Letter #7: Reni
"Hey, Reni! Guess what tomorrow is."
Reni tilted her head to one side, considering Iris' inquiry. "Tomorrow is the 5th of July."
"And?"
"We do not have a scheduled stage performance." Reni knew what Iris was getting at, but she decided to prolong her friend's agony a bit.
Iris pouted. "You're no fun, Reni. How could you forget what tomorrow is?"
Reni smiled. "How could I not? You've been reminding me about it for the past week."
"Iris just wants to make sure Reni gets her a nice present." Iris winked at Reni before skipping away, no doubt to look for more people to remind.
I can't believe she's turning 14 tomorrow. Reni smiled as she watched Iris start running towards Maria, listening to her remind Maria what tomorrow was.
Reni checked the time. She was a few minutes late from her scheduled outing to buy Iris' gift. She quickly walked towards the entrance to the Teigeki and found Sakura waiting for her.
"There you are, Reni. I was wondering if you would show up."
"Iris waylaid me on my way to meet you. I lost track of the time."
Sakura giggled. "Iris is really excited about tomorrow, isn't she?"
Reni gave her a quick nod. "Shall we go? I am anxious to begin this excursion."
"You really must learn to loosen up a bit more, Reni." Sakura opened the door. "Maybe today, I can teach you that."
Reni and Sakura walked down the main street, stopping by store windows once in a while to admire the displayed items.
Sakura led her to a toy store. "I think this would be the best place to buy Iris' present."
"Negative. Iris has indicated to me that she is no longer interested in toys and the like."
"Is that so?" Sakura paused in thoughtful silence. "I wonder what else we can get her."
"Get what?"
Sakura and Reni turned towards the familiar voice.
"Sumire-san! Just the person we needed!"
"Need for what?"
"We are looking for a birthday present for Iris. Toys are unacceptable."
Sumire shifted her weight to her left foot and bit on the perfectly manicured tip of her finger as she considered what her fellow Hanagumi were telling her. "Hmmm. A present for Iris and toys are out of the question..."
"Can you help us, Sumire-san?"
Sumire nodded. "It seems that I can. As you know, I am quite knowledgeable with such things and anything I choose would be perfect. In fact, some would consider me an expert. Ohohohohoho!"
Sakura turned to Reni. "Aren't we lucky to have bumped into her."
Reni could only nod in reply.
Shopping with Sumire was an unusual experience for Reni. She had never seen anyone purchase as much as Sumire did -- buying shelves of clothes and boxes of shoes at one time.
Reni had to admit that Sumire did have a good eye for premium items. She had pointed to Reni the little jeweled handbag with the floral design and declared that it would be the perfect gift for Iris.
Sakura, despite the many years of friendship with Sumire still managed to get star-struck with her friend's shopping prowess. "Wow! You are so wonderful, Sumire-san!" Sakura looked at Reni. "Are you buying it, Reni? Do you mind if I bought it for Iris?"
"Go ahead, Sakura. I'm sure we can find other items."
Sakura eagerly took the bag off the peg and went over to a salesperson.
"What kind of present did you have in mind, Reni?"
"I'm not really sure. This is the first time I'm buying something for someone. I don't really know where to begin."
Sumire regarded the younger girl who had joined the Hanagumi over a year ago. Her first impression of the German was that she was reserved and too serious for someone her age. But Sumire knew that she had a good heart -- one that sincerely and deeply cared for people.
Sumire was very observant about such things and she was a very good judge of character.
"I'm sure that Iris will cherish anything that you give to her."
Reni smiled. "I hope so."
Sumire smiled back. "I know so."
After another hour of visiting stores, Reni was able to find, what she thought was the perfect gift for Iris -- and without Sumire's help. It was a gold necklace with a bear pendant. Sakura clapped her hands in glee when Reni decided to buy the necklace. Even Sumire admitted that it was a wonderful present for Iris and praised Reni's eye for spotting such a precious find.
They returned to the Teigeki with parcels in hand.
"Thank you for helping Sakura and me today."
Sumire smiled in acknowledgement.
"Hey, Reni. Want to go to my room to wrap your present?"
Reni shook her head. "It's okay, Sakura. I think I can manage the task on my own."
"Oi! There you are." Kanna walked towards the group. "The Taicho sent a postcard to each one of us. Here are yours." Kanna handed each one a postcard.
Sakura's eyes lit up as she clutched the postcard to her chest. "This is a perfect ending to a perfect day." She juggled her packages in one arm. "If you'll excuse me, I'll go to my room and read this."
Reni followed behind Sakura. She went into her room and sat down on her chair to read the Taicho's message. She propped her feet up on the crate beside the chair. She was smiling and her eyes misted as she read the Taicho's words -- she could almost hear the Taicho's voice speaking to her. She flipped the postcard over and looked at the picture of the Eiffel Tower and smiled wider.
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Greetings, Taicho.
Thank you for the postcard. The Eiffel Tower is truly a marvel of human engineering and I would love to study the aerodynamics of it one day.
Tomorrow is Iris' birthday and I spent the day with Sumire and Sakura looking for a present. I think she will like what I got her -- it is a necklace with a bear pendant.
Iris' excitement over her birthday reminds me of how I felt when I celebrated my birthday for the first time last winter. Birthdays become truly special when one celebrates it with the people one cares about.
I hope you will be back in Teito in time for my next birthday.
15th Year of Taisho, July 4
Reni
~ next -- Letter #8: Kasumi, Tsubaki and Yuri
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Author's Notes:
- If you want to see how Sumire shops, watch the TV Series.
- Iris's birthday is July 5. This is mentioned in the TV Series and in the Sakura Taisen 1 game.
