Page 54 of Into the Mountains
“You’ve got a deal, red,” he says immediately.
“Let me think for a second.”
“Oh c’mon, you have to think about it?”
“Well usually on dates, people ask about my hobbies or what my favorite book is or something.”
“No one has ever asked what your favorite book is, have they?”
I sigh. “No. They haven’t.” And I really wish they did.
“Alright, then what’s your favorite—?”
“The Hobbit.” The answer comes out before he even finishes his question.
“You’ve been dying for someone to ask you that, haven't you?” His voice is muffled from the grapes he tossed in his mouth.
“It’s just an overlooked classic.”
“Overlooked?” He leans forward, eyebrows raising in surprise. “You know, there is a whole fanbase for those books, right?”
I roll my eyes. “Of course, but most of that fanbase is forThe Lord of the Rings.The Hobbitis shoved to the back more than it deserves I feel like.”
“Tell me why.”
My heart swoops low in my chest. Usually if I talk about books or my actual interests for too long, people don’t reallycare to ask any other questions about it or they tune it all out completely. Elias looks like he genuinely wants to know. So for the next forty-five minutes, I ramble on and on about the details of the book I’m afraid they’ll leave out of the movie and the fact that I have to wait three more years for it to come out is physically painful.
Near the end of my ramblings, I notice Elias has gotten a few inches closer like he couldn’t help but be near me.
“So,The Hobbitis the prequel toTheLord of the Rings?”
“Elias,” I groan.
“I’d rather you be moaning my name, but do go on.”
“Please tell me you’ve read these books.”
“I’m not a big reader.”
“Tell me why,” I repeat his words back to him.
“I always hear about how when some people read, they can imagine the scenes they’re reading.”
“Like a movie,” I confirm. I’m one of those people. I can see everything and it’s why I love to escape so much. “What do you see?”
“Nothing.”
“Nothing?”
“Absolute darkness. Just all black. I know what I’m reading, but I can’t picture it. So the knowledge that other people can literally see everything in their mind and bend it to whatever they want is actually really magical to me.”
“So, I’m magical?”
“Just like Gandalf himself.”
“You did not just compare me to an old, wrinkly, bearded wizard.”
“I thought you’d take being compared to him over being compared to Radagast.”
