A Pastor's Daughter's Diary

To Be Or Not To Be

Dear Jesus,

'Wings' fluttered... I mean, zoomed in to the church's premises within five minutes. I was waiting for him by the parking lot.

"Hi!" I mouthed as I smiled and waved at John.

He removed his helmet and shook his head. Rewind that and then play in slow motion and you'd have all the girls in church drooling their hearts out.

"Radiance," he just said. He patted the backseat of the Powerbike and wriggled his eyebrows at me. "Come on, let's go."

I laughed and collected the helmet he stretched to me. Hirena left the kids and jogged over to my side.

"Where are you going?" she asked in her accent. I could almost feel curiosity oozing out of her as her eyes scanned me and John over.

"I have to get somewhere real quick– An orphanage. It's urgent. I left a message for my parents already. Tell them not to worry. I'll be back as soon as possible."

She shrugged and said okay.

"Uhm... Hirena meet John Walker. John meet Hirena, my cousin," I said quickly, itching to get this over with and rush down to where duty calls.

Grey irises clashed with green ones.

Come to think of it, I guess I've seen more shades of eye colour than I thought I ever would in my entire lifetime.

Lemme see... *Taps my chiny chin chin*
Kathy has blue eye.
Hirena has green eyes.
John has grey eyes.
All the remaining people I know either have brown eyes or black eyes.
Oh yes, Mrs Carey has icy blue eyes too.

Why am I deviating? I halt my crazy ride down the detour lane of eye colours and make a U-turn back on track.

John and Hirena said their brief and polite hellos. I almost sighed in thanksgiving at its briefness.

Hirena's curious glances my way as I climbed the Powerbike sent me signals that I've got lots of questions to answer once I got home.

I knew Hirena would have loved to tag along but was hampered by the fact that no one would be with Jerry. Not Aunt June. She had a no-no relationship with Jerry. Hirena's just lucky that her Dad is also a huge dog fan like her.

The ride was hitch-free. As for me, I wore a gown, so I had to be extra consciously cautious. This is no time to embarrass myself with flying garment and revealed underwear. Urgh? Eeeww? Don't let me even go there.

We got to the quaint orphanage building.

I got down and hurriedly walked in. John followed closely behind. He couldn't have stayed outside, otherwise he would have been effectively sun-dried. Maybe sundried is overboard. Tanned. Aaahhh... That's much better.

I met with Mrs Martin, the wife of the coordinator in charge, at the lobby.

She's a bit cross-eyed. Notwithstanding, she's pretty in her own way. It was evident that she loves each of those kids, with the way she talked to them in a nice, caring tone.
She recognized me right away and smiled brightly.

Am I that obviously unforgettable? Are my features that comely? I can hear my inner critique snorting and telling me: In your dreams girl, in your dreams.

Some of those kids recognized me and came to greet and hug me. I also saw a few shy new faces huddled in corners, watching the happy reunion and hugging scene unfolding. It was like part two of what I experienced in church.

Disentangling myself from the throng of happy kids, I returned my gaze to Mrs Martin and promptly introduced my accomplice, John, to her. She greeted him warmly.