Their day starts with thoughts of yummy chocolate milk, something they’re convinced would help them become as strong as Superman. No worries about that unfinished assignment that’s so close to submission or having an awkward situation with a friend turned foe at school. A roller coaster just means fun to them. It means family time. It doesn’t bring back memories of a stupid ex-boyfriend who was obsessed with roller coasters nor do they get philosophical and draw out an analogy between a roller coaster ride and life.
They have complete freedom to say what they like. An aunty could be called fat and all they get in return is a kiss on the cheek for being cute.
They have no inhibitions and the society doesn’t expect them to be ‘decent’. They can lick chocolate off their fingers in public, nobody calls it unladylike. If they feel like being a frog, they jump on folded legs and no one bats an eye. They aren’t expected to fit into a category. There is no embarrassment, absolutely no second thoughts about doing anything. The lessons of lies and hypocrisy are yet to be learnt. What we get is pure, unadulterated truth every time they say something. At that age, they’re just God’s creation without any tweaking by the society.
A friend is not just a person whose innumerable selfies are liked on Facebook with hopes of being invited to their phenomenal parties. The class topper doesn’t become a friend just before exams and isn’t forgotten right after the tutoring sessions are done. No questions are asked about the numbers on the pay check or the report card. Where there is no loyalty, there is pure hatred, like for the bully who finishes their best friend’s lunch everyday. Segregating people into friends, acquaintances and fr-enemies is a skill learnt while growing up.
Small things in life excite them. That daily episode of Doraemon makes their day. The sun, bubbles in the bath tub, the red colour of the roses in the garden, the horn of the school bus, everything amazes them. They appreciate the beauty of everything around them and let their minds spin stories. Their imagination puts together an epic fight scene between the fork and the knife during breakfast.
They are geniuses with creativity and the capacity to exaggerate still intact. They are curious, their minds are filled with inquisitiveness. They want to know why the trees are green, why dogs bark, why math is boring. There is a whole world for them to learn about.
That’s the time when life is a huge bed of roses, when being pampered is a daily business and textbooks don’t need slimming treatment. That’s the time when one plus one adds to two and nobody reads between the lines.
That’s the time when innocence is a prized possession and the mind is actually without fear. That’s the time where most of the happy memories come from.
That’s the time every grown up wants to go back to.
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