Introduction

Why must we always be in another world? The world around us is magical as it is.

Dr. Timothy Wall took a brisk pace down the white walled hallway, and then opened a door to enter into a room for children. Over in one corner, a boy timidly put block after block on top of another. Over in another corner, a little girl proceeded to tie up all of the stuffed animals with shoelaces.

“Good morning Dr. Wall, here’s the file for your first patient today.”

The psychiatrist took the file and glanced over at the girl now shoving the bound toys under a basket to work as a cage.

“She’s an... interesting child...”

The nurse gave an eyebrow raise.

“Interesting does not even begin to cover that one.”

Dr. Wall flashed a smile and approached the eleven year old...

The day went along as any other. The psychiatrist talked with some parents about a girl’s biting problem, and had to kindly give a boy a reminder that fire and pencils was generally not a good idea. As it was getting towards the end of the day, Dr. Wall was pretty much worn out. So when a man and woman came in pushing a little boy, he could only imagine what was wrong with this one.

Once again, he ran his fingers through his dark hair, adjusted his glasses, and plastered on a smile.

“Hello, what’s your name?” he asked of the little boy.

The nine year old simply stared at him with his big green eyes.

“It’s ok. You don’t have to say anything-”

“But that’s the thing doctor-he doesn’t say anything!” the mother told him with the look of concern that he had seen in so many other mothers.

“I see… Why don’t you sit down and we’ll talk.” he told them, taking out a clipboard and scribbling down some notes. They sat down at one of the tables for little kids, where the little boy completely ignored all the toys and coloring things to stare at the psychiatrist. He made sure to write this down.

“Genevieve, do we have a file for this one?”

“Yes. Here it is sir.” The blonde handed him a file, and he opened it up to see those piercing green eyes staring at him again.

“Henry Peters.. I see he hasn’t talked in quite a long time.. Has he been through any traumatic experiences?”

“Not that we know of.” the father said. Timothy Wall nodded, chewing on the end of his pen and reading more of the boy’s file.

“How many other psychiatrists have you seen?” he asked in amazement.

“Seven… No one can figure out what’s wrong with him.”

Dr. Wall looked up over the file to see that the boy was still staring at him, his dirty blonde hair slightly disheveled.

“Do you mind if I talk to Henry alone? Sometimes that works best.” The parents exchanged glances and then stood up.

“We’ll be just in the other room sweetie.” the mother assured, kissing the boy on the cheek. He didn’t look over at her. He continued to stare at the psychiatrist, which he refused to let unsettle him. Once the parents were out of the room, he sat back in his chair and gave the boy a good stare back. He didn’t seem at all mentally challenged as the file suggested. Those piercing green eyes weren’t just giving him a blank stare. They were observing him.

“I’m sorry Henry, I don’t think I introduced myself. My name is Dr. Wall, but you can call me Timothy.” The boy turned his head to the side, a look of interest and slight confusion on his face, the first real emotion he had shown since he had been there.

“I don’t think you’re stupid Henry. In fact, I think you are a lot smarter than you let on.” The boy still did not say anything.

“Is there a reason you don’t talk? Or do you just not feel like it?” The boy didn’t answer. “Look, I think you’ve probably been through enough tests, so we’re not going to go through any of that. I want to help you, but you’ve got to respond. Let me in that mind of yours.”

The flicker of a smile came on the boy’s face. And then to Dr. Wall’s amazement, a mushroom started to grow out of the middle of the table. Dr. Wall blinked, knowing for certain that he wasn’t just imagining this. The mushroom was red with white polka dots, like something you might see out of a cartoon, and it got bigger and bigger by the second. He slid his chair back in surprise, sending him toppling backward. But he didn’t hit the cool, hard office floor. Instead he landed on soft, green grass with flowers that he had never seen before. He looked around, confused as the office disappeared around them and they were suddenly in a field.

“You said you wanted me to let you into my mind. So here we are.” the boy said quietly.

Dr. Wall blinked. “What?”

“I know it’s a lot to take in-in fact the last psychiatrist I showed this to got really freaked out and then tried to pass it off as some dream when I took her out of it.”

Dr. Wall looked around. More of those mushrooms sporadically grew up out of the ground around the field, and when they got to a certain size, they burst in a puff of yellow ochre dust. He looked up in the sky to see a dinosaur type of bird soaring across the blue and into a cloud, which was pink, and looked suspiciously like cotton candy.

“We’re… in your mind?” The boy nodded. Shakily, the Doctor stood up, leaning on his chair for support. “Well… I definitely wasn’t expecting this…”

Henry smirked. “No one does.” And with that, he stood up with an air of confidence that was beyond his years. “Come. Let me introduce you to this ‘mind of mine’.”

“So… Henry…” Dr. Wall began.

“No. Don’t worry. We’re still sitting at that table. If someone comes in, it’ll simply look like we’re having a staring match.” The two of them walked along a cobblestone path made of white stones that glinted in the sunlight. They entered into a forest, where the trees were giants. The thick leaves shut out the sunlight, but certain plants gave off an effervescent glow.

“This place is truly amazing... “ he murmured. “Your mind, how does it work? How long have you been able to do this?”

“A couple years now. I just looked around one day and realised how boring everything was. Every day was the same. I’d go to school, Mommy would pick me up, I’d come home and watch tv, Daddy would come home and we’d eat dinner, I’d do my homework, and then I’d have to go to bed. Everyday was the same thing, so I started daydreaming. It got to the point that I was daydreaming so much, that it started to look and feel real at times. Then I realized that I could bring other kids into my daydream. You can imagine the concern of the teachers when all the other students would sit around me in a circle at recess and just sit there. I’d take all the other kids on fantastical adventures to the mountains, and to space, and to large underwater cities. Of course none of the adults fully understood what we were all experiencing, and they all pegged me as some bad influence. You know how adults act towards children. They hardly believe a word that comes out of a toddler’s mouth. I realised that no matter what I said would make a difference, so I stopped talking. I stopped watching tv. And whenever I played with friends, it would appear as if we were just having a staring contest.”

Dr. Wall took a little time to process this as they came to a magnificent waterfall and a little pool filled with silver glowing fish.

“Hmmm… I think I see your problem..”

“And what is my problem Dr. Timothy?”

“You spend too much time in this world of yours. Everyone loves to escape from reality, but sooner or later you’ve got to come back. Besides-life shouldn’t be boring to you. You’re a child. And children have an advantage that adults don’t have.”

“What’s that?” Henry asked as the Doctor picked a technicolor apple off a tree. He gave the boy a smile.

“Children have the ability to see wonder in the most ordinary things. I think you’ve forgotten that you are still a child.” The Doctor blinked, and he was suddenly sitting down at the table again in the real world. Henry seemed to be thinking.

“Why don’t we bring your parents back in eh?” he asked. The boy nodded, still thinking as Dr. Wall stood up and escorted the boy’s parents back into the room.

“Your boy truly is brilliant.” he told them as they sat down at the table.

“Do you know what’s wrong with him?” the worried mother asked.

“There’s nothing wrong with him. He’s perfectly fine.”

“Then.. why won’t he say anything?”

“I’m sure if you promise to listen, he will be more than happy to explain everything to you himself.”

The two of them looked down at their son as the nine year old boy smiled and looked up at them.

“Mommy, Daddy, I’m ready to come back into the real world. But first, I want to introduce you to my mind..”