𝙊𝙝 𝙈𝙮 𝙈𝙮 𝙈𝙮 | 𝘈𝘭𝘩𝘢𝘪𝘵𝘩𝘢𝘮

11: His Words

Happy birthday to my favorite scribe! <3

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PAST

Alhaitham had his mother's curiosity about the world and his father's passion for things he loved. With their combined intellect, Alhaitham was truly a bright child. When he was younger, he was quite close to his father, especially because of their shared bond for playing piano. When he watched his dad leave, Alhaitham didn't know how to process it, but he vowed to always be there for his mom.

That was  a year ago, just days before his birthday. This birthday was going to be difficult for him. He knew that, and his mom knew that.

That's why she called your mom and asked for you and Kaveh to come over. Of course your mom agreed. That's how you and Kaveh learned you two would be sleeping over at Alhaitham's house.

"Hurry up," you yelled at your brother, who locked himself in the bathroom. In one hand, you clutched a duffel bag with some essentials for the sleepover. The other hand held the gift you and Kaveh picked out for your friend.

"Calm down," Kaveh yells through the door. "His house is just across the street. It's not like we're going to be late or anything." You rolled your eyes.

"We will be if you keep taking forever in the bathroom." At that comment, the door swung open, revealing your brother. You squint your eyes at him, looking at his hair.

"Are those my red hair clips?!" you shout.

Kaveh laughs sheepishly. "Look at the time! We should really be going to Alhaitham's now."

"Fine," you grumble.

After the short walk to Alhaitham's house, you two rang the doorbell. Your gray-haired friend opened the door with a melancholy expression on his face.

"Happy birthday!" you and your brother greet him. Alhaitham presses his lips into a thin line.

"Thank you," he says as he motions for you two to come inside. "You guys don't have to do this if it's out of pity."

"It's not," Kaveh responded. "We're doing this because we genuinely care about you."

"And because no one should be alone on their birthday," you add with a bright smile. Alhaitham forces himself to give you a small smile.

"That's not a smile," you say. The boy's viridian eyes widened, shocked at your pointed remark. Kaveh was trying his best to stifle his laughter.

"I know it's been a hard year for you," you start. "But can you please try to be happy?" you ask. "It's your birthday."

"I'll try," Alhaitham sighs. A smile forms on your features as you unexpectedly hug your friend. At first he tenses up at the sudden contact but soon relaxes and hugs you back. Kaveh saw the smile tugging at Alhaitham's lips. Wordlessly, he joined the hug too.

"Thank you both for being here," the silver-haired boy whispered.

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PRESENT

After you and Alhaitham got comfortable, you perused his paper.

'Childhood is the foundation from which the rest of your life is built upon. Without a strong foundation, how is one to expect a sturdy building?

If you asked me as a child, I would've told you that my foundation was unshakeable – a force to be reckoned with – but as I got older, I realized that was not the case. My foundation was cracked from the start, yet somehow remained hidden until the building came toppling down.