Chapter 28: Seventh Birthday

Chapter 28: Seventh Birthday

Chapter 28

The day of his seventh birthday finally arrived. This would be a long-awaited day for any child. Kai not so much. He had already unlocked his first seal, so the greatest source of excitement was gone.

His family didnt know that and he didnt want to crash their mood. It was better to pretend he just unlocked a big part of the Guide and not ruin his familys happiness with boring technical details.

After their encounter two days prior, Alana and Kea might suspect he had already reached Orange and unlocked the Favor stat. But he doubted they knew it would unlock the first seal early. If Alana knew and was acting excited regardless, he should do the same.

He usually woke up together or before his mother, but today he had been told to wait in his room for them to prepare.

After completing his daily Meditation, they still hadnt called him. To not waste time, he opened one of his father's books and started reading.

He was trying to decipher the Vastaire scripts. His father left many translated texts and even the breakdowns of how he deduced their grammar. Unfortunately, among his many qualities, he had never been very organized in his notes. They were for his own use after all.

He had rewritten a few parts he had been planning to publish into a more understandable draft, but they were the minority.

Among the finished texts was the first half of a manual for the Vastaire language. Now Kai was scouring through the notes to put together the other half.

On top of that, the Vastaire language had no similarities with their own. They didnt use an alphabet but logograms, a bit like the Chinese maybe. He really had no idea. He didnt understand Chinese or Vastaire for that matter.

He had made some progress, but the main thing he learned was that his dad had been brilliant. Rellan deciphered the whole language from scratch by himself. Kai had trouble just following the reasoning left in his notes.

My father was a fucking genius.

Learning the Vastaire language might be harder than he initially imagined, but he wasnt going to give up so easily. How could he be worthy of his father if he couldnt even do that?

Trying not to get frustrated and persevere, his mind went back to when he learned to read on his father's ancient tomes. This time he was actually deciphering an ancient language to uncover ancient secrets.

His fathers notes had already done most of the work, but that was a technicality.

The knock on the door came too soon. Right as he was getting into the groove of things.

Kai put on his birthday boy smile and went to open the door.

Happy seventh birthday! A joyous chorus of the three best women of his life welcomed him.

He let himself get dragged around to a rich breakfast. With plenty of juicy tropical fruits and even a little mango cake his mother went to buy this morning.

Mom you shouldnt have.

Dont be silly. You become seven only once. Both Ele and Kea insisted they pay a third of the price too. Alana put her arm around a blushing Kea, who glared at her.

Clearly, that was meant to remain a secret.

Dont think its only for you. We are gonna eat a slice too. Kea responded with a defensive tone.

Kai gave a hug to a squirming Kea, telling her how great and considerate she was.

Stop being so nice, its weird. Eat the cake and shut up.

He let her go smiling, she was still a bit red.

Eleni laughed and began to cut the little cake, giving him a slightly bigger slice.

No little candles or wishes on Elydes, but a good sweet seemed to be universal.

Kai enjoyed every bite of that slice. The mango filling had a perfect acidic note that complemented its sweetness. Their house had never been so cheerful as they laughed and ate their fill in a breakfast-lunch mix.

Afterward, they decided to go to the sea. Both Alana and Eleni had taken the day off to celebrate. They found one of the less rocky beaches of Greenside and laid a blanket to sit by the waves.

There was a moment of silence, as they were all sitting, staring at the pebbles and the sea. They looked at each other and started laughing. Without the need for a prompt, they started a contest for who could come up with more reasons why the beach and the sea in Greenside were inferior to Whiteshore.

The first were easy: pebbles not sand, cold waters, strong currents, hard to sit or walk on the beach, humidity

Then they had to get more creative.

The sound of the waves in Whiteshore was calming. Here they sound angry, Alana said, staring melancholic at the sea.

Kai never thought about it, but it was true the sea had felt calmer in Whiteshore.

No one had anything more to add. They all missed their home, their true home.

Come on, let's get into the sea, Kai said, taking off his shirt and jumping in.

But its cold, Kea complained.

Kai theatrically looked around and then shrugged his shoulders, It seems fine to me. Come on, the temperature is perfect. Are you afraid of a little water?

They got cleaned while Alana cooked and then went to help their mother. Kea and Kai were gently told they were not required, the first for her less-than-stellar record with food, the second because it was his birthday.

Kea believed he had been sent away for the same reason as her, but she was wrong.

Dinner was served. The meat had been added to a rich stew. Kai had specifically asked for it.

A stew was considered by many a dish of the poor. Those without many means often put what they could scrape together in a bowl with some salt and spices, if they could afford them. To Kai, this meal reminded him of the many dinners when his family was whole. Completely whole.

Dont you dare cry and eat the damn stew with snake meat! See, now I said it. Thats definitely snake meat.

After all the excitement of the day, the dinner proceeded quietly. Silently enjoying each other's presence.

When they were done, he helped clean up the dishes and got ready for bed after the perfect day.

Where do you think youre going? Alana asked him.

Kai looked at her confused.

Did you think we didnt prepare any presents for your seventh birthday?

Kai remained stunned on the spot. He remembered receiving a few gifts when they lived in Whiteshore. Alana once gave him a bracelet, but he lost it when they had been relocated. Presents had not been a thing since they came to Greenside. They had more important things to worry about.

Mom, there was really no need. The food and cake are enough already.

Alana had a little packet in her hands, So you dont want my gift. She theatrically dried fake tears from her eyes.

Kai rolled his eyes. Of course not, just give it to me. Gimmie, I wanna see.

The packet had the shape of a short tube.

Wait a second

Opening it up, his dads enchanted pen was revealed in all its shiny glory.

We thought we should make it official and give it to you. I know your father would have liked it, Alana said.

Kai uttered the only words he trusted himself to say with a small voice, Thank you. Long suppressed emotions trying to bubble up to the surface.

He didnt get the time to recompose himself when Ele jumped in front of him and offered another little packet. Me and Kea also have one for you.

The unexpected news helped distract him. Even his sister got a gift for him. Kai was starting to feel bad. He never got them anything.

Ele did most of the work, I barely had anything to do with it, Kea said from behind her sister.

Opening the small packet, a bracelet fell into his hands. It was made of an intricately braided silver string with six little shiny white stones and a bigger green one in the center.

Kai was dumbstruck. Are those pearls? He said with a strangled voice.

This wasnt something they could afford. His senses tingled and a glance with Mana Sense revealed the green pearl held a higher mana signature. It was a real mana treasure. They definitely couldnt afford that.

He felt himself going pale as he raised his gaze to his smiling sisters.

What? Do you not like it? Kea asked, offended, not understanding the racing thoughts in his head. Luckily Ele seemed to have an idea.

Dont worry, this bracelet didnt cost us a dime. Well, we did buy the string, but apart from that nothing.

Kai watched her incredulously. That green pearl must be worth a silver mesar!

Ele smiled more brightly. Do you not remember what Im apprenticing for?

Like thunder, all the pieces connected in his brain. Why Ele had been evasive about her work that afternoon and why she was so calm.

She was training to become a pearl hunter.

Kai looked at the bracelet admiring it for what it was - an incredible amount of hard work from both his sisters. The white pearls already showed a great deal of effort on her part. The green one was something else, probably a lucky catch she was not likely to repeat anytime soon. And instead of selling it, she gave it to him.

As for Kea, he could bet she had been the one to braid the silver string. Maybe those failed attempts in her room were prototypes for his bracelet.

This time he couldnt block the tears. Thank you to you both.

Eleni gave him a hug.

Hey, how do you know I did anything? Kea said.

Just a hunch.

This truly is the perfect day.