Illusion of Words

Little Kids

I volunteered myself to teach some kids at the children’s home. Wasn’t really my idea, to tell the truth, and I wasn’t that excited about it. Anyway, I was given 2 kids, one boy who is 6, another girl who is 7.

Cute children, despite being very shy in the beginning, their true colours began to show soon after. Let’s just say putting them together is like pitting a cat against a dog in the ring. Sparks fly along with fists. I spent a couple of weeks acting as the ‘referee’, holding one of them back.

You can’t go on like this - it’ll ruin their study time and your precious hour. To make the long story short, I had them separated.

I asked the little boy (who did not speak very good Chinese, and was therefore intelligible most of the time), “What are you going to do when you grow up?” I thought, perhaps I shall find some aspiring doctor or engineer or lawyer in the making, and feel better after all.

The boy never hesitated. Looking ahead and rambling on in his matter-of-fact, sincere voice, he said, “I’m going to go home when I grow up.”

He continued rambling about something to do with that topic, of which I must say I couldn’t quite understand. Was that all he wanted - to go home?

I changed my question slightly, “What do you want to be when you grow up?”

Still oblivious and sincere, he made tooting sounds and told me he wanted to be a bus driver. He told me about brakes (at least something about the feet) and the steering wheel in baby descriptions.

Going home and driving a bus. It’s not contempt - really, forgive me if I’ve given such an impression, but well, I feel sorry for him.

The boy only mentioned his father, so I asked about his mother, knowing the answer, but wanting to see his expression. Very matter-of-fact and normal, as before. He is far too young. To all kids from broken families, to all kids who cannot really go ‘home’, may the good Lord watch over you and keep you, and bless you abundantly…

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