Quote:
Climb High and Ride Far (7) : In the middle of a metropolis, there aren’t many opportunities to get out and appreciate a nice snowfall. Sure, maybe you can look out of your window and appreciate the beauty of nature, but when was the last time you got to do something fun, like go sledding? Maybe never! This year, Destiny City has gone out of their way to set up the perfect hill for sledding–sixty feet tall, four hundred feet long, in a recently landscaped area of land close to the heart of the city. Vendors have set up stalls with snacks and artisan goods, and you can bring your own sled, innertube, skis or snowboard–or borrow, courtesy of the city, if you don’t have one already. Whether there’s been recent snow or not, DCU has some artificial, environmentally friendly artificial snow to keep the slopes fresh. You might not find an opportunity like this without heading elsewhere in the city, so why not take advantage of some fresh, free Winter fun?
Takehiko hadn't been sledding in a long while, last time he'd went his mom had taken him up to the mountains on a ski trip when he was eight. He was looking excited as he found out there had been a hug hill that was turned into a sledding area by the DCU students. It'd taken a lot to get his mom to let him go out to it, and well he wanted her to come but she had to work.
He had money for snacks and fun little trinkets in case he found anything since there were all kinds of things set up. His mom had also gotten him a sled shipped so he could enjoy it on his own and not worry about renting anything. Bundled up with a jacket, some cargo pants and snow boots Tay wondered the market scoping out what he wanted to buy before hitting the hill to sled. He wanted a plan so he could get his mom a gift as well know where everything was so when he wanted something to drink or eat he knew its location.
He found a vendor selling hand carved ornaments and a few of those he thought were super pretty. "Ohhh mom would love these I bet." Some of them were animals like reindeer and others were photo ornaments that you could put a photo in. He'd also seen a photo booth, maybe he could get a Christmas themed photo and stick it in the photo frame ornament?
The vendor saw him looking at the ornaments and frames and over heard the kid talking to himself. "I think she would like them~" The vendor said, "Is there one you've got your eye on in particular?"
Tay paused, "Oh well I like the reindeer and the photo frame that looks like it has a cardinal on it, but I want to go sledding before I buy anything."
He was rubbing the back of his head with his free hand, "I don't want to break anything I buy because I went sledding."
The vendor paused and nodded, "I can hold onto what you buy now so it doesn't get sold before you're back? The photo frames are really popular this year."
Tay paused and looked unsure thinking about what the vendor said, he wasn't sure about having the vendor hold it but they were right, the frame he liked could be sold before he got back. "Okay, that sounds like a good idea!!"
He picked out a frame and paid for it giving the vendor his name so they knew who was picking it up, "If I get a picture do you think you could help me put it into the ornament for my mom?" He asked since the vendor seemed nice enough Tay figured it wouldn't hurt to ask. There was a nod from the vendor who agreed to help.
"Awesome~!! I'll be back after I sled some!!" Tay picked his sled back up and headed to the hill after getting his receipt for the ornament, glad that the jacket he wore had zippered pockets. He wouldn't lose this receipt!! Unlike the other times his mom occasionally sends him to the store to pick up something like milk or food.
Tay had gotten to the top of the hill and looked down it, his jaw dropped at how huge the hill was. "Ohhh!! This is even better than I thought!!" The hill was so long and looked like it was a blast as other people were sledding down it, or skiing, he even saw a few snowboarders.
"So cool!!!" He murrmurred in awe of the hill, though he was thinking how hard it'd be to get back up such a large hill. "They should have a sleigh ride to bring people back up." He said softly thinking how much fun that'd be, sled down and sleigh ride back up to the top?? It'd be the perfect winter activity.
But that was fine he dropped his sled down and angled it so it was perfectly aligned and then hopped on quoting one of his favorite ninja turtles when he went sledding down the hill, "Cowabunga!!!" The sled went so fast he was laughing the whole way down as he clung onto the sides of the sled.
It was really the perfect sled that his mom had gotten him. Finding that some of the hill had some spots that leveled out and dropped back down as he went down one of the smoother sections he made a note to try that one next, it seemed very much more like a roller coaster. Tay had lost track of how long he'd spent sledding but soon enough he was tired, and stopped to get some hot cocoa and some cinnamon pretzel bites before grabbing a couple of pictures from the photo booth and returning to the vendor who he'd bought the ornament from.
"Thank you for holding that for me!!" He had his sled in one hand and the last of his hot cocoa in another, pulling out of the small bag he was carrying the photos he'd taken and pointed one out to the vendor, "Can you put this one in the photo frame for me please?"
"Of course child, give me a minute." The vendor had kept some small scissors with them just in case they needed to cut new ribbon for the ornaments or tags off. They cut the photo from the strip and made sure to return the others to Takehiko and placed the one he wanted into the frame carefully.
"There you are! I hope your mom enjoys the present!"
Tay was grinning from ear to ear, "Thank you for holding the ornament and helping me put the picture in it!" The child said as he happily took the small bag the present was in. Now that it was late though he needed to get back home. So he waved good bye to the vendor and headed off so that he could be home in time for supper.
word count: 879
