"Inever dreamed that the life of my grandsons... which began with such love and comfort... would turn to see so much violence and bloodshed." "This is their story, as it was told to me." "We should disappear." "Go someplace where we can see everything." "Let me see your knife." "Can I carve my name in your face?" "You goddamn son of a bitch!" "Chris!" "God!" "Brandy, get over here." "Come here!" "He's getting away." "That son of a bitch broke my goddamn window!" "Calm down." "You angry about something?" "No." "He said that he... has just about had it with you." "You want the truth?" "I think you pushed your old man just about as far as you can push him." "I drive down here once a week to bail your ass out of some mess." "I don't want to hear your excuse." "Go on outside and get in the car." "Just wait." "What?" "What am I waiting for, buddy?" "You gonna collect yourself, show me some respect?" "What's it gonna take, Chris?" "I'm not going!" "I said, get in the goddamn car." "Today was supposed to be about your brother." "It's his birthday." "It's not about you." "Bad enough we're waiting with our party hats on... to get a call like that, how do you think that makes Tim feel?" "It's all right, Dad." "No, it's not all right." "Don't you care about anybody but yourself?" "...searching for an escaped inmate after yesterday's prison break... at the County Penitentiary." "Two guards were stripped and killed in the incident following the riot." "In college basketball...." "You can forget about that girlfriend of yours." "Duck out on your responsibility again, I'll bury you alive." "You never let me leave this place." "You wanna leave?" "You wanna leave this place?" "We can't even have friends!" "What kind of birthday is it with just the three of us?" "It's like we're being locked up, and for what?" "What are you afraid we're gonna do?" "I'm sorry I ruined your birthday." "I thought my birthday party would be a lot of fun." "You and Dad and me, we'd all have a good time." "But it didn't happen like that." "Before you know it... things you say... nobody's gonna listen." "I know what you feel." "You're just a kid." "Enjoy it while it lasts." "Now I'd like to introduce a special trio." "The Rebecca Trio have come, and have a song... about what wonderful grace the Lord Jesus Christ gives us to live with." "I feel the touch" "Of hands so kind and tender" "They're leading me" "In paths that I must trod" "I'll have no fear" "When Jesus walks beside me" "For I'm sheltered in" "The arms of God" "So let the storms rage high" "The dark clouds rise" "They don't worry me" "For I'm sheltered safe" "Within the arms of God" "He walks with me" "And none other shall harm me" "For I'm sheltered in" "The arms of God" "Chris." "I'm going into town." "I won't be back till late." "Where's Tim at?" "I don't know." "You put salt water in the feed?" "Yeah, but I can't do all this by myself." "Why don't you send Tim out here to help for once?" "He's no good at work." "Not much for strength." "I'm gonna have some of his birthday cake." "Not until you're done working here." "There's a lot to be done." "It won't work." "It won't blow." "Got a hole in your foot." "I know." "It smells." "Can I stick my finger in it?" "In the hole?" "No." "I would just wiggle it around, it would be cool." "You're up awful late." "Dad?" "Yeah." "You're home." "I'm pretty beat." "I know I've been hard on you, Chris, but you know I love you." "You must have looked pretty classic with that board sticking out of your foot." "Wished I'd seen that." "It hurt." "It hurt like crap." "Sometimes it's the strange moments that stick with you." "I'm gonna go to bed." "Good night, Dad." "Tim, wake up." "It's a gift." "I like it." "You're trying to...." "Don't spit on me!" "I'm tired of looking at your head." "Come up here and bring me some nails." "I don't like being up there." "Who's that?" "I think I'm lost." "Does John Munn live here?" "He's somewhere." "Who are you, little man?" "He's here." "Dad!" "Can I help you?" "John?" "Put that booger down, brother, and come give me a kiss." "Well, I'll be." "Deel." "It's a shocker, ain't lt?" "I found you." "These yours?" "Yeah." "Come on in." "That Dad's brother?" "Never seen him before." "You like his car?" "Shut up." "What are you doing?" "Organizing my books by the way they smell." "This one's about a guy...." "Thought a lot about you, I got to say, Deel." "Yeah, well, I never did get no valentines, John." "I didn't know if you'd want to hear from me... the way you blamed me for things." "Don't say you didn't." "I won't." "Then when Audrey died..." "I just couldn't bear it." "Took the kids out of school, didn't tell nobody." "Moved out here to live in the sticks like hermits." "Because people...." "Sort of no reminders when you tear away from people." "I couldn't handle it... the thought of you stuck in that place." "I was gonna go see you." "I even made plans, but I didn't." "I just" "You don't gotta say nothing, John." "I feel like if I forgive... then I'll be forgiven." "Lice gets everywhere." "Stay still." "Was she pretty?" "Who?" "Mom." "She was kind of good-looking, I guess, for a mom." "She had a little moustache, though." "I always thought that was weird for a lady." "I remember her kind of perfume." "You wanna smell my armpit?" "No." "I wanna get me a haircut." "What are you gonna do now?" "Got any plans?" "I always got plans." "Here, wear that." "Long as I stay in the state, I'm good." "Check in with the parole officer every once in a while." "I got some masonry work lined up" "Watch your step there." "Tim's got a rough stomach." "Got to admit, John... you look like you're doing all right for yourself." "We're doing well enough." "We really are." "I sold all six hogs to this Korean farmer last week, just to clear the place out." "I've been looking for a good man to keep up around here." "I got some work at this little taxidermy shop." "It's way out in Bilton." "Tell you what, why don't you stick around till your work starts?" "You could... be a help to me." "How's that?" "Well, those kids are a handful." "Tim's got health problems." "They're getting serious." "And when I'm gone, I worry Chris is gonna get into trouble... and not take care of his responsibility." "Seems like every time I turn around... the cops got him picked him up for something or other." "Breaking windows...." "He popped this kid in the face with a rake." "Then he breaks into a church." "The preacher finds him asleep on the altar, drunk on wine." "I could use another pair of eyes around here." "I couldn't pay you, but you get a roof over your head, and I'll feed you." "That way me and you could spend some time together, like you said." "I'd like that." "It's all the same to me." "A chicken ain't nothing but a bird." "Remember them old Mexican gold coins..." "Dad stole from that museum when we was kids?" "He always said when he died, you and me should split up the worth... and treat ourselves like kings." "When he died, they raided this place." "They took everything." "They even took those old Indian ashtrays." "Old man was a hell of a pirate." "But the worst taste in art." "I like them boots." "They're pretty cool." "You're cool." "I don't think he's got anyplace else to stay." "He's gonna stay with us for a little while." "We'll see how it goes." "What are you doing?" "I'm sorry." "I didn't mean to scare you." "Y'all sleep tight." "I'm gonna hit it." "It's good to be here." "Good night." "Oh, this here's the boat I've hoped for" "Oh, land, please pardon me" "That's a song my father used to sing." "I haven't heard that in years." "What's wrong?" "I'm just...." "I'm scared of the way you make me feel." "I think I might be too young for my head." "I didn't touch you." "It's your dad, right?" "I don't know what we're doing." "I care about you, Chris, but..." "I can't." "Hot enough for you?" "It ain't the heat that gets to me." "It's the stupidity." "Goddamn, this is a beautiful land." "I used to take days like this for granted." "We've had a lot of rain." "So it's like... all this life." "It's like living in a fishbowl." "That's what it's like." "What?" "I said it's like living in a fishbowl, being stuck here like a workhorse." "Must get kind of cramped being a slave." "Me, I gotta get away now and then." "What about you?" "God, I love to drive." "Has he changed much?" "From when y'all were kids?" "Old John?" "No, he's pretty much the same." "He's got a few silly new fur coats, kind of queer." "Did you know my mom?" "I knew your mom first." "She was my girl." "He didn't mention that little detail, though, huh?" "No, I shouldn't think he would." "What did he tell you about me?" "He said you were in prison." "You got a girlfriend?" "Not really." "That's smart, boy." "You gotta live a little first." "Girls mess with your head." "Make you do crazy things." "Did you hurt somebody?" "You wanna drive?" "I'll work the gearshift." "Nah." "Somebody better take the wheel." "Better take the wheel." "No!" "Come on, champ." "Take it." "Somebody better take the wheel, kiddo." "Shit, yeah!" "I forgot what it feels like." "What feels like?" "Are you scared?" "Here, Tim, try some sweet potatoes." "Tim don't eat much." "What, is he afraid he'll get fat or something?" "He's already got a bunch of cellulite." "Look at all that goop." "It's about affinity." "Doctor says his brain ain't ready for it." "It's an anxiety disorder." "Freaks out his ulcer." "It's called an anxiety disorder." "Take your hat off at the table." "It ain't Thanksgiving." "When I was a boy, I used to worry about Pilgrims." "I had this nightmare that a whole bunch of you bastards... would bust into my room with your shirts off... and you'd tickle me crazy." "You'd make me walk the plank or eat turkey until I got fat." "You'd force me to just eat and eat." "Till all of a sudden I realized I was an animal." "An animal eating an animal." "Then I'd wake up with a start... and find I'd pissed my pajamas." "It is kind of funny now." "It wasn't so funny then." "How much work did you guys get done today?" "Not as much as we hoped." "We had to run into town, get some supplies." "Come on, now." "Dish up." "Y'all say grace?" "Occasionally." "Feel free." "Thank you for this food." "Hope everybody has a nice time." "Amen." "Hallelujah." "I want a leg." "Supplies in town, huh?" "Well, tell you the truth, Chris wanted to take a ride in my car... and I could've said no, but I didn't want to get off on the wrong foot with him." "You went driving?" "I get home and nothing's done." "You're sure right about them two." "They ain't exactly fond of work." "I kept having to stop what I was doing to go and track them down." "Don't put it all on the boys, Deel." "That's not what we agreed on." "You're supposed to look after them." "I'm just trying to give the kids some elbow room." "We were not exactly angels when we were their age, John." "That's right." "You don't trust me, do you?" "lf you want me to leave, just say so." "No." "For the longest time out here, just me and the boys, I was sure..." "I'd made a wreck of things." "You know what I mean?" "I just wanted us to be a family." "Well, anyhow, now you're here." "Maybe I got a second chance." "Let's not mess it up." "Okay." "Are you gonna eat that?" "What?" "That." "No, go on." "Help yourself." "Big old piece of gristle." "Hurry up." "Dad wants you." "Hi." "Yeah?" "Dad?" "Remember when we had that painting made?" "Had to stand still, without sleeping." "It took a night and a day." "What did I do now?" "Fuck." "So I hear you just had a birthday." "How old does that make you?" "Ten years old." "Ten." "Well, you're a heck of a lot smarter than most 10-year-olds I know." "That is a sharp-looking jet." "Chris made it by hand." "Damn nice." "You're daddy's got a lot of real nice things, too, don't he?" "You know, when I was your age... my daddy, he had a collection of old Mexican coins." "He used to let me and John play with them sometimes." "They were solid gold." "Dad has some like that." "I knew that." "You know, your granddaddy, he gave them to John and me, his two sons." "Your dad, he probably just forgot that half are mine." "Where does he keep them at?" "Keeps them hid." "Well, where does he hide them at?" "It's a secret." "Well, see, I'm family and I'm pretty good at keeping secrets." "It's a secret from me, too." "You don't say?" "You shouldn't do that." "You shouldn't open a can like that." "You'll bust your knife blade." "What are you doing?" "I found your stack of nudie books in a chest under a rock back here." "You got good taste." "That stuff ain't mine." "I ain't gonna say nothing." "I ain't got no business busting in on dirty secrets." "Besides, me and you is friends." "Ain't that right?" "That's right." "Yeah." "I never had all the advantages like John." "I got the leavings and was told to like it." "I see the way your daddy looks at your little brother." "You know there's something." "He sees himself." "Like looking in a goddamn mirror." "Then there's you." "You're just one of his little pigs." "A hole in the ground." "I like you, Chris." "You don't play games." "Don't ever let the same dog bite you twice." "You know what I mean?" "Knock-knock." "Who's there?" "lnterrupting cow." "lnterrupting-cow who?" "Moo!" "It doesn't work." "You've got the wrong tool." "Did you and Uncle Deel fight a lot when you were kids?" "We had our problems... but our dad didn't put up with too much nonsense." "He was nice too, right?" "He gave you that treasure." "You mean those coins?" "That's right, he did." "You know those coins ain't ordinary coins?" "What do you mean?" "It's a long story." "It's from pirates?" "No, not exactly." "Do you know about Charon, the ferryman of the dead?" "According to a legend, when you pass into the realm of the dead... your spirit has to pay passage to cross the river Styx into Hades." "You have to pay Charon." "He's the ferryman." "He's this winged demon." "The price, one gold coin per soul." "If you don't have a coin... then you're condemned to wander the banks of the river for 100 years." "Like in hell?" "No." "Just waiting." "A long time ago, my father went for a walk to the river." "At the ferry crossing, he sees this old Mexican ferryman, all dressed in rags... pays him a nickel, crosses over, doesn't think much of it." "When he gets home, he reaches his hand in his pocket... and pulls out a gold coin that hadn't been there before." "But my dad couldn't stop thinking about that poor man." "How much food that coin would buy." "So the next day, he crosses the river again." "He gives the man a gold coin." "The man thanks him and takes him across the river." "But when he got home, he reaches in... and now he's got two gold coins." "Same thing happened the next day, and the day after:" "five coins." "Then 10, and 20 and 40." "On and on." "His pockets grew fat." "Then one day, the river dried up... the ferryman was gone and never came back." "My dad said he thought that was Charon." "And that he was paying the living... what he kept from the dead." "That's why I saved them all this time." "Those coins are cursed." "They're the debt the dead had to pay." "If they're worth so much, why don't you just sell them so we can get rich?" "I pawned one off last year to buy that station wagon." "You see what a pain in the ass that's been, it went to prove my point." "There are demons." "And they got a sick sense of humor." "Go on, now." "Get washed up, you sculp." "Dad, why was Deel in jail?" "Before our parents died... he got some bad news that upset him." "It was something I did." "I let my brother down." "But I'm not proud of it." "He came to find me for a reason." "What are you doing?" "Dressing up in your clothes." "Pretending I'm you." "Your boots are a little too big, though, honestly." "I thought things were good between us." "You lied to me, John." "I knew it." "Always twisting things around so you come out on top." "I show up and you got a second chance?" "Well, I never had a first chance." "You and the old man saw to that." "First my girl, now my money." "Everything that belongs to me is here." "Don't bring Audrey into this." "You brought her into it." "When I was pinned down." "When I walk into my own bedroom and see you with my girl." "Seen you with her, John!" "That's right." "She's an old case and you won, John." "But Chris is my son and you've always known that." "Get out of my house." "I can't let this go, John." "I'm not gonna stand here and listen to this." "That's because you never listen." "You never listen to me." "As for what I did, we were young." "I'm sorry." "Is that what you want me to say?" "I want my money." "Put those coins down." "You think that's gonna make it better?" "Those coins are greed, Deel." "It's your own greed you're trying to disguise." "You're scared of this world." "You think if you hide everything, it'll be easy." "Don't ever hit me again." "You hear me?" "Son of a bitch!" "No!" "Open it." "Come here." "What's happening?" "Is it Uncle Deel?" "Let's move." "What about Dad?" "He's out there... somewhere." "Go." "Let's go out the back." "Dad!" "Hell!" "Out the window!" "Come on!" "I can't, Chris." "It's too high." "Yes, you can!" "It's in your head." "Quick." "Climb down the ladder." "Come on." "Get down." "Are you coming?" "Just go." "I can't!" "This is how it looks." "Nobody knows I'm here." "The law already has an opinion of you." "And it's your knife... that killed my brother." "It's a pity, too." "You and I was friends." "Chris!" "Get in!" "I can't drive stick." "The coins!" "Give me those." "Get out." "Move!" "His keys." "Come on!" "Are we gonna tell the police?" "He's got my knife and my fingerprints." "Cops will think I did it." "Everybody's looking for a reason to put me away." "You okay?" "Did he hurt you?" "No." "We got nobody." "Where are we gonna go?" "We'll shave our heads... grow beards and only speak Apache." "I don't know." "We should go to Mexico." "Gold's good there." "We can't sell them." "It's bad luck." "I'll take all the luck I can get." "I got an idea." "Come on." "Excuse us!" "If you need any work done, we'll give you a hand for a bite to eat." "Nice hat." "Boys!" "Lunch is ready." "Okay, y'all." "Eat some of this shit." "You want to hear a joke?" "It's a Mexican weather joke." "What's the weather like in Mexico?" "Chili today, hot tamale." "Aw, come on" "You and your jokes!" "It's a damn funny joke." "There's some damn fine food up in here." "Really?" "Think so?" "It's been a long time since somebody treated us so good." "Thank you." "It's been a long time since we had some young people... sit with us." "We're unable to have children." "We had us a little one for a while." "A little baby boy." "But he wouldn't take my milk." "I tried and tried, but my breasts were strangers to him." "What we do now is we count the blessings that we do have." "My baby." "Amen." "Praise Jesus." "Little man, eat." "Because you don't eat, you won't be able to grow up like this." "Hello." "You know what Wadsworth did?" "What?" "Pulled a nickel out of my armpit." "Can't buy much with a nickel." "I like this goat." "You don't look so good and you didn't hardly eat." "You don't like my cooking?" "Now, you boys look exhausted." "Why don't you stay here and rest a while?" "My shoulder hurt." "That little one looks so sick." "What about my pain?" "He said keep an eye on them... that he'd be here soon." "I hope I done the right thing." "Be all right." "They probably just lost and hungry, forgot where their home was." "I done that myself." "Where they at, anyway?" "They're in a hammock, resting." "Out back?" "I told him they would be there." "Howdy." "Mr. Pela?" "Nice place." "It's a damn nice place you got." "Them boys is pretty smooth." "I ain't surprised they got one over on you, either." "Didn't take me over." "They ran out this morning when they seen the workload I had for them." "Really?" "What's wrong?" "Howdy, ma'am." "How're you doing?" "They're gone." "They disappeared." "They ran off." "What you mean, they're gone?" "When's the last time you seen them?" "I don't know." "Did they tell you where they're going?" "They said they were going down to Watertown... working on the water." "We should call the sheriff." "Get a couple of cars out looking for them." "They couldn't have got far." "Don't be calling the sheriff, damn it!" "Tim." "Yeah?" "Guess what?" "What?" "There's a cow." "I know." "I want to milk the hell out of it." "Get them up!" "I miss Dad... and the hogs... and my books... and my shower cap." "I know." "When Dad died, you think he got across the river?" "We should keep the coins." "Dad might need them for the ferryman and come back." "I think you might have chiggers." "They're too small to see, so it's just from the bites." "The bites are really big." "You know, chiggers... they're, like, the smallest animals on earth to have such a harmful bite." "They hurt a lot and it's like poison ivy." "I read a book about them... but it was a long time ago... and I forget now." "But I do remember that they don't bite your skin, they just...." "Well, they bite your skin, they don't feed off of it." "They just bite it, and that's where their nest is... that little red dot." "And if you smush them, they die." "They're all red, but in the middle, it's even redder..." "like flowers, you know, with the thorns." "But on the outside they're just pink, like your bumps right there." "If we were like big-size chiggers... if I bit you, there'd be a big lump on your head." "Really big." "Because the bites are bigger than they are." "So it would hurt a lot." "If we moved to some country like Iceland or Nebraska  there it's too cold for them, so we'd be safe." "And they'd all either die or run away." "I couldn't tell if that was a man or a woman." "There are a lot of red ants over here." "Do you like books?" "Yup." "The Jinx of Payrock Canyon." "That's a really good book." "It's about this guy who's just going around, and then he finds this treasure." "And he doesn't know what it is and he has to go find it." "When he opens it up, it puts a curse on him." "And he avenges the guy... that put the curse on him." "Nothing personal, Chris." "I've got labor laws to deal with around here." "Labor laws." "They'll take me off in handcuffs if I hire someone like you." "We have nothing here for you." "I appreciate your stopping by." "Shut up!" "Who was that?" "I don't know." "What did he want?" "Money." "All I have is the nickel Wadsworth gave me." "So I gave him my book." "Why did you do that?" "I don't know." "I didn't get that job." "Do they have whores, I mean horses, in Mexico?" "Hell, yeah." "Goddamn it." "Shit." "Backwards." "Turn off the goddamn engine, retard." "Hey, man, don't I know you from someplace?" "I don't think so." "Did you ever hear of a singing and dancing group called "The Historics"?" "Look man, I'm in a hurry." "It's kind of like a play on words, like storks, like the bird... but "Historics" because they" "Like I said, I'm in a hurry, and this car... keeps conking out on me every time I try to get anywhere." "You think you can persuade it to give me a little more...." "It needs torque." "You know about" "There was another wreck the other day." "An ice cream truck wiped out on the road." "We had to tow it." "It still had the ice cream in it." "It was melted, but we ate it anyway." "Why are you standing right behind me, Retardoe?" "Go back in the truck." "You ever do any time?" "Look, I'm in a hurry." "Where you want me to sit?" "I just got out of charm school myself." "You can sit" "Can I sit in the back of my car?" "You could, but there's always a danger of a disconnect... and the car would roll out." "You wouldn't be able to drive it because it's dead." "You're coming over here now." "I ain't sitting in the middle." "Those boots are awesome." "I think they're awesome." "We can sit in" "I'll sit in the middle." "There's this one song that The Historics do." "There's a monster in the canyon" "Don't you know That there's a monster in the canyon" "Think you'll ever get married?" "I don't know." "They look happy... but you never can tell." "Thank you." "Shit." "You seen two kids hanging around here?" "I saw a kid up the street." "Tied his babysitter to a tree with a thing of barbed wire." "What did he look like?" "Just a kid, I guess." "He had a double chin." "Bad sunburn." "What's wrong?" "I swallowed my gum." "Shit." "How did you come by that thing on your face?" "I choked on my gum." "Kind of weird." "Got that radiator fixed up as quick as we could." "Cool." "It should last a good while." "Keep her fervid." "All right." "Bye." "See you later." "Thanks again." "What, are you crying now?" "What does it look like I'm doing?" "Throwing up boogers." "I'll give you a booger." "I'll give you a booger right where you" "This is going in your big, fat, stupid, baby mouth." "Check it out." "The old clerk thought I just went in to take a leak." "Where are we going?" "I'll get work." "We'll get set up and then head south till we get to Mexico... go eat cheese or something." "You want some?" "No." "You got the wrong damn end." "Hurry up." "Come on, man!" "If I was looking for work out here, who would I talk to..." "like working on boats or whatever?" "You can talk to any of these guys on a boat around here." "If he's got a boat." "I got a crew right now." "If I can get them to work." "They won't work." "They stand around jawing their mouth, talking about hurricanes and stuff." "Let me tell you the truth." "I'm looking for two boys." "My boys, they run out on me." "I figure they might be working out here." "You seen them?" "No." "What they look like?" "A little bit like me, just smaller." "Anybody here?" "Anybody here?" "I wish we had a knife so we could kill animals that come around." "You never killed nothing in your life." "A mosquito." "It's not a mosquito." "It's a firefly." "There was something Granddaddy used to say." "Something he told me a long time ago." "He was Mama's dad." "He was walking in the woods... and there were fireflies." "A bunch of them, blinking off and on." "He called them nature's nightlights." "To help animals find their way in the dark." "Can't keep them." "They need to be able to fly around." "They'll die if they can't." "He had a way to calm me with his words." "I couldn't tell half the time if he was talking... or you were reading his mind." "Why don't we go see him?" "Who?" "Granddad and Grandma." "Maybe they don't want us anyhow." "You ever think about that?" "They didn't like Dad's style." "And then after Mom died, they stopped showing up." "She really got a nice voice, though." "She gets the right break, she'll be here in a hurry." "What year was that?" "That was just last year that this picture was taken." "Her brother is a corporate airplane pilot." "She's 16 and he's about 19." "So young." "You love to see young people like that do so well... because a lot of them don't." "I did, too." "I used to have two...." "Tim!" "Scoot over." "This is medicine for intestinal problems." "Can you hold it down?" "Make you better." "I'm thinking we should stay here for a while." "Just until you get a little better, okay?" "Until your medicine starts working." "What does it taste like?" "You're getting weak." "If you get weak, you got to tell me." "How's that now?" "Is it good?" "It's Deel." "Move." "This way!" "God damn it." "Chris!" "Why don't you boys come out and let me look at you?" "We're family, right?" "Family looks after each other." "Protects each other." "They even forgive each other." "I'm here to ask for your forgiveness." "Chris!" "Chris, look what you're putting Tim through." "Running him around." "Let's stop all this." "I was thinking about Dad... how he spoke to us..." "like he was afraid." "When he looked me in the eye... sometimes..." "I believe he had no idea who I was." "Or didn't care." "Who was this kid?" "How did he spring from me?" "I like the questions you ask yourself." "It's my money." "Violet, are you okay?" "I am." "He's an asshole." "Can we please get out of here?" "You're bleeding." "Yeah." "Thanks." "That's Gus." "Hey, Gus." "Hey." "I want, like, a thousand babies." "A whole force of them, so that you're a team and when you walk anywhere... people always have to pay attention to you." "But maybe some more boys than girls, because...." "Where are you from?" "Nowhere." "He's not doing so good." "He'll fight it off." "He always does." "Here." "You got something to write with?" "I met this gypsy once." "She told me that you write down a wish." "Like whatever you want most in the world." "You write it down." "Here." "Don't tell me what it is, okay?" "Then you put it in here." "Don't look at mine." "Put it in here." "You see this river?" "It goes to the ocean." "And so you throw your bottle in the ocean." "Well, you don't, you throw it in the river... and if it makes it all the way to the ocean, then everything comes true." "But a lot can go wrong... because it could just get pulled down." "Something could pull it down." "Have you seen them?" "I ain't seen them." "I'll make it worth your while." "Where did you get that book?" "Well?" "Your bag is right there, if that's what you're looking for." "What are you doing?" "Those belonged to my dad." "They're worth a lot." "I figured you could use them." "I ain't got nowhere to go." "No one to be with me." "See?" "Where did you say you were from?" "I didn't know if I'd ever see you again, Chris." "Gather up them coins, boy." "Do it." "I said gather up them coins, boy." "I ain't your boy." "You know, Chris... your ma and me, we had some beautiful good times." "Don't talk about her." "We had some beautiful nights, boy." "And you were gonna be our gift to each other." "You don't know nothing!" "I know your daddy, that stranger he always saw in you, Chris... was because you weren't his." "You're my seed, and he had no right." "No right at all." "Now, let's take them coins and let's start over, just you and me." "Chris!" "Come on." "Tim!" "Come on." "Come one, Tim!" "Run!" "Wait!" "Are you okay?" "Come on!" "I can't." "He can't." "He's too...." "You have to keep up." "Now go." "Come on." "Hide!" "Here, stay down, okay?" "Keep still." "I'll get help." "Come on." "You want this?" "Just hand them to me, Chris." "Nobody gets them." "Frickin'...." "I used to get confused." "I used to get confused where things begin and when they end." "Or what happens before and after." "What about Mom and Dad?" "Did they cross the river?" "Are they watching us now?" "Where will I go?" "Sometimes I wonder if I'm superstitious." "Do I believe in broken mirrors, demons, and curses?" "Because sometimes, it's a comfort." "Everything is okay." "You're safe with us now." "Grandpa... he's awake." "You're safe with us now." "The doctor said you almost could have drowned." "How you feel?" "Coins." "Coins." "You cold?" "Your grandmother is gonna cook us up some good food... and I want you to eat real good." "Will you do that for me?" "Hell, yeah." "You ever eat any alligator?" "It's good." "Makes you strong." "They been around 200 million years." "What about venison?" "Buffalo?" "They're all good for you." "We'll have all that." "Your grandmother can cook so good... makes your tongue turn around and slap your brains."