Here is another slant to a birthday party ... nice writing from my classmate from Ngee Ann Primary School, Charmaine Leow - "Birthday parties ... empty feelings"
My grandmother and parents had always treated me differently, simply because I was born a girl. Nothing I did pleased them whereas they dispensed favouritism to my brother and everything he did was ‘superb’, ‘excellent’ and ‘fabulous’!
It was my brother’s birthday. My grandmother and parents lavished him with many gifts and prepared lots of food and drinks for his party. They ordered a mouth-watering mango-flavoured cake. Everyone was on cloud nine except me, as I was ordered to wash the dishes and stay away from the party. They also told me to eat after the party was over. I had to eat the leftovers!
“Am I the house maid? Am I their dog? Or am I not even worthy of that?” I muttered under my breath. The heaviness in my chest felt horrible! It was time to sing the birthday song. My parents instructed me to get the mango cake from the kitchen. I reluctantly shuffled into the kitchen. What I saw made my jaws drop! Right before my eyes was a ravenous three-coloured cat eating my brother’s cake!
“Get out! Shoo!” I shouted. It looked at me with its blue eyes and disappeared into the bushes. Looking at the half-eaten cake, I knew I was getting into deep trouble. I cursed and swore under my breath, at the same time praying that I would not get into trouble. However, it did not work.
“You…! It’s your brother’s cake! How could you? You disgraceful jinx!” she yelled, her words hitting me like daggers. I turned around, stunned by her words.
“I… I… didn’t… didn’t do it…” I mumbled. “The… the… cat…” my protest fell on deaf ears.
“Get out of my sight! Go! I don’t want to see you here! Go now!” my grandmother hollered, pointing her crooked finger at the stairs. Her face was full of hatred, cruelly twisted and disgusted. As I shot up, I heard my grandmother say to my brother and his friends, “I’m so sorry… The cake won’t taste nice…” Then, she turned to my parents and whispered, “That jinx… she must have ruined it!”
“Impossible! How could she do it? Unless… she did it out of spite!”
I was confused by a mess of scenes and words. I ran to my room, slammed the door tight and started to sob. The whole party had been ruined! I was so unfairly treated! If only I could sleep forever, never to wake up. If only I could never greet the day to see the cold looks from my family again. If only I was born into a different family. If only…
I drifted into a world of my own – sleep. I dreamt that I was a bird, flying free in the blue sky, far away from discrimination and favouritism.
If you like to read this, you may also like:
What a great read this work from Charmaine, don't you think?
More to come,
Elijah Wee, Singapore
Photo credit: bloody marty mix / Foter / CC BY-NC-ND
My grandmother and parents had always treated me differently, simply because I was born a girl. Nothing I did pleased them whereas they dispensed favouritism to my brother and everything he did was ‘superb’, ‘excellent’ and ‘fabulous’!
It was my brother’s birthday. My grandmother and parents lavished him with many gifts and prepared lots of food and drinks for his party. They ordered a mouth-watering mango-flavoured cake. Everyone was on cloud nine except me, as I was ordered to wash the dishes and stay away from the party. They also told me to eat after the party was over. I had to eat the leftovers!
“Am I the house maid? Am I their dog? Or am I not even worthy of that?” I muttered under my breath. The heaviness in my chest felt horrible! It was time to sing the birthday song. My parents instructed me to get the mango cake from the kitchen. I reluctantly shuffled into the kitchen. What I saw made my jaws drop! Right before my eyes was a ravenous three-coloured cat eating my brother’s cake!
“Get out! Shoo!” I shouted. It looked at me with its blue eyes and disappeared into the bushes. Looking at the half-eaten cake, I knew I was getting into deep trouble. I cursed and swore under my breath, at the same time praying that I would not get into trouble. However, it did not work.
“You…! It’s your brother’s cake! How could you? You disgraceful jinx!” she yelled, her words hitting me like daggers. I turned around, stunned by her words.
“I… I… didn’t… didn’t do it…” I mumbled. “The… the… cat…” my protest fell on deaf ears.
“Get out of my sight! Go! I don’t want to see you here! Go now!” my grandmother hollered, pointing her crooked finger at the stairs. Her face was full of hatred, cruelly twisted and disgusted. As I shot up, I heard my grandmother say to my brother and his friends, “I’m so sorry… The cake won’t taste nice…” Then, she turned to my parents and whispered, “That jinx… she must have ruined it!”
“Impossible! How could she do it? Unless… she did it out of spite!”
I was confused by a mess of scenes and words. I ran to my room, slammed the door tight and started to sob. The whole party had been ruined! I was so unfairly treated! If only I could sleep forever, never to wake up. If only I could never greet the day to see the cold looks from my family again. If only I was born into a different family. If only…
I drifted into a world of my own – sleep. I dreamt that I was a bird, flying free in the blue sky, far away from discrimination and favouritism.
If you like to read this, you may also like:
- The birthday was unforgettable
- What a birthday present!
- A wonderful birthday party indeed!
- The surprise birthday party
What a great read this work from Charmaine, don't you think?
More to come,
Elijah Wee, Singapore
Photo credit: bloody marty mix / Foter / CC BY-NC-ND
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