Birthday

"Chyou, hurry up else you'll be late" Yan Xiuying, a woman who looked to be in her mid-twenties called out from the kitchen as she packed her daughter's lunchbox. She was wearing a simple knee-length royal blue dress, her hair was loosely packed in a high bun. Her looks were neither gaudy nor was it extravagant. Although her beauty was not on par with the looks of top models and some actresses, she was mesmerizing, she had a very captivating and calming aura, one that could make a person feel at ease and also make a person scared as hell.

"Mama, Chyou is coming," Chyou said as she found her way down the stairs and into the kitchen.

Their house wasn't a lavish or huge mansion neither was it one of those fancy villas', but it was a place that they were both comfortable and familiar with, a place they called home.

Xiuying considered herself lucky to have found this house. They had only one neighbor which she found quite relaxing as she didn't like living in a place where people don't seem to be able to mind their business and the house was also quite close to little Chyou's school plus it had a nice spacious backyard which she turned to a garden.

"Mama, see, "Chyou said as she pulled her mom's leg in a bid to get attention."Hmm?, what can I do for my little angel?"Xiuying said as she bent to pick Chyou up and put her on the kitchen counter.

"Chyou want bwirthday happy for mama. See, Chyou make gwif for Mama" Chyou grinned widely as she showed her mom a drawing of the both of them. Xiuying collected the drawing from her daughter and she felt her eyes brimming with tears.

It was a stick figure drawing of both Xiuying and Chyou holding hands with a heart colored pink. The drawing could not even be regarded as art as the figures could barely be seen due to the rough shading and coloring which were outside the lines but Xiuying couldn't care less about its quality as her eyes remained fixated on the text below the drawing that read 'Mama Chyou fowevar'.

As Xiuying continued to look at it, she couldn't help but shed tears. She lifted her face from the paper and looked at Chyou whose face had turned grim after seeing her mama crying and hugged her.

"Why mama cwying, mama not like Chyou's gwif, "Chyou said as tears began to come out of her eyes.

"No, no "Xiuying hurriedly said as she pulled away from the hug and cleaned off the tears on Chyou's face. "Mama loved Chyou's gift, she loved it so much that tears began to fall out of her eyes, "She said as she cleaned her tears and as she said it, a bright smile formed on Chyou's face, "W-w-wreally?, Mama wuv it?".

"Mmmh", Xiuying said as she nodded, "Mama loved it, I'll make sure to keep this with me always," Xiuying said as she pulled her in for another hug.'I will always be there for you Chyou, I've never for once regretted my decision to give birth to you and I never will. I'll make sure to protect you no matter what, Xiuying promised inwardly.

After a short while, Xiuying pulled away from the hug, "If we stay like this for any longer then we'll both be late" She said as she dropped Chyou down from the counter and took the lunch she packed for her."Let's go" Xiuying said to Chyou who bobbed her head up and down as they left the kitchen after switching off the lights in the living room. She picked up Chyou's backpack from the chair before bending down to straighten her uniform and wearing the bag for her.

"Now we're ready"Xiuying picked up Chyou in her arms then walked out the front door closing it behind her after switching off the lights and taking her bag.

The location of Xiuying's house was also convenient for her as Chyou's school was only a 15-minute walk away from their house. Xiuying would have driven but her car was being serviced, it had broken down a day before when she started it on her way to the grocery store.

By the time they reached Chyou's school, her teacher was already waiting for her at the front of the class, "Good morning Miss Bai" she said as she took Chyou from her mother's arms, "Chyou, how was your weekend?".

"Weekend fine, mama make cake for Chyou"Chyou cheerily said as she flailed her hands in the air rambling all about her weekend, she paused for a while making it look like she was exhausted but instead she was wondering whether or not to tell her teacher about her Mama's birthday.

'Should I twell the teacher about Mama's bwirthday? she pondered over it causing her eyebrows to knit together.

'What is she thinking about?', Xiuying thought as her left eye twitched,' She better not be up to mischief'

"Ah, Mrs. Chen, Chyou talks a lot, she keeps going on and on about random things," Xiuying said to the teacher in an attempt to distract Chyou from her thoughts but Chyou was already a step ahead as she continued with her talks immediately after Xiuying finished.

"Teacher, you know today is mama's bwirthday" Chyou said as her mother inwardly drew an exasperated long sigh.

"Oh really, well I wish you a happy birthday Miss Bai, "Teacher Chen said with a smile on her face.

"Thank you, Mrs. Chen, I'll take my leave now," Xiuying said as she kissed Chyou's forehead, "Be a good girl now okay," she said as Chyou nodded "Bye bye mama "Chyou said as she waved to her.

"Bye, "Xiuying waved back to her as she watched the teacher take Chyou into the classroom. It wasn't until after they disappeared from her sight that she turned to leave.

Xiuying sighed as she left the school premises and headed towards the hospital where she worked, 'By the end of the day, I'm sure all her classmates would be aware of my birthday' Xiuying said inwardly as she chuckled hopelessly.

Chyou was a cute three-year-old girl and more than that she was talkative, she would blab about everything she saw, and stopping her was almost impossible.

She chuckled as she thought about her little daughter. Truth be told, she never liked making a big deal out of her birthday, she'd rather spend it with her loved ones.

Xiuying paused in her steps as a thought passed through her mind escaped,' I wonder how he must be doing'.

Immediately Xiuying paused in her movements, a car zoomed across her splashing water on her dress causing her to remember and take note of her surroundings.

'How could I forget that I was on the roadside', Xiuying thought as she wiped off the water from her dress with her handkerchief.

'He always made sure that he had my attention and even now, he's not relenting ', Xiuying chuckled bitterly as she finished cleaning her dress and continued her walk to her workplace, 'Is this how people drive nowadays?'She asked herself as she thought of the reckless driver who stained her dress.

'Nevermind, I don't have time for this, I have to get to work' Xiuying thought as she brushed off the incident and went on her way to the hospital.