Cao Mei, You Ma?

“Xiao Mei Mei, please eat some more rice. Just one more spoonful.”

“NO!” I said stamping my feet. I made my face real mean too.

“I like chocolate. I want to eat CHOCOLATE, Mama!”

Mama starts crying. I don’t understand why she is crying. I don’t understand a lot. I’m only 5.

“Mama, bu ku. Don’t you like chocolate? It is so yummy. I want to eat it every day and it is brown. I like brown things like chocolate and cola and those biscuits we buy at the small shop.”

I am studying my colors. I am happy to tell Mama I know what color chocolate and cola and biscuits are. My favorite game is the color game because I play with Mama. She points to something then I tell her the color. If I’m right then she gives me a pat on the head and tells me I’m very smart and smiles really big.

But right now, she is still crying, even harder now. I really don’t understand. The color game is happy.

“Lao Gong, what am I going to do with Xiao Mei Mei?”

“I know! You can bring me to the small shop to buy brown biscuits and brown cola!” I yell at the top of my lungs. I like yelling. It is fun!

“And, I know something green too! Green gum! I want green gum! Let’s go to the small shop.”

“Xiao Mei Mei,” my BaBa says, “There are other green things too like xiao bai cai, bo cai and qing cai. You should eat more green things than just gum and not too many brown things.”

“But BaBa gum is green. I don’t like green cai.”

“AIYAAAA!” Mama runs from the room.

“Xiao Mei Mei, its ok if you don’t like green things,” coaxed my Baba. “Do you like red things?”

I nod my head because I know red is the color of China.

Baba continued, “Good girl. Red is the color of the Chinese people. All Chinese honor and revere the color red. You are a loyal, honest and filial Chinese. What are things that are red?”

I love the color game. I am glad I don’t have to name more green things.

“I know! The Chinese flag is red. I have a red crayon and an apple is red.”

Baba winks his eye at Mama. “Did you hear that, Tai Tai? Xiao Mei Mei just said an apple is red.”

Mama is smiling. I smile too!

Mama gives me my jacket and brushes me out the door.

“Are we going to the small shop to buy biscuits and cola and chocolate?” I am really hungry now.

“No. We will go to the fruit seller to buy red apples. Chinese people love red so you will love apples!”

“OK”, I shrug happy and skip down the sidewalk. I love the bright lights outside our flat. The meat cutter has bright lights in the shape of a pig! It is my favorite light!

We are at the fruit seller. He greets Mama, “Chi guo le ma?”

“Hai mei you, ni ne?” Mama says.

I am glad Mama said she hasn’t eaten yet. I am hungry.

The fruit seller smiles widely, “Then you must buy many fruits. I have red apples, green pears and yellow bananas.”

“Today, we want red apples. Xiao Mei Mei, don’t the red apples smell wonderfully sweet, just like candy?”

I want to answer Mama but I smell something else and it is red too. It smells like the gum I like to eat. It smells sweet and looks like a giant sugar drop. I move closer to it.

“Cao mei, you ma?” Mama asks me. (Do you want strawberries?)

“Yes, Mama. I like red things.”

Mama smiles.