When they were 12, he told her about a book that his grandfather used to read to him as a little kid called The Purple Penguin. It was a story of a penguin named Perry who lives in the Arctic and is ridiculed because he was different from the other penguins. Luckily, a beautiful female penguin, Penelope, befriends him, to the dismay of her many penguin suitors. One day, the purple penguin stumbles upon a small magic stone that would turn his garish purple coat into a beautiful black and white when held, allowing him to blend in with the rest of the flock. When the young penguin speaks to his grandfather about the stone, the elderly penguin informs him that the stone is legendary and that he is able to make the change permanent if he swallows it whole. Just as he is about to ingest the magical stone, Penelope appears to stop him, confessing that she loves him as he is and would never want him to blend with the rest. Overjoyed, Perry throws away the stone and he and Penelope go on to mate and bear a new breed of loveable lilac-hued penguins.
He loved that book so much as a little boy and even slept with a copy of it at his bedside each night until he was nine, but his mother accidentally threw it away, as it was tattered and she was terrified that the book housed a plethora of germs. He hasn't had any luck finding another copy of The Purple Penguin, but he is still able to recite the story almost word for word to this day.
The morning of his 15th birthday he prepared to pay her a visit. When he opened the door, however, he was halted by a pristinely wrapped box with a small tag that read "To Freddie" tucked under a large bow. A smile slowly spread across his face, as he only knew one person, other than his mother, who would take such care in wrapping a gift. He carefully unwrapped the box and lifted the lid. Inside was something heavily wrapped in white glittery tissue paper.
When he tore away the paper, he found an original edition of The Purple Penguin, just as he had remembered it looking all those years ago.
He felt as if the wind had been knocked out of him. He gently ran his fingers over the worn, leathery cover and broken in binding, hardly believing that he had the book in his possession once again. Though it was not his original copy, it still jolted memories of his grandfather, who had passed away almost two years ago. Though he missed him terribly, his elation over the gift outweighed any sadness he may have felt at the moment. He was so excited that he almost overlooked the modest birthday card at the bottom of the box, once hidden by the book. On its cover was a picture of a penguin wearing a birthday hat, flapping his wings and shouting "Happy Birthday!" with excitement. He laughed at the sheer adorableness of it as he opened the card, only to find a handwritten note in tiny, immaculate writing:
Dear Freddie,
HAPPY BIRTHDAY! I wanted to get this for your 13th B-day, but I had trouble finding it. Thank goodness for online shopping! Anyways, I know you may be too old to enjoy it now, but the look on your face when told the story of your grandfather reading it to you still sticks with me. It was obviously special to you and I hope it still brings great memories!
Lots of love,
Carly
P.S.- If you need someone to read it to you, I'm right across the hall. Call me anytime. :o)
A/N: "The Purple Penguin" is not modeled after any specific children's story/book and any resemblances it shares with any published work is purely coincidental. Also, thank you for reading!