What Do You See?

What do you see?

The girl asks me.

Nothing,

I reply.

No really,

She insists.

What do you see?

 

I stare down the road.

I see a road,

I say.

No,

The girl crosses her arms.

What do you see?

I really don’t know,

I say.

What do you see?

I ask the girl.

 

The girl smiles,

I see

Gumballs falling from the sky,

Don’t you see them?

And pigs that fly.

What do you see?

 

I don’t know,

I say again.

This is stupid.

 

No it’s not,

The girl insists.

I see a snowman,

And giant candy canes.

What do you see?

 

I see

Goblins and a giant.

I pause,

I see

Monsters and a giant Lego tower.

 

I see a magic store,

The girl says.

Let’s go look inside.

She runs down the road

And opens a door.

 

I follow her.

Shh,

I tell the girl.

Be quiet.

I point,

There’s a witch.

I tell her.

The girl grabs a magic wand

She twirls it around.

 

The world changes,

We’re not in the magic shop,

What do you see now?

The girl asks.

 

I see,

Fairies,

I say.

I see a boy with fiery hair

And a dog on a pogo stick.

 

I see Santa,

She says.

And the Tooth Fairy,

And the Easter Bunny.

And look there!

The girl points down the road.

A golden castle!

She gasps.

A rainbow dragon!

She whirls her wand around.

 

I smell sea salt,

I say,

The castle is gone,

But look there.

A giant sea serpent!

The girl giggles.

And look!

Little dwarfs walking down the seashore!

She says,

And Swedish Fish leaping from the waves.

The girl whirls her wand.

 

Look at this giant cake tower!

She shouts.

She licks the ice cream snow

And climbs a lollipop tree.

 

The girl whirls her wand again.

What do you see?

She asks.

 

I see dinosaurs wearing tutus,

I say.

And giant gingerbread houses.

I see a marshmallow Pegasus,

I say.

The girl whirls her wand again.

 

But this time,

All I see is a road.

 

The girl is gone.