By Liam De Brùn
When I was 17 I thought about saying goodbye forever.
The world was moving too fast for my young mind to process.
People who I expected to stay forever fled as they pleased.
There was no pause button.
No matter how defeated I felt.
The world kept moving.
Too scared to ask for help.
I retreated into my thoughts that didn’t care about me.
I didn’t want to see the future and what I could be.
On a cold winter’s night, I went to the cinema.
With overpriced popcorn and a seemingly never-ending fizzy drink, I sat in the dark.
Surrounded by strangers staring at a screen.
We shared a spark.
My life changed.
Opening by telling there’ll be another day of sun.
Vibrant colours, upbeat songs, and a love story had me hooked for the next two hours.
It was the first time I felt peace in months.
My smile regained its power.
Ryan told me of a city of stars.
Even if I can’t see them.
They’ll keep shining and cause me no harm.
As the credits rolled it dawned on me, I didn’t want to go.
My story was just beginning.
There were too many films to be watched with people I’d never meet.
The magic of cinema will never fleet.
Films don’t have the power to save us.
What they can do is reignite the fire within.
Showing you that love and happiness are possible to achieve.
All you need to do is believe.
Cinema doors may still be closed.
The impact it has on me will never go.
