When your goddaughter asks for help with her brother's birthday, it's impossible to say no. So, ready to spend the afternoon in the trampoline room with several small and tireless 'wild ones'; balloons, face paints, sandwiches, and juices were my first line of defense.
As I was getting them out of the car, one of the kids arrived. 'Hi. My name is Orion, can I help you?' —asked a pair of big brown eyes—. 'What a beautiful name,' I replied with a smile, as I handed him the balloons—. 'Like the constellation: the infallible giant hunter. He was so good that the goddess of the hunt, jealous of him, sent a scorpion to kill him,' I explained, closing the car—. A bit sad, he told me that people usually compared him to the Ford. Holding his hand, I told him I didn't know any Ford by that name, and that whoever said it again should be asked if they could tell such stories about their name.
By mid-afternoon, while painting the last girl's face, I asked her name. 'Vega,' she replied, blushing—. 'What a beauty, like one of the brightest stars in the sky,' I responded—. She, even redder, told me she was named after the Virgin De la Vega; that she wasn't a star. 'Yes, you are,' I said while showing her the information on the phone—. Excited and promising to look for it in the sky, she asked for my name. 'Arianne,' I said— almost like the rocket, maybe that's why I'm sometimes just a little bit of a firecracker.
We both laughed.