| I can never look at lollipops the same….. One day while I was in the younger children’s house, I was sitting in the living room with only 3 children. (This was unusual because there are probably 2 dozen children that live in this specific house, so there is rarely a quiet moment.) One of them was a 5 year old that was new to the orphanage. He remembered me from the Dental Clinic. I called him my lil protector because he always made sure the other children would not try to steal my crutches. The second kid was a 2 year old boy that took a bit of time to warm up to me, but when he finally did, he plopped himself down on my lap. The third kid was a 2 year old girl that was trying to talk to me with the limited vocabulary she had. I was hanging out with the 3 kids when all of a sudden; a swarm of excited kids ran into the living room. They started yelling,” SWEETIES!!!” 
They could not contain their joy and excitement as they showed me their lollipops. Something so small and simple like dum-dum pops and heart shaped suckers made their day. I quickly told the 3 kids that were sitting with me to go get a lollipop. The room was now lively and very loud. All of a sudden, the little 2 year old girl runs into the living room, screaming and crying at the top of her lungs. The only words I could make out were that she wanted a sweetie. And then I see the 2 year old boy come in with a pouty lower lip and the look of disappointment. I went to find the housemother so I could get the 3 children a lollipop. The housemother said someone had dropped off the lollipops and she had already left. There were no more lollipops in the house. My heart sank.When I walked back into the living room, my eyes started to tear up as I watched those three kids watch the rest of the children eat their lollipops. The two year old girl continued to cry. For 30 minutes, she cried, tugged at my shirt, and digging through my pants pocket to find candy. The two year old boy picked up a wrapper that was on the floor and held it tight in his hands. I felt so helpless. I had no candy and had no access to candy. Something worth a few cents I could not provide. I also felt so responsible for the situation. I held the two boys in my arms while the rest of children were parading their lollipops around. A kid stuck their lollipop stick in front of my face after he had finished. The 5 year old boy grabbed the tip of the stick with his thumb and index finger. When he let go, he started to smell his fingers. He then picked up a plastic ping pong paddle. He turned the paddle downwards and started sucking on the tip of the handle. To this day, every time I remember that moment, I cry. It was so heartbreaking. When I was able to compose myself, I told the 5 year old boy that I would get him a sweetie tomorrow. I gave him my word. He looked at me with his sad eyes and nodded his head. The next morning, I found the lady that had given the children the lollipops. I told her about what happened and she let me grab some lollipops from her stash. When I dug through the stash, there were a lot of small dum-dum pops… and exactly 3 big heart-shaped lollipops left. Perfect! Later on in the afternoon, I’ll drop off the lollipops and fulfill my promise to them. By the mid-morning, I got very ill and was stuck in bed most of the day. I prayed that I would be able to get out of bed. Every time I thought about those sad eyes, my body felt uneasy. By the late afternoon, after feeling crappy for most of day, I woke up from a long nap and felt 100%. I popped out of bed and was very excited. I had 3 lollipops to deliver. I prepared myself to venture down to the children’s house. Every time I visit the children’s house, I have to go down 57 steps and then back up. If it wasn’t a bit of trek, I would have gone sooner. To give this sad story a happy ending…. the 3 children got their sweeties. The 2 year old girl screamed with delight. The 2 year old boy started sucking on the lollipop with the wrapper still on. Since the 5 year old boy was a little older, I was able to have some dialogue with him. I told him since he was such a good boy and was patient, he gets a lollipop. He smiled and leaned his head into the side of my cheek. 
I know that I am very spoiled and ungrateful. I also take things for granted. My time with those 3 children helped me realize how wonderful my life is. I grew up in loving home, have more food that I can ever eat, had a great education, and I’m surrounded by life long friends. But there is one thing those 3 children have that I don’t. That is the ability to find tremendous joy in the simple things in life…. like a lollipop. |
And in tomorrow's episode, they're going to kill off the good looking guy. 
