February 12, 2016

OLD BOY



I was standing outside of the community center near Chinatown earlier today, with some minutes to kill before my volunteer tutoring session began with a student. An old Chinese man, possibly in his 80's, walked towards me in hurried steps while glancing over his shoulder several times. There were a large group of school children emerging the same way he had come.

He suddenly darted, as well as an eighty year old man could dart, behind the utility pole a few feet away from where I stood, and grinned at me from under his hood. Pointing to the buzzing group of school children approaching us, he said to me, giddily, "my granddaughter. Surprise her."

Attempting to hide behind the pole until he spotted his granddaughter, he then revealed himself like a magic trick, beaming down at her with his grin as she recognized him in surprise. As she disappeared into the community center along with the other children, he waved, and then continued his slow, solitary walk down the cold, empty street.


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