Exterior = Bench along the Thames River London [Snowy Daytime]
Narrator:
Chapter 5 = Lost Boys Found… 1913 A.D. in the bustling and beautiful city of London, England… The Morning sunlight parades through the partly cloudy winter sky as glistening sparkles dance across the frozen surface of the Thames River. Mr. Darling sits on a nearby riverside bench, lost in thought. He stares out over a gathering of skaters frolicking on the ice, one hand in his coat pocket, fingering the corner of the note he found in his mailbox. It simply read:
Vincent Frost:
Meet me for lunch at your favourite bench when you are ready to talk.
Narrator:
For three days, Mr. Darling avoids the place. Instead, he takes his lunch at his desk, stewing in sour thoughts, but after a few more nights of no progress with Wendy, he finally relents. Now, he finds himself sitting on his favourite lunch bench waiting for Vincent. He is afraid the bench will never again be the respite it had been in the past few years. He glances at his lunch, but the anxiety twists his stomach again. He resolves to go hungry… An act of penance for his actions in the nursery. A gust of wind hits his neck. He tugs his collar up against the chill as a hand, colder than the wind, touches his shoulder.
Vincent Frost:
"Ah, there you are, Mr. Darling. Told you we would speak again soon… I'm delighted you decided to accept my invitation. I know it was not easy for you, and I know this all must be very confusing," [grateful and warm]
Narrator:
Vincent takes a seat on the bench next to Mr. Darling. Vincent leans back against the opposite armrest, crossing his legs and draping one arm across the back of the bench as if trying to sneak his arm around Mr. Darling. Mr. Darling frowns and hugs his coat tighter.
Mr. Darling:
"Listen, I don't appreciate a stranger butting into my family's affairs. Now tell me who you are, what you know and what you want,"
Vincent Frost:
"Very well. Let's see... Where to begin?"
Narrator:
Vincent cast his gaze to the heavens for a moment.
Vincent Frost:
"I work for a... Well, let's just say a non-profit called The Pact of Adam," [picking his words carefully]
Vincent Frost:
"We provide several kinds of services and, during our routine business, we caught wind of your situation, so we started a preliminary investigation of the matter. Our findings were fruitful, to say the least. In fact, we have already discovered the true identities of those boys you have staying with you. It took some digging, but it would appear 'the Lost Boys' were not always so lost after all,"
Narrator:
Vincent pulls a set of files out of his briefcase.
Mr. Darling:
"Really? Are you sure?" [surprised and confused]
Vincent Frost:
"Indeed… In fact… I want you to look at these files."
Narrator:
Vincent spots the hesitation in Mr. Darling's eyes.
Vincent Frost:
Listen, Mr. Darling, we will not force you, but would you like to at least see what we have already learned?"
Mr. Darling:
"Yes, I suppose I should," [ Sighing in surrender]
Vincent Frost:
"First on our list is this child. Do you know him?"
Narrator:
Vincent reveals a picture of a young boy sitting on his mother's lap. The boy's clothes may be fancier, but the eyes are unmistakable to Mr. Darling.
Mr. Darling:
"Well, yes, actually. He is the one they call Slightly."
Narrator:
Vincent just stares at Mr. Darling, getting lost momentarily in the picture before him. There is something about Mr. Darling that is truly fascinating to Vincent, though he cannot place his finger on it.
Mr. Darling:
"So he was not always so dirty and wild-looking," [amused]
Narrator:
A smile momentarily makes its way across his lips, a smile that he quickly discards.
Vincent Frost:
"Well, the boy you call Slightly, was once known as Jared Willard of 251 B Baker Street, went missing twenty years ago. He was the second son of the well-to-do Mr. and Mrs. Willard. The case was originally handled by one Detective Holmes and his partner Dr. Watson, but even they could not provide a 'logical' explanation for Jared's highly mysterious disappearance."
Mr. Darling:
"This can't be right… It can't be…. went missing over twenty years ago, that's just not possible. He doesn't look a day older than in this photograph… It's just impossible,"
Vincent Frost:
"Impossible, like your children vanishing without a trace or sound out of a second-story window in the middle of the night?"
Narrator:
Mr. Darling straightens himself and pushes his glasses back up onto his nose.
Mr. Darling:
"Look, I am sorry, but what you are asking me to believe is simply preposterous."
Vincent Frost:
"I understand that this goes against conventional wisdom, but allow me to plead my case. Once I'm finished, if you still believe me to be a charlatan, we will part ways as gentlemen, fair?"
Mr. Darling:
"Very well, continue,"
Narrator:
Mr. Darling exhales in surrender as Vincent opens another file and produces a photo of a young boy standing in front of a wall with paisley wallpaper. He is wearing coveralls with a stained shirt underneath. Vincent hands the photo to Mr. Darling.
Mr. Darling:
"Well, well, this one looks like Tootles."
Vincent Frost:
"Yes, well, Tootles was once Shawn W. Prestin, an orphan who went missing sixteen years ago,"
Narrator:
Mr. Darling strokes his chin as questions and doubt unleash hell in his mind. Vincent pulls another photo from his files and hands the new photo to Mr. Darling. The picture is of a group of children standing beside a rosebush. Vincent points to one of the boys in the front of the group-shot. The boy's smile is distinctive due to his missing front tooth.
Vincent Frost:
"This is Richard G. Fisher, I assume you know him."
Mr. Darling:
"Yes, but by the name of Nibs, not Richard,"
Narrator:
Vincent takes back the previous photos and puts them back into his folders before pulling out another photo and handing it to Mr. Darling. It is another group photo. Vincent guides his attention to one of the boys off to the side of the group. The boy has raggedy mop hair.
Vincent Frost:
"And who is this?"
Narrator:
Vincent sneakily slides in closer to Mr. Darling.
Mr. Darling:
"Well, we know him as Curly, but I assume you know his proper name."
Vincent Frost:
"Indeed, his given name is Gideon Andrew Sullin. He went missing around eleven years ago from the same orphanage as Tootles and Nibs. I assume you know these twins."
Narrator:
Vincent hands Mr. Darling another photo and points his attention to two children standing in front of a brick wall.
Mr. Darling:
"Yes... Yes, I do, but names have not been forthcoming for them, we just call them the Twins"
Vincent Frost:
"Well then, allow me to enlighten you. Their names are Samuel and Jacob Muldrow, orphans like Nibs, Tootles and Curly, except these two went missing only about six years ago,"
Narrator:
Mr. Darling shakes his head, overwhelmed and bewildered by all this new information and what it could mean. Mr. Darling feels as though his mind has been thrown into a rock tumbler. He smooths back his hair with a gloved hand, lost momentarily in deep thought. He is brought back to the moment by the arctic chill of Vincent suddenly resting his head casually on Mr. Darling's shoulder.
Mr. Darling:
"Jesus, get your head off me… Christ, you're cold. What are you, a living ice sculpture?"
Narrator:
Powerful shivers rack Mr. Darling from Vincent's touch.
Vincent Frost:
"I've heard worse guesses…" [mutters almost sadly]
Mr. Darling:
"How can this be? It doesn't make sense, yet it's there, but… How can any of this be?"
Narrator:
Vincent playfully jostles Mr. Darling's shoulders to bring some levity to Mr. Darling's current torment.
Vincent Frost:
"I won't pretend to have every answer you may want, but I'll tell you what we know. All these boys, except Slightly, were orphans who all went missing from Kensington Gardens Orphanarium. Slightly is a bit of an anomaly, as he was the only one who came from a well-to-do family and was taken from an actual family residence, except for your children, of course. And until your children returned, none of them had been seen in years. You say they appear to be the same age as in these photos?"
Mr. Darling:
"I believe so. They are definitely not as old as they should be. But why did they come back now? My children were only gone for a couple of days,"
Vincent Frost:
"That is something I would like to find out, with your permission, of course. Oh! I almost forgot."
Narrator:
Vincent rummages through his briefcase and pulls out a very old sketch of a boy's face. The paper is yellow with age and is held in a thick glass case. The sketch was well done, but worn with the ravages of time. He presents it to Mr. Darling. Mr. Darling examines the picture to no avail.
Mr. Darling:
"No, I don't know him. Is he another missing orphan?"
Vincent Frost:
"Another anomaly. All we know is that he went missing, like the other boys from the same area, only long before it was ever known as Kensington Gardens. This boy went missing sometime around the year 810 A.D. Most of my colleagues think I'm reaching at smoke, but can I tell you my theory?"
Narrator:
Mr. Darling nods.
Vincent Frost:
"I think this boy is the first of all of them… maybe even the cause of all these other disappearances,"
Narrator:
Vincent puts the sketch and all the rest of the files back into his briefcase and snaps it shut.
Mr. Darling:
"Right, well... this has been fascinating, don't get me wrong, but how does knowing this help me with my daughter?"
Vincent Frost:
"It helps because there is likely more to the truth than even she knows, and the more we know, the more we can help her, without her telling us anything if need be. However, if you insist on getting the truth from her directly, we have better methods than hitting her. "
Narrator:
Mr. Darling looks down at his hands, heart burdened with shame.
Mr. Darling:
You know about that? [ashamed]
Vincent Frost:
Yeah… not your proudest moment… and one I think you would give anything to not repeat.
Vincent Frost:
"Now, before we go any further, I must insist on behalf of the organisation that I represent that we make this arrangement official. Here is how this will work: you give us your oath of secrecy and allegiance, and in exchange, we will not only help you get to the truth, but we will also open your eyes to the world that lies behind this one. So do we have a deal?"
Narrator:
Vincent holds out his hand to Mr. Darling.
Mr. Darling:
"Yes… I suppose we do,"
Narrator:
Mr. Darling shakes Vincent's hand as somewhere in a white tower in a faraway world, a chandelier grows another jewel.