Disclaimer - I don't own DBZ or any the characters, but you knew that didn't you. Plus, just in case you didn't know, the portion of the poem on the mug is from "Stopping by the Woods on a Snowy Evening" by Robert Frost. Don't own that either. All of this was used without permission.
The Perfect Gift
Goku hated cold days and this was one of the worst. The air whipped about him, trying to pry into the relative warmth of his jacket with its icy fingers, made sharp by the high relative humidity. Goku shivered, wishing he had known the weather was going to be like this. He would have put on a pair of gloves or at least a warmer jacket. He glanced down at his hands, which were bright red from cold. Yes, he would have definitely put on a pair of gloves. He glanced around at all the stores on either side of him. For a mall, there sure wasn't much of a selection he thought when he noticed a bench.
He sat down, somewhat disgusted, on the bench. Immediately, he knew that it had been a mistake to sit down here. It had rained earlier and now the bench was coated with a thin sheet of ice. However, he decided not to move. His butt was already cold and wet. At this point, numb might actually be an improvement. Sighing aloud, he stretched out his legs.
The cold wasn't what was causing his unusually foul mood. It was stress. Tomorrow was Chichi's birthday, and he still didn't have a present. This is not to say that she even expected a present really. She would be happy if he just wished her a happy birthday. (He had forgotten once just after Gohan was born. She wasn't angry, but the hurt he saw in her eyes made him vow to himself that he would never forgot another one of her birthdays.) She was not hard to please, but that just made him all the more determined to find this present. He had the money this year. Unbeknownst to Chichi, he had been doing odd jobs for people for over a month now just so he had enough money to buy her present. Money was no longer an issue, but still he was having no luck. He had visited every store in this mall, and had seen many items Chichi would have liked, but he still hadn't found the one that he was looking for. He was beginning to believe that maybe he should go back into one of the stores he had previously visited and buy one of those things, when he noticed a woman walking towards him.
He had no idea why he noticed the lady at first. She looked fairly average, like just anyone you might meet out on the street. She wasn't tall, only about 4'7" - 4'8" and she had a tiny, delicate build. Her hair was completely white, seemingly as pure white as newly fallen snow, and was pulled back tightly in a bun. Wrinkles crossed and crisscrossed across her small face, as if creating a map of all the roads she had traveled. Yet, her eyes twinkled like a small child's who was looking into the window of a candy store. To Goku, she looked like someone's grandmother who had just pulled off the most mischievous prank imaginable. Then he realized what caused the woman to stand out from the crowd. She had an expression of one passing through a pleasant dream and seemed oblivious to the crowd that rushed about her. He watched as she walked towards him.
He realized too late that she was planning on sitting beside him on the bench. He opened his mouth to warn her that it was cold and wet, but she was already sitting before he could emit any sounds. She noticed the condition of the bench immediately.
"Oh my! This sure is a cold seat, isn't it?" she exclaimed.
"Yeah," Goku replied, his answer sounding lame in his own ears. He was completely taken aback by her voice. He had never heard a voice so rich and vibrant before. I bet she can sing beautifully, he thought.
She smiled warmly. "My name's Maggie," she said.
"I'm Goku."
"Glad to meet you Goku. Looking for a special gift for a special someone?"
Again Goku was taken aback. "How did you know that?"
Maggie's smile grew. "I was just guessing actually. However, it was an educated guess. It was the only thing that made sense considering the way you were sitting here and the expression that was on your face. When you've been around as long as I have, you start to notice things. Passing time turns you into a psychologist or maybe just a psycho. I haven't figured out which, just yet." She laughed at her own joke. Her laugh was even more beautiful than her voice. It was almost melodious. Just the sound of her laugh caused many of Goku's worries to melt away. "So who are you looking for a present for?" she asked.
"My wife," Goku answered, promptly. "Chichi. It's her birthday tomorrow."
"And you couldn't find anything for her in these stores?"
"I could find stuff all right, but it wasn't the right stuff. I want to find Chichi the perfect gift, but so far I haven't had any luck."
"What do you think the perfect gift is?"
"I don't know," Goku admitted, "but I think I'll know it when I see it. It will probably practically scream 'Chichi'. But I'm running out of time."
"Maybe I can help you," Maggie offered.
"How's that?"
"I own a little store not too far from here. Why don't you follow me and we'll see what we can come up with."
"I don't know," Goku began. He was very disappointed in Maggie. He had really begun to like her but now it seemed she only wanted to sell him something.
Maggie noticed his hesitation. "Don't worry," she said. "I'm not trying to sell you anything. I just thought we could get out of the cold for a bit. Maybe if we chat we can narrow the field a bit as to what this perfect gift you're looking for might be. Do you want to?"
"Okay," Goku agreed, getting up to follow her.
They walked away from the stores and down a series of streets, slowly progressing to the rougher side of town. Goku wondered if Maggie was afraid to travel these streets alone because she would have good reason to, but Maggie seemed not to notice.
"Why did you put your store so far away?" he asked.
"This building was all I could afford at the time," she replied. "Plus, this neighborhood was not as bad back then. Here we are!"
Goku looked up and was amazed at what he saw. The building she was pointing out was a small, light blue building with white trim. Upon the front hung a large sign, which portrayed a red heart inside of a blazing sun and the words "Love and Sunshine" superimposed upon the image. The building itself stood out like a rose in a patch of weeds. "I had never noticed your store before," Goku said. "I mean, I've only been here a few times, but I'm still amazed that I never noticed this place. It's beautiful!"
"Come on in," Maggie invited. She went inside the store and Goku followed. Inside it was comfortably warm and crowded in a welcoming, cozy sort of way. He had never seen such a large variety of stuff before. "Go ahead and look around," Maggie said. "I'm going to step into the kitchen for a moment." She disappeared while Goku rummaged through her collection.
He found a lamp that was shaped like a beautiful woman dancing in a long white gown. He plugged it in, just to see if it worked, and was surprised when he saw the lamp light up (for some reason he had expected it to be broken), the woman's bioluminescent body appearing to dance more than ever. He unplugged the lamp and went on with his search.
Near the counter, Maggie had placed various coffee mugs. He glanced through the cups, curiously. One near his arm pictured a kola bear cheerfully munching some eucalyptus leaves. Another had an image of tall dark trees. Beneath the image, a portion of a poem had been printed: "These woods are lovely, dark, and deep/ But I have promises to keep/ And miles to go before I sleep/ And miles to go before I sleep." He placed the cup back on the counter as Maggie reentered the room, a steaming cup of homemade hot cocoa in each hand. She handed one of the cups to Goku.
"Thanks," Goku said, taking the cup. He sipped the contents carefully and was surprised at the delicious flavor. If the cocoa weren't so hot, he would have drowned it in one swallow. Maggie took a seat near the counter and motioned for Goku to do the same. Once they were both seated, Goku decided to ask her about the store.
"I still can't believe I've never noticed this place before," he said.
"I don't keep it open very much anymore," Maggie replied.
"Really? How come?"
"After my son was grown, I had enough money to retire. I didn't want to, but Max, that's my son's name, almost insisted on it. Besides, the neighborhood was already getting bad by then and I'm no longer a young woman. Still, I like to come here every once in a while and open the shop once again. I loved this place and I just can't give it up cold turkey, can I?"
"I guess not. Oh, I love the name of this place. It sounds so cheerful."
"The name," Maggie said reflectively. "Now there's a long story."
"I would like to hear it, if you wouldn't mind telling me."
"I don't mind at all," Maggie responded. She took a deep breath as she prepared to launch into her tale. "Well, I won't give you all the details or you'll be here all night. I'll just start with my marriage. I married young. Thought I was in love and thought I was ready. I may have been in love, but I sure wasn't ready. We stayed together for a while. Even had a son - I've told you a little about Max. Then, one day I came home. I was working in a downtown greenhouse and Max had just started school. There was a note on the fridge. Basically it said he just couldn't live with Max and me anymore. He was already gone. A few weeks later I received the divorce papers and a check for child support in the mail."
"That's horrible!"
"Don't blame him. I'm just as much at fault as he was. He had stood beside me during a difficult pregnancy and for that I will always be grateful. Anyway, but now I was alone with Max. I was so depressed and as time went by, I just became more and more depressed. I didn't know what to do. Clouds had formed about my heart and I just couldn't see the sunshine anymore. The next day, it seemed like even the weather was mourning for it clouded up and began to rain." Maggie's eyes became distant as she thought. "This just depressed me more. It rained for a week. Even when it would stop briefly, the sky was still cloudy and gray. To make matters worse, my birthday was in a few days. All I could think of was that I would like to see just a little sunshine for my birthday - just a little. I thought of that each night, wishing with all my might that I might just see a little sunshine, but each day remained dreary. Finally, my birthday came. I woke up and looked out my window and I saw it was still raining. It rained all day, harder than it had rained for quite a while and I became miserable and bitter. I was bitter at everyone at that moment."
"That's hard to believe," Goku interrupted. "You seem so nice."
"Thank you, but right at time I was very bitter. I was sitting on the couch feeling sorry for myself when Max came home. He was carrying a piece of red construction paper in one hand and had something behind his back. He was yelling that he had me something for my birthday. I turned to him and gave me the red piece of paper, which he had clumsily cut into a heart shape. Then, he brought out the hand behind his back and revealed a beautiful sunflower he had picked. It was from one of my neighbor's yards, but I didn't feel like scolding him at the moment. He smiled so big and announced he was bringing me love and sunshine for my birthday."
"How sweet!"
"I realized that I had no right feeling sorry for myself right then. I decided that I was going to save up enough money to buy my own little store where I could sell small gifts and hopefully give more people 'love and sunshine' just as Max had given me. When I bought this place, it was the only name I could have dreamed of giving it."
Goku smiled. "What a beautiful story!" he said. "And what a great ending. So have you been able to give people 'love and sunshine' like you wanted to?"
"So far I've done okay. I want to help more people though. I only wish I was still able to run this store full-time." She paused for a moment. "But enough about this old woman, let's work on getting your wife a present. Why don't you tell me about her?"
"What do you want to know?"
"Just, tell me about her. Anything you feel like telling."
"Okay," Goku said and launched into a description. At first the description was very general but soon it became more and more detailed. He could have gone on but Maggie stopped him after a bit.
"That's fine," she said. "Well, I can tell you one thing - you've already given your wife the perfect present."
"What? What is it?"
"Your love."
"I don't understand."
"Let me explain. You see, a lot of people when they love will only give away a part of their heart. They never want to give their whole heart because they are afraid of getting hurt. But that's not you. I'm a decent judge of character so I'm fairly sure about this. When you love, you love with your whole heart. You've given your love to your wife and now this present for her birthday is only window dressing."
"Then what should I do?"
"Love is the perfect present. Pure, true love has no equal in this life or any others that may come after. Yet, I do know of a particular tangible object, which might serve to represent these feelings. If you go down the block and turn right, you will see a small jewelry store. There are 'going out of business' signs on the windows, so you'll know the one I'm talking about. There are some items in there I bet would be good for you wife."
"Thanks," Goku said, getting up. "And thanks for the cocoa."
"You're welcome," Maggie responded, "but remember this is what I like to do."
He left the store and followed the directions that Maggie had given him. Sure enough, the jewelry store soon came into view. He walked inside and met the clerk. After telling the clerk why he was there, the clerk disappeared in the back for a moment and reappeared with exactly what Goku had been looking for. It was a small, gold heart suspended on a tiny, elegant chain. Goku was surprised when he found that the price was a lot less than he had anticipated.
"You say this is for your wife," the clerk stated. "What's her name?"
"Chichi. But why do you ask?"
The clerk smiled weakly. "Well, I'll tell you what. I'll go and engrave it for you for free. It will probably be one of the last things I sell anyway. I'll be back in a minute."
Goku waited for the clerk to emerge once more. It seemed that hours had passed before he reappeared, but Goku was delighted to see that the front of the heart now read 'Chichi'. Yet Goku hesitated before taking the necklace. "Can I ask you why you are going out of business?"
The clerk opened his mouth to answer, but then shut it and just shook his head. "It's just a big mess, sir. Nothing more to say. Just a big mess."
Goku had thought so for some reason. He handed the clerk all the money he had been saving for Chichi's present. "Here," he said, "this was all saved for just the present anyway. I want you to have it. The necklace is worth even more, I know, but this is all I have."
The clerk looked at the money. He started to refuse, but tears came into his eyes. "Thank you," he whispered.
Goku smiled and nodded. After leaving the store, he headed back home.
Chichi's party was the next day. It was just a small party and the cake was store bought (Chichi was the only one who could make good homemade cakes and they didn't want her to have to cook the cake for her own birthday). Soon, it was time to open presents.
She opened Goku's present third. Her mouth gaped open in surprise and tears welled up in the corner of her eyes. "Goku, it's beautiful!" she gasped. She turned the heart over in hands to study it. "You even had the back engraved," she said.
Goku was surprised and leaned forward to look at the back. So that is why the clerk had taken so long engraving.
Carefully he read the words engraved on the back of the heart:
You have all my heart
And all my love
Forever
Goku could barely believe his eyes as he read the inscription. It felt almost like Maggie herself had wrote it. It was truly the perfect gift. "It's the truth, you know," he said. "You do have all my heart and my love."
Chichi smiled, and kissed Goku. "And you have mine," she said.
A few days after the party, Goku decided to visit Maggie to thank her for leading him to the present. He only hoped she would be at her store today. He took several wrong turns before he finally found the store. He stared at it a moment in amazement. This couldn't be the store, yet it was.
He walked to the front of the building. It was dilapidated and vines were crawling up the sides. He could see the spot where the sign 'Love and Sunshine' hung, but it looked like that sign hadn't been there for quite a while.
"Are you interested in buying?" a voice inquired.
Goku turned around and saw a tall man walking towards him. He looked very professional in his suit and tie. His dark hair was just starting to pepper gray, but the eyes behind the glasses sparkled with vitality. "No," Goku replied, "I'm just looking."
The man walked up beside him. "I've been trying to see the old place. I've got some great memories here, but now that the neighborhood has gone down the gutter I don't see any reason to hang on to it. Believe it or not my mother used to have a store here."
Goku was stunned. He almost asked him if he was Max, but something made him stop. "Really?" he asked instead.
"Yeah, but that was years ago. She called the place 'Love and Sunshine.' She just wanted to help people like it was her mission in life."
"Where is M- your mother now?" Goku asked. He had come close to saying Maggie.
The man paused. "About five years ago, Mom had a stroke. Mentally she recovered perfectly, but her body was paralyzed. We ended up putting her in a home. I didn't want to, but she said it was for the best. She died quietly about six months later." Tears welled up in the man's eyes as he remembered. "Right up until the end, she was trying to help others," he continued, "I mean right up until the last minute. She was giving advice to the nurses from everything to hairstyles to boyfriends. Everyone loved her. Being paralyzed couldn't stop her from trying to help. Only death was able to stop her." He wiped his tears away. "Sorry about that. I usually don't pour my heart out to strangers. Here," he handed Goku a business card, "if you ever hear of anyone who might want to buy the building, give me a call okay. My name's Max."
"I'm Goku," Goku responded, looking at the card.
"Well, been nice talking to you," Max said and he left.
Goku stood there several minutes, still not understanding what had just happened. He walked around the building to see just how much damage there was when he saw something that made him pause. Behind the building, there was a lot of graffiti, but something caught his eye. In the midst of all the chaos was these words written in bright yellow: "Love is the perfect gift." Beneath the words grew a single sunflower.
Goku smiled. He wondered if he should tell Max that he was wrong about his mother - even death couldn't stop her from helping others, but decided against it.
Turning away, he heading back home. He had decided to give Chichi and little "love and sunshine". It was what Maggie would have wanted.
The End