I’ve passed this wreck of a toy a few times now as I walk along the Back Strand here in Tramore. It looked so new at the start but now it’s beginning to blend into the sandhills where it lies, as if resigned to a new life.
I can hear the shapes dropping through the spaces and the chuckles of a contented toddler as he sits upright with the glowing pride of mastery.
I can also see tears of frustration wobble down scarlet cheeks of a tired, teething little person, at odds with the very shape of life and the pain it’s inflicting.
But more than anything, I feel the tug of a chubby, sticky little hand pulling me to the floor to share the magic of a whole world, waiting to be explored …..
SOCIAL BRIDGE ~ Jean Tubridy connecting with you from Ireland 
Well? Finish the story! Could be a short story, or a novel. Yes, a funny story about the “…chubby sticky little hand”, or a steamy novel “…at odds with the very shape of life…” that keeps young flirts up at night reading into the wee hours.
Mercy, Jean, look at it! There’s a book in there just begging to jump out of you. That “wreck of a toy…” has more symbols than a brass band! Now, don’t throw this off, please. You just brushed by a book hidden in your inner library, and got a glimpse of how either some chapter, or the book itself has to begin.
“I’ve passed this wreck of a toy a few times now as I walk…” is far superior to:
“It was a dark, and stormy night…”, don’tcha think? But don’t stop with my opinion–as that would be dangerous as I’m always up to some trick or seduction, but check with writers and peers you can trust. Imagine if Shakespeare had walked by a quill without realizing it was “…pulling me to the floor to share the magic of a whole world, waiting to be explored …”? Do you realize how many people would love to just once be pulled to the floor in that way? Think of where all it can take their imaginations, Jean! Oh, no, don’t put this one down.
Yes Van, I’m thinking and thinking hard. Thanks for your encouragement. Very much appreciated.