Kiro and Raven: Chosen Hero

Chapter Eight

Rinny's birthday is not at his house but at the park nearby. It's the best choice, especially with how large his family is.

A cool breeze pushes against the tall green grass in need of a fresh cut. There are a few sparsely placed trees, all tall and thick with either fluffy leaves or sharp spines. Far to my right, fenced in by a pink castle wall is the park for little children under six. The sandpit has long-lost buried treasures waiting to be found by the next pair of little hands. The very center is the winding stairs to a makeshift castle tower, the slide slipping down to a softer pile of sand a slightly different shade and coloration. There are a lot of children screaming and laughing watched by a few careful glazes.

On the side I am on, is the more mature part of the park. There is a set of swings, and a few slides, and an older nearly rusted merry-go-round groans and cries out as children pushed and pushed swirling it around and around going faster and faster with each breath. Until no one could move it faster, and children tumbled and fell off laughing.

In between the two sets of parks, is a huge balcony area with benches of all random assortments. Some are from the actual park, and others are brought in by family members. A huge swath of adults is here, surrounding Rinny and his parents. Congratulating him on his birthday, shaking hands, and exchanging presents.

There's this warmth and excitement all around us, cousins and aunts and uncles, all of whom brought their own family and friends, and they brought theirs. I've never seen anything so large before. My own birthdays are much smaller than this and private.

Rebecca grins mischievously, immediately placing both her hands on Luna's back giving Hazel her code word to push. Like a train, Hazel and I push Rebecca who pushed Luna all the way to Rinny. Once he sees us he waves brightly, and then he sees Luna. Stuttering and turning several shades of pink and red, he sweeps his gelled hair back. He's in a nice suit and tie, clean from any dirt or debris. He's been greeting guests it seems for a few hours, a pile of birthday presents and cards on the table behind him.

The reason why he's so embarrassed is that as promised we've prepared Luna to the best of our ability. She's dressed up in a sweet spring dress the color of freshly cut grass and bulbing flowers. Her golden hair was brushed and preened like golden feathers fluttering in sunlight. A bright blue bow trailed down like butterfly wings dancing. She looks like the princess at his princely party.

Rebecca teases, "We are here Rinny, with our present, all nicely wrapped with a bow."

Rinny flushes several shades darker, his voice coming out in a squeak, "I... Thank you all for coming. I know it's not much... but please have fun."

Luna gives him a kind smile, reaching over and taking his hands. She speaks in what I assume is his native language, and the two have a small conversation, Rinny growing redder and redder by the second.

Rinny's mother seeing this interaction places a hand on his shoulder, "Hello, I see you are his school friends." She beams, "Thank you for taking care of him, how about you take a break and actually enjoy your party."

"Mom?"

"Don't fret dear, it's not every day you have a birthday." She kisses his forehead, "You have fun."

Rinny beams, and shyly turns to us.

We all lightly push him away, towards the park, where we begin to swing.

I find swinging relaxing. The repetitive up and down of your legs, the feeling of the wind picking up and pushing against your body. Leaning back and watching the sky go back and forth. It's exhilarating and mind-altering. I think this feeling is why everyone loves swinging even when they've outgrown the seats and struggle to sit down. It's akin to flying, drawing people to it.