In every third minute, of every tenth episode, of every cartoon made in nineteen eighty-nine, are a pair of gleaming golden eyes. You have to look hard to spot them.
It is not easy. They are often there for less than two seconds, peering out from the shadows or the branches of a tree. Impossible to find on VHS. If the cartoon is available on DVD or Blu-Ray, or if you can find a good copy online, use that. Flick through the the third minute frame by frame. You will know when you spot them. The gold irises are very distinct.
What you need to do then is focus. Focus on the eyes. It can take hours. But spend enough time, and the pupils will shudder. This is a good sign, but you are not there yet. All this means is the eyes are fighting back. Keep staring. The shuddering will stop.
I like to think that this is the eyes playing dead. Like they are trying to make you think you have done something wrong, and you need to start again. But keep watching. Eventually the eyes will fade away.
Then the frozen image of whatever cartoon you picked will leap out of your screen, and will expand until it fills the room.
You will end up in the shadows, and you will see the other side.
Not your living room warped through the view of a television screen, or yourself vacantly gazing back. Instead you will see the fourth wall of the jungle, the spaceship, the pirate’s. The other slice of the animation that is never shown.
That’s why it’s worth looking for those eyes, and waiting. So you can see what was on the other side all along.