The Melody Of Us

Birthday and more

"Heather?!" I squeal at the top of my lungs.

"Hello, young and beautiful!!" Heather takes a bow and winks at me.

It takes me two seconds to launch on top of her and strangle her with my biggest bear hug.

"Oh my god!! This is insane! You had packed that suitcase because you were coming to meet me!!!"

"Well, it's your birthday. So, I'll try to make you feel special. Yes, I had planned everything out. And this is not it. There's someone else waiting for you." She grins.

I can't believe that five minutes ago, I was snoring like a bear. And now, I have my best friend grinning down at me like a pro.

Hug number two comes from my little sister. She starts jumping up and down in excitement.

"You're nineteen!! Last year of your teenage life!! What do you feel like?" She asks, blowing air inside her balled fists.

"I feel like a normal, nineteen year old girl..? " I answer, wondering if this kid right here is half asleep.

Hazel looks at me with a bored expression and then rolls her eyes back inside their sockets.

"Seriously, Liana. You're no fun."

Okay, then.

I find Myra standing by the door, her gaze locked on her daughters. I feel something warm and unfamiliar build up inside me.

My mother is here on my birthday. It's like a wish come true. I'd always waited for the wooden door of my old house to open and reveal a smiling woman, who'd walk towards me and then engulf me in a gentle hug, reminding me that I do have a mother; that it all had been nothing more than a bad dream.

Myra smiles at me as I walk towards her. I smile back, wishing that the eight year old me wouldn't spring out of the nineteen year old me. That would be some typically creepy stuff.

"Happy Birthday, honey." She raises her arm to touch the side of my face. I take it as an opportunity to step in for a hug.

Okay. Wow.

I feel new, honestly. To have my mother's arms wrapped around me was something foreign to me until now. It feels like home. It feels as if I belong here.

Maybe, I do belong here.

My eagerness for a hug comes as a shock for Myra. But, she doesn't step back. She holds me as if she'd been doing this for ages. And I can't stop smiling.

"Ahem? Is it my turn yet?"

I whip around to find my dad grinning at me. And boy, do I start squealing like a lunatic..

"Dad?!?!"

I strangle my father with a gigantic hug. This is so insane! Everyone is here!

"Hey, sweetheart! Ooh, you've grown taller by zero point five inches. Congratulations!" I start laughing as soon as he comments on my height.

Same old. My height is a topic of joke in our family. I've turned out to be the shortest Hall in the longest run.

"Hey, that compliment was your birthday gift. So don't come along asking for another one in the morning." Dad jokes and I punch his stomach.

"Who planned all this?" I ask.

"Myra. She gave me a call two weeks ago and I added Heather to the crew. It had been a long time." Dad answers. I look at Myra and she smiles.

What should I say?

"Thank you. I'm really very happy."

"I'm glad you are, honey." She hesitantly plants a kiss on my forehead and smiles. I smile back.