Paul was a little boy who was always busy. He was always coming up with new ideas. One day he was a chef, cooking potions from clay and grass, the next he was a knight, bravely defending his fort. His imagination and games knew no limits. He loved to play. He had friends who played with him. And he was thankful for them. Yet something was still missing. What was it? You’ll find out in the story I’m about to tell you.
It happened one rainy afternoon. It was wet outside. Even though it wasn’t cold, it was impossible to go outside because there were puddles everywhere. Paul was playing with toy cars in his room. He built garages out of blocks, suspension bridges, and drove his cars all over the room. Paul’s mother was busy. She was doing the laundry, ironing, cooking, and cleaning. She wanted the house to be nice and clean, and she also wanted to take the best possible care of Paul.
Later in the afternoon, just as Paul finished playing, his mom was tired and wanted to rest for a while. So she lay down on the sofa and looked at her cell phone. Paul came to her a few times with an idea or a toy, but each time he got the same answer from his mother: “Wait, Paul, in a minute.” So he went back to his room and thought about what he would play with. He knew that his mother didn’t mean to hurt him, she was tired and wanted to rest for a while and have some time for herself. Still, he was sorry that she didn’t have time for him.
So Paul thought about what else he could do. He took a pencil and paper and started writing. He wrote down his secret wishes. Then he put the paper in an envelope and stuck it behind the window in the evening. He hoped that there was some kind of magic, a fairy, or simply someone who would read it and make his wishes come true.
When evening came, his mother came to give Paul a goodnight kiss. When he fell asleep, his mother noticed the envelope behind the window. She quietly opened it, took the letter in her hand and read until her eyes glistened with tears. It said: “I wish my mom would come play with me. We could build a castle together. I wish she would put her cell phone away, I promise you, fairy, I will be good to her.” When Paul’s mom finished reading this, tears streamed down her cheeks. She hadn’t realized how much Paul loved her and how much he wanted her to play with him. So she decided to grant his wish.
The next day, she had a lot of work to do, of course, like any other day, but when she was done, she didn’t pick up her cell phone or lie down in front of the TV. Instead, she went to Paul’s room and asked, “Shall we build a castle together?” Paul jumped up with joy and hugged his mom. He was so happy. He immediately began stacking the blocks and explaining to his mother what the castle should look like. She lay down next to him on the carpet and couldn’t believe what a skilled builder she had at home.
To this day, Paul doesn’t know how his wish came true, whether there really is a fairy who read his letter. But the important thing was that it happened. And his mother? Even though she has many things to do, since then she has never forgotten that the time she spends with her child is the most important of all of them. And above all, the most precious. So now you know what Paul was missing: his mother, of course. Even though she was at home, she wasn’t with him. But that’s no longer the case.
