The boy with the lemon fizz

The boy was of a good height and looked well grown and quite charming. He was fair and wearing a short and a T shirt. He was holding a bottle with lemon fizz in one hand. He was bubbling with enthusiasm and people in the hall were looking at him with interest. He was quite active and keeping himself occupied without disturbing anyone by gently running around. Every few minutes he would sip a little from the bottle and again start his routine. His mother came back after a few minutes and he went near her. As she was signing a paper on a table, the boy gently hit with his leg one of the side support of the table. The wooden support piece came out of its location and the boy nonchalantly tapped it back to its original position.
It all happened when I went on a morning to the electric supply office near my house to pay the monthly bill.
It was a big hall on the first floor with two counters. There was a long queue in front of one of the counters but the other one had barely two people standing. My wife had come with me with the hope of visiting a temple nearby. But as the temple was closed she had no option but to accompany me to the office.
I have been telling her in recent times to get involved in outside activities and not to get locked in home chores. While she agreed in principle she had not actively engaged as these were additional burdens to her.
It was a good change for me and I requested her to stand in the queue and make the payment. She chose the one with lesser people in the hope she could finish early. As there was undue delay in that counter my wife went to the other one.
It was then I noticed the young boy of 5 or 6 years of age. He was of Chinese origin. His mother was standing nearby to pay the bill.
He was fondled by people as soon as they saw him. But he neither acknowledged nor dissented but continued his activity of gentle running. After some time, he sureptiously went to one of the large windows provided and gently spat on the trees outside.
I have watched many boys of his age who were mere children compared to him. Here was a boy behaving in a matured way with determination and sense of pride.
The only thing which exposed his young age was his dependence on the bottle and getting back to his mother now and then.
As I was leaving the hall he had only a few drops of the lemon fizz left in the bottle but he was still trying
his best to sip out the last drops of the juice with vigour.