Reflections

2

December 30, 1966

Again, he woke up to the sound of banging. But this time, it was very different.

"Goooood morning, Mike!" Micky's voice called out from the other side of the door. Mike groaned and rolled over, covering his head with his pillow.

The bedroom door opened and Mike could feel someone come up to him and begin to shake him.

"Wakey wakey," Micky said in a quiet voice. "Time to wake up, birthday boy. We have a surprise for you downstairs."

A surprise, Mike thought to himself. It was never a good thing when Micky Dolenz said he had a surprise for you.

"It's Davy's birthday too," he mumbled, rolling on his side, turning away from Micky. "Give it to him."

"Peter made you a special birthday breakfast," Micky said with a smile. "Apparently, Davy told him to give it to you because he wasn't hungry."

Mike sighed.

"Of course he did," he muttered under his breath as he made his way out of the bed. As he made his way out, it was hard to resist the temptation of looking at himself in the mirror.

Micky led him downstairs where a few balloons were tied on both Davy and Mike's chairs as well as a "happy birthday" banner being hung crookedly on the wall.

"Happy birthday!" Peter said, happily, placing a bowl in front of Mike's seat at the table. Mike put on a smile and nodded. That phrase had grown to mean nothing to him.

"Thanks," he said softly, sitting down at his seat and staring down at the plate in front of him. It was some concoction Peter had made that seemed to involve smashing fruits and mixing the mush.

"What is this?"

"It's a surprise," Peter smiled. There was that word again. Mike sighed and grabbed his spoon, hesitantly taking a bite as Peter watched.

"Well?" He asked as Mike looked up at him.

"Not bad," he said with a slight nod.

"Really?" Peter beamed. Mike nodded again.

It wasn't great, but it was simply a mashed fruit salad. And that's what it tasted like.

"Good job," Mike said as Micky patted the blonde's shoulder.

"Thanks!"

"The big 24," Micky said, looking at Mike. "How does it feel?"

"24's not that big," Mike shrugged. "If anything, Davy's the one with the big 21."

"Yeah," Peter agreed. "He can drink and do things now."

"I could drink and do things before 21!" Davy jokingly snapped.

"So glad we never got a call about Davy drinking and doing things," Micky laughed, sitting next to Mike.

"Well, I assume we'll start getting those calls soon," Mike said dryly, taking another bite of the mush.

"You're really eating that?" Micky asked, eyes widening. Nobody ever willingly ate Peter's cooking, not even Peter.

"Like I said, it's not that bad," Mike shrugged again. "Not that good, but more importantly, not that bad."

Micky nodded.

"So how does it feel?"

"How does what feel?" Mike asked with a sigh. He wasn't ready for this, especially not this early in the morning.

"Your birthday," Davy explained. "You know how he always asks if you feel any different or any older, that stuff."

"Oh," Mike said, looking down into his bowl. Birthdays were strange, there had been so many that they lost any meaning, especially now by this point.

"Yeah, I don't really feel any different," he shrugged, trying to play it off. He did feel different, but not in a good way. Birthdays had become strangely emotional for him these days. He was supposed to be happy, but he practically dreaded this time of year every time it came around. It only reminded him of he what he had lost, more with each year that passed.

"Hey," Micky said softly, noticing a change in his friend. "Are you alright? I'm sorry if I upset you. I didn't mean anything by it and-"

"Micky," he said sternly, causing Micky to stop mid-sentence. Mike smiled slightly and continued.

"It's okay, I just...I got a little lost in my head, that's all."

Micky nodded in understanding, but still seemed worried.

"Okay, well, if you need anything, we're here."

"Thanks," Mike sighed, standing up.

"Do you need anything?" Peter asked as he watched Mike head back up the stairs.

"I think I'm gonna try and go back to sleep if that's alright," he explained and the others nodded.

"Yeah, of course, that's okay," Peter said, smiling at him. Mike nodded and headed into the bedroom. This time as he passed the mirror, he didn't prevent himself from staring at his reflection. The pain in his heart only grew as he studied the face closely, the one that had remained unchanged for over a hundred years.