah Locke." "I got it right, didn't I?" "You did." "This is Eleanor Chatwin." "He's taking orders, if you got a taste for catfish." "Oh, no, thank you." "We don't eat much fish." "Ah, well." " You take care of yourself." " Thanks." "That's a fine woman." "Alrighty." "This is a dollar fifty." "And a nickel's worth of penny candy" " for my friend here." " Hey there, Matthew." "Let's see." "What do you think?" "Orange slices today or Boston beans or--?" "Jelly beans." "I'm coming, Matthew." " You must be the fish fella." " Yes, ma'am." " My name is Noah Locke." " I'm Ada Reynolds." "Matthew told me he met a new friend today." "Look at that." " Where'd you catch them?" "River?" " Yes, sir." "This time of day?" "That makes these miracle fish." "Just the right size for pan frying too." "Give me that." "I'll start supper." "Why won't you tell Mr. Noah to come to church with us on Sunday?" "Here." " How long are you staying?" " I don't know, sir." "Come to church on Sunday." "It's the only one in the valley." "Church of the Resurrected Christ." "No matter how you were raised, everybody's welcome." "Thank you, sir." "Come on, Matthew." "We're gonna feast tonight." "Bye now." "Did you sleep well, Granny?" "Now it's time for your birthday powder." "And so we bear the burden in silence." "This burden, brothers and sisters" "Is that loud enough, Granny?" " Yeah, I hear it." " Every week I receive letters from listeners who say, "I must not be a good Christian." "For surely if I were firmly rooted in faith--"" "You got some trouble there?" "You're that fisherman?" "Yes, ma'am." "Mind if I have a look?" "You got a rifle?" " She needs to be shot?" " Yes, ma'am." "If you want some meat from it, I can butcher it for you." "All right." "I brought you dinner." "Oh, there's no need." "If you don't, I'll feel even worse." "Waylaying you on your way to church." "Oh, I wasn't going nowhere." "Just thinking about it." "Thank you." "It shouldn't have been a surprise, her dying." "She was awfully old." "Still, it shook me." "You were in the war?" "Yeah, I was." "My late husband, Boyd, was too." "I'm sorry to hear that." "What was it like, the war?" "Well, it's not something you can get out of your mind." "There's no making sense of it either." "Well, I guess a lot of things don't make sense." "Thank you for your help." "Please, just a few bites." "I want my chocolate." "Well, I thought you'd left." "I went out an hour ago, you were gone." "I just went to the pond to wash up." " Who's that?" " Forgive my manners, you'd think I didn't have any." "Come in, Mr. Locke." "Meet Boyd's grandmother." "Mrs. Beatrice Chatwin." "Ma'am." "Granny isn't feeling all that well today." "She won't give me my chocolate." "Granny lives on chocolate bars." "Maybe I ought to write the candy company and give them a testimonial." "Well, it's getting dark." "I'll drive you home." "Oh, there's no need." "My camp's not far." " Where are you?" " I'm up the road, at the lake." "The fishing cabin?" "No, ma'am." "Just near." "Oh, why don't you use it?" "Well, I didn't know who to ask." "You ask me." "I'll be back shortly, Granny." "Ma'am." "My husband shot himself here." "Not in the cabin, if that's any difference to you." "I thought he died in the war." "Boyd came home without a scratch on him." "But he was changed." "Now, why would he do that, Mr. Locke?" "Why would a man go through a war and come home and kill himself?" "Use it." "Boyd used to come here and stay the night." "Just to be by himself." "I think everything's here." "Lamp, cot." "A man named Arch Wheeler built this cabin." "He died right there in that chair." "Boyd said he used to come up here and drink with Arch's ghost." "He was always trying to scare me." "But people say this place is haunted." "Yeah, you hear stories." "Lights on the water, hunting dogs whimpering like they've seen a ghost." "I'm a chatterbox, aren't I?" "I don't think Granny says a dozen words in a week." "Makes me too hungry for talk." " Good night." " Good night, ma'am." " Thank you." " For what?" "I'm trying to thank you for taking care of my poor cow." "So don't thank me." " How old are you, Mr. Locke?" " I'm 28." "Well, I'm just four years older." "So don't call me "ma'am."" "Yes, ma'am." "All right." "I won't say it, on a trade." "You don't call me "mister."" "All right, Noah." "Well, if you see any ghosts, you holler." "Dear Travis, since I last wrote you," "I've come to a place called the Valley of Light." "A fisherman by the name of Hoke Moore sent me here." "He claims that the biggest bass he's ever seen lives in this lake." "And I know now, that's no fish tale." " Good morning, fisher." " Good morning." "I just come by wondering if you still need somebody to do some painting." "You bet." "Just look at this place." "I pay $20 for the whole job." "I'll supply the sandpaper and paint." "Yes, sir." "That's a deal." "Lookie here." "Now, if you get a fish order, you go fish." " Paint when you can." " Yes, sir." "You're gonna be good for business." "Howard was bragging in church about all those catfish you caught him." " Howard's son, that boy." " Matthew." "That's Howard's grandson." "But he and Ada are keeping him." "Boy's mama passed away quite a few years ago." "Matthew's daddy hasn't been around since." "They say he's working in Tennessee." "He sends that boy money but we never see him." "He ever talk?" "Because his grandma said that he talks to her." "Ada says she hears him with her heart." "She does, that's a fact." "But that boy never spoke a word." "What the hay, Taylor?" "You're giving our jobs away?" "He's the fisherman Howard's talking about." " Is that so?" " The name's Noah Locke." "Peavo Teasley." "Moody Goodhouse III." "Pleasure meeting you boys." "People gonna come around and get a look at this man while he's working." "You hear that word?" "Working?" "That'll be a foreign tongue to you boys." "I'm digging for bait." "You wanna help?" "Look at this." "I saw a flock of robins here." "That's how I knew to look for earthworms." "After a storm, that's a good time too." "Find yourself a rain-soaked field." "There you go." "You found yourself a good one." "Yeah, you see that there?" "Spilled grain." "See, now, let me show you here." "Yeah, see that?" "That's a mealworm." "Pan fish love them." "There's all sorts of them in here, see?" "Well, they like leeches too." "Oh, I know." "I don't care for leeches much neither." "All right, that's it." "Stay there." "See, crickets?" "Now, they good for bass." "I saw a bass in that lake up there." "The biggest bass I've ever seen." "But, well, he ain't ready to be caught yet." "Mr. Hoke Moore told me about this valley." "You know Mr. Moore?" "He said they good people here." "He's right." "Come on." "Ghosts haven't chased you off yet?" "I didn't wanna make a mess inside." "Looks like you're making a mess up top of your head." "Sit down." "I used to cut Boyd's hair." "Well, my mama used to cut mine." "Getting a haircut was one of the few times my husband would sit still long enough for me to talk him." "I don't know why it was so hard for him to just sit and listen." "Oh, well, I suppose some people are just that way." "Don't you get tired, moving around place to place?" "I don't really know what else to do." "Don't you miss your home?" "Your family?" "Oh, my folks passed on." "I got a brother though, Travis." "He fell in with some bad company, wound up in prison." "So maybe I'm just waiting for him to get out." "Well, I'm sorry to hear that." "Is that from the war?" "Must have been terrible." "I hope that's all right." "Not as good as the barber might have done it, but..." "It's much better than I could have done." "Thank you." "Hey, Matthew." "What you got there?" "You came to help, huh?" "Thank you, my friend." "Let's mix you up some paint." "That's right." "Just drag it along." "Remember that bass I was telling you about?" "Up at the lake?" "I hear it swimming out there every night." "I saw it once, looked like a mule, it was so big." "Well, it didn't look like a mule the way a mule looks." "It's a fish." "But it's big like a mule." "Sounds like a tall tale, don't it?" "You know, you're the only friend I ever had where I did all the talking." "I bet you can say my name though, can't you?" "Noah?" "You can say Noah, can't you?" "That's it." "You got it." "It was." "Like that." "Just looking at him the whole..." "Oh, I see you got enough paint on yourself, you manage to get any on the store?" "He done real good." " How's the celebrity?" " You just ignore Moody and Peavo." "How's it going, fisherman?" " Just fine, until now." " The way Taylor was talking, sounds like you don't even need a hook to catch a fish, boy." "You catch us six river cats apiece before sundown today, we'll give you ten cents a fish." "But if you come up short, we keep everything you catch for free." "Twelve catfish by sundown." "Good Lord, boys." "What kind of sucker bet is that?" "He makes that dozen, it'll cost you a quarter a fish." "Quarter a fish?" "Shoot." "Littleberry Davis ain't even that good." " Littleberry's the best I ever seen." " Littleberry couldn't bait Noah's hook." "What do you think, Matthew?" "We'll take that bet?" "Your fisherman is about to catch me a free dinner." " I'll bet you $3 he makes it." " You got a bet." "No bream, no bass, no trap, no crappie." " Good Lord." " Them's the rules." "What's he doing?" "Washing the worm slime off his hands." "Something you boys ought to do once in a while." "Wash up a little." "He don't seem to be in much of a hurry, does he?" " It's a cat, 14 inches at least." " That ain't but one." "Lord almighty." "Yeah, another cat." "He found a catfish hole." "It's gonna play out after three or four." "Why don't he hook no suckerfish or crappie?" "Hey." "You got some sort of secret catfish bait on there?" "You sure that boy knows how to count?" "One more time now, Noah, come on." " Might as well give up now, fisherman." " Don't listen to him." "You put up a good fight, Noah Locke, no doubt about that, but 11ain't 12." "You ain't gonna make it." "Maybe you fished that hole clean." "We're going home with a free mess of catfish." "Game's up, Taylor." "You owe me $3." "Taylor, you better get out your billfold." "The sun's gone." "Hey, he ain't got it ashore." " The sun's gone." " No, it ain't." "It ain't." "Will you look there?" "Well, Moody, Peavo, you eating catfish tonight." "But you owe Noah here $3, and another 3 for Taylor." "I feel good." "Hey, why don't we all drive over to Hayesville, get something to eat?" "Treat's on me." "I got money to burn." "Ada's waiting at home for us." "Thank you, Taylor, but maybe some other time." "Come on, I'll give you a ride, Noah, unless you wanna swim home." "All right." "You're probably right." "I got windows to close up." "All right." "Well, I owe you all a supper." "I won't forget." "I feel good." "Right here is fine." "Well, thanks for the ride." "You know what?" "I got something for you." "How about a hook and bobber?" "Thanks for your help today, partner." "That's nice." "Well, you're welcome." " Night." " Bye now." "We should have dragged that poor boy home for supper too." "Everybody needs somebody, Matthew." "Who are the prophets?" "Are they royal born?" "No." "Do they inherit the office of prophet?" "No." "The prophets are called directly by God and through them God's will is revealed." "What does the greatest of prophets, Isaiah, have to say?" "He begins ove1rwhelmed with the wickedness and corruption of the people." "Through him God cries out in anguish." "Through him God cries out in heartbreak." "Dear Travis," "Hoke Moore said I'd find good people here." "He was right." "I can't explain it, but I sleep through the night now for the first time since the war." "Stay hopeful." "And if you can, trust that God has a plan for you." "Your brother, Noah." "Hi." " Hi." " Hi, Matthew." "Eleanor." "Aren't you a sight for sore eyes." "Well, a special occasion?" "No, I just thought I'd stop by." "Put in an order for fish." "I thought you didn't care for fish." "Tastes change." "How many you want me to catch for you?" "Enough for the four of us, plus Howard, Ada, Granny." "You catch them, I'll cook them." " Let's go fishing." " All right, you only got till 5:00." "Yes, ma'am." "Yeah, this is going to be a night to remember." "I came out here right after Boyd got home." "I forgot why." "He made me stay for supper." "Oh, I'll never forget that meal." "That woman is a good cook." "That Boyd." "Seemed okay to us." "There must have been something powerful troubling none one of them could see." "He was probably sick at heart from the things he'd seen." "But why he'd leave Eleanor?" "It just about killed the woman." "Hard thing, to be left behind." "I fish with Taylor," "I never seen a man better at drowning worms." "Pay no attention." "It's just been too long since Granny and I have had people over to the house." "Something we ought to do more often." "All right, everyone, take a seat." " All right." " Granny." "I think Matthew wanted to sit next to you." "That's fine." "I wanna sit next to him." "How about this one, buddy?" " Eleanor, there you go." " All right." "Howard, why don't you sit at the head?" "Sure." "Why, thank you, Taylor." "I'll take it from here." "All right, then, I'd like to say a few words of grace, if I may?" "We got to take hands, Granny Chatwin." "We'd greatly appreciate it if you'd give us your blessing." "And help loosen up our tongues so we can talk about everybody we know who's not here." "And forgive us beforehand for what we say." "And sweet Lord, we thank you for this bounty of food and fellowship." " Amen." " Amen." "Pass the hush puppies." "May I serve you, Miss Chatwin?" "Oh, no, sir, I'm waiting for the chocolate." "Chocolate, Lord, right to the dessert." "Will somebody please give Granny the chocolate?" "Actually, I went to the store." "I brought you one more for good measure." "Granny, you will never sleep tonight." "I hope you don't mind." "So, Noah, you've just been travelling since the war's end, fishing?" " Yes, ma'am." " How many states you seen?" "Travelled rivers mostly." "The Cumberland, the Cinch, the Hiawassee, the Tennessee and a few others." "Do you have a favourite place?" "Well, you got a pretty place here in this valley." "Well, maybe you'll just have to winter here." "Yes, ma'am." "Would you like some hush puppies?" " That was some dinner." " Bye now." "You've outdone yourself." "Please, you've gotta take some food home." "What is that?" "What is that there behind your ear?" "We're going home." "If only Noah would stop talking." "You see what I mean about him?" "He talks all the time, you can't hardly ever get him to stop." "You leave him alone, Taylor Bowers, or next time you won't get invited." ""Next time"?" "Oh, I like the sound of that." " Night-night." " Good night, Miss Chatwin." "Good night now." "All right." "Let's go in." "If you just got me a second invite to Eleanor C's, you're good luck indeed." "Even if I would like to kick you in the gut, the way she lights up when you're around." "Good night, Taylor, thanks for the ride." "Noah, you watch out for ghosts." "It's haunted up here." "Go on, get out of here." "Old codger." "Noah?" "Yes, ma'am?" "Did you just call me ma'am?" "No, ma'am." "Good morning." "Good morning." "I brought you some breakfast." "But if you don't wanna open the door," "I guess I'll just leave it out here on the porch." "No, no, no, I'm coming." " Hi." " Hi." "You want some coffee?" "No, thank you." "But you go ahead, have it with your breakfast." "And grab yourself a fork." "Sure." "If I have coffee in the morning, I'm jittery all day." "You know, my sides ached this morning," "I laughed so hard last night." "Yeah, that Taylor, he's one of a kind." "Yes, he is." "But it's you who made me happy." "I'll fix that for you before I go." "Well, thank you." "I'll see you later, Mr. Locke." "Eleanor?" "Yes?" "I went by your house last night but you had already headed for bed." "I saw your light go out." "Well, I turned my light out." "But I didn't go to sleep for a while." "What were you gonna do if the light had been on?" "I would have asked you if I could sit on your porch with you." "And what would we do on the porch?" "Would we talk?" "You saying two words and me saying 20?" "I'll see you at the store." "Good morning." "Good morning." "What I personally witnessed is nothing short of made-to-order fishing." "He didn't get so much as a nibble from a bream or an eel or a hornyhead." "Nothing but catfish." "He use stinky bait?" "Earthworms." "He use a fancy reel?" "Nothing better than a cane pole." "I'd pay up front just to see it again." "He's gonna give Littleberry Davis such a fit at that fishing contest." "I seen Littleberry in Whiteville yesterday, he says all this talk about your Mr. Fisherman is one fat fish tale." "Sounds like Littleberry's got the jitters." "He's shaking in his waders." "I lay down $10 right now says that Noah Locke wins that take-home prize." "Hi, everyone." "Afternoon, Miss Chatwin." "Afternoon, Eleanor." "Don't you two ladies look lovely?" " Granny came by for her chocolate." " Oh, come on right in, Granny." "That last cat Noah caught was so big, they had to pull it out with Moody's mule." "And when my mule had a heart attack, we got Peavo's tractor, burnt out the engine." "Where's mine?" "I better pay for the candy." " I made a little present to Granny." " No, sir." "We settled up, she gave me the kiss." "Thank you, Mrs. Chatwin." "Taylor." "I think Granny's claimed you." "Matthew's missing." "Ada hasn't seen him since lunch." "I'll go look for him." "I'll get Granny home and call Ada." " We'll be glad to help." "Hold on a second, we'll help you." "Should we go to the river?" "We should probably check down that way." " All right." " Down this road." "He's never been gone this long." "It's just not like him." "Thank you." " How far did you get?" " The railroad bridge." "Then between us, we scouted seven miles of river." "From the trestle to Bower Bridge." "So he didn't go to the river then." "John's Creek?" "Whitlow's here." "Been down at the county courthouse, I just got the news." "Hate to think of you worried sick all day long, Ada." "I appreciate that." "There you go." "Howard." "We're gonna find the boy." "I'm gonna need one of his shirts." "I'll go get it." "Got it?" "She got it." "All right, girl, find him now, find him." "Let's go, boys." "They'll find him, Ada." "They'll find him." "Matthew." "Matthew." "Matthew." "Matthew." "Matthew." "Matthew." "Matthew." "Matthew." "I've never seen them running around so much, like they're chasing their own tail." "He was here." "Digging for earthworms." "I'm going up to the lake." "See if he was up there." "I told Matthew there are ghosts up there, he's scared to death of that place." "It's best to check." " I'll drive you up." " We will find him." "All right, let's go walk that creek." "Come on." "Come on, girl." "Matthew." "I got a bad feeling about this, I really do." "Taylor, this is fine right here." "This is fine." " I'm gonna drive the roads." " All right." "You hear him, girls?" "Watch your head." "Easy." " Good girl." "Keep listening." " Anything?" "Ground's cold." "We lost his scent." "I thought I'd wait here just in case Matthew called out." "The dogs will hear him." "What do you think?" "We got a lot of people looking for him." "People who know the places here pretty good." "It bothers me we ain't found nothing." "Well, I'm just heading over to Ada's, make some breakfast." " You come and eat." " That's all right." "No, I won't take no for an answer." "I'll have breakfast on the table at first light." "All right." "Matthew." "Matthew." "Matthew." "Matthew." "Nobody goes up there anymore." "Not with all them ghosts." "Lord." "I feel bad about this." "If we just fanned out more." "It just happened, that's all." "Noah." "Howard's been asking for you." "I'm sorry, Mr. Reynolds." "I told him about a fish in that lake." "He went to catch it." "It weren't your fault, Noah." "Me and my wife know that." "Matthew had a good time knowing you." "Howard." "He'd been missing his daddy a lot." "Awful lot lately." "And you gave him something that he didn't have." "Come here." "That's my girl." "That lake is cursed." "First Arch Wheeler dying alone up there, then Boyd Chatwin." " By his own hand." " Now Matthew Reynolds." "A helpless little lamb." "If it were to me, we'd blow up that lake." "You blow up that lake, you might as well blow up the mountain." "Somebody freezes or falls off that mountain every year." "And after you blow up the mountain, you best go ahead and blow up the roads and the railroads too." "Well, you know, I'm thinking it might help Howard if we tidy up the yard a little bit, bound to be a lot of people coming by when they hear about Matthew." "I'll do it." "I'll wash and wax his car." "He's gonna want it clean for the funeral." "Oh, Lord, that boy, pretty much their life." "Yes, he was." "Earth to earth, ashes to ashes, dust to dust." "Blessed are the dead who die in the Lord." "Yes, as a spirit, they will rest from their labours for their deeds follow them." "Gracious God, we thank thee for those we love but see no more." "Receive into thy arms your servant Matthew and grant that, increasing in knowledge and love of you, he may go from strength to strength in service to your heavenly kingdom, through Jesus Christ, our Lord." "Amen." "Amen." "Have you been able to reach your son yet?" "No, he don't know yet." "Left a message for him to call us but who knows when he'll get that." "Well, we're gonna put off the fishing." "No, too much work already done, people coming in from all over." "And we know the school needs the money." "Taylor's worried about you." "You're leaving?" "I should have come up here as soon as they said he ran off." " I should have known it." " You're not a mind reader." "You didn't know what that child was gonna do." "If it hadn't been for me, that boy would be at the store right now having an Orange Crush with Howard and Ada." "All we can do is" "Love people with a whole heart while we have the chance." "And you loved that boy well." "I don't know why this world has to shatter to pieces." "When I first saw you," "I thought an angel might have sent you." "I've been alone so long I can make up things in my head pretty easy." "All of us, we're..." "We're hoping for a sign, aren't we?" "A sign that we have a purpose, that we're being guided towards it." "Well, I've never seen that sign myself." "Maybe you've been that sign for others." "A sign for Matthew." "I was hoping a sign for me." "I'm nobody to count on." "Is walking away the answer, Noah?" "Will that keep you a pace ahead of the pain?" "Maybe if you keep walking you'll find a valley where no one has ever suffered a broken heart." "But I'll wager to say, that will be a loveless place." "Noah's late." "He should have got here." "Where is he?" "Half the people here come out to see Noah fish." "Look at Littleberry." "Trying to figure out which one of these people's Noah." "All right, everyone, listen here now." "The fishing starts at the shot." "Early casters get a half-hour penalty." "Contest ends at 2 by my watch." " Oh, and the fish fry at 5." " Oh, right." "Fish fry starts at 5." "Hey, Billy's got one." "There you go." " Got one." " Littleberry." "Littleberry Davis caught the first fish." "Noah would have caught ten by now." "Let's weigh him up." "I will catch you." "You can't fool me." "Get up here." "If I trusted, even for a moment, in those signs you believe in," "I would have tried to be one for you." "Noah." "Dear Travis," "I'm moving on again." "I'm not quite sure where yet." "Are you the one they call Noah?" "I am." "I was looking for you at the contest." "Name's Littleberry Davis." " You leaving town?" " Yes, sir." "I never stay for the fish fry." "I come for the prize, not the party." "Where are you headed?" "Nowhere in particular." "Well, if you have a chance, you ought to stop by South Lake." "That's where I live, we got some pretty good bass in it." "I hear you're staying up at Arch Wheeler's place." "No fish up there." "Old fella always talking about this monster fish he had seen in that lake." "Said it was big as a barn." "So I go there with two or three of my boys just to see for myself." "We stayed the night there." "Only bite I got was from mosquitoes." "Made old Hoke mad, the jawing he took about that phantom fish." "Mr. Hoke Moore?" "Yeah, that's right, old Hoke." "Well, now, he's the one that told me about this place." " Where did you meet him?" " Met him in Tompton." "Yeah, yeah, Hoke died in Tompton." "Family had him buried there even though he'd lived most of his life here in the valley." "Mr. Moore died?" "Yeah, about five years ago." "Sorry to be the one to tell you." "Now, Hoke was quite a fisherman." "He was the best I ever seen." "When he was buried," "Peavo Teasley said they ought to put a catfish in the coffin with him so he would feel at home." "Friend, you don't look too good." "You look like you've just seen a ghost." "Oh, no, sir." "I don't believe in ghosts." "Maybe in angels." "Thank you." "Excuse me." "Hey, driver." "Travis, for a year I travelled these roads, in hope I could stay a pace ahead of the grief." "Here I stopped." "I was overtaken." "And left behind with a certainty that we do have a purpose in this world." "To find this valley, cross the Nantahala River." "Follow the Hiawassee west." "When you see the bridge, you're almost home."