Xeno lifted the pot lid gingerly and stuck a spoon into the soup. He pulled it out again to check the temperature—and the flavor. He nodded in satisfaction. “Dinner soon!” he called to the other side of the room. His dad waved a beringed hand and waved.“Good!” the Geist replied. “I’ve almost finished setting up the screen. I’ll be there in a second.”
Xeno smiled as he brought out a pair of bowls and another spoon. His dad had just gotten a new computer screen for his laptop. He’d promised something special—a movie night, just the two of them, now that they had a larger screen to watch it on. By the way his spots glowed, Xeno could tell that he was in for a treat, whatever the movie was. He carefully ladled soup into each bowl and set them out on the table. Jurvik joined him, reaching into the fridge for a bottle of milk and the cupboard for a pair of glasses. With the milk poured and the soup blown on to cool it, they settled down to eat. “So, what are we going to watch tonight?” Xeno asked.
“Just a little something,” Jurvik said. “My favorite movie from when I was your age. It’s called Journey to the Land of Shadow. Classic fantasy. Daring sword duels, a dangerous quest, a powerful macguffin—all the good stuff.”
“Sounds like it,” Xeno said with a toothy grin. Dad returned the grin and sipped at his soup.
“I’ve been meaning to show it to you for a while,” his dad said after a while. “Been having trouble finding it, though. I thought it might be out of print, but Flash found a copy for me the other day. She knows I’ve been wanting to show it to you for a while now, so.”
Xeno nodded. He liked most of the same stuff his dad liked—whether it was because they fundamentally had the same tastes, or just that he liked how his father lit up (metaphorically and literally) when he saw something he liked…Xeno didn’t know. But if Dad loved it, then he knew he himself was guaranteed to like it. “Any particular reason I need to see it? Besides it being amazing, I mean.”
Jurvik chuckled. “Yes, actually—it’s based on a book. According to ancient cinema legend—” here he waggled his eyebrows “—the director became a director just so he could adapt it to the movie screen. Kind of reminded me of you, a bit.”
Xeno finished the rest of his soup thoughtfully. A movie based on a book…sure, he’d always put on plays as a kid based on stories he read, but turning an entire book into a film? You’d need…well, you’d need to get the visuals right, and the music, how could you figure out what to do with music…
But music, and stories, and movies, even had their own rhythm…an idea began to form in Xeno’s head. “Dad…” he said. “Do you think Flash could find us a camera? Like, a film camera?”
The Geist chuckled. “Uh oh. Do I have a future director on my hands?”
Xeno smiled. “You might. I’ve got to do something when I grow up, haven’t I?”
