Illumination Antiques – 24 hours later
[The destruction inside the store is still quite evident; Lamplight is on hand and knee – picking up shards of what remains of hundreds of antiques. He stops to take a look around and… smiles.]
“Years ago, when father headed this establishment, a radical group of self-proclaimed property authoritarians approached the front door with an aggressive purpose.”
[A black and white image starts to paint as Lamplight describes – starting off with a fleet of angry men – with the one man holding some sort of paper decree – and a confused Senior Lamplight with his arms crossed.]
“They told him that they were now the legal owners of a great deal of land – including the land in which Illumination Antiques proudly rests upon. Because of that, they were ceasing and desisting the property post-haste – voluntarily or involuntarily.”
[Albert, now back to his feet, starts forming a pile of wreckage with his broom.]
“And just what do you think my dear father did when he heard that?”
[He flicks that pile into the dustpan, never turning away from looking at us.]
“He smiled.”
[We see just that. Senior simply keeps his arms shrugged, smiles, and —]
“He denied their request – but happily offered all of them a BOGO discount on anything that illuminated them. They didn’t seem to take that very well.”
[We see the authoritarian task force bull-rush Senior, pushing him aside and forcefully gain entrance into the store. Once they’re in -]
“They grab ahold of my dear father and toss him like an animal to the porch and then slam the door shut.”
[Lamplight, who’s now crouched back down at the floor, surveys the rest of the damage – specifically a heaping pile of stickers with “CANCEL” on them.]
“They dismantled everything that my father had amassed for the sake of their cause.”
“However, I’m sure they were surprised when they realized that father was back inside somehow.”
“It was probably even more absurd that no matter how much they beat that old sass into the ground and tossed him like a hoodlum through the front door, he managed to re-appear. Like a flash of light.”
‘Eventually…”
[The herd disperses through the front door – dejected and confused- the crumpled decree slowly falling to their feet.]
“They gave up.”
“No matter how badly they wanted to take over Illumination Antiques, it was never theirs.”
“No matter how badly they wanted to get rid of Senior Lamplight, this was always his.”
[Albert picks up a handful of the cancellation stickers and moves towards a receptacle.]
“And now? This is mine, Sebastian.“
“One thing you’ll learn on this authoritarian journey of yours is that some things come with permanence here in lovely Arcadia. Illumination Antiques is a part of it all – much like these antiques that you destroyed were a part of the establishment itself.”
“But come with your destructive hands to an open door. Pull it to pieces until you’re too exhausted to move anymore…”
“Just know…“
[Albert tosses the stickers into the receptacle, and smiles.]
“I’ll be here – with the light on, no less. Because it’s the establishment, good sirs…”
“That you may not destroy.”