Boy's Life

by Robert McCammon

Which took me back to that wonderful word: story. It seemed to me at an early age that all human communication — whether it’s TV, movies, or books — begins with somebody wanting to tell a story. That need to tell, to plug into a universal socket, is probably one of our grandest desires. And the need to hear stories, to live lives other than our own for even the briefest moment, is the key to the magic that was born in our bones.

“No, he won’t. Listen … that was just a movie. It was made up.” I realized that as I said this I was letting go of something, and it felt both painful and good at the same time.