« Previous post

Next post »

#     Daddy what’s your name today?
Saturday, June 2nd, 2007

“Daddy what’s your name today?”

I tried to avoid eye contact and pretended to be playing with the five stones that I had found on the streets earlier.

“My name?”

“Yes.”

They were ordinary stones. Gray, brown and black. All of them about the same size. Together they were quite a hand full.

“What kind of question is that?” he tried to sound surprised.

“Because I want to know what name to call you.”

I noticed that one of the stones had little red spots on it, like freckles on dark skin.

“Well, you can call me dad.”

“Okay, but what do your friends call you then?”

I threw my little freckled stone in the air and tried to wipe the remaining four off of the ground before Freckles would land in my hand. But I was too slow. Freckles came down on my palm like a little cluster bomb and the five of them went flying in all directions.

“My friends call me brother or just friend. One of them even calls me Ducky. Hahaha!”

“I don’t believe you. You surely must have a name. Last week I heard the driver call you Y. Before that, your name was M for a while. So what’s your name today dad?”

I frowned as I started crawling around the room on my hands and knees, in search of my stones. I found the four boring ones, but Freckles was nowhere in sight. Suddenly I decided that I really didn’t want to know his name anymore. I got up on my eight year old feet and waltzed towards another room.

“Wait! Come here…” his voice was perky.

I stopped, turned and looked at him, at once genuinely curious again.

“You were looking for this?” in the palm of his hand lay my Freckles.

“Thanks daddy with the secret names!” I jumped up and clinched to his neck, wrapping my legs around his waist.

“Oho! you’re daddy’s sweet little kitten!” he exclaimed and we laughed the mystery away.

Today I wonder how I would explain to an eight year old girl the thing with secret identities and switching names when you’re active in a millitant opposition group.

--------------------------------------------------------------------------

Comments are closed.