Cinema Lovers

Every person has at least one moment in their life in which they're obsessed with something, addicted. They spend a solid period of time in constant thinking about it, possibly spending money on it, telling other people about their obsession and doing things related to it. 

In my life, it was the cinema. 

And don't get me wrong, it wasn't just the movies that made it so special and close to my heart - it was the vibe in that place, the warm and cozy feeling that could be experienced when you walked in, the kind girl behind the counter who always 'accidentally' put a bag of my favorite candy along with my usual order consisting of caramelized popcorn and a coke and whom I had befriended throughout the millions of times I had come to this same cinema and last but not least, the sweet aroma of Skittles candy and the little flower pots that were placed in almost every corner.

Cinema was my escape. Whenever I'd have problems at school or with my family, I'd go there and everything would just disappear for a few hours. It was like I could live somewhere else, be a different person, stare at some other world's beauty or just look at the one I'm living in differently. I could get lost in the characters' problems and drown the ones that I was currently stressing about.

Nothing in my life would be as easy if the cinema didn't exist.

Right now, I was walking down the street in the cold humid night, headed to that same building – Middle Earth Cinema. The owner was a fifty year old man who was obsessed with the Lord of the Rings trilogy (hence the name of the cinema) and at one point in his life, probably sometime when the middle age crisis had struck, he had decided that it would be a great idea for him to have his own business.

His obsession with the trilogy could be noticed as soon as you walked into the cinema. The building was huge and designed to look like an ancient castle – with tall ceilings and heavy curtains draped over every window. Considering the fact that I was a fan of the trilogy too, I loved going to the Middle Earth Cinema and, at least for a little while, pretending that I was some tall beautiful Elf woman, instead of the short plain girl I actually was.

I opened the door of the cinema and walked in, greeted by the warm air coming from the inside and the sweet scent of candy and freesia flowers. 

Usually Georgie, the girl working at the food and beverage stand, would say 'hi' to me but this time her eyes just scanned my body from head to toe.

"Really, Morgan? For the third time this week?" she asked, referring to how often I had visited Middle Earth.

"Don't say it like that, it sounds like I'm a drug addict taking way too many doses," I laughed.

"You could say that, cinema is like your personal drug," Georgie grinned. "What happened this time?"

"Nothing much, I just have a lot of homework to do and I'm really not in the mood for that so I decided that watching a movie would be nice," I answered and averted my gaze towards the menu that was printed on big posters which were put in vintage looking frames to match the rest of the interior design. 

"I'd like-" I started, but Georgie cut me off.

"A medium pack of caramelized popcorn and a coke, the usual. You don't even have to say it, Morgan, sometimes I feel like I could probably prepare your order in my sleep," Georgie laughed, turning around to the popcorn machine.

"Well, I'd be worried if you couldn't, considering how often you have to do it," I said while looking at how her hair swayed behind her as she turned around.

"Here you go," she said, handing me my order. "Your total is seven dollars."

I gave her the money and flashed her one last smile, after which I went to buy a ticket for some romantic comedy and then I walked into the theater to find my seat and finally get lost in the movie.