Evan was pleased that Maya was more understanding and empathetic for a kid of her age.
But he looked at her lovingly and said, “It’s okay, Maya. You can get whatever you like.”
“Yeah, Maya, Uncle Davin owns this mall, so feel free to choose anything you like,” Juan added.
Maya was surprised and exclaimed, “Wow, Uncle Davin must be really rich then!”
Kyle scoffed and said, “Well, Uncle Davin is the poorest in the Seet family. Our Daddy’s the richest man in the family!”
Maya listened to him and nodded as if she could comprehend what Kyle was saying. All she knew was that Daddy sounded really wealthy.
She rolled her eyes around and finally said, “Alright then! I’ll buy three pretty clothes today!” Maya turned towards Nina and gestured a “three” with her cute little fingers as smiled at her happily.
“Just three?” Nina asked with an unimpressed face.
They heard the crowd buzzing and mumbling just as they arrived at the women’s section.
The children hastened their little steps to see what was going on. Evan and Nicole quickly followed behind.
As they were approaching the crowd, a sarcastic voice rang in their ears.
“Oh my gosh, look at this girl. She thinks she can be a princess by wearing all these classy clothes. She’s delusional!” someone from the crowd commented.
“I know right? She’s just an ugly duckling trying to act like she’s actually a swan! She needs a reality check,” another woman agreed.
“Don’t tell me she dreams of marrying a prince! More like she should marry a frog!” a random stranger added.
“Seriously, she should focus on changing that face of hers instead of buying clothes,” yet another lady remarked.
Maya and Nina shifted their gaze to the subject of those unabashed criticisms.
In the middle of the crowd stood a plump and short woman, and she had a birthmark on her face.
It was true that her beauty was unconventional.
Her apparel was plain and down to earth—which was probably why she came to such a high-end shopping mall to get a makeover.
She fixed her eyes on the ground trying to avoid eye contact with anyone as she fidgeted away nervously. It was conspicuous that she was trying her best to hold in her tears—as if she did something wrong.
“Why doesn’t she just leave?” Maya asked, looking at Evan.
“Yeah, she should run away,” Nina agreed.
But Evan looked at them and said, “Why should she leave?”
“Cause they will only laugh at her,” Nina replied.
“Yes, Daddy. She must be really sad because everyone is making fun of her,” Maya said.
“Is it her fault that she’s born this way? Doesn’t she have the right to buy the clothes she wants regardless of her looks?” Evan threw them a few questions.
Maya and Nina thought in silence.
Evan bent down and explained, “We don’t get to decide our looks. So this woman didn’t do anything wrong, to begin with. On the contrary, it’s those people who jeered at her, those people who judged her based on her appearance are the ones at fault. They shouldn’t walk all over her and treat her like she’s less of a human. They are the ones who should leave.”
Nina reflected on Evan’s words and thought he was right.
As for Maya, she nodded in agreement as she recalled what her teacher taught her in school—she should never make fun of other people.
“Yes, Daddy. We understood. We won’t laugh at people or judge them anymore,” the girls softly.
“Daddy knows you both are good kids,” Evan assured them, giving each of them a pat on the shoulder.
Nina slowly made her way to the woman and pulled her gently at the hand.
“Don’t be sad, I can help you do some makeup,” Nina said earnestly.
The woman looked at her shyly, not knowing what to reply.
“Trust me, I can give you a makeover,” Nina tried persuading her.
The woman hesitated and finally gave in.
Nina leaped in joy and ran to Nicole, asking for her makeup bag. She took a look at the woman’s face and started putting foundation on her face.
The people who previously sneered at the women started talking among themselves.
“She’s just a kid, does she even know anything about makeup?”
“I bet she’s gonna look even worse after ‘makeup’.”
Nina disregarded these nasty comments and focused on doing makeup for the woman. Her hands moved adroitly as she switched between the brushes and palettes, just as how she always did at home.
Ten minutes later, the crowd was amazed at how the woman looked after makeup.
Although she did not become a superstar instantly, she did look a lot more beautiful.
The birthmark was completely covered and her eyes looked a lot bigger. Her features became more prominent after contouring as well.
