The little boy down the road – Max – is four years old and very bright. He hasn’t started school yet and and can already read. His mother, although pleased at his reading prowess is worried he spends too much time focusing on unsavoury subjects such as ghosts, goblins, ogres and things that go bump in the night. She thinks it’s macabre. I think that Max is my kind of kid.
Max told me something the other day that I have wondered about for the longest time and that is that there are sea monsters in the bay. Max can see the waters of the bay from his bedroom window and says at night he can see ripples in the water. Lots of ripples. And sometimes a churning, a fierce, foaming churning. Once he saw a hand covered in seaweed with green talons thrust itself out of the water as if searching for something to pull under. Since that moment he has been convinced that there is a sea monster (maybe more than one) living in the bay.
He has advised me not to walk too close to the breakwater and that if I happen to drop anything into the water, even if it is something I’ll need to get back like my wallet or keys, that I’ll just have to leave it there because the sea monster will be waiting to pounce.
Early mornings and evenings are the worst times. The most dangerous times. That is when the sea monster is hungriest. And if you happen to see ripples or circles in the water it is best to run, RUN, for the sea monster is coming to the surface.
The water was murky in the bay today. The bottom of it was imperceptible. I saw some circles forming on the surface of the water which could have been rain or could have been Max’s sea monster, which is according to him – half man, half Loch Ness monster.
Max’s sea monster tales have made me smile today. Thank goodness for the imagination of children.
Selma In The City 
Hi Selma,
I agree, the imagination of children is wonderful. I love the story of the sea monster, who knows he may grow up to be a movie producer, or a writer, writing novels, or plays, or even movies, which all need the wonders of imagination. 🙂
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He probably will grow up and work in film or something like that, Mags. He certainly has the imagination for it!
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Oh…you must write all these down for him and when he gets older present them to him as a graduation gift… children’s imagination is indeed a wonderful gift children give to us adults. 😉 Thanks to you and Max for providing such a delightful way to start my day.
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Awww. I’m so glad you enjoyed it, Slpmartin. And what a great idea – I WILL write all the stories down for him. I’m sure he’ll get a kick out of that when he’s older!
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Max’s mother is so wrong! Children discovered monsters! The monster in the closet, the monster under the bed. They are the masters of monsters.
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They did, didn’t they? I remember monsters and a nervous fascination with them as being very much a part of my childhood. They definitely are masters of monsters. I love the way you put it, Squirrel!
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Hi Selma
well, here in Scotland we have been debating for decades whether the Loch Ness Monster exists or not – personally, I think what is important is that, whatever the facts may be, mythical thinking is still alive and well in the “modern” psyche. Max is today’s proof of that! Thanks for a great post.
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What a great way of looking at it, Anne. I think mythical thinking is very important because it is closely linked to independent, creative thinking and goodness knows we need more of that in this world.
I guess we’ll never know for sure if Nessie exists……..;)
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sea monsters in the sea? I believe it. perhaps it will only eat bad people?
hope you have a sweet day.
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I believe it too, Lissa. Yes, I think that they only eat bad people too. Or maybe they just keep swimming…..
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Life thru the eyes of children is so magical and wonderful… and who knows, he just might be seeing things we old folks have lost the vision for. What a delightful tale!
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You’re right, Josie. Speaking to kids always takes me back to days and ways of thinking I had almost forgotten. I love it!
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What planet is this woman on? There’s monsters (aka ogres, trolls. goblins or wicked witches) in just about every fairy story in the book.
And, I’ll bet Tolkien, Terry Pratchett, James Cameron and others of that ilk had similar fantasies as children.
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Those authors definitely would have been into monsters as kids. I have no doubt of that. And what would we do without their rich fantasy lives?
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Yes, it sounds as though this is a kid destined to be an artist – writer, film producer, etc. It’s nice to hear about one that isn’t in a techno fog.
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Oh I agree, writingfeemail. It’s so refreshing to come across a child with an old style imagination. I love it!
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Maybe. But I think he’s right. Don’t go near that water. 🙂
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Especially on a foggy night, Tumblewords 😯
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Awwwww! I loved this story!
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It’s cute, isn’t it, Meleah? He is such a cute little boy!
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Of course there are sea monsters in the bay! 😉
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You know it, Gabrielle. Stay away from the edge…..
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Yay Max! I love the idea of you putting together a book of his stories to give him when he’s older. I wish I’d done something like that for my kiddos.
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Max is now doing recordings of his stories which I think is fantastic. He can read but he can’t write yet. He’ll probably have an entire collection in just a few months, Karen!
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What a charming young fellow he must be. I wonder if he’ll grow up to write fiction? 🙂
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I’d say it’s on the cards, Tracey. He certainly has the imagination for it!
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My cousin used to be scared of and warn us about the “makkamandu” when she was 2-5 years old! She is 29 now. We made fun of her when we realized that she had got scared of a masked wrestler on tv and was trying to say Masked Man!
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LOL. But hey, some of the TV wrestlers ARE scary. Look at Hulk Hogan 😯
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Max is looking out for you, Selma 🙂
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He is, Bluebee. He’s a regular Sea Monster Wrangler!
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You say they are most active early morning and twilight. Sounds like Fae to me. I’m not surprized that Max can see them.
Tam
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YES. That’s what I thought. I think some children can see fae. Oh, that just makes the whole thing even more magical, Tam!
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I think that Max is going to be a fine writer one day – he is looking beneath the surface, seeing the world as multi-layered. Love!
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Yes, Jen, Yes. Looking beneath the surface. That’s what it’s all about. I’m so glad you said that!
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This is why I love little kids! Such imagination! I hope he does channel it to become a great writer someday.
How odd Selma, I can’t log in using my regular details. When I do it says my details are already associated with word press or gravator and to log in from word press or twitter or facebook. Hmm how bizarre lol
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I have no idea what’s going on with the log in, Cathy (although it’s probably fixed by now.) WordPress gets a little glitchy sometimes. I love little kids too. Some of them tell the greatest stories. I am often tempted to steal them 👿
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Imagination? Oh, I think you should listen to Max. Like cats, kids know things. A sea monster is a scary thing. Maybe not so bad, though, as the thing that lived under my bed when I was a kid, the thing that forced me to lie smack in the middle so it couldn’t reach up and grab me.
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I used to lie in the middle too, Patti, with all my covers tucked in. It’s true what you say about cats knowing things. All the cats I have owned seemed a little bit psychic, there was definitely something otherworldly about them. The ancient Egyptians believed they could move in and out of this world and the afterlife. Very freaky!
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