Christmas Gifts part 1

Chester grew up on a bustling street in North point. He was never talkative in his formative years and had few friends. Through grit and determination and his innate talent in Linguistics, he managed to snag a spot at St Paul Boys, a highly regarded secondary school on a Scholarship basis.

Natalie was the direct opposite. Born rich, she lived high up in the mid-levels. She was never prideful and had a certain regality in her pose. Her true joy was in the arts and started painting since she was 5. Naturally, she joined St Paul Girls the equivalent prestigious school for girls.

Even though their schools were only a street apart, they almost never met. Their first encounter only happened at the final summer ball between their schools.

“Is that seat free?” asked Chester. ”… yes?” replied Natalie. She’s already had this in many past balls. Boys making up excuses in order to speak with her, asking for a dance. “Thanks” said Chester.

Natalie’s first impression of Chester was how tidy his shirt is. It was as clean as snow, rare for their age. His calm facial expression have her a sense of ease. Her second was intrigue as she sees him pull out a novel and started reading.

“Are you going to ask me for dance?” said Natalie impatiently. “Oh…, I don’t dance. I’m here to understand what balls are. And if they are the same as in Pride and Prejudice.” said Chester without looking up. “How can you tell without experiencing the ball?” said Natalie. “I can just observe.” whispered Chester.

Natalie sits next to Chester for the rest of the evening. They talked about their respective interests in Art and in Literature and of future plans in university and work. It’s not until the last song is played when Chester finally plugs up the courage to ask for Natalie’s contact number.

Even through a transition to a university. Chester, and Natalie kept meeting up and enjoyed each other’s company. Chester liked Natalie’s inquisitiveness and joyous nature, whilst Natalie liked Chester’s calm demeanor. It was not long after their first meeting that they became a couple.

On their first Christmas together, Chester asked what Natalie wants.

“That won’t do, it has to be a secret or it won’t be exciting.” responded Natalie.

This put Chester in quite the pickle as he has no clue what is a sufficient present. Browsing through the main street of Tsim Sha Tsui, he came across Ming’s stationary. In it, he found a lovely set of 24 Winsor & Newton watercolors. On boxing day, Chester and Natalie met up by the promenade. Natalie opened her gift and embraced Chester.

“This is the most special gift ever! I’ll put this into good use.”

Chester felt smug, his first gift was a success. He himself received also a leather bound “Great Expectations” by Charles Dickens. They spent the rest of the day enjoying the sun and wandering down the promenade. Hand in hand Chester is already thinking about the next Christmas present. The seasons went by and both Chester and Natalie studied hard. But, regardless of their schedules, they always spent Friday evenings together.

The next year, Chester spent a long while deciding on gift. He wants to one up himself. Using the money he earnt from his summer internship, he went back to Ming’s. After a few hours of looking around, he picked out a set of ProArte brushes and wrapped them up in a purple & pink butterfly gift wrap. They went back to their usual promenade on Boxing day to open their gifts.

“This is amazing, I love it! I’ll put this into good use.”

And so it continues. Since then, every year Chester goes back to Ming’s stationary shop to pick out a Christmas gift for Natalie. One year it was a canvas book. Another was a set of Japanese colour pencils. An oak wood easel.

One their 7th Christmas together, Ming’s was unfortunately closed as Mr Ming took a well deserved holiday. This put Chester in a conundrum. Pacing down the busy streets filled with Christmas decoration, he searched frantically for a gift that can equal his previous ones. A necklace? A perfume? A chess set? Choosing gifts was not Chester’s forte. Nervousness and panic floats up to the surface. Chester does not want to disappoint Natalie. Finally, he manage to pick up a chic tote bag with funny penguin and hoped for the best.

By the promenade, Chester handed over the tote bag and Natalie chuckled.

“I guess Ming’s is closed this year.”

Day 2 art