It was you all along

09

//Flashback starts//

"Gulf! Hold on okay?" Mew said frantically as he carried the boy on his back and was running as fast as he could to the nearest clinic in town.

"Pain.." Gulf whimpered. He was having difficulties breathing as cold sweat ran down his face. The poor boy was shivering, and his face was ghastly pale.

Mew didn't know what was going on but when he saw the boy crouched over in pain earlier this morning, vomiting, and rashes appearing on his skin, the first instinct was to get him to the hospital quickly. The most rational thing was probably to take the bus down since the hospital was at least 30 minutes by foot, but at that point in time, Mew wasn't thinking straight - especially not when Gulf is clearly in pain. And so he'd ran, as fast as his legs could take him to the nearest hospital in sight with Gulf on his back. He was drenched in sweat, and his legs were sore but Gulf needed him now and Mew wasn't going to back down.

Fortunately, the hospital was relatively empty today so they were able to see a doctor fast. Mew was pacing nervously up and down the hospital corridor as he waited for their queue number to be called. The nurses had assured them it was probably an allergic reaction, and there was nothing to be afraid about since those were rather common. But Mew paid no heed, and all he could think about now is for Gulf to get treated immediately.

After what felt like eternity to Mew, it was finally their turn to consult the doctor and the doctor had affirmed that it was indeed an allergic reaction to eggs specifically which resulted in the following symptoms. Thankfully, it wasn't anything serious so with a few medications, Gulf got better over a couple of days and ever since then, every time they'd gone out to eat, Mew made sure he'd asked if there were eggs in there.

10 years have passed yet, and Mew never once stopped asking even when Gulf was no longer there.

//Flashback ends//

"So...it's your birthday in 2 days! What do you want?" Gulf chirped, as he walked out of the office with a full tummy and Mew by his side.

"Nothing. I don't celebrate birthdays." Mew replied with a nonchalant expression on his face.

"You don't?" Gulf asked incredulously. "Why not? I've always thought rich people have the best and most lavish birthday parties, don't they?"

Mew laughed bitterly, before he added sadly, "But they have the loneliest parties too."

Mew's blunt yet truthful response made Gulf go silent. Ever since he was a kid, Gulf envied the wealthy because they had everything they wanted easily at the tip of their fingers without needing to work so hard for it. Birthday parties for the rich were, in Gulf's imagination, always so excessive and opulent with towers of cakes and never-ending entertainment - a striking contrast to those who weren't so well off and whose birthday parties were spent at fast food restaurants or in some cases like Gulf, a home cooked meal with some extra meat that day. Yet, Gulf had never once thought that maybe these rich kids weren't that happy either despite having the best birthday party because they were honestly lonely. They didn't have genuine friends they could hang out with because the guests that came to their party were adults, businessmen and women who were only there because they were business partners with their parents. Pathetic, yet the truth.

Perhaps it was because Gulf had seen Mew's disheartened eyes and the way they flicker with disappointment as he recalled the birthday party he never had that urged the latter to want to create the best birthday party for Mew. It was the least he could do anyways and Gulf was more than happy to give Mew his very first birthday party.