It was a starry night, and the moon was shining brightly — a striking contrast to the small, neglected house somewhere in the town. The house looked old, its walls weathered and its floors creaking with every breath of wind. It clearly hadn't been maintained in years. Yet, from one of its windows could be seen a faint light of a bulb— soft, fragile, but warm. It was a soft light but warm somehow feeling like it was filled with a sprinkle of HOPE.
Inside, a soft, gentle and melodious humming filled the air. It wasn't a song from a speaker or a phone just the sound of someone softly humming a familiar birthday tune. The voice was quiet but carried emotion, trembling slightly as it echoed through the shabby little room.
In the center of that room stood a small table, and on it sat a cheap, store-bought cake. To anyone else, it might have looked plain, like a kind of cake that could be mistaken for a leftover dessert. But for the person sitting before it, it was the best, most tastiest cake in the world.
That person was a girl — young, with short dark hair and eyes that glimmered under the dim light. She wore heavy eyeliner that accentuated her tired gaze, and black nail polish chipped at the edges of her fingers. Around her neck hung a simple necklace with a memory locket. Her outfit — a skirt paired with a black hoodie — completed her subtle gothic look.
She had clasped both hands together in front of the cake, humming that soft birthday melody. Maybe it was her birthday ? But she was alone.
Alone on her birthday.
Who spends their birthday alone? Didn't she have any friends? Maybe parents? And if she did, where were they?
Well... let's find out. Let's see through her eyes now — through Eri's eyes.
Eri sat at the old wooden chair infront of the small cake resting on the table of her tiny apartment. The faded wallpaper had begun to peel at the corners, and the creaking floorboards spoke of years of neglect — the kind she could no longer afford to fix.
A clock on the wall ticked away the seconds, indifferent to her silence. Eri didn't bother looking at it. Her eyes instead drifted onto her phone. The screen read 10:08 PM, and, as always, there were no messages.
That morning, she'd spent what little money she had on high quality printing ink( a small luxury ) to print birthday invitations for everyone in her grade. She had stayed up the night before, carefully choosing colors and fonts, pouring herself into every detail, hoping to make someone, anyone, want to spend her day with her. But now, long after the time marked on those invitations had passed, hope had started to crumble.
"I guess... I guess they didn't check their lockers today. Heh..." she muttered, forcing a laugh that dissapeared quickly in the quiet room.
As she set her phone down, her gaze fell on the small, store-bought cake sitting in the center of the table , her attempt at finding joy . Beside it sat a disfigured teddy bear from her childhood guven to her by her parents, Mr. Snuggles, propped carefully on one of the four chairs she had optimistically set.
"You bought me a birthday cake?" she asked the bear with a soft, genuine smile — a fragile spark of her lost innocence. Of course, she knew she had bought it herself, but pretending her only friend bought it for her made her happier.
"My birthday's almost over... still no messages. But at least I've got you, right?" she whispered.Silence answered her. A lump formed in her throat as she stared at the bear, whose stitched eyes could offer no comfort.
Seconds went by as she kept talking to Mr snuggles, then minutes and finally a hour went. As the clock ticked at 11 pm, a single tear flowed down her as she sat on her chair still like untouched water ,quiet now used to this quietness ,used to this loneliness
But Just when she had given up expecting anything, she heard a noise outside. Footsteps. A voice. Her chest tightened.
Could it be someone?
She hurried to fix her hair, brushed her tears away, and ran to the door and saw... No one. Then, a flash of light came from at her from a corner. Her excitement died instantly.
Laughter followed. Not warm, but sharp. Cruel.
She looked at teh corner to see who it was.
A few girls from her class were there, holding their phones up, their screens glowing in the dark."Oh my god, she really did it," one of them said between laughs. "She actually threw herself a party and thoight anyone would come!"
Another voice joined, mocking,
"Was she talking to her toys? I told you she was weird!"
Eri's chest felt tight. Her hands shook as she stepped back, unable to look anymore.
Then one of them yelled—"Say hi to the camera, freak!"
A bright flash filled her room. And then, silence.They were gone, their laughter fading down the street.
Eri stumbled and fell on the floor after closing the door, the room spinning slightly. The smell of the cake's frosting felt sickly sweet now. The fairy lights seemed too bright. She reached up and turned them off, one by one, until only the moonlight remained.
Her eyes started pouring out one tear after another she kept wiping them, again, and again, and again...
her cheeks were wet, but she didn't bother wiping them anymore. She didn't even notice how her makeup had smudged, streaking down like dark rivers. She just sat there, staring at the floor, trying to breathe without crying again.
Time passed without meaning. Twenty minutes, maybe thirty.
Then—three soft knocks on the door.
She flinched. The sound was quiet but it made her heart race. She waited, listening. Maybe it was the girls again, back for another laugh.
Another knock. Still soft.Eri hesitated, then stood up, wiping her hands on her skirt. Slowly, she opened the door.
A boy stood there,who didn't notice her looking at a paper, her birthday invitations letter but then he noticed that eri had opened the door and was looking at him . He flinched and put the letter away while smiling awkwardly and nervously
Ahm… hello," he said, giving a nervous wave. "This is Eri's birthday party rught.... ahm..I'm Misaal. I, uh… saw your birthday invitation, so I came."
His voice was gentle, a little uncertain. Then he looked at her face, and his words stumbled.
"Wh–what… why are you crying? Should I not have come? Was i not invited" He looked scared maybe thinking he came to a party which he wasn't even invited to, but after he sighed
"Well I guess I will just say this and leave"
"Happy Birthday Eri"