I wake up, and see the warm light of the sun entering my room again today.
The weather’s nice.
As soon as I wake up, I look around, while still feeling half-asleep,
I get up, go look for Miss Lan, and find her sleeping at her desk.
Was she up late compiling information again?
“Miss Lan.”
“Hn…”
“Miss Lan!”
After calling out to her a few times, she opens her eyes.
She looks at me and says good morning. But after staying still for a bit, she looks like she suddenly remembered something.
“What’s wrong?”
“…Nothing, it’s just that today is your birthday, isn’t it? I woke up early to start preparing, but I guess I ended up falling asleep. Happy birthday Lerunda.”
She says while sounding a little awkward, and I smile.
Yes, today’s my birthday.
I’m sure she wanted to wake up early and start preparing for my birthday like she did before, but she’s been busy with all sorts of things and ended up falling asleep.
Just the fact that she wants to celebrate my birthday is enough to make me happy.
“I’m just happy that you’re celebrating my birthday. Thank you.”
I say, and she gently pats my head.
Seeing her kind smile as she does this is enough to make me feel at peace, and really happy.
It’s been six years since everyone decided to celebrate my birthday.
No one ever celebrated my birthday before I was abandoned, but next year there will be as many years when people celebrated it as years when people ignored it. It feels strange to think about.
It used to be a day when people only celebrated Alice’s birthday, but now it’s for both of us.
I’m really happy, because it’s way better than either of our birthdays not being celebrated.
In a letter from Alice that I received before, she said that people celebrate her birthday too. It’s not extravagant or anything, but she said she’s happy that people wish her a happy birthday and give her presents.
I gave Alice a birthday present, an accessory that matches one I have. I got a present from her too, but I was told that it’d be nice to open it on my birthday, so I haven’t opened the present or read the letter yet.
Miss Lan brings them and hands them to me.
Her letter says happy birthday, and that she wants us to celebrate our next birthday together.
Alice and I are twins, but we’ve never celebrated a birthday together. That’s probably weird for most people, and it really makes me feel like we were never normal sisters.
It might be nice to invite her to the village next year, so we can be together. Or maybe I can go to her.
Thinking about those possibilities makes me happy.
Alice’s present for me is a few books. I told her before that we can’t get new books here in the village, so she bought them for me. They’re things like stories that are popular in the capital of Migha and cookbooks.
It makes me really happy to think that she picked them for me.
It’s still early in the morning, so I’m still going to hear a lot of people wishing me a happy birthday… But I already have this warm feeling of satisfaction.
“Lerunda, how about we get dressed?”
Like last year, we have dresses ready for today.
I can’t fit in last year’s dress anymore, so I’m happy that I have a new one for this year.
That alone already feels like a great birthday present to me.
Miss Lan changes too.
She usually doesn’t wear stylish clothes or anything, so it’s really fun seeing her dressed this way.
And then, we go outside together…
“Happy birthday Lerunda”
“Happy birthday.”
Everyone is dressed up.
They’re all smiling, and celebrating my birthday.
It all makes me really happy.
Part of it is because I’m the miko, but my birthday has become sort of an event here in the village.
Is the scale of the celebration going to get bigger as this place gets bigger too?
More people are slowly coming here, and it’s fun to think about the future, and them celebrating too.
—Girl and thirteenth birthday – Part one
(It’s the miko’s thirteenth birthday, and she dresses up and celebrates like last year.)
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