At the Movies
Mom and dad didn’t watch the cartoon movie with us, this time. They watched some movie called Hero or something. Don’t know whether they liked it or not, because they didn’t say anything about it. They never say much to each other, anyway.
On the way home, I asked whether anyone had ever seen a cartoon character stepping off the screen to interact with the audience in the theater. “NO!” said Riku, mom and dad almost in unison. “I think I’ve just seen one today,” I said. They didn’t say anything. Everyone in the car didn’t have anything decent to say and we all rode in silence for some while. The silence gave me a chance to think back about what had happened in that theater. If cartoon characters can climb down the screen and punish rowdy kids in the theater, then they can be made to do other useful stuff like cleaning schools and streets or baby sit small kids you know, playing with them and giving them snacks and milk… and Riku and I definitely need help with tidying up our bedroom every day. And like dad said, cartoons do not make unreasonable demands like people. They won’t leave the kids unattended to go out for a 15-minute smoking break. And they won’t ever help themselves on the treats in the refrigerator.
Well, life has unlimited possibilities I guess, if you know where to look and how to dream about them.
interact 交流する、接触する
decent 適切な、妥当な
tidy up …を整頓する、きれいにする
unreasonable remands 理不尽な要求
