Memoir of a Snail

1 00:00:06,000 --> 00:00:12,074 Watch Online Movies and Series for FREE www.osdb.link/lm 2 00:02:47,292 --> 00:02:50,542 Farewell, Pinky. 3 00:02:55,792 --> 00:02:57,792 The potatoes! 4 00:03:02,125 --> 00:03:04,250 Potatoes? 5 00:03:04,292 --> 00:03:06,250 Potatoes... 6 00:03:06,292 --> 00:03:07,792 Pinky... 7 00:03:07,792 --> 00:03:09,250 Pinky, what do you mean? 8 00:03:10,750 --> 00:03:12,167 Oh... 9 00:03:13,500 --> 00:03:15,250 Oh, Pinky. 10 00:03:41,417 --> 00:03:43,500 Be free, Sylvia. 11 00:03:46,250 --> 00:03:47,417 Don't worry. 12 00:03:47,417 --> 00:03:48,917 I'll be OK. 13 00:03:48,917 --> 00:03:52,042 I wasn't always this alone. 14 00:03:52,042 --> 00:03:54,917 My childhood was full of people. 15 00:03:55,542 --> 00:03:57,125 Hmm... 16 00:03:58,625 --> 00:04:01,667 Dad used to say that childhood was like being drunk. 17 00:04:01,667 --> 00:04:05,875 Everyone remembers what you did, except you. 18 00:04:05,917 --> 00:04:08,667 But my childhood was sobering, Sylvia. 19 00:04:08,750 --> 00:04:10,750 I remember everything, 20 00:04:10,792 --> 00:04:13,917 right from the start. 21 00:04:13,917 --> 00:04:17,000 I'd always liked feeling caged in, 22 00:04:17,083 --> 00:04:20,125 snug, and protected. 23 00:04:22,625 --> 00:04:24,750 It was a shock to be born premature. 24 00:04:24,750 --> 00:04:26,125 I wasn't fully baked, 25 00:04:26,125 --> 00:04:29,125 and looked like a baby rabbit. 26 00:04:30,250 --> 00:04:33,833 I was named Grace Prudence Pudel. 27 00:04:33,875 --> 00:04:36,958 My twin brother, Gilbert. 28 00:04:37,000 --> 00:04:39,458 The nurse said we had two souls, 29 00:04:39,458 --> 00:04:41,625 but one heart. 30 00:04:41,625 --> 00:04:44,500 Mmm. I liked that. 31 00:04:44,583 --> 00:04:47,708 Our birth was very strenuous for Mum, 32 00:04:47,708 --> 00:04:50,708 and she died. 33 00:04:50,708 --> 00:04:52,750 We left her womb 34 00:04:52,750 --> 00:04:55,333 and she entered her tomb. 35 00:04:56,750 --> 00:04:58,000 Mother snails do the same 36 00:04:58,083 --> 00:05:00,083 after they've had their babies. 37 00:05:01,000 --> 00:05:02,708 Don't they, Sylvia? 38 00:05:06,625 --> 00:05:08,375 As I grew older, 39 00:05:08,375 --> 00:05:10,833 I suffered a smorgasbord of afflictions. 40 00:05:12,625 --> 00:05:16,375 I was always back in hospital for something. 41 00:05:16,458 --> 00:05:19,000 The doctor said I was like a china doll 42 00:05:19,083 --> 00:05:21,333 you could shatter with just a stare. 43 00:05:22,708 --> 00:05:26,625 Eventually, they needed to fix my floppy lip. 44 00:05:34,875 --> 00:05:36,625 Things went bad. 45 00:05:39,958 --> 00:05:41,875 I lost so much blood, 46 00:05:41,958 --> 00:05:44,083 I needed a transfusion. 47 00:05:44,125 --> 00:05:47,833 The doctor asked Gilbert if he'd give me his. 48 00:05:47,833 --> 00:05:49,625 Huh? 49 00:05:53,875 --> 00:05:55,708 Oh. 50 00:05:59,083 --> 00:06:00,708 He said yes, 51 00:06:00,750 --> 00:06:04,875 even though he thought he'd have to die to save me. 52 00:06:04,875 --> 00:06:06,833 How long before I die? 53 00:06:08,000 --> 00:06:10,458 They quickly explained he wouldn't die. 54 00:06:10,458 --> 00:06:12,458 His body would make new blood. 55 00:06:12,458 --> 00:06:14,750 Oh. 56 00:06:14,833 --> 00:06:17,083 He became everyone's hero that night. 57 00:06:17,083 --> 00:06:19,208 Especially mine. 58 00:06:20,083 --> 00:06:21,583 To cheer me up, 59 00:06:21,625 --> 00:06:24,708 Dad gave me Mum's old jewellery box. 60 00:06:24,750 --> 00:06:27,583 Ooh! 61 00:06:32,333 --> 00:06:34,583 Inside, it had her snail collection, 62 00:06:34,625 --> 00:06:36,958 and her ring. 63 00:06:36,958 --> 00:06:38,958 She'd loved snails as well, 64 00:06:39,000 --> 00:06:41,583 and had been a malacologist. 65 00:06:41,625 --> 00:06:43,958 I thought Gilbert should have the ring. 66 00:06:44,000 --> 00:06:45,583 Ooh. 67 00:06:45,625 --> 00:06:48,750 I'm going to wear this till the day I die, Gracie. 68 00:07:15,208 --> 00:07:17,458 Despite my woes, Sylvia, 69 00:07:17,500 --> 00:07:22,250 I believed in glasses half-full and silver linings. 70 00:07:22,333 --> 00:07:25,333 Gilbert's glass was half-empty, though. 71 00:07:25,375 --> 00:07:28,250 I remember how he was often sad. 72 00:07:28,333 --> 00:07:31,875 It seemed like he had a secret he wanted to tell. 73 00:07:31,958 --> 00:07:36,750 He was like Holden Caulfield, James Dean and Charlie Brown 74 00:07:36,750 --> 00:07:38,875 all rolled into one. 75 00:07:38,958 --> 00:07:40,500 He saw people as a threat. 76 00:07:41,958 --> 00:07:46,125 At school, he was always my warrior, my defender. 77 00:07:46,125 --> 00:07:48,750 Rabbit face, rabbit face, 78 00:07:48,833 --> 00:07:50,958 rabbit face, rabbit face. 79 00:07:53,125 --> 00:07:54,833 Give me that. 80 00:08:03,875 --> 00:08:05,500 Hey, morons. 81 00:08:05,583 --> 00:08:06,625 Hmm? 82 00:08:34,417 --> 00:08:36,125 Agh! 83 00:08:50,250 --> 00:08:52,167 ...able to breed a chicken with a giraffe. 84 00:08:52,167 --> 00:08:53,625 He said that he's able to lay eggs, 85 00:08:53,667 --> 00:08:55,125 but has a really long pecker. 86 00:08:55,167 --> 00:08:57,875 Our home was our sanctuary, 87 00:08:57,917 --> 00:08:59,875 a place where we felt safe 88 00:08:59,875 --> 00:09:04,042 to read our books and watch our favourite shows. 89 00:09:07,542 --> 00:09:11,000 I loved my bedroom. 90 00:09:11,000 --> 00:09:16,167 It's where everything was just so. 91 00:09:16,292 --> 00:09:19,042 Right angles brought me enormous comfort, 92 00:09:19,125 --> 00:09:21,500 as did my snails, Sylvia. 93 00:09:22,792 --> 00:09:25,542 They were my friends, 94 00:09:25,625 --> 00:09:28,667 so I made more of them. 95 00:09:28,667 --> 00:09:31,042 I knew they'd never leave me, 96 00:09:31,042 --> 00:09:32,792 hurt me. 97 00:09:33,792 --> 00:09:35,250 Or die. 98 00:09:37,542 --> 00:09:39,667 I didn't like people dying. 99 00:09:42,042 --> 00:09:44,417 I wanted to save people. 100 00:09:44,500 --> 00:09:46,292 Save the homeless. 101 00:09:47,500 --> 00:09:49,917 My favourite was James. 102 00:09:53,625 --> 00:09:56,375 One Christmas, I covered him in decorations 103 00:09:56,417 --> 00:09:58,667 so he could feel some Christmas cheer. 104 00:10:00,000 --> 00:10:02,625 He loved his tea. 105 00:10:03,792 --> 00:10:06,250 Huh? 106 00:10:06,292 --> 00:10:07,792 Ah! Ah. 107 00:10:07,917 --> 00:10:09,792 Ah... 108 00:10:09,875 --> 00:10:14,125 Good on ya, little possum. Good on ya. 109 00:10:15,667 --> 00:10:17,167 He was once a magistrate, 110 00:10:17,250 --> 00:10:19,917 but was defrocked for masturbating in court. 111 00:10:22,167 --> 00:10:23,917 Back then, 112 00:10:23,917 --> 00:10:26,500 I thought masturbation meant chewing your food thoroughly. 113 00:10:27,875 --> 00:10:29,167 He once told me that 114 00:10:29,250 --> 00:10:32,292 masturbation was the thief of time. 115 00:10:33,250 --> 00:10:35,125 - Ooh! - Huh? 116 00:10:38,125 --> 00:10:40,667 James gave me my first real snail. 117 00:10:40,750 --> 00:10:41,917 Ah! 118 00:10:41,917 --> 00:10:43,875 Your mum, Sylvia. 119 00:10:45,417 --> 00:10:48,375 He told me to put her in a big jar 120 00:10:48,417 --> 00:10:51,917 and feed her Vegemite. 121 00:10:52,000 --> 00:10:54,417 While I was busy trying to save the world, 122 00:10:54,500 --> 00:10:56,667 Gilbert wanted to break free from it. 123 00:10:58,292 --> 00:11:00,292 Free others. 124 00:11:00,292 --> 00:11:01,625 Huh? 125 00:11:03,917 --> 00:11:05,667 Ugh! 126 00:11:05,750 --> 00:11:09,292 Once, he let our neighbour's cockatoo escape. 127 00:11:14,667 --> 00:11:16,667 Fly, Mildred! Come on, fly! 128 00:11:21,917 --> 00:11:23,667 Bye, Mildred! 129 00:11:23,667 --> 00:11:26,667 Gilbert said Mildred never seemed so happy. 130 00:11:31,042 --> 00:11:33,792 If he wasn't letting animals free, 131 00:11:33,875 --> 00:11:35,667 he was rescuing them. 132 00:11:37,792 --> 00:11:40,292 He didn't care about the dangers. 133 00:11:43,167 --> 00:11:44,917 I'll save it, Gracie! 134 00:11:49,792 --> 00:11:51,667 - Gilbert! - Ah! 135 00:11:57,792 --> 00:11:59,792 Come on, fella! 136 00:11:59,875 --> 00:12:02,250 Agh! 137 00:12:11,792 --> 00:12:13,667 Over here, Gracie! 138 00:12:17,292 --> 00:12:20,125 Gilbert loved animals so much 139 00:12:20,167 --> 00:12:22,792 he became a vegetarian. 140 00:12:28,250 --> 00:12:31,417 Aww! Now she's got a boyfriend. 141 00:12:36,250 --> 00:12:38,667 Look, Gracie, they're hugging. 142 00:12:40,917 --> 00:12:42,917 Ugh... 143 00:12:45,250 --> 00:12:47,375 Eggs, wow! 144 00:12:47,417 --> 00:12:50,000 We'd created our own little family. 145 00:12:50,042 --> 00:12:52,792 They hatched, Gracie! Babies! 146 00:12:54,292 --> 00:12:58,417 You became my favourite, Sylvia. 147 00:12:58,417 --> 00:13:02,542 Your swirl went opposite to the others. 148 00:13:02,667 --> 00:13:06,667 Gilbert named you after Mum's favourite author. 149 00:13:10,917 --> 00:13:14,375 But the thing that made Gilbert really unique 150 00:13:14,375 --> 00:13:17,875 was his love of fire. 151 00:13:20,167 --> 00:13:21,917 He wanted to eat it. 152 00:13:25,875 --> 00:13:29,542 He'd spend hours playing with fire. 153 00:13:54,167 --> 00:13:58,375 I remember how he always smelt like burnt matches. 154 00:13:59,875 --> 00:14:03,042 At school, the girls swooned. 155 00:14:03,042 --> 00:14:06,125 He was the flame, they were the moths. 156 00:14:07,750 --> 00:14:11,750 But he was more interested in reading, and magic. 157 00:14:11,792 --> 00:14:14,750 I think he just wanted to disappear. 158 00:14:14,792 --> 00:14:18,417 And spend all his pocket money at Bert's. 159 00:14:24,750 --> 00:14:26,750 Bert was the type of person 160 00:14:26,792 --> 00:14:30,250 parents told you to avoid, Sylvia. 161 00:14:30,250 --> 00:14:33,667 Someone who might offer you boiled lollies. 162 00:14:33,750 --> 00:14:35,625 Ooh. 163 00:14:36,917 --> 00:14:39,667 Bert seemed anything but magical. 164 00:14:47,917 --> 00:14:49,500 Gilbert's dream was 165 00:14:49,500 --> 00:14:51,500 to be a street performer in Paris. 166 00:15:03,375 --> 00:15:05,042 Look, Gracie! 167 00:15:06,875 --> 00:15:08,792 He was always practising. 168 00:15:11,625 --> 00:15:13,042 Oh, shit! 169 00:15:14,750 --> 00:15:17,292 Ow, ow, ow! 170 00:15:17,292 --> 00:15:19,500 And often burnt himself. 171 00:15:22,917 --> 00:15:24,917 We got little scars from the sparks. 172 00:15:25,042 --> 00:15:27,625 And when we put our arms together, 173 00:15:27,667 --> 00:15:30,750 they formed a face. 174 00:15:30,792 --> 00:15:32,167 Oh, look, Gracie! 175 00:15:32,167 --> 00:15:35,667 It felt great when we did this. 176 00:15:35,667 --> 00:15:38,042 Our feelings aligned. 177 00:15:40,042 --> 00:15:42,000 A lot of twins say this, Sylvia, 178 00:15:42,000 --> 00:15:44,375 and it's true. 179 00:15:44,417 --> 00:15:46,500 I felt his emotions, 180 00:15:46,625 --> 00:15:50,625 his happiness and his sadness. 181 00:15:50,667 --> 00:15:51,917 Which seemed to be 182 00:15:52,042 --> 00:15:55,042 the fourth member of our family. 183 00:15:55,125 --> 00:15:58,042 Mum's death had left a hole. 184 00:15:58,042 --> 00:16:00,292 Dad had tried to fill the void, 185 00:16:00,292 --> 00:16:03,625 but... he had his own problems. 186 00:16:05,417 --> 00:16:07,042 Dad was French, 187 00:16:07,167 --> 00:16:11,667 and had once been an animator in Paris. 188 00:16:11,792 --> 00:16:13,667 He made stop-motion films 189 00:16:13,667 --> 00:16:15,792 with an old Bolex camera. 190 00:16:18,417 --> 00:16:20,917 He showed them to us sometimes. 191 00:16:28,750 --> 00:16:30,792 To pay for his art form, 192 00:16:30,875 --> 00:16:32,750 he busked on the streets. 193 00:16:36,625 --> 00:16:37,917 Bonjour, messieurs dames, 194 00:16:38,000 --> 00:16:39,625 Je suis I'incroyable Percy Pudel. 195 00:16:39,667 --> 00:16:41,125 Mum met him on a holiday 196 00:16:41,167 --> 00:16:43,167 she'd won in the Woman's Weekly magazine. 197 00:16:45,625 --> 00:16:47,625 Hep-ah! 198 00:16:50,917 --> 00:16:52,667 Oh! 199 00:16:52,792 --> 00:16:54,792 Et voila, messieurs dames. 200 00:16:56,542 --> 00:16:58,667 Ohh... 201 00:17:00,542 --> 00:17:02,792 Wow! 202 00:17:02,792 --> 00:17:04,833 Bonjour, mademoiselle d'escargot. 203 00:17:10,833 --> 00:17:13,500 Ooh! Ooh, la, la! 204 00:17:16,750 --> 00:17:18,000 They fell in love, 205 00:17:18,000 --> 00:17:20,375 and he followed her back to Australia. 206 00:17:24,875 --> 00:17:28,000 Bonjour! Je suis I'incroyable Percy Pudel. 207 00:17:29,208 --> 00:17:30,750 Wanker! 208 00:17:32,125 --> 00:17:33,875 Hey, w... Watch out! 209 00:17:33,875 --> 00:17:35,958 Agh! 210 00:17:44,750 --> 00:17:46,208 Mum had only just got pregnant 211 00:17:46,250 --> 00:17:50,125 when his career was cut short by a drunk driver. 212 00:17:50,208 --> 00:17:54,583 He never juggled again, and became a paraplegic. 213 00:17:54,625 --> 00:17:56,625 Then, slowly, 214 00:17:56,625 --> 00:17:58,125 an alcoholic, 215 00:17:58,208 --> 00:18:01,125 just like the guy who'd hit him. 216 00:18:02,083 --> 00:18:04,958 Money had always been a problem. 217 00:18:05,000 --> 00:18:07,625 Much worse since his accident. 218 00:18:07,625 --> 00:18:11,833 His pension barely paid for his wheelchair batteries. 219 00:18:13,875 --> 00:18:15,250 Winning Scratchies 220 00:18:15,333 --> 00:18:18,375 was the only thing that brought him hope. 221 00:18:18,458 --> 00:18:21,000 We found them everywhere. 222 00:18:22,875 --> 00:18:24,708 To make matters worse, 223 00:18:24,750 --> 00:18:26,958 he developed sleep apnoea. 224 00:18:32,125 --> 00:18:33,375 Huh? 225 00:18:34,750 --> 00:18:36,750 We'd have to clap to wake him up. 226 00:18:53,375 --> 00:18:55,000 Despite our hardships, 227 00:18:55,000 --> 00:18:59,125 our little family unit was strong. 228 00:18:59,208 --> 00:19:01,875 And there was plenty of joy. 229 00:19:01,958 --> 00:19:03,083 Ready! 230 00:19:10,458 --> 00:19:14,583 Our happiest day was when we went on the Big Dipper. 231 00:19:17,583 --> 00:19:19,125 It was scary. 232 00:19:20,375 --> 00:19:23,083 Scary because it was 100 years old. 233 00:19:24,625 --> 00:19:25,958 Wah! 234 00:19:26,000 --> 00:19:27,958 Dad felt alive, 235 00:19:28,000 --> 00:19:29,875 escaped his body. 236 00:19:36,750 --> 00:19:38,625 When he died, 237 00:19:38,708 --> 00:19:42,083 he said he wanted his ashes sprinkled off the Big Dipper. 238 00:19:43,500 --> 00:19:45,958 The day got even better on the way home 239 00:19:45,958 --> 00:19:49,250 when Gilbert found a Scratchie on the ground. 240 00:19:49,333 --> 00:19:51,125 We won $20! 241 00:19:52,583 --> 00:19:53,750 So Dad bought 20 more. 242 00:19:55,750 --> 00:19:58,500 Too bad, Dad. 243 00:19:58,583 --> 00:20:00,583 He hated we had to look after him. 244 00:20:04,000 --> 00:20:08,833 I suppose his cage was his body. 245 00:20:08,875 --> 00:20:11,708 His glass wasn't full or empty. 246 00:20:11,750 --> 00:20:13,375 Just... a glass. 247 00:20:15,375 --> 00:20:18,875 Knitting and black jelly beans were his other addictions. 248 00:20:20,125 --> 00:20:22,458 He was the one who knitted my snail hat 249 00:20:22,500 --> 00:20:25,708 and made the eyeballs out of his old juggling balls. 250 00:20:27,250 --> 00:20:29,333 The jelly beans made his tongue all black, 251 00:20:29,333 --> 00:20:30,750 and his breath... 252 00:20:30,875 --> 00:20:32,708 ...aniseedy. 253 00:20:32,750 --> 00:20:34,083 Watch, Gracie. 254 00:20:34,125 --> 00:20:35,125 We arranged them on his head 255 00:20:35,208 --> 00:20:37,625 while he pretended to be asleep. 256 00:20:37,625 --> 00:20:39,250 He let us do stuff like that. 257 00:20:45,083 --> 00:20:47,375 We were free to do what we wanted, Sylvia. 258 00:20:47,375 --> 00:20:48,750 Ah! 259 00:20:50,625 --> 00:20:54,375 He said childhood was life's best season. 260 00:20:54,375 --> 00:20:58,000 It never lasts, but everyone deserves one. 261 00:20:58,000 --> 00:21:00,750 Oh, mon fils! 262 00:21:00,750 --> 00:21:02,625 Bravo, Gilbert! 263 00:21:02,625 --> 00:21:06,625 He was so proud Gilbert wanted to be a performer, 264 00:21:06,625 --> 00:21:08,583 follow in his footsteps. 265 00:21:08,625 --> 00:21:10,625 Ah... Ohh! 266 00:21:10,625 --> 00:21:13,875 Bravo! 267 00:21:13,875 --> 00:21:16,833 That night, we got out mum's jewellery box 268 00:21:16,833 --> 00:21:19,000 and sang our heads off. 269 00:21:19,000 --> 00:21:21,000 # ...gentille alouette 270 00:21:21,000 --> 00:21:24,458 # Alouette, je te plumerai 271 00:21:24,500 --> 00:21:27,083 # Je te plumerai la tete... # 272 00:21:27,125 --> 00:21:29,000 # Je te plumerai la tete 273 00:21:29,083 --> 00:21:30,875 # Et la tete! Et la tete! 274 00:21:30,875 --> 00:21:32,875 # Alouette! Alouette! 275 00:21:33,000 --> 00:21:35,125 # O-o-o-oh... # 276 00:21:38,958 --> 00:21:41,125 Hah. Good one, Dad. 277 00:21:41,250 --> 00:21:44,125 Later, dad got out his old Bolex camera 278 00:21:44,208 --> 00:21:47,083 and gave me some tips on how to animate. 279 00:21:51,250 --> 00:21:54,375 I wanted to become an animator, just like him. 280 00:21:57,208 --> 00:22:00,083 To top the day off, we had a competition 281 00:22:00,125 --> 00:22:02,875 to see who could create the best hairdo. 282 00:22:06,500 --> 00:22:07,625 I won. 283 00:22:11,250 --> 00:22:13,625 I remember the stillness that night... 284 00:22:15,000 --> 00:22:17,750 ...the wonderful memories of that day, 285 00:22:17,750 --> 00:22:19,625 fresh in our heads. 286 00:22:21,708 --> 00:22:25,083 A day so precious... 287 00:22:26,708 --> 00:22:28,125 ...but fleeting. 288 00:22:39,625 --> 00:22:40,708 Huh? 289 00:22:54,125 --> 00:22:56,125 Despite our clapping... 290 00:22:56,958 --> 00:22:58,750 ...this time, 291 00:22:58,750 --> 00:23:01,083 Dad never woke. 292 00:23:12,000 --> 00:23:14,750 We couldn't afford a proper funeral, 293 00:23:14,833 --> 00:23:18,208 so Dad was cremated by the government, 294 00:23:18,250 --> 00:23:22,458 his ashes given to us in a cardboard box. 295 00:23:22,583 --> 00:23:26,208 I sprinkled him into his jellybean jar. 296 00:23:26,208 --> 00:23:28,125 He would have liked that. 297 00:23:37,458 --> 00:23:39,958 Child services came to take us away. 298 00:23:40,000 --> 00:23:43,083 Come on, you two. Let's go. 299 00:23:44,250 --> 00:23:46,208 And we were to be sent to foster homes 300 00:23:46,250 --> 00:23:48,125 in separate states. 301 00:23:51,125 --> 00:23:52,583 We had no relatives, 302 00:23:52,583 --> 00:23:55,125 and no-one wanted to adopt twins, 303 00:23:55,125 --> 00:23:58,125 especially weird ones like us. 304 00:24:06,500 --> 00:24:08,708 Look after it, Gilbert. 305 00:24:17,000 --> 00:24:20,375 Hurry up. Say your goodbyes. 306 00:24:20,500 --> 00:24:22,875 Bye, Gracie. 307 00:24:22,875 --> 00:24:26,000 Bye, Gilbert. 308 00:24:30,250 --> 00:24:33,833 That was the last time I saw my brother. 309 00:24:33,875 --> 00:24:37,625 The last time I smelled his scent of burnt matches. 310 00:24:43,625 --> 00:24:46,625 We never got to sprinkle Dad off the Big Dipper. 311 00:24:55,125 --> 00:24:57,500 Our lives were turned upside down 312 00:24:57,583 --> 00:25:00,750 and back to front, Sylvia. 313 00:25:00,750 --> 00:25:03,750 We had no choice but to move onwards. 314 00:25:03,833 --> 00:25:05,375 Upwards. 315 00:25:05,458 --> 00:25:06,875 Sidewards. 316 00:25:11,125 --> 00:25:15,250 I was sent to live with a childless couple in Canberra, 317 00:25:15,250 --> 00:25:18,750 which had won safest city three years in a row. 318 00:25:20,250 --> 00:25:23,083 Some people even wore helmets driving. 319 00:25:29,583 --> 00:25:33,083 Back then, Canberra wasn't the exciting place it is today. 320 00:25:36,000 --> 00:25:40,333 I suppose 'settled' is the wrong word for how I felt. 321 00:25:41,375 --> 00:25:44,208 'Traumatised' was more accurate. 322 00:25:46,458 --> 00:25:49,333 The separation from Gilbert made me anxious. 323 00:25:51,208 --> 00:25:53,708 But you and your siblings, Sylvia, 324 00:25:53,750 --> 00:25:55,750 you brought me some comfort. 325 00:25:59,000 --> 00:26:00,625 Lovely. 326 00:26:02,125 --> 00:26:05,375 My new foster parents, Ian and Narelle, 327 00:26:05,458 --> 00:26:08,750 were... pleasant enough. 328 00:26:08,750 --> 00:26:10,125 They were accountants 329 00:26:10,208 --> 00:26:12,458 for a company that made traffic lights. 330 00:26:14,000 --> 00:26:15,375 They were well-meaning, 331 00:26:15,458 --> 00:26:17,333 and addicted to self-help books. 332 00:26:17,375 --> 00:26:19,875 Hm? 333 00:26:19,875 --> 00:26:22,875 - Good morning! - Hey! 334 00:26:22,875 --> 00:26:25,750 They believed a good dose of self-esteem 335 00:26:25,833 --> 00:26:28,750 cured everything. 336 00:26:28,750 --> 00:26:32,083 Every week, they'd make me a new certificate. 337 00:26:32,125 --> 00:26:35,125 Our little baby. Oh, we're so proud! 338 00:26:36,125 --> 00:26:37,958 Now, watch this. 339 00:26:38,000 --> 00:26:39,375 My finger work! 340 00:26:39,375 --> 00:26:41,958 On the weekends, they'd play netball. 341 00:26:43,375 --> 00:26:45,750 Gracie, can you get the ball for us? 342 00:26:45,833 --> 00:26:47,750 They tried to get me to play as well. 343 00:26:50,375 --> 00:26:51,958 Here we go. 344 00:26:54,250 --> 00:26:55,375 Catch it! 345 00:26:55,375 --> 00:26:56,625 Oof! 346 00:26:56,625 --> 00:26:57,875 Oh, no! 347 00:26:59,250 --> 00:27:01,500 Ian! What's happened to her? 348 00:27:01,583 --> 00:27:03,708 - You're right, babe. - Babe? 349 00:27:03,750 --> 00:27:05,583 She's going blue! 350 00:27:05,625 --> 00:27:06,958 Sometimes I faked asthma attacks. 351 00:27:07,000 --> 00:27:09,458 Hey, Narelle, better get the puffer! 352 00:27:09,583 --> 00:27:11,000 I felt bad telling lies, 353 00:27:11,125 --> 00:27:13,833 but sport was one of my allergies. 354 00:27:13,875 --> 00:27:15,500 You alright, babe? 355 00:27:15,625 --> 00:27:17,625 Breathe, pumpkin, breathe! 356 00:27:25,500 --> 00:27:28,875 Their favourite colour was beige. 357 00:27:31,250 --> 00:27:34,583 They even had guinea pigs that were beige. 358 00:27:34,583 --> 00:27:37,375 OK, we're off now, pumpkin. 359 00:27:38,250 --> 00:27:40,250 - See you later. - Bye. 360 00:27:41,750 --> 00:27:44,125 On Saturdays, they went to key parties. 361 00:27:44,125 --> 00:27:45,375 Ready, love? 362 00:27:45,500 --> 00:27:47,250 I'm looking forward to tonight, babe. 363 00:27:49,458 --> 00:27:51,750 They were swingers, Sylvia. 364 00:27:51,833 --> 00:27:53,750 Darryl! 365 00:27:59,750 --> 00:28:01,083 Back then, 366 00:28:01,083 --> 00:28:04,125 I thought swinging meant something else. 367 00:28:06,875 --> 00:28:09,500 My new school was predictably bad. 368 00:28:09,583 --> 00:28:10,958 - Grace Pudel! - Huh? 369 00:28:10,958 --> 00:28:12,750 Stop daydreaming. 370 00:28:16,375 --> 00:28:18,250 I tried to make friends. 371 00:28:19,958 --> 00:28:23,875 But Gilbert wasn't there to break their fingers. 372 00:28:23,875 --> 00:28:25,833 So... Hmm... 373 00:28:25,833 --> 00:28:28,083 I absorbed the abuse, 374 00:28:28,125 --> 00:28:32,625 came home, and played with my clay friends. 375 00:28:32,708 --> 00:28:35,375 I missed Gilbert like crazy. 376 00:28:35,458 --> 00:28:37,083 We wrote each other letters, 377 00:28:37,125 --> 00:28:40,583 and I saved every cent I could to go see him. 378 00:28:42,583 --> 00:28:45,333 He'd been sent to live with a family of fruit farmers 379 00:28:45,375 --> 00:28:46,875 near Perth. 380 00:28:48,625 --> 00:28:51,125 I definitely got the better family, Sylvia. 381 00:28:51,208 --> 00:28:54,000 He HATED his. 382 00:28:55,375 --> 00:28:57,125 Dear Gracie, 383 00:28:57,208 --> 00:29:00,625 my new parents, Ruth and Owen, are strange, 384 00:29:00,708 --> 00:29:02,875 and do a weird sort of praying. 385 00:29:11,958 --> 00:29:14,375 They make me pray four times a day. 386 00:29:15,833 --> 00:29:17,583 They said the more I pray, 387 00:29:17,625 --> 00:29:20,125 the more the pain of Dad's death will disappear. 388 00:29:21,833 --> 00:29:26,208 They're really old-fashioned, and don't even have a phone. 389 00:29:26,250 --> 00:29:30,083 We all have to have magnets taped to us. 390 00:29:30,083 --> 00:29:32,875 They reckon it keeps our auras balanced, 391 00:29:32,875 --> 00:29:34,958 protects us from the devil. 392 00:29:36,875 --> 00:29:40,250 Ruth is obsessed with her poor budgies. 393 00:29:41,750 --> 00:29:44,875 I reckon she loves them more than her own kids. 394 00:29:48,708 --> 00:29:50,250 Worship thy apple! 395 00:29:50,333 --> 00:29:53,750 They've built their own church and school. 396 00:29:55,333 --> 00:29:58,375 Owen is the minister. 397 00:29:58,500 --> 00:30:00,375 Cleanse thy soul! 398 00:30:05,125 --> 00:30:09,625 Cast out thy demons, and worship thy fruit! 399 00:30:13,458 --> 00:30:15,000 Hm? 400 00:30:18,625 --> 00:30:20,250 He's got stomach ulcers, 401 00:30:20,250 --> 00:30:22,000 which he blames on the devil. 402 00:30:30,958 --> 00:30:33,500 My new brothers are all morons. 403 00:30:35,375 --> 00:30:38,208 One of them is always staring. 404 00:30:42,750 --> 00:30:45,625 Worship the baby Jesus! 405 00:30:48,958 --> 00:30:52,458 I have to work in the orchard after school. 406 00:30:52,500 --> 00:30:55,583 The brothers get the better jobs. 407 00:30:57,750 --> 00:31:00,958 Ruth said if I'm going to be a good orchard man, 408 00:31:00,958 --> 00:31:04,583 I'd have to start at the bottom and work my way up. 409 00:31:06,583 --> 00:31:08,583 I'd rather eat glass. 410 00:31:10,958 --> 00:31:12,000 Hmph! 411 00:31:12,875 --> 00:31:14,250 Ugh! 412 00:31:14,250 --> 00:31:16,458 Anyway, they can all get stuffed, 413 00:31:16,583 --> 00:31:18,458 'cause as soon as I'm old enough, 414 00:31:18,458 --> 00:31:19,833 and got money, 415 00:31:19,875 --> 00:31:21,708 I'm coming to get you. 416 00:31:21,708 --> 00:31:24,875 I'll walk across that big, burning desert. 417 00:31:26,125 --> 00:31:27,750 We'll escape to Paris. 418 00:31:27,750 --> 00:31:29,708 I'll become a fire eater. 419 00:31:31,250 --> 00:31:34,125 And you'll become an amazing animator! 420 00:31:42,375 --> 00:31:44,875 It'll be great. 421 00:31:59,833 --> 00:32:01,875 Gilbert's letters gave me hope, 422 00:32:01,875 --> 00:32:04,875 so I tried to get on with life, 423 00:32:04,875 --> 00:32:08,125 squashing my sorrows down into my shoes 424 00:32:08,125 --> 00:32:10,583 as the years dragged on. 425 00:32:10,625 --> 00:32:12,125 To pass time, 426 00:32:12,208 --> 00:32:14,958 I began volunteering at the local library. 427 00:32:16,583 --> 00:32:20,958 One of my jobs was to erase rude drawings done by boys. 428 00:32:20,958 --> 00:32:22,875 Ugh... 429 00:32:22,875 --> 00:32:25,500 That's when I first met Pinky. 430 00:32:27,833 --> 00:32:31,625 I saw her returning books into a rubbish bin. 431 00:32:31,625 --> 00:32:34,125 She thought it was the return chute. 432 00:32:34,125 --> 00:32:36,708 And had been doing it for months. 433 00:32:37,500 --> 00:32:39,875 - Excuse me? - Hm? 434 00:32:39,875 --> 00:32:41,125 Um... 435 00:32:41,125 --> 00:32:43,875 She was mortified when I explained. 436 00:32:43,875 --> 00:32:45,375 Ah, poo. 437 00:32:45,458 --> 00:32:47,750 Don't worry, I won't turn you in. 438 00:32:47,750 --> 00:32:50,083 Oh, thank you, dear. 439 00:32:50,125 --> 00:32:52,583 Bless your cotton socks. 440 00:32:52,625 --> 00:32:54,208 What's your name? 441 00:32:54,250 --> 00:32:56,208 Grace Pudel. 442 00:32:56,250 --> 00:32:58,500 Uh, I'm Pinky. 443 00:32:58,583 --> 00:33:00,125 Just Pinky. 444 00:33:00,125 --> 00:33:01,875 Like Cher. 445 00:33:02,000 --> 00:33:04,500 Or Liberace. 446 00:33:04,500 --> 00:33:06,458 Or Prince. 447 00:33:06,500 --> 00:33:08,958 Casanova! 448 00:33:09,000 --> 00:33:10,583 Popeye. 449 00:33:11,750 --> 00:33:13,958 People call me Pinky 'cause of this. 450 00:33:14,000 --> 00:33:16,750 Lost it dancing in Barcelona. 451 00:33:22,375 --> 00:33:24,000 Agh! 452 00:33:27,875 --> 00:33:30,458 Why are you dressed like an ant? 453 00:33:30,583 --> 00:33:32,458 Oh, um... 454 00:33:33,708 --> 00:33:35,375 No, I'm a snail. 455 00:33:35,375 --> 00:33:37,375 Oh! 456 00:33:37,375 --> 00:33:39,500 Funny. 457 00:33:39,500 --> 00:33:41,500 I used to think I was a pigeon. 458 00:33:44,125 --> 00:33:46,333 She was a true eccentric, 459 00:33:46,375 --> 00:33:49,958 and smelt like ginger and second-hand shops. 460 00:33:53,375 --> 00:33:54,750 Dickhead! 461 00:33:56,125 --> 00:33:58,250 She clothed herself in corduroy, 462 00:33:58,333 --> 00:34:01,750 And her face had more wrinkles than her jacket. 463 00:34:01,833 --> 00:34:03,500 It was hard to know where the fabric ended 464 00:34:03,625 --> 00:34:05,583 and her skin began. 465 00:34:05,625 --> 00:34:07,458 Apart from you, Sylvia, 466 00:34:07,500 --> 00:34:09,667 she was my first real friend. 467 00:34:10,917 --> 00:34:13,292 My only real friend. 468 00:34:15,417 --> 00:34:17,875 She'd lived an amazing life. 469 00:34:17,917 --> 00:34:20,250 I thought one day I might make a film about her. 470 00:34:21,625 --> 00:34:23,292 She'd seen the Northern Lights. 471 00:34:24,792 --> 00:34:26,500 Floated in the Dead Sea. 472 00:34:31,167 --> 00:34:34,167 Been an exotic dancer in a schnitzel bar. 473 00:34:34,167 --> 00:34:35,375 Ha! 474 00:34:41,167 --> 00:34:43,000 Won a bee-beard contest. 475 00:34:43,875 --> 00:34:46,000 Hee! My turn. 476 00:34:46,042 --> 00:34:48,750 Bathed with a snow monkey. 477 00:34:50,917 --> 00:34:53,042 Made love to John Denver... 478 00:34:54,042 --> 00:34:55,292 In a helicopter. 479 00:34:55,292 --> 00:34:58,292 Take me home, country road! 480 00:35:01,250 --> 00:35:02,875 And once... 481 00:35:04,000 --> 00:35:06,042 ...played ping pong with Fidel Castro. 482 00:35:10,667 --> 00:35:11,917 She'd never been sick. 483 00:35:11,917 --> 00:35:14,750 Her secret to longevity were coffee enemas 484 00:35:14,750 --> 00:35:17,042 and a daily shot of ginger wine. 485 00:35:19,917 --> 00:35:22,292 She'd outlived two husbands. 486 00:35:22,292 --> 00:35:24,167 The first, Hector, 487 00:35:24,167 --> 00:35:26,792 had died just a week after they got married. 488 00:35:26,792 --> 00:35:28,792 Careful, sweetie. 489 00:35:28,792 --> 00:35:29,917 Agh! 490 00:35:31,750 --> 00:35:33,042 Bugger. 491 00:35:38,375 --> 00:35:42,042 Her second husband, Bill, had been a postman. 492 00:35:43,375 --> 00:35:45,792 Who wrote love notes on her mail. 493 00:35:47,792 --> 00:35:49,250 Roses are red, 494 00:35:49,250 --> 00:35:50,917 Violets are camp, 495 00:35:51,000 --> 00:35:52,417 I'll be your letter, 496 00:35:52,500 --> 00:35:54,792 You be my stamp. 497 00:35:54,792 --> 00:35:56,750 You are the clouds, 498 00:35:56,792 --> 00:35:58,875 And I am the skies, 499 00:35:58,875 --> 00:36:01,625 Let me shipwreck meself 500 00:36:01,667 --> 00:36:03,292 Between your thighs. 501 00:36:03,375 --> 00:36:04,667 Smile. 502 00:36:08,042 --> 00:36:10,917 Ready for my close-up, Mr DeMille. 503 00:36:13,292 --> 00:36:16,292 They'd just begun a trek across Australia... 504 00:36:16,292 --> 00:36:18,250 Just a little to your left, sweetheart. 505 00:36:18,292 --> 00:36:20,042 ...when nature struck. 506 00:36:20,042 --> 00:36:22,500 Oh! Oh! Oh! 507 00:36:23,792 --> 00:36:25,292 No! 508 00:36:27,417 --> 00:36:28,917 Bugger. 509 00:36:37,792 --> 00:36:39,792 Careful, kiddies. 510 00:36:39,792 --> 00:36:41,792 She was a real survivor, 511 00:36:41,917 --> 00:36:44,000 and had so many jobs. 512 00:36:45,167 --> 00:36:46,375 Dickhead! 513 00:36:47,625 --> 00:36:48,417 Dickhead! 514 00:36:48,417 --> 00:36:50,667 But they never lasted long. 515 00:36:50,667 --> 00:36:52,875 You're fired. 516 00:36:52,917 --> 00:36:55,167 On her 80th birthday, 517 00:36:55,250 --> 00:36:59,167 she'd got a job promoting pineapple chunks. 518 00:37:00,250 --> 00:37:02,000 Oh! Oh! 519 00:37:02,042 --> 00:37:04,917 Gosh, she had a great sense of humour. 520 00:37:07,167 --> 00:37:09,667 She drove her dead husband's postal truck 521 00:37:09,667 --> 00:37:12,292 and once told me she wanted to die peacefully in her sleep 522 00:37:12,375 --> 00:37:15,292 like her cousin who was a bus driver. 523 00:37:15,375 --> 00:37:19,167 Not screaming in horror like his passengers. 524 00:37:19,167 --> 00:37:21,042 I'm not sure whether she was joking. 525 00:37:21,042 --> 00:37:23,000 It was hard to know with her. 526 00:37:25,167 --> 00:37:28,042 Her house was fabulous. 527 00:37:31,000 --> 00:37:32,917 It smelt like popcorn and mothballs. 528 00:37:38,917 --> 00:37:41,792 She had an enormous trophy collection, 529 00:37:41,792 --> 00:37:45,167 which I soon discovered were other people's trophies 530 00:37:45,167 --> 00:37:47,167 she'd found at second-hand stores. 531 00:37:52,250 --> 00:37:55,125 There were Post-it notes everywhere. 532 00:37:55,167 --> 00:37:57,292 She had a dreadful memory. 533 00:38:00,000 --> 00:38:01,792 She was terrified of Alzheimer's 534 00:38:01,792 --> 00:38:04,125 and had taken up tap dancing. 535 00:38:04,167 --> 00:38:06,125 She'd read it staved off dementia. 536 00:38:10,042 --> 00:38:11,625 She didn't believe in banks, 537 00:38:11,667 --> 00:38:14,250 and put her savings in an old tin. 538 00:38:14,292 --> 00:38:17,792 She said she kept her secrets in there as well. 539 00:38:17,792 --> 00:38:19,042 You know, Gracie, 540 00:38:19,167 --> 00:38:22,167 biscuit tins rarely contain biscuits. 541 00:38:24,042 --> 00:38:26,292 I'd never seen her mysterious tin. 542 00:38:26,292 --> 00:38:29,042 She was always hiding it in different places, 543 00:38:29,042 --> 00:38:32,000 and often couldn't remember where. 544 00:38:33,292 --> 00:38:36,750 Her home was also full of seedlings, 545 00:38:36,750 --> 00:38:42,125 which she later confessed were marijuana. 546 00:38:42,125 --> 00:38:45,750 She loved to bake ginger hash-people, 547 00:38:45,792 --> 00:38:47,792 because, she said, 548 00:38:47,917 --> 00:38:50,125 they relieved her arthritis. 549 00:38:50,792 --> 00:38:53,167 She also enjoyed gardening, 550 00:38:53,167 --> 00:38:55,792 especially when she felt a bit miserable. 551 00:38:55,917 --> 00:38:58,250 She called it her Pity-Pit. 552 00:38:58,292 --> 00:39:02,750 She wanted her ashes sprinkled in her Pity-Pit, 553 00:39:02,792 --> 00:39:04,667 be returned to nature, 554 00:39:04,667 --> 00:39:07,042 fertilise her veggies. 555 00:39:08,417 --> 00:39:11,250 Gardening fixes everything. 556 00:39:18,042 --> 00:39:19,917 She also enjoyed mini-golf, 557 00:39:19,917 --> 00:39:22,375 and had built her own course. 558 00:39:34,000 --> 00:39:37,667 Ha-ha! Hole in one! 559 00:39:37,667 --> 00:39:40,917 But the thing that made Pinky truly remarkable 560 00:39:40,917 --> 00:39:42,750 was what she did every Monday. 561 00:39:42,792 --> 00:39:44,042 There, there. 562 00:39:44,042 --> 00:39:48,125 She'd visit the lonely, and hold their hands. 563 00:39:48,125 --> 00:39:51,042 She said the thing the elderly craved most 564 00:39:51,042 --> 00:39:53,125 was human touch. 565 00:39:53,167 --> 00:39:56,292 She'd sit with them calmly, in silence. 566 00:39:56,375 --> 00:40:00,125 Something so simple, yet so comforting. 567 00:40:01,167 --> 00:40:02,917 - Hm? - Ah! 568 00:40:03,000 --> 00:40:06,167 An occasional ginger hash-person helped as well. 569 00:40:11,250 --> 00:40:15,167 Pinky told me she'd never got to hold her own parents' hands. 570 00:40:16,042 --> 00:40:18,167 She never said why. 571 00:40:18,250 --> 00:40:22,500 Her childhood was off-limits. 572 00:40:22,542 --> 00:40:24,417 Woo-hoo! 573 00:40:25,500 --> 00:40:26,792 You know, 574 00:40:26,875 --> 00:40:29,917 life isn't about looking backwards, Gracie. 575 00:40:29,917 --> 00:40:33,542 It's about living forwards. 576 00:40:33,625 --> 00:40:37,167 She was the jewel in the Canberra junk heap. 577 00:40:37,292 --> 00:40:40,000 She'd crammed so much into her life, 578 00:40:40,042 --> 00:40:42,792 and I'd crammed nothing. 579 00:40:45,292 --> 00:40:48,000 Pinky's friendship helped ease my sadness, 580 00:40:48,000 --> 00:40:50,417 my feelings of loss. 581 00:40:50,542 --> 00:40:54,625 I suppose SHE was the medicine I needed, 582 00:40:54,667 --> 00:40:57,500 a vitamin for hope. 583 00:40:59,417 --> 00:41:00,917 Bugger. 584 00:41:00,917 --> 00:41:03,292 Better luck next time, Gracie. 585 00:41:06,167 --> 00:41:09,167 The years fluttered past, Sylvia. 586 00:41:12,542 --> 00:41:14,417 Apart from Pinky, 587 00:41:14,417 --> 00:41:16,292 letters from Gilbert were the only things 588 00:41:16,375 --> 00:41:18,542 that confirmed I existed. 589 00:41:30,000 --> 00:41:32,750 I missed Gilbert like crazy. 590 00:41:58,417 --> 00:42:00,417 Ian and Narelle were still obsessed 591 00:42:00,500 --> 00:42:02,042 about my mental health, 592 00:42:02,042 --> 00:42:04,000 and sent me to self-help classes. 593 00:42:04,042 --> 00:42:06,792 Which was supposed to raise my endorphins, 594 00:42:06,792 --> 00:42:10,625 balance my chakra, and cleanse my third eye. 595 00:42:10,667 --> 00:42:13,917 Ready, set, go! 596 00:42:13,917 --> 00:42:15,792 Ha! Ha! 597 00:42:15,875 --> 00:42:18,125 Ha! Ha! 598 00:42:18,167 --> 00:42:21,667 Ha! Ha! Ha! 599 00:42:21,750 --> 00:42:23,917 Ha! Ha! 600 00:42:24,000 --> 00:42:27,417 Ha! Ha! Ha! 601 00:42:27,542 --> 00:42:29,625 Ha! Ha! 602 00:42:29,667 --> 00:42:30,917 - Ooh. - Ha! 603 00:42:30,917 --> 00:42:33,542 - Ha! - Hm. 604 00:42:33,667 --> 00:42:36,042 Ah! Oh, Craig! 605 00:42:36,125 --> 00:42:39,792 - Mm! Heal me! Heal me! - I'll heal you, Vicky. 606 00:42:39,875 --> 00:42:41,792 - I'll heal you. - Oh, Craig! 607 00:42:43,167 --> 00:42:46,667 - Oh, Craig! - Oh, Vic. 608 00:42:48,000 --> 00:42:51,125 Part of me died in those classes, Sylvia. 609 00:43:05,125 --> 00:43:09,875 Self-help was just a shallow, quick fix. 610 00:43:09,917 --> 00:43:12,542 None of it actually worked. 611 00:43:12,542 --> 00:43:16,250 I just wanted the earth to stop so I could get off. 612 00:43:18,125 --> 00:43:21,542 Puberty arrived, and brought its gifts. 613 00:43:22,750 --> 00:43:25,000 I'd have loved a boyfriend. 614 00:43:32,250 --> 00:43:33,500 It didn't help matters 615 00:43:33,625 --> 00:43:35,792 when Pinky convinced me to get a perm. 616 00:44:04,167 --> 00:44:05,667 Nice hairdo. 617 00:44:07,292 --> 00:44:08,792 Ha-ha! 618 00:44:14,292 --> 00:44:16,417 Dickhead! 619 00:44:17,292 --> 00:44:19,125 There, there, love. 620 00:44:19,167 --> 00:44:20,917 Ignore him. 621 00:44:20,917 --> 00:44:23,000 I think we look fabulous. 622 00:44:23,042 --> 00:44:25,042 Thank God for Pinky. 623 00:44:25,125 --> 00:44:27,792 She became my real foster parent. 624 00:44:27,792 --> 00:44:29,667 Especially as Ian and Narelle 625 00:44:29,792 --> 00:44:31,875 weren't around much anymore. 626 00:44:31,917 --> 00:44:33,875 They'd discovered nude cruises, 627 00:44:33,917 --> 00:44:35,667 and were gone for weeks at a time. 628 00:44:35,792 --> 00:44:37,792 - Whee! - Good morning. 629 00:44:37,875 --> 00:44:39,875 Oh, hi! 630 00:44:46,667 --> 00:44:49,750 I still grieved the loss of my family, 631 00:44:49,750 --> 00:44:55,250 and continued filling the void with more and more snails. 632 00:44:57,917 --> 00:45:00,042 If I saw something snail-y, 633 00:45:00,125 --> 00:45:03,167 it HAD to be mine. 634 00:45:03,167 --> 00:45:06,750 My obsession had blossomed, Sylvia. 635 00:45:06,792 --> 00:45:10,625 My room had become a snail... shrine. 636 00:45:10,667 --> 00:45:14,250 I'd become a snail hoarder. 637 00:45:20,042 --> 00:45:23,125 Oh, I missed Gilbert so much. 638 00:45:24,542 --> 00:45:27,042 His letters still gave me hope, 639 00:45:27,125 --> 00:45:30,167 but he began to worry me. 640 00:45:30,167 --> 00:45:32,125 I felt he wasn't telling me everything. 641 00:45:33,125 --> 00:45:34,917 Dear Gracie, 642 00:45:34,917 --> 00:45:38,792 life at the Garden of Eden is certainly no Garden of Eden. 643 00:45:38,792 --> 00:45:41,792 Gilbert! Get back to work! 644 00:45:41,875 --> 00:45:45,000 Ruth seems to have it in for me, 645 00:45:45,042 --> 00:45:46,875 but I don't give a stuff. 646 00:45:46,917 --> 00:45:49,667 - Sorry, Ruth. - Ugh! 647 00:45:49,667 --> 00:45:54,750 Oh, and she hates that I call her Ruth instead of Mum. 648 00:45:54,750 --> 00:45:57,625 And she hates that I won't let Owen shave my head. 649 00:45:59,125 --> 00:46:01,917 They make me work really hard for lousy money. 650 00:46:04,417 --> 00:46:06,167 There's no-one here to talk to. 651 00:46:08,375 --> 00:46:09,917 I try to be friendly, 652 00:46:10,000 --> 00:46:13,042 but their weirdo religion has them all brainwashed. 653 00:46:14,667 --> 00:46:17,042 The brothers really hate me. 654 00:46:17,917 --> 00:46:19,667 Poofter. 655 00:46:33,292 --> 00:46:35,792 Owen forces me to read the Bible, 656 00:46:35,917 --> 00:46:37,750 and Ruth... 657 00:46:37,792 --> 00:46:39,292 ...forces me to eat meat. 658 00:46:39,375 --> 00:46:41,167 Hello, piggies. 659 00:46:47,542 --> 00:46:48,917 Eat it! 660 00:46:49,000 --> 00:46:51,667 She's barred me from playing with fire. 661 00:46:51,667 --> 00:46:56,375 She's bonkers, and thinks magic is the devil's vice. 662 00:46:56,417 --> 00:46:57,875 And she's always trying to stick 663 00:46:57,875 --> 00:47:01,625 more and more magnets on me to fix my aura. 664 00:47:01,667 --> 00:47:03,042 But I don't care. 665 00:47:05,000 --> 00:47:08,042 I hide behind the church to practice my stuff, 666 00:47:08,125 --> 00:47:10,125 with one of the brothers, 667 00:47:10,167 --> 00:47:12,625 who... seems to like me. 668 00:47:13,875 --> 00:47:17,792 Ruth reckons Lucifer's trying to invade my soul. 669 00:47:19,750 --> 00:47:21,792 So they tried to baptise me, 670 00:47:21,875 --> 00:47:23,625 to get the devil out! 671 00:47:37,417 --> 00:47:39,250 Dunk thee, 672 00:47:39,292 --> 00:47:42,375 and cleanse thy demons! 673 00:47:42,375 --> 00:47:43,792 Ugh! 674 00:47:45,000 --> 00:47:47,375 I pretended I was possessed. 675 00:47:47,375 --> 00:47:50,375 I hid some of Owen's antacid tablets in my pockets. 676 00:47:51,417 --> 00:47:53,417 - Oh, my! - Ooh... 677 00:47:53,542 --> 00:47:55,292 It was hilarious. 678 00:47:58,167 --> 00:47:59,667 Ben loved it. 679 00:48:06,792 --> 00:48:09,375 Ruth is always trying to control me. 680 00:48:09,375 --> 00:48:11,542 She even tried drugging me. 681 00:48:17,292 --> 00:48:18,917 Eat it. 682 00:48:20,875 --> 00:48:22,167 Hmm. 683 00:48:35,417 --> 00:48:37,000 But I'm not dumb. 684 00:48:39,042 --> 00:48:41,542 I hid the pills in my cheeks. 685 00:48:43,750 --> 00:48:47,167 Ruth says, Jesus's love isn't free. 686 00:48:47,167 --> 00:48:49,667 So, what money we do earn, Gracie, 687 00:48:49,750 --> 00:48:51,750 goes back to Jesus. 688 00:48:51,792 --> 00:48:53,417 Pennies for Jesus. 689 00:48:53,500 --> 00:48:55,917 Pennies for Jesus. 690 00:49:01,542 --> 00:49:05,417 Pennies for Jesus. Pennies for Jesus. 691 00:49:05,500 --> 00:49:07,292 That's a good boy. 692 00:49:09,500 --> 00:49:11,042 Huh? 693 00:49:16,875 --> 00:49:20,125 Gilbert! 694 00:49:22,250 --> 00:49:25,792 And Jesus then gives his money back to Owen. 695 00:49:27,417 --> 00:49:30,167 Thank you, Jesus. 696 00:49:30,250 --> 00:49:32,042 And his vices. 697 00:49:34,292 --> 00:49:38,417 Oh, Owen, how are you? The usual? 698 00:49:44,500 --> 00:49:46,167 Have a good night. 699 00:49:50,292 --> 00:49:53,750 Pennies for Jesus, and whiskey for Owen. 700 00:49:53,750 --> 00:49:55,875 Hm! 701 00:50:04,542 --> 00:50:06,667 Ah! 702 00:50:06,667 --> 00:50:08,542 They're such hypocrites! 703 00:50:09,792 --> 00:50:11,667 But I made them pay for it. 704 00:50:11,667 --> 00:50:14,792 Run free, guys. Come on! Run! 705 00:50:21,500 --> 00:50:23,667 I hate it here. 706 00:50:23,667 --> 00:50:25,750 No! 707 00:50:25,792 --> 00:50:27,875 - My budgies! - Heh. 708 00:50:28,750 --> 00:50:30,792 And I hate her. 709 00:50:32,042 --> 00:50:34,125 She punished me. 710 00:50:34,125 --> 00:50:35,750 Big time. 711 00:50:43,792 --> 00:50:45,792 Hold him tight. 712 00:50:47,917 --> 00:50:51,792 Sinners must be punished, Gilbert. 713 00:50:51,875 --> 00:50:54,750 Leviticus 24 - an eye for an eye, 714 00:50:54,792 --> 00:50:56,667 a tooth for a tooth. 715 00:50:59,750 --> 00:51:03,167 Burn thy wicked box of pleasures! 716 00:51:03,250 --> 00:51:07,042 She punished me, but it didn't bother me. 717 00:51:07,125 --> 00:51:08,292 I'm fine. 718 00:51:10,417 --> 00:51:13,000 Anyway, I'd better go. 719 00:51:14,292 --> 00:51:16,917 I'm saving my money, and I'll be escaping soon 720 00:51:17,000 --> 00:51:19,292 and crossing that desert to come and get to you. 721 00:51:32,750 --> 00:51:34,750 Hang in there, Gracie. 722 00:51:36,125 --> 00:51:37,917 Everything is OK. 723 00:51:39,667 --> 00:51:41,417 See you soon. 724 00:51:41,417 --> 00:51:43,042 Hopefully. 725 00:51:43,125 --> 00:51:45,917 Love, Gilbert. 726 00:51:56,125 --> 00:51:59,292 Puberty finally finished its cruelty, Sylvia. 727 00:52:00,667 --> 00:52:03,042 The season of our teens ended. 728 00:52:04,500 --> 00:52:05,917 Oh, bubbles! 729 00:52:05,917 --> 00:52:07,875 But life got even lonelier 730 00:52:07,917 --> 00:52:11,875 when Ian and Narelle retired to a nudist colony in Sweden. 731 00:52:13,167 --> 00:52:15,750 It's a shame we never really connected. 732 00:52:15,792 --> 00:52:18,292 What family we did have, though, 733 00:52:18,375 --> 00:52:20,667 was now gone. 734 00:52:20,667 --> 00:52:22,167 Is that your foot? 735 00:52:26,042 --> 00:52:28,375 Despite my woes, Sylvia, 736 00:52:28,417 --> 00:52:30,417 I tried to be optimistic, 737 00:52:30,417 --> 00:52:32,042 be more social. 738 00:52:35,042 --> 00:52:37,750 I remember how there were intriguing people 739 00:52:37,750 --> 00:52:39,042 at the library. 740 00:52:40,917 --> 00:52:43,875 But they lived vicariously. 741 00:52:45,917 --> 00:52:49,167 A boyfriend seemed a work of fiction. 742 00:52:50,792 --> 00:52:54,917 I felt invisible, began to fade. 743 00:53:01,875 --> 00:53:04,917 Pinky was the only colour in my life, 744 00:53:05,000 --> 00:53:06,417 still effervescent. 745 00:53:07,875 --> 00:53:08,917 Her hand-holding idea 746 00:53:08,917 --> 00:53:11,292 had become a fully-fledged charity. 747 00:53:11,292 --> 00:53:13,417 She'd even engaged the long-term unemployed 748 00:53:13,500 --> 00:53:14,917 to help out. 749 00:53:16,792 --> 00:53:19,417 We went from home to home... 750 00:53:19,500 --> 00:53:21,125 ...hand to hand. 751 00:53:31,167 --> 00:53:33,667 I think, over time, the loss of my family 752 00:53:33,667 --> 00:53:36,417 had somehow... frozen me. 753 00:53:41,125 --> 00:53:43,042 I thought it was safer to just... 754 00:53:43,042 --> 00:53:45,417 live in a pretend world. 755 00:53:46,917 --> 00:53:48,917 Oh, Dad would have been disappointed 756 00:53:48,917 --> 00:53:51,042 I'd resorted to trashy novels. 757 00:53:52,167 --> 00:53:55,917 It was now just me, some sexy pirates, 758 00:53:55,917 --> 00:53:58,000 and a few frisky guinea pigs 759 00:53:58,042 --> 00:54:00,792 who mocked my virginity. 760 00:54:00,875 --> 00:54:04,042 The stereotype was now complete, Sylvia. 761 00:54:04,042 --> 00:54:06,667 I'd become an unloved recluse. 762 00:54:06,750 --> 00:54:09,792 And the guinea pig hair that coated me, 763 00:54:09,875 --> 00:54:11,667 a lonely person's glitter. 764 00:54:17,792 --> 00:54:19,417 As my boredom worsened... 765 00:54:21,125 --> 00:54:24,417 ...I found myself having new urges. 766 00:54:26,667 --> 00:54:30,167 I added kleptomania to my list of hobbies. 767 00:54:31,417 --> 00:54:35,417 Buying, hoarding, and now stealing 768 00:54:35,417 --> 00:54:38,792 became a cheap thrill and distraction 769 00:54:38,792 --> 00:54:40,917 from my mundane world... 770 00:54:42,292 --> 00:54:45,875 ...which slowly began to collapse. 771 00:54:50,500 --> 00:54:54,042 I lost three guinea pigs that night. 772 00:54:57,125 --> 00:54:59,042 I cremated them in the backyard... 773 00:55:00,250 --> 00:55:02,792 ...and put their ashes in little jars. 774 00:55:02,792 --> 00:55:06,000 It looked like I was starting a guinea pig spice rack. 775 00:55:10,417 --> 00:55:14,167 My life had become truly pathetic. 776 00:55:14,250 --> 00:55:17,000 And things had gotten out of control. 777 00:55:18,417 --> 00:55:21,292 I held my own hand patiently, 778 00:55:21,292 --> 00:55:24,417 waiting for Gilbert to come and rescue me, 779 00:55:24,500 --> 00:55:26,750 while I continued to withdraw 780 00:55:26,750 --> 00:55:30,167 into the safety of my snail fortress... 781 00:55:30,792 --> 00:55:32,375 ...lonely, 782 00:55:32,417 --> 00:55:33,917 loveless, 783 00:55:33,917 --> 00:55:36,167 and imprisoned. 784 00:55:45,792 --> 00:55:48,625 But just as I was considering joining a nunnery... 785 00:55:50,042 --> 00:55:51,875 ...from the mess of my life 786 00:55:51,875 --> 00:55:54,417 came one of those silver linings. 787 00:56:02,000 --> 00:56:04,125 His name was Ken. 788 00:56:06,792 --> 00:56:10,417 And he was obsessed with his leaf blower. 789 00:56:13,875 --> 00:56:15,042 There he stood, 790 00:56:15,167 --> 00:56:18,167 more delicious than a Chicko Roll. 791 00:56:24,500 --> 00:56:26,000 Well, hi. 792 00:56:28,292 --> 00:56:31,375 Could I, uh, maybe, uh... 793 00:56:31,375 --> 00:56:34,292 He wanted to know if he could blow my leaves. 794 00:56:34,375 --> 00:56:36,792 His presence gave me hot flushes 795 00:56:36,875 --> 00:56:38,917 and sweaty knickers. 796 00:56:38,917 --> 00:56:41,792 It was love at first sight. 797 00:56:41,875 --> 00:56:45,625 He was a Canberra Adonis. 798 00:56:45,667 --> 00:56:47,167 A Cadonis. 799 00:56:53,042 --> 00:56:55,667 He was a microwave oven repairman 800 00:56:55,750 --> 00:56:58,042 and told me that he was extremely shallow 801 00:56:58,167 --> 00:57:00,542 and one-dimensional. 802 00:57:00,625 --> 00:57:04,000 He said if he was an onion and you peeled back the layers, 803 00:57:04,042 --> 00:57:06,167 you'd just find more onion. 804 00:57:07,417 --> 00:57:09,000 He had hobbies like me, 805 00:57:09,042 --> 00:57:13,167 and enjoyed repairing broken bowls. 806 00:57:13,250 --> 00:57:16,000 It was a Japanese art form called kintsugi, 807 00:57:16,042 --> 00:57:20,417 based on the philosophy that, just like the soul, 808 00:57:20,417 --> 00:57:22,875 all things can be repaired, 809 00:57:22,875 --> 00:57:25,292 and our cracks celebrated. 810 00:57:26,417 --> 00:57:28,042 Ken said that I was a broken bowl 811 00:57:28,042 --> 00:57:30,667 and that he'd help repair my wounds, 812 00:57:30,750 --> 00:57:32,750 fill up my cracks. 813 00:57:35,125 --> 00:57:38,750 He was so thoughtful and community-minded 814 00:57:38,750 --> 00:57:41,792 he volunteered as a lifeguard at the local pool. 815 00:57:41,875 --> 00:57:43,500 Mmm... 816 00:57:43,542 --> 00:57:45,167 Hello. 817 00:57:46,792 --> 00:57:49,000 He adored me, 818 00:57:49,042 --> 00:57:52,667 and even built a milkshake station in my kitchen. 819 00:58:05,542 --> 00:58:07,875 We dated for a month, and then... 820 00:58:07,917 --> 00:58:09,167 What do you reckon? 821 00:58:15,667 --> 00:58:17,125 Ooh! 822 00:58:20,667 --> 00:58:23,125 He said he really did love me. 823 00:58:24,000 --> 00:58:25,792 Loved my quirks. 824 00:58:27,667 --> 00:58:30,667 We celebrated with another milkshake. 825 00:58:30,667 --> 00:58:32,875 He said he'd make me something special. 826 00:58:32,875 --> 00:58:36,417 Spoonful of that. Hmm, cinnamon! 827 00:58:36,500 --> 00:58:38,125 - No! - What? 828 00:58:38,167 --> 00:58:39,292 Oh! I... 829 00:58:40,792 --> 00:58:43,792 - That's my guinea pig. - Oh! 830 00:58:43,875 --> 00:58:45,792 A normal person would have thought I was bonkers, 831 00:58:45,792 --> 00:58:47,292 keeping those guinea pigs' ashes. 832 00:58:48,542 --> 00:58:50,292 But he didn't. 833 00:58:52,000 --> 00:58:54,542 He loved all of me, 834 00:58:54,625 --> 00:58:57,125 even my bum and wobbly bits. 835 00:59:01,750 --> 00:59:04,667 Yeah. Nice. Oh, yeah! 836 00:59:04,667 --> 00:59:06,125 Oh! 837 00:59:06,125 --> 00:59:07,500 Yeah! 838 00:59:07,500 --> 00:59:08,667 Nice, Gracie. 839 00:59:08,667 --> 00:59:09,917 He moved in, 840 00:59:09,917 --> 00:59:12,167 and I finally lost my virginity. 841 00:59:14,125 --> 00:59:16,417 We were desperate to get pregnant. 842 00:59:17,375 --> 00:59:20,292 But Ken was told he was sterile, 843 00:59:20,375 --> 00:59:23,167 from all those microwave ovens he'd repaired. 844 00:59:23,167 --> 00:59:25,167 Rotten luck. 845 00:59:25,250 --> 00:59:27,625 But I wasn't too disappointed. 846 00:59:27,667 --> 00:59:30,792 I had more than I could ever wish for, Sylvia. 847 00:59:30,875 --> 00:59:32,417 I had a Cadonis, 848 00:59:32,500 --> 00:59:34,625 a herd of guinea pigs, 849 00:59:34,667 --> 00:59:37,042 and a horde of snails. 850 00:59:37,042 --> 00:59:38,750 Say cheese, Gracie! 851 00:59:40,042 --> 00:59:42,042 We set a wedding date, 852 00:59:42,042 --> 00:59:44,042 and sent Gilbert the good news. 853 00:59:44,042 --> 00:59:45,417 Huh? 854 00:59:46,292 --> 00:59:48,292 Oh... Wow! 855 00:59:48,292 --> 00:59:50,750 Hey, Ben, guess what? 856 00:59:54,875 --> 00:59:58,375 Ken gave him money for an airfare to Canberra. 857 00:59:58,375 --> 01:00:01,542 I asked Gilbert to walk me down the aisle. 858 01:00:01,625 --> 01:00:04,917 Pinky would be the flower girl. 859 01:00:07,417 --> 01:00:10,250 We'd finally be a family again. 860 01:00:10,292 --> 01:00:12,667 Finally sprinkle Dad's ashes. 861 01:00:14,875 --> 01:00:17,250 My glass was now brimming, 862 01:00:17,250 --> 01:00:19,792 and there were silver linings galore. 863 01:00:21,042 --> 01:00:23,292 Gilbert would live with us. 864 01:00:23,292 --> 01:00:25,750 He'd be here tomorrow! 865 01:00:30,542 --> 01:00:35,792 I'd never felt so happy, so optimistic. 866 01:01:03,125 --> 01:01:04,792 Delivery. 867 01:01:04,792 --> 01:01:06,542 I'll get it. 868 01:01:16,625 --> 01:01:18,667 Ooh! 869 01:01:18,667 --> 01:01:21,417 Oh, for you, dear. 870 01:01:25,292 --> 01:01:26,792 Dear Grace, 871 01:01:26,792 --> 01:01:28,667 this is Ruth, 872 01:01:28,667 --> 01:01:30,750 Gilbert's foster mother. 873 01:01:30,792 --> 01:01:32,500 It saddens me to tell you 874 01:01:32,500 --> 01:01:35,417 that Gilbert has died in an horrific fire. 875 01:01:37,500 --> 01:01:39,375 Our church burnt down, 876 01:01:39,417 --> 01:01:43,250 and he was unable to escape the flames. 877 01:01:46,500 --> 01:01:51,375 Last week, I found Gilbert and my son Ben... 878 01:01:51,417 --> 01:01:53,167 fornicating. 879 01:01:58,917 --> 01:02:00,542 Lucifer! 880 01:02:00,625 --> 01:02:02,875 I'm sure you will agree Our only course of action 881 01:02:02,917 --> 01:02:07,250 was to purge and correct their homosexual sickness 882 01:02:07,292 --> 01:02:08,792 in the correct fashion, 883 01:02:08,875 --> 01:02:11,625 as instructed by... the Lord... 884 01:02:11,625 --> 01:02:13,375 ...our saviour. 885 01:02:14,292 --> 01:02:17,000 This was not a simple task. 886 01:02:17,042 --> 01:02:20,792 We could not just pray the gay away. 887 01:02:20,792 --> 01:02:24,167 So the only solution was a dual expulsion 888 01:02:24,250 --> 01:02:26,792 to cast the demons out, 889 01:02:26,875 --> 01:02:29,042 eject the devil from their souls, 890 01:02:29,042 --> 01:02:31,667 and correct their auras. 891 01:02:31,667 --> 01:02:34,500 Out, out, evilness! 892 01:02:34,542 --> 01:02:36,500 Out, out, Satan! 893 01:02:36,542 --> 01:02:39,042 Saaa! 894 01:02:40,917 --> 01:02:44,167 The time has come! 895 01:02:44,250 --> 01:02:46,917 Purge their souls! 896 01:02:48,917 --> 01:02:51,125 Cleanse their sickness. 897 01:02:53,917 --> 01:02:56,292 Gay, away! 898 01:02:57,167 --> 01:02:59,667 Out, gayness! 899 01:02:59,792 --> 01:03:01,667 Purge their souls! 900 01:03:01,667 --> 01:03:04,375 Out, out, Lucifer! 901 01:03:05,625 --> 01:03:08,125 Cast out thy demons, 902 01:03:08,167 --> 01:03:10,750 and shock the gay away! 903 01:03:16,917 --> 01:03:19,792 Ahhhhh! 904 01:03:33,917 --> 01:03:35,667 Enough. 905 01:03:37,417 --> 01:03:39,917 Excellent, excellent. 906 01:03:39,917 --> 01:03:44,667 I am glad to say, for my son, this was a success. 907 01:03:44,750 --> 01:03:46,167 But for your brother... 908 01:03:46,250 --> 01:03:47,292 Agh! 909 01:03:47,292 --> 01:03:49,917 ...the devil would not vacate. 910 01:03:49,917 --> 01:03:53,917 And being so full of Satan, well, 911 01:03:55,292 --> 01:03:57,375 Agh! 912 01:03:57,417 --> 01:04:00,167 ...he assaulted me. 913 01:04:00,167 --> 01:04:03,667 Lucifer! 914 01:04:12,500 --> 01:04:14,167 Get him. 915 01:04:16,500 --> 01:04:18,292 Look, an angel. 916 01:04:18,417 --> 01:04:20,042 Huh? 917 01:04:23,292 --> 01:04:25,917 Liar! 918 01:04:29,625 --> 01:04:31,167 You Judas! 919 01:04:32,375 --> 01:04:34,667 He's escaping! Catch him. 920 01:04:48,167 --> 01:04:50,125 He then raced to our church 921 01:04:50,167 --> 01:04:52,000 and set it alight! 922 01:05:20,500 --> 01:05:22,125 No! 923 01:05:22,167 --> 01:05:23,792 Gilbert, stop! 924 01:05:33,792 --> 01:05:36,167 He then sacrificed himself, 925 01:05:36,292 --> 01:05:39,792 as penance for his sins. 926 01:05:39,792 --> 01:05:41,792 We tried to rescue him, 927 01:05:41,792 --> 01:05:44,792 but the inferno was too intense. 928 01:05:44,792 --> 01:05:47,417 The good Lord took his soul. 929 01:05:50,667 --> 01:05:52,167 Let me out! 930 01:05:53,917 --> 01:05:57,500 And Lucifer lost the battle. 931 01:06:13,667 --> 01:06:17,042 Now cleansed, and with the baby Jesus. 932 01:06:17,042 --> 01:06:18,917 We had a memorial for him, 933 01:06:19,000 --> 01:06:21,667 and are confident he is now in a happier place, 934 01:06:21,667 --> 01:06:24,667 with God and the baby Jesus. 935 01:06:29,542 --> 01:06:32,792 Please find enclosed a vessel of your brother's ashes. 936 01:06:32,875 --> 01:06:35,167 I think it best you have them. 937 01:06:35,292 --> 01:06:39,792 Once again, I am sorry to be the bearer of such tragic news. 938 01:06:39,792 --> 01:06:41,625 Gilbert was a good soul, 939 01:06:41,625 --> 01:06:46,542 who, sadly, fell to repugnant persuasions. 940 01:06:46,625 --> 01:06:48,625 We will always pray for him, 941 01:06:48,667 --> 01:06:50,250 as well as you. 942 01:06:50,292 --> 01:06:54,042 Our deepest sympathies, Ruth and Owen Appleby. 943 01:07:05,417 --> 01:07:08,667 Losing a twin is like losing an eye, Sylvia. 944 01:07:10,417 --> 01:07:13,917 You never see the world quite the same way again. 945 01:07:16,000 --> 01:07:19,875 Grief is a nothingness, 946 01:07:19,917 --> 01:07:22,875 leaves a metallic taste in your mouth, 947 01:07:22,875 --> 01:07:25,167 places stones in your stomach. 948 01:07:27,250 --> 01:07:29,042 Tears don't flow. 949 01:07:29,792 --> 01:07:31,250 They're too scared. 950 01:07:32,667 --> 01:07:35,417 I no longer believed in silver linings 951 01:07:35,500 --> 01:07:37,792 or glasses half-full. 952 01:07:37,875 --> 01:07:39,875 My glass was shattered. 953 01:07:40,792 --> 01:07:42,500 I'd lost my mother, 954 01:07:42,542 --> 01:07:44,417 father, 955 01:07:44,500 --> 01:07:45,917 brother. 956 01:07:53,792 --> 01:07:57,167 Luckily, I had Pinky. 957 01:07:57,167 --> 01:07:58,667 Hey, Gracie. 958 01:07:58,667 --> 01:08:00,167 And Ken. 959 01:08:00,167 --> 01:08:03,917 His spoonfuls of love kept me going. 960 01:08:06,667 --> 01:08:09,167 But, weirdly, 961 01:08:09,167 --> 01:08:13,167 my snails seemed like my real family. 962 01:08:13,250 --> 01:08:16,625 Real ones horde together when threatened. 963 01:08:16,708 --> 01:08:18,875 Survival in numbers. 964 01:08:21,875 --> 01:08:26,458 I was emotionally attached to every single one of them. 965 01:08:26,500 --> 01:08:31,083 That's why I couldn't ever, ever throw any of you away. 966 01:08:32,458 --> 01:08:35,333 So I kept buying, 967 01:08:35,375 --> 01:08:37,250 adding, 968 01:08:37,250 --> 01:08:39,125 and stealing. 969 01:08:49,625 --> 01:08:50,750 Eventually... 970 01:08:50,750 --> 01:08:52,833 Excuse me, madam. 971 01:08:52,833 --> 01:08:54,708 I got caught. 972 01:08:54,750 --> 01:08:57,250 The shame was crushing. 973 01:09:00,208 --> 01:09:02,375 And there were consequences. 974 01:09:07,458 --> 01:09:09,458 Oh, Gracie. 975 01:09:18,083 --> 01:09:19,625 And then... 976 01:09:21,000 --> 01:09:23,125 ...things got even worse. 977 01:09:24,708 --> 01:09:26,375 Love can be blind. 978 01:09:26,375 --> 01:09:28,375 Huh? 979 01:09:28,375 --> 01:09:32,333 It can hide darkness and horror. 980 01:09:37,375 --> 01:09:40,875 It seemed Ken's onion did have layers. 981 01:09:41,000 --> 01:09:42,875 He didn't love ME. 982 01:09:43,833 --> 01:09:46,208 He loved my FAT! 983 01:09:53,125 --> 01:09:56,125 He had some sort of... fetish. 984 01:09:57,250 --> 01:09:58,958 He didn't want to fix my bowl. 985 01:09:59,000 --> 01:10:01,583 He wanted to fill it, and fill it, 986 01:10:01,583 --> 01:10:03,458 and fill it... 987 01:10:04,625 --> 01:10:06,375 ...with lard. 988 01:10:06,458 --> 01:10:09,875 It was one thing for me to create a cage for myself. 989 01:10:09,875 --> 01:10:11,458 Bit of duck, for luck. 990 01:10:11,458 --> 01:10:14,708 It was another for someone else to imprison me. 991 01:10:14,708 --> 01:10:15,875 Nice, Gracie. 992 01:10:15,875 --> 01:10:18,708 I knew he admired my... largeness. 993 01:10:18,708 --> 01:10:20,000 But this was something more. 994 01:10:20,000 --> 01:10:22,458 Oh, yeah! Nice. 995 01:10:22,500 --> 01:10:26,875 He said he'd love me more, the bigger I got, 996 01:10:26,875 --> 01:10:29,500 and now I knew why. 997 01:10:29,583 --> 01:10:32,458 What an idiot I was. 998 01:10:32,500 --> 01:10:34,375 But not for much longer. 999 01:10:48,708 --> 01:10:50,333 Oh! 1000 01:11:03,708 --> 01:11:05,375 Sorry, Gracie. 1001 01:11:24,125 --> 01:11:27,833 Pinky moved in and tended to my wounds. 1002 01:11:27,875 --> 01:11:30,250 I'd read that snails hibernate 1003 01:11:30,250 --> 01:11:33,083 when they needed to repair themselves. 1004 01:11:33,083 --> 01:11:35,500 I slept for a week, 1005 01:11:35,583 --> 01:11:37,625 and wrestled my demons. 1006 01:11:55,458 --> 01:11:57,375 Uhhhh! 1007 01:12:01,000 --> 01:12:03,125 I loathed myself. 1008 01:12:03,125 --> 01:12:06,583 My hoarding had caused this. 1009 01:12:06,583 --> 01:12:08,125 It had kept me poor, 1010 01:12:08,250 --> 01:12:12,875 and being poor had kept me from Gilbert. 1011 01:12:12,958 --> 01:12:14,625 The money I'd wasted 1012 01:12:14,625 --> 01:12:18,750 could have bought a dozen plane tickets to see him, Sylvia. 1013 01:12:18,750 --> 01:12:21,375 Now, he was dead. 1014 01:12:29,875 --> 01:12:31,583 Gracie. 1015 01:12:35,500 --> 01:12:36,708 Got your lunch. 1016 01:12:38,458 --> 01:12:41,000 Pinky put me on a strict diet. 1017 01:12:42,125 --> 01:12:45,125 And life became slightly bearable. 1018 01:12:46,125 --> 01:12:49,083 As I slowly emerged from my darkness, 1019 01:12:49,125 --> 01:12:52,583 I began to notice how much Pinky had aged. 1020 01:12:55,125 --> 01:12:57,208 I'll never forget the day I discovered 1021 01:12:57,250 --> 01:12:59,833 she had the beginnings of dementia, 1022 01:12:59,833 --> 01:13:01,333 when I found her attempting 1023 01:13:01,375 --> 01:13:05,208 what she thought was a jigsaw of a rooster. 1024 01:13:06,583 --> 01:13:09,375 That was just a few months ago, Sylvia. 1025 01:13:11,250 --> 01:13:14,250 She was diagnosed with Alzheimer's, 1026 01:13:14,250 --> 01:13:16,833 and went downhill quickly. 1027 01:13:16,875 --> 01:13:18,875 Pinky, what are you doing? 1028 01:13:18,958 --> 01:13:21,500 I'm looking for something. 1029 01:13:21,583 --> 01:13:22,708 What? 1030 01:13:26,208 --> 01:13:27,750 I don't know. 1031 01:13:28,625 --> 01:13:30,000 Hmm... 1032 01:13:32,333 --> 01:13:34,500 Roles reversed. 1033 01:13:34,625 --> 01:13:37,208 It was my turn to care for her. 1034 01:13:39,875 --> 01:13:43,375 Ah, my medicine. 1035 01:13:45,875 --> 01:13:48,833 One day, she decided not to get out of bed. 1036 01:13:48,875 --> 01:13:52,625 Did I tell you that thing I can't remember? 1037 01:13:52,625 --> 01:13:56,250 That thing I was looking for but don't know what it is? 1038 01:13:56,250 --> 01:13:59,583 Oh, stupid brain. 1039 01:13:59,625 --> 01:14:01,458 Stupid disease. 1040 01:14:01,458 --> 01:14:04,250 What's the name of that German guy 1041 01:14:04,250 --> 01:14:06,125 whose disease I got? 1042 01:14:06,208 --> 01:14:09,083 Uh... Guggenheimers? 1043 01:14:09,125 --> 01:14:12,000 Yeah, Guggenheimers. 1044 01:14:12,000 --> 01:14:14,000 Relax, Pinky. 1045 01:14:14,083 --> 01:14:15,583 It doesn't matter. 1046 01:14:16,625 --> 01:14:18,500 Oh, Gracie. 1047 01:14:18,583 --> 01:14:21,500 Such a marvellous friend. 1048 01:14:50,875 --> 01:14:53,875 Farewell, Pinky. 1049 01:14:59,875 --> 01:15:01,875 The potatoes! 1050 01:15:06,083 --> 01:15:08,625 Potatoes? 1051 01:15:08,708 --> 01:15:10,833 Potatoes... 1052 01:15:10,875 --> 01:15:12,208 Pinky... 1053 01:15:12,250 --> 01:15:14,250 Pinky, what do you mean? 1054 01:15:15,625 --> 01:15:17,208 Oh... 1055 01:15:18,250 --> 01:15:20,250 Oh, Pinky. 1056 01:15:51,000 --> 01:15:53,375 Farewell, Pinky. 1057 01:16:18,125 --> 01:16:20,458 Be free, Sylvia. 1058 01:16:42,375 --> 01:16:46,000 Potatoes? Potatoes? 1059 01:16:46,000 --> 01:16:48,875 Sylvia... Ugh. 1060 01:16:48,958 --> 01:16:51,625 Maybe that's what she wanted her last meal to be? 1061 01:16:54,625 --> 01:16:57,000 Goddamn life! 1062 01:16:57,000 --> 01:16:59,375 Ugh! Goddamn life. 1063 01:16:59,458 --> 01:17:01,000 Such a... 1064 01:17:01,083 --> 01:17:04,583 Such a stupid, stupid puzzle! 1065 01:17:04,625 --> 01:17:06,375 Damn it! 1066 01:17:10,375 --> 01:17:12,208 I'm so alone. 1067 01:17:12,208 --> 01:17:15,750 So... So alone. 1068 01:17:26,875 --> 01:17:29,250 Rabbit face, rabbit face, 1069 01:17:29,250 --> 01:17:31,458 rabbit face, rabbit face... 1070 01:17:31,500 --> 01:17:32,833 Nice, Gracie. 1071 01:17:32,875 --> 01:17:34,500 - Grace Pudel! - Nice Hairdo! 1072 01:17:34,583 --> 01:17:37,083 Come on, you two. Let's go. 1073 01:17:37,125 --> 01:17:39,125 I hate it here. 1074 01:17:39,125 --> 01:17:41,125 I'll be escaping soon, 1075 01:17:41,125 --> 01:17:42,875 and crossing the desert to come and get to you. 1076 01:17:42,875 --> 01:17:44,625 It saddens me to tell you 1077 01:17:44,625 --> 01:17:47,625 that Gilbert has died in an horrific fire... 1078 01:17:47,625 --> 01:17:49,958 ...fire, fire, fire, fire... 1079 01:18:07,625 --> 01:18:09,583 The potatoes! 1080 01:18:13,125 --> 01:18:15,333 The p... The potatoes! 1081 01:18:37,708 --> 01:18:39,500 Dear Grace, 1082 01:18:39,583 --> 01:18:44,458 if you're reading this, then I'm as dead as a doughnut, 1083 01:18:44,500 --> 01:18:47,250 and you've found my biscuit tin 1084 01:18:47,250 --> 01:18:51,333 and some things I want you to have. 1085 01:18:51,375 --> 01:18:54,000 You've been asleep for days, 1086 01:18:54,000 --> 01:18:57,125 and I need to tell you important stuff 1087 01:18:57,208 --> 01:18:59,833 before my brain fully rots. 1088 01:19:01,625 --> 01:19:05,250 Oh, old age is such a bastard. 1089 01:19:05,250 --> 01:19:08,083 Creeps up without you knowing. 1090 01:19:08,125 --> 01:19:11,250 One day, you sink your teeth into an apple... 1091 01:19:13,083 --> 01:19:14,875 ...and they stay. 1092 01:19:16,625 --> 01:19:20,000 You go to straighten the wrinkles in your pantyhose, 1093 01:19:20,083 --> 01:19:23,583 and then realise you're not wearing any. 1094 01:19:23,583 --> 01:19:25,208 Oh. 1095 01:19:25,208 --> 01:19:28,625 Anyway, I digress. 1096 01:19:28,625 --> 01:19:30,583 My secrets. 1097 01:19:31,375 --> 01:19:34,250 Firstly, I'm an orphan, 1098 01:19:34,250 --> 01:19:36,958 and was raised in an orphanage, 1099 01:19:37,000 --> 01:19:39,750 after the Great War. 1100 01:19:39,833 --> 01:19:41,875 It was a terrible place, 1101 01:19:41,875 --> 01:19:45,375 where I was kept in a crib day and night. 1102 01:19:46,250 --> 01:19:49,333 Never held or hugged. 1103 01:19:49,375 --> 01:19:51,458 The only contact, 1104 01:19:51,500 --> 01:19:54,625 the little boy next to me. 1105 01:19:54,708 --> 01:19:59,500 No, I won't tell you the horrors I remember, 1106 01:19:59,583 --> 01:20:01,000 but do want to tell you 1107 01:20:01,125 --> 01:20:04,750 what it's like to feel imprisoned, 1108 01:20:04,750 --> 01:20:06,750 caged. 1109 01:20:06,750 --> 01:20:10,000 It was simply dreadful. 1110 01:20:10,000 --> 01:20:12,958 But, in the years since, 1111 01:20:13,000 --> 01:20:16,875 I've learnt that the worst cages 1112 01:20:16,875 --> 01:20:21,750 are the ones we create for ourselves. 1113 01:20:21,833 --> 01:20:25,833 You have created a cage for yourself, Gracie. 1114 01:20:26,875 --> 01:20:31,000 Your cage has never been locked... 1115 01:20:31,083 --> 01:20:34,000 ...but your fears have kept you trapped. 1116 01:20:37,750 --> 01:20:40,625 Get rid of those snails! 1117 01:20:41,625 --> 01:20:44,583 Set yourself free. 1118 01:20:44,625 --> 01:20:47,708 You got rid of that creepy ken. 1119 01:20:47,750 --> 01:20:52,000 Now it's time for you to shed your shell. 1120 01:20:52,000 --> 01:20:54,125 Purge your hoard. 1121 01:20:56,000 --> 01:20:57,625 Start anew. 1122 01:20:58,625 --> 01:21:02,333 A bit of self-pity's OK, 1123 01:21:02,333 --> 01:21:04,500 but it's time to move on. 1124 01:21:05,583 --> 01:21:08,000 There'll be pain, 1125 01:21:08,083 --> 01:21:10,333 but that's life. 1126 01:21:10,375 --> 01:21:13,458 You have to face it head-on. 1127 01:21:13,583 --> 01:21:15,083 Be brave. 1128 01:21:15,083 --> 01:21:45,083 <b>Subtitle | www.movieddl.me</b> 1129 01:22:04,250 --> 01:22:09,125 Anyway, I want to thank you, Gracie. 1130 01:22:09,125 --> 01:22:11,625 You've been terrific. 1131 01:22:11,625 --> 01:22:15,875 Not long now till my number's up. 1132 01:22:15,958 --> 01:22:19,583 It's time to close my curtains. 1133 01:22:19,625 --> 01:22:22,208 For the first time in my life, 1134 01:22:22,250 --> 01:22:25,375 I feel older than I look. 1135 01:22:25,375 --> 01:22:27,833 And I look like a testicle. 1136 01:22:28,958 --> 01:22:31,458 Life's a beautiful tapestry 1137 01:22:31,500 --> 01:22:35,750 that needs to be experienced. 1138 01:22:35,750 --> 01:22:39,708 It's small pleasures savoured, 1139 01:22:39,750 --> 01:22:44,208 like smoking a cigar in the rain. 1140 01:22:46,708 --> 01:22:50,875 Or wearing a jumper straight from the dryer. 1141 01:22:51,708 --> 01:22:53,750 Enough rambling. 1142 01:22:53,750 --> 01:22:58,375 Time for both of us to let go. 1143 01:22:58,375 --> 01:23:00,583 Like I've said, 1144 01:23:00,625 --> 01:23:04,875 life can only be understood backwards, 1145 01:23:04,875 --> 01:23:09,250 but we have to live it forwards. 1146 01:23:09,250 --> 01:23:13,333 Snails never go back over their trails, 1147 01:23:13,333 --> 01:23:16,458 always moving forwards. 1148 01:23:16,500 --> 01:23:20,583 Time for you to leave some glittering snail trails 1149 01:23:20,625 --> 01:23:22,583 all over the world. 1150 01:23:23,708 --> 01:23:26,000 And remember, never... 1151 01:23:26,125 --> 01:23:28,750 never go back. 1152 01:23:35,875 --> 01:23:40,000 All rise. Order in the court. 1153 01:23:40,000 --> 01:23:44,250 Miss Pudel, your crime is serious. 1154 01:23:44,250 --> 01:23:45,750 Theft is theft, 1155 01:23:45,750 --> 01:23:49,000 whether it be a diamond or a cucumber. 1156 01:23:49,083 --> 01:23:51,125 And if you forgive the fox for stealing your chickens, 1157 01:23:51,125 --> 01:23:53,583 well, then, he'll steal your sheep. 1158 01:23:56,583 --> 01:23:58,083 However... 1159 01:23:59,333 --> 01:24:00,875 I can tell from your face 1160 01:24:00,958 --> 01:24:03,125 that you are full of shame and regret. 1161 01:24:04,250 --> 01:24:07,708 And true regret is punishment enough. 1162 01:24:07,750 --> 01:24:10,500 I know you are a kind person. 1163 01:24:10,583 --> 01:24:13,750 As, many years ago, a little girl showed me kindness 1164 01:24:13,750 --> 01:24:16,125 when I was at my lowest ebb. 1165 01:24:16,250 --> 01:24:17,875 Ah! Ah... 1166 01:24:17,875 --> 01:24:19,750 Ah. 1167 01:24:19,750 --> 01:24:22,125 Good on ya, little possum. 1168 01:24:22,125 --> 01:24:23,333 Good on ya. 1169 01:24:23,375 --> 01:24:25,750 That little girl gave me hope and courage 1170 01:24:25,750 --> 01:24:28,000 to start again, and escape my... 1171 01:24:28,083 --> 01:24:30,250 ...my vices. 1172 01:24:30,250 --> 01:24:31,833 Oh! 1173 01:24:31,833 --> 01:24:34,833 You may have light fingers, Miss Pudel, 1174 01:24:34,875 --> 01:24:37,000 but I know you have a heart of gold, 1175 01:24:37,000 --> 01:24:39,875 and have done many good deeds. 1176 01:24:39,958 --> 01:24:44,708 I therefore release you from your charges. 1177 01:24:44,750 --> 01:24:46,875 Case dismissed. 1178 01:24:46,958 --> 01:24:49,000 Ah! 1179 01:25:08,875 --> 01:25:11,833 Life had bashed me round a bit, 1180 01:25:11,833 --> 01:25:15,583 but the roses smelt better. 1181 01:25:15,625 --> 01:25:19,875 And I finally started to become the person I'd always wanted. 1182 01:25:22,083 --> 01:25:23,958 I made a film about my life. 1183 01:25:43,833 --> 01:25:45,958 It wasn't very good. 1184 01:25:46,708 --> 01:25:49,125 But a few people came. 1185 01:25:49,208 --> 01:25:52,000 I even had a question and answer session afterwards. 1186 01:25:52,000 --> 01:25:55,250 Any... Any questions? 1187 01:25:57,500 --> 01:25:59,500 Mm-mm. 1188 01:25:59,500 --> 01:26:01,375 Mmm... 1189 01:26:04,375 --> 01:26:06,625 Oh, well. 1190 01:26:06,625 --> 01:26:08,125 Thanks for coming. 1191 01:26:09,375 --> 01:26:11,208 Yes. 1192 01:26:13,375 --> 01:26:14,833 I've got one. 1193 01:26:17,750 --> 01:26:21,458 Do you believe in magic? 1194 01:26:33,833 --> 01:26:35,500 Gilbert? 1195 01:26:35,583 --> 01:26:39,083 Yes, it's me. 1196 01:26:40,083 --> 01:26:43,125 I... I walked across that desert. 1197 01:27:43,375 --> 01:27:46,083 It took me a while to believe Gilbert was alive... 1198 01:27:53,958 --> 01:27:55,625 ...how he'd escaped the fire... 1199 01:27:59,833 --> 01:28:02,875 ...and how his ashes were nothing more than... 1200 01:28:02,875 --> 01:28:04,458 ashes. 1201 01:28:05,875 --> 01:28:09,333 His urn now found a new purpose. 1202 01:28:12,833 --> 01:28:16,125 The cycle of life continued. 1203 01:28:16,208 --> 01:28:19,375 And your job was done, Sylvia. 1204 01:28:21,333 --> 01:28:25,250 We were all finally free of our cages. 1205 01:28:29,750 --> 01:28:33,000 And even though our family had shrunk a little... 1206 01:28:35,083 --> 01:28:37,250 ...we were together again... 1207 01:28:43,583 --> 01:28:47,375 ...with only one thing left to release. 1208 01:28:55,375 --> 01:28:58,375 Gilbert still smelt like burnt matches. 1209 01:29:00,000 --> 01:29:03,708 The setting sun tingled our skin, 1210 01:29:03,708 --> 01:29:05,750 our two souls... 1211 01:29:07,083 --> 01:29:09,708 ...and our single heart. 1212 01:29:27,125 --> 01:29:29,375 # Alouette, gentille alouette 1213 01:29:29,458 --> 01:29:32,125 # Alouette, je te plumerai 1214 01:29:32,125 --> 01:29:34,750 # Alouette, gentille alouette 1215 01:29:34,833 --> 01:29:37,250 # Alouette, je te plumerai 1216 01:29:37,250 --> 01:29:40,000 # Je te plumerai la tete Je te plumerai la tete 1217 01:29:40,000 --> 01:29:41,250 # Je te plumerai la tete 1218 01:29:41,250 --> 01:29:43,125 # Je te plumerai la tete 1218 01:29:44,305 --> 01:30:44,870 Support us and become VIP member to remove all ads from www.OpenSubtitles.org