1 Stitches and Candy

"Channie ah, are you done?" her mother called from downstairs and she come running at the call from her room.

"Are we going yet?" she ask, smiling big at the thought of going grocery shopping with her mother. It's a big wide town where she lives and she loves playing outside and running around the playground. But only when her mama let her go outside to play with her friends. Yeah, she has lots and lots of friends to play with in the playground and she loves it.

They were walking down the street towards the store when her mother ask her a question.

"What are you thinking?" her mother smiles down at her with a big lovely smile, so big it makes her smile more.

"I'm thinking that I love playing outside!" she replies, arms gesturing wide because there are big trees on the side and the street is also big.

Just then a man walk pass them, spitting down on the street below.

"Ma, spitting on the street is a bad manner right?" she ask, her doe eyes glancing at the man than looking up to her mother in question. She don't like that man who spit on the ground an making it dirty.

"Yes, spitting on the ground carelessly is a bad manner." her mother says, "What if someone falls, they will be dirty with all the yucky things on the ground."

Channie gasp, eyes wide at the new information.

"But I fall on the ground when I play with my friends!" she exclaimed, stunned at the prospect of getting yucky things on herself.

"That is why I don't let you play outside on the ground after your bath and you have to wash your feet and hands when you come home." her mother says, which has the child nodding her little head along.

"I always wash my hands when I come home!" she states proudly, smiling at her mother.

"You do!" her mother coos, "Like a good girl you are." her mother pats her head, chuckling at her wiggling happy dance at the praise.

Channie gets like that, she will smile with bouncy feet and wiggling shoulder while she's happy at something.

At the store there were many people and she don't like strangers so she hold on her mother's shirt and follows her through the place while looking at all the things inside the shop. She wanted to ask her mama to buy her some snacks but she know that her mama don't like to buy her as much as she wants, eating snacks are not good for health and her mama always scolds her about eating too much of it. So, she only ask for a packet of peanut because they are healthy and yummy to eat, and also a small packet of chips and two small candy.

"Ma, open this for me." she hold out one candy for her mama to open it for her. "Thank you." she says, receiving the candy and smiles as she watch her mama throwing the candy warper into the big dustbin on the side of the street.

She was happy with the mango flavoured candy as she skips the street with her mother by her side.

Someone called her mother and they stopped to talk to the big dark skin ahjushi near a shop. His skin was darker than her while she's brown, like the sand on the beach!

"Channie ah, this is your uncle Jeongmin." her mama introduce the man and she watch as the man crouches down to her size and hold out his hand. It was a candy! but different from what she had eaten so far.

"Take it." Uncle Jeongmin said, smiling big at her and she hesitantly took the candy from the open palm.

"Now give me a kiss and I'll let you eat it."

Channie stares at the man and glance back up at her mama who smiled at her but said nothing. She likes candy, they are sweet and good. But she don't want to kiss her strange uncle.

"You can take it back." she says and give the candy back to the strange uncle. She don't like him and his weird smile.

She pouts and turn to look up at her mother, holding up her arms for her mama to pick her up. She don't want to walk anymore.

Her mother picks her up and hold her in her arms but talked with the strange uncle for some time more before walking home. She didn't heard what they were talking about since she was busy with the candy in her mouth. She just wants to go home.

Saturday comes and she didn't have to be alone, her brothers were there because there is no school on saturdays always! And her Binnie oppa always play with her and it's always fun!

Binnie had to do homework first after the breakfast and Channie played with her dolls waiting for him. Her mama had to do her teacher thing too so she played with her dolls all alone. It was sad but soon Binnie was done with homework and he came to play with her.

Soon they had their lunch and went back to playing. She remembered laughing loudly, sitting on her brothers back while Binnie act as a cow, mooing and walking on his hands and knees. Then she remembers falling down, hitting her head and crying.

When she gain back consciousness, the right side of her forehead has stitches and she has a lollipop clutch in her hands.

Her mama scold her and they were not allowed to play cow anymore.