Friendship

I was wrong. Before Euterpe could finish with the second line of her homework, her name was called - and so was Macy. The two of them marched into a gigantic treatment hall, each heading for a different cubicle.

********************
It must be 10 or 15 minutes later when the nurse called me to see the dentist – a charming young girl, who explained that there were two carries in Euterpe’s teeth; some fix up and cleansing were necessary.

I continued to wait. (To be honest, I was rather impressed by the efficiency of their clinic – and it was free!) Macy did not come out either. She must be needing some kind of treatment also. Her mother was sitting quietly at a corner.

Another half an hour passed. At last, the two girls came out almost at the same time. I found Euterpe’s eyes were slightly red and watery – and so was Macy’s.

“Oh, does it hurt?” I asked my princess.

“Not quite. Just a bit sore,” she shrugged her shoulders, and then turned to her classmate, “Let’s go home together.”

We took a minibus to Causeway Bay for the underground. All through the journey the two girls was a single existence, engaged in an endless little talk – and the red watery eyes turned into bright and beaming ones. When they waved goodbye at North Point, my princess had certainly forgotten any discomfort she had on the dentist’s chair. To her, it was an enjoyable afternoon.

This is what true friendship is all about.