After some time had passed by, weariness became apparent and began to descend on Robert. A probable outcome of his lack of sleep, so he took a five from his work since he started to make sleepy eye mistakes and yawned like a child at a history museum.

Hence the reason why he got up from his chair and went by the opened window to get some fresh air and clear his dizzy head.

While gazing out the window, he glimpsed at Theo lying on the grass gazing up at the sky with nothing to do, with an expression on his face like a child at school on a Monday morning; stained with loneliness, with a sprinkle of sorrow.

Robert felt softened through sympathy for Theo’s misfortune. Because of his unableness to play with his school and sports friends for almost five whole months of isolation. The youngster was like a dog on a leash at home, having no other choice but to enjoy what the house had to offer. But all the toys and joys offered can only go so far.

The boredom Theo underwent made Robert deemed himself entitled to give the toddler a valid reason to have more of a necessity to smile in these times of frowns. When he is not acting petty, he is behaving like an upstanding father.

His hand fluttered out of the window to hail at Theo. To tell him a joke, or for them to take part in some form of laughter while the five lasted.

The intentions were to brighten up his day a little. However, as soon as the words were about to come out of his mouth. A voice suddenly sounded in the back of him.

“Mrs. Dorsey, if it is okay, I have something that I will like to ask, please.”

Someone from his company wanted to ask a question. So, he had to temporarily delay the joke and see about the matter of his worker.

Later that same evening. When it was time for dinner, Robert warmed up some mac and cheese in dinosaur shape for Theo as he wasn’t as talented as an expert chef like Chef Boyardee. Theo did not have must of a problem with his incompetence, nonetheless. He preferred his father to be in the kitchen since Aleena cooks like an athlete preparing for the Olympics.

In the course of them, eating dinner around 7 pm, Robert recalled what happened earlier when he saw Theo in the backyard. The bright idea the Tech-Wiz thought up was telling Theo about when he was a youngster like him back in the day.

It was not his greatest of plans, but his head was well in the right place. His reasoning for this was to motivate Theo into having a concept of what he did to dillydally, albeit, enjoyably.

He chatted about what made him the most excited when getting up in the morning. And also, what was a great way to entertain oneself.

Theo lent an ear to take in his stories while he ate his Dino cheese. The mac and cheese were hitting, so the objections were at a minimum.

Robert was in first gear and gradually began to become absorbed by his tales. All the memories from his past came rushing back into his head.

Within all the chatting, Robert and Theo had finished eating their dinner. So, they relocated to the living room couch where it was more comfortable to tell him a tale about his life.

He continued speaking of his past, but this time he talked about a board game that made him quite jolly. The game in question took a precious spot in Robert’s heart was jigsaw puzzle sets. Putting the pieces together with his father was one of the best feelings at the time for young Robert.

The way you have to show patience and wit when solving a large puzzle set is one of the main reasons why Robert got so intrigued about the joy of finish a puzzle set. The capability of figuring out any puzzle set gave him a sense of accomplishment every time.

Despite this fact, Robert wasn’t always a big fan of solving jigsaw puzzles because he initially thought it would be a chore and could even put a sugared-up kid to sleep. Solving puzzle sets was a muse of his father, so avoiding seeing them was out of the question for him.

When he was nine years old, the youngster walked by his father doing a set, and he seemed to be digging it. Robert was baffled at what he saw, walked up to his father and asked what is so fun about the stupid puzzle. His father told him to sit down and do not knock it till he tries it. Since he had nothing better to do, he complied with the request.

Robert was a titbit arrogant as a youngster, so he thought solving the set by himself without any assistance from his pops would be a piece of cake. But with all of his hubris, Robert still had a difficult time puzzling out the set.

He sat in front of the jigsaw puzzle pieces for several hours, trying to analyze where to start from to put all the puzzle pieces together. And complete the set in the absence of any guidance, although he was incapable of making head or tail of it.

In the sequence of many trials and errors working out the set, his father ultimately told him, “It isn’t as easy as it looked from the sidelines watching on, now is it?”

Afterward, he proceeded to unravel the picture the puzzle pieces made when they came together accurately in a matter of minutes. Robert instantly got knocked off his high horse when he observed the resolve of his father. He was simply amazed at the composure his father had shown and the ability of perception he displayed.

The picture created at the end of the pieces coming together of the jigsaw puzzle was a Star Wars portrayal of R2-D2 and C3PO in the Millennium Falcon. Though Robert did not know much about Sar Wars, he felt as if it was the coolest thing he had ever seen in his life.

That one night sparked the passion Robert had for robotics, drones, and technology in general.

The ability to take something in multiple tiny parts and seem broken, to effortlessly put it together and make it whole once more. While creating a cool picture in the process stuck with Robert and other kids may have seen this as tedious.

However, the sensation of getting to the bottom of where every puzzle piece has to end up. Gratified and mysteriously satisfied Robert as it remained with him for his life onwards.

After that night, both he and his father were puzzle-solving machines. Ironic since Robert did not even want to touch a jigsaw puzzle, much less solve them before.

They attempted to solve some of the most challenging puzzle sets. Robert's father was only solving puzzles for the fun of it, like a peaceful hobby. Though the opposite for Robert as he mainly saw it as a game to test his mind.

His father also opened the bull eyes of Robert to comprehend more colors and have a more creative outlook on the world because the place would be bleak as hell without color. It is clear to see where Theo gets this from now.

The struggles and triumphs he had to undergo when figuring out puzzle sets impacted Robert profoundly, and it was his number one reason for his occupation.

He chose to manufacture hi-tech toys and gadgets for children because he thought robots were cool. Who would have guessed it?

Every single one of those devices his company manufactured for the consumers was to give the same joy he felt back then. During the time, he solved jigsaw puzzles with his father was Robert’s goal from the beginning. Therefore, when he went to work, there was no alternative but to give one hundred and ten percent.

Robert was going on without any halts about his love of puzzles. But Theo didn’t seem all that agog with the story for a while. This lack of eagerness to lend a prying ear frustrated Robert a little bit because his purpose for telling him all about his spare time activity was to make him find a spare time activity of his own.

So, this meant Robert had to take a firmer approach and try even more to persuade Theo to get a sense of heed for what he wanted to say.

Thus, he commenced talking about the wonders of solving jigsaw puzzles more joyously by telling Theo the aspect of using your imagination and bringing to reality a story of your own.

He stated the lion’s share of entertainment came from the mystery of it all. The most appealing part of it all was that Robert’s father only brought a jigsaw puzzle set without pictures on the box.

Which made it a lot more gripping to figure out what the picture on display would be in the finish.

Ranging from a wildly dense leafy forest to a prepossessing looking white-sanded tropical beach, he said. What was to become whole when the pieces came perfectly together was anyone’s mystery, and that factor was the best part of it all for him.

He used his imagination to predict the resulting picture and concentration to finish the puzzle.

One topic he hopped on, as well, was the fact that he and his father used to have a trivial yet competitive contest to determine who can solve a jigsaw puzzle set the fastest.

Although Robert was regularly not on the receiving end of getting the victory in the challenge, he still gave his best efforts to come out on top. His father never softens his defeats either, as he used to tease him about his pride. But it did not do much in diminishing his drive to win, though.

“I never once in my mind thought about giving up because I knew that whenever you lose, the door for the next opportunity to win always opens, and it’s how you react to a loss that will determine it. Since failure is only an option when you make it an option.” Robert confidently told Theo, on his Tony Robbins vibes.

The kind of mentality a person will push through a frozen wall will have. Or the making of a true try-hard.

Nevertheless, having the thought process of a try-hard did pay off for Robert. Because three years after the game began, he was finally able to defeat his father in a puzzle off.

He was very bewitched by his triumph, that he to the work ethic that he obtained when completing puzzles into his everyday life and even at school.

Before Robert did a test, he solved a jigsaw puzzle set to free his mind of any nerves. The little trick worked wonders for him when it came time for the test.

Wanting to be placed in his world of puzzles, where he can put everything he wants together in a completed manner, was Robert’s wish, but in this world of unforeseeable events and misfortune was not the ideal world he had in his head. But at least he had his imagination to fall back on. And get a happy family of his own.

**

“Haa… Those were the days when your old man was on his puzzle grin.”

“….”

“Withal, I would let your grandfather win once ever so often to make him feel good. Hahaha…”

“….”

“So, you see, Theo, this is the fun of sol………”

"Zzzz....”

“WAKE UP!”