Fighting for life -ENGLISH VERSION

Chapter 5

Certainly, my mother had to grumble at me again, as always. Not a day goes by without her doing that, right? Why can't she just accept me as I am?

I made it clear to Jonas and Mira that I wanted to go upstairs to my room.
"Not even on my birthday, can she stop nagging," I complained to Jonas and Mira when we reached upstairs. "Ignore it, Alex!" Jonas replied. I nodded, feeling down.

We planned the day. We wanted to go shopping, watch a movie at the cinema, cook together in the evening, and then play Truth or Dare.

But first, there was Black Forest Cherry Cake, my absolute favorite! I was also supposed to unwrap gifts. We went downstairs to inform my parents about the day's plan.

Arriving downstairs, my mother pulled me aside. "Alexa, I told you to dress more decently! And your hair, how does that look! How you look!" she complained.
"I'm not called Alexa! I'm Alex! If you want me to wear a dress, you'll be waiting a long time!" I replied.
"And you are called Alexa, indeed. Alex is just your silly nickname! But at least put on a nice blouse and some decent pants," she requested.
I left the room in silence.
I came back downstairs, changed with braided hair.
"Wow, my daughter looks beautiful!" my father exclaimed happily.

Daughter... Daughter... this word lingered in my mind for a long time. It didn't sound right to me. I wonder why?
I was a girl or rather a growing young woman. But I felt somehow odd with that. I was a woman! Right?

Lost in my endless questions, I didn't notice that everyone had almost finished their cake. My piece remained untouched on my plate, still in its glory. Somehow, I didn't have an appetite anymore. Nevertheless, I forced myself to take a bite.
"Don't you like, Alex?" my father asked. I snapped out of my thoughts. "What, of course, it tastes good," I replied. "Okay, then, all is well," he said.

I noticed that Lionell was staring at me with concern. I think he noticed that something was on my mind. I smiled at him, hoping that maybe he hadn't noticed anything after all.

"Are you opening gifts now?" Vera asked. "Sure, I can do that," I replied. We went to the living room. My mother whispered, "Thanks, Alexa, you look good." I smiled at her sheepishly.

We sat down, and everyone placed their gifts in front of me.
I picked up the smallest one. "I'll start with this one," I said. "It's from me," Levi smiled.

I opened it, and it was...