the tiny, dry sound of a spider weeping // what do you mean you have only seen the cartoon

SO YESTERDAY

Customer: Hey do you have any books by Peter Beagle

Me: Oh, The Last Unicorn is over here and the graphic novel is-

Customer: He's going to be in town tonight

Me: ARE YOU SHITTING ME

A lot of people are going to recognize that as a movie title, but if you've only seen the cartoon, you're missing out. TLU is one of two books whose first line I know by heart (the other is Watership Down), and it reads like poetry a lot of the time.

"The Red Bull could not see him, and would kill him without ever knowing that he had been in the way. Wonder and love and great sorrow shook Schmendrick the Magician then, and came together inside him and filled him, filled him until he felt himself brimming and flowing with something that was none of these. He did not believe it, but it came to him anyway, as it had touched him twice before and left him more barren than he had been. This time, there was too much of it for him to hold: it spilled through his skin, sprang from his fingers and toes, willed up equally in his eyes and his hair and the hollows of his shoulders. There was too much to hold, too much ever to use; and still he found himself weeping with the pain of his impossible greed. He thought, or said, or sang, I did not know that I was so empty, to be so full."

So previous evening plans were cancelled and my brother, who is a saint, drove me to a little movie theater in Meridian so that I, a grown woman, could watch a cartoon about a unicorn for the zillionth time. There was a Q/A section with PSB before the movie started, but I only asked if he was going to be signing things, because freaking out about bittersweet prose and themes about growing old and mortality and impermanence and acceptance and regret...I just, I don't know, I couldn't think of any questions that would help start a discussion about all that, and it didn't seem the proper forum. I figured I'd have a chance to talk to him a little more when he was signing things, so my brother (AGAIN: A SAINT) waited in line with me for an hour afterwards.

WIZARD PLZ

Sorry about the angle -- this awesomely smug Schmendrick picture was next to the table they set up; a table full of SHINY THINGS!

 

I got some rings (which I might turn into a necklace, since they're kind of large), and a copy of A Fine & Private Place, because I don't own it and haven't read it in a long time. I ALSO WON A STRIP OF FILM IN A RAAAAFFFFLLLLE! (Sorry again about the picture quality)

Love is slowing you down, my lady

I KNOW YOU! I almost knew you as soon as I saw you on the road, coming to my door -- since then, there is no movement of yours that has not betrayed you. A pace, a glance, a turn of the head, the flash of your throat as you breathe, even your way of standing perfectly still -- they were all my spies.

(Extra bonus saint points for my brother, by the way, because yes I did talk along with like the entire fucking movie)

So we finally got to the front of the line and I was all excited and nervous, but I wanted to show him my copy of the book, because I found it at a thrift store and it already had his signature in it, which I thought was cool.

He seemed really tired, though, so when he flipped by the page to sign it on a different one I didn't really speak up even though my inner fangirl was totally losing it about the aforementioned awesome writing and his book touching my life, and all the other fangirl things he has probably heard a million times over. So he signed a different page, but...but...guys.

Him: (tired, signing books, not really talking)
Me: (◎_◎;)
Me: (bright red, mumbling) M...my name is Katie
Him: (picks up next book, starts signing it)
Me: ヽ(ﾟДﾟ)ﾉ   M...my name is Katie!

 

Him: Oh, sorry, terribly embarrassing
Me: No no, it's fine, I'm sure you're all very tired! Besafehaveanicetourthankyousomuch!!!!! (flusterly splutters away)
Internal me: (panicked and screaming) OhgodIdidnotmeantoembarrassyouMrBeagleyouaresuchawonderfulauthorIamsosorryIjustwanttotalktoyouabouthowIloveyourwritinganduseofthemesandhowtragicitisthatweallgetoldandhavetoacceptlossandyouarelikeapoetandIjustlovethisbooksomuchIamsosorryIamsoawkwardohgodwhy

(╥_╥)

S...so but at least I got the graphic novel personalized? I really wish I'd gotten a chance/had the ability to talk to him a little bit about the book. D: WHY SO AWKWARD, SELF. WHYYYYY.

YOU GUYS, NO UNICORN WAS EVER BORN WHO COULD REGRET, BUT NOW I DO. I REGRET.

Aughulaughlblaughuhlaugh