Subin Lee / People Watching / Thursday 1-3pm

The little boy seemed to be the most energetic person in the entire campus. Probably around 6, the boy was also the youngest among all. His feet, which were no bigger than my hands, were restlessly jumping from here to there. The pair of sneakers proved that it was the kind of thing that the boy did frequently; his shoes were worn out, muddy with slight shades of blue which probably had been its original color. It surely was the end of the summer ─ the wind was starting to feel chilly. I could feel the goose bumps as the sudden wind pierced through me. However, the cold didn't seem to bother the boy from wearing short pants, which revealed his dark, skinny legs.

 

The tireless boy ran around the place, but never getting out of the sight of 2 women who were sitting on the long bench. They were busy chatting, not giving much attention to the boy. He was now chasing after a pigeon that was too lazy to fly. The boy stomped his feet in attempts to scare it away. Despite such movement, his pointy, black hair was still as a stone; it was too short. The little kid soon lose interest in making the bird fly after a number of failures in doing so. All these exercise had made him full of life. As he stood still, catching his breath, his chest moved up and down along with his inhales and exhales. The little boy's cheek had turned to a lovely rosy color despite his somewhat dark skin.

 

           Feeling my eyes on him, he suddenly looked up. Under his thick eyebrows the boy had big round eyes. Unlike I expected, his eyes were pale brown. It looked lighter under the sun. I could recognize the abashment in his eyes. He seemed taken aback by the fact that his eyes met with a stranger's. I smiled sheepishly, wondering if I had surprised him. The little boy turned his back and strode towards the two women, eventually running. "Mom, Gran, what are you doing!" he called.

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