Learning to read

Albert pushed aside the book in disgust, having gotten not even a page into the story. It was miraculous that he had managed to get through even a paragraph before he gave up. "I hate reading," he muttered under his breath. His father sighed and slumped down into his chair. "It's so boring," Albert continued. "There's no pictures. Nothing happens. It's just words on a blank piece of paper. Why do you like it so much?"

Jim rested his head in his hand as he looked at his son. He didn't know how he was going to be able to explain all this in a way that made sense to the young boy. He had grown up in a world of tv shows and video games. How was he supposed to show the boy the wonders that only a book could contain? The wonders that he had grown up on.

"First of all, if there are words on the pages, then they aren't blank," he said. Albert rolled his eyes in response. "And second of all, it's not all about moving pictures. The words in those pages can show you things that movies can only dream of being able to show you."

"Yeah, right," Albert said indignantly. "What could a book possibly show me that the tv couldn't?"

Jim took the book that Albert had tossed aside and gingerly opened it, flipping to his favorite passage. "Let me show you," he said. "Close your eyes."

"Close my eyes?" Albert asked. "How is that supposed to help me see what you're talking about if I can't see anything?"

Jim didn't say anything to that - just waited for his son to do as he was told. With a sigh, Albert closed his eyes, and Jim started to read aloud.

"Arqez cast his line into the water, sending ripples out over the deep green water. He stood patiently in his tiny canoe, waiting for the fish to bite. He could see them just below the surface, bright white spots dashing around clearly in the water, unmuddied by the moss below."

"This is boring," Albert butted in. His father shushed him and continued on.

"He watched the waters, but the fish ignored his bait, swimming circles around it and his boat as if they were spectacles to be seen, and not touched. But Arqez didn't seem to mind." At this, Albert's attention seemed to perk. Jim smiled. "He had bigger fish to fry.

"It was an hour before anything changed in the water. Arqez waited, watching the fish swim around him. He wondered if they knew what was coming. He wondered if they were waiting too.

"A shift. Barely perceptible at first, and difficult to say where exactly it was coming from. But the shift grew quickly, and the ground beneath the surface of the water split open, just a dozen feet from Arqez's boat. He didn't move. He knew better. Any movement now, and he would lose this, the only chance he had."

Albert was practically straining to hear the next line before it came out of his father's mouth.

"Before he knew it, he was floating on his boat above a massive eyeball just below the surface, whipping back and forth, searching for that which disturbed its sleep. Arqez had dressed for just this very moment. His bright blue boat and rich red raincoat were sure to stand out amongst the colors of its usual surrounding.

"The waters shifted. It surged upwards and away from the eyeball, pushing Arqez away violently as the eye reached up to breach the surface. It took all of his strength to stay in his boat, which only barely stayed afloat. The eye parted the waters, lifting up its face, and the monster came to the surface..."

There was a long pause, and Albert grew impatient as he waited. "Dad!" he cried out. "You can't just leave me hanging like-"

His words were cut off as he opened his eyes to find his father had already left, leaving the page open on the table. Albert only hesitated a moment before snatching up the back and searching for where his father had left off.