maybe this time

You have watched this movie countless times. You've memorized the dialogue and the actors' actions. You know how the story ends, but every time you view this film you lock your eyes shut and wish for a different outcome.

This is the magic of the movies: for 90 minutes you can forget yourself. Become something else. Lose yourself in some foreign world of Technicolor and beauty, a world in which good always triumphs over evil. This is your own personal Oz.

So just lose

Yourself.

You lock your eyes shut and wish for a different outcome. Maybe this time, you tell yourself, things will be different.

But no.

The hero must always pay a fatal price for saving the day. The hero has to sacrifice his life to rescue the damsel in distress.

And you know what happens next.

Under the glow of flashbulbs and news cameras, the police apprehend the villain. And a few blocks away, hidden from the hoopla in a darkened alley, he is there. The dying hero. She cradles his mortally wounded body. Her tears swell from the corners of her eyes. They glisten in the pale light. And he struggles to speak.

And you know the words that will crawl from his lips.

"Please, Marie, don't cry. I... I knew I had to be willing... willing to die to save... to save... you. Sometimes a price must be paid... for love. Don't worry... don't worry about me. I'm going to die a happy man because... because I know you will go on... start a family... and be happy. My only regret is that... I... I won't be there... with you. Always remember, Marie, that... I... love... you."

A final breath.

Her fragile body collapses while cries fly from her mouth.

And you. You've watched this movie countless times, and every time you relive the tale you close your eyes and hope for a different ending.

Maybe this time, you tell yourself, the hero will get the girl and live to see another day. Maybe this time... things will be different.

xx