Abandoned

Birthday

     "Happy birthday, Zachy!" The voice of his mother rang like a bell through the early morning air. Zachary bolted up with a yelp, at least a dozen blankets flying all over. He loved to keep warm at night.
     "Look at my big boy!" She grabbed him into a hug and squeezed him a little too tight, letting out an mmmph from him, the closest he would ever get to talking.
     It was strange. He had grown up without a 'first word', and by the age of two, he was taken to a doctor to get it checked out. It was discovered that he was capable of making noise, but he simply wouldn't talk. No explanation, no cause, nothing. Zachary hadn't even tried by himself, let alone when his parents asked him to talk. He wasn't sure if it was fear or inability, but he didn't want to imitate the words he heard.
     His mother enrolled him quickly in a sign language teaching class, to which she attended as well with him. From there, she taught her husband, who was too busy at work to go himself. When Felicia was born, she helped teach her too. Mother was always the best at helping the whole family; when there was a problem, she would attack it head on, never once cowering. It was just in her nature.
     So when Zachary made any noise, she listened. It was always important. She let him go and smiled at him.
     "I'm sorry. I'm just so happy for you. A lot of people like you..." She stopped. It looked like she had something to say, but she wouldn't let it out. "A lot of people like you have one, big difference: they are nowhere near as amazing or talented. It's great to see that even more as you've grown up."
     Zachary signed out, 'isn't that two differences: amazing and talented?' He could have signed out 'nice job both covering up and complimenting' or 'what were you going to say?'. However, he wanted to tease, and he felt he wouldn't get an honest answer at this point.
    Mother chuckled again, her eyes sparkling an ethereal, almost humanly impossible, amethyst. "Add 'intelligent' and maybe 'back talking' to the list I suppose?" Before he could silently respond, she took his hand and led him downstairs.
     Morning was great, like the other eleven birthdays. Mother and Pop had created a little castle out of pancakes for Zachary, whilst three year old Felicia received a miniature cottage of waffle. After breakfast, it was tradition to receive one of your seven birthday presents. Zachary went over to the living room couch with the rest of his family, excitement present on his face.
     "So, for your first Grand Present of the Day..." Mother slipped out a package the size of a textbook. It wasn't keeping its shape very well, like just beneath the wrap was some sort of cloth.
     Zachary gently took it in his hands. He pulled at the tape keeping the wrap closed instead of tearing- his mother liked to recycle wrapping papers for Christmas. Pulling it open, he finally reached the hidden treasure concealed inside.
     He pulled out a beautiful, long hoodie-shawl, open in the front, long in the back, possibly made of expensive silk based on the luxuriously soft feel of it, the whole thing a shade darker than his red hair. Incredibly tiny hand stitches on the top of the hood connected two triangular ears, resembling those of a cat. At the bottom was a long tail made of cloth, similar to the ears. Maybe it was a little 'neko' for some people's tastes, but to him, it was perfect, and adorable, not to mention basically his mother in the form of clothing.
     He beamed at Mother, surely the creator of his masterpiece, and signed out his love for it. His mother clapped her hands and smiled.
     "Go ahead, try it on!"
     Try it on he did. In a nearby bathroom, he looked in a mirror. The hoodie went over his shoulders and down his whole back, fitting snugly, complimenting his magenta eyes. He couldn't even explain how perfect it felt, like it was a part of him. He wanted to wear it forever.
     He walked out, and Felicia hugged him, little arms going around his legs. "You look so pretty, Zachy!"
     Zachary let out a very small laugh and picked her up, planting a kiss on her forehead. His dad also complimented him.
     "I agree Zach, you look beautiful." Mother and Zachary laughed. "But in all honesty, it looks really good on you. Diane, didn't you have a shawl like that once?"
     "Actually, yes. It was teal though. I wish I knew where it had gone. It gave me inspiration for this one."
     After posing for a few photos, Mother invited him to go watch a show or play a game. He had been kept home from school for his birthday festivities, because absences weren't even counted in the first week there, but it really sucked that his friends couldn't be there till the afternoon.
     He played sports games on the Wii against his little sister (who lost, but he reassured her otherwise), watched his favorite cartoons, and his parents even ordered pizza for lunch, until eventually it was time for his friends to be off from school. Politely, he asked if he could go, and of course, he was permitted. He walked down the sidewalk, looking at the sky and finding clouds that looked like animals. He even spotted some geese flying south, although he never spotted a Konamiya.
    Although it was but a myth, people still claimed that seeing a Konamiya flying in the sky meant good luck. Of course, that was near impossible- all Monsters were kept on the Sky Islands, unless they escaped during transferring. But it was still nice to pretend.
     Before he knew it, he had ended up at the bus stop where Tuck and Elizabeth were being let off. His timing was impeccable; they were just getting off. From a few yards away, he waved hello. Tuck and Elizabeth ran up to him excitedly and examined his hoodie.
     "Wow, awesome... uh, shawl with a hood?" Elizabeth said.
     'I'm thinking of calling it a shoodie.' Zachary signed out, simply spelling out the 'shoodie'. He did it slowly enough that they could understand what he was trying to explain. His friends had only been learning sign language for about a year; before that, he just wrote out on paper what he wanted to say.
     "Nice! Better than a 'hawl'." He signed out 'L O L'. Zachary chuckled.
     'Wanna come over to my house and have microwaved pizza?'
     "Yum, I love microwaved pizza!" Elizabeth said, already getng ready to jog instead of walk (she was exercising for when she was a summoner. Obviously.)
     Everything felt right in the world.

     Temporarily.