The Birthday's present | Teen Ink

The Birthday's present

July 19, 2016
By UyenDao BRONZE, Tappahannock, Virginia
UyenDao BRONZE, Tappahannock, Virginia
1 article 0 photos 0 comments

The Birthday’s present
Lucy’s birthday is on January 29th. Every year, she always expects a surprising present from her parents, and she has never been let down by them. Lucy gets luxury things that the other kids will never get, from expensive good-looking dolls, delicious candy and cookies to branded beautiful clothes. Lucy’s parents give her whatever she wants and for that reason, Lucy is spoiled. She becames a wasteful and material child who does not appreciate the things she is given if they are not expensive to her.
Things change on her fifteenth birthday...
As usual, on January 28th, Lucy asks her Mom “What will I get on my birthday tomorrow, Mom?”. “It’s a secret, darling”, says her Mom. Mom’s answer even makes Lucy more excited. She cannot sleep at night, wondering what will she receive tomorrow when she wakes up. Lucy imagines that her parents will force her to close her eyes and then leads her to the garden of the house, where she will find herself standing in front of a little pony with a cute red ribbon on its neck and then she will hear her parents saying “Surprise, darling! It’s your birthday present!”. The happy thinking leads Lucy into a deep sleep with a smile on her face.
The next morning when Lucy wakes up, she finds herself hugging a soft orange carrot-shaped pillow with neat stitches on it. The pillow is about her size, it has two black eyes and a big smile on its face. She is very confused when her parents step into her room with a birthday cake on their hands. Together, they sit next to her and sing the “Happy Birthday” song. After the song, her Mom asks “Do you like the pillow you are hugging? I made it by myself. Your father and I have decided to make you something really special instead of buying things from the mall.”
Lucy finally realizes what is happening. She cries furiously and throws the pillow to her parents “I don’t need this ugly thing! You two don’t understand me!”. Then she casts her Mom and Dad out of the room, locks the door, and goes back to sleep in tears, not seeing the angry face of the thrown pillow on the floor.
The next time when Lucy wakes up is midnoon. She wakes up because of the coldness of the floor, wondering why is she not lying on her warm bed. When Lucy tries to sit up, she realizes she has no arms or no legs! She wants to scream but nothing comes out of her mouth. Suddenly, she hears her own voice speaking “Sorry Mom and Dad, I should not behave like I did this morning. Now I really like the pillow and I will keep it from now on.” Lucy is freaking out! Then she hears footsteps walking toward her bedroom. At first, she thinks that the person is her Mom or her Dad, but instead, she sees herself, Lucy, walks into the room and sits down next to her. “Lucy” says “Don’t be afraid Lucy! I am the pillow, your Birthday’s present. Because you don’t know how to appreciate your own presents, I have switched our bodies and promised to treasure everything you are given.” After saying that, “Lucy” hugs the carrot-shaped “pillow” and says “ I will love and take care of you FOREVER.”


The author's comments:

The story is inspired by a present, a stuffed animal, my Mom made for me on my Birthday and I, like the girl in the story, did not appreciate it, which made my Mom really sad. After that, she gave the present to someone else and I really regretted about that.


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Hadao said...
on Jul. 22 2016 at 9:29 pm
Lovely story