“Hurry man”. The one thought running through the mind of an average height, average looking, slightly sweating, and red faced man. His reason for running was, of course, of the utmost importance. He had forgotten something, something that could either end in triumph, or with crushing agony, and being ignored, for days on end. It was Valentine’s Day, so he ran. He ran past cars, and he ran through sliding doors, Indiana Jones style, just barely making it before he was shut out for mall closing time. “Faster, I’ll have to go faster”, he thought, “or I’ll never make it in time!”
And so, faster he went. He raced down stairs and around other shoppers, his long coat flapping behind him, as though he were some sort of comical superhero. He dodged swinging doors and flying handbags with moves an NFL running back would envy. Then he saw it, the destination he had been trying to reach since he got off work, a Pillow Shop where they hand stitched the fabric till it was as soft as a newborn’s breath. He had previously ordered his wife a pillow with the word’s “I love you dearest” embroidered upon it. Yes, he saw it, and he also saw that the window to making it to that shop in time was rapidly closing.
Onward he ran, determined to make it before they closed their doors on this all important day. In the corner of his eye, something happened that caused a slight stutter in his step, a child, a beautiful baby boy that had wandered from his mother’s stroller in search of the 25 cent candy machines he had seen earlier. He also saw a large group of heavyset middle aged women lost in their gossip of handbag and shoes headed towards him obliviously. The scene seemed unnervingly as though a herd of elephants had begun to trample towards the poor child. He could have kept running and left the boy to his unfortunate fate, but he found he just couldn’t, no matter how soon the store was to close.
He swerved and jumped into the women’s path, grabbing up the boy just in time. The rabble of women, still shockingly oblivious trundled along their way with what was now loud laughing talk of eating sugar cinnamon pretzels. The child’s mother, thanked him for saving her boy, and gave him her number. Blushing slightly, he continued his frantic run. Just as he felt he could run no more through the enormous mall, he finally slid to a shoe rubber screeching halt in front of the acclaimed Pillow Shop.
He grabbed the handle in relief, only to pull and find it unable to open. Disbelief and shock shook him as he looked at his watch to discover the shop had closed just five minutes earlier. With a large sigh, he slowly wiped his face with his handkerchief, and turned around with his shoulders slumped slightly dejectedly. Suddenly, he found himself face to face with the woman whose child he had recently saved. Surprised, he actually jumped back about a foot.
When she asked why he looked so upset, he told her of his day and of his frantic race through the mall, only to find the shop closed. After he finished, she smiled and said perhaps she could help him out. As it turns out, she was the owner of said shop, and she had returned because she had forgotten her purse inside. To show her thanks, she gave the running man the very large pillow he ordered that she had just finished sowing together herself that morning. With what must have been the world’s largest smile, he thanked her with all his heart, and began to race home, hoping to beat his wife there all the while swearing to himself that this was absolutely the last year he would forget the importance of Valentine’s Day.