John Budan
Guess What
As our wee ferry bounces and rolls through the Irish Sea, a passenger becomes violently seasick and lies down on the deck in a fetal position. Her unattended child surveys me for several minutes before approaching, ”Hey mister, you wanna read to me?” Before I can answer, the invader thrusts a book of nursery rhymes in my hands and settles in my lap. I notice the striking image of a handsome red rooster on the cover. She giggles as I launch into Hey Diddle Diddle but interrupts me and recites the remaining text from memory. Demanding more, I read, See Saw Margery Daw, followed by Ride a Cock Horse to Danbury Cross. Each poem is the same, she recites the ending squealing with laughter followed by looking me in the eye and shouting, ”Guess what.” When I answer “what” she becomes silent.
We finally dock in Belfast and an ashen parent thanks me profusely for entertaining her child. As they are leaving, the girl turns and runs back to me yelling, ”Hey guess what.” Before I can answer, she cups her tiny hands around my ear and whispers, ”I like you.”
before the rules an innocent child draws the face of her mother coloring it purple
About the Author
John Budan has published widely. He lived in France where he found his alter ego Guignol in Paris at the Jardin du Luxembourg.