Two hours to build the fort, which stood for just five minutes. For me, five minutes of crawling on hands and knees, neck painfully craned upward, hair glued to the blanket ceilings with a static buzz. But for my son, five minutes of pure, unshadowed joy, like a light so bright that darkness becomes incomprehensible. Then the cat jumped onto the roof and it all came crashing down in three seconds of falling blankets. Years later, my son still speaks of that day with a smile. Two hours of work for five minutes of joy. I’d make that trade again.
Kyle Hina is a software engineer and musician living in Zanesville, Ohio, with his wife, two sons, and dog.