A Mind of Wonders
The television set flickered to life with a blue screen face and the word STOP at the top corner in bold white print. It was the only light shone in the dark room, casting a lonely glow upon anything within the immediate space. A button was pressed on the remote grasped within desperate fingers, the REWIND button worn and faded. PLAY flashed on the blue and the tape rolled, a small child appearing on the screen. He was wearing a dinosaur onesie with one hand in his dark hair and a thumb in his mouth. Those round eyes stared at the camera a moment before shifting towards the one who spoke to him--the camera holder.
"Tell Mommy about Mr. Timmy again."The tot looked at the camera a second, petting his own hair before speaking around his thumb.
"Mn...Mister Timmy?""Yes, tell Mommy about Mr. Timmy."He pulled his thumb from his mouth to speak easier.
"Mister Timmy isth my fwend.""Is that so?"The toddler nodded, crouching down with his small hands on his knees, large eyes to the camera again.
"Mister Timmy...saysth...Mommy and Daddy makesth him shy.""Oh?" the couple chuckled at their child, Mommy getting the most enjoyment out of this situation since she was the first to be introduced to Mr. Timmy a few nights ago when tucking her son in for the night. He had informed her that Mr. Timmy wanted a good-night kiss as well. She found it to be cute, entertaining his imaginary friend.
"What else does Mr. Timmy say," she asked him, and the toddler mumbled softly a moment.
"Mister Timmy...saysth...Daddy hasth a funny no-shh."Mommy laughed and the toddler followed with a giggle as she asked him,
"Is that so?"He nodded.
"Where is Mr. Timmy right now, Minnie?"The tot stood up, both hands in his hair now as he looked around in search for his friend, walking over to the couch to crouch down and peek beneath it. He turned his eyes up to his parents as if surprised, pointing beneath couch urgently, his mouth making a perfect 'o'.
"Oo!""You found him? He's under the couch?""Yesth," he grinned.
"He'sth under deh couch." Curiously, he tilted his head to look underneath the couch at his friend.
"Why is Mr. Timmy under the couch, Minnie?""Mister Timmy...saysth he'sth shy...becausthe Mommy and Daddy makesth him shy."Both parents laughed, causing the toddler to giggle as well, his father agreeing that this was cute as his mother had suggested. The tape was stopped, the memory now fresh and painful, yet soothing and sweet. Those times were short lived and so long ago. Minki couldn't remember them on his own but found relief in the fact that there was proof that they had existed, for they were few and far between.
------- x -------
"Mrs. Kwon, I want to say first that I called you down here out of genuine concern.""Why is there any need for concern?" the Asian woman sat in one of the small chairs of the classroom, looking at the red haired woman who stood leaning against a large, dark wood desk cluttered with paper, markers, and crayons. Her gaze lingered on the child who sat next to his mother in the chair adjacent to her's, his round eyes to the piece of paper he was scribbling on absently--oblivious to the conversation between the two adults.
"Mrs. Kwon--""Mrs. Johnson," the child's mother said sharply, not at all pleased that the woman was insinuating that her son was a problem of some sort.
The middle school teacher sighed, noticing the stress within the Asian woman's soft features, the crease in her brow.
"I understand that you'd rather not be here for something like this," Mrs. Johnson began,
"but I think this is important."Soomin Kwon folded her hands over the small student's desk and chose to hear the woman out and let her speak, her expression quite stern.
Mrs. Johnson sighed,
"At Minki's age, its quite normal to have a very extensive and overactive imagination. Its healthy, actually, to have a colorful imagination, its just....I think, in regards to Minki, it might be...too colorful.""What do you mean?" Soomin inquired sharply.
"It's just that some of the things your son says or does...is quite worrisome. It's just little things that I've noticed, such as these..." She held out a folder to Soomin marked with Minki's name. Inside were different drawings and writing assignments in which all of the class have done. Some were even tacked up on the walls decoratively, however there was a reason Minki's was not. Beautiful yet terrifying images were colored across the pages in which made Soomin pull in a gasp. Dragons tore across the skies with people in their teeth and claws. Warriors fought bloody battles against malformed beasts through burning forests. Sprite-like fae creatures breathed death over flowers and crops, and in many of these drawings appeared the same spindly shadowy creature hiding somewhere among the chaos. Not every image was as horrifying, but still proved to be just as intimidating.
"The children were asked to write a story about their goals in life, and while many of them wrote about being astronaut, fire fighters, policemen, actresses and singers and the like...Minki wrote about this very detailed journey to find a human heart. One that he could give to his father to 'make things better'."Soomin tried to keep her hands steady as she read through the story her son had written, the hidden meaning in the words gnawing at her like a bad infection. Mrs. Johnson watched her, growing more concerned by the minute by how things were playing out. So much that she had to ask;
"Is everything okay at home?""Everything is fine!" Soomin said quickly, shoving the papers back into the folder.
"Why is that always assumed to be the case when a child is a bit more imaginative than his peers? Maybe Minki has the makings of a genius? Did you ever stop to think of that?"Mrs. Johnson obviously didn't agree as she shook her head, slipping off her glasses as she spoke with a very serious tone.
"Minki has the makings of an early developing psychological disorder.""I suggest counselling..."