Free a movie...and a Book by Daniel Wagner

saved my day.” He started to close the door, but he stopped. “You’re a great woman. Your father must have known it.” He closed the door and started to walk through the rain.
    The car turned and sped away.
    Jim started to walk faster. Then he started to run.
    Another car came from the opposite direction, casting shadows on his body. The light became brighter. Then the car zoomed by, leaving a wake of spray behind.

45.
    Jim rapped on the door of the house, then barged in.
    Andy sat in the middle of the room in an easy chair. Placed in front of him was a small table with a steering wheel on it.
    Andy jerked another turn, then pushed some buttons, and the noise of tires and music faded to a flowing beat. “You were fast. How did you make it that quick?” he said, then turned in his seat, looking at Jim. “Whoa, what happened? You’re soaked.”
    Jim walked—almost stumbled—toward the fireplace and sat on a chair.
    “You need something dry. Damn, what’s going on outside?” said Andy, getting up.
    After a moment he came back into the room and threw some dry clothes toward Jim. “How did you make it that quick, anyway?”
    Jim pulled his shirt over his head, still breathing heavily. “If this is a dream, wake me up.” Jim shook his head. “It’s crazy.” He put the wet shirt on the mantel. “Do you remember the old saying ‘Life is a movie and it’s a book’?”
    “Of course.”
    “As I was running to your house, it was haunting my mind. And I couldn’t get it out,” Jim said, and slipped down his pants.
    “Running?”
    “Just from the corner. I hitchhiked.”
    Andy took the wet pants and the shirt from the mantel and walked out of the room. He came back with a towel.
    “I personally never believed there was much wisdom in that saying,” said Jim. “I mean, all I thought it meant was that whenever you’re in trouble, if you keep looking hard enough, you’ll find a way.” Jim put the dry pants on, then took the towel. “But as I was running through the rain, I realized you don’t really need a saying to understand that, do you? That’s basically clear to everyone anyway.”
    “True, you don’t need a saying for that,” confirmed Andy.
    “I guess the saying can give you energy to
keep trying
to find a way,” said Jim absently while rubbing his hair dry. “But anyway, what I couldn’t get off my mind was the idea that someone was behind all these things in my life. Someone that takes a lot of pleasure in putting me into these very strange situations. What if God and his friends put me into these situations and now they’re having a hell of a time watching how I behave; if I’m strong enough, if I stumble, if I feel awkward, if I say what I think . . . It may be a lot of fun for them, but it’s not for me,” said Jim. “What if the saying were true in the literal meaning? It would totally make sense with my life. It’s scary.” He stopped rubbing his hair and looked at Andy. “What could you do about it then? How could you escape their attention and lead a halfway normal life?” He started to rub his hair again, looking worried and tired.
    Andy was looking at Jim and started to smile. “You’re just going through a difficult time, that’s all. And even if it were true, even if someone put us into these situations, it wouldn’t change a thing. You still have control of everything. And do you know why?”
    Jim was looking at Andy.
    “I’ll tell you why, damn it. You are a writer. You should know it best. You can’t just take
someone
and put them into a loser’s situation—it doesn’t work. Yes, you could do it in a book, but something would seem wrong. It would come off as false. And do you know why? Because a situation has to fit the character. My character, for example, wouldn’t work in a pathetic situation—I’m a fighter. So if there’s someone behind my story, he can use me only in that way,” said Andy. “You yourself write the book. If you want to change