sunday afternoon on an orange slide with a ten-year-old girl
I was lying down with arms behind my head, staring at the blue sky speckled with white clouds. The little girl played with a white flower and told me stories about school.
The gazebo was far from the playground and I could hear adults laughing and toasting their wine glasses. I’d much rather be on the slide, I thought.
The little girl and I played twenty questions. I learned her favorite color was pink and she wanted to grow no more than 5 feet tall. I was tall in her eyes; I didn’t tell her someday she would be much taller than me and when that happens, good for her! She learned my shoe size was 6 1/2 and that we can swap clothes. If she were a flower, she’d be a gerbera. She laughed when I didn’t know what the kidney’s filtering system was. We giggled when I tried making faces that reminded her of Spongebob.
“It’s time to go home now.”
Both of us looked up, then she turned her face to me. “Bye-bye, Ate Toni.” I got up from the slide, walked with her across the playground and went straight to the car. I looked back at the orange slide and the flowers thrown by the wind across the grass. If only I were a kid again, if only I could beg to stay some more, if only I could throw a tantrum and just stay for one more minute, five more, ten more. That’s not how it is with the grown-up life, is it? There was laundry to claim and floors to clean.
I waved goodbye as the car lurched forward. She waved back. I watched her wave until she became a silhouette against the glow of the afternoon sun, until she blended in with the flowers and the rocks and the green, green grass, until the orange slide faded into the background of trees and pillars, until all I could see was the dirt grey road.
August 15th, 2005 at 11:49 pm
This is a nice read Toni.
August 16th, 2005 at 7:46 am
Toni parang kailangan mo na ang sarili mong chikiting, biro lang, isipin mo pag lumabas sa iyo na di pwedeng bye bye.palagi kong binabasa ang blog mo pero ngayon lang ako nag post, ok ba?
August 16th, 2005 at 9:15 am
dexie: Thanks dear.
Rey: Salamat naman sa pagdaan at sa pagcomment! Oo nga ‘no, kung sarili kong anak di na pwedeng magbye-bye. Di ko naisip yun hehe.
August 16th, 2005 at 9:31 am
Lovely post, Toni!
August 16th, 2005 at 12:16 pm
this is such a sweet post…awwww
August 16th, 2005 at 1:44 pm
linnor: thanks marikit sis!
cg: hehe i get sentimental over my 10-year-old cousin.
August 16th, 2005 at 4:34 pm
Indeed a very moving and sweet story !
Nice short story. You have talent !
August 16th, 2005 at 8:23 pm
sidney: Ah, that’s true to life.
Thanks for the nice words Sidney!
August 16th, 2005 at 9:46 pm
so is this one of the products of your writing/poetry lessons? good.
August 16th, 2005 at 10:08 pm
nice post toni. sweetly narrated. hay, brings back happy childhood memories.
August 16th, 2005 at 11:06 pm
paul: I’m a bad student. I didn’t apply the techniques I learned to this piece hahahaha!
Nah, it’s not one of my exercises/homework… just wrote about last Sunday’s epiphany. Sometimes I wish I were stuck in Neverland you know.
pao: thanks dear!
August 16th, 2005 at 11:50 pm
i don’t care if you didn’t apply any techniques, ate toni! this one is so poignant!
August 17th, 2005 at 12:08 am
Hi Toni. parang nasa movie ang scenario nyo. Well narrated ika nga.
Parang I was reading a short story.
Hope makabalik ka sa place na un to spend more time with your 10-year old cousin
August 17th, 2005 at 2:38 am
very, very nice entry…:) made me feel nostalgic.
thanks again for having me (us) there. sana pala kiniss ko ‘yung frog, baka siya na prinsipe ko!:)
August 17th, 2005 at 10:44 am
meeyagirl : Haha salamat sister!
jeanny : Oo nga sobra ko na siyang namimiss eh.
diane: Thanks for the compliment and on the frog naman… Kiss? Ew!
Malay mo pagbalik niyo dun, naghihintay siya sa ‘yo. One for you and one for Bok!
August 17th, 2005 at 12:16 pm
I thought it was your product of imagination. i wish you’ll have your own na rin. I can assure you that there would be happier days than that..
August 17th, 2005 at 1:26 pm
Beautiful.
August 17th, 2005 at 2:44 pm
ting: Aww ting thanks.
yasmin: Thanks sweetie.
August 18th, 2005 at 8:28 am
Very nice, Toni!
August 18th, 2005 at 7:23 pm
tin: Thanks sis!
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