A night at the cinema

I covered my face as I left the house. The wind today was so hot and strong, strong enough to make the old mills go round. It’s a shame those things don’t work anymore, they could be useful nowadays. I remember the stories of my grandma, how the mills helped them to produce electricity, preventing any kind of electric shortage. Now they’re just useless pieces of crap that no one wants, they don’t even make a good scene, besides, it’s pretty hard to see them from the distance considering the gray fog. 

The weather is so hot, it has been like this for a few days now. I just hope it doesn’t remain like this forever. Anyway, just a few more miles and I’ll be in the Central with some decent air conditioning. 

It’s funny, right now I can’t help but remember my grandma telling me stories about a river, something that had as much water as one could imagine and that could create some electricity too, it had fishes, so there was never a shortage of food. Of course all that seems like a fairytale to me, but I gotta say, after all the crazy things she said those were the best. Dementia caused by pollution, so usual, so tragic, and yet, something we all wish for. To be alone with your thoughts, mostly good thoughts. I’d like to be there, I wanna go to the world my grandmother spent her last days in, and according to her also her first days. 

After some minutes I finally entered the Central. As always, a complete mess, people shouting, kids running every kind of sound or smell one can imagine in just one place. This is the only place where you can find everything and anything. 

I look up, and at the back I catched a glance of Clarice, her blonde hair standing out from every other head. I approach her, quietly, I wanna give her the scare of her life. When I’m close to her I grab her shoulders and scream in her ear. She immediately lets out a horrendous scream. Some faces turn at us, but I don’t mind them.

Clarice sets her eyes on mine, she's mad “I can’t believe you dared to do that” She says with that odd accent that I love. 

“What?” I try to look somewhat disinterested, but I know deep down that she knows exactly how interested I am. “C’mon you can’t be mad at me”

“Course I can” 

I give her my cute eyes “Can you?”

“Don’t start.” She gives me a little smile, I know she’s better now. “So what’s all the fuss. Why you call me here?”

I put my finger over my leaps “You’re gonna find out soon”

“Well I better. You have no idea of the travel I had, I mean, a two hour train. The heat has been killing me since I left home. Seriously, the temp can’t continue like this, we gonna die someday cuz of this y’know.” 

“Well, y’know what they say, it’s gonna be like this now, no turning back now.” I sures ound like a broken record, I cannot remember how many times I’ve said that and even less how many times I’ve been told that.

“I wish we could understand what the oldies mean with that. I mean,  grandma keeps saying that it’s too late now” she lifted her arms to represent her confusion “Too late for what? when were we on time?” she puts her arms down, realizing that she has drawn more attention than she intended. “Anyway, her brain’s right, so I can’t blame her behaviour on demence. Just wish I could understand her, or at least know what she talking about.”

“Well it’s good you mentioned your grandma” I smile. 

“What you mean?”

“Just wait.”

We left the Central and I took her to the old cinema. It stopped working a few years ago due to the lack of spectators or that’s what they say. But I know that it was because there was no way to continue with the electrical bills. Nowadays it’s all about the electric bills, you can’t pay for it you don’t get it, and what are you gonna do without electricity, no air conditioning, no food, no TV, no nothing. Worst part is they say that we’re running out of electricity and that’s something that we should all worry about. But not today, because on this special day I have prepared something so very special for Clarice, I want to show her how much she means to me. 

From the outside it seemed just as any other abandoned building, metal bars across the entrance, surrounded by darkness. I liked this feeling, it made me feel at ease somewhat, knowing that there’s not a soul inside

“Wait here.” I told Clarice as I ran to the back entrance. 

“What we doing here?” She shouted, but I didn’t answer.

I know the place well, I remember being young and sneaking through this same door to enter the room and watch some movies. Some of my best memories come from this place, also the saddest, like when they had to close it. I remember once hearing the manager talk to his employees about how the cinema could not stand by itself anymore, a few weeks later they announced it was closing. I wish I could go to the place my grandma told me about. 

I walked down the halls, trying to remember the way to the power circuits. This place sure is a maze. the posters from the movies decorated the halls, with each one, an old memory came to my mind. I finally found the circuits, all dusty and rusted by time. I put my hand in my pocket, there it was, now I just hope it works. I took the fusil out, silver and shiny. I took a deep breath and placed it carefully in the zocket. It didn’t so I guess so far so good. I searched for cable 3A that’s all I need, if it still works it will light the room where I’ve got the movie. I really hope it works. I took a deep breath, again, as I plugged the cable in. I didn’t realize when I closed my eyes, but after hearing the ‘click’ I guessed it was all good. 

I went to the main entrance, to remove the locks, of course I could've got her in from the back door, but I wanted it to feel real, at least just for her. Somehow I know that this night is going to be engraved in her memory till the day she dies, not even demency will be able to take this from her. 

I opened the doors and saw her there, standing still, beautiful as ever. I couldn’t help but smile at her. Yes, this is the woman I will marry someday. 

“What in the world you doin’?” she laughed.

“Mademoiselle Clarice, please be my guest tonight” I tried to act as the guys that greeted you at the entrance of the cinema but I think I failed by a long shot.

Clarice burst in laughter, but she decided to come in. I took her by the arm and we started walking through the halls. 

“So what movie we watching on this so very special ocassion?”

“Just wait, it’s a surprise my dear.”

“You know patience is not a strength of mine.”

“I do, but I can promise you it will be worth it.”

We arrived at the room, now that it’s empty I realize just how big it really is. I can’t help but smile as I remember all the good memories I had there. I try to hide my expression from Clarice, this is not my night, it’s hers. I led her to the places I had so carefully prepared with cushions and food and popcorn.

Clarice took the popcorn surprised “Well, I haven’t seen this for quite some time now.” she couldn’t stop smiling.

“You deserve the best.”

“Now, you gonna tell me what we doing here? You mentioned my grandma, but what about her?”

“Jeanette White” I said without warning.

Clarice’s eyes opened widely, I was sure this would come as a surprise to her “How you know that?”

“I just” I smiled trying to hide the fact that I had gone through endless books to find her grandma’s name. “But I didn’t bring you all the way here just for this. I want to show you something that I think is gonna be very special to you.”

“Then go, do it. Y´know, don’t keep a woman waiting”

I just laughed. Then I took the remote control I was hiding in my jacket. I closed my eyes as I pressed the ON button, begging for it to work. 

A moment of silence.

I thought it hadn’t worked, I felt my hope vanishing from my body. This was my only shot and now I’d screwed it. Clarice’s never gonna forgive me. The worst thoughts started coming to my mind for what seemed ages, but suddenly, I heard a noise. I smiled recognizing it immediately, the film had entered the proyector. 

“What’s this Bruce?”

“You once told me you wished to know your grandma when she was younger. How she fought to save the planet and prevent us from the situation we live in now right?”

Clarice nodded.

“Well I founded it.” I felt so proud to finally be ale to say those words. 

The images started to come on the screen. A big room with chairs arranged in a circular way forming a semi-circle. At the center there was a podium. We could hear some noise, but everyone shut up as soon as one lady entered, she was wearing a white suit, her short hair let everyone know that she wasn’t wearing any kind of jewelry. She stood up at the podium as everyone observed.

“That 's my...”

“I know I know” I interrupted Clarice.

“This is useless” she started as she made everyone feel confused “I wish I was wrong, but this is useless. ”I traveled on a plane for six thousand miles to give you a speech that I could've given from my home. I spent gas on that, a precious resource that lately has been killing our planet. There's really no need for the ridiculous use of transportation means, I think you understand now, but seriously, why hasn’t anyone thought that most meetings can be solved over an e-mail, that a videoconference can be just as effective as meeting your people in person, that people can do home office. For short that we don’t have the need” she made emphasis in ‘need’ “The need of wasting our precious resources”

The camera made a tour around the room. Most of the chairs were occupied by men in fancy suits. Their names on a plate next to a flag. I never believed my teachers when they taught us about flags and countries, but I guess this is the proof.

“We reunite here” Clarice’s grandma continued “for the sake of this planet, without noticing that we’re just hurting it more. It’s ok, to not know now, but now you know, now we know, that’s why I ask everyone to take this into consideration. Now, I said that this is useless because...” some other exclamations from the public obliged her to make a pause “All right, just let me get to the point.” she continued with a smile “I know that all of you are invested in this, that you all want the better for this beautiful planet we have, and that’s exactly why this is useless. You don’t need to be here, the owners of the big corporations do, the ones that are polluting this world, the ones that will be the only ones to save their asses when this planet has had enough. Because that’s what this is about for every one of them. People don’t want to save the planet, they want to save themselves, I know that’s a cliché, but it’s real, the thing is no one realizes that. We are embedded in this idea about our beautiful planet, but when all the plants are gone, when we can’t hear the birds sing, when oceans and rivers dry out, and all the animals are gone, we’re going to be alone. But hey! We´re going to be alive. Sometimes I get the feeling that that’s what everyone secretly wants.” She straightened her posture “I’m here to tell you that I don’t want to just survive, and I don’t want to just survive, I want to preserve this amazing world we're living in with all its wonders. We have to act now, It’s not to late… yet”

Suddenly the screen froze, the picture of Clarice´s grandma right in front of us. Full of hope. However, I felt as if it was judging us, everyone. 

I still wonder if this was really true, what about that plane thing she mentioned? and travelling six thousand miles, for real? I turned around to see Clarice, her face full of tears. 

“Thank you” Clarice rested her head against my shoulder as I held her hand.

Then the reproducer made another noise. The movie continued, Pictures of explosions, fire outbreaks. Rockets leaving the planet successfully and others exploding while they try to reach the sky.

Clarice's grandma’s voice continued, desperate, while some horrendous images occupied the screen “Please, there’s no planet B.” What seemed like an aircraft exploded in midair. “We need to save ‘this’ planet, it’s the only one we have.” while a huge installment in the middle of the sea exploded. “Humanity’s greed will lead us to our own end” an electrical station exploded, followed by several fires across the mountain nearby. “I really thought we wouldn't arrive at this point, but now it really is too late. There’s no way we can turn back now.”

Then, the screen froze in the picture of a nuclear reactor. I was confused when suddenly the noise of an explosion almost left us deaf, then the screen was white. After a few moments we could read ‘Great Nuclear Explosion 2034’ followed by ‘Beginning of the Great Catastrophe’.

That last sentence sent shivers down my spine. We both stared at each other, knowing exactly what it meant. I held her tight, she was also shivering. Actually anyone would shiver after reading those words. 

The movie ended and we were left alone in the darkness with each other and our thoughts. None of us dared to say a word.