Gone with the wind had always been Gerald Stilton’s favorite movie since the day he saw it on his seventh birthday. So in 1997, the movie was shown in cinemas again for its 60th anniversary. Gerald was delighted that the nostalgic cinema of his dear friend Anton Kuller was selected as one of the few cinema theatres in the states to show the movie.
It had all started perfectly. Gerald and his wife had been escorted by a limousine to the Kuller cinema and were seated in the balcony. It almost felt like the first time, except now his hair was not auburn anymore and more a mess of long, white uncombable hair. They enjoyed the movie until the strangest thing happened: In the movie Scarlet’s daughter Bonnie was just about to die falling off the horse when he heard the horrible scream a few seconds too early. He leaned over the balcony and looked down. He took off his glasses and put seen in his coat pocket to observe the room.
“What are you doing,” said his wife and pulled him on his coat so he would sit again.
“Something is going on down there,” mumbled Gerald and stared down at the seats only to find a mysterious person disappearing behind the stage. “I have to see what is going on down there,’” whispered Gerald and left his seat.
“Gerald Stilton!” called his wife as he set off for the stairs. “I know the child’s death always breaks your heart but there is nothing going on down there!”
“I have to see,” he said and left. When he set foot on the first stair he heard her sharp voice squeak out like she was talking to a dog: “Come back now!”
Gerald ignored her and found himself standing on the ground floor of the theatre. Everyone was facing the screen watching Scarlett fight again with Rhett. Gerald slowly walked through the rows and was sure he would look like a confused old man searching for his seat number. A child stared at him with gloomy eyes and whispered: “Mom, there’s a weird man” to the woman next to her. But she was too focused on the screen. So he kept limping toward the first row and could literally feel his wife’s eyes trying to shoot bullets at him from the balcony. She would be so mad! But that was something to worry about later.
Suddenly he saw it. It was illuminated by the bright light of the movie screen: A body. No breathing was visible. Was he or she dead? Who was this person and why was nobody concerned about it?
Gerald ran towards the body and cried out for help. But nobody seemed to notice him. Everybody was sitting quietly in their seat and had their eyes fixated on Scarlett falling down the stairs. Gerald kneeled down next to the person and felt his pulse. There was none. He looked on the strangers face and tried to see who it was. He looked very familiar. He had seen him so many times before, but his eyes were too bad to see who exactly it was.
Slowly with shaking hands Gerald reached in his pocket for his glasses. And as he put them on he saw the messy white hair, which always gave him away. They went to all directions and looked like they couldn’t be combed. It was him! It was him. How was that possible? His hand gradually went down over his heart as he felt a sharp shooting pain. An ice cold hand was squeezing his heart making it impossible to breathe. He pressed his hands against his eyes and tried to understand.
Then everything was quiet. The Gone with the wind soundtrack was gone. When he opened his eyes again he found himself laying on the couch in his living room. It was all just a weird dream.
“Gerald Stilton,” he heard his wife’s snippy voice say. “We will be late for the movie if we don’t leave now! And promise me you don’t get a heart attack when you watch Scarlet’s daughter break her neck falling off the horse after all these years!”
She hurried off, getting her coat, leaving Gerald puzzled and wondering on the couch. He slowly felt his heart and was worried. The dream came and went like the wind but his heart aches were not gone with the wind so easily.
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