When I was five, one day, my great aunt visited us in our tiny half-dilapidated apartment. Since she lived in Tokyo – 2 hours away from my hometown by the bullet train -, we couldn’t see her often, but she was one of my favourite relatives and I always looked forward to meeting her. She always understood young children’s feelings, and made a great playmate. On top of that, she always brought us special gifts which answered our wishes like Santa Claus.
We all went to the station to pick her up, and once we got back home, my great aunt placed her bags by the sofa and started talking with my mother, who was preparing tea and snacks in the kitchen. My brother and I circled around my great aunt, wanting to draw her attention but without success.
After some moments, I peeked into one of her paper bags and jumped with delight. I saw a box of sailor moon doll that I had requested her earlier along with a box of toy buses, which was my brother’s request. I really wanted to open my gift, but I needed to ask my great aunt first. However, I wasn’t sure how to bring up the topic without sounding too greedy.
I called my little brother to my side, and asked him if he could ask her about our gifts. I often asked him to do the tasks I found emotionally difficult to handle. As soon as I asked him, my brother ran to my great aunt, who was still deep in conversation with my mother, and tapped on her shoulder. Then without any hesitation, he asked,
“Where are the gifts?”
My great aunt turned to my brother and raised both of her hands into the air, expressing that she had completely forgot about them.
“Oh, yes, yes, your gifts! Here they are! I hope you will like them!”
Then she handed the paper bag to us. Both my brother and I eagerly took out the boxes and opened them. The next moment, we were dancing around the room with our dream gifts as if it were Christmas. We finally became quiet when my mother called all of us for tea and snack.