Mannequin Man

A man is driving, following a distant dot that stays on the far horizon. The road ends at a shopping mall, and upon entering he meets his father, whose morning ritual was to walk the mall. He realizes, slowly, that he is dreaming, as both his parents have died. But that realization also gives him the freedom to talk to his father in a way he never could. Coming upon a storefront they see a family inside having dinner. It is themselves, circa 1967, and as he watches himself and his brother as kids, his father casually asks his mother for a divorce. The man then knows the reason for the dream: it is an opportunity to find answers to questions that have plagued him his whole life. These are illuminated in other storefronts, each corresponding to important events from the past. Along with interactions with other people they meet, he is confronted with anger, fears and resentments that he has always blamed on his father. But as they talk he also finds empathy and understanding, realizing that the past they shared made him the man he has become, while uncovering a hidden key to a lifelong mystery.