Kids are evil |
They were
dirt poor, but I never knew just how poor until that morning on the playgrounds
...
Elizabeth
was just one of the kids. We didn't know anything about her and she also didn't
offer any information neither did the grownups knew anything about her and her
family. But children usually don't mind if someone doesn't want to talk about
themselves. So she was accepted for the friendly child she was, always smiling.
She wasn't
in my class, but she was fun on the playground and she was pretty. She had a
round little face, small mouth and clear green eyes that went well with her
flaxen hair.
In front of
the school was a large area of tarmac (perhaps it wasn't so large as I
remember) for cars and other vehicles.
On this particular
day we were kicking a ball around on that piece of tarmac. It was only a tennis
ball, but the fun was the same. We were laughing and running around trying to
kick a goal, which was through two small trees out to an open field beyond.
Riana's
gang and mine were trying very hard to outdo each other. Elizabeth was with Riana
and she was unfortunately for us a very good kicker. They were winning and I
was a bad loser. If we could take out Elizabeth, I figured, then we could still
win but the girl was nimble footed and quick, too quick for any of us to catch.
So we put
pressure on Elizabeth, sure that she would rise to the challenge and make a
mistake or hurt herself. But she was beginning to enjoy the whole competition
thing and was laughing as she kicked the ball through the two trees.
Riana grinned
triumphantly and I was getting hot under the collar.
And then we
managed to corner Elizabeth and she had to get through us ... She kicked as
hard as she could and the next moment her shoe came off and went straight up
into the air. Of course we laughed, but when I looked back at the girl, she was
anything but laughing, she was close to tears.
On her foot
was only half a sock – for all to see. The front part was missing, and I could
see that the other sock was in an even worse state.
The others
were still laughing, but as I turned around to face them, I realized they were
laughing at Elizabeth's half a sock. It was funny, it was very funny to them and
I felt sorry for the girl ... and it wasn't funny anymore to me.
I
hesitated, torn between becoming the laughing stock myself and taking
Elizabeth's side. I heard the others laughing and making remarks, ridiculing
the girl who was already close to tears.
No one
thinks clearly when your own ego is in jeopardy and I could never remember the
reason why
I picked up her shoe and took it to her. I can only remember the
holes in the soles and the cardboard that was placed inside.
I honestly
wished I hadn't seen that. It placed an enormous weight on my nine year old
shoulders. She didn't look at me when I handed her the shoe and all I could
think of to say, was: "I'm sorry."
You know,
having to say "I'm sorry" means that you are at fault, but I wasn't
that day. I apologized for all the
people in the world who mocks the less fortunate. I always told my children years
later that one should never be in a position where you have to say "I'm
sorry", because sorry makes nothing right. You should rather strive not to
find yourself in that position – being sorry puts you on the wrong side, it is
painful and the feeling of the guilt that goes with it, never goes away.
Elizabeth
and her family moved away at the end of that school-year and I never heard of
her again.
But I also never forgot her.
We all go
to one or other school, find friends and enemies, learn what we like and don't
like, but very few learn lessons that would help them in any way through life.
Elizabeth unknowingly taught me to look at people past their outer appearance.
Monsters hide behind beauty and beauty often hides behind the faces of those people
others tend to look down upon.
Elizabeth was
never again part of Riana's gang, neither of mine because after that day she
kept to herself, still hurting from the malicious laughter.
I would
have liked to see Elizabeth again if only to tell her that even if the world
had treated her badly, she had made a difference to at least one person on
earth, and I wish her well.
Take care.