A Child’s Imagniation

• Sydney Lay, Grade 7
• Short Story
• 2018

A child’s imagination can lead to many wonderful things. Remember when it was a dark and stormy night when you and your friends saw monsters in ridiculous shapes and sizes or the time when you were a knight in shining armour trying to slay a mythical dragon? Well, this is a story on how Daniel Lloet shaped the world. Or shall I say “kingdom”.

On February 18th, you could hear a loud squeal in room H204 located in the Royal Children’s hospital. That particular squeal came from no other than a petite baby named Daniel. He brought joy to the boring lives of Mr and Mrs Lloet. Daniel Lloet wasn’t your regular technology devoted child. He had a proper childhood. Nevertheless, he still enjoyed playing little games but wasn’t introduced to an iPad until he was 10.

Growing up, Daniel didn’t have many friends. His best and only friend is was named, Toby Watson. Toby had a little sister who Daniel commonly saw at sleepovers. On a warm Summers day, Toby invited Daniel to sleepover. Soon, the day had come.

After an short session of finding treasure while fighting beastly pirates, the boys flopped carelessly onto the softest cream coloured rug in the house. Soon, they began to feel drowsy and they fell asleep. When they were called for dinner, the pair rushed energetically to the dinner table and scarfed down flavoursome bowls of homemade pasta. This is what fuelled their creative minds. Out of the blue, Daphine, Toby’s sister, whipped out the latest edition of the iPad and began to play games for hours on end. Daphine was in her own little world ignoring the presence of others. “I am appalled, I did not raise my daughter to frolic with a device all day long,” Mrs Watson retorted showing a sympathetic smile at Daniel. Daniel felt glad that he was not the only one who thought iPads were frivolous and a waste of time. Hesitantly, Daphine placed her device angrily onto the dining table and strutted away.

You could hear a shout from Daphine saying that she almost beat the hardest level. She felt a little complacent. This regular routine became known to Daniel and Toby as it was almost inevitable for Daphine to be seen without her iPad.

On Christmas Day, Daniel was gifted an iPad. He did not plan to use it much but with a simple swipe and a click of a download button, he was soon addicted. He was so addicted that he had to get glasses to accompany his sight. Up to the moment of getting glasses, he was unconscious of what was happening around him. He regretted it. He decided to do something. Something so big that it would change the world.

Now, on February 18th, we take our time to stop and enjoy the presence of everyone and everything.