I can’t help but wonder; has he earned enough money to bring home to his family? Would they light up when he knocks down the table with all pride and glory because he has earned their dinner, the way I do when watching my favorite show? Or are they the kind of flickering lights that though it opened, closes again? Speaking about his family, I wonder how many daughters he has. Do they fantasize about unicorns or make their own storybooks — as I do? And do they kill the heroes in the end, just because they think it would be tragic? I wonder if they have dreams as big as mine. Or would their lifestyle call for bigger stars? Would they notice the actuality that the sun sets early and the night is longer at this time of the year like how kids excited for Christmas notice this? Would their Christmas carry the same spirits me and my family has? And I wonder what they would eat tonight, or would they save it for Christmas, now that Manong Eddie has earned enough money? And his wife and their mother, would she cook or would they use the money to buy outside? Would the food she cooks taste like home? And would their home have enough space, not for the people inhabiting it, but for the love that creeps within every wall?
I see tens and hundreds of people before me who have stood in the same place I am in yet they see Manong Eddie as just a cart-seller. I think he is much more. Of the tens and hundreds of frowns, of guilty pasts, he is another smile, another clean slate. He is much more. He has daughters who are excited for Christmas, a wife who cooks food that can be distinguished, a cart of colorful toys and a home where love takes more space than the very inhabitants.
He is much more. He is a father, a husband and an owner of a story to read, to tell, and to boast. He is much more..