the other way to say

"Hey baby, what's wrong? Are you not playing with your friends there?"
"No, mommy, I want to play that!" Garry menunjuk dinding tinggi berwarna hijau di belakangnya "but they didn't let me. I want it mommy!"
"Why didn't they allow you? What did they say baby?" Elsie mengelus lembut rambut Garry
"They said I was a kid" jawaban ini membuat Elsie mengangkat alisnya dan menahan geram. Ia tetap tersenyum dan menenangkan Garry.
"Do you remember their names, darling?"
Garry memainkan mulutnya dan wajah menggemaskannya diusap sendiri olehnya untuk bergestur 'sedang berpikir' dan hal ini membuat Elsie tersenyum lebar sampai Garry berkata, "one of them was...Emma"
Elsie mengangguk penuh rencana namun tetap berkata dengan tenang, "Baby, could you wait here for a moment, and I will be right back?" Garry hanya mengangguk dan mulai mengaduk es krim di hadapannya.


Elsie berjalan menyusuri bagian belakang cafe dan keluar ke taman menuju wall-climbing area. Ia menemukan 3 orang staff yang sedang berjaga dan langsung menyapanya. "Excuse me, is there any of you named Emma?"
Seorang remaja 18tahun maju dan masih mengiaskan senyum di wajahnya "yes ma'am, how can I help you?"
"Hi Emma, I would like to know what did you tell my son when he asked to do this sport?"
Emma mengerutkan kening, melirik ke arah tangan Elsie ke dalam kafe dan mengingat apa yang sudah terjadi antara ia dan Garry.
"Oh, I told him he was not allowed to do the wall-climbing, I'm sorry ma'am this is for 15+, and your son is just a kid"
Elsie kontan menjawabnya "and why are kids not allowed to play this?"
Emma tidak mengerti arah pertanyaan nyonya muda ini, "well, ma'am, technically, this sport falls into the category of extreme sport which requires skilled climber with minimum tall of 150cm. These requirements are, if you aware, not been attained by your..son"
Elsie melepas lipatan tangannya di ulu hatinya dan mulai tersenyum sambil berkata "nice, basically he wasn't allowed not because he's a kid, it was because he doesn't have the basic requirements and it may endanger him. Am I correct?"
Emma mengangguk dan menjawab "exactly, ma'am" lalu Elsie meneruskan, "fine, do you mind to explain to him so? Because some kids aren't supposed to be explained so. They need clear understanding and not making them different with any of people in this world by saying he was just a kid. Being a kid doesn't supposed to stop or restrict you from doing or having anything. There must be reasons, the logical and acceptable ones, to make them understand and accept the conditions. Do you get my point?" Elsie berhenti sejenak mempelajari anggukan kepala Emma dan rekan-rekannya.

"I'm sorry ma'am for not having that thought" Emma merespon penjelasan Elsie dengan setengah rasa bersalah
"I'm okay, now, would you from now on, explain to my son and to any kids if necessary, the reason why you can't let them climb this wall and not telling them because they're just a kid, please?" Elsie menyimpulkan permintaanya dan Emma menjawab dengan anggukan tegas "I will ma'am, thank you for your input"

Elsie tersenyum dan kembali melangkah ke dalam kafe. Ia melihat Garry sedang melahap eskrim-nya dengan wajah belepotan coklat. Ia tersenyum dan menyapa Garry, "hey there mommy's hero. Done with the ice cream?"
Garry tidak mendongak dan masih fokus dengan es krimnya. Elsie tidak mau merebut kenikmatan Garry dengan es krimnya, ia hanya duduk dan menatap Garry dengan penuh kasih sayang, "they have a reason why you're not allowed climb that wall, baby. Do you wanna hear it from them or from me?"
Garry mendelik dan menjawab semangat, "from them, then I could play the game! Yay!"
"You will know why you cannot play that game, sweetheart. Let's go" Elsie lalu menggandeng Garry ke arah taman belakang dan menemui Emma.

Emma menjelaskan dengan riang dan penuh ekspresi mengenai kenapa Garry tidak boleh main wall-climbing dan resiko-resikonya. Garry mengangguk dan memainkan ekspresi muka yang sejenis seiring Emma menjelaskan bahwa Garry bisa jatuh dan permainan ini tidak disarankan untuk anak dengan tinggi dibawah 150cm seperti Garry.

Mereka lalu pulang, dan Garry si anak 4,5 tahun tiba-tiba menanyakan pertanyaan terburuk yang pernah dibayangkan Elsie: "mommy, playing bicycle could also make me fall, why did you allow me to have one?"