Soup Blues

The Girl At The Soup Eatery

One day, while getting ready for work, there was a weather forecast to expect heavy rainfall later tonight; I didn't really believe the weatherman, it was a perfect day outside, why would it rain? And that the weatherman was never right about these kind of things, so with that said I didn't bring an umbrella with me to work because it would have just been a burden to carry around. I continued on with my day just as usual; finished my business at home, weaved through the street, got on a bus, got off, walked, got on another bus and arrived at work.

At work, nothing much happened early on as it just a normal working day; did some paperwork, drank coffee, more paperwork, the likes but as the day progressed, it became cloudier and cloudier and that's when it came to my head that the weatherman might've been correct and I should've listened and brought an umbrella just in case. By 7PM, when my shift ends, it was completely dark, darker than a usual early evening and fearing that I may get caught in the rain, I left work in a rush, got on a bus to the underpass on a rush.

While on the bus, the rain came down so hard that even inside the bus, it can be heard. I prayed that the rain will lit up soon. The bus stopped on underneath the overpass, I got off and looked around, the girl was still at the eatery and there were 2 dogs near the eatery and as I was looking around, she saw me.

"You'll get wet there, mister and there won't be another bus for another 30 minutes" She said. It's true, the wind blows inwards towards the underpass and the eatery was the only shelter from it and regardless if she's telling the truth about the time when the next bus will arrive, I listened and went over to the eatery.

Now sitting at the eatery, I can get a good luck at it; there was nothing much to see, it was basically just a mobile kitchen with outside seating. There was an aged man within but he had his back turned against us as he appears to have be cooking something.

"Eat something, you must be tired from your journey!" The little girl said while looking at me with gleaming eyes. I looked at the menu above, there was only soup and it doesn't even say what kind of soup it is so I pass.

"Come on, mister! It's just soup, it won't harm you plus it will makes pops here very happy!" She said as she gestures towards the old man.

"I'm not really hungry, sorry" I answered.

"Oh well, more for me then!" She said as she tapped the back of the old man and as the old man turned around, she did something with her hands; sign language, either the old man was mute or deaf. After that, the old man nodded and turned around again .

"Is he your grandfather?" I asked the little girl.

"No".

"Is he one of your relatives?" I asked again.

"No".

"Is he, at any way, related to you?" I ask one last time.

"No, he is just an old man selling his soup and I am just his customer, why'd you ask, mister?" She asked me.

“Nothing, it's just I always see you here and I thought you two where related” I said and just as I finished saying this, the old man turned around with a tray containing 3 bowls of soup; it smelled like chicken so I assume it was chicken soup, the old man put it in front of the little girl, the little girl paid and did some sign language again while the old man bowed down and patted the little girl and turned around once more.

“What did you say to him?” I asked.

“I didn't say anything to him, old man pops here is deaf so if I said something, he probably won't hear it” She said sarcastically as she blows off the steam coming from the 3 bowls of soup.