Jonah carefully tended to his prized sword, completely immersed, while Gruff double-checked his travel pack. It softly clattered as he set it on the ground, then he threw himself flat on the bed, letting out a loud sigh. He didn’t know why he’d left his packing to the last minute. Such a habit always ended with a lecture from Ma for making everyone leave late.

“Boys, come in here,” Ma called out from the other room. Jonah placed his sword on the bed and headed to the living room, while Gruff followed close behind.

“What’s up, Ma?”

“Are you packed yet?” Ma looked from her book to Gruff.

“I just finished packing.”

Jonah looked at Gruff in shock. Then he turned to Ma, his eyes shifting to the side. “I’m packed, too. But just to be sure, I’m going to check that I have everything.”

Gruff and Ma watched Jonah walk out of the room, then turned to one another and snorted. “He didn’t pack a thing, did he?”

“Of course not. He’s been off doing who-knows-what this entire week.”

“I think I know. He’s probably been setting up a prank.”

“But he said he would only do one a year.”

“He’s not counting the pranks he pulled before promising that, though. He said they weren’t good enough.”

Gruff pulled out a seat and sat down across from Ma. Resting his head on his hands, he asked, “Where’s Marcia?”

“She headed out to get more supplies.”

Gruff looked over at a bag sitting in the corner of the room. From what he could tell, the thing was packed to the brim with provisions. “Are you two packing for an army?”

Ma chuckled softly. Her attention wavered between Gruff and her book, her eyes glazed over as she stared blankly at its pages.

“Is something wrong?”

Ma sighed. Her book thudded closed, with no bookmark in place. “That man is back. The day we went berry picking-“ Ma shuddered. “That man looked exactly like he did all those years ago.”

“Aren’t there some creatures that are like that? Enchantresses and elves and the like?”

“Yes, but—” Ma clasped her hands together and leaned into them, “Something about him feels dangerous. That red-eyed man. He reminds me of someone my master warned me of when I was small.”

Gruff gulped. “What did she warn you about?”

“That a disaster will hit when the man with blood-red eyes comes out of hiding.”

“But not for us, right? Disaster won’t hit for us.” Gruff looked at Ma.

She flinched. “Oh! I don’t think so. I-I’m just worried about the village. There was a prophecy floating about back in the day… We should be fine. After all, he ignored us back then, so I’m sure he will ignore us now. Go ahead and do me a favor and check if Jonah is actually packing.”

Gruff got out of his chair. He looked back at Ma once more, and she smiled. The door creaked shut. 

“It’ll be fine, right?” Ma asked herself.

Later that night, everyone gathered. “Happy birthday, Gruffy.” Marcia ruffled the taller boy's hair.

A mini chocolate cake decorated with seventeen candles and cut-up strawberries sat in the middle of the table.

“How did you fit so many candles on such a tiny cake?” Gruff asked.

“Honestly, I had a hard time, but once Jonah started sticking them on the sides, we somehow got them all to fit.”

The little cake was lit solely by the flickering candles atop it. A warm feeling grew in Gruff’s gut as he looked up at his family as they purposely botched the happy birthday song.

“Make a wish and blow out the candles,” Ma said.

Gruff closed his eyes tightly; I wish to be happy like this forever. He blew, and the candles went dark one by one, leaving three lit in the back.

“You missed some,” Jonah teased, “now you won’t get your wish.” He quickly stole a strawberry and plopped it in his mouth.

Gruff punched Jonah on the arm before leaning over to blow out the last three candles.

“Don’t say such ominous things,” Marcia said. “I’m sure your wish will come true, Gruffy.”

Marcia cut the cake into four pieces and handed each person one slice.

“Happy birthday,” Marcia plucked the strawberry from her cake and shoved the bite-sized morsel into her mouth. Then she pushed her plate over to Gruff, who snatched the strawberry quickly.

Jonah moved his hand away, pulling it behind his head. “I wasn’t going to actually eat it, you know.”

“No one believes that for a second.” Ma patted Jonah’s back with a force that almost sent him flying.