It was April’s ninth.
Above the doors a sign announced ‘Gift Shop’ in large, colorful letters, which Beto thought were somewhat annoying. He took a quick look through the display, but the stuffed animals and ribbons did not help him in any way to understand the reason of him being there. He came to the annoying conclusion that he needed to enter and rummage around the place for a minute or two so that the uncomfortable feeling he was experiencing since dawn would leave him alone. Just one step inside, and the variegated scent of perfumes, flowers and plastics almost make him turn around and run away from the big store; but a force greater than him kept his feet in place. His conscience told him to gather courage for the task before him. «What was it?», he asked himself. The answer came without hesitation: a birthday. Someone special to him. Although he could not remember who.
“April 9, 1813 is a date you will never forget, right?”
With overwhelming resignation and hands in his pockets he began to walk through the corridors full of souvenirs of all sizes. One, two, three employees tried to offer their help, but gave up when he looked at them as intensely as the children in the park trying to take his panda. «I have to do this alone», he repeated to himself «I have to choose the right gift», and in his faded memory something flashed, a portrait of pink ruffles and plump little hands.
“It was a girl, a healthy and strong girl”
He stopped in front of an extensive line of plush animals: bears, giraffes, cats… stuffed animals that would melt anyone’s heart. He took a caramel-colored bear with a big round nose, and looked into its eyes. It would have been the perfect gift if she was a little girl, maybe two or three years old; but inside him, a kind of foreboding (or maybe knowledge hidden in the back of his mind) told him it was not like that. He had to keep looking.
“She grows so fast and you can’t even imagine who she looks like…”
After a few more turns around the store, he found what he was looking for. His eyes lit up while he twirled his hands, and almost released a laugh of victory. A musical box, small and exquisite, with a clearly artisanal design. The perfect gift for her! Not only he paid for the box; he had it wrapped in pink paper and a big red bow.
“She is very talented, even at her youthful age, I assure you that you can be proud of her”
Outside the store, the preciously clouded sky gave way to a light and warm rain. Beto sheltered the gift inside his black jacket, and under the protection of an umbrella, walked with a firm step back to his home. Nobody in the mansion was aware of that gift, whose card said the name: ANONIM.
