Blue Prints

Ch 14: Quiet Anticipation

Five years ago, in the small town of Osen located in northern Fanella, Elistina.

A child of only 12 years waits patiently on the floor of her bedroom. The walls were decorated messily with stickers that resembled butterflies and flowers, simultaneously dominating and complimenting the sage green paint. Her legs kicked back and forth as she laid flat on her stomach.

"Arial, you're watching the clock again?"

The young girl lifted her head out of the palms of her hands, gazing lovingly at the middle aged woman standing at the bedroom door. Arial eagerly nodded and went back to watching the numbers on her alarm clock switch shapes.

Her mother sighed, "I baked you some cookies. Come on, let's go have some!"

Arial seemed excited now, even going as far as jumping to her feet. Ever since she was little, her father told her that on the night before her birthday, if she didn't watch the clock reach 12 in the morning, then the next day would never come. It was silly for someone her age to still believe in a myth as ridiculous as that one, but it made her feel closer to her father so her mother never protested against it.

"Are they chocolate chip cookies?" Arial asked, being half her mother's size. Her mother pinched her cheek lovingly.

"Why wouldn't they be? It's your birthday!"

Arial grinned, "Ma, you're so silly!! There's at least another half hour before I turn thirteen!"

Her mother laughed, moving her daughter to the small kitchen only a short distance outside her door. "You're right, you're right."

Osen wasn't the richest town, and everyone knew each other. It wasn't a very technology savvy place either, so if you could afford a car or even a television, then it was a given you were part of the upper-class. Arial and her mother were not part of that.

Her mother heavily depended on the money her husband left before he passed away many years ago. Aside from that small amount, her mother baked a lot of sweets and sold them when and wherever she could.

As Arial dunked the warm cookie in her cold milk, her mother observed with a kind gaze how much Arial enjoyed eating them. After three cookies, Arial finally chugged the cold milk down. Then as fast as she could, she asked, "Ma, what time is it?"

Her mother glanced at a small clock on the wall, "11:55pm, sweetie."

Arial sat properly in her seat, "Perfect! Thank you for the cookies, they were good as always! Can I have some more tomorrow?"

Her mother passed a folded napkin to the girl, "I'm gonna bake you the bestestest cake in the world tomorrow! Wait right here, I'll go grab you something. Wipe your mouth in the meantime."

When Arial's mother left her sights, she started cleaning her mouth. After that, the young girl, now 13 years old, sat tight. Her mother would then come back with an average sized box, wrapped neatly in pink paper. A beautiful red bow was placed right on top. Arial's eyes seemed to gleam as her mom rested the box on the table.

"Happy birthday, baby! You're 13 years old now!! How do you feel?"

"Super awesome!!" Arial grinned ear to ear. Her mother's gaze softened.

"Do you want to open it?"

Arial nodded violently. Her mother offered her the gift, and Arial was tearing away. Once a small corner of the contents inside were revealed, Arial gasped. "No way!!" She then completely unraveled what was inside.

She then looked up at the woman standing beside her, "You got me a Lada doll? Aren't these from the big city? Aren't they expensive? How did you-??"