Monday, June 19, 2006

A LITTLE GIRL NAMED MEGAN

Megan Eloise Chua, 10 years old. Her Chinese name, Chai Mei Yen is simply a translation of her English name in Mandarin, which in Fookien is pronounced as Bee Gan, meaning beautiful cheek/face. Indeed, Megan does have a pretty face. Not only that, couple that with her slim 5’3” physique plus that innocent charming sweet smile, it is no wonder that Megan is into modeling at such a young tender age. So far, she had already modeled for a shampoo and a detergent commercial with both harping on a family theme. Not bad for a 10 year old, for she is already earning money while most people at her age haven’t even had a clue as to how. At any rate, she is not just a pretty face or worse, a pretty bimbo. She displayed keen intelligence with sharp perception rare in her young age. It is too bad that most people who knew her predicted and even wanted her to be a successful ramp model someday but I find that to be a waste of her talent and abilities for she possesses mental qualities that would make her a great lawyer or doctor someday. In fact, she showed a huge interest in biology, able to name the world’s smallest creatures and their place of origins, short of telling me the scientific names of those animals (I doubted if she knew those scientific names at all). Perhaps, she could become a great doctor someday and humanity would be so lucky to have somebody like her. But that’s not all. Megan also played the piano and showed interest in classical music, specifically, Chopin’s music. She studies ballet, plays soccer, and practices golf. She would be an incredible lady when she grows up. However, I remember Megan not only for her pretty face and her intelligence but most importantly, the time we spent together during our vacation trip to China. I remember her to be that cute, innocent sweet young girl who constantly beat me in charade games. How could I forget her “impatience”, when it took me too long to guess the answers? When she got impatient waiting for our guesses, she would pretend to be sleeping, resting on her shoulders, snoring out loud but not after exclaiming that it takes me centuries to make a guess. Hahahaha. Or how could I forget the time when we’re climbing the Great Wall together, somewhere in the middle of the climb, she repeatedly asked the question (just like in the movie, Shrek), “Are we there yet? Are we there yet? Are we there yet?” She was so cute when she did that that I forgot about my tiredness and was energized to keep on moving just to get “there” and say to her, “yes, we’re here!” Oh! She makes our climb so much easier. Or how could I forget her ecstatic looks when we saw the pandas? She hovers around looking at those furry creatures like a butterfly over a rose. I remember telling her a joke right then and there and she laughed heartily at it. Or how could I forget how she looks when she was singing a song to entertain the tour group while we were traveling to our next destination? I had to get up twice from my seat to “wipe” the beads of sweat (if there were any at all since the weather was cold) from her forehead with my handkerchief. Hahahahaha. Ah, memories, so hard to forget, produces that longing….. I surely missed her even though we had a reunion sometime a month ago at Tagaytay Highlands. It is as if I wanted her to be with me all the time so that I could watch her grow, watch her blossom, and be proud of her. She was like a daughter to me. Strange, for how human bonds develop in so short a time. From perfect strangers, to somebody I wished I had…… I envied her parents, for they have a perfect daughter. Some guys do have all the luck, indeed. If I had a kid someday, I wanted him to be a boy but if by chance, I had a girl or a daughter, I wanted her to be just like Megan.

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