Why is imaginary tea even more fun than real tea?

Here I am at a lovely apothecary in Lyons, Colorado. I’m drinking magic tea with honey in it. In front of me is tiny tiny tea set.

I pretended to make tiny tea.

The invisible sugar, cream, spoon — how are those more real than the tea I’m drinking?

What’s happening in our brain when we do this? Is the focus of the inner and outer worlds together? Is it just play?

What happens when more than one person imagines something together?