Ian Seed on the Other Side of the
The Gift
I hadn’t bought my father a birthday present in years. I usually made do with a card, but this year he was going to Japan on a business trip. I went to a Japanese shop just off Piccadilly Circus. There was a model of a black steam train in the window. My father had been crazy about trains all his life, but when I picked it up and held it in my hands, it felt small and childish. There had to be something else I could buy. On the wall was a calendar with water colour designs and dates in both Japanese and English. This would be useful, but then again he might find it boring. I looked around the shop. So much to choose from, I didn’t know where to begin.
When he died two days later, regret was mixed with relief that I no longer needed to buy him anything at all.
© Copyright Ian Seed 2006