Imagination

August 12th, 2024

It is still summer, although the coolness and darkness have come much earlier in the evening than a few days ago. Or maybe I just noticed that. And a couple of days ago, there was something else I noticed. It is still summer, as I said, and my windows are wide open. There is a playground area outside my building right below my windows. That playground is busy and loud all the time until the sun starts to come down and it is time to finally go home. There are playground deals, and playground friendships, and playground fights, and playground victories and tragedies taking place right there, but surprisingly, I don't mind. And I usually dislike loud noises. But a few days ago, the ruckus was much louder and more prolonged than usual, so I took a look and the reason was apparent and easy to understand — there was a huge cardboard box, something that a fridge or bathtub would be packed, as the center of attention.

Well, physically it was a huge cardboard box, but when I looked it was a castle that some kids in that box were defending from the other kids that were attacking. Soon both groups switched places and the attack began anew. Soon after, that huge cardboard box was a train, and then a plane, before reverting to a castle or a fort. No matter how physically it looked, it was a vehicle for children’s imagination. And there were different groups over the next few days as I could hear different languages spoken. That box was enough to unite different ages and backgrounds. And it was a really, really good box. Then there was rain overnight and that box was no longer of any use as it collapsed under the raindrops. It was moved to the side and soon after picked up for garbage collection. The kids moved on to something else. There is no shortage of things — real or imaginary — in the summer to occupy young minds. We, as adults, might have taken the wrong path somewhere along the way…