“Another day, another gift, son! Rise and shine!” Seth called. Ezra’s birthday began with the smell of freshly cooked pancakes and bacon flooding the house with a delightful aroma. Golden rays of sunlight beamed through the remnants of smoke in the kitchen as Seth wrapped up his birthday boy’s breakfast. As Ezra joined his father after washing up, he would be surprised by the light, how it was almost cinematically a spotlight for a carefully wrapped box. “Guess what daaaaay it issss?” Seth hummed. The boy’s mind was still a little groggy from waking up without an arm clock. The box was carefully wrapped with kraft paper, and for a brief, mistaken moment the d thought it was a package for his dad. “Uhhhh… Wednesday?” Seth ughed as he approached the table with breakfast ptes in hand. Ezra rubbed away the sleep crust from his eyes while his mind thawed from its sleep. His eyes went wide when the realization struck him. “Ohhhh, it’s my birthday!”Ezra had been dreaming of this day for weeks. It was a little miracle his birthday was in the middle of spring break. The d wondered during the days leading up what his gift might be. Was it an awesome new mountain bike? Ooh ooh! No, it was gonna be a model spaceship! Ezra loved space. No wait.. Could it perhaps be one of those fancy hand-held gaming consoles that were the test craze? The boy’s mind had been hyped with anticipation, and Seth perhaps neglected to consider how much of a sugar rush the pancake syrup would give Ezra. Ezra practically vibrated in his chair, legs swinging wildly beneath the table as he shoveled another syrup-soaked bite of pancake into his mouth. His eyes sparkled with excitement, his mind a whirlwind of thoughts fueled by weeks of anticipation and the sudden sugar-fueled burst of energy. He barely chewed before unching into another round of interrogation.

  “Is it a bike? No, wait—one of those remote-control cars? Or—ooh! Is it a gaming console? Maybe a drone! I bet it’s a drone!” His words tumbled out in rapid-fire bursts, his brain racing faster than his reasoning. His fork waved dangerously in the air as he spoke, syrup dripping onto his pte, but Ezra hardly noticed.

  Across the table, Seth chuckled, cutting into his own stack of pancakes with practiced ease. He let his son go on, the boy’s energy infectious in a way that only a ten-year-old’s excitement could be. Ezra was so caught up in his imagination-fueled guessing spree that he didn’t even gnce at the small, simply wrapped package sitting right in front of him. The kraft paper crinkled softly under the warm kitchen light, holding the very thing Ezra was waiting for—his father’s past, his own future, and an adventure he had yet to imagine.

  But when his father, Seth, grinned and pushed the modestly sized box toward him, Ezra's curiosity overtook his expectations. It wasn’t a rge gift, not the kind that held bicycles or gaming devices. Instead, it fit neatly into his hands, the paper crinkling under his fingers as he carefully peeled it away. “Heh heh, simmer down, sport. It’s nothing fancy like that, but I think you might like it.” Seth grinned.

  Inside, nestled among yers of tissue paper, was an old, well-worn smartphone.

  Ezra blinked. The phone’s edges were scuffed, and its screen, though still intact, had the telltale signs of years of use—tiny scratches that caught the morning light. He turned it over in his hands, confused. This wasn’t just any phone. This was his father’s phone. He looked up at Seth, who was watching him with an expression that was both proud and amused.

  “It’s yours now,” Seth said, leaning forward with his elbows on the table. “Might not be the newest model, but there’s history in that phone. I figured it was time for it to find new hands.”

  Ezra’s fingers curled around the device as his mind reeled. His father had always been careful with his belongings, and he never parted with things easily. This was no ordinary gift—it was a piece of his father’s past, something meaningful. Something.. personal. Ezra loved his father. His mother had passed away back when he was still a little boy. His father had risen to the calling. Where some men might turn to vices or liquor to drown out the pain, Ezra was all the motivation Seth needed to man up and pull through even on the toughest of days. His father worked in construction, a stressful field, an occupation that may leave the inexperienced drained. Seth was tougher than that.The boy had doubts when he was young. As a kid, he feared he was nothing more than a burden on his father. Someone he was obligated to take care of, not someone he truly cared for. On occasion, Seth may come home silent and frustrated, stressed out over powers beyond Ezra’s control. The boy used to reel and hide away whenever his dad uttered his little mantra of “Don’t let the hard days win”. It was a childish fear.But Ezra was no longer a child. On his eleventh birthday, he was now his dad’s “lil helper”.The boy was no stranger to smart-phone technology, he immediately realized the implications. If this was his dad’s phone, it would contain memorabilia infinitely more valuable than any other gift. No toys from online stores would ever compare to such a priceless gift. The phone would no doubt contain photos, videos, audio.. memories. Not only of Seth’s past, but of his mother. Ezra felt himself choke, the hype repced with emotions barely bottled up.

  Seth chuckled at his son’s stunned expression. “It might be cluttered with old stuff, but you’ll figure it out.” Seth had the foresight to know what kids love to do with phones. Besides pying games, there would be no stopping Ezra from exploring videos on the SolNet. “Just remember, Ezra, if it seems too good to be true, it usually is.” He warned, in case the boy came across advertisements he shouldn’t.SolNet was the heir to humanity’s first world-wide connection network: the internet. Ezra had watched a few historic documentaries about it curled up with his father te at night during family TV dinner time. The internet had brought about a revolutionary boom in communication, but along with it came unintended consequences. Trolling. SolNet was tailored in a way to reduce such harmful behavior.

  Ezra barely registered his father’s words as he pressed the power button. The screen flickered to life, revealing a home screen filled with old apps, some of which he recognized and others that were mysteries waiting to be explored. The wallpaper was an old photo of his father standing in front of a half-built house with mom, looking younger but just as determined as he did now.

  “This was your first phone?” Ezra asked, still in awe.

  Seth nodded. “Got it back when I was just starting my business. Built my whole company while using that thing. Kept track of blueprints, orders, schedules… it helped me shape what we have today.”

  Ezra looked at the phone with newfound respect. This wasn’t just an old phone—it was a tool that had helped build his father’s dreams.

  “Come on,” Seth said, gesturing for Ezra to follow him outside. “I’ll show you a few things.”

  The backyard was bathed in warm sunlight, and the sound of birds chirping mingled with the distant hum of traffic. Sitting side by side on the wooden steps of their porch, Seth guided Ezra through a few key apps on the phone, ones he had relied on for years.

  First, there was Builder Buddy, a construction pnning tool filled with old sketches and blueprints. Seth tapped on one of the saved designs, revealing the rough outline of their own home from years ago. It even came equipped with tips and tricks! Old heuristic rule-of-thumb notes his dad saved while building a future for his family.

  “You might not need this now,” Seth said with a knowing smile, “but one day, you’ll see the value in organization. Half the battle is having a pn.”

  Next was Learn & Tinker, an app packed with brain teasers, logic puzzles, and small engineering challenges. “Keeps your mind sharp,” Seth said, nudging Ezra pyfully. “Building anything starts up here first.” He tapped his temple.

  Then came Survival Scout, a collection of survival tips ranging from tying knots to building shelters out of natural materials. “I used this back when I worked rough jobs out in the field,” Seth expined. “Never hurts to know the basics. You never know when life’ll throw you into the unknown.” Ezra listened intently, absorbing every word, but his fingers itched to explore the phone on his own. Later that afternoon, when he was finally left alone with his new gift, he wasted no time scrolling through the various apps and files.

  There were old text messages, long-forgotten photos of his father’s younger days, and even videos from construction sites Seth had worked on. The more Ezra explored, the more he felt connected to his dad’s past, like he was uncovering hidden pieces of a story that had always been there but never fully shared.

  It wasn’t long before his fingers stumbled upon something unexpected—an old video advertisement.

  The video began with a cheerful jingle, and soon, a cartoon cow appeared on the screen. It was Ki-Ki the Happy Lion, an animated character that Ezra had never seen before but instantly found amusing. It reminded him of another historical documentary character that lived in a library and taught kids how to read.

  Ki-Ki pranced around the screen, pretending to be a pirate one moment, an astronaut the next, and finally a superhero, all while joyfully roaring in between. The bright colors and goofy expressions made Ezra chuckle, and he found himself watching the entire ad without realizing it.

  His father’s voice echoed in his mind.

  "Don’t believe everything you see in ads, but I won’t stop you from dreaming. Pretending ain’t so bad if it keeps you happy."

  Ezra grinned. Maybe his dad had a point. Pretending was fun.

  That night, as the house quieted and the world outside settled into darkness, Ezra y in bed, the phone resting on his chest. His eyes fluttered shut, but his mind was still buzzing with excitement. The old phone was more than just a device—it was a gateway to new ideas, to dreams and adventures waiting to be had.

  As he drifted into sleep, the images of Ki-Ki the Lion blended with his imagination. He saw himself as a daring pirate, sailing across the high seas with a band of brave explorers. Then he was an astronaut, floating through space with the stars twinkling around him. Finally, he became a superhero, cape billowing as he leaped from rooftop to rooftop, saving the day.

  Ezra's world had suddenly expanded.

  He could be anything.

  And it had all started with his father’s old phone.

  Over the next few weeks, the phone became Ezra’s most prized possession. He carried it everywhere, using it to take notes, sketch ideas in Builder Buddy, and challenge himself with the brain teasers in Learn & Tinker. But most of all, he found himself revisiting the concept of imagination—the very thing that Ki-Ki the Lion had sparked in his mind.

  Inspired, Ezra began crafting his own characters and stories. He filled notebook pages with sketches of heroes, inventors, and adventurers. He even experimented with filming short, silly videos on the phone, pretending to be a detective solving mysteries around the house.

  One evening, as Seth watched his son run around the backyard, wearing an old sheet as a superhero cape, he couldn’t help but chuckle.

  “Having fun there, champ?” he called out.

  Ezra paused, catching his breath. “Yeah! I’m testing my super-speed powers.”

  Seth shook his head fondly. “Just remember—imagination’s great, but don’t lose sight of what’s real, okay?”

  Ezra grinned. “I know, Dad. But pretending ain’t so bad, right?”

  Seth ughed, nodding. “No, son. It sure ain’t.”

  And so, with an old phone, a head full of wonder, and a heart ready for adventure, Ezra’s journey into endless possibilities truly began.