Knock! Knock!
Taking a step away from my door, I was about to head to the kitchen to ask what was for lunch when a jarringly loud knocking sound echoed through the house.
"Not so loud! Are you trying to break their door?"
"Sorry sorry. I didn't mean to hit so hard."
Running to the door, I heard the banter between the two people outside. Then, gripping the door knob, I swung the door open to see two young men standing in front of our new apartment door.
Noticing that their bickering had probably been heard by me, the two of them showed different reactions. On my left was a calm-looking man with cool blue eyes and black hair; his face showed an apologetic expression for the noise. In his hands was a small box with a bow on top.
Beside him was a man with a wide smile on his face. His golden eyes seemed to shine in the sun as he showed no remorse for the noise. The two were as opposite as day and night. But there was an obvious connection between the two of them as the sunny man gestured to the calmer man.
Extending his hands to pass the small gift box into my hands, the calmer man smiled as he introduced them.
"Good evening. We're your new neighbors. I'm Uril, and this is my partner, Aaron."
Aaron waved his hand as his name was mentioned, and then showed a grin full of teeth as he bent down to ruffle my hair.
"We've moved in today and would like to offer a moving-in gift."
Pulling Aaron's hand away from me, Uril gave him a soft glare as he passed the gift into my hands.
"I hope you and your family will like it."
Bowing, Uril then dragged a smiling Aaron away and back to their apartment as I was left alone with their gift.
Watching the two of them disappear into their apartment, I closed the door and looked at the gift that was handed to me. I had never heard of giving your neighbors gifts when you moved in before.
"Big brother?"
Feeling a weight attach to my back and a familiar sweet voice, I turned my head to see Leo sticking to me as usual.
"What is that?"
The sweet boy pointed at the box in my hand with curious eyes as he leaned forward to take a closer look at it.
"A new couple moved in and said that this was a moving-in gift."
I passed the gift onto Leo, who held it up to look at it in all directions before swiftly but carefully removing the ribbon on top and opening the box. The box was a standard gift box that could be sold at the nearby Middle Middle Market. I had seen it as we were taking a tour of the market. If I remembered correctly, it was quite a luxury product since it cost quite a bit, even though you would have to give it to someone else.
Carefully holding the box in his hand, the two of us peered inside at the cute little handmade trinkets stored inside. There were a total of four of them: a small feathered beast, a small furry beast, a slightly larger beast with tusks, and a medium-sized feline beast.
Picking out the feathered beast from the box, I marveled at the intricate designs carved into the piece of wood. I brushed my hands on the grooves, appreciating how this cheap and otherwise useless type of wood could be transformed into such a work of art.
"Wow!"
I heard Leo's exclamation of awe as he took out all three carvings from the box and stared at them with star-struck eyes.
Seeing his expression of wonder, I couldn't help but laugh as I placed the feathered beast next to its relatives on Leo's palm and closed the box. Then, with the box in one hand, I placed the other on Leo's shoulders as I led us to the kitchen.
"Was there anyone at the door?"
Tilting her head towards us, my mother asked as she skillfully flipped the rocks on the pan. Sitting on the table, my father looked up from the newspaper in his hands and immediately zoomed in on the trinkets in Leo's hands.
"Yeah. A couple who are moving into the house next door gave us a moving-in gift."
Leo and I sat down on the chair opposite our father. At my words, Leo excitedly laid out all four carvings on the table as if to show them off, and he gave my parents a huge smile.
"They're so pretty!"
My father stretched his hand and picked up one of the carvings. It was the tusked beast. He held it up to the light and scanned the details of the carving. Then, he brushed his fingers over the edges and whistled.
"The craftsmanship is good. If they sold this at Middle Middle Market, it would fetch quite a good price."
He placed the carving in the middle of his palm and closed his fingers around it. Then, after a while, he released the carving and placed it back with the others.
"What gift did they give to have the three of you so excited about?"
Lugging a plate full of rocks towards the table, my mother placed it skillfully aside as she peered at the four drawings.
"Oh! They're beautiful!"
Abandoning the plate, she rubbed her hands clean on her clothes before taking the feline beast carving and running her fingers all over it.
"Right!?"
Chirping up from beside me, Leo smiled as he looked over all four carvings. Then, as a bright light suddenly appeared in his eyes, he placed the tusked beast nearer to our father, leaving the furry beast and it's feathered brother on the table. Staring at the two of them, Leo suddenly shot a gaze towards me, then towards the trinkets. He alternated between the carvings and me, his brows increasingly furrowed as he showed a face of conflict.
Giving a hopeless smile, I shook my head as I grabbed the feathered beast carving and placed it in Leo's hands.
"You want this one, right? Take it."
Picking up the furry beast with my hand as I spoke, I ruffled the hair on top of Leo's head before walking towards my room. When Leo started handing out the carvings, I immediately knew where to place this little guy on the bookshelf.
"Big brother..."
I heard a soft murmur from behind me as Leo's voice shimmered with emotion. Then, with a slightly loud thud as he jumped off the chair, his footsteps pitter-pattered all the way to my side as he held the feathered beast with both hands.
Opening my room door, I made a beeline for the bookshelf and placed the furry beast in front of the many trinkets that lined the shelves. Following me, I saw my brother stretch his arm and place his feathered beast right next to mine.
"Big brother."
Feeling my shirt stretch as my brother latched onto the side with one hand, I shot a glance towards his grateful face as he transitioned from being by my side to being in my arms.
"Big brother!"
Hugging each other tightly, we stood in front of the bookshelf for a while, enjoying the warmth from each other's bodies, before parting with wide smiles on our faces.
Exiting my room, as I closed the door, I heard the footsteps of my mother approach us. As I turned around, I saw her holding a small plastic container in her hands. She passed the container to me with a smile, then gestured with her head to the neighboring apartment units.
"Could you boys bring this to the new neighbors as thanks for the carvings?"
Inside the container were my mother's signature rocks with seasonings, and there were even three rocks inside! It was more than enough for two people.
Nodding my head, the two of us changed course from the kitchen towards the door. Stepping outside of the door, we hurried over to their apartment, intending to pass the gift sooner so that we could eat faster.
Braking in front of the apartment, I lifted my fist and gently rapped them against the door.
"Coming!"
We heard a calm and soothing voice call out as footsteps hurried towards the door. Then, as the large slab of metal opened, the man who had introduced himself as Uril smiled as he spotted the two of us standing there with a box in our hands.
"Mom said to give it to you. As a thank you for the carvings."
Passing the box to Uril, he gave us a grateful smile as he received it with both hands.
"Thank you so much. Could you help pass on my thanks to your mother as well?"
He shot a glance into the container, his eyes lighting up at the sight of the dish, before pursing his lips in thought. Turning around, the two of us were preparing to head back when he stopped us.
"Wait, don't go yet. I can't just let you go back empty-handed."
Turning back to him, Uril had one hand reaching out to stop us. When he saw us pause, he gave a sigh of relief, and a soft smile appeared on his face.
Behind him, Aaron walked past, and noticing we were at the door, he showed a wide grin as he sneaked over. With a mischievous glint in his eyes, he lightened his footsteps and stood behind Uril, towering over him.
However, as soon as Uril saw we were waiting for him, he whipped around without even looking back, and the two young men crashed into each other. Aaron was a good bit larger than Uril, so he was less affected by the knockback. Uril, on the other hand, was sent bouncing off Aaron's chest, falling backwards towards us.
Seeing his lover fall, Aaron instinctively reached out both hands to grab Uril and pull him into his arms to prevent him from hurting himself.
"Sorry. That was my fault."
Whispering his apologies into Uril's ear, Aaron gave a sigh of relief before parting from him and giving him a quick glance all over. Once he was satisfied Uril wasn't injured in any way, he stepped aside to let Uril through.
"No, I should have at least looked before turning around that fast."
Apologizing as well, Uril also gave Aaron a once-over before passing the box we brought into his hands.
"Could you help me hold this? The children brought it over."
Leaving the box in his hands, Uril then hurried towards the bedroom, turning right into one of the rooms as he rushed around the house. In the meantime, Aaron turned to us and squated down to our height. Tucking the box under his armpit, he ruffled both our heads as he spoke to us.
"Did the two of you enjoy the carvings?"
At this sentence, Leo nodded his head vigorously. And seeing this, Aaron chuckled as he gave Leo's hair another rub.
"If that's the case, feel free to come over more often. The two of us are starting a new shop at Middle Middle Market. We'll be selling trinkets and carvings just like that, so if you want some, you can ask us for them."
Aaron ginned as he spoke, and when he said finish his last sentence, I saw Uril exit the room with a skip in his step.
Joining the three of us, Uril bent down to pass us the things in his hand.
"Here, for you."
Placing the item into our hands, Uril and Aaron looked at us with excitement as I closed my fingers around it. The item was smooth, with a similar texture as the carvings that the pair had given us. Except it didn't really feel like an animal.
Opening my fingers, I saw a small box. The box was simple, with no locks or anything like that. It just had a small metal hinge and a tiny groove to assist in opening it. And inside the box was a small sweet.
"It's to help hold the carvings we gave you."
In front of me, Uril smiled as he hugged his knees while squatting. Beside him, Aaron placed his hand on Uril's shoulders, and the couple looked at us with happy smiles.
"Thank you."
Muttering my thanks, from the corner of my eye, I could see Leo pop the sweet into his mouth. Looking at his face of extreme bliss, I could feel saliva build up in my mouth as my expectation of the taste of the sweet rose.
Popping my own sweet into my mouth, I couldn't help but close my eyes as the sweetness slowly spread from my tongue to my entire mouth. To the point where, when I opened my mouth, even the air tasted sweet.
"You're welcome."
With one last head rub, we said goodbye to the pair and headed back to our apartment. On the way, the other apartment opened, and a mother-son duo stepped out. Meeting their eyes, I nodded my head in a polite greeting as we passed. Then, opening our own apartment door, the smell of food drew our attention, and we rushed inside.
The boxes would probably go underneath the carvings, serving as a platform for them. But I will do it later. Food comes first!
"We're back!"
"Welcome home."