[At moms.]
[Rustling around the loft, looking high and low. It’s here somewhere, I know it.]
[Felix Foley] “Where are you, you little bugger…”
[Mommy Foley] “I think your dad threw him out, Felix.”
[No way. I don’t think he did.]
[Felix Foley] “I never let him out of my sight, ma. I always kept him close.”
[Mommy Foley] “I’m sorry kiddo..” [Mom shrugs, stepping back down the ladder.] “Your dad was a complicated man.”
[Felix Foley] “You mean he’d have done anything to hurt me?” [I shout after her.]
[She doesn’t reply.]
[Her head buried in the sand as usual.]
[Felix Foley] “When I was a boy, I had a teddy bear I called Lampy. I would take him anywhere with me. When I was afraid of the dark, I held Lampy close and he shone a light that helped me see. On his belly was this little torch that illuminated anything I wanted.”
[I take a seat on some old boxes.]
[Felix Foley] “I had a lot to be afraid of as a boy, but Lampy was the one thing that helped me overcome it… well, some of it.”
[One more look around behind me.]
[He’s not there. It’s depressing.]
[Felix Foley] “I became a bit dependent on the light. I was drawn to it like a moth to flame. I thought in any circumstances that it could save me from the darkness. Yet when my dad came to beat me, there wasn’t anything that torch or Lampy could do. It couldn’t stop the pain. It couldn’t stop the punishment.”
[Felix Foley] “And that’s what it was supposed to do.”
[Felix Foley] “It was supposed to illuminate the darkness.”
[Felix Foley] “But my dad was darker than ever, and it couldn’t help.”
[The camera closes in on my eyes.]
[Tear filled.]
[Felix Foley] “You make the same promises to people who come into your store, don’t you Albie? You promise them a light for the darkness. You offer to light the way and shine a big ol’ helpful torch on their problems.”
[Felix Foley] “But we both know that’s a lie, don’t we?”
[Felix Foley] “Like Lampy, your help is conditional on circumstances. It isn’t unconditional, it can’t be.”
[Standing up, mom has returned with a glass of milk.]
[Mommy Foley] “Lampy wasn’t the light…” [she mutters.] “It was a torch, but it wasn’t the light.”
[Confusing.]
[Felix Foley] “How’d you mean?”
[Mommy Foley] “The light was in here..” [she taps my chest.] “It was in here all along, Felix. You gave yourself the courage. You survived your father. Lampy comforted you but it couldn’t help you. Only you could do that. That silly teddy lit the way but only you could walk the path.”
[She was right.]
[Felix Foley] “You see Albert?” [I ask with a big smile.] “You offer a light to those who need it. You offer to illuminate the way but I know the secret. I know that the only way through the darkness is with courage, not fear. I know that light comes from within and can vanquish what stands in your way.”
[Felix Foley] “What you offer is a torch and that’s comforting.”
[Felix Foley] “But it isn’t enough.”