"Goodnight mum".
"Goodnight baby. Now, sleep and wake up as a pretty 10 year old tomorrow". Mom said as she kissed me goodnight, turned off the lights and left the room, gently locking the door behind her.
I tossed and turned in my bed thinking about all the presents and the goodies I'll be getting tomorrow.
'Why is tomorrow seeming so far away?' I thought to myself as I stared at nothing in particular. The anticipation killing me.
I rushed outside to see what was in store for me and I was assaulted by the sweet aroma of different dishes in the air. I couldn't quite distinguish the scents but I knew one particular scent which I would always recognize even if I was in fantasy land. The scent of crispy fried chicken which seemed to always find it's way into the depths of my heart every single time. One thing I could never abstain from. I trailed the aroma to the kitchen and as I got closer, I began to hear the clanking of pots against their covers, meat sizzling, and the indistinct chatter of women. I felt excited as I just knew I was going to eat to my fullest today. The steam and the heat in the kitchen when I got there pricked my skin that I began to itch. I've always hated being in extremely hot places as I always reacted to them.
"Yay, Happy Birthday Bel". That voice, one I would always recognize. The only one that calls me 'Bel', my favourite little cousin that found it hard to pronounce my name Christabel and just stuck to calling me 'Bel', ran towards me with arms flailed widely as I enveloped her in a warm hug.
"Happy birthday Christabel." came the voice of my aunties in unison from the kitchen.
"Thank you aunties". I responded.
"Is that my most beautiful 10 year old baby?" I heard mom start to say from behind me as I turned around to hug her. "Happy Birthday my Christy. It's your day today. I've made sure every of your favourite meal is available for you today. Now, take Zara away from the kitchen and go greet your other cousins."
"Thank you mummy. And, I'm not a baby again. I'm now 10 years. I'm a big girl". I said and I heard some of my aunties chuckle at my response.
"Okay, Big Christy. Now, Go greet your cousins."
My skin had begun to itch profusely at this point as I had stood there for a while. I turned around, intertwined my fingers with Zara's and headed towards the dining. I was greeted with so many treats which had been set on the table waiting for the others to be ready and join them. My eyes roamed over every variety of dish displayed and I could already taste how sumptuous they were.
We headed towards the sitting room where our other cousins were. "Happy birthday Christabel", They chorused.
"Thank you".
"Settle down kids, let's have Christabel unbox her presents." Mom said as she came into the sitting room.
A wide grin made it's way gradually to my face as I spotted the shiny boxes carefully placed on each other and one very big pink box with a bow on top grabbed my attention as I ran towards it to open it. My cousins following me closely, I loosened the bow carefully as I didn't want to disrespect the effort the person had taken to tie it so beautifully. Unwrapping it, a big carton of my favourite barbie dream house set was revealed.
I screamed out of excitement as this was something I have been wishing to have for a long time. I remember telling mom I wanted this about a month ago as a present for my birthday and now, I got it.
Tears began welling up in my eyes as I moved over to the next gift. I unwrapped it and saw the latest edition of my favourite comic book - Diary of a Wimpy Kid. I was so excited to read this particular edition that I ran over to my room to drop it on my reading table where I would start reading it tonight. The feeling after unwrapping just those two gifts was glorious.
I then went ahead to open the others which were very nice in their own way. I really wished dad was here to celebrate with me. I'm glad I have mom who works so hard so I don't feel the impact of loosing dad.
"Thank you mummy, Thank you aunties. Thank you all for the presents. I really really loved them. I'm grateful" I said and hugged everyone present.
"Now, let's head towards the dining and continue the fun". I heard mom say.
We all moved towards the dining and took our seats. The food looking more scrumptious than before. Mom began to dish the food into everyone's plate.
My eyes fluttered open as I stared at the curtains and saw that everywhere still hadn't brightened up. 'So that was all a dream?' I said to myself as i turned to look at the small digital clock on the table. "3am? Why does time have to slow down when you are anticipating a big day?" I asked myself as I tried to forcing myself back to sleep.