Chapter 4
‘Even though I knew what to expect, when I walked back into the shop area, I could feel my eyes widen and my heart start to race. I felt my jaw drop as I looked at the absolutely dazzling colors, heard the exotic sounds and smelled the rich, thick sweetness. My senses were immediately overwhelmed. I longed to be left alone in the room, to be able to investigate every nook and cranny, to be able to play with each toy, to feel the velvety softness of the stuffed animals and taste the rich, sugary candies.’
‘“Which one will it be then?” a cheerful, expressive voice said. It took me a few seconds to realize Chris’s mother was asking me the question.’
‘“I’m sorry, are you speaking to me? I said when I regained some of my senses.’
‘“Yes, dear. You wanted to taste the chocolates. Which one would you like?”’
‘I felt a shiver run through me. “I’m sorry did I say that out loud?” I asked, surprised by her comment.’
‘“No dear,” she said soothingly. “I saw it in your eyes. You do want one don’t you?”’
‘“Yes,” I said, wondering if I was being rude by saying so.’
‘“Which one will it be then?” she asked, sweeping her arm in a wide arc, letting me know I could choose from any of the chocolates in the display case.’
‘There were simply too many to choose from. My eyes scanned the selections and my mind went completely blank. I had never seen so many types of chocolate. I wasn’t even aware there were so many types. I rarely ate candy of any kind, not that I didn’t love it, it just wasn’t around unless it was a birthday or holiday or some kind of special occasion. I got a chocolate bar on my last birthday, but that one was just a long thin bit of chocolate wrapped in dark brown paper with white lettering. There was nothing as ordinary as that here. Each piece looked unique, there were dark pieces and white pieces and dark pieces with white swirls in them and white pieces with dark swirls in them, some were thick like fudge, while others were thin, but molded into shapes. I could see a dark chocolate star, a white chocolate bell and a dog with white and dark chocolate swirls. I smiled when I saw one, made out of a caramel colored chocolate, in the shape of a chicken.’
‘As the seconds passed I could feel the pressure building. I needed to make a selection, but my eyes were drawn from one amazing option to the next. Finally, after what seemed like an eternity, feeling the immense pressure to make a decision, I blindly pointed into the case and blurted out, “I’ll take that one.” As it turned out, I was pointing at the least amazing piece of chocolate in the display. I had selected a small square piece, not light, not dark, not thick, not thin, just an ordinary bit of candy.’
‘“Are you sure, Hun?” Chris’s mother asked questioningly.’
‘“Yes ma’am,” I replied. Having finally made a decision I felt obligated to stick to my choice.’
‘“Then this one it shall be,” she said, her smile as friendly and inviting as ever. “I’ll just put it in a bag for you to take with you.”’
‘I watched as she picked up the piece of chocolate with a pair of tongs and placed it into a deep-red bag. “I hope you enjoy it,” she said as she handed it to me.’
‘“Thank you very much” I said, only remembering my manners at the last minute. The bag she handed me was beautiful. It was deep red, almost burgundy. It didn’t feel or look like paper, more like some kind of fabric, possibly velvet. There was a string with little tassels on the ends woven into a seam at the top edge of the bag. When you pulled the string it pulled the fabric together, closing the bag. I was worried the bag would be ruined by the chocolate, but I decided not to say anything. I gently put the bag into my pocket, trying not to squash the chocolate inside, as I followed Chris out the front door.’
‘“Hey, what are you guys doing?” someone said from behind me.’
‘I paused, momentarily confused when I turned around to see Chris standing behind me, but then I remembered how much he and his brother looked alike.’
‘“Hello Nicholas,” I said, trying to cover my temporary confusion. “We’re going to explore the village. Would you like to come with us?” I asked, excited about having not one, but two friends.’
‘“Yes, I would, thank you,” he replied politely.’
‘“See you later, Mom,” Chris and Nicholas said in unison.’
‘“Bye, Mrs. Frost and thanks again for the candy,” I said, as I headed out into the warm spring sunshine with my two new friends.’
‘For the first hour or so we walked around the village. I felt both happy and proud as I gave them the tour of our little town. I explained the history of each building, or at least as much of it as I knew. I told them about the families who lived in the houses as we passed them. Whenever we met someone I confidently introduced them. As we walked, we talked about silly things young boys talk about, baseball, Sherlock Holmes cases, fishing, things easily said and soon forgotten. The bond of friendship between the three of us grew as the day wore on. I felt more comfortable with them, we laughed easily and often.’
‘Nicholas, I discovered, was the comic of the two. He rarely took anything seriously and typically laughed at the bits of history I eagerly gave them. Chris however, I could tell, was taking it all in, cataloging it in his mind. He asked questions about the people who lived in the village. Who they were, did they have children and if so, how many.’
‘We walked the main road through town. But, besides the road, there were also several trails woven throughout the forest around the village. These trails were created over many years by hunters, bird watchers and families who lived outside the village as a faster, more convenient route into town. We decided to follow one of these trails back to their house.’
‘As we walked along the trail going deeper into the forest, I noticed the silence. There was no crunching of dried leaves beneath our feet, no dried twigs snapping as we trespassed through the woods. Everything was warm, soft and silent. Spring was in full bloom. The buds on the oak and maple trees were just beginning to burst open to reveal the tiny leaves within. The sun’s warm rays penetrated the branches and reached the forest floor far below. Fresh shoots of bright green grass popped up through the rich loam created by last year’s leaves, tying to savor the warmth, which, in just a few short days, would be stolen by the leaves sprouting above. Daffodils, dandelions and elegant lady slippers peppered the ground with spots of yellow, white and pink. New life was everywhere. The silence infected us and for a long time no one spoke, each of us lost in our own thoughts, taking in the beauty of our surroundings. Not surprisingly though, Nicholas, the most jovial of us, eventually broke the silence by announcing he was getting tired and hungry.’
‘I could see the remains of a tree that, by the looks of it, had fallen many years ago.’
‘“We can rest on that old log,” I said, pointing to our potential resting spot. “We can split the chocolate your mom gave me earlier,” I added, just now remembering I had it in my pocket.’
‘A moment later, as we settled into our chosen spot on the log, I pulled the bag out of my pocket. The bag that contained the single boring piece of chocolate I had chosen earlier. But, it didn’t feel the same. It felt heavier, bulkier. It somehow seemed to be larger than it was when I put it in my pocket. When I looked inside I almost fell off the log. I could see the piece of candy I clearly remembered choosing, but along with that piece there were at least a dozen other pieces. There were a couple of white ones, some dark ones, some of the ones with the swirls, but what really made my head spin was the piece of caramel colored chocolate I could see at the bottom. It was shaped like a chicken.’
‘I opened and closed my mouth several times in an attempt to speak, but once again, I couldn’t find words to express the impossibility of what I was seeing.’
‘“My mom, she sure can surprise you sometimes,” Chris said, in an attempt to ease my confusion.’
‘“But…. But…. But,” I stammered. “I know she only put one piece of chocolate inside this bag. It wasn’t full when I put it in my pocket.”’
‘“My mom, she tricks us like that all the time,” Nicholas added. “Now hurry up and take a piece, so I can get one. I’m starving.”’
‘I took the piece of candy I had originally chosen and popped it into my mouth as I handed the bag to Chris, who sat next to me. I was completely unprepared for the deliciousness I tasted. It may have looked bland, but it tasted like nothing I had ever tasted before, so rich, so creamy. The flavor was so delicious I almost didn’t want to swallow.’
‘I glanced over at my friends. They absent-mindedly reached in and plucked whatever chocolate they touched first. They popped it into their mouths with no obvious enjoyment what-so-ever. I wondered if the piece I’d chosen just happened to be special, more flavorful, but an hour later, after the bag was passed around several times, I knew no matter which piece of chocolate I ate I would be overwhelmed with flavor. When the bag made its way back to me, for what felt like the eighth time, I could feel the sugar-induced energy coursing through my body. I looked into the bag, which amazingly still had one piece left inside. I held it up in a silent offering, but the brothers each shook their heads, so I put the bag back in my pocket.’
‘By this point in the day I think I had been shocked by so many things that I’d started to become numb to the things that were beyond my understanding, so when I looked up and saw an enormous deer walking towards us I barely flinched. Well, I said “us,” but in reality it was walking towards Nicholas who, to my astonishment, looked more surprised than I felt. The deer didn’t show any signs of fear. It walked directly up to Nicholas and started to nuzzle his soft velvety nose up against Nicholas’s cheek. Nicholas slowly reached out and tentatively touched the deer on the head. He rubbed the spot between his ears and his antlers. I looked at Chris and saw the same look of surprise on his face that was on his brother’s. This seemed to shock me more than the approach of the deer. Maybe because, up until that point, I was the only one who seemed to question the things that were happening around us? Both Chris and Nicholas seemed to understand, almost expect the things that left me speechless.’
‘A few seconds later a smaller deer approached, a yearling. His small antlers were covered in the velvet of a young buck. He walked fearlessly up to Nicholas and nudged his velvety nose in-between Nicholas and the older deer. Before long Nicholas was completely surrounded by an entire herd of deer of all ages and sizes. When I reached out to one, a fawn, it bolted in fright.’
‘Chris burst into laughter at the spectacle I caused.’
‘“Okay, let’s see you try,” I challenged defensively.’
‘Chris nodded to me with a sly grin and began to slowly move towards a doe that, believe it or not, looked as if she was standing in line waiting for her turn to meet Nicholas. Chris silently walked towards her, his arm stretched out in front of him, but when the doe noticed his approach she, too, bolted in fear.’
‘A surge of excitement ran through me. I realized that up until that moment I’d thought of myself as the outsider, somehow different from the twins I had befriended, but seeing Chris surprised and somewhat bewildered, made me realize he was like me, an insecure kid. We really were meant to be friends.’
‘After about twenty minutes the excitement of seeing the deer turned into boredom and even though the deer continued to arrive, Chris impatiently announced it was time for us to leave. Nicholas nodded back at us and then silently nodded to a buck that was not only the largest in size, but also had the largest antlers I had ever seen. I wondered how he could walk through the forest without catching his antlers on the branches. Amazingly, the deer seemed to understand and nodded back to Nicholas. A silent understand passed through the herd when the buck looked their way. They separated in a way that created a gap, an avenue Nicholas could use to walk over to us. When he reached us we slowly navigated through the herd and found our way back to the trail. I glanced behind me a moment later. I saw the log where we sat, but the deer had vanished back into the forest. We walked the rest of the way in silence. Each of us, once again, lost in our own thoughts.’
‘When we arrived at Chris and Nicholas’s house I told them I had to go home to help my mother with something. In truth, I’d seen so much that day, I felt completely overwhelmed and wanted to avoid any more surprises.’
‘“We’re opening the store tomorrow,” Chris said as we said our goodbyes. “Why don’t you stop by with your parents after church? I’m sure my parents would love to meet them.”’
‘“Yes, I’ll ask my mom about it tonight. Thanks for everything,” I said. “I’ll see you tomorrow.”’
‘I walked away, trying to make sense of everything I had seen that day, but no matter how much I tried, I just couldn’t convince myself it made any sense.’