I don’t have a ball. So, I throw an idea to Reed instead.

Me: Someone once told me that time is a flat circle.

Yep. I just saw the season finale of True Detective and was channeling my inner True Dad.

Reed (Not looking up): I know.

I am a bit surprised Reed knows, but why not?

Me (Emphasizing every word): So. You. Know. That. Time. Is. A. Flat. Circle?

Reed: Yeah.

Me: Alright. Why is it a flat circle?

Reed: Because it’s a clock.

I laugh because there can be no other answer once you hear an answer so obvious. And I laugh because I feel a bit of relief that Reed doesn’t have some mysterious understanding of time-space.

Me: That is true — A clock is flat and does tell time. But, this person is saying something else. This person is saying, maybe, just maybe, time is a circle. And…

What you did…
Has been done before and… *I draw a circle with my index finger.*
What you are going to do… *I retrace the circle.*
Has been done before.

Reed (Looks up): Because a circle has a loop.

Me: That’s right. A circle _is_ a loop. So, where something begins and when it ends is hard to figure out after awhile. *I draw a few more circles with my index finger.*

I pause. No questions. No sounds of a Rubik’s cube.

Me: But. Some people think time is a straight line…

Moving forward. *I draw a horizontal line in the air.*
The future is unknown. *I continue the line sloping up and then down.*
What you will do… *I pause drawing the line.*
Won’t happen until you do it. *I continue drawing the line and then stop with a flick of my finger.*

Me: So, do you think time is a circle or… is time a line?

Reed: I don’t know. I have to think about it.

Reed is drawing lines with his finger and following them with his eyes as if he doesn’t know where the lines are going.

Me: Okay.

I wait. Seconds pass. I can’t wait.

Me: So, a circle or a line?

Reed: I’m still thinking, Ba.

A few more seconds pass.

Me: So, what do you think?

Reed: I thiiiinnnnkkkk… I think, I think time is a circle. Yes, time is a circle.

Me: Why?

Reed (Slowly): Because… I want to go back in time.

I have nothing to teach so I ask a question.

Me: Even if you do the same thing every time?

Reed (Confident.): Yes!

Me: Every. Time.

Reed (Doubtful.): Yes.

Me: The. Same. Thing… Every. Time.

Reed (Confident, again.): Yes.

Me: Okay.

Reed: Do _you_ think time is a circle?

Me: Uhhhh… Well, I hope time is a line because… I don’t like to repeat things. Well, not repeat things too many times. But, then again, I _do_ like the idea of going back in time.

Reed is staring.

Reed: You can bend the line and make a loop so you can go back in time, too.

Awesome.

But I already knew that because I already wrote this.