It was a hot day in Houston, Texas. The sun was beating down on the small Latino boy and his babysitter.
5-year-old Leo Valdez sat at a picnic table with his babysitter, Tia Callida. Tia had brought some paper and a packet of crayons, waiting to see what the creative child would produce.
With the tip of his tongue sticking out of his mouth in concentration, little Leo drew whatever popped up into his head. An elephant, a flower, a fish, and, of course, his mother. The most important person in the world to him. And no matter what he drew, he always used the red crayon, his favourite colour.
In the midst of a minor mental blank, the 5-year-old suddenly remembered his dream from last night. He had dreamed about a ship, a war ship, it seemed. It vaguely reminded him of a picture of a Greek trireme his mother had shown him in a book.
But the most fascinating part of the ship was not the size, the design or even the workmanship. No, it was the figurehead at the front. A beautiful dragon.
Not knowing what else to do with this intriguing memory, Leo decided to combine his dream and his crayon to create a masterpiece.
That was all he had, right?
A crayon and a dream.