"You unlock this door with the key of imagination." "Beyond it is another dimension- a dimension of sound," "a dimension of sight, a dimension of mind." "You're moving into a land of both shadow and substance, of things and ideas." "You've just crossed over into the twilight zone." "Children, your father and i are going to divorce." "Now if you don't know what that means, well, it means that he's going to live in one place, and, well, i'm going to live in another just as far apart as we can get." "What we want to know from you kids is do you want to live with me or with her?" "Now, it's going to be up to you two." "You've got to make up your minds." "We want it the way it was." "You better forget that." "Amen." "This time we'll be good." "We won't fight, or cry or make noise." "We'll be good, won't we, jeb?" "What do you mean, sport?" "Y'all hate each other 'cause you got us." "Well, i'll tell you one thing... if it hadn't been for you two, we wouldn't have stuck together as long as we have." "So show us a little consideration." "We don't have to stay with neither one of you." "Come on, jeb." "Come back here!" "We're not through with you." "What do you kids think you're doing?" "We can't get back." "We've got to." "What are they doing?" "Come out!" "Jeb, get out of there." "You hear your daddy?" "Aunt t, help us, please!" "Aunt t?" "Come out of there!" "Please, aunt t." "Kids!" "Jeb?" "What do they mean, "aunt t"?" "What do you kids think you're doing?" "Jeb?" "Do you hear your daddy?" "You're really going to get it this time." "Sport, do you hear me?" "Jeb?" "Are you coming out of there, or i'm coming after you?" "!" "They're down there an awful long time." "Yeah, i know." "Do something- they're drowning!" "Hurry!" "Oh!" "Please don't let them drown." "Don't let them drown." "They're not down there." "They've got to be." "They're not down there." "A swimming pool not unlike any other pool- a structure built of tile and cement and money, a backyard toy for the affluent, wet entertainment for the well-to-do." "But to jeb and sport sharewood, this pool holds mysteries not dreamed of by the building contractor not guaranteed in any sales brochure." "For this pool has a secret exit that leads to a never-never land, a place designed for junior citizens who need a long voyage away from reality into the bottomless regions of the twilight zone." "Introduction to a perfect setting:" "Colonial mansion, spacious grounds, heated swimming pool- all the luxuries money can buy." "Brother and sister, names jeb and sport, healthy, happy, normal youngsters." "Gloria sharewood by name, glamorous by nature." "Gil sharewood, handsome, prosperous, the picture of success." "A man who has achieved every man's ambition- beautiful children, beautiful home, beautiful wife." "Idyllic?" "Obviously." "But don't look too carefully, don't peek behind the facade." "The idyll may have feet of clay." "You're home early, darling." "Just what were you doing in town today?" "So now i'm being followed." "Darn you loud-mouthed kids!" "Pipe down out there." "Jeb?" "You're still holding your breath?" "You're gonna suffocate yourself." "It's the only way i can keep quiet." "Mama didn't mean we couldn't breathe." "It was the yelling and the hollering that was making her head ache." "I'm just a natural born screamer." "Can't play unless i holler." "I saw your car in the parking lot next to the tv station." "I had an interview- anything wrong with that?" "I'm sick and tired of my talent going to waste." "Your what?" "My talent." "Now what high-fashion model can hold a candle to me?" "Is that what you are this week?" "High-fashion model?" "Seems to me that last week you were an artist." "If they call me, i'll take the job." "You've got a job here- taking care of those kids." "What's the maid for, sugar?" "What are you for, sugar?" "Look down there- what do you see?" "A swimming pool." "A pretend game, stupid." "What do you see?" "Well... a river, and you and me floating down on a raft like tom sawyer." "See, jeb?" "Mm-hmm." "We're coming to an island full of caves and rattle snakes and pirates." "And witches." "Well, you can have one witch, just one." "A fat one." "Whoever heard of a fat witch?" "Well, i don't like skinny ones." "They don't make fat ones." "Look, it's my witch." "I can make them fat if i want to." "It's my game!" "Darn you loud-mouth kids." "Now pipe down out there." "I love you, sport." "You're silly." "I'll have my supper now." "Cook for you after the way you talked?" "Baby, you drink your supper." "Oh, you witch." "In the yard is a big, old swing made out of a car tire." "There's a little boy swinging." "He gets tired of swinging and goes into the kitchen." "Smells like chocolate cake." "There's a lady there." "She picks the little boy up and hugs him." "The little boy is happy." "The lady gives the little boy chocolate cake and... have we been bad?" "Heck, no." "Maybe i was bad and i didn't know it." "Aw, fishhooks, they'll stop after a while." "Hey!" "Want to have some fun?" "Where'd you come from?" "What mischief you brats in now?" "Talking to this boy." "What boy?" "He's gone!" "Darn fool kids." "Your supper's going to be ready soon." "You better be there on time." "Now do you hear me?" "Yes, ma'am." "Yes, ma'am." "Come on, you guys." "Where?" "A secret place." "Come on!" "Who are you, where are you from?" "Follow me!" "Let's go with that boy." "She said not to leave." "They don't care what we do." "Come on." "They're going to hurt each other." "Listen, boy, i'm older than you and i'm ordering you what to do." "Now, follow me." "Howdy." "We weren't sure you was coming." "Aunt t sent these just in case." "Aunt t?" "Where are we?" "At aunt t's." "Where's that?" "Secret place." "Sure got here funny." "Just dived in our pool and came out here." "Sport, how did we get here?" "I figure there's a hole in our pool that nobody knows about." "Maybe we got caught in the tide." "Don't you laugh at my brother." "Don't you laugh at me, either." "I'll chew you up and spit you out." "Let's see you!" "I'll get you." "Come and get me!" "Aunt t, she's going to beat me up, aunt t!" "Are you really, child?" "Yes, ma'am, i aim to." "I'll have to ask you to fight outside." "You're liable to break up something in here." "And i guess- fight fair, fight fair." "No hitting a man when he's down, no hitting below the belt." "You know the rules." "Now, while they're settling their difficulties you can finish icing the cake." "Thank you, ma'am." "And when the two come back if they have any teeth left they can help us eat it." "My, you are very accomplished." "Have you had much experience with cakes?" "No, ma'am, this is my first one." "One would never guess it." "Oh, what, back already?" "We didn't go yet." "May i do that?" "Me, too?" "I thought you were going to beat each other up." "We'd rather do that." "All right, you come round here and be the boss." "Sit down right there." "You're such solemn children." "Don't you know how to laugh?" "What's there to laugh at?" "Well, i'm rather a ridiculous old party." "You could laugh at me." "You're not funny, you're nice." "Oh, thank you." "Riddles, then- who knows a riddle?" "What do you call somebody who crosses the ocean twice and doesn't take a bath either way?" "What would you call him, whitt?" "A dirty double-crosser." "Aunt t, all the frosting's gone." "Well, you've made a handsome job of the cake." "Now, while it's cooling, i'll assign you new children to your chores and i'll show you where your rooms will be." "Why, what's the matter?" "We didn't come here to stay." "My dear, children always come here to stay." "No." "But i want to." "Jeb sharewood, come back here." "I want to stay with aunt t." "She's a kidnapper." "No!" "I've seen children i would have stolen to get away from unworthy parents, but i always resisted the temptation." "Sport?" "Jeb?" "They're calling us." "But i want to stay, sport." "You darn kids, where are you?" "We better go home." "Those voices you hear calling at first seem quite strong, but after a while, they'll fade and one day, you simply can't hear them anymore." "Sport?" "We've got to go home." "Can you tell me why?" "Because we're their children, we love them and they love us." "Then you must go back." "And you, too." "Your sister's reasons are quite valid." "How do we get home?" "Same way you got here." "We'll come see you again soon." "Oh, no, my darlings." "I expect this is our good-bye." "Finding your way here again would be quite difficult, if not impossible." "Good-bye, aunt t." "I'll race you back to the swimming hole!" "Have you found them?" "Not a sign." "I told them not to leave this yard." "They have no respect for you." "You're not firm enough." "You just don't spend enough time with them." "You try putting up with their screaming and whining 24 hours a day." "Mama!" "Sport!" "Jeb!" "Where have you two been?" "We've been calling you for an hour." "Get out of that pool." "Sport, where have you been?" "Jeb, get out of there now." "In the pool." "You're lying, i looked there." "We really were, daddy." "We came up on the other side and made a chocolate cake with aunt t." "Cake with... what's he talking about?" "We caught a fish." "He's just making things up, daddy." "He's lying to cover up whatever you been in." "I want the truth, boy, no more lies." "I wasn't lying, i wasn't." "Jeb, listen to me." "Get to your room and stand in the corner until you're ready to tell the truth." "It was just a game, daddy." "We were just pretending." "There isn't any aunt t." "You go along too, sport." "Those darn kids." "Sport?" "Jeb?" "Sport?" "Here, mama." "What are you doing here, sport?" "I got up early." "I couldn't sleep." "Well, where's your brother jeb?" "In his room." "He's not in the house anyplace." "I haven't seen him." "Is breakfast ready?" "No." "Now, your father's waiting." "Want to have a talk with you kids." "What about?" "There's going to be some changes around here." "Things going to be better, mama?" "You bet your sweet life they are." "Now you go find jeb." "Another one of your chores, jeb, will be to help whitt bring in the wood." "Why do there have to be chores?" "Every child must have chores to do." "It teaches him dignity of work and the joy of labor." "Makes big muscles, too, like mine." "Let's see." "Big, ain't it?" "Wow." "Oh, come along, boys, keep working." "Aunt t, what are all the shoes for?" "For the children." "You mean all the children got holes in their swimming pools?" "Oh, my dear, no." "Some of them come down chimneys or you open a door and there they are." "Sometimes you find them on street corners or doorsteps like whitt there." "Oh, sport, dear, come in!" "I can't, i'm dripping wet." "Oh, one minute." "There you are, my dear." "Thank you, ma'am." "I told you she'd come." "Well, i'm surprised that either one of you made it." "It's very rare that anybody comes back here the second time." "Sorry to bother you, ma'am." "You're not bothering me." "I'm glad to have somebody to help me do my needlepoint." "You do sew?" "No, ma'am." "Well, you'll be surprised how quickly you'll learn how." "I can't stay." "Oh." "I only came to get jeb." "I ain't going." "Things are going to be different at home now, jeb." "Mama told me." "Told you what?" "They aren't going to yell at each other." "Is that all?" "No." "We're going to take trips." "Where?" "Oh, everywhere- disneyland, ohio... australia, the north pole." "Anywhere we want to go." "I don't want to go to them places." "Are you coming or do i throw you over my shoulder like a sack of potatoes?" "Sport, has something changed at home?" "Yes, ma'am." "Everything will be different now." "In what way?" "They're going to love us." "Really?" "Yes, ma'am, my mama told me." "She wants to tell jeb, too." "Jeb, you'd look undignified if sport threw you across her shoulder like a bag of potatoes." "If i was you, i'd go willingly." "I'm staying right here." "If we leave this time, we won't never get to come back." "If what sport tells us is true, you weren't meant to be here at all but at home with your mother and father." "Do i have to go?" "I strongly advise it." "There's only one truly precious thing in the world that one human being can give to another and that's love." "If i was a young person on my way to receive that wondrous gift, i'd go with a smile on my face." "Oh, much better." "And i do think if love was waiting somewhere for me, well, i'd run to it just swiftly as the wind." "You ain't kidding me?" "I ain't kidding." "Bye, whitt." "Bye." "Don't worry, aunt t, everything will be all right." "Good-bye, love." "Maybe, um, we ought to wait till tonight." "No, let's get it over with now." "I've got people waiting at the office." "For once put your family ahead of your office." "You miserable... breakfast ready?" "I told you to find jeb, not play in the pool." "He was in the pool." "Don't you know what happens to children who lie?" "They go to hell and get burned up." "Sit down, your father's got some good news." "Sport told me." "We're going to be a happy family and take trips." "Jeb, uh... uh..." "you tell them." "Children, your father and i are going to divorce." "Now if you don't know what that means, well, it means that he's going to live in one place, and, well, i'm going to live in another just as far apart as we can get." "What we want to know from you kids is do you want to live with me or with her?" "Now, it's going to be up to you two." "You've got to make up your minds." "We want it the way it was." "You better forget that." "Amen." "This time we'll be good." "We won't fight or cry or make noise." "We'll be good, won't we, jeb?" "What do you mean, sport?" "Y'all hate each other 'cause you got us." "Well, i'll tell you one thing... if it hadn't been for you two, we wouldn't have stuck together as long as we have." "So show us a little consideration." "We don't have to stay with neither one of you." "Come on, jeb." "Come back here!" "We're not through with you." "What do you kids think you're doing?" "We can't get back." "We've got to." "What are they doing?" "Come out!" "Jeb, get out of there." "You hear your daddy?" "Aunt t, help us, please!" "Aunt t?" "Come out of there!" "Please, aunt t." "Kids!" "Jeb?" "What's the matter with them?" "Are you coming out of there?" "Aunt t, please!" "Aunt t, aunt t, help us!" "Aunt t, please take us." "What do they mean, "aunt t"?" "What do you kids think you're doing?" "Do you hear your daddy?" "You're really going to get it this time." "Sport, do you hear me?" "Jeb?" "Are you coming out of there, or i'm coming after you?" "!" "They're down there an awful long time." "Yeah, i know." "Do something- they're drowning!" "Hurry!" "Oh!" "Please don't let them drown." "Don't let them drown." "They're not down there." "They've got to be." "They're not down there." "Howdy!" "Jeb?" "Sport?" "Isn't this good, jeb?" "What's the matter, sport?" "Thought i heard something." "Children, where are you?" "Please come back." "Aunt t... may i have another piece of cake, please?" "Me, too." "Indeed." "Isn't it good?" "Oh, this is fine." "Good cake." "Mm-hmm." "A brief epilogue for concerned parents:" "Of course there isn't any such place as the gingerbread house of aunt t and we grown-ups know there's no door at the bottom of a swimming pool that leads to a secret place." "But who can say how real the fantasy world of lonely children can become?" "For jeb and sport sharewood, the need for love turned fantasy into reality." "They found a secret place in the twilight zone."