Introduction of A Kids Visual Storytelling Book: ‘The Way They Imagine’ by Jerina Ara Ahmeda

Every human being was once a child.

There exists a world full of imagination, mysteries, and wonders—both light and dark, simple and complex, filled with questions and answers, dreams and realities. Yet, it’s a world we can no longer enter. We left it behind long ago. We once lived in that world, experienced its magic. While everyone's experience was unique, the essence of that world was shared.

What was that world like? What were its elements? How would it feel to re-enter it? Is it even a world at all? If so, how? If not, why? Do we truly want to return to that world?

These questions don't have definitive answers. They fall under the theory of relativity, where the experience is never the same for everyone.

However, there’s one question with a solid answer: "Isn't there a better world, one born of your imagination, that you strive toward each day?" For this, the answer is universally "Yes." But the question of "how" arises again. How do we reach it? The pursuit of this "how" opens up endless possibilities, countless doors to that imagined world.

Among the many answers, I offer this beautiful one:

To make your world better, look at it the way the kids do imagine.

Now, pause. Look around. Breathe. Don’t search for answers just yet. Though your mind might be swirling with questions, allow yourself to stand still in this moment. This is the moment where both you and your world become better. You’ve returned to that simpler world from your past, the one that held all possibility. From this place, you can rise again—like a sun on the horizon—bringing beauty, light, and life, with doors waiting to be opened for others.

Children already live in that beautiful world. As now you stand before their imaginations, their reality, it’s both your freedom and responsibility to protect the beauty of their world.

It’s time to encourage children to keep imagining, to welcome you into their world however they can. And while it’s your choice whether to fully participate, make sure you let them remain in their world, imagining in their own way. This will open a door through which you can always see.

While writing this story, I had to see through the eyes of the kids. Children are who they are. To us, they might seem to be doing something wrong, something unsettling or unpredictable. But to them, it’s just their way of being. Over the years, as I’ve observed, guided, and worked with these kids, I’ve come to notice many overlooked perspectives—some that have even changed my own thinking. There’s no rigid theory or method that applies to shaping a child. The best approach is to keep watching them, with the intention of helping rather than changing or molding them into what we believe is 'better.'

This book is illustrated through the eyes of the O' Hen Kids, preserving their unique interpretations and creativity. Just like our dreams, the stories they carry in their minds may seem disjointed at first, yet they are connected by subtle links. Their narratives may unfold in fragments, but each break has its own reason, like the imagery in our dreams. I’ve tried to keep the book in that spirit. After listening to their stories day after day at O' Hen, I feel I’ve learned to enter their world—a world that I’ve been speaking about throughout this story.

I hope you too can step into it. This is for the sake of the kids and the magical world they inhabit.

Jerina Ara Ahmeda