Surrounded by his books and toys, it was an old carousel just now that caught Mason’s eye. Dusty, missing one of its feet, patina faded from various campaigns atop sun-lit shelves or submerged beneath mountains of disparate toys, it would hardly be considered alluring. Nevertheless, we took it down for inspection.
Mason in his curiosity was a cooing bundle of words in his own language, hands and eyes exploring the horses and their riders. My thoughts were reserved, after all, what is new under the sun this day? Mason harbored neither pre-conceptions nor expectations, simply curiosity.
When the little guy’s hands found the lever which should compel the horses onward, he had no reason not to draw it to him. Surely this simple toy in such an advanced state could only serve to disappoint by lack of a payoff; and already my mind was set on finding an acceptable alternative. We live and we learn, and then make due, such is our nature.
And then a surprise. Undaunted by time and to the delight of the boy, in an instant we three were transformed: here were these dulcet chimes warbling their familiar song, onward the horses carried their riders, only just now arrived in a future they had no reason not to await. And where was I? Overcome by the nostalgia for decades past; new nurseries and freshly-painted rooms, meeting new brothers, for bedtime stories and quiet hours alone and the triumphant mornings reunited. All these feelings like a river having burst it’s banks, coursing through me. For the little guy on my lap, something new entirely, and so much less complicated.
This human heart is amazing, these memories and feelings so long forgotten and neglected, losing nothing of their potency and vigor with time. It’s amazing how the most delicate of sounds – even more so than even the greatest rumblings of thunder – can bowl us over, carrying us longingly back into our past. Mason just smiles, there is no reason to feel anything but happy.
dan caiola - imitation intimations of immortality, and tips on transience, too. 