48 Reminiscing (3)

This was before the company outing.

"I have a month to make plans and buy the perfect gift," William said. He was aware that the gift he should give should be perfect, enough for Mia to forgive him.

"So what are you thinking of buying her?" Stephanie asked.

"Remember the promise we had when we were kids, I thought I'd buy matching rings for us." He said with a full-on confident smile.

"Do you want her to run for her life while thinking she met a lunatic?" Stephanie said in sarcasm with a hint of truth in it.

"Why would she run away? We made a promise that we will be together when I return." William said while grinning, thinking of Mia and their future lives together.

"I just want to remind you that the promise you made with her was when you were 8 years old. Who in their right mind think of this as some form of future engagement" Stephanie exclaimed, however, when she looked at Williams' face who was grinning stupidly and giggling from time to time, she could not help but be exasperated. "Never mind, I have found the prime example. It was my mistake to ask."

"She might have said that as friends, you know. Don't go making your own assumptions on the matter." Stephanie said.

"Then what should I give her?" William asked while thinking that her sister might have a point.

Stephanie looked at her brother and said, "It must be something reminiscent of your friendship, something important that will re-ignite the bonds you two had in the past," Stephanie did not bother looking at his brother anymore as she as getting tired of this conversation.

"What kind of gift is that?" William asked.

Stephanie looked at William with an exasperated look and said, "Think one for yourself, is your brain just for show? Look here, I don't know Mia well enough to give my opinion on a specific gift, however, it should be sentimental or even symbolic of your friendship. Now, go away and think for yourself." Stephanie raised her hand and shooed her brother away.

"Fine," William said walking away from her sister's room. Easier said than done, William was still thinking of a present, and it was the last week till they had to meet. William decided to visit the old shopping district that he and Mia used to go to.

Once he got there, he carefully remembered the things they used to do together, going on memory lane, however, most of the shops changed. There were a lot of new ones that popped up. The arcade that they use to visit was now closed, instead a convenience store replaced it, though there was still a claw machine outside which made William twitch a little when he saw it.

Walking down the street he suddenly remembered the grandma who sold him the stuffed animal, he went down the familiar street but with different signs now. To his surprise, the shop where the store used to be was now replaced by a laundry shop.

Going inside the shop, he asked the personnel if she knows where the old store was relocated to. When the lady saw that the person asking was a handsome young man, she spilled the beans about the old owners of the store.

Unfortunately, 6 years ago the grandma died of old age. The children of the shop owner decided that the shop was not worth keeping so they rented it out to other shop owners. William then politely asked where the family was living at as he had some questions about their prior business.

As this was a small district, the personnel was able to give the information quite easily, as the renter had given their information.

Once William got the information, he went directly to the address to see if he could get the same kind of stuff animal that he got before. He got to the house without any problems, as he knocked on the door full of worries if they could accommodate his requests, the door flung open and there came out a woman in her mid-40's.

"Excuse me, are you the previous owner of the doll and stuff animal store in the shopping district." Asked William politely.

"Yes, My mother use to run that place." Said the lady.

He smiled when he found out he was on the right track and said, "I came here because I wanted to buy the same kind of stuff animal I bought before."

"I'm sorry but all of the toys were given away to charity when mother died, we did not want it to be wasted so we decided to give them to the orphanages around here." The lady said.

"Is that so," William said dejectedly.

The lady saw how disappointed William was so she decided to ask a question "Is there a special reason why you want to buy the same kind as the one you bought before?"

"It's a long story." William who was very depressed said.

"Why don't you come in and tell me about it." Said the lady. William then told the lady about how he had met the grandma and how she had helped get the perfect gift for his friend, and 15 years later he wanted to get the same kind of gift that will accompany and be a pair for his old gift.

The lady was touched as she said, "I learned from mother how to make them. Mother's handmade all of those stuff toys, so it was the reason we decided to give them away as we want other children to have happiness while playing them. I can make the doll, however, it will take a week from now."

William couldn't contain his happiness when he heard this, he said "Thank you" a couple of times before explaining his ideal look for the bunny. In the end, he got the perfect gift for Mia to commemorate their friendship.

Original novel by Chuchuwachuwa