The Hamster Diaries, Day Zero.

The kids sat together to watch YouTube, as they do every afternoon after lunch. The older one is autistic but with love and dedication has somewhat overcome his condition and will be a productive citizen one day; the smaller kid has no cognitive problems detected.

They usually watch videos of toons and of people playing with toys, and sometimes they get to the ineffable anthologies of kittens. Today they found a new channel.

When their mother took them to play outside, both children were talking about hamsters and repeating what they heard on the YouTube channel: "they are a responsibility", "they are good pets", "they are good friends", etc.

Their mother took a moment to talk to me. "You know," she told me, "the kids were watching hamster videos and they're very excited." She doesn't have to say more to understand where she is going. As everyone knows, once the woman makes her mind on an issue, the rest can only nod in resignation.

TO BE CONTINUED