Tyrannosaurus, Triceratops, Stegosaurus, Mamenchsaurus, Iguanodon, Parasaurolophus, Compsognathus, Plesiosaurs…
These are the dinosaurs I learned through reading picture books. Each name reminds me of the owner’s appearance. For example, Iguanodon has thick nails on its thumbs which can tear the enemy’s body. Mamenchsaurus has a long neck and tail. Unbelievably long. It has a huge body and eats plants. On the other hand, Compsognathus, a carnivorous dinosaur, has a small body. It was my favorite dinosaur when I was little.
So clearly. Of course, no one knows how they really were like, but I remember them as childhood memories.
My mother would often took me to the library. I chose five books from the shelves in which only dinosaur picture books for children were stored. If the shelves haven’t been changed yet, my familiar books are still there as it were.
Story of Triceratopses named Little Horn and Big Horn was my favorite ones. There were not only dinosaurs but also trees and grasses drawn on the books. Looking at the grasses with soft leaves, I wanted to try some. Probably, the leaves in the Cretaceous period were too big for me to eat, though.
I enjoyed the ancient world as if I had been one of the Triceratopses there.
It was fun for me to imagine what didn’t exist at the moment in front of me.
“If there were magic in this world…”
“If it were not for schools…”
“If it were the last day of my life…”
Dinosaurs were one of these fantastic dreams.
“If there were Tyrannosaurus today, we wouldn’t have schools. No homework. No teachers. My mom would never tell me to eat fish. Because everyone is busy for surviving in the world with dangerous dinosaurs…”
Dinosaurs were far from my real life from which I, in my childhood, always felt like running away. I loved dinosaurs because they took me from the inescapable prison.
However, the more I grew up, the less interesting dinosaurs became.
Once there was a fossil of a shark tooth in a small wooden box in my room. I think I got it from a shop in a museum. The shark tooth was not a part of a dinosaur, but it was an evidence to prove the existence of the dinosaurs’ era. I took it everywhere with me in the pocket.
Now the fossil is not with me, nor in my room. I threw it away together with other junks in the small wooden box.
Why?
I really liked dinosaurs before. Loved them so much. But why have I changed my mind?
I had to adapt myself to the reality. Fantasy or dreams were found to be useless. Instead of reading about the Triceratopses’ adventure, I started to put all my attentions toward everything necessary to live a day. I was so busy in this real world that I’ve forgot how to dream the world with dinosaurs.
That is why the names of dinosaurs sounds a little bitter to me.