Would you like to know the truth about sentimental value?
Take for example, a soft and squishy stuffed bunny belonging to a child, one that he brings absolutely everywhere with him. His sentimental value of the plushy grows each time it is given the extra seat at the dinner table, is read to, or is held close, as to protect the child from malicious monsters under the bed. The little one feels that Mr. Rabbit will be there for him always, as with Mr. Rabbit, the darkness becomes a little more "vincible". See, the love that the child has put into the stuffy does get returned, so to speak. Matured humans believe that, "it's simply the child's wild imagination,", but the reply that the child gets, when he asks if Mr. Rabbit would rather have a cookie or the sorry-looking steamed broccoli mum has made, is not "simply" made up. It is a voice that cannot be heard by the surrounding people, it only materializes in the child's head.
Do you know why children stop hearing that voice? You'd be thankful to know the answer.
See, a child's love is a sort of energy, transparent and untouched by worries of mortgages or adult-y things. The rest of the world's energy is directly proportional to age: the older one is, the more muddled and dirtied their energies get. That's why when adults place a ridiculous amount of sentimental value into something, we don't need to interfere. It is much more disturbing when a child is involved.
We aren't the only one aware of this energy.
That voice, that says, "Yes Christopher, I'd very much so rather enjoy a cookie!", is not really "simply the child's wild imagination", but rather, that voice is from elsewhere. It is from place that overlaps perfectly onto each corner, crook, and cranny of the human world, a sort of "pseudo-existence" plane, where things go when they lose importance in the human world. These things crave acknowledgement of existence, to be importance once again, and they envy to take the places of even inanimate things like soft and squishy stuffed bunnies in the human world. The innocence and immense desire of a child to bring life into his toy plushy causes a weakening at that location of inter-plane barriers, and instead, encourages things that aren't mean to be alive to seize the opportunity and return to this plane of existence.
This is where we come in.
To be continued...
The word "vincible" and description of childhood were very strong in the first paragraph. You give the sweet nostalgia a new air of mystery.
ReplyDeleteThe profound speculative nature of the first four paragraphs are quite thought-provoking. They made me reflect on my own childhood, as the magical theory you present almost washes over me. The metaphysical comparison to an "energy" is very vivid and explanatory. I wasn't quite clear on what you meant in saying "we don't interfere" with adult sentiment. What is "more disturbing when a child is involved"?
The shift in tone to the last stanza is quite powerful, creating an air of the surreal. The fantasy becomes darker and more mysterious. I can't wait to see what this development leads to.
I enjoyed reading this piece of writing. I never thought to think of a childhoods toy in such a way. It is an interesting idea that the voice is from elsewhere and the concept that a pseudo existence plane exists where things go to after they loose importance. When I finished reading this piece I thought back to my childhood and all the stuffies I used to own.
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