Last year, Silja and Phil Torres were watching their daughter Atlis play in their Washington backyard when they noticed her babbling. There was no one around so, at first, it seemed like she was talking to herself.
“I was standing in our doorway and I just
hear this conversation happening,” Phil said in a video for The Dodo. “And I just see her out there looking down at something.”
As Atlis’ parents got closer, they realized she wasn’t talking to herself, nor was she talking to any kind of toy or doll. She was talking to a little slug who was sitting on a mushroom.
“She was just so entranced with this slug in this dream world where she’s kind of a forest fairy and gets to talk to these things,” Phil said.
Phil and Silja were amazed by how expansive their daughter’s imagination was. She and the slug were completely in their own little world together.
“This is a boat for you if you wanna go in it,” Atlis said to the slug. “Row, row, row your boat.”
The conversation Atlis was having with the slug didn’t seem one-sided at all. In fact, Silja was half-convinced that the slug could actually understand what she was saying.
“It was like Dr. Dolittle vibes,” Silja said in a video for The Dodo.
While the couple was delighted to see their daughter talking to a slug, they weren’t entirely surprised. Ever since she was a toddler, she’s had a very close relationship with animals, including species many people might overlook.
“She just kind of has a magical way in nature,” Phil said. “She’s always talking to animals, and that’s something we’ve taught her since she was young.”
Phil and Silja moved from New York City to Washington a few years ago with the specific purpose of helping their kids connect with nature. As the whole family has spent time in their backyard, getting to know their local animals, they’ve also reconnected with their childhood selves.
“I’m a biologist, and so I was one of those kids who was obsessed with caterpillars and slugs and snakes,” Phil said.
The couple has enjoyed sharing stories about Atlis’ animal adventures with their audience on social media. Their videos remind us all that sometimes, all you need to connect with childlike wonder is a quick conversation with a slug.
“They’re reminded that there is that magic out there in nature,” Phil said. “As an adult, sometimes we’re a little bit too busy for that. When you’re a kid, you’re engaging with it all the time.”
