Admiring the Light

Ep 32

Flashback

Natalie found herself enjoying this, she wanted to watch more, the loud music and shouting intrigued her. More than her mother's educational shows.

"Fire!!" She'd never seen anything like this movie before, fighting ugly sea monsters with fiery swords.

Characters getting slashed open on screen and being clocked over their heads, it excited Natalie more than helping Dora the Explorer find an object directly behind her.

"Ooooh-" Other children in the theater cowered next to their parents when eerie CGI was give a closeup. She loved it, this fantastical squid man with total control over the situation. "He's coool-"

Natalie had a good distinction of real and fake, but the movie just looked so realistic to her that it amazed her young mind.

...

Present

"This blew my mind, Sport, seeing it in theaters. Squid pirate man plays organ, all the rain, the steam, the effects, holy crackers." Natalie cranked the television volume.

"I could see why, it's all very impressive." She wasn't exactly interested, but supporting her big sister took priority.

"All of these movies hold up extremely well. Black Pearl is probably one of my favorite movies, thinking bout it."

"I heard you say that you would learn organ at church. Senior project." Guinevere suggested, pulling up a list of tutorials for instruments.

"I couldn't sit long enough for that, Sport!" Natalie wouldn't even consider learning a instrument, she couldn't handle French as a foreign language, music was completely alien.

"You play manuals with your hands, and there is a manual for your feet. Perfect for your ADHD."

"I can barely play something with my hands, Sport! You play with your feet?!" That sounded insane to Natalie. "I'd learn piano." She probably wouldn't even try piano, but that seemed far more simplistic.

"It's like learning a video game!" Guinevere smiled.

"I could reach out to the music director at church?" Natalie sighed. "Didn't I suggest organ to you a month ago? Like for your senior project?"

"Learn guitar! Like- those metal bands. You could stream it! Give your viewers more content! I bet they would subscribe to your channel." She whispered, content always could away Natalie.

"Sport, how dare you suggest that I exploit my viewers for money! You can't expose my shady practices."

"I would never-"

"Fucking GOD, THIS IS TOO LOUD." Katherine grabbed the remote and forced the volume. "Y'all aren't even watching this crap. You saw it on the big screen."

"You could have asked!" Natalie sighed. "It's just Dead Man's Chest, I could literally just shut it off if you wanted."

"Look outside, Natalie."

"Wassup? Someone here?" Snow coated the ground, Nightwhisper looked like she was struggling to get back inside from the snow as her paws fought the ice.

"We're snowed in again "

"Snow!! It's so pretty!" Natalie chuckled.

"It's gonna be fucking slush when we head up to your aunt's. That 2 hour ride to Memphis will be hell." Katherine groaned.

"We don't have to go, Kathy. We could have a diner thanksgiving." Natalie's father spoke up quietly, he didn't need to see his sister for thanksgiving. "The diner isn't bad."