Smiling, Christian pointed to his eyes "My eyes never fail me, I see much that other people don't see, you can say it's my gift.... that girl wasn't lying, she really wants to achieve her dream... those eyes of hers... they seemed to have flames of conviction."
Smiling softly, Christian continued "At that point, I asked myself, what can I do for her? Follow my driver's example? That wasn't an option, I couldn't look her in the eye and just tell her to go to hell... I asked her where she came from, to see if I could talk to her parents or guardians, but it turns out she came from an orphanage."
Changing his smile to a dull cold stare "Black orphanage, from New York."
"..."
"That's when I wondered... shouldn't orphanages help children? Why was that little girl so poorly cared for? I could even see the bones in her ribs through the holes in her clothes..... no matter how I thought, that child was not cared for, not in the least."
"..."
"With the memory of her eyes in my mind, I walked to an ATM and took out $15,000, took a bag and gave it to the little girl... but I didn't feel better, no... I felt much worse."
"..."
Looking out into the crowd, Christian encounters a man smirking, causing his brow to furrow.
Approaching the edge of the stage, Christian points the microphone at the man and speaks "Excuse me, what's your name? Because I've seen you laugh at all of this, I can tell what's funny to laugh at with you?"
"My name is-"
"No wait" Raising his hand, Christian interrupted him "Forget my question about your name, I'm not interested in knowing the name of a person who doesn't know something as fundamental as empathy, even more so if you lack empathy for a little girl, just tell me what caused you so much mockery?"
"Because she just doesn't work? There are many cases of girls who worked from a very young age and managed to get ahead" Replied the man, looking to all sides trying to seek acceptance, but no one accompanied him.
Shaking his head, Christian pointed at the man "You see? This is the kind of adult who instead of thinking about how to help the girl, would kick her aside so she wouldn't get in his way."
Looking again at the man, Christian asks "Would you hire a girl who is in the bones, who stinks and besides dresses in clothes full of holes?"
"Of course, I would!"
Snorting, Christian scoffed "Don't lie before my eyes, I said I see a lot and your blatant lie can be seen for miles, not to mention that it is not normal that a child has to work to survive, it is an atrocity for our 'civilized' era"
Looking up, Christian continued "Do you know how many times a person on the street hears 'No' in a year?"
"..."
"One day I counted by looking at young women on the street, I counted the 2 hours I saw her and added them up... a year they get 2,235,135 of the word 'NO'"
"..."
"Now I want you to think... how do we make a 12-year-old girl, who gets 2,235,135 'NO's' per year, believe that anything is possible?"
"..."
"How can we then ask them to be good people, if the only thing they knew was the coldness of society?"
"..."
"That 'NO' is the denial of being, it is the total distancing of those who are on the margin... that 'NO' kills the possibility of being human... and don't get confused, you don't have to say 'NO' to harm that girl, there are worse 'NOs'... not looking at her, ignoring her, showing her that she doesn't exist"
"Those were the reflections that came to my mind at that moment... causing me to feel bad about everything... I don't want to be like people who know about similar things and cry out about the injustice of the world, so that moments later they sleep warm and forget about it... it's not fair that I am waking up with the warmth of my mother, having breakfast with my siblings, while that little girl can die tomorrow..."
"Then I thought, what can I do? I'm just a child who is slowly understanding the world."
"..."
"So much thinking and thinking, I came to a decision that may not be something radical for all these situations, but I will try to do my little bit for girls like Liz."
"..."
"Today, I will receive a prize of 4 million dollars from the Clay Institute, something I am deeply grateful for."
"That money, will be divided and donated equally to Orphanages and Organizations that help homeless people" Raising his hand to stop the audience's applause, Christian speaks seriously "But make no mistake, I don't plan to donate it to big institutions that supposedly help these people, let alone orphanages like Black Orphanage, because they honestly disgust me..... big politicians and businessmen go out in public to announce to everyone that they donate money and that's it, but your orphanages are a misery for those who live in them and you don't even care... this money will be handled by local charities, humble people who, with a big heart, dedicate themselves every day to help others."
"..."
"Unfortunately I don't know New York and I don't know what local charities exist in there, I ask you to please contact me by mail, the mail is , please attach data of the charity so I can investigate about it because as you may know, there are many ill-intentioned people in the world, people who wouldn't mind swindling a child"
"..."
Sighing, Christian looks out into the audience "But, even though I'll donate the money, my heart still feels like it's not enough... I can't reach all the people I'd like to... tell them that there is something better"
"That's why" Stepping down from the stage, Christian takes the Ukelele from his mother's hand and walks back up, "I thought of a song... a song that was made by the mixture of my feelings... a song that hopes that there is something better... I hope you like it."
Sitting down on stage, Christian picks up the already tuned ukulele and looks up at the lights.
Gathering all his emotions together, Christian began to play the melody.
One thing Christian learned with his piano, is that he can make great use of his great torrent of emotions, where every key can be loaded with feelings, and every song can pierce people's souls.
"?Ooh-ooh-ooh-ooh
Ooh-ooh-ooh-ooh-ooh?"
"..." As the child's soft, melodious voice came, the entire audience felt a shiver, while Eva's eyes widened at the revelation that her child could sing.
"? Somewhere over the rainbow
Way up high
And the dreams that you dream of
Once in a lullaby, oh ?"
Christian began to sing 'Somewhere over the Rainbow' as all his bitter and happy emotions mingled in his voice, leaving a sad but peaceful and beautiful melody.
"?Why, oh why can't I? I ?" Finishing singing, Christian lowers his gaze to the audience, finding many crying and others smiling, but the solemn or serious look, in general, was no longer there.
"This song is for all those who are going through sad and difficult times... I really hope that light comes into your lives and that a beautiful rainbow illuminates your smiles... and for this little girl I call Liz, I hope you are watching this... I do trust in your dream, if you keep that perseverance, you can achieve it" Smiling softly, Christian takes his hand to his heart and leans towards the audience.
*Clap* *Clap* *Clap* *Clap* *Clap* *Clap*
*Clap* *Clap* *Clap*
*Clap* *Clap* *Clap* *Clap* *Clap* *Clap* *Clap* *Clap* *Clap* *Clap*
First, it was one clap, then two, but in the end, the whole place clapped loudly, many looking up at the boy with teary eyes.
"Thank you" Smiling sweetly, Christian turned to the blackboard behind the stage and pointed to it "Shall we look at math now?"
Instantly receiving many smiles and positive responses.
The rest of the event went normally, Christian received a big check, people congratulated and hugged him many times, he had to have many pictures taken, even scientists left him their contact number to chat.
Finishing with the congratulations, an open buffet meal was started for everyone, but as the Grey family was already tired, Christian said goodbye and left, being escorted by Professor Andrew towards the exit.
"That was amazing Christian, I didn't know you can sing" Walking with quite a bit of energy for his age, Professor Andrew praised the boy.
"I know how to do many things, singing is simply a hobby."
Looking with bright eyes towards the large door a few feet away from them, Christian replied normally.
Turning to his mother who is carrying all his trophies, Christian spoke seriously "Mother, they may ask us hurtful or annoying questions, don't fall for their provocations, they want to test us... when leaving act calmly and answer calmly... when they ask you for authorization to talk to me, just accept."
"Who?" frowning, Eva asked.
"Everyone."
Opening the doors, dozens of lights blinded everyone, while an even larger number of reporters stood in a tight circle outside the door.
"Miss Eva, what do you think about your son's speech!"
"Miss Eva, what do you think about your son's attitude against the renowned chemical scientist?"
"Miss Eva, do you really come from a humble family?"
"Mrs. Eva, is it true that you exploit your son?"
"Miss Eva, is it true that your son was in a coma because of domestic violence?"
"Miss Eva... "
"Miss Eva... "
As she set foot outside the conservatory, multiple questions reached Eva's ears, causing her to clench the trophies in her hands tightly.
But being warned by Christian, Eva sighed deeply and smiled stiffly "As promised by my son, we will give a short time to answer questions, but I ask that you ask in order and do not talk over each other."
With eyebrows quivering slightly to avoid frowning, Christian looked at the reporters in front of him 'These guys are fast...'
"Now please, I'll start giving the floor one at a time, if you insist on asking questions without me giving you the floor, we'll leave" Looking at the reporters, Eva narrowed her eyes and spoke with a tone of voice that doesn't allow any negtiontion.
"..."
Seeing that she accomplished her task, Eva stopped frowning and pointed at a random woman "You may begin"
"Miss Eva, what do you think about your son's achievement? Considering that right now he is the youngest person in history to receive all of those awards?"
"What can I say? The pride I feel is so much that I still think I'm in a dream" Smiling warmly, Eva turned to her son and responded, then turned to another reporter and gave her the floor.
"Miss Eva, can you tell us how you taught your son?"
"Honestly I didn't teach him anything, everything Christian knows, is because of his own curiosity and dedication."
"Miss Eva, can you tell us which university you plan to enroll your son in the future?"
"I couldn't tell you, I always considered this to be a subject for my children to decide when the time comes, as they will be the ones living their lives, not me"
"Miss Eva, we heard your son say that you come from a humble background, but your presentation shows the opposite, each of you is wearing thousands of dollars worth of clothes, may I know why you lied?"
"Mother, I would like to answer that question" Smiling towards Eva, Christian turned to the female reporter and replied, "I didn't lie when I said that, we come from a neighborhood that is considered low, our school is public, and my mother is a common worker."
"Then can you tell me where her clothes come from?" With a small notepad in her hand, the woman asked.
"That has its reason" Smiling slightly, Christian looked at all the people in front of him and spoke "Some time ago I became interested in reading, then in writing, thanks to that interest of mine I managed to publish a few books that can be considered successful...as for our clothes, they are my gifts for the occasion to my family, nothing more than that"
"You are telling us that apart from being a mathematician you are a writer?" Another woman interrupted, looking at the boy doubtfully.
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Edited By: Lord_Shiva_
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