Your birthday is supposed to be the happiest day of the year for you, right? So then why was I sitting alone, crying my eyes out as the people I thought were my friends were pointing and laughing at me?
Maybe they thought embarrassing the hell out of me at this restaurant was funny or something. Maybe they got a kick out of throwing the birthday cake in my face out of absolutely nowhere. It was a cruel and twisted joke, especially when they threw it with such force that I was in the bathroom for nearly an hour trying to get my nose to stop bleeding.
What was wrong with them?
But as I sat crying, a man approached me. He wore a purple suit and tie, as well as a purple top hat and a pencil-thin mustache.
"What seems to be the matter, dear?" he asked, speaking in an accent I couldn't quite place. He turned his head to see my friends, who had stopped laughing at me and were now chatting amongst each other at the table next to us. "Are they bothering you?"
I let out an exasperated breath, choking back the tears. "They're my friends, they didn't mean anything by it," I said. Why was I defending them?
"Well, no matter," he said slyly. "There isn't a reason for a woman like yourself to be sitting all alone and crying on your birthday."
"How did you-" I started.
He stopped me before I could say any more. "There's not much that a magic man like myself doesn't know," he said. "Heck, just the other day I saved a kid from some bullies that were chasing after him. And just like him, I can help you too." He held out his hand gently.
"Just tell me what it is you want, deep down, and I can give it to you," he offered.
I began to stand from the table, feeling mildly uncomfortable. "Thanks, but I-"
"Silence," he demanded, slamming his fist on the table. "You mis-take my generosity for something distasteful. You are offered magic and yet you reject it. Surely there must be something deep down that you truly desire. Anything at all."
I was shocked by his sudden change in tone. I glanced over at my friends, expecting them to care but they were still talking amongst each other, paying no mind to me. It was cruel, I could be over here, being attacked or kidnapped and they wouldn't bat an eye.
I sat back down and narrowed my eyes at the man. "Okay, maybe there is something I want," I said. "I want my friends to pay attention to me, to care about me, to want to talk to me. I'm sick of being a third wheel to them, even at my own birthday party."
He waved his hand. "And so it shall be."
The air began to shift around me as purple smoke shot from the man's jacket sleeves. I began to choke. The smoke was getting intense. Too much. I couldn't breathe. I was choking, begging the man to stop with the smoke but it wouldn't relent. It was filling my lung. I couldn't breathe. No air. No air...
Maybe they thought embarrassing the hell out of me at this restaurant was funny or something. Maybe they got a kick out of throwing the birthday cake in my face out of absolutely nowhere. It was a cruel and twisted joke, especially when they threw it with such force that I was in the bathroom for nearly an hour trying to get my nose to stop bleeding.
What was wrong with them?
But as I sat crying, a man approached me. He wore a purple suit and tie, as well as a purple top hat and a pencil-thin mustache.
"What seems to be the matter, dear?" he asked, speaking in an accent I couldn't quite place. He turned his head to see my friends, who had stopped laughing at me and were now chatting amongst each other at the table next to us. "Are they bothering you?"
I let out an exasperated breath, choking back the tears. "They're my friends, they didn't mean anything by it," I said. Why was I defending them?
"Well, no matter," he said slyly. "There isn't a reason for a woman like yourself to be sitting all alone and crying on your birthday."
"How did you-" I started.
He stopped me before I could say any more. "There's not much that a magic man like myself doesn't know," he said. "Heck, just the other day I saved a kid from some bullies that were chasing after him. And just like him, I can help you too." He held out his hand gently.
"Just tell me what it is you want, deep down, and I can give it to you," he offered.
I began to stand from the table, feeling mildly uncomfortable. "Thanks, but I-"
"Silence," he demanded, slamming his fist on the table. "You mis-take my generosity for something distasteful. You are offered magic and yet you reject it. Surely there must be something deep down that you truly desire. Anything at all."
I was shocked by his sudden change in tone. I glanced over at my friends, expecting them to care but they were still talking amongst each other, paying no mind to me. It was cruel, I could be over here, being attacked or kidnapped and they wouldn't bat an eye.
I sat back down and narrowed my eyes at the man. "Okay, maybe there is something I want," I said. "I want my friends to pay attention to me, to care about me, to want to talk to me. I'm sick of being a third wheel to them, even at my own birthday party."
He waved his hand. "And so it shall be."
The air began to shift around me as purple smoke shot from the man's jacket sleeves. I began to choke. The smoke was getting intense. Too much. I couldn't breathe. I was choking, begging the man to stop with the smoke but it wouldn't relent. It was filling my lung. I couldn't breathe. No air. No air...
***
As I hovered over the horrifying scene unfolding below me, the ambulance was taking my dead body away. Looking over to my friends, they were all huddled together, in tears as they saw my body being taken away. They sobbed for way longer than I would have ever expected. You'd think it would be sad or disheartening to be watching over my friends as they cried over me, but I was pleased in a way. At least they were finally paying attention to me...
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