The family had breakfast and gathered around the bed. Edward looked better. Although he had not recovered, his expression was optimistic. He felt hungry for the first time.

He watched Sandra put the cap on the syrup bottle.

Edward is still the same Edward, and he is still the first to start: "Have I ever told you, about..."

Will was the first to interrupt: "I told you."

Edward was startled.

Will continued: "We have heard the story of the maple tree and the Buick."

Edward alluded to Josephine when he said: "I don't think there are people who haven't heard of it."

Unexpectedly, Josephine smiled and said: "The maple tree fell on the Buick, and the maple syrup splashed attracted many flies. The flies were stuck to the car, and they flew away with the car."

Undaunted, Edward continued: "But the real story is how I got this car. You see..."

Will interrupted again: "Dad?"

Edward was surprised: "Son?"

Will said seriously: "Can we talk?"

Sandra immediately said: "I'm going to wash the dishes."

Josephine immediately followed: "I'll help you."

The two women quickly cleared away the dishes.

Will and Edward both laughed, as the women hoped they would, and they quickly packed up and left.

Will finally said: "Dad, how much do you know about icebergs?"

Edward said without thinking: "I once saw an iceberg. They transported it to Texas as a source of drinking water. But unexpectedly, there was an elephant frozen in the iceberg. It was a furry elephant.

Mammoth.”

Will interrupted again: "Dad!"

Edward suddenly asked: "What's the matter?"

Will looked at him and said, "I was just making an analogy."

Edward said with some dissatisfaction: "Then you shouldn't start with a question, because a question needs to be answered. You should say: "The thing about the iceberg is...""

Will was a little discouraged: "The thing about icebergs is that you only see 10% of the iceberg, and the other 90% is hidden under the water. That's you, I only see a little bit above the water.

Pointy corners.”

Upon hearing this, Edward said in a joking tone: "What, are you looking at the tip of my nose? Or my chin and cheeks?"

He can always make a very simple thing very interesting.

Will looked at him: "I don't know you. You have never told me a fact."

Edward disagreed: "I told you a thousand facts. That's what I do, Will. I tell stories."

Will shook his head: "You are telling lies, Dad. You are telling interesting lies, those fairy tales you tell when your 5-year-old child is sleeping. When your son grows up to be 10, 15, 20 or even 30,

When I was 2 years old, it was still the same. I always believed in you and your stories. When I realized that everything you said couldn't happen - EVERYTHING! I felt like a fool,

I have always trusted you so much. You are like a cross between Santa Claus and the Easter Bunny, equally charming and equally false.”

Edward was a little angry: "You think I'm fake."

Will shrugged: "Only on the surface, but I can only see the surface."

Edward turned away angrily, his son's words made him unbelievable.

Will spoke again: "Dad, I'm going to have a child of my own. If he can't understand me in his life, it will be like killing me."

Edward couldn't understand or accept: "Kill you, ah? What do you want, Will? What kind of person do you want me to be?"

Will looked at him: "Be yourself. Good or bad, show your true colors, even just once."

Edward shook his head and still insisted on his opinion: "I have been myself since I was born. If you can't see it, it's your failure, not mine."

The conversation between father and son still ended in failure. Will could not understand his father, but Edward stubbornly insisted on his own opinion.

When the camera turned, Will used a pole to skim off fallen leaves and debris from the swimming pool surface. This was a futile task. The swimming pool had not been cleaned for a long time, and the water surface was covered with a slippery, shiny layer.

Algae and cement stones are covered in slime.

Suddenly, a vague illusion appeared in the water, causing waves. Will was startled, and when he missed it, the pole fell into the dirty water and disappeared.

He looked around, but fortunately no one saw all this, so he walked away casually.

When the door was opened, the scene had changed, and Sandra, Will and Josephine were seen staring at this forgotten corner of the house. There were some unused items piled up in the underground storage room: an unfinished outboard motor.

, dead bonsai, weird lawn mowers. We also found boxes of products that Edward once promoted.

Sandra led Will to a dusty roll-top desk with two metal filing cabinets.

Sandra told Will: "Your dad needs an office, but there's no room at home. You know what's important better than I do."

It took some effort for Will to open the desk cover. He heard a hiss and a cat emerged from nowhere. But Will was used to being frightened.

Will, Sandra and Josephine cleared out two large bags of trash to throw away. Sandra screamed when she saw a newly discovered document!

Will was a little confused and curious about his mother's exclamation: "What is that?"

Sandra handed Will a yellowed telegram and asked him and Josephine to read it together.

Sandra said: "During the war, your father disappeared and they thought he was dead."

Will couldn't believe the telegram.

Will couldn't believe it. He always thought that the stories his father told were all made up and meant to deceive children, but he didn't expect that this was really the case!

"Is this really happening?"

Sandra nodded: "Not everything your father said is false."

This chapter is not over, please click on the next page to continue reading! Saying this, Sandra stood up: "I'll go see him."

Josephine also said: "I need to lie down for a while."

Will knew they wanted to give him some alone time.

Josephine kissed Will goodbye and followed Sandra. Will read the telegram again and was still confused.

Will thrust the telegram into a strange mechanical hand on the table, which automatically clamped the telegram.

Will smiled. This reminded him of a long time ago, when he was very young. He had long forgotten this mechanical gadget. The camera slowly zoomed in on the telegram in the mechanical hand.

Edward's voice sounded...

"After the war, the children of Alabama returned home to look for work. Each of them had an advantage over me, at least they were still alive. But I - officially - was dead."

What follows is a narrative from Edward.

At the Civic Center office, Edward shook hands with his new boss, who was wearing a wig. The company was called United Products, and the female employees all liked Edward.

Edward's voice narrated: "Since it was not easy to find a job, I simply became a traveling salesman. This job suited me very well. The most noteworthy advantage of Edward Bloom is his strong communication skills.

"

At the market, Edward was promoting a new product to everyone at the booth.

“I’ve traveled a lot, from Tennessee to as far away as Timbuktu, and one thing everyone agrees on is that we all need a hand in the home.”

As he spoke, Edward took out a wonderful mechanical device, which unfolded like a flower, revealing four fingers and a thumb. This is the "Household Universal Hand" (trademark).

"Once you have this product, you can..."

While Edward was demonstrating, a quick montage of images appeared.

"Open a jar, open a letter, scratch an itch, pick up a book, hold a baby. It's powerful enough that you can even do a handstand with it."

After speaking, the agile Edward immediately demonstrated how the robot hand could support his entire weight, and the onlookers applauded enthusiastically.

"It can point to important information, or dangerous signals, and it can also point to beautiful women."

The first finger of the robot hand pointed at a stout man wearing overalls.

Edward quickly made amends: "Of course, we are still improving its functions."

The onlookers laughed.

On the highway, Edward drove the car and stretched one hand out of the window to feel the breeze.

"I quickly added new products and visited more cities. My travels stretched from the East Coast to West Texas."

The scene switches again, and Edward kisses his pregnant wife goodbye. His affection for her remains as strong as ever.

"I would stay away from home for weeks at a time. Every other Friday, I would deposit the money into my bank account so that I could buy a beautiful house with a white picket fence."

Savings and Loans in Texas.

During lunch time, there were many people in the bank and there was a long queue. While Edward was filling in the deposit slip, the man standing in front of him turned to look at him.

Yes, he met the poet from Ghost Town again.

It turns out that the poet came to rob the bank. In order to avoid casualties, Edward had to cooperate with the poet in the robbery. However, a funny scene happened. The bank actually went bankrupt long ago.
To be continued...