Lucas was five years old and knew a lot about himself. He knew that dinosaurs could still be hiding at the bottom of the sea, that hot chocolate should come with three cookies and that he definitely didn’t need school to be happy.
“School again?” he said, wrinkling his nose. “I’m fine here with my dog Tobias and my Legos. At school there’s no sofa, no smell of toast, no silence in the morning.”
His mother smiled, with that look that adults give when they know something that children don’t yet know.
“But Lucas… what if school is the only place where things happen that only those who go there can see?”
Lucas didn’t answer. He thought that sounded like grown-ups trying to deceive.
The next day, after grumbling a lot, off he went. His backpack seemed heavier than ever. His shoes made an “I don’t want” noise.
But as soon as he walked through the school gates, he noticed something… different.
Mrs. Maria from the reception desk winked at him and whispered:
“Today is the day of invisible surprises.”
Lucas was quiet. What was an invisible surprise?
He entered the room. The chairs were in the same place. The pencils were in the same cup. But when Professor Ana said “Good morning!”, Lucas had the strange feeling that the room could change… if he wanted.
And then, it happened.
When he opened his notebook, the pages were white… but they started showing pictures on their own. As if they were reminding him of the ideas he was yet to have.
Pedro, who never smiled, was laughing. Sara, who was shy, was drawing a giant whale flying. And Tobias? Well, Tobias wasn’t there, but Lucas swore he heard a soft barking from under the desk.
During recess, he ran so hard that it seemed like his feet knew the way before his body. And for the first time, he felt that being there made sense.
In the afternoon, when his mother came to pick him up, he got in the car with a look on his face that he didn’t want to leave.
“So, how was your day?”
Lucas replied:
“School isn’t a castle.” But I think it’s a kind of… planet. But you can only see it clearly from the inside.
Mom didn’t say anything. She just smiled.
And the next day, Lucas went to school without complaining. Because now he knew: there are things that only happen when we’re there to see them.
