Mystique

There is a story told by young children who live curious lives, that are always playing strange games. It is about their past imaginings as animals of a most wonderful world. A world where there is no sorrow, grief and pain. All they know is how to have fun with each other.

Jungles, leopards, and panthers come alive in my rain forest.. When the boy across the street comes over to play, everything in my house changes. The walls become trees hung with vines. The furniture becomes moss-covered rocks. Tables become caves and the corners become our dens.

He was always a black panther; I was usually a leopard or a cheetah. And when my brother would play he’d want to be a panther too. We would climb in and on things, hide and growl ferociously. Then my mother would come down to the basement, and tell us to stop destroying her house. When she left, the dark, mysterious jungle, full of little animals would come back to life.