The Valley of Light

Noah?

- Noah Locke. - Mr. Reed.

- Welcome home, son. - Thank you.

Look at you, you're our hero.

We heard you were awarded a Purple Heart.

Your mama and daddy would have been real proud.

Thank you, sir.

Mama.

- Can I help you? - No, ma'am.

This was my home before the war.

You're one of the Locke family?

Yes, ma'am.

We're farming this land now.

Understand.

Sorry for the interruption.

Locke, you got a visitor.

I was just driving the car.

I didn't even have a gun.

You don't understand how hard it was with Mama sick.

I had to get out.

I couldn't breathe.

They said I could go to Mama's funeral.

But I'd have to be in chains.

And I couldn't do that, there.

No, sir.

No contact with the prisoner.

Time's up, Locke.

You disowning me, Noah?

You're the only family I got, Travis.

My brother's 17, Mr. Kates.

- Shouldn't there be some leniency? - No, sir.

- Not a chance. - Travis is a good boy.

He just made a bad decision and I wasn't here to help him.

I'm sorry about your kid brother.

We thank you for your service over there.

Thank you, Mr. Kates.

If I were you,

I'd focus on what I was gonna do now this war is over.

Yes, sir.

It's like water everywhere else, boy.

It's wet.

You feeling for life in that river?

Oh, it's just an old habit.

I didn't mean to spook you.

You got that look about you.

Man that's ready to duck down.

I'd say you was in the war. Was you?

Yeah, I was.

Fishing's best from the bend.

- Help yourself to the worms. - Thanks.

I saw you coming a long way off.

You had company.

I saw a man and a woman

walking beside you.

That wasn't me, sir. I'm alone here.

It was you.

Man was lame.

Woman was awfully pretty.

Petite little lady.

Sounds like you describing my folks.

They died.

That's awfully sad.

Look, look. You got you one.

You say you've seen my folks.

- How's that? - Oh, it's--

It's just a gift that come to me, five years ago.

Seeing the other side.

Well,

I don't believe in ghosts.

Neither do I.

Only angels.

I'll be. Will you look at that?

Thank you.

You just wandering around?

You going somewhere?

I guess I'm wandering.

Just looking for a sign that tells me to stop.

If you're just walking willy-nilly,

you ought to go over to those mountains there.

Just over the ridge.

There's a nice little valley.

Born and raised there.

Oh, awfully nice people. Good fishing too.

There's a little lake over there.

The locals call it the Lake of No Fish.

And, boy, it's got the biggest bass you ever saw.

I hooked him once. Fought me like the devil.

You gotta take your time with him.

- You gotta aggravate him so. - Yeah.

Yeah. I've seen fish like that.

It must be as big as Jonah's whale by now.

Well,

I guess I best be getting home.

Thank you for your hospitality, Noah Locke.

You said you've seen my folks.

My ma, my pa.

Do you still see them?

Bright as day.

And there are others too.

Your Army buddies.

You don't wanna lose them either.

What you wanna lose is that cloak of grief about your shoulders.

You did your best to save them.

You go on over to that valley.

Try to catch my fish.

If you do, you tell him Hoke Moore

has been thinking about him a long, long time.

Old Hoke Moore told me about you.

I'll see you later.

Quiet down now.

Welcome.

You wouldn't be lost, now, would you?

Well, I never been here before, so I guess I am.

Looks like we got us a wandering sheep.

- Where are you from? - Asheville.

I had a cousin lived there.

Name of Wally Mayfield. Do you know him?

- No, sir. - You didn't miss much.

You serve in the war?

I did.

Europe or the Pacific?

- Europe. - What outfit?

42nd Infantry.

Whitlow Mayfield.

When I'm not walking behind a plough, I'm the sheriff of this county.

Marshall here's my deputy.

- Pleasure. - Howdy.

Howard Reynolds. This here's Matthew.

My name is Noah Locke.

What you doing with yourself these days, Noah Locke?

I pick up an odd job here and there.

- Mostly I do me some fishing. - Fishing?

Well, if you come for the fishing contest, friend,

I'm afraid you're a bit early.

I don't know nothing about no fishing contest.

We have a fishing contest here in about two weeks.

Costs 2 dollars to get in.

Draws a crowd

and we wind up with a little money for the school.

You could walk away with $20.

And give Littleberry some competition.

That'd be Littleberry Davis.

He has won our contest the last

five, six years in a row by my count.

- Six. - Six.

You're a fisherman, I tell you what.

You go down to that river there

and catch me a mess of them river cats before sundown,

I'll give you a dime

for every fish big enough to fry.

My boy likes catfish.

Don't let them bait you, friend.

You not knowing the river this time of day,

I'd say you'd be wasting your time.

Oh, I'll do it.

All right, to get to our house,

take that road there past the meadow till you see a little Grey house.

Yes, sir. Thank you.

Well, you've been here five minutes,

already you got you some business.

And that is four.

Oh, you got a smorgasbord there.

Ma'am.

Taylor.

We captured us here a Noah Locke.

Travelling fisherman, if you can believe that.

Is that so?

- Marjorie, you take care. - I will.

This is my cousin, Taylor Bowers.

And if he don't have what you want,

he just go ahead and try to sell you something else.

Some folks are born-again Christians.

Taylor here is a born-again talker, worse than I am.

And that's going some.

- How can I help you? - What do you need, son?

Sardines, some canned tuna?

That would put a hole in your fishing story.

Well, yes, it would.

I'll just have a bag of coffee, a soap bar and a shirt if you got it.

- Will chambray do? - That will be fine, thanks.

- Eleanor. - Taylor.

- Whitlow. - Good afternoon, Eleanor.

- Anything I can get for you? - Oh, I know where everything is.

All right then.

Don't you go raising prices on our friend here.

He's an Army man. Just like my boy.

You know you're the only one I cheat around here, cousin.

- Nice to meet you, sir. - Same here.

You really make a living fishing?

Well, now, that depends on what you call a living.

I eat a lot of fish.

You know of any jobs around town?

I got one right here.

You see those two fools yakking over there?

They're supposed to be painting this store.

You witness even one foot of pine board painted out there

when you walked up?

Coffee is right behind you.

Eleanor, are you finding everything all right?

Oh, now, what is that?