Prompt: Present Perfect

[Prof. Sky Alton]

Hobbits give presents to other people on their own birthdays (…) Actually in Hobbiton and Bywater every day in the year was somebody's birthday, so that every hobbit in those parts had a fair chance of at least one present at least once a week. But they never got tired of them.

-The Lord of the Rings, J.R.R Tolkien

The exchanging of gifts dates back to ancient times and there are so many meanings that can be attached to them. The gifts themselves, how they’re given and why tell us a lot about one another and the societies in which we live. I enjoy reading about gift-giving in books because it can highlight so many interesting nuances (besides, I love descriptions of presents).

So, this month I’d love to receive a story (200 words or more) from you about a gift. It can be an actual present or a more abstract or emotional thing. You’ll earn 20 beans for completing this prompt as well as it counting towards the chance to snag our shiny Quill and Ink award.

There is no deadline as such for these prompts but if you’d like it to count towards your chance of earning the award for a specific year, we’ll need it by the end of that school year. If you’re comfortable sharing, then post below. If not, email your story to us via hol.bookclub @ gmail.com (without the spaces). Oh and remember it’s a good idea to check through your piece carefully for spelling and grammatical errors as they make it harder for people to properly enjoy your work.

[Prof. Tarma Amelia Black]

When I was a child, I lived on a farm. I was horse-crazy. We had ... cattle (both beef and milk) and sheep and goats and pigeons and chickens and turkeys and pigs and dogs and cats and all kinds of animals but no horse.

So one day we went to the auction and came home with a horse. To avoid arguing whose horse it was, Dad said the horse belonged to Mom (Mom doesn't like animals ...). Life went on and I learned to ride bareback. My largest decision was whether to ride in shorts (so had the grip of skin on hair) or ride with long pants (so it was a bit slippery but I didn't have streaks of sweat and dirt down my legs).

One Christmas, though, after most of the presents had been opened and enjoyed, Dad and my younger brother left the living room and were busy with something. I hadn't noticed they were gone, actually, being busy with my presents. Then I, and we, heard a noise coming down the hallway. ? What was that? We all looked and here on his hands and knees, pretending to be a horse, came my Dad, with my brother riding him. BUT! My Dad had rigged up a bareback saddle pad and was wearing it!

It was a bareback pad -- for me. It was dark blue and I completely and totally loved it. And I remember that even now -- as one of the most wonderful and thoughtful presents I've ever received.

[Shiloh Adlar]

It was a couple of years ago when The Force Awakens came out that I was invited out to see the movie with some coworkers. I was nervous about attending because I had not gone out with friends pretty much my whole life. However, I decided to take the chance and test it out. It was right after or right before Christmas Day. I can't remember, and to get discounted seats, one of my coworkers ordered all of the tickets for us. When I got there to pay him back, he told me that he had it covered and not to worry about it. It was my Christmas gift. I am never much one for gifts, but it made me really happy.

When we got into the theater and sat down, we all had a really great time, and apparently my gift to my coworkers was watching my face through the film. Apparently I make good faces when watching movies and when I get excited about something or something clicks in my brain.

The movie was over too soon, and we all went our separate ways home, but I remember thinking that it was a lovely gift to simply spend time with some friends. It made me very happy that Christmas and got my mind off of other things. It was good.

[Bull J. Johnson]

(This is part two of the story. Part one can be found here http://forum.hol.org.uk/viewtopic.php?f ... 43#p279143 )

The Big Snowstorm (Part 2)

He looked although the books for awhile until he found an old script book that was a bit dusty and looked like it had seen better days. Jacob then went into the bathroom to get three towels. Before going into Valerie's room to grab a baby doll from off her bed. When he had retrieved all the props that he needed to put on the play he went back into the living room where his sisters were waiting on him.

"I found the perfect story for tonight, and if we practice a little we can even surprise ma with it when she wakes up from her nap. It can be our present to her this Christmas. What y'all think of that?" beamed Jacob with a huge smile on his face. Then he passed one towel to Sophie and the other one to Ellywe. Then he put his towel on his head and twisted it so that it looked like a turban.

"So these are going to be the roles. Ellywe, Sophie, and I will be the wise men, and Valerie you will get to be The Blessed Mother Mary. She has no lines, however she is the most important character, because without her there would be no Jesus."

[Prof. Maxim Trevelyan]

'Why did you two invited me to meet you here?' I asked as we were sat down by the waitress. It was a pretty fancy restaurant. My daughter Jessica and her husband Timothy grinned.

'Can't we treat you sometimes daddy?' Jessica replied and put a gift on the table. I eyed the brightly colored, sparkly bag with suspicion. I didn't forget a birthday, I know I didn't forget an anniversary. Maybe graduation? No, it's spring, not summer.

'What you've got there, pup?' I asked Jessica, but she just motioned for me to open it. I carefully brought it closer as I painstakingly and slowly started to open the bag.

'Oh, come on daddy, just tear it open, that's what gifts are for!' Jessica rolled her eyes and pulled out a phone. I assumed she wanted to take and picture and I never could refuse my baby girl.

I first pulled out a card that had balloons and a big congratulations on the front with 1 + 1 = 3 written in Timothy's spidery crawl on the inside. I shook my head. Jessica was always bad at math.

Next, my fingers touched something squishy and to my surprise, it was a pacifier. 'Pup, do you want to tell me I'm losing my teeth,' I laughed as I set it aside.

There was one more thing in the bag, soft fabric. I took out a onesie with World's Greatest Granddaddy embroidered on it.

I was pretty sure dogs three miles away could hear my high-pitched scream as I realized just what Jessica and Timothy were trying to tell me. I jumped to my feet and hugged my daughter and gave Timothy the same treatment.

'If it's a boy, you are naming him after me, right?'

[Silas Hipolito Crist]

I was sitting on the couch and trying to concentrate on watching televison. It was the movie that I have already watched multiple times and I was totally bored. Snowflakes were covering small window so I could not see outside, altough it was already dark. Only Christmas candles which were puy on the windowshelf of nearest house, were possible to be seen. But that did not move me. It was in my own world dreaming of the past Christmas evenings when the whole family gatheres and celebrate together, singing christmas songs and just being silly.
Not it was everything different. Dad left us only one week after Christmas and he had not seen us since than.
I really never found out why had he left, mum did not want to tell me anything.
Looking through the window and watching beautiful snowflakes I noticed a small shape of shooting start. I smiled and made a wish: "Let us celebrate once again as whole family."
Steps disturbed me and I turned my face towards mother. She said smilingly: "There is a gift for you in the kitchen; dear!"
I nodded and murmured: "Surely somethig that I do not want."
But I still followed her inti the kitchen and almost fainted when coming in. "Dad!!!"

[Iverian Gnash]

Ok, so here is the present that I must share since it is a simple one, but one that I greatly enjoyed. My siblings and I are into a lot of things and spy gear is one of them I know, it's weird, but we've always loved screwing with each other by using various everyday items. Usually just the simplest of things. For one, we've all mastered the art of hiding in different places and staying there silent for extended periods of time before jumping out at a sibling when they least expect My brother finds it amusing to hide walkie-talkies under our pillows so when we go to bed, he'll start talking into it and we'll get startled. So, my little sister decided that for my birthday, she wanted to get me something interesting. Come my birthday, she handed me an invisible ink marker that you could write with and then shine the light to show what was written. We're not eight-year-olds but, my siblings and I have since written all over different things and then find it amusing to shine the light to reveal what we've written Still, I think that as simple as that gift was, it was really thoughtful of my little sister and it was something we greatly enjoyed.