( music playing )
( birds chirping )
( cars passing by )
You OK, honey?
Yeah, just give me a minute.
( door closes )
( dialing phone )
( line out ringing )
- Man: Hey, Sarah. - Hey, Dad.
How'd she do in the car ride?
Uh, she was good.
Quiet.
And sad.
Well, it sounds easier than usual.
At least she's not screaming.
Listen, I know you're feeling conflicted
on whether this is a good idea.
I think you need to let her do whatever it is she needs to do.
Let her get it out of her system,
and try not to come down on her.
OK, well, that's what I've been trying to do for the last five months,
and clearly that's not working.
I'm sorry. Don't get defensive.
I'm not trying to criticize or tell you what to do,
I'm just trying to help.
I know this isn't easy.
And for what it's worth,
I think you're doing a fantastic job.
Well, we both know that's not true.
Honey, she'll come back around.
This isn't gonna last forever.
- ( door opens ) - Dad, can I call you back?
- Sure. Bye. - OK, bye.
I had an idea.
What's your idea?
Well...
I don't want to say goodbye to him.
But...
it's what we came here to do.
That's what you asked for, so...
But I miss him.
I know you do, honey. We all do.
You keep saying that.
But then you just keep trying to push him away.
Honey, we're not gonna have that discussion again.
I loved him just as much as you did,
and I miss him just as much as you do.
So let's contact him.
I'm sorry?
Here's my idea.
I know you're gonna think it's silly, but...
you know how much Dad and I loved Harry Potter.
We all did.
Right. Of course.
So I brought some things.
I wrote him a kind of a spell.
To contact him.
I was thinking we could try it.
Are you sure you want to do that?
Yeah.
( grunts )
OK, then... let's do it.
Dear Dad,
you died of a surprise heart attack
one hundred and fifty-seven days ago...
in this bed, in your sleep,
sometime in the middle of the night.
We were supposed to go to Aunt Justine's birthday party the next day.
I remember knowing something was wrong
because your leg felt cold under mine when I woke up.
Mom was still snoring very loudly.
I don't know where you are or what you are,
but do you still look like you?
Red beard and freckles?
Are you in heaven? Is there even a heaven?
Or are you in my heart like you always said you would be
if anything bad happened?
I don't know, but I do believe that you can hear me.
Mom does too. Right?
- Yeah. - So I've written a spell.
If you can hear me, the spell will help you talk to us.
On three, we read the spell together.
We have to believe.
- Very important. - OK. OK.
One, two, three.
- Loquatus con mortem amore. - Locust con mortem amore.
"Loquatus," not "locusts," or whatever you said.
Oh. OK. Sorry.
One two, three.
Both: Loquatus con mortem amore.
It didn't work.
But... it was a really good idea, Elle.
And this letter you wrote is so great.
Maybe-- Maybe we should just say our goodbyes, and--
I think you need to go into the bathroom.
Excuse me?
This is only going to work if everybody believes.
I'm not gonna go into the bathroom.
Or outside, or somewhere else!
- Elle-- - Do you believe?
I would like to believe we can talk to Dad, yes.
But you don't! So you shouldn't be a part of this.
- I need to do this alone. - Sweetheart--
I don't expect you to understand.
OK, see, this is where we get into trouble.
It's not trouble. You just don't get it.
You don't get this! This is a me-and-Dad thing, and you--
I'm not gonna be dragged into this with you again.
You don't even like Harry Potter!
I do like Harry Potter, I spent my entire vacation
at Harry Potter World with you and Dad--
And you complained the whole time!
I was not complaining, I was just questioning
whether we needed to spend five full days there.
Because you don't get it like Dad and I do!
And now you're trying to forget him and push him out of our lives!
OK, you know what? Nope. That's it. We're going.
OK, I tried. I tried, but if you're gonna act like this,
if you're gonna treat me like shit, then we're going.
Give me my bag! If you want to leave, I don't care! I'm staying!
If you want to stay, then you can stay.
- Give me my bag! - Stop it!
- You need to control-- - Don't you fucking tell me what to do!
- No! - Give me my bag!
( panting )
Did you hear that?
What?
That voice.
- No, I didn't-- - I heard it.
It was a muffled voice.
Or voices.
Like a bunch of computer voices.
And they were all muffle-y.
Elle, I don't know. Maybe it was the people--
There it is again!
It's coming from the bed!
- Elle, don't do this. - Shh!
Can't hear it, Mom?
- No, I don't-- - It's talking!
Can't you hear it?
( Elle whispering ) Can you help me talk to my Dad?
Elle.
They think they know where Dad is!
- Who's "they"? - The spirit voices.
( whispering ) Can you help me contact him?
What are they saying?
One second, Mom.
They're--
They've--
They've contacted Dad!
I can't believe it, it's working!
Oh! This is amazing!
( whispering ) Tell him I say "Hi, it's Elle." I really miss him.
- Now what's happening? - Shh!
( whispering ) I'm gonna tell Mom.
Mom, we can talk to him!
OK.
Uh... how does it work?
Well, the voices can talk to Dad and me,
but you and I can't talk directly to Dad.
Does that make sense?
Mm-hmm. Sure.
Has he said anything yet?
He said he loves us
and he misses us, but we shouldn't worry,
because he's not in any pain or anything.
Well, that's good.
Did he say anything else?
That was really it.
You were under there for a while.
Nothing else?
It's OK. You can tell me.
Well, the voices...
translate more than what he's saying.
They actually translate what he's feeling.
Oh.
And what was that?
Well, I don't want you to get your feelings hurt.
Oh, honey, it's OK.
Well, the voices...
they said that while he said he misses us both,
he actually misses me a bit more than he misses you.
Well, that's understandable.
- It is? - Sure.
All three of us love each other,
but I know you and Dad had a special connection,
so it makes sense that the voices
would translate it that way.
OK. So what do we do now?
We have to give them a message for Dad.
OK, great. Um...
well, we should tell him that we love him,
and miss him,
and that we wish he was with us,
but we understand that he had to go.
And to give hugs from us and to say goodbye.
Or we could ask him if there's any way that he could come back.
That's... That's an idea.
Worth asking, right?
If he can't, then we can just do our goodbyes like we planned
but if he could come back somehow,
that would be the best, right?
You're right. That would be the best.
We should check.
( whispering ) Is there any way he can come back?
( whispering ) That's the only way? I have to choose?
What's happening?
- ( exhales ) - What's wrong?
Dad said that there is actually a way
that he could come back.
And what's that?
He would have to trade places...
with you.
Dad said that?
Well, Dad said that he could come back,
but there can't be three of us anymore-- only two.
But he said he would never want anything bad to happen to you.
But...
But the voices translated how he really felt.
Yeah.
And what was that?
That... he...
...misses me so much
that he would actually rather
you be dead... than him...
so he could come back and be with me.
Do you agree with Dad?
Would you rather him come back and me go and take his place?
Because... that's OK if that's what you want,
if that's what you're really feeling.
I want you to know that.
Do you mean...
you'd be willing t-to trade places with Dad...
if that's what I wanted?
I th-- I think--
I think I'd be willing to do that for you...
if that's what you really wanted.
OK? You can tell Dad that.
You can tell the voices to tell Dad, OK?
I want you to know that's an OK thing to say.
- Elle: What? - Sarah: Hmm?
Sorry, they're trying to talk to me again.
( Elle whispering )
What did Dad have to say?
They weren't translating for Dad this time.
No?
They were translating for you.
Me?
They said that you didn't really mean it
when you said you'd trade with Dad.
That inside, you were secretly happy that you were alive,
that he was the one that died instead of you.
Oh-- Honey, that's not true.
This is confusing.
I know it is,
but you know what, your father and I,
we love you so much, and it's going to be fine, OK?
But you both are saying things, and you mean different things,
and I don't know what you mean-- this is confusing!
- I know. - You say that you know,
but I don't know what you mean!
- Why does there only have to be two?! - Elle-- Elle--
Why can't there be three of us like it used to?!
- It's not fair! It's not fucking fair! - Honey!
- Everybody else has their whole family! - I know they do.
- It's not fair! - I know, honey. I know.
No! Get off of me!
You're just trying to make me like you
so I'll choose you and let you live!
Oh, my God, are you both pretending to like Harry Potter?
No, we're not pretending, Elle, OK?
- Oh, my God! It's not fair! - Elle, stop it.
- It's not fair! - Stop it!
I know it's not fair. I know it's--
( Elle shrieking )
( panting )
It's not fair.
I just wish it didn't have to be two.
Just wish it could be three, together again.
Elle.
I know that this is incredibly hard.
And I know that you think that I don't understand how you're feeling
because you and Dad were so close.
But you know, your Dad and I
also had a very special connection.
You did?
Of course.
He was my husband
and my best friend in the whole world.
And we had our own set of secret worlds
and things that only we shared.
And now I feel like I've lost this piece of myself...
...and I can never be the same.
That's exactly how I feel.
I know.
I'm sorry.
It's OK.
I love you so much, honey.
( Elle whispering )
- ( whispering ) But will Mom and I be OK? - Elle.
Hold on, Mom.
I'm saying goodbye to Dad.
( whispering ) I think about you all the time,
and I dream we'll be together forever.
OK, Dad. Goodbye.
I love you.
Man: I love you too.
( music playing )
Where shall we begin, Charles?
Good question. That depends on... how much time we have.
I've rented the room for three days.
(LAUGHS)
That wasn't a joke.
♪ (OMINOUS MUSIC FADES) ♪