Sweet Appetit

He sat quietly at a corner, reclining to himself. His performance did not place him in a better room; neither did him any desire to prove himself better than the others. Those desires ate away. But, he had questions, questions that were hidden within him. There were questions revolving around his minds, but he never questioned them. He let them rumbled and tumbled; he knew they would pick up answers along the way.

"Are you a Christian?" he asked with a big grin, too eager to know. And that was the question that roused interests about them all, one simple marked question. It unveiled the eyes to see, but for him, he disappeared instantly. His figure was mysteriously gone from sight, in the fields, and even from the hallways.

He was only a story from a tale with this cheeky, little gentleman who just greeted playfully. One was solemn, the other was mischievous, but those weren't exactly the vocabulary supposedly used. They had been rowing the same boat all the while.

It was in the last days, he made his reappearance. He didn't do anything extraordinary. It was just one simple act... sweets. Not giving, but asking. Whether his intention was real or purely innocent, it impacted adults with this advice: keep your words. Kids remembered them.

Since, he could often be seen from afar, sometime peeking from where he was. He would wave a Hi and went on with his daily routine. But then, he would wave again. He anticipated in a smile or a response of any kind. Almost always mistaken a 'go away' with a 'come here' annoyingly, but managed to put up a cheer. Yet, all about him were a mystery.

His friends were boys who asked questions. Friends questioned about their interests, idols and songs, almost swallowed by the material world. He had questions too, but nothing that had been asked was his. He didn’t shout nor blow his trumpet to seek the attention, he just earned it right there.

Just right at that very moment, they told me his story. He reclined quietly, and managed a smile. In him was a boy tough as old boots.

Living a Rich Life

Going home with big wheels, we never thought we would own 'such' big car with a personal driver. Our very own personal driver for each different day. Not to forget his tips and those smiles that wore a thousand words to our short-term relatives. We learnt to treasure those short moments together. Though at most times, everyone else was just too tired to share, those quiet hours were instantly pumped with encouraging spirits of each others' presence.

We learnt to cope impunctuality with patience (lots of patience) and understanding. The traffics could have sandwiched him in. Traffics could be unpredictably heavy. He usually came right in time when we least expected. Sometimes it just drove us crazy when 30 minutes became an hour. But that was just what time did to people; it changed them. It was then we started to count our blessings rather than the time.

We also learnt to walk ourselves to the door. He never dropped us straight on the spot. Daddy said the garden was too beautiful to be viewed from the mirror. He suggested a walk. He knew from the beginning we would have complained more than we would enjoy the sight. So, he made us company. So we had, she and I alone, bathing under the hot sun most of the afternoons. It didn't stop our complains. But, we positively appreciated each others' company just as much being tanned by the sun.

Home was the place we wanted to be by the end of all our everydays... ;) And that's exactly the place where we would be, every night, sweet and sound.

She Smiles

"One cheeseburger with an egg, please..." The endless orders were tormenting her. Even worse, the awful concoction from the smells of beefs, eggs and tomatoes seasoned with sweaty armpits nearly choke her to death. Her soles were killing her. But, she endured; she put up with the routine.

"Give me a Big Mac!" "Extra fries, please." "Two chicken burgers and one beef burger." "Don't want the tomatoes, thank you." She worked and worked to get more glucose burnt to pump in more energy for her muscles.

All of a sudden, numbness overwhelmed her. Time rolled on slow as a tear stream down from the corner of her eye... She missed home.

"Excuse me, Miss," a voice knocked her back. "Could you please make it fast 'cos I've got a kid out there waiting for me?!"

* * *

"The shop is having a good business," she called with good o' jolly voices. She talked about the food. She talked about the prices. She talked about her housemates. She talked about the bus... She never complained.

Finally, she hung up the phone. Tears had already welled up to a pool in her eyes.

I See Love in the Church

While He was attending a train of people, She walked over and smiled. Carefully, She passed Him a biscuit while politely greeting his friends. He took a bite, and touched a man's crippled hand. "It's stiff," He said. Then, he broke his biscuits in halves, and gave it to the man.

They looked at their halves and laughed, and off they chewed to their very last bits.