clean garbage

Yesterday maam is remove plastic garbage bag from the bin. I do not know why she do that but sometime she like to check how I am doing my work. She look inside and tell me Sally what is this? Why the garbage bin is so dirty? I tell her maam that is because it is garbage. Maam say sally how many time I tell you that even if it garbage you have to keep it clean?

Actually she tell me this for everything in kitchen. Keep clean keep clean. Because she so scare that if thing is dirty everyone will be sick. all the time she make children use sanitiser to clean hand. All the time making me wipe the handle of door with dettol.

But I not understand why she want the garbage bin to be clean. No one is eating from it. Only I throw garbage in. and throw garbage out. What the use of keeping it clean? Why she wanting me to do so much more work I am not knowing.

But she is my maam so  I have to do what she say. I take bin out and wash it with hose. Then I put it in sun to dry. Then I bring it back in. Now it is a clean garbage bin. Maam is happy because it is clean but I want to laugh. Because garbage is still garbage even inside a clean bin. But for maam it is now clean garbage.

Now I am thinking of one girl Melody that I know in my home country. When I am young maybe eight or nine Melody is living in the house at backside of my house. Her family is very poor. She is so beautiful and she is nice girl also. She is older than me but she always talk to me. I always want to be beautiful like her. But even with her beauty she have sad story. When she is 15 she having to go to Japan for OPA work to help her family. We calling her Japayuki. My grandmother is tell me no talk to Melody when she come back. She not clean girl.

When I am young I am not understand what this mean. My grandmother is explain to me that OPA is oversea performing artist. Sometime it is good work but what work Melody is doing it not good work. It not very clean work. But lot of girl is do OPA work like Melody to help their family. Because they have no choice.

My grandmother tell me Sally you do any job but no do OPA job like Melody. But I not ever having to worry. I am not beautiful. You can only be OPA if you are beautiful. But if you are OPA your work is not always beautiful.

When Melody come back she is 18. She is still a nice girl but my grandmother say that her work is make her dirty. She say Sally no talk to Melody. My mother also say Sally no be friend with Melody. All the other neighbour is also not talk to her or be friend with her. I feeling sad for her but I am so young I have to respect my grandmother and mother what they say.

Melody now working near Manila. She doing good job in clothes factory. But my grandmother and neighbour still say she not clean girl. Even if she change her life and do new job she can never remove her old life as OPA.

Today I am thinking of Melody because of this garbage bin. See how life is. Inside a clean bin even the garbage feels clean. But poor Melody. Even when she change her job and do clean work she can never be clean. That why it so important to never do job that make you become garbage.