Birthday time sadness
The flame atop the small wax candle flickered in the breeze, lighting up the small area around a girl as she watched the city lights illuminate the park she was in. The girl, Umiko, closed her eyes, think of her wish before blowing out her candle. It was the same wish she had every year, the same wish that never came true. She grabbed the candle and tossed it into he garbage can beside the table she sat at before picking up the small cupcake and eatting it.
It's the same way every year, Umiko thought. Sitting alone in a park in the middle of the city, with a mini cupcake. She wrapped her jacket tighter around her, trying to fight off the early November chill. She stood and grabbed her bag, walking towards the library near the park where she normally spent the rest of her night before heading home. The wind picked up, forcing Umiko to brush strands of her blond hair out of her face. The 1st of November always seemed to be chilly, mimicking the chill of early winter mornings in December.
Obsidian eyes locked into the ornate front of the library, taking in the columns and the statues that lines the front of the building. The library was open 24 hours because of the constant stream of college students studying for tests and exams. In Umiko's opinion, it was one of the only places in the city that should be allowed to be open all day. It was quiet, calm, tranquil. Unlike her home.
The wooden doors closed softly behind her, blocking out the noises of the city. She waved to the front desk lady, walking towards the back of the building where a bunch of couches were set up. Umiko sat down on one of the leather sofas, setting her bag next her. The bag held her life. Her phone and laptop chargers made their home there, as well as her laptop, a water bottle, and a book. She may have also hidden a few of her mom's credit cards in there, but no one really knew.
She grabbed out her book and started where she left off. This was how she always spent her birthday. Away from home, late at night, in a library. Her family never seemed to care about her. Her parents were constantly fighting, her mom was almost never home, and when she was, she was in her office doing paperwork. Her father, whenever he was home, was drunk out of his mind. Either that or he was on a cargo ship somewhere in the world for most of the year. Her siblings never cared enough to give her the time of day and were constantly out.
The clock on the wall tucked away the seconds. Those seconds turned to minutes, and then into hours. Umiko finished her first book, moving onto her second, and then third. The clock struck 3 am by the time Umiko looked up from her fourth book. She sighed. I'm never home before dawn, she thought. Her siblings would be off to where ever they go during the day later that morning, and even if they didn't care, they would still grill her about being out all night. The reason was always the same: she was to young to understand the world around her.
I'm 15 goddamn it, she thought, lips pulled back in a sneer. I'll stay out all night if I want to. She placed her books back on their shelves and settled back in the couch, pulling her bag close to her. Tiredness began to edge out from the corner of her mind, it's dark tendrils grabbing onto her conscious and pulling it towards the inviting darkness of sleep. She closed her eyes letting the darkness consume her. Her last thought before she fell asleep was the wish she made only hours earlier:
I wish for a better life with an actual loving family.