Treasure the Memories
Tying Shoes
"'Member, when you tied your shoes," a blue-haired boy with glasses directed another just like him but younger, "you cross 'em, pull one under and tug. There, try that."
The little boy concentrated on his right shoe. Large, blue-bordered glasses sheltered his gentle eyes and his tiny hands tugged on the strings of his shoes. After several seconds, he finally tied the knot.
"'Kay." He nodded and waited for further directions.
The older brother made a loop with one end and said, "And then you loop it… And then you swoop it… And then you pull. Try it."
"Loop… soup… puwl," the younger child tried to finish, but something went wrong and only his first knot remained.
"Keep at it."
The youth was left alone in his room, trying to tie his shoe. Frusterated, he brought his round hands to his eyes and started to cry. No matter how hard he tried, he couldn't tie that stupid shoe! After he calmed himself down, the child tried once more, still teary-eyed. To his surprise, when he pulled on the laces, a bow-like form came onto his right shoe. He stared in awe and then jumped to his feet.
"Brother! Brother!" he cried and ran down the hallway. The sight of his brother appeared, but before he got there, he tripped over his left shoelace and fell to the ground. Tears rushed out of the child's eyes as his brother lifted him up.
"Hey! You tied your shoe!" he smiled.
The little look-alike smiled too and forgot about his pain, "Loop, soup, puwl. Thanks, brother!"
"No problem," he nodded and set him down. "Congratulations, Jyou, you can now climb the stairs of success without tripping over your shoelaces. Just watch out for flower pollen."
Newly Found Goggle-Boy
A young brunette yawned and dangled his feet from the stool he was sitting on. His hair was not only twice the size of his head, but it was messy. Whining about how much he didn't want to cut his hair, he looked up at his father with big brown eyes.
"Papa," he stuck out his bottom lip, "I don't wanna lose my hairs."
"Why not?" he asked as he took out a pair of scissors.
"Because you don't have to cut yours t'day."
"So be a big boy and get your hair cut by yourself."
"But I like my hairs."
"You'll fall over someday."
The little boy sat with a puzzled expression. His father patted his shoulder and held out a box.
"Papa, it's not my birfday."
"Sometimes a father likes to give his son a gift."
Tugging on the orange ribbon, the youth watched as the lid came open. Inside was orange tissue paper with blue stars. He reached in and felt around until the touch of a headband came to his fingers. His little hands grabbed onto it and pulled it out. The box fell from his lap. Goggles were in his hand and his eyes stared at the gift. Another second passed by before he looked up at his dad. His dad in return took the goggles and pulled them over his son's head. It automatically fell to hang around his neck.
"Hm," he rubbed his chin, "a bit too large. But you'll grow into them."
"They're cool!" he touched the headgear with his hands again and smiled brightly. "Thanks, Papa!"
"You're welcome, Taichi. Now… how about that haircut?"
"No way! I've gotta show Kawri (yes, it's a meant-to-be typo) my goggwels and then Matt and then Sowa. And then--"
His dad chuckled and walked out of the room. Right after, Taichi ran out to show his new goggles to his sister and friends.
My Little Kitty
"Tai, Tai… Let me see. Pwease, I want to see." One little girl tugged on her brother's sleeve.
"No, put your hands over your eyes like this." Taichi held his hands to shield his sight. She did the same. He then led her out into the living room with his hands over hers.
"Can I see yet?"
"Nope," he waited for a second and then said, "now you can."
She dropped her hands to her sides and blinked to focus her vision. In front of her was a box with three large holes in the side. Falling to her knees beside it, she threw off the top and peered into it. A little milk-white kitten with tinted brown marks huddled in a corner and looked up at her with scared blue eyes. All the little girl could do was scoop it up into her hands and look up at the older boy.
"Tai! It's so cute!"
"It's a she."
"…She's so cute!"
The kitten mewed and rubbed against her cheek. Ten seconds after meeting each other, they fell in love with each other. For the rest of the day, she spent time with her little kitten. Dragging a string, they played in the living room. Pouring the milk, they ate on the kitchen floor. Of course the girl had a sandwich and the kitten had its milk. And as the day started to end, both started to get tired.
"Kitty, kitty…" the child yawned and fell onto her bunk bed. Clawing sounds came from the bottom of the bed and soon, the cat pulled itself onto the girl's bed. It purred and nuzzled up to her and almost instantly, the feline fell asleep. Taichi walked in and looked up at his sister.
"Hikari… What are you going to name your kitty?" he asked.
"My little kitty's name will be…" she yawned and closed her eyes, "Meeko."
Phone Call Away
"Mama…"
"What is it, son?"
"I miss somebody." A child with messy blond hair peeked through his mother's door.
She turned in her bed; obviously, she was asleep before he had come in. "Who is this somebody?"
"Somebody," he climbed onto the big, soft bed. His mother's arm wrapped around his shoulder and her hand ran through his locks of blond hair.
"Is this somebody far away?"
"Uh huh. Very far away," he said and leaned against his mother's stomach.
"Why do you miss this somebody?" she questioned and continued to sooth the boy.
"Because he's not with me anymore."
"Well, honey…" whispered the woman; "I know a way you can fix that problem."
"Really, Mama?"
"Really," she said and picked up the phone. Within a minute, the young toddler was holding onto the receiver with both of his round hands and sitting on the floor of his mother's bedroom. She had fallen back to sleep.
"And then you know what? I woke up and came into Mama's room. And then you know what? I woke her up and she started to talk to me. And then you know what? She told me that you were only a phone call away. And then you know what? She called Daddy and told him to wake you up. And then you know what?--" he was saying quickly.
"Squirt, slow down, slow down…" the voice on the other line said.
"I'm sorry, brother…"
"Don't say your sorry stuff."
"I'm sorry."
"Hey--"
"I mean! I'm sorry!"
"Squirt--"
"I'm sorry I keep saying sorry!"
"Takeru!"
"…I'm sorry…"
Laughter from the other line made him smile. For once in a long time, his eyes brightened and shined with that hope he always seemed to have. That night, Takeru stayed on the phone with his brother until dawn made them realize that they were sleepy.
"Remember, TK…" Yamato was saying to his four-year old brother, "I'll be only a phone call away."
"I wuv you, big bro'…" Takeru couldn't even keep his eyes open, let alone speak more clearly.
"I love you too, Squirt…"
When Computers Say "I Love You"
A faint beeping noise came from the living room and a child sat up in his bed. The nightlight at the opposite side of the room was burnt out and the door was wide open to let the light in. He slipped out of his bed and his feet brushed against the gray carpet. Then he walked to the door and looked out. The beeping noise started to annoy him, so he walked into the living room.
"Oh! Computer technology! Puh! We'd be better off without these stupid things…" his mother was in a fury trying to get the computer to shut up. The little boy quietly set himself on the couch and folded his arms over his stomach. His eyes never left his mother.
Finally she noticed him and asked, "Is something wrong, Izzy?"
He didn't say anything. He never said anything. His parents didn't know why he didn't speak to them like other three-year olds would. By now, he would have been chattering his mouth off and making himself get in trouble. But not him. He rarely ever smiled to his parents. Maybe they knew why. It was always said that a child could tell when his parents weren't his real parents…
"Koushiro? Did you have a nightmare?" she asked more questions. His round finger pointed to the computer and the horrid beeping noise took place of talk.
"I'm sorry, dear, but I can't get it to stop." She said, knowing that he wouldn't understand.
Koushiro slid off the couch and then sat on the computer chair. His hand reached for the computer mouse and his mother blinked in confusion. Clicking noises echoed with the beeping, and soon, everything stopped. He looked up at his mother and tilted his head a little bit.
She smiled at him and lifted him up. Sitting down, she sat him on her lap and pulled out the keyboard. "Have you ever seen one of these?"
Koushiro shook his head.
"Well, this is a keyboard. Keyboards have little buttons to push to put letters on the computer screen." Her fingers tapped the keys and then she pointed to the screen. "See your name?"
Koushiro nodded.
"Do you want to try?"
He nodded again. Soon, he was pounding his finger into the '1' key and watching it appear on the screen. A faint grin formed on the little one's lips and he looked up at his mother. She returned the smile and wrapped her hand around one of his. Pushing the keys with one of his fingers, Koushiro followed his mother's hand. When she stopped, he looked up at the screen. Excitedly, he pointed to the screen and shot his mother a wide smile.
"Yes! Yes! It's your name! Can you type it on your own?"
Koushiro studied the keyboard and then finally started to type something. While he was typing, his mother brought her hand to her lips and tears formed in her eyes. He finished and looked up at her again. His finger pointed to the little message reading "I love you mama".
"Well, I love you too, Koushiro…" she kissed him on the head and hugged him. To her surprise, Koushiro hugged back.
Ballerina Baby
The sky was decorated with a bright blue color and fluffy white clouds. Outside, the green grass blew gently in the summer breeze and a little girl ran through the field with her arms stretched out. A little red flower decorated her light brown pigtails and her eyes twinkled in the sunlight. She skipped to a tree and sat down on the blanket. Her parents greeted her with a smile and she lifted a mini-sandwich into her hands.
"Sweetie, we'd like to give you something." Her mother smiled at her beautiful child.
Puzzled, she asked, "Why?"
They laughed and held out a box with a big pink bow on it. "Because we love you," they said together.
"Mama…Papa?" the little girl sat up in her bed and realized that her dream was just that… a dream. She ran out of her room and into her parent's room. Both of them were asleep. A sigh escaped her lips and she walked back into her room.
Stories of family break-ups were all the girl heard from her friends. Someone's mother left someone's father to join with someone else's dad. Somebody disobeyed a father's rule and that somebody was sent to his mother in a whole new continent. It was for obvious reasons why she was keeping an eye on her parents. It was also for foolish reasons she thought they were going to leave her. They would argue with each other about who got the remote control after which show and who would have to take her to her dance class. She didn't realize that they were just play fights.
She waited for them to wake up so she could ask them about it. When they awoke, she did just as she planned: she asked her question and waited for an answer. Her parents looked at her with worry in their eyes.
"Honey… do you think we're going to divorce over a little remote controller?" her mother asked and knelt down beside her. The father did the same on the opposite side and stroked his daughter's hair.
"We may fight, but nothing's going to make us fight so much that we would cause such things." He said.
"Are you sure?" the girl asked, giving them her quizzical look.
"Positive." They said together.
In her dream, they would have pulled out a present with a big pink bow on it. But that was her dream.
"Okay." She said and turned to walk into her room.
"Wait, Mimi…" her mother called and walked to the closet door.
Maybe her dream was coming true! Maybe her mother would bring out a present with that glittery bow and hand it to her! And then, like it would happen in her dream, her mother and father would hug each other and watch their daughter smile brightly. Then that green park and blue sky would all come into view and it would be just like paradise!
Her mother pulled out a little jewelry box. Mimi stared at it. How simple it was. It was made out of wood with a glass cover and the glass was tinted pink with white ends. Her mother held it out to her with a smile on her face.
"It was mine when I was your age… I thought that since you liked dancing so much, you would like it too…"
Mimi's eyes started to glisten with tears. "Mama… really? You're givin' me your ball-uh-tina box?"
"Ballerina, dear." Her father chuckled.
Mimi took the special box into her hands and sat down on the floor. Her child fingers opened the lid and the mirrors on the sides caught the rays of the light above. A pretty ballerina was painted on the bottom of the interior of the box and the music played with a lovely sound. For years, Mimi always tiptoed into her mother's room to just open the box and listen to the music. Now it was hers. All her fears of her mother and father leaving her diminished and she stood up while the music played. That day, she twirled in the hallway and danced to the sweet sound of the music box. Everything was going to be just fine from now on.
"Thank you, Mama… Papa…" she said after her amateur ballet recital was over.
"You're welcome, Ballerina Baby." Her mother giggled. Mimi joined in the Tachikawa giggle and gave her parents a hug.
Baking With Mama
A young girl sat on a large stool with a long wooden spoon in her hand. Her bright eyes shone out like a star in midst of midnight and her smile was as bright as the moon. Beside her stood her mother, stirring cookie dough in a bowl. Young Sora sat with anticipation on her face, just waiting for the chance to lick the spoon. Finally, her mother set down the spoon and took out the cookie sheets. Sora willingly dipped her spoon into the dough and shoved it in her mouth.
Her mother looked at her and frowned. "You should have eaten that more wisely."
"What do you mean, Mama?" she asked and removed the spoon from her mouth.
"You know I only give you that spoonful."
"I know… but I love the cookie dew."
"Dough, Sora. It's cookie dough."
"That's what I said. Cookie dew."
The little girl watched as her mother formed the mixture into perfect spheres and placed them perfectly on the sheets. She then watched as the cookies were placed in the oven. Reaching for the bowl with her finger, Sora's hand was slapped with the spoon.
"Owwie!" she yelped and pulled her hand to her lips, tears in her eyes.
"You've had enough."
"But Mama!"
"I don't want to hear it."
"Mama!" she whined and jumped off the stool. She walked into the living room and fell onto the couch. Crying only a little, Sora wiped her eyes and stared at the ceiling. Minutes passed by and the fresh smell of cookies rose into the apartment building. Sora breathed in the delicious smell and sighed.
"Mama won't let me have any cookies now that I ate the stupid cookie dew."
"Cookie dough, child…" her mother sat down beside her with a plate full of perfectly baked cookies.
"Mama, I'm sorry for trying to eat the cookie stuff without your permission."
"It's okay, as long as you learned a lesson."
Sora rubbed her hand, "I sure did."
Her mother placed a warm cookie into her daughter's hand and smiled, "Besides, a baked cookie is much more better than the dough."
Sora bit into the cookie and savored the wonderful taste. "Mmm… It's good…"
"I told you."
"But the cookie dew is still better." Sora giggled and her mom hugged her.
"Silly girl…"
For the rest of the afternoon, Sora helped her mom with the cookies. But she didn't help with the baking; she helped with the eating!
End
Hope you liked it. ^-^ If you were wondering why I didn't have Yamato's story, it's because I already kinda did one. It's called "Being Just Like Daddy". So which story was/is your favorite? And which was your least favorite? And which was the strangest one? Cough*Mimi's*cough. ^-^ Cast your votes. Naw… but please review. I'll go now. Tata. ~Hika' 'Kaishi