Short Story 1

She woke up with a startle. Had she overslept? She checked the time on her mobile screen. 4:30 it moaned sleepily. She still had 1 hour to sleep. But she had so much to do! She didn’t even need the sprinkle of cold water on her eyes to wake her up; the thought itself was enough to wake her up. Hurriedly, she made her way to kitchen. She stopped by calendar and smiled. ‘My Birthday’ was scribbled on the date. It was decorated with so many flowers and stars that the date was no longer visible. With a soft chuckle she moved on with her work. She started baking the cake. Pineapple cake was Sally’s all time favourite. She could almost see her screaming with joy. She knew every child waits anxiously for his/her birthday. But there was no match for Sally’s anxiety. She was kind of obsessed with her birthday. Each time she was invited for any of her friends’ birthdays instead of lighting up she would make a grumpy face which demanded to know ‘When is her birthday?’ She would only be satisfied with the answer that stated exact number of days left for her birthday. She remembered last year when Sally woke up, she went to her room and wished her Happy Birthday. She got so excited that she made everybody at home wake up and asked them to wish her. She even made Leo (our dog) to shake its paw with her. She smiled at the memory. She was busy with her chores when her husband appeared in the kitchen.

‘Honey its 5:15. Why are you up so early? What are you doing?’

’It’s Sally’s birthday! I have lot to do!’

He stared at for her a moment and then without saying anything went to living room and sat there. He saw that her happiness knew no bounds. He sat there quietly. After an hour or so when everything seemed perfect she took out the colour boxes and sweets she had bought for Sally to distribute in school. Then she took out a pink frock, matching earrings, stockings and hair belt. She took these things and went to her room. The door was closed. She felt it weird and was puzzled for a moment. Sally always kept door of her bedroom ajar while sleeping. Lost in thoughts she opened the door and emptiness of the room filled her mind. She stared at the empty room. It had been the same it was 3 weeks ago. The toys lay scattered, bed was cluttered, she could see used plates below the bed, but everything seemed colorless without the sight of her precious one. She dropped the things down and cringed in a corner. The loud thud made her husband hurry to the room. She sat in a corner motionless. Emotions were burning up inside her but they just failed to come out. He knew this is no good. He kissed her forehead and hugged her. But she didn’t move. He got up and came with a photo frame holding Sally’s last year’s birthday picture. She was feeding cake to Sally. There was an outburst of emotions. Tears ran down her cheeks. He said ‘Wherever she is, she loves you’. With a crack in her voice she replied ‘But I love her more’.