Silly Boy

It is not new to see a child, or the driver's family, in the front seat of jeeps, especially if that child is the driver's. So when I rode a jeep earlier today on my way back to my dorm, a little boy next to his driving father was no surprise anymore. I would have loved to protest against this for the sake of the child's safety.

But safety issues are not my agenda here. I am here to tell you about the little boy who rode the jeep as his  father worked.

Naughty, naughty.

You see, I sat nearest the front seat, as the picture above can tell you. It all started with the girl sitting in front of me reached the driver to pay her fare. But it wasn't the driver who received her money. The little boy did. And the girl in front of me just smiled. I also smiled at how funny the boy was. Maybe of too much cuteness? Then, he gave the money to his mother. (I assumed that she was her mother as she was the one holding on to him.)  He smiled a proud smile.

After a while, I also tried to give my fare to the kid, but he was doing something with himself so his mother received it. After depositing the money to a case, his mother told him jokingly how he was not doing his job as a fare collector. And how he should behave to avoid distracting his father while driving. And how he missed to receive my fare. Noticing that he did not get my payment, he abruptly turned towards me and said with a rather loud voice "Hingi! [Give me!]". He was asking me money because he was not the who got it from me! Silly boy! His mother told him that that was rude and the he should be quiet. And so he was, for a while.

Passengers came and went and the little boy kept on collecting the fares and handing back change. He also kept touching the girl in front of me, who, by the way, was wearing pretty short shorts. I guess he loved touching skins. Err... moving on. He also kept on shouting hingi again and again. And he kept his eyes on me. Maybe because I was always smiling at him when he does something. Or maybe because of my failed attempts to suppress my giggles. I don't know. He kept on looking at me with his mischievous smile.

There was even this one time that he started giving me the money he collected from a passenger. I kept shaking my head no rather violently but he still kept reaching for me. His mother stopped him from actually letting go of the money.

But as all rides go, I have to get off the jeep sooner or later. As we reached my destination, I waved to him farewell and his mother told him to say bye-bye. He smiled and waved at me. I took off. It's not everyday that I get to meet children who are not so shy with strangers and who are quite entertaining in times of dead air. (Yes, I am an unfortunate person who gets stuck in the jeep surrounded by dead air.)

Now, I wish that someday I get to see him. And on that day, I hope he can still remember me.