Ephemeral

Chapter 12

Birthdays. Maria Quinn was the biggest fan of birthdays. I remember in kindergarten I had the moodiest teacher to ever have existed. She always dismissed us like we were an inconvenience to her despite her being the one to choose that specific profession. No one really cared though, if anything it gave everyone all the more reason to pester her more.

Anyway, it was my birthday and mom had baked cookies and cupcakes for my entire class. She spent the entire previous day baking away and enjoyed every moment of it. She even let me lick the bowl clean! But when she dropped the treats off to my school, this teacher of mine had the biggest fit. I thought she'd have a seizure. She said how birthdays shouldn't be celebrated because they're simply a reminder that you are a year closer to death. But how do you know how many years closer you are? You don't.

I remember mom picking me up from school, after me and my class ate the cookies and cupcakes underneath the tables, and she immediately asked about my day. When I told her what Ms Cole had said, she was absolutely furious. How dare someone say to her child that she is a year closer to death. Instead of killing the teacher like I had hoped, she crouched down in front of me and kissed my hands. She said "if birthdays mean you're a year closer to death, then why shouldn't you celebrate that you survived the year instead?" And that simply sentence got rid of my bad mood in an instant. I was a survivor.

"Oh my goodness it's Maria's birthday isn't it?!" Poppy squealed in excitement as she watched me walk through the hospital doors holding a box in one hand and two balloons in the other. "Save some cake for me!" She said before looking down at her pager and disappearing down a random hallway before she even had the chance to get to me.

Pressing the buttons to the elevator, I leaned against the wall and patiently waited for the elevator to reach the top floor. It's still baffles me how they thought they should put the suicide ward on the top floor. What if they jump? Which they would if they could. But still!

"Maria's birthday! How could I forget?" I heard Paul exclaim  once I walked out of the elevator and down the narrow hallway. "You reminded me kiddo." He grinned as I gave him a small smile and continued walking to her room.

Paul's become one of moms good friends over this last week. Every time I come to visit he's here along with that bright smile of hers. She laughs, she cracks jokes, and most importantly, she's not alone. Of course it's different with me because I can't be here all the time for obvious reasons, but even then if I could I know she'd enjoy his company way more than mine.

"Would you like to join us?" I asked hoping he'd say no and let me go in by myself. Since he's become such a good friend of moms and also made her significantly more happier, I can't help but feel obliged to ask him.

"No no, I couldn't intrude like that. You spend time with your mom, I'll definitely drop by later though for that cake." He chuckled as I gave him a small smile before nodding and continued my walk down the hallway.

"Hey momma, happy birthday!" I grinned as I walked into her room and put the cake down on the nightstand before putting the balloons down next to her.

"Hi Avie, I almost forgot it was my birthday." She giggled as she put down her book and stared at the balloons.

"You survived one year." I whispered as she looked over at me and bit her lip. I could see her eyes welling up with tears as she immediately wrapped her arms around me. "We'll go one at a time mommy, one at a time." I whispered as I felt my shoulder wet with tears.

"My little flower." She croaked out as she kissed the top of my head. "What would I do without you?" She smiled as I reluctantly pulled away from the hug and stood up.

"You wouldn't have any cake." I joked as she rolled her eyes in amusement and clapped her hands in excitement as she watched me pull off the lid of the cake and hold it out to her.