By: Beta Genius

It was the late afternoon as the snow fell light upon the city. It was nearing the end of December, and the holidays were just coming up. The city was decorated with lights and banners that spread the joy inside all those who knew it.

Future Trunks had gone back to the time of Goku and the gang, thinking that it might be nice to spend his first holiday with all the people he never got to know. His mother didn’t mind, and that it might be good for him to see the world for what it might have been if the Androids didn’t come around. He thought he’d spend a few weeks there, then go back to his time for New Years.

He promised he’d take his younger self, (or his little brother, as it has been called while he’s there), to the candy store that was a few blocks away, since Bulma just didn’t have time. It was one of the most famous in town, yet was very small, nestled on the corner of a street. The displays of cookies and candy in the window could make a person drool if it was stared at long enough, and when someone entered, the smell alone gave up lifting spirits.

Little Trunks rushed into the store with no problem, and Trunks followed soon after, shutting the door. Little Trunks began to name off all the kinds of candy he wanted in the display case under the sales counter before Trunks even got there. He paused for a moment, thinking, and noticed that the sales person wasn’t even here.

“You sure it’s open, Little Trunks?” Trunks asked.

“Yeah, I’m sure! It’s always opened, 9 AM to 6 PM.”

Trunks laughed. “Oh, so I guess you’re a regular customer here, huh?”

“You bet I am! The lady here is really nice, and sometimes she even gives out free candy!”

“Really?”

“Yeah, really! You think I’m wastin’ my breath or somethin’?”

“May I help you two?” a girl asked, coming out of the back room with cooking mittens on her hands.

Trunks was surprised to see a young person such as herself. She didn’t look any older than him, and had long, light brown hair and light blue eyes. Honestly, he thought it would be an elderly woman, because not many people that age he knew like to cook. Because, after all, all the cookies were made by her, or so he heard.

The girl paused, and saw Little Trunks practically pressing his face against the glass. She giggled and she looked back up at Trunks. “So are you his older brother?”

“Uh, yeah. Why do you ask?”

“Well it’s just that you look strikingly familiar.” She looked back over the counter to Little Trunks. “Find anything interesting, young Trunks?”

“Oh yeah! It all looks so good!” Little Trunks stated.

“Remember, you can’t get it all, Trunks. Mother only gave us twenty to spend.”

The girl kept a smile across her face and she spoke again to Trunks. “So what’s your name?” she asked.

“Um, my name’s Trunks as well.”

She went wide eyed. “You mean your mother named you both Trunks?!”

“Yeah, crazy isn’t it?” he joked.

She laughed. But soon she continued, “Hey, wait right here,” She quickly went back to the room behind and came back with a tray full of cookies. “My newest batch! And, if you like, I will give you the honor of being the first ones to try them!”

“Really?!” Little Trunks said excitedly, looking at the tray in her hands.

“Yes, but only on one condition,” she continued with a bit of exaggeration and a grin worn across her face. “You guys gotta fill out a wish list!”

“A wish list?!” they said in unison, Trunks more with question and Little Trunks more so exclaiming.

“Yes, that’s right, a wish list!” she said, picking up two pieces of paper and pens to the side of the cash register and slapping them to the table. “Right down one thing that you’ve always wanted, and please be real, okay?”

“But that’s so wussy!” Little Trunks exclaimed.

“Hey, you say that again and I’m not gonna sell you any candy,” she stated.

“You wouldn’t!” he gasped.

“Oh yes, I would. It’s my shop and my candy technically!”

“Okay, okay, fine, as long as it’s for cookies.” Little Trunks picked up the paper and pen and began writing.

“You too,” she said.

“Oh, no, that’s okay, I don’t really want any cookies anyway.”

“C’mon, is it so hard to write something on a piece of paper?”

“Well, I guess not.”

“Then write it! It’s not it’s gonna be published or something like ‘Trunks Brothers’ Wish Lists’ or anything.”

Trunks smiled and picked up the pen, beginning to write.

When they were both finished, they handed it to her and she read them excitedly. “...Uh-huh, a skateboard and...” She raised an eyebrow as she read Trunks’ wish and looked at him as she spoke. “A sword?”

“Yeah, I kinda lost my other one a while back so I always another sword.” And it was the truth. A few years ago, he lost his sword which he so defeated Frieza and King Cold once before. It just so happened that it fell into a deep fissure in the mountains on accident when he was training.

She paused with questioned, but soon picked up the paper and pens, putting the paper in the cash register and the pens to the side. “Okay then,” she said with a smile and put the tray on the counter. “Since you were the only guys brave enough to actually make a wish list, you can have the whole batch, and I’ll even through in your twenty worth of candy.”

“Wow, really?!” Little Trunks said with sparkling eyes.

“Really.”

“Oh cool, thanks!” Little Trunks took almost half the batch off the tray into his hands and began quickly eating.

“Jeez, you really didn’t have to do that you know,” Trunks said, speaking the girl.

“‘Tis the season to be jolly, right? Besides, no problem. I make my own ingredients so it’s nothing.”

“You do?” Little Trunks mumbled through the mouthful of cookies. “Wow, know wonder these things taste so good! Unlike all that rubber food at school.”

Trunks and the girl both laughed at his remark, and there was a minute of pause, until the girl spoke up. “Aren’t you going to have any?”

“Oh, no thank you.”

“Why not?” she questioned.

“Umm, no particular reason,” he replied.

“Please try one. I always like to get comments from my customers so I’d be really happy if you did.”

He slowly picked up one of the cookies and bit into it. The girl waited for his answer as he chewed it and swallowed. He smiled, the girl knowing that the cookie must taste good. “Any good?” she asked with a smile.

“Yeah, these are really good.”

“These are more than good, Trunks, these are excellent!” Little Trunks stated picking up another cookie out of his hand and biting into it.

After clearing his throat, Trunks said, “What’s your name?”

“It’s Gabrielle,” She paused with thought, and continued. “So what kind of candy would you like?”

“Umm, just a bag of those,” he said, pointing to certain type of candy in the display case.

“But Trunks-”

“Yeah, and the batch of cookies.”

“Is that all? It only adds up to ten. You sure you wouldn’t want anymore?”

“Yeah, that’ll be fine.”

“Well, alright.”

After bagging all of it up, she handed it to him. Soon saying thank you, Trunks walked out of the candy shop, practically dragging his younger self out. Walking down the street towards home a few minutes, Little Trunks began.

“Hey, why didn’t you get more candy?”

“Because, Trunks, you have no idea how much those things costs. Those cookies alone cost twenty, she just didn’t want to say it. I didn’t want to take advantage of something, or someone, like that. It’s just not right.”

“And when did candy come down to that matter?”

“She seemed like a really nice person, as you’ve said, and since she made those cookies by herself she should have to earn every penny that those cookies would’ve sold.”

He had a suspicious grin smeared across his face. “And when did you have this change of heart, huh?”

“What? What are you talking about?! I’ve always been like this. And it’s the truth, if she did the work, she deserves the profit.”

“Whatever man.”

Trunks had a smirk across his face as he continued. “Besides, this is for me.”

“What?! You’re joking r-right?! Hey, no way are you havin’ all that candy to yourself!”

“Sure I am. Whoever said I was going to buy some for you? And anyway, you already had half that batch of cookies.”

The rest of the way continued like this, and eventually Trunks handed half the bag to Little Trunks.

Later in the day, just before the shop closed, some new customers entered. The people who came in earlier would know them, but Gabrielle had never seen them before. And since they lived way out in the country, they probably never came out to the city very often.

“Hello, welcome, how may I help you?” Gabrielle said, just sitting at the counter where she had been putting new cookies in the display case.

“Yes, we’re just here to do some shopping and we just happened to see this cute little shop that my husband and son just had to come into,” Chi-Chi said stepping into the shop as Goku and Gohan scattered about, looking at all the different types of cookies and candy.

“That’s quite alright. Take as much time as you need,” she said.

It didn’t take long for Goku and Gohan to pick out the kinds of candy they wanted, piling up on the counter. It became so high however, that Gabrielle had to stand on her tippy-toes to see over it. Soon, the two guys seemed to be finished, and she continued in a somewhat shocked voice. “Will this be all for today?”

“Yep, that should do it,” Goku stated.

“Okay,” she paused for a moment, calculating the total cost, and finally said, “That should come to 500.72.”

“What?!!!” Chi-Chi shouted, as she hadn’t been paying attention as to how much candy had collected, but had been paying attention to the recipe books to the side. “Goku, you know we can’t afford that just for candy! We have more shopping to do!”

“I didn’t know it would cost so much, though, Chi-Chi.”

“Well I can offer one solution to this,” Gabrielle stated with a smile. “I’ll let you have half this candy at a quarter of that price if you do one small favor.”

“What’s that?” Gohan asked.

She reached over to the cast register and picked up three pieces off paper and three pens. She handed it to them over the pile of candy and continued. “If you write one thing you want for a present, I grant you that solution.”

“You mean that’s it? All we have to do is write one thing we want?” Chi-Chi questioned.

“Yeah, but of course, it’s gotta be real.”

“Okay, sure, there’s no harm in that, right?” Goku stated.

After writing one thing they wanted and handing them back to her, she read them and laughed.

“What’s so funny?” Gohan asked, confused in a way.

“Nothing, it’s just not surprising that both you and your dad wrote candy.”

“You what?!” Chi-Chi said angrily. “You know there’s more important things as gifts than candy, you two! C’mon, we’re leaving!”

“But what about the candy?” Goku asked.

“No way! You’ll get some candy when the holidays come around, if you really want it as a present!”

“But, Chi-Chi...”

“Now!”

Chi-Chi stomped out of there in a storm, and Goku and Gohan scuffed their feet after. The girl laughed slightly as she took one last look at the wish lists before putting them in the cash register. She soon began to put the piled candy back on the selves where they once originally were, a smile set across her face.

Part Two

The days passed by, and all was well and usual. Bulma had gotten a hold of one of those cookies and asked Trunks to go back to the shop to get the recipe, and indeed he was going to. He might himself get a few more pieces of candy while he was there too.

Looking through the window, he looked to see if it was open, and he saw Gabrielle sitting at that counter, looking to be organizing profits with a calculator or something. He opened the door and walked in, the girl looking up and smiled to see him again.

“Hello again, Trunks. What can I do for you today?” she asked.

“Actually, my mother got a hold of one of those cookies and she sent me back to get the recipe for it. You wouldn’t mind telling that would you?”

“Of course not. Just give me a minute to finish these calculations.”

He wondered around a bit, looking all around the shop for things he didn’t notice before, and truly there wasn’t much. But once in a while he’d try to see what she was working on, and the numbers were quite high. Sales, perhaps. Or maybe things she was buying for the shop. Whatever it was, there was a great deal of items ranging over a hundred. When she had finished, she put the paper in the cash register and picked up another piece of paper, writing the recipe for him.

“Well it isn’t much, and usually the first batch doesn’t come out very good, but after a few tries it should come out as good as it was with the batch I gave to you,” she said, handing the paper to him.

“Hey, thanks. My mom will be happy about this. But just one more question.”

“Yes, what is it?”

“Do you ask everyone who comes in here to make a wish list? I mean, just for thought.”

“Well, sort of. Just those that I think are happy to be in here.”

“Why’s that?”

“You see, if someone walks in here at this time of year that looks happy, then I don’t think they would mind making wish list. If they seem mad outside and are happy when they come in here, then this place must lift their spirits. It’s sort of a positive attitude thing.”

He raised an eyebrow with question and she laughed slightly. “You probably find it odd for me to say that, but truly there’s a reason. With all the chaos in the world, if just this shop can make a person happy, think about it. If people would just realize that it doesn’t take a candy shop to make them happy, but only themselves, then maybe the world would be different. But it’s just a thought.”

“No, it’s a good idea. You sure have a point to what your saying. But why don’t you tell anyone?”

“Because I’d be driven out off town with torches and pitchforks,” she joked. “No, but seriously, most people don’t want to believe it, living in their own little worlds, thinking that what they do won’t affect others. Those are who I think are the weak people in the world, but since there are so many, I can’t do anything. There are some people who realized what I’ve said, but sadly, not many.” She turned to the cash register and opened it, looking at the one piece of paper she had been calculating, then quickly shut it and looked back at him. “So, will there be anything else today?”

“Yeah, umm, you probably wouldn’t have anymore of those cookies would you?”

“Sure I do!” she stated. She reached under the display case and took out three, newly baked cookies.

He reached into his pockets to get out the money he owed, but she shook her head. “Hey, no problem, it’s on me.”

“You sure? I mean, this would be the third time you gave these things for free.”

“Don’t worry about it! Now, come back sometime and tell me how your mom’s cookies turn out, ‘kay?”

“Sure,” he replied. When he was walking out the door, he continued. “Well, bye. Guess I’ll see ya later. Either that or my mom will have to come by.”

“Okay. Bye!”

The day passed on, and a few people walked in and out of the store, buying candy and cookies and leaving with a smile. But one of the last people to enter were something that would certainly start a battle. The first person to enter was Bulma, carrying the one piece of paper which held the recipe for the cookies.

“Hello, how may I help you?” Gabrielle said as she always did, just coming out of the back room from where she had been making a new batch of cookies to sell the next day.

“Yes, my son came in here earlier and asked for the recipe for those cookies you make, and I was wondering, how much do you use of each ingredient?”

“Oh, so your the Trunks’s mother? Nice to meet you. Oh, but yeah, I forgot to put how much you put in, sorry about that.”

“No problem. Now, what I didn’t get was how much of this cinnamon you put in.”

They continued on talking for quite some time. Right when Gabrielle was about to finish the rest of the recipe, when an angry figure entered the shop.

“Woman! How long should it take you to get a stupid recipe?!” Vegeta said angrily, tired of standing outside where he had been.

“Look, Vegeta, it will only take a few more minutes! It won’t hurt you to stand outside a few more minutes!”

“Then why did I have to come at all if you’re just going to sit and chat?!”

“Hey, you have to get a new suit for the party we’re going to and it’s not like I can just go to the store and guess you size!” Bulma scolded.

Bluma and Vegeta continued on fighting, leaving Gabrielle worried to the side. She thought that they should either break it up or go outside, because if they stayed in her shop any longer they might break something. “Please stop fighting! There’s no need to-”

“You stay out of this, woman!” Vegeta shouted.

“Hey, don’t yell at her for it, Vegeta! She didn’t do anything!”

And again, they continued to fight. It lasted for a few more minutes, until finally, she decided to do something. She stepped up in front and tried to separate them with her hands, and said, “Stop it or I’ll-”

She stumbled back after Vegeta hit her hard in the face. She fell to the floor with slight tears in her eyes, but soon became angry.

“Now what did you do that for?” Bulma questioned, trying to be calm.

“I told her to stay out of it and I guess she didn’t listen!”

As they bickered on, Gabrielle stood up and went behind the counter. She picked up a cane that was placed on the shelf under the display case. Walking back to the side of them where they didn’t even notice, the cane pulled apart into a sword behind her back. Quickly, she stepped up and put the blade right between them.

In calm anger, she said, “Get out of my shop. You’re not welcome here anymore.”

They stopped arguing as soon as they saw the blade and looked at her surprised.

“What? I said get out.. now.”

She lifted the blade and put it back so it was a cane, and silently, they left. She went back to the counter and put the cane underneath. She walked back to the back room, and continued making other batches.

***

The next day, when the holidays were just reaching their beginning, and most shops around town were going to close, most people did their last minute shopping and were moving here and there, visiting relatives and such. Mostly no one had time to think of what was going on regularly, and in this case, someone could slip unnoticed, in which would happen.

In the late afternoon, no one was home, and Little Trunks was just getting home from school. He opened the door and carelessly tossed his backpack in the living room, not even paying attention, and just went into the kitchen to get something to eat. He got out a Pop-Tart from the cabinet and put it in the toaster. When it was finished, he walked into the living room once again. But this time, his eyes were filled with the shinning glow of wrapping paper on huge presents. There were two of them, both decorated with shinny green wrapping paper and a large gold bow.

He put the Pop-Tart on the table and quickly looked to see if one of those were his. And indeed, one of them was. He thought that since they were just left on the ground like that that he could open it right then, in which he did.

He tore the wrapping paper apart and opened the box. Soon, a huge yell of joy could be heard all throughout the house, and he held up the present like it was some sort of trophy.

“All right!!! The all new X-21 skateboard with no-slip grip, metal board face, and anti-shock wheels!!” Little Trunks shouted with joy.

He looked at it with amazement, and thought that maybe his mom had actually gotten it for him. She had been dreading getting it for him because it cost so much and every time he got a skateboard he broke it, but always said this time he wouldn’t. He didn’t think of why she might have gotten it, but instead ran outside to go try it out.

At Goku’s house, Gohan and him were just coming back from getting food for dinner, when they were surprised to see three large boxes set on the kitchen table. They looked to see who they were for, thinking that Chi-Chi probably made them to send out, but two of them were actually for them. They figured it wouldn’t hurt to open it then, and as soon as they did, they were totally stunned by what they saw.

It was the same exact candy that they had wanted before in that candy shop. The boxes were filled to the very top with the stuff and the smell of it filling the air. They thought that Chi-Chi might have changed her mind about all of it, and actually bought all of that candy. Soon they began eating, and were very happy that she had changed her mind.

Later, when they had finished almost half the boxes, Chi-Chi came in to see them pigging out on candy, and she had a horrified look on her face.

“What is going on here?!!” she questioned.

“Hi, Chi-Chi! Hey, thank you so much for all his candy!” Goku stated with a smile.

“Yeah, mom, thanks a lot!” Gohan said.

“Candy?! What are you talking about?!”

“Well, didn’t you get this candy for us?” Goku asked.

“No! I wouldn’t think of it!”

“Then if you didn’t get this for us... who did?”

Chi-Chi walked over to the other package that wasn’t open, and looked to see if it had any names on it. The only one that was on it, however, was that it was addressed to her.

She slowly opened the package as Goku and Gohan sat and watched. When she opened the box, and wide smile appeared on her face, and her eyes sparkled with happiness. She quickly took out the stainless-steal cooking wear piled in the box, and said excitedly, “Oh wow, just what I always wanted! Goku, did you get these for me?”

“No, Chi-Chi I didn’t.” Goku said with a bit of question.

“Gohan?” she asked.

He shook his head. Chi-Chi looked into the box and saw there was a note taped to the bottom. She read it out loud so that they could hear as well. “‘I bought these gifts because I thought you all were kind enough to deserve them’.”

“That’s it?” Gohan asked.

“That’s it. It doesn’t say who sent it or anything.”

“Well whoever sent it was sure nice,” Goku said, and soon, after a moment of thought, he and Gohan began eating again, and Chi-Chi thought she might use the brand new cooking wear to cook dinner.

When the sun had gone over the horizon, the rest of the Briefs family had come home. Bulma was surprised seeing Little Trunks outside playing with a brand new skateboard, and asked where he had gotten it. He looked puzzled, and said that he thought she had gotten it for him. He also said there was a present in there for Trunks, and he’d tried to pick it up before and it was really heavy.

Bulma had no idea where they might have come from, because she certainly didn’t buy them and neither did Vegeta. Maybe Trunks might have an idea, but she doubted it. When he did come home after walking around town for a few hours, she and Little Trunks both were questioning him.

He had no idea what they were talking about, and after he had put his jacket away, he went to how see what this present thing was all about. He picked up the green wrapped package and began to open it. After lifting the box lid, his eyes went wide to what he saw.

“Hey, cool! Isn’t that the sword you saw in that one magazine?” Little Trunks asked, looking over his shoulder to see the new sword.

Trunks remembered about that, and rushed over to the table to look at the sword magazine that had come in the mail a few weeks back. He flipped through the pages and finally saw the one that looked, and was, the same exact sword that he had gotten. But with seeing it, he wondered who had gotten it, because it cost a fortune.

Little Trunks stood looked his shoulder to see the price, and his eyes almost popped out of his head. “Holy... That sword costs more than 3,000! Dude, whoever bought that sword must’ve been rich or is now seriously broke.”

Trunks paused for a minute, glancing back and forth at the sword and the magazine. His eyes narrowed with question as he realized something, and put the magazine back on the table. He picked up the sword and went to go get his jacket again.

“Where are you going?” Bulma questioned from where she saw him leaving from the kitchen.

“Out,” he replied, swinging the sword over his shoulder and walking out the door.

He walked through the streets quickly, his feet leaving prints in the freshly laid snow. He seemed to be the only one around, because everyone had gone home for the day, except for one more person he was hoping to catch. Turing the street corner, he saw Gabrielle just locking up the shop and began walking down the street.

“Hey, hold up a second!” he yelled to her, and she stopped and turned to see who was talking.

“Why, hello, Trunks. What are you doing here, aren’t you suppose to be with your family?” she asked with a smile.

“Gabrielle, I need to talk to you,” he said seriously, running up to her.

“Yeah, what is it?”

“I know what you did for me and my brother. I really appreciate it but,” He took the sword from around his back and held at both hand in front of her, “this sword. I can’t take it. I know who much it costs, and with the skateboard you bought my brother as well, it’s just too much. I’m sorry, but I just don’t deserve it.”

“Nonsense,” she said. “Why do you say that? I’m sure whoever bought it for you would have a good purpose.” She turned an was going to walk away, but Trunks continued, stopping her.

“I know you bought it for us, that’s why you had us make those wish lists. I never told anyone else that I wanted another sword to replace the one I lost, not even my mother, so you were the only one who would’ve known. But, I just have one question. Why? Why did you buy this?”

She turned around, and said, “Right now, I’m practically broke. But if I can see one smile and make one person happy, I would give up every penny I own to see that. That’s why I bought that sword, and your brother’s skateboard, because I thought that if I did buy you those things that you could stay happy longer than just the holidays.” He could see though the street lights that more snow began to fall.

“But just having you around and hearing your nice voice can make people happy,” he said.

“You’re kidding... aren’t you?”

He shook his head. “If you try to see the best in things and try to make things for the better, of course people will become happy. It obvious.”

She looked at him with question, shock stuck in her eyes as the snowflakes hit her head softly. She didn’t think that that could happen, just because of her, but then again never thought of it. She smiled and said, “You know, that’s the most thoughtful comment I’ve ever gotten. Thank you, Trunks.”

He blushed slightly with embarrassment, and she giggled. She turned and began to walk away again, but just before she disappeared beneath the street lights, Trunks said one last thing.

“I guess your name says what you are, huh?” He was referring to her being named after the angel the messenger, as you would.

He could hear her laugh cheerily as she turned back and smiled. She waved goodbye, and turned back, soon disappearing under the dark December sky.

Trunks turned and swung the sword over his shoulder, walking home with a smile on his face and the weight of guilt lifted from his shoulders.