Silly Lil Girl

On a night before my 5^th birthday, I told my dad that I wanted to be 5 forever. I didn’t want to grow up. The reason was simply because I wanted to be classified as an under five child, a specific group. I cannot access free services at posyandu (integrated health care post) anymore. Worse, if I die, I wouldn’t be special and counted as an underfive mortality case. I told papa, that I wouldn’t be special anymore. I was so sad.

My papa did not laugh at me. He listened to me carefully. He asked me,”Don’t you want to go to your sister’s school? You can enter that school next year, when you are 6.” I didn’t say anything. Papa knew how much I wanted to go to a real school like my sister (I didn’t consider kindergarten as a real school). Papa looked at me, and he said again,”Lil one, there will lots more you can do when you grow up. You can go to many places by yourself. Sure you will always be special.”

On a day after, on my 5^th birthday, I got birthday gifts from papa. I got sweets and a pair of yellow sandals. Until now, that pair of sandals is my most favourite pair of sandals (I have 30 something pair of shoes and sandals at this moment). Somehow those sandals remind me about my dad’s love and to be positive about the future.