“My daughter was going to town one morning like usual. She was carrying the boy in her arms. As they’re passing through the market, Baby Boy started pointing to things and then out of the blue reading everything! Street signs, store fronts, food labels, the labels on food bins. Would you believe it?”

My aunt chimes in, “It’s hard to believe he could read the food labels. That’s got to be a stretch. Those market women must have the worst handwriting I’ve ever seen. I can barely read them.”

My uncle continues, “His mom can’t believe it. She grabs the first newspaper she comes upon. I think she actually asked some stranger for his paper. She set the newspaper in front of Baby Boy to test him out. And what do you know? The kid reads that too!” My uncle smacks the back of one hand into his palm.

Outside the crickets stop chirping and the wind settles. For a moment, it is absolutely silent as if everything and everyone is waiting to see how the story ends. “All the ladies at the market gathered around in amazement. Then the cyclo drivers crowded around to see what the fuss was about. It became a frenzy. Word passed through town. Everyone was gossiping about the miracle baby. The disbelievers started wagering bets against the believers. Some people said it was a scam. But the smart ones knew the truth. The monks say that Baby Boy can read because he is a reincarnated bodhisattva who has retained his knowledge from a past life.”

My uncle shakes his head back and forth with a giant grin on his face. “Wait until you see the article. Imagine two whole pages about our family in the Giai Phóng Sàigòn Sunday paper! I’ve set it aside to save it in an album so that when Baby Boy grows up he’ll have a record of all this.”