“One garland for twenty baht, two for thirty!” Meta shouted as she walked around the sea of parked
cars as they waited for the green light.
She made eye-contact with one man in his thirties driving a yellow Porsche, but he quickly averted his
eyes towards his radio. Another woman in a big grey Mercedes Benz was busy talking on the phone and
angrily mouthed the word “No!”
Meta continued down the street, avoiding motorcycles as she did her best to market her product.
Someone from two lanes to her left was signaling for her to come over.
“Sir, one for twenty, but only thirty for two. How many? ” Meta eagerly asked as the elderly gentlemen
lowered his window.
“I’ll take four” he said.
As she put four of the freshest garlands into a small plastic bag for him, she noticed his neatly pressed
Burberry shirt and black pants. She could also smell a sweet fragrance from his clothes.
She looked at what she’s wearing – an old T-shirt her dad gave to her, a pair of Power Puff Girls shorts
her mom found in the garbage and green flip-flops that have turned almost black. She didn’t want to
think of her she smelled, perhaps like car exhaust?
As the traffic came to a standstill again, she approached a dark Volvo. She looked inside and saw a little
girl her age sitting in the back seat. She had on a school uniform for one of those private Catholic schools
Meta could only dream of attending.
“How much for two?” she asked.
“30” Meta replied.
As the young mother handed her a one hundred baht bill, Meta’s eyes were briefly blinded by the
women’s shiny watch and all the small diamonds around the dial. It was a Rolex, but not a fake one like
the one her brother has.
Meta looked around her and saw all the things these people had and the nice cars with cool air-
conditioning. If only she were born rich so that she too could drive around Bangkok and be part of high
society.