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Because Nile needed money, Joe and Nicky had given her permission to look through one of their storage units to see if there was something she could sell.
Nicky: "Hi, Nile. Did you find something you could sell?"
Nile placed a big box on the dining room table.
Nile: "Yes, a lot of clothes I know are in now. I will, of course, let you have a look at the clothes before I sell them."
Nicky nodded.
Nile: "Let me get the last box. There is something in it, I think you wanna see."
While Nile got the last box, Nicky looked through the clothes.
Nicky: "I will keep these two T-shirts as a memory of a fun summer I had with Joe."
Nile: "Fine with me."
Nile placed the last box on the dining table before taking off her jacket.
Nile: "While looking through your storage room, I found some boxes with your name on them, Nicky."
Nicky: "Interesting. I wonder what it is."
Nicky watched Nile place the boxes on the dining table, and when Nicky saw the contents, he couldn't stop smiling.
Nicky: "I cannot believe you found the Zoetrope Joe created for me."
Nicky hugged Nile.
Nile: "You are welcome. And what is the Zoey thingy?"
Nicky: "A Zoetrope is an early form of what you know as a cinema today."
Nile watched Nicky place the Zoetrope on the table.
Nile: "I am not sure I understand it completely, so can you show me how it works?"
Nicky: "With pleasure. Give me a moment to put the Zoetrope together."
While Nicky put the Zoetrope together, Nile sorted the clothes she wanted to sell.
Nile: "So, what is the story behind the early cinema Joe gave to you?"
Nicky: "Back in 1851, Joe and I went to an event called 'Great Exhibition of the Works of Industry of All Nations' in London. The exhibition celebrated everything modern within industrial technology and design. And we went there every day from when it opened in May until it closed in October, because there was much to watch."
Nile: "Sounds like you had a lot of fun."
Nicky: "Yes, I wish you could have seen it."
They exchanged a smile.
Nicky: "And one day we walked past a stand, where a man was demonstrating a Zoetrope, and I fell in love with it, something Joe picked up on, because when we returned home from the Crimean War in 1857, he gave me a gift, which was this Zoetrope. And it was a gift I treasured for many years, so when I thought I had lost it between moving from one place to another, I was sad about it for a long while."
Nicky hugged Nile.
Nicky: "So, thank you for finding my Zoetrope for me, Nile."
Nile: "You are welcome, and I cannot wait to see how it works."
Nicky: "Let me find some candles, and I will show you why I love this gift so much."
When Nicky got the Zoetrope going, Nile understood why Nicky loved the Zoetrope.
Nile: "This is a brilliant thing. Do you have more movies, or whatever they are called?"
Nicky: "Sadly, no. The only drawings that survived are the ones with the puppies."
That evening, when Nile was sure Nicky was asleep, she called Joe, who was on his way home.
Joe: "Hi, Nile. Something wrong?"
Nile: "No, I just wanna ask you for a little favour."
Joe: "Interesting."
Nile: "I found the Zoetrope you created for Nicky today, but sadly, only one of the movies or as Nicky called them 'drawings' survived. Do you think you could create some new movies for Nicky?"
Joe: "Of course, I will start working. Could I ask you to photograph the inside of the Zoetrope for me and measure it for me?"
When Joe got home, and after hugging Nile and kissing Nicky, Joe gave Nicky a gift.
Joe: "From Nile and me."
Nicky: "Thank you."
While Nicky opened his gift, Joe gave Nile a gift, too.
Joe: "From Nicky and me."
Nile: "Thank you."
Nile opened her gift and found a bracelet.
Nile: "I love my bracelet."
Nile hugged Joe and Nicky, who had finally opened his gift.
Nicky: "Oh, I cannot wait to see these new drawings. Thank you."
Nicky hugged Joe and Nile.
Joe: "You are welcome. Let me make some popcorn, and then we will watch some movies."
Nile: "And I will find some cold beers."
Ten minutes later, they watched the latest drawings Joe had created for the Zoetrope, and they loved them all.