One Small Boy

Harry Potter made an unscheduled visit to our home on Halloween. This small boy has been coming to our house every Halloween since we moved here in 2004. He was a very small boy, almost fragile when we first met him with his mother. They came all happy and excited as we were practically the only people who had a lit pumpkin at our door. He was a cute Little fellow and as I amused myself with him, Theresa heard the sad story of their home. His mother's father was sick and she lived with her parents.

Her father died and this little fellow now lives with his mother and grandmother. There are no children in the neighbourhood so he is nurtured by female family members. We took a liking for this boy and I collected some very nice toys for him. Last year we never had the proper opportunity to give them to him so we decided to make this Halloween special for him.

We put out our lit pumpkin this year and waited for him to come. After a long wait Harry Potter came to see us and he was a perfect picture of the real Harry. So articulate and polite and grown up in so many ways but meek and only a child in other ways. We talked to him and asked about his school and so on and then asked if he might be interested in some toys.

He responded with a smile and when we opened the large box he examined all the cars and little trucks with enthusiasm. I had this front-end loader, large and battery operated and showed him how to manually operate the remote. His eyes lit up and he was happy. He took all the toys and thanked us many times. When he left I was a little sad that his grandfather was not around to enjoy this special child.

Harry Potter was the only child to darken our door this year but he gave us more joy than a hundred children who were just there for the candy. I hope to take him fishing some day and to give he a chance to be Tom Sawyer - and me the opportunity to experience this little fellow once more.