There are lways kids on that road, carrying scarves and bracelets to sell. But Marissa didn't want to sell me anything. Instead, as we walked side-by-side and I asked her name, she offered to be my bodyguard. OK, I said. I could use a big bodyguard like you. That made her giggle.
She was quite good at her job. As the other kids approached with their scarves and bracelets, Marissa held out a hand and said "No touch!" The kids backed off. "You bring me chicken?" she asked as we prepared to part ways. "When you come back, you bring me chicken?"
"Uh, I'll see what I can find." I'm not sure what sort of chicken other people may have brought her. All I could find to bring her was a Clif Bar. She seemed pretty happy to get it when I met her on my way back, even though it wasn't chicken.
Marissa's English was excellent. She told me she learns English in school. I asked how old she was and when she told me she was 5, I said "Wow, that's so big!" That made her giggle too. She has a great giggle.
It's hard to imagine letting a 5 year old wander around on a street like she did, interacting with foreign soldiers. Her older sister (and maybe some brothers) were nearby, but even still, it's a very different life than anything my daughters ever experienced. I wonder what her life will be like after the troops are gone. I wonder what her life - and her country - will be like in 10 years. I hope she gets lots of chicken.
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