Black Box

The boy looked up, perhaps surprised by her tone of voice.

I’m watching the black box, he said. There is always is one in this cartoon.

A black box?

That’s right, silly. They put one here, and you have to work out what it means.

And what does it mean?

How should I know? – The boy threw up his arms and put on a funny, cartoonish voice ( a passing imitation of the Afro-hair lead bear from the Hair Bear Bunch):

You are now entering a time zone, a dog-eared book - a morphing dream. - Dare one say it, a parallel universe.

I don’t get it, she said.

You really are very silly, the boy said, laughing.

Well, she said, getting into his rhythm, if you’re so clever, why don’t you explain?