Labelling the young

April
May
Jenny

The list of three names was printed on a whiteboard and Fidel hoped she would like one of them. Maybe what he thought of the names wouldn’t matter and she wouldn’t attach any stigma to them.

Moments before, a man had left the girl in Fidel’s care, her wide open eyes staring up into his. He’d been left the forms to name her. This duty fell on his shoulders like a brick, weighing him down for moments. Aware that this moment would come, he never thought he’d face this decision alone. The only other person who could choose was the girl.

Fidel stepped back, wondering if his options were okay. In unison, the children behind him read the names:
“April; May; Jenny.”

Fidel turned to her and said “Which name would you like?”

“May,” she said.

“Okay, your name is May. Everyone say ‘Hello May’.”

“Hello May,” the other children said as May sat at a desk. She took her English lesson book from her bag as Fidel addressed the class as a whole.

“Today," Fidel said to the young Korean kids, "we are talking about the letter ‘B’.”