If I’m going to give up the excitement of climbing trees at the expense of scratching my knees and reaching for the red apples at the ends of the branches; If I’m going to get angry at the rain because it “made me wet” instead of being happy because it “makes the flowers grow”; If I’m not going to be happy with the snowflakes gently touching my face and impatient for them to accumulate on the ground; If I’m not going to watch with a smile when I hold handfuls of them in my hands that are bruised from the cold; If I’m going to stop looking in admiration at how many stars there are in the sky, if I’m going to get used to it. If I will not be surprised by the sunrise and sunset every day, or a caterpillar turning into a butterfly, If I will not be interested in how fish can swim without breathing; If I will stop asking questions; If I will stop stirring the soil, caressing the birds, building sand castles, because my hands will get dirty; While painting; The sun rising smiling behind the mountains, if I am going to work only with charcoal instead of drawing a house with flowers in the garden and a river passing through the door, using all the colors; If I am going to stop dreaming, it is at least necessary that the clouds can carry me to the farthest lands, If I am going to lose my belief that the moon rises just so that the little ones will not be afraid of the dark, and that one day I will be very rich and dress all people, including adults, in holiday dresses; If I am going to tell my mother to pick flowers, even if I can only find the ones that have sprouted from the edges of the paving stones. If I’m going to forget; If I’m not going to tell my daddy to close his eyes and give him the papers on which I’ve drawn big hearts, even if they’re crumpled, with the excitement of a big surprise; If I’m going to change kissing my grandmother’s hand and asking for a good remembrance by sitting knee to knee with her and talking for hours; Instead of waiting for the holidays with a sigh of relief, they are like ordinary days that include some formalities and are even an opportunity to go on holiday and “relax”(!) If I’m not going to run to the grocery store to feed a hungry kitten I found on the street and buy milk with all the money in my pocket without hesitation and if I’m not going to watch that cat being fed with as much pleasure as its mother; If I’m not going to cook beans for the little ones while playing dodgeball without letting them know and add them to the can’t-hit list;

If I am to cover my ruthlessness with the saying “Big fish eat small fish” and make it the most repeated saying of mine; If I am not going to accept being a prankster as the worst job in the world; If I can resort to deception for my own interests; If spying seems like something that is possible depending on the situation; If there is going to be a difference between my friends based on the money in their pocket; If I am going to give up on learning new things every day; If I say I know everything and find someone to give a speech to, I can talk to them non-stop for hours and without caring if they get bored. If I will enlighten (!); If my resentments will last more than a few minutes; if prejudices and fears will build walls around me; If I will not be able to reach out to the worlds of others; If I will not know how to listen, beyond what I want to hear; If I will not see, what I do not want to see; If I will not have the patience to remain silent when necessary, even if I am right; If I will not be able to tolerate other colours; If I will not be able to tolerate other colors, I pray to my Lord every night, tirelessly, to protect me, my family and all people from snakes and scorpions. If I don’t pray for protection from monsters and darkness; If I can’t find the courage in my conscience to say “come on, let’s go there too” when the beauties of the heavens are explained; And if my heart is to become so small that it can only contain those who have done me good, I don’t want to grow up, I want to remain a child. And no matter my age, I always want to remain a child.