Wednesday, March 29, 2006

The boy at the cafeteria

I used to see this kid in the food court almost everyday.
He was about 10~12Yrs old. He was responsible for cleaning up the table after we complete our lunch. Everyday he used to stand there waiting for us to leave the table.
His face always evoked a feeling of guilt in me.
Here I am doing some junk work wearing sparkling clean clothes, using latest gadgets and eating some overpriced "Chinese" food which would surprise even the Chinese.
There is that guy standing there wearing a soiled shorts and shirt, without having his lunch waiting for me to complete. I once asked my friend about this boy, His answer was "If you ask him any thing, he will say that he is 18yrs old". I wanted to ask him about his family and education, but somehow never did that. I blamed it on the fact that I did not know his language,was that the real reason?? Was I part of the list "assholes" who just watch and pity without doing anything?? I don't know.

I don't see him nowadays. He might have found some other job with a better pay. Still, there are some questions in my mind left unanswered
Does he goes to school??
Is he the only source of income to his family??
Does he have a younger sister who might be waiting for him to come back home everyday so that she can play with him??
Does he have a mother to look after him??
I don't know.. But still
I should have....I could have.....