Stewart's Worst Day Ever

The dreary morning of the 20^th day of April was dark, grey, and most of all, very wet. It began in the late night; first, with very light sprays of water drops, then suddenly it turned into a horrible storm, with wild dangerous winds and driving sheets of rain. The situation became so terrible that no person dared to step foot outside their homes, not even for a second.

It so happened that the 20^th of April is also a young man’s birthday, named Stewart. He was turning thirteen, his first step into his teenage years. He hoped to celebrate it on a sunny day, outside his house at the city park so he could have some fun with his friends, but he could not. The weather was too horrible and violent, and he was confined in his house.

Stewart never got used to it, but this sort of thing happened every birthday of his; it would rain and rain from sunrise to sunset. His birthday was always celebrated indoors with his family. To him, it just wasn’t fair that his younger brother Eddy had his birthday on sunny days. His parents had their birthdays in and out of wet and dry situations. But only for poor Stewart does it always rain on his day. It never failed, not for one year. The only thing he could do then was sit on a stool facing his bedroom window, and watch the raindrops thundering down and smashing themselves on the glass. He thought on what could have been if it was a sunny day, the fun he could have had playing tactical war strategies or racing from the oak tree to the city hall.

His parents silently watched him through the slight ajar, feeling sorry for their son. They felt even sorrier that it had to be like this on his 13^th birthday. They wished they could do something… could they? They could watch a movie or allow him to play video games, but Stewart didn’t really like doing that, or at least not that much. He really enjoyed the outdoors.

Then Dad had an idea of great brilliance. It was a mind blower, and shared it to Mom, who also thought it was an amazing plan. They swiftly, though secretly, put Dad’s idea in motion.

Lunchtime. Stewart gloomily waddled downstairs from his bedroom to the kitchen, wondering what will be for lunch. Then he picked up a strange, unusual scent of food. He reached the bottom of the stairs and entered the kitchen. It also looked gloomy inside, the white wall suddenly looking very bleak and gray.  Typical for a day like this. Then all of a sudden Stewart’s parents awkwardly came from out the kitchen restroom, holding some wrapped presents and a small, hurriedly prepared birthday cake. Stewart was very much surprised and thankful, though still gloomy. Mom and Dad needed a lot of cheering up to do.

Stewart, as he ate some cake, opened his first present, that was an old book his parents found in the attic, called Hawthorne’s Sorrow. The second, Stewart was very much surprised at: an Xbox that once belonged to his uncle. Though he never really like playing video games, he was very interested in getting one. The dark kitchen suddenly felt a lot brighter.

Running steadily while cradling the Xbox in his arms, he entered the main room and plugged the gaming console to the TV that took up most of the wall near the kitchen door. He then turned it on, and was more than ready to play a video game. He seated himself in front of the TV and grabbed the controller.

Then BLAM! Lightning struck an electric pole, damaging the transformers and sending electric sparks flying in the rain. All electrical equipment plugged up to any outlets suddenly died, just so did Stewart’s new Xbox go down the same way. Stewart was stunned. His parents were stunned. Eddy, who just came down from his room was stunned.

Once again Stewart was disappointed, and returned to his quarters holding his other birthday present, the book called Hawthorne’s Sorrow. Mom watched as he sadly flopped on his bed and began reading. Maybe it was time for her to do something.

The book had a terrible story of a girl who loved a man but he died, and the girl killed herself thinking that she had killed him. Stewart lazily put the book on his bedside table, wondering what he will do next on this horrible day. That was when his mother came through the door bringing another thing that came from the attic: some toy dart blasters that he used to play with when he was young. Suddenly son and mother warred against each other, their house becoming the war-torn battlefield. Soon Eddy and their father joined, making the battle more intense. Darts bounced off the walls as combatants picked them up, reloaded their weapons and fired back at the enemy.

Much time passed but the family still kept at it despite the gloom of the house. Stewart and Dad round the kitchen corner slowly, aiming their weapons ahead. Stewart, armed with a battery-powered assault rifle took aim at his younger brother’s head. He took a deep breath, shot up from his hiding, and sprayed him with darts. Eddy ran off laughing and giggling, but all of a sudden, a loud crash sounded. Some darts hit his grandmother mother’s favorite vase.

The family walked over to inspect the damage. Pieces of shattered glass were strewn everywhere on the floor; it was impossible to put it back together. The fun was over. A crash of thunder boomed in the distance.

Nighttime. The storm turned again into light raindrops, making a steady tapping sounds on the roofing.

Young Stewart sat in bed, thinking of all the horrible things that had happened today. If only it didn’t rain today! All the fun that could have had with his family and friends. But instead he was stuck with this horrible, disappointing day. This sort of birthday would probably repeat itself next year. He reclined on his bed, wishing that this day would just end.

Then the last surprise came. Eddy came into the room quietly, dressed in his pajamas. Stewart knew that he was there, but he didn’t look at him, and he also wanted to be alone. “Go away Eddy.”

Eddy ignored his brother’s request. He went ahead and sat on his bed. “Are you okay? You seem to be- “

“Not now Eddy.” Interrupted Stewart. “I’m recovering from the worst day ever.”

Though he was just young, Eddy gave his older brother the lecture of his life, because he loved his brother. “We both know that this day was clearly the worst. It could have been better in a couple of hundred ways.”

Stewart nodded in agreement, still looking towards the ceiling. “It could have been a sunny day.”

“True.” Replied Eddy. “But I remember something from a shop that mom and I passed a few days ago. It was a sign for sale; it said, ‘Not every day is good, but at least there is something good in every day.’”

Stewart snorted, not believing a single thing his young brother said. “What is there to be grateful about today? Everything, as in literally everything, went downright horribly.”

“I’ll go first. One, we are all safe and dry inside the house.” Eddy pointed out, feeling very proud that he was teaching his older brother a bit of his knowledge. “Two, it’s your thirteenth birthday! A milestone for you. Now you try.”

Stewart sighed, trying to think of one good thing that had happened to him. “Well… We had fun; I suppose.”

Then a funny smell met their noses. It smelled like smoke. The two boys exited the room and headed downstairs, wondering what was going on.

They found their wooden kitchen table on fire! They had left the candles on Stewart’s birthday cake burning by accident! The two boys jumped into action; Eddy ran to get their parents as Stewart snatched up the fire extinguisher from the living room and aimed it at the blazing inferno. He let loose, spraying the white foam over the flames. But it was to no avail. The fire continued to rage, as the whole family watched from the doorway of the kitchen. They all escaped the house into the dark, raining night, waiting for their house to be gone forever.

Suddenly there was a loud crash of splintering wood and metal, and somehow, the smoke stopped rising. Dad went back inside, went to the kitchen, and found that the roof over the kitchen collapsed to the weight of some stagnant water on top of it, extinguishing the lames almost instantaneously. The house was saved.

By the time the emergency responders came, the family sat on the sidewalk talking among each other on recent events. Mom looked at Stewart and said sorry for this horrible day. Stewart looked back at her and smiled.

“It’s okay, it was a pretty fine day to me.” He said, then turning to Eddy. “I’m happy that it really rained, or else our house would have completely burned up.

“I’m happy that we are all still here, safe from all danger, as a family. We had fun today, and got to spend more family time. I’m also glad that I turned 13 today. It was my best birthday ever so far.”

Stewart’s parent’s approved. From there the family moved temporarily to a comfortable hotel, and planned to spend the night there. It was long past the boy’s sleeping time, so they quickly jumped into their own beds and prepared for sleep.

Stewart was just about to close his eyes when Eddy asked him one last question. “So today wasn’t as bad as you thought, huh?”

“It sure wasn’t.” Yawned Stewart. “I’m starting to see the brighter side of things. See, we are now sleeping in a comfortable place. Anyway, goodnight Eddy.”

And they both slept after a long, good day.

Morning. Again, just like last year, it rained and rained and rained. Mom, Dad, Eddy, and Stewart sat at their new kitchen table, whishing a happy birthday. Stewart himself had something to say:

“I do not know if something bad or extremely horrible might happen today. But since last year, I have found out that though not every day may not be perfect, there is always something good in every day. It helps to say those things out loud, for example,” He looked at his younger brother. “I am glad that today I am turning 14, despite the never-failing bad weather. I am happy that we are all together, right here, as a family.”

“Happy birthday!” Everyone else cheered. Stewart smiled warmly.

He could also make out through the window the sun coming outside the clouds.