youare163daysoldonthedateofthisnote.yourfatherandiareplanningtogivethistoyouwhenyouareseven，soyoucanreadonyourownwithfewerproblems.butyousee，i’vealreadyboughtthisbookandstartedimaginingtheday，justlikehowwelookforwardsto(whilealsonervousabout)everystageofyourlife.ifyou’rereadingthisonyourseventhbirthday，ormaybeafewyearslater(dependingonhowquickyoulearn)，youshouldknowthatyourmomiswritingthis，bearinginmindwhatiwouldliketheseven-year-oldmyselftohearandholdfortheyearstoe.anditrustyoutobeaclevererboythanieverwas. childhoodhasbeendistantforme，mybabyboy.itissomethingthatyouareluckytobeinrightnow.what’smorewonderfulisthatyoustillhavealongwaytogo.iknowyouwillsoonstartfeelingtheurgetogrowup，asididwheniwasatyourage.butifthereisonethingthatiwouldtellthelittlegirlioncewas，itwouldbetocherisheverythingyouhaveasachild，alongsideallyourimaginations.yourmom，nomatterhowboringilooknowadays，usedtolayonthegrass，stareattheclouds，andthinkabouttheconversationsheldbetweenthosewhitedogsandhorsesallthetime.ifyouwanttosharenewsaboutyourtoys，ormaybethefriendsthatnooneelsecansee，iwantyoutoknowthati’malwaysheretolisten. thestoriesthatyouhavereadsofar，theydon’tjusteintheshapesofcolourfulimages.ofcourse，therearedancingdolls，singingflowersandchattyducks，fairiesinthedsandscaryevilsthatwillprobablygiveyousomenightmares(doetouswhenyoucan’tsleep，ok?butonlywhenyoureallycan’t).asyouwouldhaveknownbynow，therearealsohorriblethingsthathappeninstories.therearebadguysandevenpeopledyingsometimes，justlikehowlifewillunravelinfrontofyou. howdoidescribelife，mybelovedboy?idonotforonesecondassumethataboysensesthestrangenessofthe