Willium Valen and The Curse of Hades

Chapter 6-The Note On The 14th

I was sleeping peacefully with no nightmares, no weird dreams, just peace. I felt something touch the side of my face."Poke," A voice said.Someone jumped on me."Ah! Shit...tzu, the dog. Don't you just hate it when you have nightmares about them?" I chuckled. My little sister had woken me up, she smiled at me and tilted her head."No," She muttered."Well, I do,""Happy birthday," Analina said."Thank you," I sat up in my bed, yawning and stretching. Analina sat down next to me in the bed."You're 17?" Analina asked."Yes," I sighed and laid back down. "Finally.""Why were you sixteen for so long?" Analina asked."It's complicated, Lina, but I was sixteen for 19 months," I said. Lina was a nickname that I had for Analina, I called her it a lot. She liked the nickname and made one for me "ilium," which is so sweet."Daddy's making breakfast," Analina got off the bed and walked to the door. I got up and followed her."He is?" I followed my little sister downstairs. My dad was very good at making dinner and lunch, but he's never been good at breakfast. Baking and making fluffy things was never his strong suit."There's the birthday boy," my mom said, wrapping me in her arms. I hugged my mom and smiled."Good morning, Mom,""You're finally 17, that's crazy," my mom held my shoulders and got a good look at me. "I'm so proud of you," She said."Thank you," I said. My mom and I walked into the kitchen and sat down at the counter."17? No, he's 12, I thought we talked about this," my dad scoffed."No Dad, I'm seventeen,""Happy birthday, Willium," my dad smiled.I looked down at what my dad was cooking. Strawberry pancakes, it was my grandma's recipe. She would always make them for special occasions, but she made them for me whenever I wanted them, that was another thing that I missed about her. Every year on my birthday she would make them for me. It felt so weird that she wasn't there anymore, that she was gone."What are those?" My little sister asked, peering over the counter, and balancing on her tiptoes."These are my mother's famous strawberry pancakes," my dad said."Thank you, Dad," I muttered, I felt like crying. This birthday wasn't like my other birthdays, it felt wrong without my grandma, but that's life. People come in and sadly come out. My grandma meant a lot to me, I hated that she was gone, but most of all I hated that I wasn't with her when she went.We all sat down at the dining table and my dad put my pancake down in front of me. It was heart-shaped, my favorite shape as a kid, my grandma always made sure that mine was shaped like a heart. It even had the strawberry whipped cream that she would always make.It felt unreal, sitting there looking down at the pancake. It made me so happy, but I also felt like I was about to cry. Over those past 19 months, I went through so much, and now that was all behind me."I hope I got the recipe right," my dad said.I took a bite and I instantly felt like a little kid again. "They're perfect, Dad,""I'm glad," He smiled at me.The pancakes were just as I remembered them, soft, fluffy, and warm. There were very few perfect things in this world, those strawberry pancakes were one of them."Yummy," Analina said with a mouth full of food. Analina was the pickiest eater that I knew, I called her a little food critic, but of course, she liked the strawberry pancakes."Don't talk while you're chewing, honey," my mom pecked.I felt tears at the edge of my eyes."Willium, are you okay?" my dad asked."Yeah...it's just not the same without grandma here," I muttered."I know," my dad said.After we had all eaten breakfast Willow came in."Willow," I said, walking up to her.Happy birthday, she signed."Now I'm taller and older," I scoffed.Just wait until April 6th, then we'll see who's older, Willow signed."Still me," I smiled.Anna came in and smiled at me. "You're finally 21, let me buy you a beer, son," She joked."What happens when I actually turn 21?" I scoffed."We'll see if you make it," She said."AA," Analina ran up to Anna. AA stood for Aunt Anna."Orphan!" Anna cheered."Stop calling her that!" my dad exclaimed. Orphan was Anna's nickname for Analina, don't ask me why, I had no idea. My dad hated it though."Willium, I have your present," Willow handed me a dark green box with a brown velvet ribbon."Oh my goodness, it's a box. Thank you so much!""No! Unwrap it," Willow scoffed."Fine, but I have no idea what could be better than a box," I unwrapped the present. It was a journal by one of my favorite painters that detailed the story behind their work. "You're kidding me, Willow, thank you so much," I hugged her."You're welcome," She said.My phone vibrated in my pocket."I have to take this," I said, walking up to my room."Today better be your birthday or else this will be very embarrassing," Geo said.It felt so nice to finally hear his voice again, probably because I missed him like a little kid would."Geo, my birthday was a month ago," I sighed."No, it wasn't,""Yes, it was,"Geo took a second and then he replied."I hate you so much. Shut up, today is your birthday," Geo scoffed."It is," I chuckled."Happy birthday, tournesol,"Geo would call me tournesol whenever he was mad at me, I still had no idea what it meant. It confused me, I just hoped that it wasn't something mean, but knowing Geo, it probably was."Thank you,""You are welcome,""How's everything back in Vandalia?""Same old, Same old. How are things in Lexan?""Pretty boring,""Well, peacefulness is always boring after a while,""Yep, well I have to go, I think I heard the doorbell ring,""You live in a castle and you still have to get the door yourself?""I know, it's truly onerous, bye,""Bye,"I walked to the door and opened it. No one was there, but there was a card with my name on it. I opened the card.Dear Willium Victor Valen, I am sorry that my gift will be late, but I hope you will like it. Have a happy birthday, sincerely-ζThat was all, nothing was in the card. The note was weird and I couldn't read the letter of who signed it, I guess that it was someone's encyclical.I put the note in my pocket."What was that?" Analina asked."Nothing," I said. "Come on, I think more people are here,"The rest of the day went by pretty fast and I felt pretty tired after all of the presents. I went upstairs to my room and began to pace. I couldn't stop thinking about the note, what did it mean? Who sent it? What was their present? It was all too much to think about, so I tried my best to brush it off and I went to bed.