The Little Boy with the Champak Flowers

 

Amidst the heavy traffic in Bangkok, I decided to head back to my hotel in a tuk-tuk. At a large intersection under the freeway, the tuk-tuk stopped as the light turned yellow and red. The driver shut off his engine and just stayed still. While I was staring out into the Bangkok traffic, a little boy came up beside the tuk-tuk. He looked like he was about seven or so and he was selling champak flowers in little bags. I was surprised because one, he was in the middle of a large road just walking around, and two, it was 9 PM at night. I bought a bag of flowers for 20 baht from him. 

I kept thinking about the little boy that night as I lay on my bed and the fragrance of the champak flowers filled my room. I thought of the contradiction between the hip “hi-so” Thais walking around with their large shopping bags and looking very much like they came out of some soap opera and the little boy, the little boy who was selling champak flowers in the middle of the road at night. Such a dichotomy should not have shocked me for I know if its existence, but after being exposed to the high life in Bangkok due to my family's visit, it was startling. 

The sight of the little boy was even more profound because I am a teacher. He looked like he could have come straight out of my Matayom 1 class. He should be at home watching cartoons, reading a book, or doing homework, not selling flowers in the middle of the road. He should be enjoying his life, because he won’t be young for long. I worry where he will go or who he will become when he grows up, just as I worry for some of my students in the lower level classes at school. I’m not sure if I’ll ever see the little boy again. I couldn’t do anything for him really, and the 20 baht will just be like air. All I could do was to say, “Chok dii na,” as he thanked me and went on his way. I hope that I can help my own students within one year to guide them toward a good future.