20Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ55xe4CWNiXThe living room looked different—from the multicolored banners lining the simple blue walls to the huge crowd of people gathered merrily inside.
A single glance at the room showed the overall mood of happiness inside it.
It was as if all the chatter and joy of the world had been vacuumed into this very room.
Every person cheered with delight, and I stood near the table in the middle, my face lit up with a cheerful smile.
The table was covered with as many things as I could fit onto it—the cake, chocolates, drinks, cards from my friends and siblings, and of course, my grand gift.
It was my thirteenth birthday, and I was having an epic celebration inside my house.
I had invited everyone I knew, and spent the whole day passionately decorating the whole house. Each small arrangement I had made looked unique, but my excitement was really one of a kind.
In the kingdom of Lumenfall, each budding soul would get a magical gift on their thirteenth birthday. And now that it was my turn, I understood why people were so restless on these birthdays.
I couldn't wait for the celebration to be over so that I could finally open the teal-wrapped present lying motionless on the edge of the table.
I looked at it longingly, my hands itching to reach out and grab it. But I had to wait.
I shifted the party hat on my head, my face flushed with excitement.
"Happy Birthday Luna!" My friend Cassia exclaimed excitedly, "Shall we begin the celebration?"
I nodded with a soft smile stretching across my lips.
Her eyes stretched wide with delight, her lips twisting into a smirk, "You won't get something better than my wand!"
The fairy lights flickered from the roof.
Cassia had turned thirteen a few months ago, and she had gotten a beautiful wand. Now she was really curious about what I would get.
I pushed my knee-length brown hair away from my face, which I had left untied especially for this occasion.
"Happy Birthday!" shouted my excited sister Aria as she walked up beside me, "Let the party begin!"
Her face was twisted with happiness, as if she was the one turning thirteen.
"Thanks," I whispered softly.
I was the eldest sibling in my family, so I would be the first to earn magic. My little sister had been a bit jealous, but I had told her that I would share the gift with her.
Now she was extremely excited and curious.
My parents lit the candles.
Everybody studied me curiously as I whispered a quick wish and blew them out.
I cut the double-layered chocolate cake and put my slice onto a plate.
Everybody clapped wholeheartedly, some of my friends shuffling forward and saying "Happy Birthday."
I thanked them with a smile, and quietly told them to have some cake.
I went over to a chair at the edge of the room and sat down, devouring the cake with a mixture of delight and impatience.
The cake tasted really delicious, but I wished that I could just skip it and open the gift already.
The suspense was unbearable.
My feet itched to run toward the gift and tear it open, but I somehow managed to restrain myself.
But maybe the temptation would be too loud In a while.
I looked at everyone piling in front of the cake and cutting slices for themselves.
Each person grabbed one piece and shuffled to sit down and eat. The cake was awesome this year, and everyone knew it. That's why each person took a large slice. They all talked to each other exuberantly, but I couldn't really listen to them as they were so far away. Yet I kept hearing one repeated word in all their conversations.
"Gift."
They all seemed really enthusiastic, and the gift on the table looked almost defiant, as if it wanted to ask everyone why they were staring at it.
I shifted my gaze to the walls, which I had decorated with balloons and streamers.
After everyone had eaten, a strange silence settled in the room. But this wasn't an empty silence—it was filled with excitement and wonder. Everybody seemed curious, their eyes fixed on the gift.
Finally, it was time to open the present!
I sprinted quickly to the gift, almost tripping over my brother Orion as I passed him.
Finally, I picked up the gift gently, afraid to damage it in any way.
The package was extremely slim like a piece of silk, so I supposed there would be some sort of magical paper inside.
Everyone was smiling at me, and they all unanimously chanted, "Open the present!"
The people who were older than me looked proud that another person in this kingdom would be earning magic, and the younger ones looked lost in thought, as if they were imagining the day they would be standing at my spot, ready to open their own presents. I nodded and whispered, "I'll open it now." At that moment confetti shot into the air and over my head, and I was sure it would never get out of my hair.
I tore the wrapper open like a child unwrapping a new toy, but froze when I realized that the page had something written onto it.20Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡpjCPzGOnT0
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