レゴ社のバイオニクルにはまっていた息子。4歳からはじめて10歳まで6年間、明けても暮れてもバイオニクルの日々。自分でデザインしたキャラクターを作っては、名前をつけ長所や弱点まで考えてキャラクターブックを作ったり、映画の脚本めいたストーリーを書いたり。誕生日やホリデーなどは、きまってバイオニクルがプレゼント。6年間に集めたピース は、衣服用のコンテナーにこのとおり。学校から帰ってくると、ガラガラガラという音。コンテナーを床に引いたシートの上に一気にぶちあける音。この音がすると、すぐに製作開始。その5分後くらいには、「ママ、この色のこ ういう形のピースを一緒に探して」ときます。すべてのピースのひとつひとつを把握していて、「絶対このピースが必要」であり、妥協は許さず。ガラガラ、両手でピースの山をかき回しながら、小さな小さなピースを一緒に探したものです。しかしながら、10歳を過ぎたあたりから興味が音楽に移行し、一躍ギター少年に変身して2年。バイオニクルは倉庫へ姿を消したのでした。Our son just loved the Bionicle series by Lego. He took the first piece of Bionicle in his hand when he was 4, and since then he had been so much into it, being literally buried in it day and night for almost 6 years until the age of 10. He used to design his own characters, build them, name them and wrote movie stories using those characters. He received Bionicles for all kind of occasions, whether it were a birthday or holiday. Everyday when he came home from school, I used to hear this sound of him spreading Bionicle pieces onto the rug on the living room floor. He jumped into building right away. After 5 minutes or so, I always expected a voice calling me from the living room saying, "Mom, I need this piece in this color. Would you look for that with me?" He knew all the pieces by heart, and was very specific about the shape and piece he needed for his job. We used to stir up the huge pile with both hands to look for a tiny tiny piece of his request. When he became 10, however, his interest slowly shifted to music, and he has transformed himself into a guitarist. The container of the Bionicle pieces was quietly moved into the basement.
ところがところが、1週間ほど前、急に例のコンテナーを引っ張り出し製作開始。レゴ社のバイオニクル・コンテストがあるとかで応募するのだそうです。これが、出来上がったキャラクター。コンテナーの前にはきちんと必要なピースが仕分けして並べられ、その横で背中を丸めて製作する息子をみていたら、時間が戻ったみたいだった。でも、「ママ、このピース一緒に探して」はもうありませんでした。It was a week or so ago that he pulled the Bionicle container out of the storage and started building again. He said he was going to enter for this Bionicle contest by Lego with the character he designed (picture). I felt like the clock were rewound, watching him sitting in the middle of the pieces. He neatly sorted all the necessary pieces into small groups in front of the container. I did not get asked this time, "Mom, would you look for this piece with me?"
