The Birthday Aisha

     And the next fact: I live in a bakery of some sort, though I have no idea where I am. Somewhere in Neopia, that's for sure. But whenever I step out of it, I appear at a birthday party every time - and it's always a different one, too. How crazy is that?

     Eventually, I found out who I really was - the Birthday Aisha, as I said before. I'm supposed to remember everyone's birthdays, bake them the tastiest treats, and even give them the perfect presents. Sometimes it isn't easy, though.

     But the first birthday party I went to was a blast. It even made me want to continue what I was doing - gift people, bake for them, and make them happy.

     Hey, enough of the introduction. I'd like you to meet my good (and fancy) friend - Mel!

BIRTHDAY PARTY ONE: FANCY IS FUN

     I hopped out of the bakery and emerged on soft, green grass. Looking up, I saw the most elegant mansion ever - it was insanely huge and was painted completely white, with gold swirls here and there. There was a line of people near the front doors - they were all shaking hands, smiling, and nodding. Many of the people had on feathery or frilly clothes, and their faces were dusted with makeup.

     Walking over, I immediately felt embarrassed. I wasn't as fancy as them, and I was so small - everyone in the line was fully-grown and quite tall. I stood at the end and waited for my turn inside, and as the line slowly moved forward, I saw a pink Draik at the doors.

     "Hello! I'm glad you could make it. I'm Melissa, the birthday girl - and proud hostess of this party. Come on in!"

     "Happy birthday, Melissa!" I said, in my sweetest voice. This definitely didn't look like the party of my choice, but I didn't want to ruin her birthday by being sour.

     "Thank you! You can actually call me Mel," she said, smiling down at me. "But... who are you?"

     "Sweete, the Birthday Aisha. You probably don't know me, but..." I peeked into the mansion. "May I come in? I have a gift for you."

     "Of course! Everyone is invited, as long as they're dressed appropriately, of course." Mel shut the door since I was the last guest, and we walked in together.

     I stared in awe at the mansion. It was amazing - I've never seen anything like it before! The ceiling was like a dome, and there was a grand chandelier hanging from it. The furniture was lacy and white, making even the couch look regal. There were people everywhere, talking quietly to one another and taking a sip of the water in their cups.

     "Make yourself at home! I have to get my outfit ready," Mel said, waving and running away. I watch her hold up her dress a little as she totters up the stairs - how can she go that fast in a dress and shoes like that?

     But my eyes peel away as a sweet aroma wafts through the air - no one else seems to smell it, but I'd know that scent anywhere. Even my bakery smells strongly of it sometimes.

     Cookies!

     I follow the scent and run on my teeny little legs, making sure no one will trip over me. Eventually, I find the kitchen and many pets in it, all making food of some sort. I see someone near the sink making fruit smoothies, and someone else making what looks like fancy soup. I see the lighted oven and run over to it, seeing melted chocolate chip cookies inside, just like I made sometimes.

     I hear a cough and look up to see a Draik with oven mittens on. I scoot over and she gets out the tray of cookies, fresh and hot. I have to stand on my hind legs to see the cookies, and they look wonderful.

     "Excuse me," I say, looking at the Draik. She takes her oven mittens off and seems to be intently focused on her nails. "Are these for the party?"

     "Why, yes!" she says, looking down at me. "These kinds of cookies are Mel's favorite."

     Bummer. Somebody already beat me to the baking.

     "Well, does she have any other favorites?"

     "She does love vanilla cake, with white frosting and candy pearls. Not to mention cream cheese filling as well."

     "So, where's the cake?" I ask, my eyes darting around the kitchen. There's no cake to be seen - not even a cupcake.

     "Unfortunately, we're not able to have it this year," the Draik says, sighing. "This birthday party costs so terribly much already, and I'm not sure if we can hire a professional baker. We haven't even broken the news to her yet."

     My eyes are glimmering now, and I'm pretty sure the Draik thinks I'm crazy. Or, hungry, since she scoots the tray of cookies away from me.

     "I can make the cake! Look at my examples," I say, pulling some photos out from the pocket of my dress. Baking is a huge hobby of mine, and I do like to brag about my ever-growing photography skills.

     The Draik takes the pictures and gasps. "These are lovely! Forget what I just said before; how much do you charge?"

     "Nothing," I say, taking the photos back and neatly tucking them in again. "It's just what I do."

     "Oh, that'd be lovely! Do you need us to get anything for you? Ingredients, supplies, a recipe..."

     "No, I already have an idea planned out. Just leave me to it!" I say, beaming. Finally, something I can do.

     "Mel will be so happy. I'm Sarah, by the way. Just give me a shout if you need anything."

     I nod, and start working right away. My hands are guiding me, seemingly knowing where all of the materials are. I'm already mixing the ingredients together, and soon enough, I'm putting the batter in the oven.

     Minutes pass, and whenever no one is looking, I get out my wand. Whispering some words, I point it at the oven, and the batter seems to glow. The oven dings, and I'm glad no one can hear it over the loud talking.

     I pull out the batter, and it's in a perfect, round shape. I stuff in the filling from the top and sides, covering the holes with icing as I do. I do another round of icing to make sure everything is smooth and sweet, and begin to do the frosting decorations. I'm making delicate designs of lace, swirls, and even patterns, my eyes focusing intently on the cake itself.

     Next, I squirt some whipped cream on the top, making the cake look like a fluffy meringue. I sprinkle some candy pearls all over the top, and manage to take a few, for taste test purposes. The pearls are soft and sweet, and I'm about to take a bite of the cake until Sarah stops me.

     "Whoa there, that cake was for Mel, remember?" she says, holding her arm out. "But wow, that is amazing. How did you do it so quickly?"

     "It's what I do, remember?" I lick the whipped cream from my lips. "Looks like we both have memory issues."

     We laugh and walk over to the dining room, where Sarah takes the cake and puts it in the middle of the long table. Everyone is having a good time, and I see Mel opening some presents.

     "You have one more, Mel," Sarah says, and Mel looks questioningly at her. "It's on the table. Open it."

     There is now a box over the cake, and I bite my lip in order not to spoil it. Mel lifts the box and squeals, jumping up and down at the sight of the cake.

     "Even better than last year! Who made it?" asks Mel, eating the cake with her bare hands. She has crumbs and frosting all over her face, and doesn't seem to care that she looks quite ridiculous.

     "I never did ask for her name," Sarah says, looking down at me. "But this little Aisha did."

     "Sweete!" Mel runs over to me and gives me a big, fat hug. "This cake is the best. Definitely the highlight of the day!"

     I smile and look at her. "Birthdays are totally my thing."

     Everything happened in a whir after that. We played birthday games, sang songs, and read spooky books to each other at night. It kind of became a tradition, because Mel and I always did that, year after year.

     Eventually, she got too old for birthday parties - from what I gathered, she's now successful and rich like her parents, and seems to worry Nigel with her crazy good stock market abilities.

     But hey, that doesn't stop me from doing what I do. Even though there are many kids like Mel, no one can replace her. I like to think of her as my first, fantastic friend.

     The one who made the Birthday Aisha possible.

The End