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Naima’s feet fell heavily as she walked down the pavement, making her way to the little, shoddy house she called ‘home’. Her head felt like it was floating, full of bubbling thoughts from the tiresome day. In the midst of her arduous pondering, she almost forgot the most important part of it — it was her birthday.
Then, she reconsidered. Why did it matter, anyway? She had never celebrated it — Never had anyone to celebrate it with, really, nor had she seen reason for it before —, so why did she feel like it was significant now?
Naima shook her head, dissipating the new wave of questions forming in her head. She lifted her gaze to the small path leading up to her residence, made out of wobbly rocks and fallen leaves. It felt nostalgic in a way; Autumn made sure to leave a mark of its presence and absence with the very same leaves.
The young woman looked up at the doorstep, only to notice the lights were still on in the house. It was not unusual for Merry to be up at ungodly hours of the night — she somehow always had the energy to find something to do —, but she never turned on all the lights like that. It made Naima suspicious — her girlfriend must have been up to something.
Then again, why did she need to worry? No matter how chaotic Merry was, she rarely crossed the line.
Naima walked up the unstable stairs, checking every step to make sure she did not accidentally fall though. She made a mental note to fix it sometime.
Without a hint of hesitance, as reluctance was far from characteristic of her, she swung the door open. Before her stood a crowd of people — really, there were only a handful, but for the introverted girl, it seemed like a lot —, all staring back at her with the same big eyes, full of surprise at being caught.
Merry opened her mouth to speak, being first to recover, as always, “Hey! Don’t just stand there—Come in!”
Naima was surprised by her girlfriend’s casualness— The same casualness that seemingly let Merry get away with prior mischievous deeds that pissed off Nai’s Committee-member self, causing many problems for Naima to somehow catch Merry red-handed, and whenever she did, Merry would sweet-talk her way out of trouble—pissing Naima off even more.
Naima cautiously stepped in, her eyes darting from one person to another, suspicious of what nonsense her lover seduced into these people’s heads, and—by that familiar look on Merry’s face, whatever she planned couldn’t be anything good.
In the back, although the most obvious of all, was a scarily tall girl with skin paler than a ghost’s by the name of Gira, holding a messily-designed birthday cake with numbered candles. She was one of the oldest of the group, but still slightly younger than Naima herself. What stood out most about her was the purple scar covering most of her face — nobody ever dared to ask about it. She was a known figure to Naima, having attended the same school, so she knew her as a kind and gentle soul — too gentle for her liking even. She found Gira to be someone with no backbone to them. Next to her was a slightly shorter girl. Naima had gotten to know her personally a few times, as she was Merry’s friend, but never made it past acquaintance — neither of them even tried to and they were content with that. Although she could not remember many details about her, she knew her name was Odori and she practiced boxing, if that was not obvious by the glove-keychain hanging out of her pocket.
Naima barely caught the figure of a rather scrawny girl trying to hide behind her girlfriend. As Gira was significantly taller, she could peek quite discreetly without being caught. Still, Naima’s trained eye caught every little tremble of her body. The one she was looking at was Keiko, a girl who had been in the same class as her. She was one of the only people she could call ‘friends’, even if it was a little far-fetched to say it, but Keiko had never really wronged Naima, so they were not on bad terms, at least.
And lastly were two of the strangest people in Naima’s school. Lugosi and Romero were two members of the theatre club — an eccentric duo. She had only gotten to know them with the occasion of Merry joining them for fun one day, just to quit the next. It was typical of her. Still, Lugosi’s sharp fans were still glinting from the bright lights, while Romero lowered her hand with the decorations they had been putting up prior to Naima’s arrival.
The silence stretched on for a little longer before Merry grasped her girlfriend’s shoulder with her usual grin, “Great timing! Look, I got all your friends together for your birthday. Hope you’re not too tired because the party is just starting.”
Naima blinked a few times, not quite believing her words. All those people had gathered just for her stupid birthday? Her chest felt warm.
Normally, she would have argued with Merry,, maybe even yelled — which she would end up regretting —, but, for once, she just accepted it. Deep within herself, she knew she had always wanted this; she would have liked to be celebrated for once, at least on her birthday, and not have to sit alone in her bed with some music on.
The group of friends quickly recovered, saved by Merry’s quick thinking, and smiled happily (with the exception of Keiko’s strange grin) at seeing Naima’s unusually soft smile. They caught wind of their conversation immediately and wished her a happy birthday in unison, making Naima pause for a moment. It was strange hearing it from someone else’s mouth, especially so many people who had gathered there for her. She could still remember the girl who would write birthday messages for herself when there was nobody else to say them, only to read them in the morning and pretend someone genuinely cared for her. Maybe it was not as she had imagined it then, but it meant more to her than any of the decorations or gifts.
Naima looked up at her girlfriend expectantly. Knowing her, Merry rolled her eyes. She knew the former had gained her ego back from the congratulations. The taller girl conceded, gently resting a hand on her girlfriend’s waist, “Happy birthday, Nai.”
That did the trick for Naima, who forgot all about her principles of never showing affection in public and kissed Merry right then and there. She could let loose just this once.
She pulled away just as quickly and looked at Merry again, a small frown on her face.
“Where’s LuLu?”
A younger voice rang out, “Here!”
Naima’s gaze snaps to the source of the sound, finding a girl with two blue ponytails peeking behind the couch who she recognised to be her little sister. The former walked over to LuLu and poked her head, “Get up.”
The younger girl grinned, standing up to look at her. She grinned just as she always did, and that eased Naima’s worries.
The latter looked up at her friends, who were watching the two with warm smiles. Lugosi and Romero had finished decorating, and Gira was still holding the cake. Naima walked over and swiftly took it out of her hands and instead placed it on the coffee table in the middle. The group gathered around it, with Odori taking her lighter out to light up the candles. Merry and LuLu quickly joined them in chanting the happy birthday song, both wearing the happiest smiles of all. Naima simply sang along in her head, her head tilting just a little.
— * —
The makeshift party ended up being just a little celebration with some drinks and lots of talking. Naima got to know more about her friends which she had never cared to ask about. And, as hesitant as she had been to let those people in the privacy of her home, she could not say she regretted it. Though the food had not been that healthy nor tasty, thanks to Merry’s chaotic way of cooking, Naima could still appreciate her girlfriend’s attempt. Most importantly, they had been made with the occasion of her birthday, which mattered more than the exaggerated amount of sugar in the cookies.
In a moment of respite, she thought about the encounter. The evening had been spent celebrating her, others had gathered for her. It was a foreign thought, but also real, since it had undoubtedly happened right in that moment. Her chest felt warm with all the unexpected love she had received.
After seeing everyone out and cleaning up, the resident couple ushered LuLu to sleep in the bedroom downstairs. It took a long while to convince her, since she was still ecstatic from the ‘big girls talk’ she had witnessed by being in the middle of the circle, but she soon fell asleep from exhaustion. Naima had never managed to make her follow a sleep schedule, so the hectic routine LuLu had going on now made her go to bed easily whenever she felt tired.
A little before sunrise, the couple found themselves finally crashing on their bed. Their arms were wrapped around each other in an instant and, due to the exhaustion, they could not even argue over hair getting in their faces. Naima’s breath was warm on her girlfriend’s chin, and Merry smiled a little at the thought. She felt giddy at the thought that she had made Naima loosen up in front of others. It was an achievement for her, in its own twisted way.
The latter’s hand trailed up her girlfriend’s back. She did not know what to think of her heart beating faster, her chest feeling warmer. Was it gratitude? Happiness? Greed? Naima had conflicting thoughts; She lifted her gaze to Merry’s face. After a moment, she felt the fixed stare and looked back down.
The latter chuckled, the exhaustion clear in her gruff voice, “Yes?”
“Why’d you do that?”
“Do what?” Merry mused, knowing full well what her girlfriend meant. She was a tease at heart, but toned it down for the sake of the latter’s sanity (and to not get smacked).
Naima rolled her eyes, but was unexpectedly calm about it, “You know what I mean, you idiot. The party. I never celebrated my birthday. Why now?”
The taller girl hummed playfully, squeezing her girlfriend a little. She had always assimilated Naima to a doll, given her long limbs and exaggerated features. “I thought you might like it. Besides, it would have been sad to see you come home and expect nothing on your birthday.”
“You know, my siblings and I used to make such a big fuss about our birthdays. It was this big celebration, and we would get excited months before it even came around. Mom even scolded my siblings for making me do their dishes when my birthday came around. And, of course, I gave my little sisters the absolute best gifts. Maybe that’s why I care about your birthday so much — it’s special!”
Naima listened to the short story, her eyes falling on Merry’s collarbone. She knew family meant more than anything to her girlfriend, and every habit or tradition was kept in their relationship, but as much as she loved LuLu, she sometimes could not help but think if she would have had a united and loving family such as Merry’s if her sister hadn’t been born..
“I used to think it was a waste of time and money. Especially over someone like me.”
Merry pouted a little, her voice taking a faux-annoyed tone, “But that isn’t fair, is it, Nai?! It’s your birthday! The one day of the year just for yourself, when you should be showered with praise and blah, blah, mushy things.”
Naima hummed in response, a small smirk tugging at the corners of her mouth at her girlfriend’s last words, “Well, I better not catch you trying to do those ‘mushy things’ on me, or I’ll steal that beloved bat of yours and throw it in the river.”
“So rude!” Merry wailed, shaking her girlfriend just for the sake of annoying her, “Come on, love! Just a little kiss!”
Naima lightly pushed her away, placing a hand on her chest to distance the two. After she calmed down, the two once again found their place in each other’s arms.
“...Fine, just one,” The shorter girl whispered, her eyes growing heavy with sleep, “And we’re doing this again next year. But don’t you dare invite anyone else without asking me. Those five buffoons are enough.”
Merry paused at her quiet response. It was unexpected, but those words dispelled all her doubts. She had successfully warmed her girlfriend up to the idea of celebrating herself for once. She smiled to herself, tucking her lover’s head under her chin and sneaking a quick forehead kiss.
“...Happy birthday, Naima.”