Friday, November 25, 2005

Wed or Web

Laid in front of them was a grammar book. White was teaching the difference between nouns and verbs to Little One. The next line read "wed" and "wedding".

"Do you know what 'wed' means?"

Little One began serenading the tune of Spiderman. White giggled.

"It's not web. It's wed, with a 'd'. It means to marry. It's like saying in your case, you may want to marry Sheena and then hold a wedding."
Little One paused.

"We are no longer together."
"Why?"
"Another gal told Sheena not to be with me. Well, this other gal really likes me."

This tete-a-tete sounded farcical to White and at the back of her mind, she couldn't believe that kids as young as Little One indulged in affairs of the heart. In the tender age of White, life was not that complicated. It's all about the books, school, play and friends. It seemed ludicrous that kids delved in such whims and fancies. But in any case, Little One was disturbed with his loss.

"I'm going to cry."
" You gotta be kidding me. This is so minor."

Little One looked away as tears rolled down his cheeks. He wrapped his hands, covering his face to hide from the embarassment.
"I'm sorry. You are a nice boy. I'm sure she will talk to you again." White hoped that her comforting words would salvage the tense, awkward situation.

In front of White stood a boy whose feelings were pure and sincere. The notion of romanticism was genuine, stripped away from the usual practicalities that most relationships face: financial woes, expectations mismatch, enticement from the opposite sex, work and family pressures.

Reflecting, White's problems seemed insignificant.

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