ok should probably explain this little bit of train art for you all. jumped on the train home tonight and their was a late 20 early 30 lady with her young daughter. as i sat down behind her i could hear the exacerbation in the mothers voice asking her daughter to sit down, "it's just 4 more stops". all the kid wanted to do was sit on the lap of "mummy". but her mum just kept of pushing her back saying "mummy's tummy hurt". the kid turn to face me and leaned over the seat as i put on my scarf, winter in sydney has indeed come.
she had this dull look, like she was numb... but not as spaced out as her mum. the kid was bored and mummy was definetly coming down of a bad hit. so i pulled out my moleskine (prompt to ren!) and penned the kid a drawing. she said very quietly and watched but it was almost like she couldn't take anything in, like my lines didn't mean anything...she was just watching this strange man over the back of her seat draw in blue. then i caught her eyes. brown eyes and blond hair. at that point mommy leaned forward to block the kid, trying to stop her from climbing on her. my train stop was coming up, so i packed up my things, the kid still looking on with a dazed look of detachment to the whole thing.
my year(s) in child care mean i can pick up on the signs of mistreatment straight away, but sometimes i'm slow to realise. as i was walking down the street freezing my but off it dawned on me that around those brown eyes were signs of malnutrition. also she was only wearing a lose long sleeve shirt and shorts.
what the hell was my drawing going to do? did she know what a smile even looked like on paper... let alone a house... what did home mean? it would have been better to offer my coat, but alas such a random act would no doubt result in a smacked out mother telling me to mind my own business and not tell her how to raise her own daughter. the fact i was drawing for the kid was a risky thing in the first place. she could have noticed, turned around then gone mental on me.
it sometimes seems impossible to love in today's society, even if your intention is so.
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