A trip to the mall

I always try to get my Christmas shopping done as early in the year as possible. It works perfectly with adults since they often still need that thing they wished for but didn’t get last Christmas. Unfortunately I got a nephew a couple of years ago. Don’t get me wrong, I love my nephew. Like me he likes doing jigsaw puzzles so everytime I come over to visit my sister and her family we do a puzzle together.

But the thing with kids is that they are unpredictable and they seldom wish for the same thing one christmas after another. And that’s the problem. Even though I asked my nephew for his Christmas list early in the year so that I could do my shopping in peace and quiet, he started to give me a new list as late as september. So annoying. Last year I couldn’t get my shopping done until october. It was awful.

This year however takes the cake. I already bought him a gift, a puzzle he wished for last year but didn’t get. But then, only a few days ago, he informed me that he didn’t want a puzzle anymore. He wants some cards with little figures on them. He uses them to play some kind of game with his friends at school. 

This would all be alright, except that it’s the end of november and to buy these cards I have to go to a specific store which is only found in our town's shopping mall. I don’t like malls. There’s always too many people that are walking too fast or too slow and either they don’t know where they’re going or they have tunnel vision and just elbows themselves forward.

But now here I am, getting shuffled around by the masses. It took me about forty minutes just to find the store and then I had to call my sister several times because there were lika a billion different decks of cards to buy but I couldn’t tell if there was any difference between them. I finally selected one, I have no idea if it is the right one, and then I only had to do one more thing. Get out. But this turned out to be impossible.

I walked around for what must have been at least an hour. I think I felt the fresh cold air at one point but as soon as I tried to follow it, it got replaced by the warm, humid, shopping mall-air. I also consulted several information boards but they all pointed me in different directions. At this point there was no way around it. I was stuck at the mall.

I sighed and turned away from the information board that showed a map over all the stores and floores and faced the crowd again. Maybe if I just take a step out in the sea of people I should eventually get herded to the exit.  But the thought of having to get out there again, getting shoved and having people walking so closely that it would be easier for me to carry them, did not attract me. The best way to get out would be to wait until the mall was about to close. Then, hopefully, a guard would see me and be able to escort me out. 

I figured this was my best option and took aim at a bench only a few steps away. I sat down and closed my eyes and wished I had not forgotten my headphones at home. 

“Can I sit here?”

I looked up and a small child stood in front of me. I nodded absentmindedly and moved over to make room for her on the bench. The girl climbed up next to me. She was too small to reach the floor with her feet and started violently swinging her legs back and forth. To my annoyance it made the whole bench move. But then suddenly she stopped and pointed at the ridiculously big and colourful bag between my feet.

“What’s in your bag?” she asked.

“It’s just something for my nephew.” I replied.

“But what’s in it?” she persisted.

“Some cards of dinosaurs or something. I’m not quite sure.” I mumbled. 

“Oh, you mean pokémon cards?”

“Yes, I think that’s what they’re called.” 

“I wished for some pokémon cards as well.” she continued. “I hope I get some but mum says I already have plenty, but I think my grandpa’s going to get me some anyway. I’m teaching him how to play, he’s getting pretty good actually.”

“That sounds nice.”

The girl started swinging her legs again while looking at all the people rushing around in front of us. It’s actually quite meditative watching everyone else walk around, as long as you don’t have to go out into the chaos yourself. 

“Where’s your parents by the way?” I asked after a while.

“I’m not sure.” 

The little girl started looking around as if she expected them to jump up from behind the bench.

“Mum said something about needing to get something for my grandmother and my dad... I think he went to the bookstore. I don’t think he actually needed a new book, he just likes going there.” 

She rolled her eyes at this which made me think that she usually has to go with her dad to the bookstore.

“I’m guessing you’re not a big fan of books?” I asked.

“I mean, I like to read. But dad only reads boring books with no pictures and there’s never any dragons in them.”

“I see.” 

Books without dragons are usually pretty boring.

“And then my mum took my brother’s hand and my dad took the stroller with my little sister in it and then they just kind of left. But they said they would meet up here so I thought it would be best for me to just wait here until they came back.”

“That’s clever of you.” I said and the little girl smiled at me.

“I know.” she beamed.

Then she picked up a hair tie from her pocket and started playing with  it.

“Do you play a lot of games with your grandpa?” I asked after a little while.

“Well..” the girl seemed to think hard. “We mostly just play regular card games. And cluedo, he loves cluedo. But lately we only play pokémon. I’m trying to teach him everything but it’s hard, he doesn't always remember the things I teach him.”

“It can be hard to learn new things.”

“Yes, it is. I think the math at school is hard, I never get the right answer. Dad says I have to study harder but I rather just play cards with grandpa.”

“I get that.”

“Do you play pokémon with your nephew?”

“No. I hadn’t even heard of it until he told me he wanted them for christmas. We usually do puzzles together. I actually bought him one, but he doesn't want it anymore. He wanted these cards instead, so he can play with his friends.”

I looked down at the bag and the little deck of cards lying at the bottom of it.

“I bet he still wants to do puzzles with you.”

“You think?” I asked and smiled at the girl.

“Of course. But maybe he also wants to try something new. When I first told my grandpa I started playing pokémon he just sighed and didn’t even want to try to learn it. It made me kind of sad because I think it’s so much fun. But now we play all the time, he even watches the tv-series with me sometimes.”

“There’s a tv-series you have to watch as well?” I said and rolled my eyes dramatically.

“You don’t have to.” the girl laughed.

We kept talking until her parents came back. Both looked really embarrassed that none of them had checked where she was. They hugged her alot and told her how sorry they were but she reassured them that they had not needed to worry. Her parents thanked me for looking after her and I said that it had been my pleasure.

Before they left the girl turned to me and said:

“It doesn't matter what you give your nephew. He will always want to spend time with you.”

“You’re absolutely right.” I said and smiled. 

We waved towards one another as she and her family walked away through the crowd. I stayed at the mall almost until closing time. Then I figured there were so few people left that I should be able to find the exit without being swept away by a herd of people. As I finally walked out into the fresh, evening air again I couldn’t help but think that maybe shopping malls aren’t that bad after all.