Different picture

1.Birthday

Hi! It is nine days after New Year and it hasn't been anything new from me, so here we go again;-) I have a lot in store, but this story is a challenge personally for me, because neither in my mother language nor in English am I so good in written in first person perspective so I hope you'll be patient with me. I'll plan to make it as punctual story as possible to keep in deadlines, but as always life will show it;-) So I hope you'll enjoy the first chapter of it and have a nice time wondering what the plot is about🙈

One bright morning, I woke up in a great mood, and as soon as I looked at the calendar hanging on the side of my closet, I immediately knew why. Today was Penny's birthday. Like every year, I broke my promise given to her and hid the gift somewhere in the fire station (or even Pontypandy if one of our friends was too nosy), leaving clues for her everywhere. And I won't say that her perversely evil face doesn't make me laugh every year.

I heard the doorbell and was surprised to see my nephew and niece waiting behind the door. I felt my face contort in surprise and slight disappointment. Maybe I hid the first clue too well?

"Uncle Sam, will you go to the beach with us?" Sarah asked, breaking me from my thoughts.

"I'm sorry, Sarah, but I'm working today," I lowered myself to look into her eyes, lightly hugging them both. "I promise that when my shift ends, I'll spend the whole day with you," I whispered when James suggested to Sarah to find Norman, Mandy, and Hannah.

This short visit was the only unusual event that morning. And when I ate breakfast, curiosity didn't let me collect my thoughts. This year I prepared something special for Penny, something I've been preparing for since last summer. I just hoped Penny would be able to guess all the clues.

"Hi, Elvis," I greeted as I entered the firehouse. "Have you seen Penny?"

"She hasn't come yet," Elvis replied as he put his helmet back in its place. "You still have time. Tell me, what are you planning this year?"

"I can't say, but it'll be something special," I smiled dreamily as I dropped the envelope through the crack in Penny's locker.

"Say, are you finally going to ask her about it?" Elvis kept pushing.

"Elvis, really? You don't think a special woman like Penny could feel anything more than friendship towards a simple, small-town firefighter like me?" I asked skeptically. How much my heart wanted it to be true. However, logical thinking told me otherwise. "She'll never love me," I sighed and went to find some peace and quiet upstairs.

"Friendship means a lot," Elvis managed to call after me.

The slow ticking of the clock helped calm my racing thoughts. Elvis was right, I loved Penny. However, unlike Elvis, I understood that she would never love me the way I loved her. So I decided to hold on to our friendship, deepening it as I intended to do today.

"I hope you're not planning anything today, Sam?" A familiar question brought me back to earth.

"It's not a coincidence that you suspect me of exactly the same thing, every year, under exactly the same circumstances, right?" I asked jokingly as Penny took the seat across from me.

"It's no coincidence that every year you break your promise and spread your puzzles all over Pontypandy," Penny teased me, crossing her arms.

"Don't tell me you don't like it," I teased her back. "I thought you had a nice time last year?"

"Looking for a rubber duck all over Lake Pontypandyness?" She asked in disbelief. "I don't know what came to your mind, tying a gift to a rubber duck?" Penny shook her head slightly in disbelief as she remembered falling into the lake trying to reach the rubber duck.

"I swear I didn't plan anything this time," I assured hastily, but Penny was still looking at me skeptically. "Hand on heart," I corrected myself, hoping that the shift would pass quickly.

The shift was quiet, so everyone present could feel free to wish Penny a happy birthday, although I had already prepared the best for her. I finished an hour before she did, so I had enough time to hide the present in the cave by the beach. This year I didn't limit myself to the fire station, because it was difficult to find a place that no one had ever visited. Well, maybe except for the broom closet.

I hid the gift in a crevice before slipping out of the cave unnoticed and heading towards the quey. I sat in Whole Fish Cafe and talked to my brother while eating dinner. However, I kept one eye on the glass door of the café, watching out for Penny passing by. I deliberately set the directions so that she would have to go this route. This way I didn't have to stay in the cave for over two hours.

It took her longer than I expected, but as soon as my eyes noticed some movement on the quey, I immediately apologized to my brother, paid and as I was leaving I heard:

"Don't mess it up this time!"

I didn't answer Charlie, but quickly turned into the back street and through the narrow passage to the beach, faster than Penny. I quickened my pace because there was only one entrance to the cave and I had to do everything I could to get there early enough so that Penny wouldn't notice me. Who knows, maybe waiting in the cave wasn't such a bad idea?

I ran into the cave and before I could catch my breath I had to climb the rope that the kids had once hung there. Out of the corner of my eye I saw the light of a flashlight and then I heard the familiar sound of footsteps. I looked down and almost let go of the rope, but I quickly grabbed the rock shelf with my legs. It was the only way to see her reaction without revealing it was me. However... I think I made the mistake when I felt eyes on me and the light of the flashlight blinded me.

"Sam, get out of there!" Penny called out. In one fluid movement, I landed softly on the ground, but I didn't expect that an envelope would be hit on my shoulder as a greeting. "Why do you keep doing this to me?" She asked in a resigned voice when I looked her straight in the eye. I guess I didn't exaggerate that much, did I? I watched as she wordlessly took the box out of a crack in the rock, and then she looked at me blankly.

"Everyone likes getting presents," I tried to cheer her up, but her smile didn't return to her face. "What is it about?" I tried again, but Penny just sat on the rock in front of the cave and sighed, resting her chin on her knees. "I'm sorry if I hurt you," I apologized, sitting on a nearby stone.

"That's not the point, Sam," Penny looked at me and smiled slightly. "I just don't like drawing attention to myself. It's the hardest on my birthday," she explained sadly.

"You're the only one we're not throwing surprise parties for" I realized. "You used to enjoy surprise gifts," I noted after a moment of silence. Every year Penny laughed at the gifts I hid.

"It's nice and shows that there is still a chance..." she hesitated. Apparently, in all the rush of her thoughts, she forgot to control her tongue.

"For what?" I asked with hope in my voice. My heart jumped into my throat when she said it in a shy voice.

"If you buy me some fries, just like you wrote in the fourth riddle," she teased, before she took out the letter and waved it in front of my eyes before getting up and running towards the sea. Laughing like her, I ran after her, hoping she would open the gift soon.