Leo wasn't having a very good day. It was raining outside, and his favorite building blocks were all mixed up. He tried to build a castle, but it kept tumbling down. He tried a spaceship, but it looked more like a wobbly tower. “I can’t make anything good!” he sighed, flopping onto his bed.
His grandma, Nana Willow, smiled. “Sometimes, Leo,” she said, “the best things aren’t *made* with your hands, but with your mind. Have you ever tried making a world… just by thinking about it?” Leo tilted his head. “A world? Just… thinking?”
Nana Willow winked. “Close your eyes,” she instructed. “Imagine a place. Any place. What does it look like? What’s the first thing you see?” Leo closed his eyes. At first, it was just darkness, but then… a shimmering, purple forest began to grow in his mind. Trees with leaves like amethyst sparkled in the soft light.
“I see a purple forest,” he whispered. “And… and little glowing mushrooms!” Nana Willow encouraged him. “Wonderful! What lives in this forest?” Leo thought harder. “Fluffy, six-legged creatures with rainbow wings! They’re called Floofles.” He giggled. It felt amazing to just *decide* what things were.
He imagined a river of chocolate flowing through the forest, and a mountain made of bouncy jelly. He created a little village where the Floofles lived, with houses built from giant seashells. But then, he imagined a problem. A grumpy Grumblebug was blocking the chocolate river, and the Floofles couldn’t get their favorite treat!
Leo frowned. “Oh no! The Grumblebug is being mean.” Nana Willow said, “What can you *imagine* to solve the problem?” Leo thought and thought. He couldn’t just make the Grumblebug disappear; that wasn’t very kind. Then, he had an idea! He imagined a giant, ticklish feather floating down from the sky and gently tickling the Grumblebug’s nose.
In his mind, the Grumblebug started to giggle, then to laugh, and finally, he rolled away, clearing the chocolate river! The Floofles cheered. Leo felt a warm glow inside. He hadn’t *built* anything with blocks, but he’d solved a problem and made a whole world happy!
He opened his eyes, beaming. “I made a whole world, Nana Willow!” Nana Willow hugged him tight. “You did, my dear. And you learned that even when things seem tricky, your imagination can help you find a way. It’s the most powerful building tool of all.”
Leo looked at his pile of blocks with new eyes. He still couldn’t build a perfect castle, but he didn’t mind. He knew he could always build a wonderful world inside his head, a world where anything was possible. And that, he realized, was even better. He started to sort his blocks, thinking about how he could use them to represent some of the things from his purple forest. Maybe a blue block could be a Floofle, and a brown one a seashell house.
As he drifted off to sleep, Leo imagined himself flying with the Floofles over his purple forest, the chocolate river sparkling below. He knew that even on rainy days, or when things didn’t go as planned, he always had his imagination to keep him company, and to help him create something truly wonderful.