4 Pre-birthday shopping (2)

The market was divided into four sections, each having an unique atmosphere. They were divided into a food section selling anything related to food, be it fried chicken or spices. Second were the low priced accessories like cheap bracelets and earrings. Following was another section related to accessories, but the shops in the third section were quite pricey, so one had to be careful to not get scammed by shrewd vendors. The last section sold homemade goods ranging from pottery to knitted toys for kids.

To pay back Jade for the long wait Rebecca was forced to buy various foods for her, such as fried noodles, fried chicken, and some vegetable dumplings. Looking at her best friend wolfing down those huge food portions Rebecca could only sigh in her mind, while thanking her mom for giving her those twenty dollars.

Slowly walking down the streets they kept looking at the different street stalls and shops. Especially the second and third section were a lot of fun for them, they were able to shoot a lot of pictures with different rings, bracelets and necklaces hanging of their hands and necks.

But after realising that both of them weren't going to buy something from their stalls some shop owners would scold them for blocking other customers while different ones just smiled and complimented them since they thought that two young girls playing around with the accessories would attract more customers.

It was around three in the afternoon when the two of them arrived at the fourth section. Even if some stalls looked like they were selling overpriced junk, other shops where selling genuine goods that looked no different from the shops in the third section.

While continuing the stroll Rebecca's eyes fell on an accessory shop selling bracelets and necklaces. What cought her attention was a pair of identical bracelets. The silvery bracelets sparkled in the afternoon sun, reflecting the light with the metallic leaves hanging from the bracelets shaped like three intertwining vines. But the most breathtaking part was a flowershaped blue crystal on each of the bracelets. It's colour was lighter than a sapphire and it gave off a peaceful and calming vibe.

"Uncle, how much are these bracelets?" Rebecca asked while pointing at the bracelets. "They are twelve dollars each. The main body and the leaves are made of stainless steel while the flowers are made of a crystal I found by chance while hiking in the Jade Mountains.", the vendor replied while smiling.

Thinking about her budget Rebecca turned to Jade and asked: "Is a family bucket of popcorn enough for the movie? Otherwise I will be unable to buy these bracelets."

The shop owner felt his mouth twitch. Just how much popcorn can a person eat during one movie? The family bucket had that name for a reason!

Meanwhile Jade nodded and replied: " It should be enough. We are going to cook at your place anyway, so I don't want to overeat before even arriving at your home."

Hearing that answer Rebecca couldn't help but roll her eyes while imagining herself standing in the kitchen the whole evening while watching Jade wolf down all the food... She felt like crying, but it also gave her a strange sort of satisfaction.

Turning back to the vendor she said:

" Uncle, I take both of them" and handed the money over to him. Feeling the cool sensation of the cold metal bracelets she couldn't help but admire the fine craftsmanship. From up close she could even see tiny veins interweaving on the leaves, making them look incredibly realistic.

Twelve dollars seemed awfully cheap since they looked like really high quality goods. But no one would pay more then they have to and her funds were limited as well so she didn't say anything.

While walking she took one of the bracelets she handed it over to Jade. "It's for you. Take it as an early birthday present. Now we finaly have something matching to wear after all these years." , she said with an beautiful smile on her face.

"Thanks a lot but... isn't it your birthday tomorrow? Mine isn't until october and you know it. Why do you give it to me this early?"

"Since you already saw me buying it, it wouldn't have been a great surprise anyway. So I might as well give it to you now. Come on, hurry up and put it on already!"

Rebecca said with a slightly red face and helped Jade to put it on. "Besides, I want you to have something to remember me with when I'm gone..." Rebecca added in a low voice which Jade couldn't hear clearly.

"Did you say something? I couldn't understand you, sorry." she inquired curiously. "I said don't you dare to lose this bracelet or you will feel my wrath", Rebecca responded in a joking manner and laughed. "I'm completely serious though, so really, if you lose it I will kick your martial arts butt."

Jade felt a chill running down her spine when she heard those words. While she was a really talented martial artist (karate, judo, taekwondo, krav maga... you name it, she has a black belt in it) she was mysteriously never able to match up to Rebecca when she was angry.

"I promise that I won't lose it! I will treasure it for the rest of my life and never take it off, no matter when! So no butt-kicking please! At least not mine..." she hastily blurted out and held her left arm with the bracelet to her chest and embraced it with her other hand.

While part of her only said it to appease Rebecca, another one was serious about it as she really liked this bracelet. And in the future no one would ever see both of them without the bracelets on their wrists, but that wasn't known to those two yet.

They continued to walk down the streets until the early evening. After buying some more fried noodles as a snack they went to get their bikes. While slowly riding them towards the cinema, they continued to chat about their summer vacations.

Because Rebeccas parents were always busy, she rarely got to go abroad during those weeks. Meanwhile Jade's parents are amlost always able to clear their calender for a few weeks a year. In the end they would always end up dragging Jade, her big sister and younger brother around the world, visiting a lot of uncommon destinations. Last year Jade ended up camping in the rainforest of Brazil. This time her family went through a hike on top of the Mount Everest.

As an experienced couch potato Rebecca, who was never able to go to such places, loved to hear Jade's stories of her summer vacation. The movie they went to was a horror thriller chosen by Rebecca's preferences.

Usually Jade would never go into a five mile radius of a horror movie, but every year on Rebecca's birthday, she would make an exception just for her best friend. And cling to her and scream non-stop during the movie.

But on the other hand Jade loved romatic movies. And Rebecca didn't. So on Jade's birthday it would be the other way around. So in the end, it would be balanced. This year wasn't any different. During the gory zombie scenes Jade grabbed Rebeccas arm like there was no tomorrow, while Rebecca stroked her head to calm her down.

It was around seven in the evening when they (finally) left the cinema.