Chapter 3-Birthdays Glad, Birthdays Sad

“Happy birthday to you! Happy birthday to you! Happy birthday dear Lily! Happy birthday to you!” a small group of children sang to an elated girl wearing a tiara. Her eyes radiated joy and wonder. Two layers of chocolate cake covered with lilac frosting and decorated with frosting flowers of every color of the rainbow sat on an ordinary cake platter in front of her.

A mousy-haired girl with hazel eyes stood up on her chair and belted, “And many more, on channel four!” The rest of the kids joined in with her singing, “And Scooby Doo on channel two! And Frankenstein on channel nine! A big fat lady on channel eighty!” Simultaneously they took a deep breath and in a style distantly resembling opera the concluded their silliness warbling, “And all the rest on C-B-S!” They all broke down in giggles.

“Thanks Jessica! Now, should I blow these candles out? I think the cake’s pretty as it is!” Lily sniggered. Dumbstruck faces met her question.

“Make-a-wish! Make-a-wish!” Jessica led the party guests in the persistent chant over and over, progressively getting louder. With one quick breath, Lily blew her candles out to the cheers of her friends. “Cake! Cake! Cake!” The mob of guests chanted good-naturedly.

“Three cheers for Petunia!” Lily yelled. “Hip, hip, hooray!” Jessica and the other kids boisterously joined in. “Hip, hip, hooray! Hip, hip, hooray!”

Then, her mother stepped in to cut and distribute the cake. Standing in the dim-lit corner of the room was a tall, bony, blonde girl shaking her head at Jess. Would she ever change? Despite her enthusiasm, the girl was vastly different from the girl Lily hesitantly befriended. With a satisfied look on her face, she watched the cake she had spent hours slaving over become only crumbs on the platter in what seemed like minutes. As her guests ate away, Lily got up to hug her sister in gratitude. The hours were worth it for that hug alone. The three cheers didn’t hurt anything either.

x-x-x-x

Inside an ordinary broom closet in a clean house belonging to a normal family in a well-off neighborhood lived a boy who was certainly not normal. Unbeknownst to him, today was a day that a whole other world celebrated because of him. All he knew was that his parents weren’t alive and that his family hated him. He knew that he wasn’t normal. If he was, why would they call him freak? Why did that man bow to him at the store? All it did was get him locked in his cupboard with a threat of no food. Hunger was no stranger the bony child, but after missing enough meals, one’s stomach growls too much to be ignored.

“Happy birthday to me,” the boy muttered softly so that no one else could hear him. He could barely hear himself. As the door to his room–if one could call it a room–opened, he flinched. He thought had not been making too much noise. The boy turned his dull green eyes to the light provided by the open door, using his arm to shield himself. He saw the outline of a woman, but her face wasn’t discernible. Could it be his aunt?

“Here Harry,” a gentle, low voice said. It had to have been the woman and she most certainly did not sound like his aunt. This woman was too, good. Her arm was outstretched and in her hand sat a biscuit with chunks of chocolate in it. “Harry, take it. Happy birthday.”

“Mum?” Harry squinted. “Is that you?” He took the biscuit quickly just in case she changed her mind.

“I love you Harry,” the woman whispered. After stroking his mussed hair, she quickly fled leaving Harry with his treat and thoughts. That night he slept with pleasant dreams of his mother.