u/pistachio_life

This morning, I saw a girl sitting alone and crying. At first, I thought I should just keep walking. But then I waited and since no one seems to stop and no adult was around, I decided to check on her. She might be around 7/ 8 yo.

I hesitantly went over and asked if she was okay or if she needed any help. I kept my distance and didn't touch her. She didn't respond and just continued crying. Gave her a tissue. That's when I realised she didn't understand English and spoke Mandarin. My Chinese is shit, btw.

Then I noticed she was on a video call with someone through her smartwatch. I assumed it was her mum, so I asked if she needed help. But there was obviously a communication barrier. I thought maybe she needed to top up her transport card, get home, or perhaps she was lost. I thought of using the translation app but didn't.

I looked around for someone who could speak Mandarin and saw three ladies. I approached them and asked if they could help. Luckily, they were from mainland China too. They spoke to the girl and her mum to understand what was going on.

It turned out that the girl simply didn't want to go to her class/school, so she had sat down and started crying. We asked her if she wanted to go home, but she refused. Her mum said she probably just needed some time to calm down before going to class.

At that point, I asked the ladies if they could stay with her because I wouldn't be much help with the language barrier. They agreed and thanked me, so I left. Hopefully, the girl eventually went to class or home safely.

I was wonderung whether I should have just minded my own business and kept walking, especially since she was already on a video call with her mum.

But then I thought about it from a parent's perspective. I have a daughter of a similar age, and if she were sitting somewhere alone and crying without an adult around, I would definitely be grateful if someone approached her and checked whether she was okay with good intentions, of course.

What would you have done in this situation ? Would you have just kept walking because she was already in contact with her mum, or would you have stopped to check on her ? What else could have been done differently like approach the info counter or security personnel ? There was none around in this situation.

I also found it quite surprising that nobody else stopped, especially in a moderate footfall area. Maybe people assumed someone else would help, or perhaps they simply didn't want to get involved.

Edit : Thank you all for the kind replies. Yes maybe this would be the only time I regret not being good at chinese lol. Anyway glad that I could get help from someone else. So still ok.

Y'all know houses are getting smaller and smaller. So I want to know what practical, space saving ideas you used in your existing/new HDB and BTO.

It could be a clever storage solution, layout change, hidden feature, space saving furniture, kitchen idea, pantry area, island, switches, lights, smart home automation or anything that genuinely improved daily life and made the space work better. It might also be something simple but turned out to be surprisingly useful.

Any other tips for home renovation, specific rooms will be appreciated.

Also there might be some renovation and interior design stuff that many people might not know. Keen to know more insider info if you are in the industry.

TIA !!