Kids

It's funny how kids think.

I remember when I was six or seven, I was at the arcade when I got to thinking about what would happen if you took the tokens out of the game machines. Would the memories that a person had playing with that machine be instantaneously erased?

The idea filled me with dread and fascination. Of course I was right. It was only common sense that memories be erased with the collection of the coins.

I never thought once to ask a grown-up about my theory. I was wise enough to foresee what would happen if I did anyway: a deep, knowing laugh, a pat on the head, a terrifically dull explanation.

Maybe it was the potential pain of defeat that kept me from sharing my insights on game machines. Perhaps I just never got the time. Or maybe I just knew better: or at least well enough to hold on to that nugget of color, however small, before adulthood sucked every drop of childhood's magic away.

At any rate, I don't remember the game I was playing the day I formulated my theory. But I'll bet my bottom dollar that they collected my coin.