Chapter 2: The Idea
Hugo walked through the museum, glancing at the documents and items on display. Isabelle followed him and looked even more enthusiastic, for this was a literature exhibit. It covered subjects worldwide, and many manuscripts had translations.
"Hugo, look," Isabelle beckoned her friend to come over. A tattered manuscript that was turning slightly yellow was enclosed in a glass case. "It's the original document of Shakespeare's Sonnets. Well, one of the few remaining, anyway."
"I found one of the stories by Jules Verne that my dad used to read to me," Hugo said. Isabelle walked over and saw "20,000 Leagues Under the Sea".
"Papa Georges made a film out of that!" Isabelle exclaimed.
"Maybe we can go see it today," Hugo said. "I heard it was one of the ones that were rereleased this month."
"Yeah," Isabelle agreed. "I saw that there was a machine exhibit. Do you want to see…?"
Hugo had bolted off to find directions to the machine exhibit. Isabelle followed him, grinning. She knew this was going to happen- Hugo gets crazy over machines all the time, just as she gets slightly on the… eccentric… side with books.
"Hugo!" she called.
No reply.
Curious about what had Hugo so distracted, Isabelle ran over to where Hugo was standing.
There was a row of beautifully crafted automata. Some were made to resemble humans, with hair, flesh- colored surfaces, and even dresses and jackets. Others were like Hugo's- elegant but quite colorless, yet still extremely lifelike. Isabelle noticed that in each caption there was the word "magician". She knew that was Hugo's dream, to become a professional magician. He already knew a lot of tricks, but there was one thing that he didn't have.
Hugo didn't have his own set of automata.
As Isabelle expected, Hugo turned to face her and said in a determined tone, "I need to build my own automata."
He explained that his father had always admired the clockmakers who became magicians. He himself had never had the chance, but Hugo felt that he could take his place. Automata were connected with horology, and Hugo needed to fulfill the dreams his father had before his untimely passing. Isabelle hadn't heard him speak in such a serious tone since he was convinced that the first automaton held a secret note for him from his father.
It's surprising how fast one can realize their lifelong dreams, Isabelle thought wistfully, while others spend their whole lifetime doing just that.
It was true for Isabelle. Before she met Hugo, she never thought about what she would do as an adult. She could live a simple life as a child, going to school, talking and dancing with her friends, and reading lots and lots of books. Yes, mounds of books. But she couldn't read books as a career, could she? No, she couldn't. She could write. Actually, she wrote her past adventures in a small notebook and put some illustrations in it. She found out that she had some talent in writing and drawing. She read books very enthusiastically- could a younger generation appreciate her work just as much? If so, it seemed quite enjoyable. Isabelle liked having her life revolving around books because literature was something she was extremely familiar with.
Suddenly, Isabelle realized they'd walked through the entire exhibit and it was time to leave. Hugo was already heading towards the exit. As they passed the front desk, the lady said, "Au revoir!"
"Bye," Hugo and Isabelle said back. They stepped through the glass double- doors and walked back to the station. People were starting to fill the streets- their work for the day was done. It was a few hours before the sun would set, so as the children had originally planned, they made a trip to the movies.
"What was the movie we wanted to see again?" Hugo asked, distracted.
"We need to find 20,000 Leagues Under the Sea," Isabelle answered. They looked at several movie titles, and then they saw "20000 lieues sous les mers".
"That's the one!" Isabelle said. She used the change from the museum and bought two tickets for the movie.
Hugo and Isabelle walked into a dark room filled with children and adults. A few commercials played and a short film about an astronomer (also directed by Papa Georges) was presented. The sound of the movie projector made Hugo snap out of his thoughts.
Rays of light were projected from the back of Hugo's head and onto a blank, white screen. The feature film was about to start.
20,000 Leagues Under the Sea was about an expedition to the bottom of the ocean. Many people in white uniforms stood by the vessel that was to travel to the bottom of the ocean. A few men filed into the submarine and it was released.
The vessel traveled through the ocean and was surrounded by fish and other creatures. Suddenly, the vessel landed on solid rock. The men were at the bottom of the ocean.
Hugo and Isabelle laughed as one man struggled to avoid hostile sea creatures, a fish trying to bite his right hand, and a crab trying to pinch his left. The man scampered over to a clearing full of plants, which attacked him whenever he came close. A lot of sea creatures closed in on him and he was trapped.
The man woke up from a dream. His head actually fell into a bucket of water while he was sleeping, and his friends pulled him up. He described his dream and the movie was over.
The audience clapped loudly and they exited through the door. Hugo's attention was back to the present, and he said: "That was one of the best movies I've ever seen!"
"Yes, the special effects were superlative!" Isabelle agreed, praising her godfather's work. She was glad that Hugo wasn't so distracted anymore. Actually, she was quite confused about why Hugo was so intent on doing everything his father wanted to do. The automaton was understandable since it was the only thing he had from his father, but why was he so disturbed by the fact that his father didn't get to be a magician?
Another unfathomable mystery, Isabelle thought eagerly, which means another adventure!
She decided she would not mention it for now, since Hugo was so serious about the topic, but she could ask him later. Hugo, on the other hand, was back to his original self, chatting about the movie and how it was made. He mysteriously avoided anything related to the museum and stopped talking when there was nothing really left to talk about.
The two were arriving at the toy booth just as Papa Georges was closing up shop. He turned around and said, "Ah, there're the two little rascals! How was your day?"
"Great!" Isabelle said brightly. Hugo nodded in agreement.
"Well that's good," Papa Georges said, puzzled by Hugo's silence. He said nothing about it, and neither did Hugo. Isabelle changed the subject.
"Why did you close the booth so early today?" she asked.
"Ah, well, I didn't have the help of Professor Alcofrisbas here, so I eventually ran out of merchandise again," he said truthfully.
Papa Georges led the way home. They arrived at the apartment building, which was recently fixed to have a better exterior appearance. No one could believe these were the living conditions for the great Georges Méliès.
"Isabelle, if you would take out the key please!" Papa Georges said.
The Méliès home had a new keyhole made that was designed to fit Isabelle's heart- shaped key, which she took from her neck and gave to Papa Georges. The lock clicked and Papa Georges pushed the door open. Hugo slid through the entrance and closed the door gently behind him.
Mama Jeanne greeted her husband and the children with rolls and soup. Isabelle fervently described the day's events, from getting the new book to Hugo's card trick, going to the museum and finally watching Papa Georges' movie. Hugo stayed silent for most of the time, occasionally making a comment.
After the children finished dinner, they returned to their rooms. Isabelle stopped by Hugo's room and said, "Hugo… can I talk to you?"
"Yeah, sure…"Hugo said quietly.
The children let themselves inside the room. On the left was a workbench where Hugo made most of his things. To the right of that was the automaton, with the drawing it drew beneath its hand. On the right of the room was a small armoire and Hugo's bed. Isabelle pulled up a chair from a corner of the room and sat down.
"Hugo…" she started hesitantly.
"It's about my father, isn't it?" Hugo guessed.
"Yes, why do you act so surreptitious whenever we talk about your father?" Isabelle asked.
"It's a long story," Hugo said.
"Good, I like long stories," Isabelle said. "Can you tell me it?"
Hugo looked at Isabelle, think that she was acting in a patronizing way, but she wasn't. She was honestly concerned.
"Well… alright," Hugo said reluctantly. He took a deep breath.
"You know that my family specializes in horology. We come from a long line of clockmakers. I can't remember the last generation that didn't have anything to do with clocks. Well, my father thought that this was a restriction. He thought clocks were interesting, but working only in horology limited the potential of machines.
"That's why he was so excited when he came across this automaton. He'd always wanted to build his own set of automata, however hard it would be. However, his job kept him from doing that. When he failed to fix the automaton before the fire... did you- know- what… well, all his dreams obviously went up in smoke.
"I thought that since I fixed this automaton, I could maybe carry on his dream." Hugo pointed to the automaton by the workbench. "I could become a magician. I could break the boundaries of my family for the first time in generations. I could use the family gift and make magic with clockwork.
"Anyway, my father found the automaton. He told me one night that if we fixed him, we could become magicians, just as he wanted to when he was a child. The idea stuck- I couldn't get it out of my head. If we fixed such a complicated machine, we could become the greatest magicians in France. I brought the automaton with me to the train station not only because it was a possible companion… it meant that I didn't have to abandon my father's dreams. I held on tight to the idea, and when I fixed it, I realized that I had an opportunity. I could fix an automaton without my notebook, so what if I could build one, too?
"Then, I came to live with you and your family. Papa Georges created his own automata and has experimented with them before, so with his assistance, couldn't I make my own set much more easily?
"Today in the museum, when I saw the collection of automata, I saw one that my dad had told me about. Suddenly, automata weren't things of wonder to me anymore. They were reminders of why my father died. I'd insisted on him trying to fix it. My father was fixing the automaton at the museum when the fire started. My uncle came in the morning to tell me the news, and I…"
Hugo abruptly fell silent. Isabelle looked at him with tears in her eyes.
"C'est horrible," Isabelle whispered. "But don't be confused. I know that your father would've wanted you to go on and follow your dreams. After all, you have a golden opportunity right now. Seize it, because your dad never had this chance. No one can blame you for your father's fate. Yes, it was all fate and misfortune, not you. The best way to honor your father is to do what he did- don't ever stop dreaming." Hugo nodded in understanding, smiling tearfully.
And that was how the idea was set into action.
