Sophie had a problem.
And it was a momentous one to!
She had to find something to get Jin for Christmas. It had been two years since she had last played Santa. Wandering about the deserted islands that surrounded Harmonica Town, she hadn't run into many natives, except for a friendly married couple who were the owners of the "Pineapple Inn". Even then, she hadn't bought them gifts. Her younger brother, Eric, had always been much better at that than she had. Nibbling on her plump bottom lip, Sophie desperately racked her mind for a solution. Pumpkin pie? It was the wrong season for that. A chicken? But he didn't have a barn! What about…?
Squaring her shoulders in determination, Sophie glanced upwards. She could barely see in the blizzard; the sky black above her. Though it was becoming worse with every passing moment, she had to get Jin something! It was going to be Christmas in a matter of days; she couldn't put it off any longer. Trudging through the snow, Sophie approached the last shop she hadn't visited – the Tailors.
Pressing her nose to the glass; warmth spread across her cheeks. Behind the glass windows was a fantastic array of items. With the dominating leader, Luna, nothing was less than spectacular. Lights hung down from the ceiling, illuminating the red and silver tinsel that had been strung across the room. Various outfits were on display; formal dresses, coats to survive the bitterest temperatures, rainbow colored mittens, etc. There was even a mannequin dressed in a Santa suit with a white beard about his chin! Scarves of every color and pattern hung about the necks of the mannequins. Blinking, her lips parted in surprise. Maybe he would like a scarf? It would protect his throat, helping to prevent against colds and sore throats. Surely he would accept it from her if he thought it counted as a…a hero against fighting illness!
The tinkling of a bell filled the air, Sophie's eyes widening. Was she in trouble? Anxiously she stepped back from the window display, squinting her eyes through the flurry of snow to see a few feet in front of her. It was a tiny woman, her features shielded by pink fabric tied about her head like a hat. Shelly, she recognized.
"Come in, come in. It's freezing out there!" Shelly called sternly, a frown tugging at the corners of her lips. Placing her hands on her hips, she held the door open to the shop impatiently.
It was all a bit silly to her. It wasn't as if she were like a doll crafted from fine china! Though during the four months since she had come to the island, she had always been sick. She couldn't exactly blame the villagers for treating her this way, could she? Still it made her feel a bit odd – like she should be treating them like that. Especially Shelly! She was nearly four times Sophie's age.
Bowing her head in response, Sophie trailed into the warm building. Though she had made sure to bundle up well, she was a bit relieved to be in doors. A fire was blazing in the nearby fireplace, scraps of fabric and dress forms placed a careful distance away from it. Pulling the thick gloves from each of her hands, she placed them awkwardly in the pocket of her jeans.
"May I l-look at the scarf?" Sophie mumbled, peeking shyly down at her furry boots. She wasn't used to spending time around many people, mainly sticking to her beloved animals at her farm. It was much more comfortable there. It wasn't as if she didn't like others, she adored the kind souls that lived on the island. However she always felt a bit worried about what to say or what to do.
"Of course you may." Shelly replied; carefully unwinding the scarf from about the mannequin. "Luna had such fun making this. It's part of a set if you would like to look at that…"
"N-No thank y-you." Shaking her head, Sophie smiled nervously towards the woman. She only had a few hundred pieces of gold with her, hopefully enough to buy the scarf. If not she could always go mining – she had a few days before Christmas came at least.
Offering the scarf to her, Sophie gently took the item from her. She wasn't sure what his favorite color was, but the sky blue color was positively lovely. Wrapping the scarf about her neck, Sophie buried her nose against the soft fabric. He would like it, maybe even love it. At least she hoped so.
Reaching into her rucksack, she drew out a small leather bag. Sophie prayed that it would be enough for the scarf; setting it down next to the cash register.
"Is this for someone special?" Shelly asked, tapping her fingers against the square numbers. Blankly Sophie focused on the register, not wanting to be distracted. Though she had always had a slew of thoughts, she had a hard time focusing one more than one at a time. Sophie's heart quickened as she waited to see the total, sucking on her lip.
649g.
Just enough! Relief flooded her features; the barest whisper of a sigh escaping her lips. Thank goodness. Her attention shifted to Shelly's question. Her eyebrows scrunched together as she looked back down towards her feet. There were tiny, white balls decorating the laces of her boots made to look like snowballs. She had always adored them, pleased that her shoe size had remained the same – a size four – throughout the four years since she had bought the boots.
"N-No, just a friend." Was Jin someone special to her? Yes, he was. But not in that way. He had saved her life, she owed him a lot! An awful lot. But did she like him in that way? They had spent a lot of time together. And she…she missed him, missed his comforting and steadying presence beside her. They had only spent time together when she was sick though…
Turning to the side; Sophie was just about to leave. She would have to feed her pets before going to bed and make sure to check on Frenchie, the newest addition to her family. A cute black and white sheep, she had been acting a bit strange lately. Hopefully she wasn't becoming ill! Sophie wouldn't be able to stand that – she cared more for the health of her animals than for herself. Perhaps a bottle of warm milk would do the trick to make Frenchie content again.
"Tut, tut, come back here you poor girl. Give me your rucksack." Her tone left little room for negotiating; Shelly's hand extending outwards expectantly.
"O-Okay" Sophie replied, sliding the pale yellow strap from her shoulder. Carefully she placed the rucksack on the top of the desk. Curiously she watched Shelly, her fingers curling about one of her curls. This was a habit of hers; something that she had never quite been able to break. Tugging on it, she rocked back and forth on the tips of her toes.
Turning her back to Sophie, Shelly easily snipped the few threads that were connecting the rucksack with its straps. After that, she ran the jaws of the scissor down the seams of the panels that made up the rucksack. She was a master of her craft; even from watching her backside, Sophie could see that. Her hands ran swiftly about the fabric, making fixes here and there before pulling out scraps of fabric from her apron's pocket.
"Tada!" With clear delight, Shelly presented the rucksack back to Sophie. The once threadbare faded rucksack had now been transformed. Instead of the bland, faded yellow material it was now a cherry blossom pink. Cute heart shaped stitches ran up the seams and down the lines that would connect the straps to it.
"You remembered!" Peals of delighted laughter filled the room as Sophie bent across the desk; running her index finger across the fabric. A week before this, she had visited the shop, wanting to buy a pair of pink – or red socks. She had mentioned that her favorite color was pink to Shelly, a bit absent minded. Yet she had remembered.
Grasping the rucksack by the straps, she pulled it close to her. It was like a teddy bear to a child. She found the rucksack comforting as if it were her own teddy bear. Raising her irises to meet Shelly's kind gaze, Sophie couldn't help but smile.
"Thank you, Shelly!" She exclaimed, happiness lacing her words. Certainly she hadn't expected the woman – or anyone to do something like this for her. Her cheeks were flushed with pleasure as she beamed.
"Merry Christmas, Sophie. And make sure to keep warm!" Making a clucking noise with her tongue, Shelly shook her finger towards Sophie teasingly.
Shelly reminded Sophie of her mother. Her mother had always been dominating with an underlying sweet side. Though…her mother had been more firm, in some ways. She believed in letting a child figure out what to do and what not to do. This was a prime example when Eric spent hours out in the rain, coming down with a severe cold that turned into the flu. Their mother hadn't said a word, expecting that he would learn his lesson after that.
"Oh, w-wait!" Sophie exclaimed, digging her hand down into her pocket. Uncurling her fingers, she stepped forwards to set it on the table. It was a small toy ring; the faux diamond shaped gem made of glass set in a plastic band made to look like silver. Sophie had found it in the bottom of one of her dresser drawers one day. She hadn't remembered finding it somewhere; she had always preferred sapphires, real or fake. "I-It's not much but its…pretty." She finished lamely, inwardly cringing.
"Thank you. It's pretty." Picking it up, Shelly slid it on to her bonny finger. Luckily it fit perfectly, even though Sophie's hands were slightly smaller than hers.
"Merry Christmas, Shelly." Sophie whispered, ducking her head shyly. If only she knew that Jin would be pleased with her gift for him as Shelly had been with hers. Still…
Playing Santa was fun after all.
Note
I was a bit nervous about this chapter. But…I think that it turned out fairly well. It's a nice break from the last chapter – and nice to see Sophie well, right? I do have to warn anyone who is reading this series, however. In the following chapters up until the end, subject matter will turn extremely dark. Sexual content, violence, etc. will be raging with a bit of romance around the edges. As always, I appreciate anyone who takes the times to review, or simply read this story.