The Present Gift

The early morning sun rose above the clouds. A strong, crisp, breeze whispered through a slightly opened window. A family of three, a young girl and her parents, sat at a table with their calendars open to the month of May. "So, what's happening on the 17th? And what about the 29th" The girl asked, her voice sharpened with a hint of impatience. She sat, tapping her pencil against the open book. she stared at the book. absorbing every little detail. The family was doing their weekly calendar planning. "Patience Victoria!" The Father snapped, then he glanced at his beloved wife for support. The mother smiled in amusement. "Victoria, we are still planning May 9th " The mother replied gently. Victoria sighed and sank further into her seat. The father looked at his daughter. He disappointment and impatience coming off her in waves and hoped to brighten her spirits. He looked at his calendar searching for something that would be stirring. Then he spotted the perfect thing. "Your Birthday Party is next week. Are you excited?!" He asked in a low, kind, voice. Victoria immediately sat upright, her eyes blazing with excitement. "Yes! I'm so Excited to have all my friends over! It'll be really fun! There'll be tons of cake! It'll be totally amazing!" Victoria bounced up and down in her chair, thinking of all the people she going to invite and all the stuff she wanted to do. "It's extremely exciting. You must be thrilled!" Her mother commented, feeling her daughter's excitement wash over her like a tsunami. "I can't wait!" Victoria said. 

She had to wait though. Her father advised her to put it out of her mind “A watched pot never boils” he told her but she did not listen. The days dragged on and on. Victoria felt as if the day of the party would never come. She tried to keep busy, doing endless crafts and reading tirelessly. She was so focused on the celebration that she hardly noticed anything else. Her friends at school who were coming could obviously see that she was distracted, but they were just as excited. They could not stop talking about what they wanted to do and how they were going to do it. Her best friend, Monica, was Victoria’s go to person for encouragement or advice. Monica was the definition of silent but deadly. She did not talk a lot, but if there was an enemy harming her friends then she would mean every threat she made. She was truly kind but she tended to live in the moment and go with the flow. The total opposite of Victoria. They spent all their spare time together. After school Victoria went to a coffee shop with Monica. “you really need to slow down, stop thinking 90 miles per minute.” Monica advised, but Victoria waved it off metaphorically with her hand and took another sip of her coffee. “I don’t need to think I have everything planned. And when my plans begin, I plan for the next thing.” she replied with a cheeky smirk. Monica gave her a long look and decided that there was no point in arguing.  “ha-ha anything is more than I have planned", Monica joked quietly. She spent the rest of the day wishing that tomorrow would come now. 

Finally, the day of her birthday was upon them. Victoria stood outside and paced the sidewalk restlessly. As soon as the clock turned 12:00 cars flooded into her driveway. Monica, her best friend, ran out before the car had stopped and flew at Victoria. They hugged each other but Victoria could not stay and talk. There were many more guests arriving. She greeted each of them in turn and guided them to the gift table, then the food table. When everyone arrived, she took them all to the pool and they dove in. “you guys are going to love the cake later” She told them as she gestured towards a box in the middle of a table. They stared in awe at the mysterious box. They partied until it was time for them to leave. “see you guys at school this Monday!” they left and Victoria told her mother “that was fun. I can't wait for my birthday” 

The morning light filtered in through the blinds. The alarm clock shouted its unending beeping. Victoria jumped out of bed, half from Surprise and half from joy. It was finally her birthday! “My 13th birthday! I'm finally a Teenager!” She cheered quietly so as not to wake her father who was still sleeping. She quickly changed into her school clothes, ate her breakfast, and stared in Awe at the gifts her mother had placed on the table. There were few presents but Victoria was excited nonetheless. " I'm so excited to open these tonight!" She whispered to herself. Her mom who had been taking a shower came out and pretended that it was a normal day as a fun prank. She did her normal routine, preparing for work. Victoria was thoroughly confused. she legitimately thought that her mother had forgotten her birthday. The mother dropped the façade and she gave her a large 'Happy Birthday' hug and drove her to school. At school all her friends told her "Happy birthday!", and her friends who were unable to come to her birthday party gave her little gifts like socks and keychains from her favorite TV show. "I can't believe how great today has been! I can't wait for tonight!" Victoria thought.  

School ended and Victoria bounded to the car as fast as she could. She drove home. Her father stopped by her favorite ice cream place as a surprise! She ordered a triple-scoop-chocolate-cookie-dough cone-ice-cream. She quickly devoured the scrumptious treat. They arrived home and Victoria opened all her presents! She loved them all, and could not wait to use them later. Cake came next and wasn't it delicious! Victoria enjoyed every last savory bit of it. Victoria and her parents sat on the balcony and watched the beautiful sunset. Many minutes of silence passed until Victoria turned to her parents. "What next?" She asked innocently. Her father chuckled and her mother turned to her with a smile. she looked Victoria in the eyes with a stare that would kill anyone with kindness. Victoria enjoyed the warmth of her mother's gaze but her burning question still fresh in her mind. Her mother turned back to the sunset and after another long time of silence answered. "Now we enjoy the gift of a moment!" She replied Victoria looked at her with a puzzled gaze “the present gift” She explained. And for the first time, Victoria stopped thinking about what is next. She just sat in the moment, wistfully watching the sunset gently descend behind the clouds.