PRESENT DAY
On a breezy summer morning in Poland, everything was silent. The sky was a dark shade of black and everything was still sound asleep. All that changed when Olivia woke up to the sound of a fury of roosters crowing. She jolted to a sitting position when she realized it was her iPhone’s alarm, going off at 4:30 in the morning. She stretched and gave a lion-like yawn and went up to turn off the alarm. As she slouched over to the other side of the bed, she saw Ola in an undisturbed sleep.
“Hey Ola! Wake up! We are supposed to wake up really early so that we could watch the sun rise, remember?” Olivia called, shaking Ola lightly. After she heard no response, Olivia started shaking Ola more and more violently until Olivia thought she was shaking a log. Finally, Ola woke up and threw a pig pillow at Olivia, saying, “What do you want?” With her quick reflexes, she dodged it in a super-spy-moment and it hit the table.
“I thought we wanted to watch the sun rise? Come on!” The two girls walked outside, trying to be as stealthy as mice, but ending up being no stealthier than a greasy pig on roller skates. When they finally made it outside, they sat in the dew-covered grass, and waited, and waited, and waited. Finally after about 10 minutes or so, they saw the first ray of sunshine peer through the corn crops between the two barns on both sides. Then when the sun was almost completely visible, they brought the two bikes out and rode in their PJs until Ola’s mom called them in for breakfast.
The cousins raced inside, because they knew that it was a special day today: Platski Poniedzalek (Pancake Monday)! Aunt Lucina, Ola’s mom, then said, “Remember that we are going to Grudniu later, so exchange your presents after breakfast.”
“OK, mom, ” Ola said, and they sat down. Olivia let out a small sigh. Aunt Lucina placed two fairly large plates in front of the starving teenagers and plopped platskies right onto their plates.
“Be careful, I just took the platski off the frying pan,” said Aunt Lucina, but it was too late of a warning for Olivia, because Olivia had already stuffed one in her mouth and her tongue was burning; just like the time when she ate a burrito that her brother drenched in hot sauce. After Olivia drank about a gallon of water, and the platski cooled, Ola and Olivia tried to beat Uncle Kadzo in an eating contest. Both teams tried stuffing the platski into their mouths, but even together, the remaining champion was the one and only Uncle Kadzo.
After the girls’ stomachaches reduced, they retired to Ola’s room for some privacy. They plopped on the cushioned bed and slipped on their slippers to relax, even though Olivia couldn’t be any more nervous. Since today was Olivia’s first morning in Poland, it was time to exchange their handmade gifts. Olivia sat down in Ola’s bed fit for two while Ola reached under the counter to get a perfectly wrapped box. “Here’s your gift. I hope you like it,” Ola said handing Olivia the box. “I’m sure I will,” Olivia responded, opening the top of the box. “OMG! It’s so beautiful!” Olivia said, holding a miniature chest made out of beads and wire, spelling out her name in the front.
“So you really like it?” Ola asked.
“Of course! It’s magnificent!” Olivia answered. After a moment of silence with multiple hugs, she said, “Let’s go outside and play some more before we have to leave.” Ola joined Olivia, feeling that something wasn’t right.
“Are you forgetting something Olivia?” Ola said.
“Nope, everything seems fine to me,” Olivia replied, walking out of the room, Ola trailing behind. After a couple of minutes, Ola started to get annoyed.
“Why didn’t you give me your present yet?”
“No reason.”
“No, I think there’s a perfectly good explanation, just tell me.”
“I kind of forgot your present at home. I’m really sorry.”
“How can you ‘kind of forget a present’ that we make each other every year?”
“I don’t know. I just was so heartbroken I was crying most of the time about how I should tell you.”
“Why can’t you be more responsible for once!”
“I am responsible! It was an accident! Either you forgive me or you stay mad at me!”
“You haven’t shown me you’re really truly sorry, so I’ll stay mad at you!”
“Fine then!” Olivia said as she watched Ola turn away and leave.
Aunt Lucina, Uncle Kadzo, Ola, and Olivia were walking around Grudniu.
“Why are you girls avoiding each other?” asked Aunt Lucina.
“I don’t want to talk about it right now,” said Olivia, and they continued on. They shopped around and bought a couple of items for themselves.
“Are you girls getting hungry?” Aunt Lucina asked.
“A little.” They both said this simultaneously and realizing it, they turned their backs on each other.
“So what do you want to eat?”
“Anything; you pick,” Olivia said to her aunt.
“OK, we’ll just go to this last store and we’ll eat.” Aunt Lucina was looking at some hats and trying them on.
“I still can’t believe that you didn’t even say you’re sorry properly yet.”
“I can’t believe you’re still upset about that. I thought you’d let it go.”
“Well maybe we would both be happy if you didn’t ‘forget’ my present!” Ola said sarcastically, raising her voice.
“Ola, calm down. People are starting to stare,” Olivia said.
“I can’t believe you’re putting me through this!” Ola said almost screaming now.
“How am I putting you through anything?!”
“Because I made you such a nice gift and you give me nothing in return!”
“OK, I’m sorry I forgot your present, but when you do something nice, you can’t expect anything in return! That’s like a rule!”
“Ladies, I’m going to ask you to leave the store if you don’t quiet down,” said the salesperson.
“No, it’s not a rule, but it would still be nice if I even got something!” said Ola.
“Even now it’s not worth fighting for!” said Olivia.
Then the sales person called, “Security!” and two buff men dragged Ola and Olivia out of the store.
They sat on the sidewalk, calmer now, listening to Aunt Lucina and Uncle Kadzo to give them their lecture. “How dare you two fight in a store like that? Olivia, do you know how ashamed your mother would be if she was here right now?! And as for you Ola, I was very disappointed that you didn’t relax when Olivia tried to calm you down. I don’t know what has happened between you two, but we are taking you home and sitting you down until you work it out!”
“But mom, we didn’t get to eat yet.”
“You think I’ll let you into another restaurant after the behavior you just showed me: I don’t think so!”
They went into the car and the whole ride home, no one said a word. When they got home, Ola and Olivia were put in the same room, just like Aunt Lucina promised.
“Mom, could we come out now?”
“I told you that neither of you are coming out until I hear that you two have put this whole business behind you.”
The two girls sat on opposite sides of the guest room.
“I guess you were right about me being a little spoiled with the gifts. I’m really sorry about that,” said Ola.
“It’s ok. I should’ve remembered in the first place. And even if I might have forgot it, I should’ve told you.”
“Let’s tell Aunt Lucina that -”
“Wait! I also need to tell you something,” Olivia said, cutting off Ola.
“What is it?”
“Well, this is kinda embarrassing, but….”
Olivia pulled out a small box and gave it to Ola. Ola opened it and pulled out a miniature, disfigured, hand-carved totem pole. It had three faces: one that looked happy, one that looked sad, and one that looked mad with Ola’s name carved in the bottom.
“What’s this?” said Ola.
“It’s the gift I made you, but it looked ugly so I was scared to give it to you. I’m so sorry.”
“So what you’re telling me is that you made me get so mad that I yelled at you and got us kicked out of a store just because you thought your gift wasn’t good?”
“Exactly.”
“For the record, you worked really hard on this present and it isn’t ugly. I would’ve never been able to get it that well carved!”
“You really think so?”
“Of course. Now let’s go get some lunch, I’m starving!”
“OK.”
So Ola and Olivia sat down for lunch. After this whole incident, Ola learned that it’s not nice to be a brat and Olivia learned that if something comes from the heart, it’s always beautiful.