chunk: John tells Paul, distraught over the notion of executing an innocent man, that he does in fact wish to die, as he views the world as a cruel place. Mentioning that he had never before seen a movie, John watches Top Hat with the other guards as a last request. That night, John is executed, although he refuses the customary hood, as he is afraid of the dark. Paul concludes his story by telling Elaine that John's was the last execution that either he or Brutus supervised; following Coffey's execution they both took jobs in the juvenile system.
  Elaine realizes that, since he had a grown son in 1935, Paul must be much older than he looks. Paul reveals that he is, in fact, 108 years of age, and not only is he still alive, so is Mr. Jingles, Del's mouse. Paul then muses that if John's power could make a mouse live for as long as Mr. Jingles has, how much longer does he himself have left?