"The day my father took me to see E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial at the movies, I realized that maybe I wasn't in a confusing dream, and perhaps I was in a life sent to me with a system of suns."
Monologue:
My name is Billy Carson. I've just turned six years old. I was born on June 10, 1976. At first, I thought it was all a confusing dream, vague memories playing tricks on my mind. But I was born in the state of California, San Francisco. I could only wake up from a deep sleep when I watched Steven Spielberg's movie, E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial. From the beginning to the end of the movie, I couldn't even touch my popcorn or sip my soda. I just thought about the misfortune of being reborn without even realizing I was in a new life.
...
-Little Billy, did you like the movie? - asked Thomas, his father as the credits rolled after a magnificent ending. What a difference between '80s cinema and modern 2000s cinema.
-Yes, Daddy, - Billy whispered. He wondered if his father would be nervous. He had been acting silent and withdrawn for almost six years. Not that he blamed him, it was just his emotional state, all muddled in this thing called reincarnation. Now he understood the art system. When he first read the system's specifications, he had skipped over the part about getting involved in a new being. Along with age, it had made it very hard to understand.
-Daddy, do you think I can meet the extraterrestrial E.T.? - Billy questioned and affirmed. He wanted to propose becoming an actor, but his child's brain couldn't handle such complex matters. The result was a question appropriate for his age.
-Oh, son, didn't you see that he left in his spaceship at the end? Maybe in a few years, he'll visit Earth to greet his friends, - Thomas said.
-What if I buy you a shirt from the clothing store? I saw some models for little kids, Billy, - the father replied again.
-Father, but if it's Elliot, E.T.'s friend, he won't come for me, - Billy responded as they exited the movie theater and walked through the mall. In the morning, they had burgers at Burger King, and later, they indulged in strawberry yogurt ice cream with chocolate cookies. In the afternoon, they enjoyed the movie by watching E.T.
-Well, we can sort that out later. There are still many years before E.T. returns, -- mused Thomas. --Perhaps, if we send a letter to Elliot, we could get to know him, and he can introduce us to his space friend. -
-Okay, when we get home, we'll sit down and write a letter, - Thomas suggested.
-Daddy, can you buy me drawing books? - Billy asked, considering the new skills granted by the art system.
-Of course, I can, but this will be your last gift, -he replied.
He ended up buying a blank sketchbook along with all kinds of pencils and colors. In his previous life, his development as an artist was poor. He tried to draw all sorts of things, from comics and paintings to murals, pictures, and anything else imaginable, but he didn't improve.
In the compulsory learning process, the previous skills were there, but they needed practice and consistency. He started by reprogramming the series from previous years, all the series created and known throughout the years. Starting with contours and edges, he practiced portraits and began drawing his father, acquaintances, and passersby he glanced at. Focusing on the negative spaces, which are mainly the spaces that surround the main subjects, or theoretically, aligning a main image with secondary objects.
He began developing the series of Kenichi Shirahama, "The Strongest Disciple," a manga he quite liked, published in August 2002. In this development, the ultimate idea was to construct the art concepts and sketches he remembered, as well as other original models and innovations.
In the activities he started, he has not yet fulfilled the self-imposed wishes of the system. On his thirteenth birthday, he will be allowed to join an acting academy.
-Dad, look at my new drawing, - Billy said. The development of Kenichi was quick and polished, but completing it was not as easy. Fixing a detail and reconstructing vague memories was not a straightforward task because weaving a forgotten plot is not a matter of memory.
-Is this your new drawing? - Thomas asked.
-Yes, Father, it's my new design. It's a character who practices martial arts, - the boy said.
-You've become fond of martial arts since you started going to the library, - Thomas noted.
-Dragon Ball, - Billy said.
-It's a new series, Japanese. They call it manga. The creator is amazing, - Billy announced. The Dragon Ball manga is one of the few visible in the library, along with a few others like Captain Tsubasa. At this time, the drawings are not a great marvel, and there is a lot of technical evolution needed.
-I didn't know. -
-I know, Father. -
-I've been thinking about joining the drama club, Dad. I'd like to appear in those movies we often go to see. There's a new movie out, 'Top Gun,' - Billy said.
"Okay," Thomas said.
"This Thursday after school," Billy replied.
"What's the drama club all about?" Thomas asked.
-They meet on Mondays and Thursdays after school, --Billy repeated, -- and the music teacher is in charge of putting on a play that's presented at the end of the school year. He also gives us some quick acting lessons, - Billy smiled. Inside, he feared stage fright, something he had experienced in his previous life.
-Very well, -Thomas reconsidered. - I have a meeting with a client at two in the afternoon. I'll pick you up at four after you finish your tasks with Mrs. Sherman, - he said.
-Dad, Mrs. Sherman is a tyrant. Her social studies classes are impossible. -
[Reincarnated Wish:
Enroll in an acting academy.
To discover your next repressed desire, you must fulfill the first one.
...]
And the wish can only remind him of his past life and the fear he had when he left high school: stage fright.
...
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