"In stores for a limited time only.
Get them while you still can!"
The
commercial had done its job well. The
boy was hooked. He thought of asking
his mom to drive him over to the nearest toy store, but he thought better of
it. His mamma had been running herself
ragged for the past year, always going to meetings early in the morning and
coming home exhausted late in the night.
And
anyways, he thought. I'm a big
boy; I can walk to the store all by myself.
And without another moment's
hesitation, the boy jumped up in excitement and headed for his bedroom. He needed to get his jacket, toque, and
gloves if he was going to go outside.
The weather had been getting a bit too nippy for his liking.
Once he'd
gathered and put on the necessary things, he stole down the two flights of
stairs necessary to reach to the main floor of the mansion. As softly as he could, he opened the front
door, wincing slightly as the knob gave a tiny squeak of protest. The boy paused, expecting at any moment to
be caught, but no one came. Sighing
with relief, the boy stepped out through the door and began the five-block walk
to the local toy store.
As he
neared his destination, the boy thought of all the things he could do with his
new toy. He kept on walking,
daydreaming as he went until he found himself at the front of the toy
store.
Going
inside, the boy was awed by all the flashy banners and bright lights that lured
the eye to what they should buy. But,
resolute, the he went straight to a man wearing a nametag. He tugged on the man's pant leg to get his
attention, and when the man looked down at him, he simply said, "Can you please
show me where you can get the new "Black Soldier" toy? I'm gonna buy one."
The man
smiled down kindly but apologetically at the handsome boy with an unruly mop of
hair. "I'm sorry, son," he said with a
slight shake of his head. "We're already sold out of those. Sold the last one this morning."
The man
watched the eager light in the young boy's eyes dim. His little shoulders drooped and his head hung, but he did not
cry in disappointment. Instead, he
looked back up at the kind salesman and said politely, "Thanks anyways,
Mister." With those parting words, he turned around and headed for the store's
exit.
Once
outside, he just kept on walking, not looking around at all. He didn't know how long he'd walked, how far
he'd walked, or even the direction he had been taking. But when he finally looked up, all he
noticed was the rush of cold that flashed through his body when he spied his
unfamiliar surroundings.
He was
lost.
Panic
gripped his body, and he bolted in any direction his feet took him. He turned corners and ran up empty streets;
all the while trying to keep his unshed tears from spilling down his cheeks. His throat burned from his attempt to not
scream in fear. Try as he might, he
couldn't find anything familiar.
What made
everything worse was: It was getting dark.
Stopping to
rest, the boy never noticed the man that had walked up to him and now, was just
quietly waiting for the boy to catch his breath. "Hey there, what's wrong?" the
man said. The boy looked up and felt
his regained breath catch again in his throat.
This man had the most amazing eyes
he had ever seen. They were such a
colour that he couldn't put an exact description on them, except that they were
penetrating but somehow comforting.
They made him instantly trust the man.
But somewhere in the back of his mind, the thought that he had seen
those eyes before gave the boy pause but only for a second.
"I'm lost," he said. "And it's
getting dark, and mamma's gonna get worried." It was getting colder too, the
boy noted, shivering. The man saw his
shudder and took off his scarf and wrapped it snugly about the small boy's neck
and shoulders.
"Here, you can wear that. You need it more than I do." The man's hand lingered slightly on the
boy's head as he adjusted his toque, but the boy didn't notice. "So where do you
live? I can help you walk home,
ok?" He stretched out his hand toward
the boy.
As if it were completely natural,
the boy took the proffered hand, disregarding the fact that this man was, well,
a complete stranger. "143 Endless Lane." he replied.
"Hey, that's not that far from
here, actually." the man said. "Come on, let's get you home."
And the two began to walk.
If any of the passersby took the
time to notice, they would have seen the resemblance between the walking pair,
from the way they walked with catlike grace, to the way their backs were held
straight and upright. But no one
noticed; they were all too busy with their own lives to take note of such an
everyday occurrence.
And the two just kept on
walking. They talked of many things:
their favourite food, what their favourite car was, and all the other stuff
that "guys" only talk about. The boy
was enjoying himself so that he was actually disappointed when he found himself
at the gate of his home. Having a
bright idea, he turned around and asked, "Would you like to come in for a
bit? We can have some hot cocoa with
marshmallows."
Sadly, the man shook his head and
watched as the boy's eyes fill with tears.
"Sorry, little one, but I've gotta get going. It was nice talking to you, though. Maybe, someday, we'll see each other again." It wasn't a promise,
but the boy had a feeling that he would be seeing the man again many
times.
They said their goodbyes, but
before the man went, he bent down and gave the boy a long hug. Then he turned to go, walking down the lane
and only stopping to turn around to give a final wave to the boy who was still
at his gate, watching him leave.
Seeing his mysterious friend go,
the boy walked toward his house, but he realized he still had the man's
scarf. He ran back out into the street,
but his friend was nowhere to be seen.
Feeling slightly guilty, the boy rationalized. I'll be seeing him again, so I'll return his scarf to him then.
Once inside, the boy was met with
his mother's relieved but angry eyes. "Seth Yuy," she demanded, hands on her
hips. "where on earth have you been?
I was worried sick out of my mind!"
"I was out at the toy store." Seth
replied. "But I'm sorry, mamma, I should've told you where I went."
His mother never could stay mad at
him for long. Wordlessly, she held open
her arms and he rushed into them. Grabbing fistfuls of her long golden hair, Seth told her of his
small adventure. And all the while his
mother just rubbed his back and smoothed out his dark hair.
But when he got to the point about
the man with the mysterious eyes, he felt his mother pull him back slightly and
stare in horrified fascination at something around his neck.
"W-where did you get this?" she
said, taking the scarf that Seth's friend had left him.
"That man I told you about lent it
to me." Seth explained, slightly confused.
He didn't understand why his mother had all of a sudden gone an ashen
colour.
Slowly, unbelievingly, his mother
turned the scarf over to where the tag of the scarf was. Her eyes widened and she gasped. Seth was alarmed.
"Mamma? Mamma, what is it?" he said tugging at her sleeve.
Finally, his mother's unfocused
eyes met his. She sniffed, picked up
Seth, and carried him over to a rocker near a roaring fireplace. She gently set Seth on her lap and showed
him what she had seen. On the label, in
flowing handwriting, were the words:
To,
my beloved Perfect Soldier. Love always, Relena.
"This,"
Relena Yuy explained to her son, "was the scarf that I gave to your daddy, a
year ago before he went missing." She touched
the fabric gently with loving fingers, and kissed Seth softly on his forehead.
Three hours
later, if anyone cared to look into the wide bay windows of the front room,
they would've seen Relena and her son, Seth, still in the same position that they
were in three hours before.
If they
were observant, they would've noticed that the woman, her head bent towards a
scrap of material in her lap, had a solitary tear course its way down the pure
curve of her cheek.
And the
boy… Well, he was asleep, dreaming
about the man, with his blue eyes.
[]
¬_¬ []
The end… Or is
it? hehe, you gotta tell me, cause I
need to know if you guys would like a continuation. Please tell me what you think ok?
