Completing a Birthday

Today was Freminet’s birthday. 

Although he was not one to make his birthday a big deal, he couldn’t say the same for those around him. The moment he woke up, he was immediately bombarded by greetings and surprises – courtesy of his siblings. It turned out that not only did they prepare him some gifts and a special meal, but Father also gave a small trinket for him to keep. When the pair finally decided to let him explore on his own, he ended up encountering the Traveler and Arina separately at different points in the day. Both also gave him a gift, with the Traveler showing him a little haven underwater that he seemed to have never seen despite his frequent dives. He thanked all of them, as well as those who spared a thought to greet him – even though it took some energy from him to respond to social interactions – and looked at the ports in expectation.

But the moment that sun started to set, he received a different news than from what he had hoped.

“Excuse me,” he heard someone say, and he was almost ready to make an escape then and there. “Are you Freminet?”

“Yes… I am…” he responds in a hushed tone, briefly glancing at the pink-haired lady in front of him. “Is there anything wrong?”

“Oh, no,” she answers, but Freminet could hear the hidden uncertainty in her words. “I’m just here to pass on a gift to you.”

A small box then appeared in his vision, and the moment he saw the wrapper around it, he felt his heart drop in disappointment.

“Miss Suzette said she might be a little busy today… so she had me give this to you if she’s not here by sundown,” the woman explains. “Um, happy birthday?”

Freminet takes the box and responds with a small thank you. Although he wasn’t able to hide his emotion very well and failed to respond kindly to this woman whom his older sister trusts, he didn’t feel regretful. The defeated feeling and disappointment that came from knowing Suzette won’t be able to greet him in person overpowered anything else.

It was his birthday today and everyone greeted him.

Yet the older sister he’s been looking forward to seeing couldn’t.

And though he knew that duty calls and she had a rather busy schedule, and that he should be satisfied that she made a failsafe plan instead of nothing, he still couldn’t help but be sad.

So for the rest of the night, after giving his siblings a heads-up that he won’t be eating with them for dinner, he spent it underwater. He let his little underwater friends accompany him as he spent the night trying to get a hold of himself. He let the water distract himself, and numb him of the disappointment that came from the expectation that speedily built itself up for naught.

And yet…

“There you are, I thought I’d have to take a dive in order to catch up to you on time.”

The moment he returned to shore, he was greeted by these words. Snapping his head to the source, he saw Suzette standing there with a soft smile on her face. 

“Ah…” he was at a loss for words.

“Happy birthday, Little Penguin,” she says, walking over to pat him on the head. “Have you received the gift from Miss Kira?”

Freminet nods, “I… still haven’t opened it.”

“Good,” Suzette laughs, her eyes crinkling with delight. “We can open it together then.”

He had heard some people say before that Suzette’s laugh would give them chills, but from the first moment he had heard her laugh, it only ever gave him a blanket of comfort and protection.

“Oh, and I prepared you another gift. This is my first time sewing and I learned it in a pinch, but it’s pretty good, right?”

He watches as she hands him what seemed to be a plush toy that looked similar to Pers, and scrutinizes it carefully. Although there were a lot of loose threads and some that weren’t perfectly put together, it looked quite decent. 

But, of course, if you ask anyone else, they might even ask how Freminet managed to identify the ball of fabric and stitches as Pers. 

“Miss Liu’s husband is good at crafts, and it so happened that Miss Kira was also there for quite some time – hiding from Rina’s master or something, I don’t know – so I decided to have them help me prepare a handmade gift for you this year!” Suzette explains, laughing the moment Freminet’s lips curved into a smile. “Do you like it?”

“I love it,” he answers mutely, looking up at her. “Thank you, Suzie.”

She lets out a brief laugh as she pats his head again, but then slowly says in a gentle tone, “Happy Birthday, Freminet. May you always be safe and happy, my Little Penguin.”

It was the same greeting every year, but it was one that always makes his birthday complete.