It was relatively early in the morning, but still a few hours after the opening of the shop. It was a quiet day with barely any clouds, which allowed for the sun to shine brightly above. It was a nice feeling, considering the cool air of the morning. It was a lonely way to the little toy shop, but the quiet atmosphere was also welcome, considering how busy things could get around this area.
On that fine day, two good friends were on their way to the shop, for a good cause. A man and a woman, seemingly of the same social rank, with the man carrying a large box.
The man was dressed nicely and professionally, wearing a business suit with a small crosstie in place of a generic tie. His long, strand-like black hair was tied into a long, tight ponytail that waved along behind him as he carried the large brown box in his hands. A peculiar ring sat in his right hand, with a strange, yet beautiful stone shining under the light. It was definitely unique, with no other ring looking like this one in the entire world.
The woman was fancier than her partner. Her own medium, thick black hair went down to her shoulder blades, with a thick strand covering the left side of her face. A massive, fancy white feather boa curled around her neck, with a matching white dress that fit her form perfectly and stopped right below her knees. Her matching black and white heels were the only reason why she was almost as tall as her partner. Despite her monochrome design, the woman carried makeup on her face to highlight her features, and jewelry all over her body shone under the light. The necklace around her neck was the most particular of them all, having an intricate and unique design with a beautiful, lush blue stone that glittered with the faint outline of a dragonfly. Despite the two looking rich and professional, the woman was definitely the most elevated of the two.
She was also the grumpiest, but not because she'd had to wake up early. No, the woman was frowning and keeping her arms crossed in a pouting manner simply because of what they were doing.
"Shaindel, my dear, I'm reconsidering this decision," she announced to her partner, turning to him in order to look at him.
"Must we really do this?"When the woman spoke, the man turned his head to face her, blinking.
"Mairwen, you're the one who told me you needed to 'clean your house'. Getting rid of these dusty things that you haven't used is the first step in doing that," he reminded her calmly, although internally he was hoping the woman wouldn't argue about this issue too much.
Although Shaindel had been raised in a rich family — his father being one of the most powerful and famous attorneys in the land — he'd never truly been raised to be egotistical, materialistic, or narcissistic. He'd been raised with good manners, good values, and it was simply in him to be kind to others. While he appreciated money like the next person, he saw it simply as a convenience, and not as a means to happiness.
His good friend, Mairwen, had been raised in a completely different way. She was the eldest daughter of the Meriwether family, a ridiculously powerful and rich family whose wealth probably could not be rivalled by anyone. Because of their incredible wealth and resources, the firstborn child had been spoiled rotten and raised mostly by the family butlers and servants. Shaindel remembered their days of youth when Mairwen was absolutely despicable and shallow: back in the days when the woman wouldn't even want to look at him or talk to him due to the difference in status and wealth.
Despite her wealth, life had not been kind to Mairwen. The shallow, egotistical and materialistic woman had gone from an unbearable spoiled drama queen to a kind, fair woman who learned the value of honest hard work. After a fatal injury that caused her to lose her left eye and after the tragic death of one of her sisters, Mairwen learned that life had more to offer than money and material possessions. Although she was still a work in progress at times, Shaindel could confirm that the woman had made incredible progress in getting over her shallow habits.
Today was one of those hard days for Mairwen. Although she'd moved out of the familial home years ago, the woman found herself feeling claustrophobic from all the things that were in her house: and considering her standards, one could simply imagine the size of said house. Upon having mentioned this problem, she sought the help of her good friend. Shaindel, who wasn't particularly attached to things, was the best person to ask for this project.
Therein lied the problem: he was
too perfect for the task. Admittedly, Mairwen hadn't expected him to be... so very diligent and fast about the whole thing.
"Yes, well, that may be true..." she argued back, tapping a finger to her chin,
"... but you barely left me any time to think this through.""I thought you asking me to help you meant that you had thought about it," Shaindel pointed out, still keeping his temper and voice calm. He knew he would have to reason with her, and playing this game with Mairwen could sometimes turn out to be quite the ride.
"It's already in the box, Mairwen. Think about it this way: if you keep emptying your house with one of these every few weeks, imagine how much space you'll gain over time," he added right away without giving her any time to reply to him. He had to encourage her, somehow, in order to keep her will strong.
There was a sign from the woman, but she didn't say anything.
"Well, if anything, I can always buy them if I want them again..." she whispered to herself, so quietly that it simply sounded like some incomprehensible mumble to Shaindel.
"What?" he questioned in response to the mumbling, considering he hadn't heard whatever Mairwen had said.
"Oh, nothing, Shaindel, dear," Mairwen answered quickly before subtly biting her lip and turning her eye away.
"Oh, here we are, already," she quickly added afterwards, changing the subject immediately to stop Shaindel from dwelling on whatever she'd whispered prior.
"We can get this over with quickly, now." The sooner they would get this over with, the sooner her pain would go away.
Shaindel would've tried to question Mairwen on whatever she was hiding, but he had no time to do so as the two reached the entrance to the little toy shop. Mairwen was kind enough to keep the door open for him, even if every single book on good manners would tell you that the man should be the one opening the door. Fortunately for Shaindel, such things were no longer absolute rules for Mairwen, but rather simple guidelines. Had it been the former, he would've had to put down the box in order to open the door for her, while somehow dragging the box inside while keeping the door open.
As they stepped inside the rather desolate shop, the two headed straight for the counter, where Shaindel dropped the box. The things inside jingled with various sounds, and whatever they were, they all sounded like they were items from this shop that were no longer needed.
"Good morning," Shaindel greeted, bowing quickly and shortly as a simple display of manner.
"We were doing some cleaning when we came across this wares. They are no longer serving us any purpose, so we thought perhaps we could bring them back to you, to do as you see fit," he explained, pushing the box towards the clerk.
"I hear you're having a small promotion if we bring back these items. We're happy to get whatever you're offering.""Most certainly if you are offering rare, expensive items," Mairwen chipped in excitedly, but she fell silent when Shaindel shot her a stare.
"We'll accept anything you have, regardless of rarity or value," he corrected to the clerk before turning back to Mairwen calmly.
"Won't we, Mairwen?"There was only silence between the two for a few seconds, as the woman bit her lip slightly. Ah, the pain she was going through right now in order to pull through this ordeal, if only to please him!
"Ah, but... of course," she eventually added, although her forced smile somewhat contradicted her words.
"As for what's left in this box... You can do whatever you want with them. They're still in good condition, so please feel free to give them to the poor or the sick children," Shaindel offered, knowing that, despite her still present shallowness, Mairwen would agree on that suggestion.
Indeed she did, although she followed Shaindel's suggestion with a short pause.
"Yes. Please, do that," she agreed, her voice, this time, truly sounding genuine and honest.
"If they can go to someone who needs it more than we do." And really, when you put it like that, there truly were a lot of people who needed these trinkets more than she did. It made the ordeal a lot more bearable, and not only that, but it also made it worth it to let go of those neglected items.