You had been too quiet for too long when I went to look for you. I found you standing at your parents’ window that overlooked the backyard. I walked over and kneeled next to you. You were so focused on what was going on in the yard that you barely noticed me.
“What are you looking at?” I asked you. I had looked outside and didn’t see anything.
“Kardhu (the family’s golden retriever).” You replied your eyes never leaving the scene you were seeing.
“What is Kardhu doing?” I asked watching you.
“Soccer.” You replied with such conviction that I almost believed it was what you were seeing.
“He’s playing soccer?” I asked. You nod, and then you laugh.
“What’s funny?” I asked him.
“T-rex.” You said as you glance at me with your laughing blue eyes.
My eyes grew wide, and I whispered, “Kardhu is playing with a T-rex?”
You laugh and look at me, your gaze piercing my soul with a curious look as if you were gauging if I was really seeing what you were seeing or not.
“Who’s winning?” I asked you. You think about this for a second before saying, ‘Kardhu is.”
“He is?” I ask. You look at me, and I can tell you want to tell me something, but your words aren’t quite there yet. You shorten your arms like a T-rex and start growling at me.
“Oh because Kardhu has four good legs and T-rex has two?” You nod with such a grin on your face, and you come at me with your T-rex legs, and we dissolve into a fit of giggles on the floor. As I look at you, I can’t believe an almost three-year-old has such an imagination, and I hope it is something you never lose.