Wish you were staying in town
A little longer, aunt dorothy.
Jeffrey's dying to meet you.
I'mdying for him to meet you.
I wish i had the chance to visit, too.
Why don't you bring him with you
Next time you come to vermont?
I know he'd love it,
But i don't want to be a hassle.
Oh, it's no hassle.
When i was still teaching, i used to have my students
Up for the weekend all the time.
I actually miss the company something...
Aunt dorothy?
What?
That man.
No, it couldn't be.
Who is it?
Two women.
A man.
A chase down library steps.
And so our story begins.
Like life, all stories have a beginning,
Middle and end, but the distances
Between beginning and end, between story and life,
Can sometimes be deceptive—
Especially when viewed through the shifting prisms
Of the twilight zone.
Come on.
Who is that man?
It just may be someone i knew
Very many years ago.
Oh, it was... The fall of 1933.
I was fresh out of college, just 22.
I was taking my first teaching assignment
In a small appalachian town— powder ridge, west virginia.
Here you go, ma'am.
Thank you.
You shouldn't put all your shoes in one bag.
Not shoes. Books.
Miss livingston.
Yes, i'm dorothy livingston.
You must be mrs...
Dockweiller, roberta.
A pleasure to meet you.
Nice to meet you, too.
You best give that here, son.
Do as the gentleman says, william.
I didn't realize you'd be leaving so soon.
I have so many questions.
My sister's baby isn't willing to wait.
Don't worry. There is nothing you need to know
That isn't in the notes i left you on my desk.
Ready to board.
Don't worry. These three months are going to fly by.
By the time i get back,
You'll wish i had stayed away forever.
Something else
Not covered in my notes.
Something important.
There's a boy—
A primary grader.
His name is mica—
Mica frost.
He'll want to use the library very often.
You mustnever deny him access
To the library. Never.
You understand?
Yes, mother. It's very clean.
And the bed is firm.
I checked first thing.
Listen, i'm going to have to go soon.
This is very expensive.
I know. I miss our after-Supper talks, too.
I'll call you first thing next sunday
And let you know how everything went. Okay?
I will.
I love you, too.
Very much. Very much.
Good night, mother.
Bye.
All right, everyone!
Everyone simmer down now!
Simmer down! All right, come on!
Take your seats! All right!
Okay.
Daniel ellidge?
Present.
Okay.
Nathaniel ellidge.
Present.
Okay.
Uh... Mica frost.
Present.
Okay. Uh...
Jennifer hayes.
While the expanding colonies were growing
Wealthy and independent,
Britain maintained that the colonies existed
Solely for it's own profit,
And were to be tightly ruled
By the king and parliament back in england.
Up until 1763, however,
Control over the colonies was fairly lax.
But, after france was defeated
In the french and indian wars,
Britain decided to restore control
And tax the colonies to help pay for the war.
In addition to numerous new taxes
Imposed on the colonists,
A standing army was to be sent to america
To be quartered at colonial expense,
And settlement beyond
Your own appalachian mountains was forbidden.
Mica frost.
Mica frost?
Yes, ma'am?
Can you tell me
The natural border the british chose
Beyond which colonial settlement was forbidden?
No, ma'am, i can't.
I just mentioned it a moment ago.
The appalachians.
I suggest you put your other work aside for later,
And listen to the lesson at hand.
In 1765...
Mica.
Time to go home.
Hi, miss livingston.
Hi.
So, in order to add the two fractions,
We must first determine the common denominator.
Who'd like to try that for us?
Marcy.
Mica?
Mica, uh...
May i see you down here
A minute?
Mica, i've been going over the school records.
As far as i can tell,
Mrs. Dockweiller hasn't had a conference
With your parents in quite some time.
I was wondering if you could shed some light on that.
My parents died in an accident
In our truck more than a year ago.
I'm sorry. Uh...
Who's taking care of you?
There's just me and my grandfather now.
I see.
Would you ask your grandfather
If he could stop by
Some afternoon soon?
I'd like to talk to him.
No. He... He... He couldn't.
He's got too much to do.
I see.
Please tell him, then,
That i'll stop by and see him soon.
You can't do that.
Mica...
Just write a note.
That's what mrs. Dockweiller does.
I promise he'll read it.
That won't do in this case.
You can't see him.
You can't!
"... And the princess heard the lion in the brambles,
"but she couldn't see it.
"but she knew it was hungry,
And she knew it was coming closer to her."
"... And, as the sun disappeared behind the mountains,
"the forest grew very dark,
"and the princess heard the lion in the brambles,
"but she couldn't see it.
"but she knew it was hungry,
And she knew it was coming closer to her."
Good night, granddad.
Good night.
How much did you hear?
Just the very last.
Mica, i apologize.
When... When i stepped up here,
It was not my intention to eavesdrop.
Mica, why don't you tell me
What's going on?
That man in there?
The man i call
My grandfather?
Yes?
Well, he's not my grandfather.
He's my great-Great- Great-Grandfather.
Born in 1793.
He's 141 years old.
Mica...
I've never heard of anyone—
Well, anyone outside of the bible—
Living past 110.
How...?
I keep him alive.
Like my daddy did.
And my daddy's dad.
And his daddy before him.
I keep him alive by...
By... By telling him stories.
Stories?
Not whole stories.
But stories left in the middle.
Left that... So he's got to stay alive.
Got to live till the next day to find out what happens.
Mica, stories don't keep someone alive.
But... But they do.
Every night, i finish the story from the night before.
Then i start a new one—
Always leaving off at some middle spot.
Some spot where he's aching to know
What's going to happen next.
I used to sit with my daddy when he told stories.
He told me to listen, too.
And learn, because, in ten years or so,
It was going to be my turn.
Then he and mama died
Out on old simpson bridge.
It came to be up to me that very day.
Has been ever since.
You make up a story
All by yourself every day?
Got to.
Mica, even if it is your stories
That keep him alive,
Everybody has their time here on earth.
Wouldn't it be wrong
To keep such an old man
Alive in such a way?
I remember lying in bed lots of nights
Hearing my mama argue
About that same thing with my daddy.
But my daddy always said
That, as long as granddad was clearheaded and comfortable,
Well, it was unthinkable for us—
Well, his family— not to do everything we could
To keep him with us.
Now that's my responsibility.
Like it was my daddy's.
I'm the man of the house now.
Ow!
Miss livingston, there's been an accident! Come quick!
Let me through.
He fell out of the tree.
I heard him hit with a loud crack.
All right, now, mica,
I want you to...
I want you to lay as still as you can.
All right?
Ow! My arm!
Just lay still, and we'll get help.
Russell, run into town and get the doctor.
Tell him... Tell him i sent you,
And that it's an emergency.
It's all right.
You should stay quiet.
Ow! Let me go!
Let me go!
Ow! I got to go home!
Looks like a compound break.
May set easy, and it may not.
I'm going to suggest he stay the night
With my wife and me
So i can keep an eye on him.
Will you let his folks know?
Yes, of course, doctor.
Miss livingston, please!
Thank you, doctor.
Mica, it will be all right.
It's going to be all right.
Hello.
Mr. Frost.
Yes?
I'm dorothy livingston.
I'm mica's teacher.
Oh, yes, he's mentioned you several times
In the last few days.
Uh... I've come because
There's been an accident at school.
Mica?
He's all right.
He broke an arm in a fall from a tree.
Apparently, it's nothing serious.
He's with the doctor.
That boy is quite a climber.
He's a real frost.
I've never met a male frost yet
Who wasn't most comfortable
Perched way up higher than anybody else.
Did the doctor say what time
The boy was likely to be home?
He won't be coming home tonight, mr. Frost.
He's going to be staying with the doctor and his wife
Until the morning.
(whispers:) no.
You're still alive.
You didn't need the stories.
You didn't need the stories!
Mica.
You dropped this
Yesterday when you fell.
I finished the story that you'd begun last night,
And i began another one.
It's all in there.
But i didn't think that you believed.
I'm still not convinced that it's the stories
That keep your great-Great- Great-Grandfather alive,
But i thought, just in case...
I finished my three-Month teaching assignment
In powder ridge,
Gave all the books i had brought with me
To mica as a gift,
Got on the bus and have never been back.
There have been a number of times
Over the past 50 years when i wondered
Just what became of that odd little boy
And the old man.
And you think that man we're following is...?
Mica.
But, if the old man were 141 in 1933,
He's have to be close to 200 now.
Keep it.
Thanks.
And, as the woman watched,
The door eased open very slowly...
Is the old man there?
Is he 200 years old?
I can't say, mother.
Not until tomorrow.
? Mellow, easy rock 'n' roll— kgrr?
This is ace campbell coming up on 12:00 midnight,
Playing the best of yesterday exclusively
For all of southern california.
For all you weather fanatics out there,
It's currently 70 degrees downtown.
But, then again, who cares?
Join the blonde patrol.
You know, speaking of the blonde patrol,
Up on deck is our own midnight queen, andrea fields forever.
She's going to take you into tomorrow.
And, you know, speaking of tomorrow—
I love these segues—
We're going to continue that story of the gentleman—
I think it's some little town in virginia—
Who has locked himself in a telephone booth
With 42 carrier pigeons.
He is demanding that all the money that he has lost
In the last 30 years in pay phones
Be returned to him, including interest.
I love this guy.
All right, i'm going home to have some milk and cookies.
Andrea fields is up next.
Remember, this is ace campbell saying, "ace knows the place."
Keep your dial to 96.3 kgrr.
Ciao.
Yo. It's the midnight queen.
How you doing?
Hi, ace.
You working saturday night?
Uh... No. Uh-Uh.
What do you say?
You want to go out?
Out?
Yeah, out.
Like a date.
I put on a suit and a little tie.
You put on a dress.
We go to dinner, maybe a club.
Later on, who knows?
I don't think so, ace.
Thanks anyway.
Andie, can i ask you a question?
Sure.
We had something together.
At least i thought so.
You said you needed some time, so i backed off
And i waited... And i waited.
Did i miss the punch line,
Or did you give me the brush-Off
And i didn't see it?
You seeing someone else?
No. Uh-Uh.
Then what is going on with you?
Have you forgotten how to smile?
I know it's none of my business,
But you're either spectacularly unhappy
Or you're doing a fabulous imitation
Of abject misery here.
Ace, i don't know what to tell you.
I really liked going out with you.
We had some great times,
But i guess i'm not ready
For anything more than a few laughs.
It's not that i don't like you...
No, it's okay.
It's okay.
No big deal.
So we're not lovers anymore.
We're still friends.
I'll tell you two important things.
One, you need someone in your life besides yourself.
And two,
You've got about 90 seconds
Before we start broadcasting dead air.
Ciao.
Ace, where did this come from?
I found it in a bin at tower records.
I thought you'd get a kick out of it.
It's your old boyfriend, right?
Yeah.
I figured, since you probably
Had more than a few laughs with him,
And you didn't have the album...
No, i said i never listened to it.
There's a big difference.
You okay?
Yeah.
See you tomorrow night.
? Kgrr?
Get out all your miner's hats, people.
This is andrea fields,
And we're spending the next four hours panning for gold.
First up on our gold rush is a little treasure—
"nightsong" by simon locke.
? Tell me, where does it say?
? When you're lost?
? You stay that way?
? While a chorus of fools?
? Getting in the way?
? Cannot hear, cannot play?
? With the nightsong?
? All alone, i reflect?
? On my demons in the night?
? Some are wise, some are good?
? Some are not so bright?
? None can hear, sing along?
? With the nightsong?
Simon?
Don't be angry, andie.
I need to talk to you.
After five years,
Don't you think it's a little late?
Yes, it has been.
But i didn't stop thinking about you. Needing you.
You never needed anyone.
When you walked out,
My life stopped.
Now you just waltz in here like nothing ever happened.
Get out!
Get the hell out!
(sobs:) i don't want to see you.
I've lost five years of my life.
So, please, just go away.
What are you doing here?
Helping.
Did i ask you to?
You don't like yourself anymore, do you?
Just leave me alone.
Probably the battery.
I'll get a cab.
At this hour?
Then i'll walk.
I'll walk with you.
Andrea, i'm trying to explain.
Then why don't you try and tell me
Where you've been for five years?
Around.
Around?
What kind of answer is that?
Well, i...
Come on, simon.
You can't dish out the crap anymore.
I'm not buying it.
Dropping out of sight
Every time you needed to work on a new song—
Every time you needed to be inspired.
The way that groupie in fresno inspired you.
You knew about that?
I knew about all of them.
I was just too young and in love to care.
I had this stupid idea that you needed me.
I did.
I just got lost.
I can't explain it better than that.
The breaks that were always headed my way...
Always went to someone else.
It just slipped by me.
But you had a record contract.
Nightsongwas the first of two.
What happened?
I guess i wasn't ready for it.
Oh, simon.
You always were two beats behind.
I just get back,
And you're nagging me already.
Remember when you were going
To trade your van in for studio time?
He would have gone for it.
Maybe, if you hadn't crashed into a tree first.
Remember when we were stranded in tucson?
You were singing at that little bar.
Yeah. It wasn't that bad.
We were together.
We did have fun, didn't we?
Didn't we?
You haven't changed.
Yes, i have.
I hope not. Not altogether.
The simon i knew
Wanted to change the world with his songs.
Modest little goal.
The simon i knew wanted to be that comic book hero,
Golden condor, when he grew up.
"when darkness falls, and evil calls..."
Oh, come on.
"and terror rules the streets,
"call the golden condor
And crime shall know defeat."
No, i won't make the same mistake twice.
Andie, don't go.
Andie, please.
? Tell me, where does it say?
? When you're lost?
? To stay that way?
? While a chorus of fools?
? Getting in the way?
? Cannot hear, cannot play... ?
This isn't very funny.
? Darling, last time that i left home?
? I couldn't believe how bad i missed you?
? Even though i didn't know?
? How long it was i'd have to be away?
Maybe he's not here.
Maybe i had that album the whole time.
Maybe i put it on.
You're playing tricks with yourself, andrea.
Go to sleep.
Simon's not here.
I'm here, andie.
No, simon, please.
I didn't come back to hurt you this time.
You must believe that.
Those songs were about us, weren't they?
Yes, the songs were about us—
About you.
I could never listen to them.
I understand that.
Why did i put it on?
Why tonight?
Maybe it's time, andie.
Time to feel something.
I'm still afraid.
Oh, andie.
? I guess we're kind of lucky?
? We know a bit about love?
? Oh, yeah?
? I'm trying?
? I've got to get some sleep?
? Somebody's coming at dawn to take me somewhere?
? I don't know where?
? They told me they would tell me where that was?
? When i got there?
? I tell you, i'm lucky?
? We know a bit about love?
? Ohh. ?
No. It's not right.
Maybe it will be different this time.
No, it can't, andie.
You don't understand.
This time, there's no going back.
Is that what you came here to tell me?
In a way, yes.
But there's more to it than that.
You've got yourself a wasted trip.
Why couldn't you leave me with what i remembered?
You had to see if you could
Still wrap me around your finger?
See if i still loved you?
Needed you?
Just take your music and your soft, perfect words
And get the hell out.
Oh, andie, i don't blame you for being angry,
For feeling hurt and humiliated,
But there's something you just don't understand.
I want to show you something.
Will you come with me?
Where are we?
I've never been here before.
Not many people have.
It's an easy place for a man to get lost.
I was running.
Like i ran from everything in my life.
Maybe i was running from you.
Maybe i was running from success.
I don't know.
Simon, slow down.
It was just before the album was released.
The label was enthusiastic.
They wanted me to do concerts,
And maybe television, to promote it.
I panicked, andie.
I don't know whether i was afraid of failure or success.
Maybe i was afraid that, if the album took off—
If i actually became a success—
I wouldn't have any excuses anymore.
Whatever it was, i just took off.
Jumped on my bike and started running.
I ran farther than i intended to.
Simon!
What is it?
Something happened. I don't know what.
Suddenly, the brakes weren't working.
Come with me.
You're frightening me.
Where are we going?
Simon, wait.
Simon?
All this time.
That one obscure album that no one remembered.
No one cared...
And then you played it.
Finally, you heard my songs—
Our songs—
And i felt stronger.
And i came back
Because you needed me.
The bike that almost hit you at the station—
That was me, andie.
I was saving you from me.
Do you understand?
You can forget simon locke.
You deserve better than that.
But i love you.
I never stopped loving you.
I know.
But you can stop now.
That's really why i came back.
To let you start living again.
Forgive me, andie.
Forgive me, please.
Kgrr request line.
I've got a request.
What is it?
Could you play "nightsong" by simon locke again?
I'd be delighted to play that again.
Thanks.
Thanks a lot.
This is kgrr,
And this is "nightsong"...
From andrea to simon, with love.
? Tell me where... ?