Dill Delight
Disclaimer: I do not own Harper Lee's To Kill a Mockingbird, or any of the characters
Dill Harris sat on his bed, reminiscing his childhood. He recalled the days when he, Scout, and Jem would act out scenes of Boo Radley and his mysterious family. He also recalled finding out that, a few years after their games; Boo had saved his two dearest friends from an attack by Bob Ewell.
It had been summertime, and he'd just arrived in Maycomb for his annual visit. As soon as Scout had spotted her, she had made a beeline for him, and rattled off the string of events as fast as she could chatter. He'd paid rapt attention, shocked at how much had happened since he'd left; and at how calmly, if not animatedly she was talking about the attack, as if it were a good story, and not a frightening experience. He himself was taken aback by the news. He'd never thought there'd be much danger in quiet old Maycomb. True, Tom Robinson had been shot dead a summer or two back, but he had been escaping prison; that was different. Then again, he also remembered how a gang of men—Cunninghams, maybe?—had threatened Atticus, Scout's father, quite seriously. Perhaps he had been surprised just because Scout was the victim, and Jem. It did make sense, seeing as Atticus had fought a court case against the attacker; but hearing that Scout, who was so innocent and friendly, had been attacked, somehow bothered him. In any case, he didn't want it to happen again.
So he'd managed to convince his Aunt Rachel to let him stay in Maycomb for the remainder of his school years, in order to make sure Scout stayed safe. He'd spent almost all of his time with her for the past six or seven years. At first Jem had been okay with it; he had even joined them on several occasions. Then he had started staring at them, with a frown on his face. Dill laughed, remembering how it had taken him so long to figure out exactly why Jem would give them that look. Despite his childish proposal to her back in elementary school, he had, throughout his middle school career, thought it ridiculous that Jem could think of him and Scout as more than friends. But as the years moved on, he had grown very close to Scout, and their relationship had changed. She seemed more mature, graceful, and beautiful; yet she still maintained her direct personality.
Sighing, Dill glanced at the clock. It was midnight, and he still hadn't done anything. Tomorrow he was going to graduate high school and climb aboard a ship on his way to Australia, to study abroad, and he needed to get Scout a gift to say goodbye. He had actually originally declined Mr. Kern's kind offer to travel, but Scout had seen how much he would have liked to go on such an adventure, and insisted that he take it up. He had wanted to watch out for her, but she told him she could take care of herself, and that it was an insult to her if he stayed just for that one little reason. So somewhat reluctantly, he had taken the deal, meaning he would be leaving Maycomb for four years. But before he left, he had to give something to Scout.
What did she like? She liked lots of things. She liked books, but a book wasn't an original gift. He could write his own book for her, but that would take time, and Dill only had one night. She liked hugs and games and conversation, but Dill couldn't give her any of those either—or at least he couldn't give her any that would last. What was something concrete, that he would be able to hand her on the night of his graduation? Suddenly Dill realized that Scout didn't really like material things, she liked the more important things in life, except—Cereal! That was it! Scout loved cereal; it was her favorite breakfast food. He resolved to make her a special type of cereal, one that she could remember him by.
Dill raced downstairs as quickly as he could without waking up his Aunt Rachel. He opened up the pantry and found a box of Cheerios. Perfect, he thought. He took the box into his room and began to wrap it. After covering it in construction paper, he carefully printed the name of the cereal on the front: Dill Delight. On one side of the box, he replaced the nutrition and ingredients with those of his personality and appearance, and on the other side, he provided a description of a prize inside the box. He made his way back to the kitchen and found some green food coloring. He sprayed the food dye all over the Cheerios until they turned green in coloring. Then he found a pickle, his prize, and dropped it in with the Cheerios. On the back of the box, he scrawled:
Dear Scout,
I hope you enjoy your box of Dill Delight. It's the very first in the history of the world—you should feel special! I've themed it Dill pickles (not to be punny!) so you will always remember me, no matter how far away I am. And I want you to know that even if I don't have a cereal named after you, I will still remember you forever.
Until we meet again,
Dill (Your very own pickle!)
The next day, he gave his parting gift to Scout and watched a bright smile spread across her face, not knowing that she would share his cereal with all of Maycomb County