Gwen Kipner has a rough job. Working the toy shop counter during Christmas season is tiring.

Of course, having to work in a job that forces you to not lie down on some comfortable surface can sap everything from you.

At least she isn't one of the shop attendants. Gwen's grateful for that.

She sweeps her hair back and exhales after dealing with her previous customer.

"Pokéaddicts . . . "

After her little break, Gwen taps the little bell on her countertop, signalling the next customer to move.

"It's a good thing the toy rush is over," Gwen thought to herself. "At least I could take things slower than other times."

She waited for the next customer to go in front of her. No one came.

Gwen was puzzled. "Wasn't there another person in line? A little girl? Where was she?", she asked herself.

She then heard a little voice saying, "I'm right here . . ."

Gwen looked down.

"Oh. Hey there," she said with the friendliest tone she could muster, "what do you want to buy?"

The girl shook her hair out of her eyes, and put two friendship bracelets on the counter.

Without a second thought, Gwen scanned the bracelets, and the items along with their prices appeared on the LCD screen facing towards the girl.

"So . . . 2 friendship bracelets, right? One blue, the other pink?", Gwen asked. A tiny "Mhm!" confirmed this.

"I need ten dollars and ten cents, please."

The girl rifled through her coat pockets, one hand still clutched tightly to her stuffed bear. She pulled out a few dollar bills, and then some coins, and then some spare change . . . and then nothing.

Anticipation swelled up inside Gwen.

Gwen picked up the assorted bills and coins, and counted them, almost tentatively, hoping for the right amount.

"One dollar, two dollars, three . . . add 5 dollars, so that's 8 now . . . one quarter, two quarters, three, and a four . . . 9 dollars . . . and a dime," she said to herself.

9 dollars and 10 cents.

Oh no.

"Sorry girl," Gwen began, hoping not to damage the girl's hopes of a Christmas gift, "but it's not enough. Do you have another dollar?"

Surprised, the girl looked through all her pockets once more, hoping to find some spare change.

Finally, she unzipped the cover of her teddy bear, and voila, pulled out an extra dollar.

"Here you go, Miss!", the girl said, smiling in relief after finding an extra dollar.

Gwen accepted the dollar, and a few seconds later, the bracelets were inside a paper bag emblazoned with the store's logo. Gwen reached down to give the bag to the girl, who accepted it with a smile.

"Thank you!", the girl happily said. She turned towards the entrance, grabbed her stuffed bear, and walked out.

Gwen leaned on the wall, and looked back onto the little girl. And smiled.

"That girl was really full of hope," she thought to herself.

_________

Astrid is happy.

She got to visit Santa in the mall, ate at her favorite ice cream parlor (where she got a free slice of ice cream cake!), and was able to give her gift to her parents.

Their reactions were far from what she hoped for, but they smiled. That was good enough for her.

Right now, she's in line for the carousel, excitedly talking to Beary, her stuffed bear, about everything that happened.

You could see the excitement in her face, illuminated by the rosy sheen on her cheeks, and the shine in her eyes as she stared at the carousel towering over her.

Astrid's parents were behind her, discussing something in hushed tones so that Astrid couldn't hear.

The mother seemed pretty adamant about something that the father kept insisting on. After much discussion, the father and mother agreed, and sorrowfully looked at Astrid.

The line began moving once the 60 meters tall, ornately decorated carousel stopped.

Well, more of broke apart. The children began swarming over their favourite animals, and the parents ran after them, hoping to catch them before they do something stupid. The lion and unicorn were quickly taken, and the rest of the animals on the first and second floors of the carousel.

Astrid was able to get her favorite animal: the pony.

She ran towards it as fast as her short legs could allow, and climbed up on it with the help of a nearby pole.

The father reached her first. He handed Astrid a note, with stern instructions on not losing it. He then pecked her on the cheek, and whispered, "I love you." to her.

The mother hugged Astrid tightly; as if it were the last time she would see her child. She also took Beary, despite Astrid's protests, saying that it might fall off during the ride.

The bell signaling the start of the ride rung, and Astrid's parents stepped away from the carousel.

Astrid held tightly to the carved pony as the carousel began picking up speed.

She could hear the excited shouts of the children as they grasped on the poles of their chosen animals. She could see everything blurring, shifting, and moving everywhere.

Astrid let herself be carried away by everything.

After all, she is happy.

She got her escape.

Astrid’s laughter, a simple twinkling laughter, rang out. Blending with the shouts and hollers of the children and the simple carnival music, it cast a mesmerizing atmosphere over the onlookers and the children.

An atmosphere where the innocence of childhood was preserved for everyone to see. A happy place for the children, and a touching moment for the adults as they looked back at happier memories.

A snapshot of life at its fullest.

It all comes to an end, however.

After awhile, the carousel comes to a slow halt, the bouncy ragtime music hits its final note, and the laughter of the children fades to grumbles of disappointment.

There is a rush to and from the carousel, as hordes of parents come to assist their kids off, and another batch of parents help their kids onto the animals.

In the midst of this pandemonium, Astrid looks for her parents, running this way and that, looking for the telltale shine of her father’s pocket watch, dangling on its slender chain, or even the maroon high heels of her mother.

And in this crushing, heaving mass of human bodies, a few parents could hardly be seen.

You couldn’t hear the parents calling out for their children. Everyone’s voices were drowned out by the others.

Desperation took over Astrid as she fought her away out of the crowd. She pushed, shoved and maneuvered away from everyone, seeking no direction except out.

The bell rung, and as if by magic, everyone began moving outwards. Astrid was pushed forward, nearly tripping over herself as the motion of the crowd propelled her.

Terrified, Astrid looked back, still looking for any sign of her parents. She shouted, “Mama! Papa! Where are you?” over and over again until her breath ran out. She looked left and right, in front and behind her; she looked everywhere, but her efforts were fruitless.

Finally, with a wail of desperation and hopelessness, Astrid gave up and sank to the floor. Her sobs racked her frail body as Astrid realized her efforts were in vain.

Astrid never noticed that the crowd was gone, and only she was left, crying her eyes out in front of the carousel. She blinked the tears out of her eyes, and shakily stood up, still looking for her parents.

“Mama? Papa?”

“Beary?”

“Where are you?”

“Are you still there?”

“Papa? Mama?”

“Where are you??”

“MAMA!”

“PAPA!”

“BEARY!”