The Gift for Her Birthday

"I'm not sure. I probably won't be able to come, because I'm attending a conference tomorrow afternoon." I said. "But I'll try my best. Advanced happy birthday. Bye." I hung up my cell phone and stepped out of the car. I was on my way to pickup my dry-cleaning.

The shop next to the Laundromat is a flower shop. As I walked past the flower shop, I couldn't help notice the little girl standing in front of its door. She looked like she wanted to go inside, but she was probably too shy. I ignored the little girl and continued my way inside the Laundromat where my suit awaits. I'll be using the suit for my business conference tomorrow. I wasn't really on a hurry, but I thought it was ready. Apparently, something wrong happened to one of their dry-cleaners, so my suit got delayed and I had to wait for half an hour before it was ready. 

The lady in the Laundromat apologized, but I told them that it was no problem. So I picked up my suit and left. To my surprise, the little girl was still peering through the window of the flower shop. She was still there. What was she doing? I tried to ignore her, but when she smiled at me, I couldn't help but feel like her smile was her plea for help. 

And so I asked her what was wrong. "What is it little girl? Do you want to buy some flowers inside?"

The girl became somewhat troubled. "Yes, mister. I want to buy some flowers for my mother. It's her birthday today, you see. My mom loves lilies and I want to get her those colorful lilies, but--" I think I know what's wrong. "-- I don't have enough money." 

She's really thoughtful and sweet. "Okay, what do you say if I buy them for you instead?"

Her face lit up and her joy was contagious. "Really? You'd really buy them for me? Thank you, mister. I really thank you!" So I went inside and bought the bouquet of colorful lilies for her. When I got out, she was very ecstatic and joyful. "I'm so happy! My mom's going to be happy too!" She exclaimed. You know, I was happy too. Who would've known that giving something can make you this happy. "Ah! Mister. Can I ask one last thing before you go?"

Because I was such in a giving mood, "Sure." I said. It turned out that the girl ran short of money to go back home. She was worried of that too. So she hitched a ride with me and her flowers, while I put in the address on my GPS. I don't really know this address or where we're going, but the GPS marked that it would take almost an hour to get there. How did she get very far? She's just a little girl. After almost an hour, I didn't know what to say. I was dumbfounded where this address had taken us.

"Are you sure about the address?" It was silly to ask, but I just had to clarify, because we were somewhere unexpected. I checked the GPS and the location's right. The little girl smiled again and nodded at me too. So I followed her when she left the car.

After walking some distance, the little girl stopped and paused for a moment. Then she placed the flowers. "My mom was fine in the hospital--" she began to sob a little. "I never knew that my mom would die the next day. My mom died on her birthday in the hospital. She had pneumonia and I wasn't able to say happy birthday to her, because she died early in the morning. She died last year, mister." She wiped her tears, but I couldn't help cry with the little girl in the cemetery as well. "Happy birthday, mom."

I finally drove the girl home and her father anxiously waited outside the house. He was very relieved when I brought her daughter, but I'm amazed at the coincidence that her father is my co-worker. So it wasn't hard to explain to him what had happened. 

"Please, join us for dinner. I insist." her father says. 

"Thanks... but... I have a plane to catch." Maybe I'm too apathetic to care, because I think that they'll still be there tomorrow. Maybe I'm too lazy to tell how important they are to me, because they've been with me for so long -- that I think that it's highly unlikely for them to disappear. Maybe I have my own definition of 'important' and that my priorities are actually mixed up. But the truth is, no one knows what will happen tomorrow. I guess I shouldn't take their life for granted. I guess I should cherish them while they're here. After all, would it make sense to spend some time with someone that isn't there anymore? I should be glad that they're still here. I should be glad that I can still talk to them. That I can still walk with them. That we can still do fun stuff together. 

"Yes? Who is it?" I should be glad that I still have my familiar reason to knock on the door to our old house. "... WHA- OH MY! What a pleasant surprise!" I should be glad that I can still touch them... feel them... embrace them... "I thought you said--"

I should be glad that I'm still able to say it. "Happy birthday, mom. I love you. Dad! I brought you something!"