Waving Ignorance Goodbye

(I’m at the park with my four-year-old son when a couple walks by. The woman is wearing a niqab (a long garment and veil that covers everything but her eyes), which is not uncommon in our suburb. It’s a windy day so her clothes are blowing around a bit.)

Son: *turns round and sees the couple passing us* “Look, a ghost!”

Me: “She’s not a ghost; she’s a woman. Say hello.”

(We wave; the woman waves; they walk off.)

Son: “But why was she wearing a ghost costume?”

Me: “She really wasn’t…”