As I make my way down the stairs, I can hear several voices from the main room. Young kids laugh and carry on, while a few other voices can be heard. From the stairs I can see balloons and other decorations covering the walls in pinks and purples.

I enter the room quietly, keeping my head lowered and head directly to the kitchen where only one other person is, Reba. My chest is tight despite my sunglasses covering my eyes. She notices me and smiles, her brows arching.

“You really don’t like crowds do you sweetie?” she asks, her voice gentle. Do I really come off as such? “Here. Guard the cakes for me. Do you mind?”

“Ah. Okay,” I mutter. It is a simple assignment. Then again, I was hoping just to find a quiet spot outside somewhere.

She then returns to her guests with a plate of cookies. I look down at the square cakes, one predominantly green and the other purple. They both say, ‘happy birthday’, but on the green one is ‘Jade’ and on the purple, ‘Harmony’. They each also have six candles. I had watched Reba and Kiara make them earlier.

I glance back toward the main room, watching the crowd. There are several parents with their kids, even some outside. Out the front window I can see Jeremiah pulling along Sugar with a rope while the kids take turns riding. Everyone seems to be enjoying themselves, especially Jade and Harmony. They each wear little tiaras and green and purple princess dresses.

They were so excited last night they did not want to sleep. For a moment I watch them and find myself feeling somewhat envious. What would it be like to have such an extravagant birthday party? I push the thought from my head. There is no point in wondering about such things.

Before long they bring everyone in, and I find myself shrinking back as far into the kitchen as possible. I had not been amongst a crowd of people like this since trying to get through Shinjuku. I was starting to forget what it felt like. They set the girls at the end of the table and Reba and Kiara come to get the cakes, lighting the candles. Then as they take them out everyone starts singing.

“Okay, make a wish,” Reba tells them.

They both close their eyes for a moment before blowing out the candles. While everyone’s attention is diverted, I sneak my way out the side door and find a secluded spot to sit near the apricot trees Kiara is so fond of. Everything is much quieter, and the breeze is gentle. I glance up at the trees, noticing small fruits growing amongst the branches.

Several minutes pass as I feel my chest slowly loosen. Then I hear footsteps behind me and look back to see Kiara. She carries two plates and upon seeing me, smiles.

“I brought you some cake,” she says before sitting down next to me. “I didn’t know which flavor you wanted so I got you a bit of both.”

She hands a plate to me with two small pieces of cake, one chocolate and the other vanilla. “You did not have to bother,” I mutter.

“Don’t worry about it. You helped us put up the decorations, so you deserve a reward,” she says and stuffs a piece in her mouth. “You did good work. The girls were really happy when they saw it.”

“It was not trouble,” I mutter, feeling a bit flustered. It is not like I had anything else to do. All I did was tape some stuff to the walls wherever she told me to.

I try both flavors, each being good. Though, I realize I like the chocolate one more. Then something strikes me. There are so many different foods I did not know I liked before I found myself here.

“Hey Shyba, when’s your birthday?” she asks.

I hesitate, unsure what to say. “I do not know.”

“What?” she asks.

“I do not remember,” I mutter, glancing away. “It meant nothing.”

“What do you mean?” Her voice is soft, as though it could break any moment.

What should I say? I silently finish the rest of the cake, trying to figure out what to say. Then I hear footsteps again and turn to see Jeremiah.

Ever since the other day when he returned from Nicky’s place, he has acted a bit strangely around me. Perhaps it is because of the fight and the fact that I pinned Nicky that has caused so much trouble. I do not blame him if he is a little wary of me. Even Nicky himself has stayed as far away from me as possible. I must have really scared him.

“Hey, they’re about to open presents,” he says.

“Okay, be there in a minute,” Kiara tells him. She takes the last bite of her cake and turns to me. “Ready to go back?”

“Ah…okay,” I mutter.

We head back into the house where everyone is gathered back in the main room and the twins are opening presents. I stay as far back away from the crowd as possible, keeping my head down. Before long though, they have opened all the gifts. Everyone is taking photos and laughing.

Kiara looks over to me. “You have a gift for them too, right? I saw you working with the ribbon you asked me for last night.”

“I do not know if they will like it,” I mutter.

“Of course, they will. Here, I’ll bring them over,” she says and goes into the crowd.

I feel my pulse quicken as she brings them back through the crowd toward me. The people all turn, and I feel their eyes on me. I can hear them whispering and my chest tightens.

“Shyba has a present for you both,” Kiara says.

“Really?” Jade asks with a smile on her face.

Slowly, I kneel before them, reaching into my pocket. “I did not have anything to wrap them with,” I mutter and pull out the charms I had made.

All I had done was tie some red ribbon through the yen I had. It is not much, but it was all I had to give. They had at least seemed interested in them before and like Kiara had said, they are of no use here. I hand them the charms and they each take one, looking at them with curious gazes. Then they both smile and look at each other.

“This is cool! It’s Japan style!” Jade says.

“What do you tell him?” I hear Reba say and look up to find her watching.

“Thank you!” they both say in unison before coming to either side of me and wrapping their arms around me.

My heart seems to flip and I am at a loss as to what to do. Before I can say anything though, they return to the party. As I stand, I watch them go to their friends, showing off their charms. They really seem happy with such a meager present. I never thought something I did would make children smile so bright.

Jeremiah—

“Look at him, acting all nice and…stuff,” I hear Nicky mutter beside me.

“Could you at least try to act normal?” I grumble. “We both agreed it would be best not to say anything to anyone and you saying stuff like that sounds suspicious.”

“What sounds suspicious?” I hear from behind.

I whirl around, seeing Hank there in his traditional birthday party outfit. His overalls are painted all different colors and he even wears a multi-colored top hat. Not to mention he has on oversized shoes and face paint. I remember all my birthday parties he dressed like this.

“Nothing,” I say quickly, too quickly.

He narrows his eyes. “If you two think you are fooling me you are sorely mistaken.”

Nicky and I glance at each other before looking back at him. There’s no way he could know.

“You were gonna take the rest of the cake all for yourselves for your slumber party, weren’t you?” he says before laughing loudly.

I feel myself deflate and Nicky and I exchange glances. “You really had us going Hank.”

“Well, I had to get my fun somewhere since I wasn't invited,” he says.

“It’s not really a slumber party,” Nicky says, averting his eyes. “Reba just asked if he could come with us since the house would be full of noisy kids and he doesn’t do well with crowds or something.”

“Is that so?” Hank says and glances behind us. I look back seeing Shyba still hiding in the kitchen.

“Say, Hank. What do you think of him anyway?” I ask.

He is silent for a moment. “I have been all over, seen many faces,” he starts and his voice lowers, “One thing I am certain of, that poor soul has seen hell.”

Neither one of us says a word. What could he mean by that?

Hank suddenly bursts out laughing again. “Anyway, you boys have fun tonight. Not too much though or I’ll have to come over,” he says before walking away.

I let out a deep breath and turn back to Nicky. He bites at his nails, as he always does when he’s nervous. I know he’s thinking about tonight and what could happen. We both agreed it would be best if Shyba came with us though, given the fact that if anything happens, he would be away from Mama and everyone else. Still, I do worry about what could happen to us too.