"Father, what is it like to be old?" She asked the man as he washed the dishes. The little girl's mother was in a different room.
"Old?" he exclaimed, "I'm not old. If I was seventy and you were having this discussion with your child, then I'd be old."
"But you're so much older than me. Do your bones creak?"
"No. I run several times a day, and I feel just as fit as I was before you were born," he stretched his arm out to demonstrate, flexing.
"Ah, so do you oil your bones to keep them from creaking?" she giggled at her joke.
"Yes, I do. Magnesium oil and coconut oil," he turned back to the dishes, putting a plate down.
"Dad, why are you grown ups so grouchy?"
"What do you mean?"
"Well, I never see you playing with toys or watch cartoons with me. All you adults ever do is computer stuff and watch awful movies."
"Ah, child, but I do play with toys," he pointed at the computer, and then at some other electronics, "Those are my 'legos'."
"I don't get it. You spend so much time writing. Why?"
"It's my way of playing."
"But it's just words!" Frustrated, she sat down.
"Alright, let's try something. Sit down. Close your eyes."
She closed her eyes, smiling as she did.
"I write stories and the same way as you watch a cartoon or play with your toys, I play with things in my mind."
She giggled, "That's silly."
"Remember your grandma's house last years when we came down there for the summer?"
"Yes!"
"Now imagine you're there. You're feeling the warm breeze of the air. The soft ground under your feet. The sunny skies. Can you see it?"
She smiled, "Yes, I can. We should go to grandma's!"
"Maybe in a couple of weeks. Now, keep that image in mind. And take Rex there with you. He's running around, enjoying playing around without any leash to stop him."
"He seems happy!"
"Of course he does, most likely chasing birds and barking."
"He's going after the cat! But it ran up the tree."
"Now, imagine that the sky just turned purple."
"But why would it do that?"
"I'm not sure but it did. The sky is purple and the grass becomes a bright pink. Can you see it?"
"Yes, but it seems strange."
"That's because you're no longer at your grandma's. You're on another planet, far away. Even the sun seems a little reddish."
"Okay.."
"But Rex is still there with you. He's not chasing a cat though."
"No? What is he chasing?"
"Well, what do you think he would be chasing on this planet?"
"A unicorn!"
He laughed, "Alright, a unicorn that can climb trees. But tree is not a regular tree."
"It's not? What is it?"
"It's a tree that grows dark blue watermelon and are several hundred feet tall."
"Wow."
"Now open your eyes."
"I don't want to. Tell me more!"
He laughed, "I will later. Now come on, I'm done washing dishes."
"Alright," she groaned, "But you must take me there again."
"I will. And this is why I write you know. People read my writing and it takes them to these worlds. Takes me to these worlds."
"I get it! I get it! Can we go now?"