A child's innocence

There was this little boy sleeping in his pushchair as his mother went around the shop, to well shop obviously. This little dude looked so peaceful oblivious to the world around him. He looked so innocent, still unharmed by life.

I could go on a rant about how I wish I was that little guy. How I wish I regressed back to childhood were your only worry is whether your mother's going to clean your poop-filled nappy. But I won't. Not really. I mean what is the point of going into such nostalgia of something that we hardly even remember.

What worried me though was the thought that the boy and all those children his age or younger would eventually grow up and have to face the world. And it's pretty disturbing knowing that in a few years time the child will have lost all his innocence. He will find out all about the evil and hardship the world contains. The disappointment and sadness that will etch away at his heart. He will find out that fairytales never come true, that people hardly ever get what they deserve, good or bad.

But more horrifying than that is the thought that this child might turn out to be the man that makes other children realise that. He might turn out to be the biggest bastard on earth. Or a tyrannical multimillionaire boss, or even, oh the horror, the new Justin Bieber.

I wonder if his mother ever thinks such thoughts when she looks at her little angel. Maybe she does, maybe she doesn't. All I know is that all these thoughts would drive me crazy. Children are cute, just like baby tigers, but you don't necessarily want to be near them when they grow up.