the gift

A young schoolgirl. On the last day of school before the winter break. There'll be a party. She's brought a few gifts, carefully wrapped just so, for a few of her special friends.

Upon arriving at school, she finds that she's missing one of the gifts. She searches her bag. She searches her back pack. She checks the floor, retracing her steps. It's nowhere to be seen. Where could it be? She's sad. She's upset.

I take the crazy dog out for a walk nearly every day. The therapy has done wonders for her social skills, and for me, I enjoy being outside with her. On these daily treks, we find all sorts of "treasures". Baseballs with the outer skin falling off, slobber soaked tennis balls, various species of "scat". On a good day, I might find a dime.

But today, among the melting snow and muck on the walking path, there it was. A small red and gold gift-wrapped box, finished off with a tidy green bow. The label read "To Mickinsay From Stefani" in somewhat shakey young penmanship.

And that's when I saw her in my mind. This Stefani. Arriving at school, excited for Christmas. Missing one of her carefully wrapped gifts. "Aaaaaawww", I think I actually said it out loud. Dog probably thought I was weird.

We got home from our walk, and I headed back up to the elementary school after dropping off the dog. The office ladies might recognize the unique spelling of the names and know the owner.

"Ah, yep, I know who that is", the secretary said, "Thanks for bringing it in." I almost want to thank the girl for dropping it.

Finally something worth finding.
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