Suddenly, I Am Rich

The three of them left to go to the mall mid-afternoon.

With their arrival, it was obvious how the kids were feeling excited. Lily was skipping ahead. She was already talking about food, toys, and shops she wanted to see. Meanwhile, Eli stayed close to Gray’s side. He was walking a little slower, as if taking his sweet time.

”Whoa...” After a moment, Eli loudly breathed out.

His eyes widened as he slowly turned his head from side to side. His little eyes stared at the high ceiling of the mall, the constant movement of people, and the store fronts that lined up endlessly.

Lily, who was ahead of them by a few steps, quickly halted. She looked back, and a big smile crossed her face.

”Right!” She ran to him and immediately tugged his sleeve.

”This is your first time, right?” she curiously asked, clearly excited for him.

Eli nodded. He scratched the back of his head, then looked around again for another time.

”Lily... it’s... really big!”

”Don’t worry, Eli! We’ll explore this mall!”

Gray watched them quietly at the side. He chuckled after Lily said those words.

”Chill out, you two,” Gray said gently. ”We’re not in a rush. We’ll go to the stores you two want.”

”Good, brother!” Lily excitedly exclaimed.

”Thank you for being so generous, Brother Gray,” Eli shyly muttered.

Gray just chuckled at the two again. Afterward, he walked to their back and pushed them a little. The two were about to complain when Gray spoke first.

”Now you two, go pick a place to go.”

The two of them dropped their complaints and quickly exchanged a look. In there, Lily’s eyes sparkled first.

”A toy store!” she declared without hesitation, already pointing ahead. ”I saw one near the entrance! It should be Eli’s first time to be in one!”

”Y-yeah. A toy store sounds nice.” Eli hesitated for half a second, then nodded quickly.

Gray smiled and followed as Lily dragged Eli along by the hand. The moment the store came into view, Eli slowed down again, his steps faltering as if his feet suddenly forgot how to move.

The glass walls revealed rows and rows of colorful boxes. There were even stuffed animals piled up high and shelves of cars and manly toys.

”Brother Gray...” Eli whispered. ”Are these... really all toys?”

”Yes, Eli. They’re for you, young ones,” Gray answered calmly followed by a light chuckle. ”And for adults who never grew up.”

Lily giggled and pulled Eli inside before he could overthink it.

”Shh... don’t ask anymore questions, Eli. Just look inside! It will even be bigger!”

Because of those words, the moment they stepped inside, Eli immediately froze. His eyes widened as he looked at everywhere. The store was so huge and he was just taking in too much all at once!

His fingers twitched at his side, clearly unsure of what he was allowed to touch. But despite that, his heart raced. This store was just like a paradise to him!

”Look at that, Eli!”

”And that one!”

”Ooh, that one is cute!”

”Let’s go, let’s go! I will take you to the middle.”

Lily acted like a good sister for Eli. She held his hands and ran. Eli had no choice but to run with her. They quickly arrived at the middle of the store. They were surrounded by toys on all sides.

Once they arrived, Lily let go of his hands and took a step back. She let Eli explore the place on his own.

Eli slowly reached out and picked up a small action figure. He turned it over in his hands carefully. He was still unsure of what to do with all these things around him.

”Whoa... this feels... heavy,” he murmured. ”And it’s new.”

Back to the foundation, they rarely get new toys. All they had from time to time were hand-me-downs. He was already grateful for it back then. So now, seeing all these, made him feel like he was in a paradise.

”You can hold it, Eli,” Gray said softly. ”It’s fine. You can even try the toys here,” Gray noticed how gentle Eli was being.

”Really?” Eli looked up, surprised. ”I can?”

”Yeah. That’s what it’s for.”

A shy smile crept onto Eli’s face. He hugged the toy closer to his chest, then quickly loosened his grip, embarrassed by his action.

After a second, he carefully placed the action figure back on the shelf, then moved a step to the side. His eyes landed on another section filled with toy cars.

Rows of them were lined up neatly, shining under the bright lights of the stoer. He crouched down slowly.

”There are so many,” he muttered in awe.

Gray stayed a short distance away, with his arms loosely crossed as he watched. He stayed silent and let Eli be comfortable.

Eli picked up a small car this time. He rolled it gently along the edge of the shelf.

”It moves really smoothly!” his eyes shone. ”Ours back then... they were already broken.”

Lily crouched beside Eli and grinned. ”You should try these ones too! Some of them even transforms to a robot!”

”Whoa? Really?””

Slowly, Eli began moving more freely. He wandered from shelf to shelf, sometimes stopping for a long time to try toys. For the young boy, each toy felt like a small new discovery for him.

At one corner, he stopped in front of a shelf filled with building blocks.

”You can build anything with these,” Lily said. ”Castles, houses, robots, there’s people too,”

Eli imagined it for a moment. His fingers hovered over the box, then he picked it up.

”A house?” he said quietly. ”I think I want to try making one.”

Gray smiled. He stepped closer and rested a hand lightly on Eli’s shoulder. ”That sounds like a good choice, Eli.”

”Is it... expensive?” Eli looked up at him, eyes bright but still unsure.

Gray shook his head. ”Don’t worry about that.”

”See? Brother said yes.” Lily beamed. ”So go on! Take anything you like!”

”I will!” Eli hugged the box a little closer, this time closer to his chest. His smile was big and genuine.