They were stuck inside for days —even weeks — due to the world still being a dangerous place for Elio to explore alone. Keeping their little one entertained presented them with a new and unique challenge. Their patience was waning and they were fresh out of ideas to beat that cabin fever. Sadly, not everything in life was fascinating, absorbing or gripping. Now and then, something that they watched, read or in some other way experienced was, well… boring. It was just another dreary day in the house, with same grey skies. They longed to escape their humdrum existence. Satan would rather watch paint dry than sit inside for another day.

He made a promise to create something fun in the garage. And he did. A box road. No, it wasn’t anything fancy, but that was the best part. He cut open a box and laid it down flat. He made a simple road with a marker, and grabbed block bin and car bin. Oh, and Eli grabbed his box of small animals because, Eli was just being Eli. That was it and Eli was off to the races for almost an hour, then back inside to have lunch, then whenever he (6) came home from school he’d he off to play and that's how things went for the next week. This saved so many days for Satan, it didn't cost a thing (well, aside from whatever was in those boxes before…), and it really was something special. Eli loved zooming cars around and it gave Satan a breather from his favorite clingy monster.

Meanwhile Alpha snagged a handful of the thousands of tiny animal figurines that have been laying around. He gave ‘em a good cleaning, and set them in jello when it was still liquid. He let it set overnight, then surprised Elio with the lava rescue after lunch. He got a solid half hour of quiet side-by-side play wherein he did not have to remind Eli to share. In his mind, that was a major success! + If he was a better planner, he’d have green jello for a St. Patrick’s Day activity, and maybe even hide plastic coins in there. Blue jello would have also made a really fun ocean themed rescue! + This was an incredibly easy activity to throw together, and Eli got to practice his spoon skills with digging for “treasure.” Surprisingly, he did not eat more than a bite or two!

When all else failed, they stared at the fan. Have you ever met a toddler who wasn’t completely fascinated by ceiling fans?

Before reaching the final line, however, Elio had already understood that he would never leave that place, for it was foreseen that the forest would be wiped out by the wind and exiled from the memory, because races condemned to one hundred years of solitude did not have a second opportunity on earth.