Atlantis (A Waterfire Saga Fanfiction)

Chapter 9

Alma made her way to the front door to figure out what her sisters were trying to tell her.

It was then that she noticed something quite unusual at the doorstep.

There was a parcel that was wrapped in white cloth.  Alma's name was written on it and took her a moment to realize that there was a note attached to it.

It read: For Alma's thirteenth birthday.

"Well, what are you waiting for?  Open it!" suggested Alcina.

Alma carefully picked up the package and brought it to the dining room.

Her sisters waited eagerly for her to unravel the gift.

One thing bothered the young girl though: there was no return address.

Who could it be from?  she wondered.

"There is only one way to find out,"  she told herself.

In a flash, she unwrapped the parcel that revealed something shocking.

It was the necklace that she had wanted from Corrine's shop.

Carefully, she held in the palm of her hand, barely believing that it was there.

"That was fifteen silver!"  said Alcina with wide eyes.

"Alma, someone must really like you a lot to spend that kind of money on you,"  remarked Idra.

"Who is it from?"  Alcina asked.

"I...I don't know,"  Alma mumbled.

Alma couldn't remember the last time that she had received an actual present for her birthday.  Her parents had never bought her anything, because they wanted to teach her the value of love and family connections and not the importance of lavish gifts.

When Alma was in school, she was quiet and shy natured.  Thanks to her introverted personality, she had never received any invitations to gatherings and had never really made any real friends.

Alma could not think of one person who would've gifted her with such a precious adornment.

"It was probably from Corrine,"  Alcina suggested.

"Or...... maybe our sister has a secret admirer,"  Idra said dramatically.

"Please stop acting so childish,"  Alma replied with a hint of annoyance in her voice as she rolled her eyes.

The young adolescent then grabbed her necklace, tied it around her neck and went back to the kitchen to help her mother finish the baklava.

Alma had no idea what to think right now.

Who could it possibly be from?  she wondered.

Now, the young girl desperately wanted to figure out who bought her that gift.

It couldn't have been Corrine.  she thought to herself.

Alma's mind flashed back to her browsing in the shop earlier in the day.

Only herself, Idra, Alcina and Corrine had been inside the building.