A Forgotten Birthday

Tears rolled down Lilly's cheeks, and she whipped them with the palm of her hand. She closed her eyes and sniffled, and more tears rolled down her cheeks.

"I always like coming here in the afternoon to watch the sunset," a voice said from behind her.

Lilly hurriedly wiped the tears away, hoping that the stranger did not see her crying.

"Here," the voice said.

Lilly tilted her head and looked up at the person, but the sun veiled his face from her vision.

"Take it," he said, slightly shaking the can of Coca-Cola in his hand.

She slowly stretched out her hand and took the drink.

"Thank you," she mumbled, and she placed the unopened can next to her on the dry, weather-beaten log.

The stranger stepped on, then over, the long log and sat beside her. Lilly glanced at him, and she saw that he was tall and slender with a light brown complexion. His oval face, thick eyebrows, and sleepy brown eyes fit nicely.

Lilly blushed and quickly turned to look at the blue sea. The sun would be setting in about half an hour, and she would stay there until it set. The water gently but firmly rocked against the pink sandy shore. Other beach-goers were sitting, running, playing football and swimming and Lilly became lost in her thoughts for a few seconds as she looked around her.

"Are you okay?" the stranger asked.

Lilly opened her mouth to say yes, but after a moment's hesitation, she said, "no, I'm not okay, but I should be because today is my birthday."

"Really?" the stranger asked, his voice filled with surprise and pleasure.

An unexpected smile creased the corner of her mouth. That was her first smile in the last hour. Lilly glanced at him, and he smiled at her. Her smile grew, and she blushed again before lowering her eyes and turning her gaze back to the sea.

"Happy birthday," he said.

"Thanks," Lilly said as the smile slowly disappeared from her face.

"How old are you today?" he asked.

"Sixteen," she replied, pushing out her chest.

"Wow, Sweet Sixteen, as they sometimes say."

"Yep," she said, with no trace of happiness in her voice.

"Then tell me, why aren't you happy on your birthday?" he asked.

"It's because of my mother," Lilly replied bitterly.

"Hum," the stranger said.

Lilly, remembering the Coco-Cola next to her, picked it up, and after popping it open, she listened as it hissed, then said,

"She forgot my birthday, and yes, I know, how can my mother forget my birthday?"

"Wow," the stranger said, "I didn't see that coming, and I've seen a lot of things in my young life."

"What mother forgets her own daughter's birthday?" Lilly asked before putting the can to her lips again.

"Especially a sixteenth birthday, too," the stranger said, then added, "that's a shame."

"Yes, I mean, it's not as though I"ll turn sixteen ever again," Lilly said, after taking another gulp of the drink.

"Some mothers are just terrible," the stranger said, bending forward to pick up a rock and pelt it towards the water.

The rock dropped a long way from the water.

He took in a deep breath and slowly let it out.

"Well, her loss is my gain," he said.

Lilly almost chock on the drink in her mouth.

"What do you mean?" she asked between coughs.

"Are you okay?" he asked, resting his hand on her shoulder and bending to look into her face.

Lilly nodded her head, yes.

"What do you mean?" she asked when she stopped coughing.

"About what?" he asked.

"About my mother's loss being your gain," Lilly said, glancing at him.

"Oh," he said, removing his hand from her shoulder, "I just meant that if she did not forget your birthday, then you probably would not have come here, and I would not have met you."

Lilly blushed.

"Oh," she mumbled, then drained the can into her mouth and rested it on the pink sand.

"Are you hungry?" he asked.

Lilly shrugged her shoulders.

"How does a birthday meal at the fast-food restaurant of your choice sound?" he asked, touching her shoulder again.

"I don't have any money," Lilly replied, looking helplessly at him.

"No, no," he said, smiling, "it's my threat, my birthday gift to you."

Lilly smiled shyly.

"You have a beautiful smile," the stranger said.

Lilly blushed and lowered her eyes.

"So," he said, "where do you want to go? I have my car parked over there."

"You have a car?" Lilly exclaimed.

"Yes, it's an old Mustang. I fixed it up myself," he said, smiling broadly.

His hand on her shoulder moved around her back and draped around her shoulders.

Lilly's body stiffened, and she looked out into the sea and saw that the sun was shading some of its glow.

"I better go back home now," Lilly said, shaking her shoulders, trying to remove his hand from around her.

"Home?" he exclaimed, "I thought we were going to grab a bite to eat."

"Yes, but I just realized how late it's getting," Lilly said, attempting to get up.

The stranger kept his hand around her shoulder, keeping her from standing.

"It's not that late, and besides, you don't want to rush back home to a mother who didn't even remember your birthday," he said, squeezing her shoulder slightly.

Lilly frowned, remembering the pain and sadness that surged through her when she realized that her mother had forgotten her birthday. She relaxed her shoulders.

"She doesn't care about you, so why should you care about her," the stranger said, rubbing her back.

"Oh good, I didn't miss it," Lilly heard a voice full of excitement said from above and behind them."

She spun around to see a woman dressed in blue jeans and a white tee-shirt standing behind her. Lilly thought that the woman looked to be a little older than her mother, and she was looking out into the sea.

"I wanted to be here when the sun sets," the woman said, looking from Lilly to the guy sitting next to her.

The guy slowly but promptly removed his hand from her back, and Lilly moved a little away from him.

"I was rushing to get here, but there was an accident on the road, so the traffic was a little backed up," the woman said.

"Was anyone hurt?" Lilly asked.

"It didn't seem so, but I can't say so for sure," she replied.

Then taking a red backpack from her back and stooping next to Lilly, she unzipped it and pulled out a blue and white stripe blanket.

"Do you mind giving me a hand with this?" she asked, indicating the blanket.

"No, no," Lilly said, jumping up off the log.

The guy also got up and helped spread the blanket on the sand. It was light and large enough for at least four persons to sit on it.

"Thanks,' the woman said, "and now, instead of sitting on this log, you can share this blanket with me."

"Thanks," the guy said, "but we were just leaving."

"Already," the woman said, sounding disappointed, "I thought you were here to see the sunsets."

"Sorry," the guy said, "but we have to go."

"Oh, well, I guess I'll just have to spend the rest of my birthday evening alone," the woman said, sitting down on the blanket.

Lilly's heart skipped a beat, and the woman looked inside of the backpack and took out a medium-size glass bowl.

"Today is your birthday?" Lily asked.

"Yes," she replied, looking up at her.

"Today is my birthday, too," Lilly said, smiling involuntarily.

"Really?" the woman asked, "isn't that something?"

Lilly sat down on the blanket next to her. She had a little more size than Lilly's mother, but she was not overweight. Her black hair, combed in a bun, went well with her plump face.

"But I thought we were leaving?" the guy said, looking down at the phone he'd pulled from his back pocket.

"Thanks for the offer," Lilly said to him, "but I'm staying for a few more minutes."

"That's wonderful," the woman said, "here, I'll share my birthday food with you, and we'll celebrate both birthdays."

"Thanks," Lilly said, and the woman continued to empty her backpack.

"You'll welcome," she said as she continued to unpack the backpack.

"Well, I have to leave," the guy said, vexation evident in his tone, "but..."

"Bye," Lilly said, cutting him off.

The guy looked down at her with an unreadable expression before walking away.

"Here's a plate for you, and one for me," the woman said, giving her a red and white plastic plate that had happy birthday written on it and keeping one for herself.

"Thanks," Lilly said, taking it from her.

"You don't mind if we pray before we eat, do you?" she asked.

"No, no," Lilly said, "go ahead and pray."

She prayed, and after saying, Amen, she said, "help yourself."

A few minutes later, Lilly was holding a plateful of food. She had roti and curry, chicken fried rice and fried chicken.

Lilly hungrily ate the food, and silence fell between them for a few minutes.

"Wow, this is some delicious food," Lilly said, with her mouth full.

"Thanks, I cooked it," the woman said.

"You're a good cook," Lilly said, with her mouth still full.

"Thanks."

"I'm Lilly," she said after eating some more.

"And I'm Laura," the woman replied.

Lilly nodded, and they continued to eat in silence as they looked out into the sea and around them.

Lilly noticed that no one was swimming anymore, and the people playing football were still there. The breeze had picked up a little, but as sudden as it started, it died down.

"I'm sixteen today," she said after finishing eating.

"That's wonderful," Laura replied, "but why are you here with me and not with your family and friends?"

"My Mom forgot it's my birthday today," Lilly said.

"Oh, I'm sorry to hear that," Laura said, "were you celebrating with the guy who just left? Is he a good friend of yours?"

"No, I just met him," Lilly said.

"Oh, and you were just going to go somewhere with him?" 

Lilly shrugged, and after a few seconds of silence, Laura asked, 

"Are you an only child?" 

"Yes. It's always been Mom and me," Lilly said.

Laura nodded as she wiped the plate she had just eaten from with a tissue. Lilly did the same.

"Have your Mom ever forgotten your birthday before?" she asked, looking at Lilly.

"No, never," Lilly said, shaking her head.

Laura started to pack away the empty dishes.

"My Mom is a nurse, and she's on the early morning schedule for the next couple of weeks, so by the time I got up this morning, she was gone," Lilly said.

A man and his dog with a yellow ball in his mouth ran in front of them.

"I looked for a present and a card on the table, but nothing was there," Lilly continued.

"Is that what she usually do?" Laura said.

"Yes, but I thought she was changing it up a bit because I was turning sixteen. So I rushed home after school, and she was already at home, and we talked about things like we usually do, and I waited for her to say happy birthday, but she didn't."

Lilly's voice cracked a little as she spoke.

"So, I asked her if she'd forgotten that it was my birthday today," Lilly said.

"And she did?" Laura said.

"Yes. How can a mother forget her own child's birthday? She doesn't love me, does she?"

"Well, every year on my birthday, my computer remembers to wish me a happy birthday, and it did so today, but I don't think it loves me, do you?"

"I guess not," Lilly said, "but she gives birth to me, though. How can she forget that day?"

"Did she apologize for forgetting?" Laura asked, zipping shut the backpack and putting it on the blanket.

"Yes, she said she was sorry and that she would make it up to me," Lilly said.

"Well, that's a hundred times better than what I had," Laura said.

"What do you mean?" Lilly asked, turning her entire body to face her.

"When I was growing up, we did not celebrate birthdays at my house. My parents didn't even acknowledge that it was my birthday."

"What? You are putting me on, right?" Lilly asked, uncertainty flowing in her words.

"No, I'm not. The church that my parents attended forbade it because they thought it was vain to do so, so they didn't," Laura assured her.

"That's crazy," Lilly exclaimed.

"That's what I thought, but that's how it was."

"Then what did you do?" Lilly asked.

"Nothing at home, but at school, I told my teachers, friends, and classmates, and I celebrated there," Laura replied as a huge smile covered her face.

Lilly laughed, and Laura soon joined in.

"You know Lilly," Laura said after they had stopped laughing, "there is nothing wrong with reminding your Mom that your birthday will be coming soon."

"Remind my Mom, but she gave birth to me?" Lilly said in dismay.

"So?" Laura asked.

"But why?" Lilly asked, in disbelieve.

"Your Mom is a nurse, right?"

"Yes."

"And does she take good care of you?"

"Yes," Lilly said.

"What things does she do to take care of you?" Laura asked.

"Well, apart from giving me a place to live, food and clothes, she helps me with my homework, and whenever she has to work in the night, she never leaves me alone, she always gets a babysitter, even though I'm old enough to be on my own," Lilly said, breathlessly.

"Your mother loves you very much, and maybe something is going on with her right now, and that's why she forgot your birthday."

Lilly sighed heavily.

"I didn't think about it that way," she said, "and thinking about it right now, you might be right. Hey, look, I have to go home now. My Mom must be worried about me by now."

"Look, look," Laura said, pointing out into the sea.

Lilly looked around just in time to see the sun falling from the earth.

"Wow, this is beautiful," she said.

"God is awesome," Laura said.

They stared out into the sea in silence for several minutes.

Okay," Laura said, breaking the silence after a while, "please help me with this blanket, and we'll walk out together, just in case that young man is still around."

"Yes, and thanks for everything," Lilly said, getting up.

"You're welcome," Laura said, also getting up from the blanket.

The End