A slap across the face.
On the way to pick up the kids from school today, we approached a black SUV stopped by the side of the road. As I watched the driver step out, I assumed there'd been an accident—a minor fender-bender—and the drivers were stepping out to exchange insurance information. Then I noticed a bicycle lying in a ditch alongside the road.
Don't be alarmed, dear readers, it's not as bad as all that... The rider of the bicycle—a boy of about 12 years old—was alive and well. I watched the scene as we passed, trying to determine how badly the bicycle had been damaged when ... wham! The driver of the car slapped the boy hard across the face.
I gasped. "He hit him!"
"The boy scraped the car with the bicycle," Ade (our driver) stated matter-of-factly, implying perhaps the boy had done it intentionally? Some scam perhaps? Or deserved it?
"Ah" was the only reply I could muster. I turned as we left the scene and watched as the boy prostrated himself at he feet of the man, stood and fell to the ground prostrate a second time, begging for something... money? forgiveness? I have no idea. And after being in country for a grand total of eight whole weeks since Christmas break, I already find myself needing a break. I am too mentally fatigued to try and figure these things out.
I may never understand this place.
Don't be alarmed, dear readers, it's not as bad as all that... The rider of the bicycle—a boy of about 12 years old—was alive and well. I watched the scene as we passed, trying to determine how badly the bicycle had been damaged when ... wham! The driver of the car slapped the boy hard across the face.
I gasped. "He hit him!"
"The boy scraped the car with the bicycle," Ade (our driver) stated matter-of-factly, implying perhaps the boy had done it intentionally? Some scam perhaps? Or deserved it?
"Ah" was the only reply I could muster. I turned as we left the scene and watched as the boy prostrated himself at he feet of the man, stood and fell to the ground prostrate a second time, begging for something... money? forgiveness? I have no idea. And after being in country for a grand total of eight whole weeks since Christmas break, I already find myself needing a break. I am too mentally fatigued to try and figure these things out.
I may never understand this place.
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