Thelma noticed that it was already late, but the boy’s parents still hadn’t arrived to pick him up.
Maybe it was because of his big, watery, and bright eyes, but whenever he looked at someone, there was always a sense of expectation in his gaze. This look of expectation carried a hint of pitifulness.
Thelma parked her scooter by the roadside, walked over to the fence, and squatted down. Before she could say anything, the little boy pulled a band-aid out of his bag and said, “Auntie, give me your hand, and I’ll put this on for you.”
Thelma was speechless for a moment.
She glanced at her scraped wrist and then watched as his small, soft hands clumsily tore open the band-aid wrapper. She asked, surprised, “Did you bring this band-aid just to wait for me here?”
He nodded his little head, then squatted down and stretched his chubby hand through the fence, carefully sticking the band-aid on her wrist. His movements were a bit awkward, and the band-aid wasn’t applied very smoothly. He gently pressed on the creases with his small, plump hand, as if trying to smooth them out.
His hands were so soft and warm, and he was so thoughtful. To think he brought a band-aid just to wait for her.
Whose child was this? They must have done such a great job raising him. Thelma hugged her knees, rested her chin on her arms, tilted her head, and smiled at him with the softest and most gentle tone, the kind one uses to coax children. “Your name is Tyler, right?” she asked, recalling the kindergarten teacher calling him that earlier.
For some reason, he seemed stunned by her smile. His dazed expression was so adorable that Thelma had to resist the urge to poke his cheeks. “Auntie is asking you, is your name Tyler?”
He finally snapped out of it, scratched his chubby face with his little paw, nodded his head, and said in a soft, childish voice, “My name is Tyler Sam. Auntie can call me Tyler.”
Tyler Sam? What a nice name.
“I’m Thelma. You can call me Auntie Thelma.”
“Auntie Thelma,” he called sweetly.
His voice was so soft and cute that it melted her heart.
“It’s so late. Haven’t your parents come to pick you up yet?” Thelma asked again.
“Daddy has a meeting.”
“What about your mom?”
His expression dimmed, and he lowered his head, his voice so low it sounded like he was about to cry. “Mommy went to a faraway place.”
Thelma was silent.
She remembered how, when she was ten, her grandfather passed away. She asked her mom where he had gone, and her mom said he had gone to a faraway place.
“A faraway place” was such a bittersweet euphemism to comfort children, though it often made them feel even sadder.
When he said his mom had gone to a faraway place, it probably meant she had passed away.
What a poor little thing. He couldn’t be more than four years old, and he had already lost his mother.
Thelma didn’t want to ask further and make him sadder. She glanced at the snack shop across the street and asked, “Are you hungry? The steamed cakes over there are really good. How about I get one for you?”
He looked up, glanced across the street, and then looked back at her. He didn’t seem to think for long before nodding obediently and saying in his cute, soft voice, “Okay.”
Thelma bought a steamed cake, handed it to him, and he accepted it. Pouting his little lips, he blew on it before taking a small bite.
Was he really this trusting? Even if his mom wasn’t around, didn’t his dad teach him to be cautious of strangers?
“In the future, don’t eat anything given to you by people you don’t know, okay?”
He furrowed his little brows, carefully blew on the cake again, and took another small bite. He nodded vaguely and replied obediently, “Okay.” Then, as if recalling something, he added, “But Auntie is a good person. It’s okay to eat what Auntie gives me.”
Huh?
Why did she suddenly feel worried about this little guy getting tricked in the future? He was so innocent and easy to fool. What if he met a bad person?
“Auntie, you should go home and eat dinner,” Tyler said.
Thelma smiled and replied, “It’s okay. I’ll stay here and wait with you for your dad.”
But the little guy shook his head and said, “I’ll wait by myself. It’s cold here, and girls shouldn’t stay out in the cold wind for too long.”
Wow!!!
Was he really this gentle and considerate? He was practically a little gentleman! How could a 25-year-old woman like her be charmed by a four-year-old boy?
In the end, under the little guy’s insistence, Thelma was “sent away.”
The next afternoon, when Thelma was delivering food to the aviation university, she hadn’t forgotten the adorable little boy from yesterday. Passing by the kindergarten, she glanced at the same spot by the fence and immediately spotted him. He was still standing there, big eyes watching her. When he saw her looking his way, he gave her a bright, toothy grin.
His rosy lips, pearly white teeth, and snow-like complexion directly hit Thelma’s heart. She stopped her scooter and said, “Auntie has to deliver food first. I’ll come back to play with you after.”
He nodded enthusiastically, his big eyes sparkling.
