MANGLED CLUMPS OF YARN

“And why again did you think this was good idea?” DaeRi asked Tamarai one afternoon. They were sitting in Tamarai’s living room attempting to finish the mittens they started to knit back at the start of December.

“Everyone loves handmade gifts,” Tamarai said, even though her face was wrinkled in confusion as she looked at the things that were supposed to be mitten in her hands. That was Tamarai’s reasoning back at the start of the month when she convinced Daeri to join her in knitting these stupid mittens, DaeRi wished she hadn’t fell for it. Now she had to find a way to save these mangled clumps of yarn and get them to at least be usable as mittens.

“We could have bought some and lied,” DaeRi said.

Tamarai shot her a look, “no way, that would be horrible.”

Daeri sighed and picked back up her someday gonna be mittens. she didn’t know how that was gonna happen, there were only six more days until Christmas, and they wouldn’t be able to work on them on Christmas Eve because of the Annual Brown family christmas Extravaganza. So they only really had five days. And after you factor into the equation that AeGuk was coming home tomorrow and DaeRi’s mom wanted DaeRi home to welcome him and on Saturday they were going Christmas shopping together there was only really three days. Three days to make these jumbled piles of yarn into mittens.

It didn’t look like it was gonna happen.

“Nobody’s gonna want these,” DaeRi said.

“It’s the thought that counts,” Tamarai insisted.

DaeRi shook her hand, “AeGuk is not gonna want some mangled clumps of yarn.”

“He’s your brother, he’ll like anything,” Tamarai said.

Daeri laughed, “yeah right, he’s too practical. He only likes things he can actually use.”

“He can use mittens,” Tamarai said.

“Not these ones,” DaeRi said, “I should just go and buy him some, I don’t have to lie about it.”

Tamarai shook her head, “Just keep trying, we can’t give up!”

DaeRi groaned but continued to try to salvage the mittens. She wrestled with the yarn for another thirty minutes until she finally threw the clumps onto the table in frustration.

“My fingers are so cramped,” she complained, showing Tamarai her hands and exaggerating how cramped they were, “I can’t even move them anymore.”

Tamarai frowned but held up her own cramped hands and nodded.

“Okay, we can take stop for the day,“ Tamarai said, putting down her own kind of mittens.

“Or forever,” DaeRi said.

Tamarai laughed, “just for today.”

Daeri laughed too, but because there was no way she was ever gonna pick up that bundle of torture even again. She was already planning to stop by this cozy store next to the deli after school tomorrow to pick up a new pair for AeGuk, he’ll appreciate them a whole lot more.

But she let Tamarai think she was laughing for the same reason as her. What she doesn’t know doesn’t hurt.