I was just trying to tell their stories from the way they look. You can sometimes tell a person's life story by the way they act and the way they move. There's a reason for everything, you know.
Even the slightest gesture of wrapping their legs around their chair's leg might show the slightest hint of insecurity or fear (which is true for me, by the way.)
It's true that one can never generalize. It's also true that there is more than meets the eye.
But a person's actions can and will tell something about them.
You can't always watch what you do. Even your facades fall apart sometimes. And in these moments, somebody may be watching you...observing how you truly respond. Like I do when i'm bored.
In that dental clinic, I saw probably the saddest story ever...just by looking into the eyes of a little girl who sat there on a corner.
She was just a kid. Younger than most kids I know.
You can usually tell a child's age by the way they speak. If their sentences make sense, they are probably 7 or 8. These are the ages wherein the children seem to understand what they're saying.
When they blabber aimlessly, they're probably younger by a couple of years. And of course you know how an infant speaks, so I won't describe them here.
But this girl...she never spoke.
She was about the same age as the other children in the room, but you can't be certain 'cause she doesn't interact with them in any way.Her younger brother is a baby, and he's being taken cared of by their uniformed nanny. She stared at them, dissatisfied.
She drank juice from a tetra pack and handed it to the nanny when she was asked to give some to her brother. She then took it back after her brother finished a couple of cute, baby sips.
Then she just sat there. Sipping. Not really minding anybody in the clinic. And it wasn't like she had something in her mind to keep her busy. She was just there. Existing, but not entirely.
She faded away as the noise of the other children filled the room. They chatted loudly among themselves and with their parents. They climbed the sofa, they sat on chairs, some of them even entered the dentist's room.
And the little girl was just there. Sitting. Sipping.
I didn't wonder why she was there, who her parents were or why she was like that. I knew the answers. I knew her. She didn't know me, but I did.
She was the daughter of the dentist.
The dentist who's been working inside that room for countless of hours, on patients who have been lined up for the same amount of time.
She was there because she was supposed to be.
She was waiting for her Mom to finish so that she could do things with her.
She was like that because there was no other way to be.
I felt bad for her. Her Mom didn't have much time for her. And obviously her Dad wasn't anywhere near the area that time. And even the nanny ignored her, 'cause she was focused on the baby.
I've been going to the dentist way before her younger brother was born. And even then, she didn't have much of her Mom's attention. Now that she's got a younger brother, what little time and attention given to her is further divided.
Today she looked like she quit trying.
She just sat there, waiting for love to be given to her when the world felt generous enough to give her some.
I wonder how she'd grow. I've seen a story like this before, so I'm not that curious. I won't even say my prediction. I hope things turn out well for her.
But she was just so young. And to see so much loneliness in such young eyes just made me feel bad.
I found myself smiling at her younger brother 'cause he was just so cute and adorable. Plus he smiled every time I did. So smiling at him was fun.
And then I realized: "Nah, this baby has been getting all the attention. What about his sister over there?"I turned to her as she twisted the tetra pack violently. Her eyes were soulless -- emotionless.
She stood up and handed it to the nanny, hoping a twisted tetra pack would fascinate her. Alas, it didn't.
I wonder what else she'll try to get people's attention in the future?
But it's too early to conclude.
I just thought...the saddest story is the one that hasn't begun yet.
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