How The Neverending Story inspired me to write: Part 11

Part 10 should have made it fairly apparent why The Neverending Story became my favorite movie of all-time.

It also doesn’t hurt that I have fond memories seeing this (and its sequel) in my hometown single screen theater during simpler times.

THE NOTHING’S FINAL ADVANCE

To continue the recap, a worried Falkor dives deep into the ocean (perhaps thinking Bastian has drowned) and finds the Auryn. He picks it up (rather cutely, I might add) and carries it in his doggo mouth as he continues his search.

Meanwhile, The Nothing tries its darndest to succeed where G’mork failed, wiping away Atreyu along with the rest of Fantasia.

Atreyu holds on for dear life. It seems Bastian’s courage is deciding to stubbornly stick around, especially with G’mork out of the way. A story is emerging, a struggle for survival, even among all this Nothing.

And just as when Atreyu refused to give up to the bitter end neck-deep in the Swamp of Sadness, Falkor emerges from the clouds and catches a stubborn Atreyu just before he loses his grip and blows away.

True-to-life, luck often likes to be dramatic and wait until the last possible second before it finally kicks in.

Bastian is relieved at Atreyu’s dramatic rescue, now reading by candlelight in the darkness. No doubt his father is home from work by now and worried sick. (Parents, please don’t make your kids walk to and from school on their own in the inner city.)

And then?

And then… there was Nothing left.

Almost nothing. Just a few ideas–a few characters, and a few fragments adrift from a magnificent world.

But even then, Falkor doesn’t give up. His luck drives him forward.

But if you really look around, you’ll notice they’re not surrounded by Nothing. They’re surrounded by a universe, by infinite possibility.

And sparks. The beginnings of something. Things floating around that need to collide, but haven’t quite yet. Like the still quiet of a writer’s mind just before inspiration strikes.

Atreyu feels like he’s failed, but Falkor assures him that he tried his hardest. Then Atreyu notices the Auryn. He wishes upon it, hoping that the Ivory Tower has somehow survived. And if so, he would like to be guided to it.

Fortunately for him, the writer of this tale is now fully at the helm. Even if he doesn’t know it yet. All the luck, all the wishes, all the happenstance… just might have been manifested by Bastian himself.