Elijah and the Rock Creature

A grieving 9-year-old boy who has recently lost his father and is struggling to connect with his mother is surprised by an unlikely present from his vagabond uncle, a telescope and a trip to the largest Dark Sky Preserve in the world in the world. Unable to contain his excitement, the boy ignores his mother’s advice and wanders away from their remote campsite to set up his new telescope. Frightened by a strange presence accompanied by flashes of light the boy panics and bolts across the rocks, quickly losing his way in the vast wilderness of Wood Buffalo Park. Before long the boys mother returns to the campsite after fetching water to realize that her son is no longer there. At the remote self-register campground, out of cell range, there is no staff, or other campers to turn to for help. The boy’s mother takes matters into her own hands, by tearing down an area contour map and heading into the bush to find her son. Only before to long, she also becomes lost. As the boy struggles to find his own way back, he realizes he is being followed and soon encounters an extraordinary creature from the other side of the universe, who seems to be in a similar circumstance – also lost. The unlikely pair form a bond, realizing that they are not so different in their wish to connect with their mother’s, and to find a way home. Together they cross a formidable landscape, but its not until the boy learns that the creature has the ability to follow him inside of his own thoughts making his memories a physical space that they begin to realize they already have the answers to getting home. As the boy and creature journey through physical memories in the boy’s memory palace, they discover how to find the creature’s home across the vastness of space. While crossing the northern landscape they find the boy’s mother who is shocked by his companion, but grateful to be re-united. When the mother visits the memory palace with her son they soon realize that the power of sharing their memories allows them to surpass their grief and re-connect with each other and ultimately find their way back to the campground. Both the boy and mother learn that sometimes following your heart is the best way to find home.