"Happy Birthday!"
A vacuously strident cry.
"Oh… thank you, Kyo-chan!"
Ayano, a young, honest girl that had been contemplating the day by the window before hearing her pet parrot speak, gratefully acknowledged the greeting.
"Happy Birthday!"
"I'm so happy for your blessings," Ayano continued, smiling brightly at her domestic bird.
"Birthday! Happy Birthday!"
"…"
"Happy Birthday!"
The intermittent birthday wishes from her parrot continued as the girl began to sob and rub away some incoming tears.
"Birthday! Happy! Birthday Happy! Happy Birthday!"
No, no, I can't cry, but I can't help it, the young Ayano told herself, fighting back more tears. I can't help that… nobody's greeted me for my birthday today…
The girl gave herself a few taps on the cheek with both hands, shook her head, and dried her tears off. Today is my birthday and if no one's greeted me, that's okay!
"He…Ehehehe," Ayano, who was turning 7 years old today, laughed her remaining sorrows off.
"Happy birthday!"
"Thank you, Kyo-chan," Ayano gratefully said to her pet, caressing it as she did. "You're the only one that has greeted me today."
Ayano abruptly stopped petting Kyo-chan before saying, "But… how is it that you remember that phrase...? Oh, could it be because of that one time that I…?"
xxxxxxxxxxxxxx
A few days ago…
"My birthday is coming soon!" Ayano told her parrot excitedly, bouncing up and down in her bed. "B-But what will I do if someone startles me by greeting me and I end up saying something harsh in response?"
Ayano began to feel distressed over this predicament. "Oh, I know! I'll practice my reply! Yup, practicing is always best!"
"So let's begin um…. Happy Birthday!"
"And then I say…um… Th-Thank you—b-but it's not like I'm grateful to you or anything!"
"Ooh… I ruined it…."
"N-no! I can't be disheartened! One more time!"
"They say… Happy Birthday!"
"And then I say… Oh, wow, I don't know what to say I'm so grate...grate…greatly bothered by you!"
"Uuh, I failed again! One more try!"
"Happy Birthday!"
"You're overdoing it!"
"Agh… I messed it up!"
"Happy Birthday!"
"Is a screw off in your head or something?"
"That's too mean!"
"Happy Birthday!"
"Be quiet!"
"Ugh… why can't I just be honest with people…?" Ayano despaired.
Kyo-chan, meanwhile, watched and listened to Ayano's dual-self dialogue.
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"Yeah… that's probably why Kyo-chan remembers that phrase…" Ayano reasoned with her index finger atop her bottom lip.
"Happy Birthday! Happy Birthday! Happy Birthday!"
Even though that conversation with myself was the source of Kyo-chan learning the phrase… I'm still happy I have a friend who remembers my birthday!
Kyo-chan began to flap its wings and headbutt its cage.
"Oh, that's right," Ayano said to herself, striding over to her pet's side. "It's not good to keep your friends in a cage." The child began to open the cage. "But… will you fly off if I let you out? No, no, you won't leave me, because you're my friend, isn't that right, Kyo-chan?"
"Birthday!"
Ayano chuckled at her parrot and opened the latch that secured is cage, letting it out.
"Come on out, Kyo-chan."
Kyo-chan took sidestepped out of its cage, later flapping to a stand on Ayano's hand.
"Aw, you're so cute, Kyo-chan… flying on top of my hand like that…"
"Happy Birthday!"
"Mm-hmm, I got it, thank you so much, Kyo-chan…. Sorry for always keeping you locked up in a narrow cage."
"Happy!"
"Alright, Kyo-chan, do you wan to take a look outside?" Ayano proposed, quickening her gait as she excitedly approached the window she had previously been staring out of.
"…"
"Here, I'll open the door, and you can take a look outside!" Ayano continued, opening her window and feelings strings of wind on her face, some lifting strands of her hair.
"Look, it's super vast, isn't it?" Ayano noted, smiling at her dear pet.
Just as she finished her exclamation, Kyo-chan took off.
"Eh?"
Ayano said in disbelief.
"Kyo-Kyo-Kyo-chan! ? ! ? Where are you going?" Ayano shouted after it, leaning hazardously over the window.
"Happy Birthday! Happy Birthday!"
"Yo-you're kidding, right, Kyo-chan? You're not leaving me, are you! ?" the young Ayano desperately questioned.
"Happy—! Birthday—!"
The greeting cries of the pet parrot faded away as it disappeared into the noon sun.
Ayano was left behind, staring wide-eyed out the window, shocked. "You jumped off the window… and flew away… just when I thought you were my friend… my only… friend…"
Ayano felt the familiar sting in her eyes, a harbinger to incoming tears. She began to faintly sob, feeling her chest tightening and her vision blurring.
Kyo-chan… I wonder if you hated being locked up in that cage that much… or was it just that you hated me? I'm sorry, Kyo-chan, from now on, be happy and free…
The cold wind entering from the window began to dry her tears off, leaving wet trail marks down her cheeks.
"I should close the window, since it's cold outside," Ayano told herself, getting up from the floor and dusting herself off.
"Hmm? Kyo-chan, I wonder if you'll be okay in this cold weather…it's midwinter and so there's not much bait for you to feed on… what happens if you… di-die? N-no, Kyo-chan, you can't die! Th-that's right, as your friend, I must watch out for you! I-it's not because I'm feeling lonely and want you by my side—that's so not the reason, but because we're friends!"
Ayano hastily put on a jacket and some thick socks before bolting out her room's door and heading for the exit of her house.
"Oh, wait, I should take some stuff with me in a small bag, just in case, like pudding," Ayano reminded herself, turning around and reentering her room.
My mom bought lots of pudding in case people came over to greet me for my birthday…. But no one came…
After a few minutes…
"Okay, the preparations are ready! Just wait for my, kyo-chan, I'm coming to save you!"
Ayano put a shiny object on her jacket. "Just to be sure, I'll attach a 'lost child' badge to my vest."
It read: "Sugiura Ayano – Elementary School – 1st grade"
"Alright, with this, I'm set. Time for departure!"
And with that, Ayano ran out of her house, in search of Kyo-chan.
xxxxxxxxxxxx
"KYOKO—!"
"Kyoko-chaaaaaan!"
"WHERE ARE YOUUUU?"
"Kyoko-chan, ARE YOU THERE?"
"Sheesh, where did she run off to now, I wonder," a tomboyish girl with a band-aid on one side of her cheek said, looking around her vicinity.
"If it's Kyoko-chan we're talking about, she might be lost and scared somewhere," a red-haired girl worriedly inferred.
"She never changes… that crybaby…," the other girl said roughly, to hide her concern. "I hope she's okay."
"Kyoko-chan, don't move until we find you," her friend said to no one in particular.
"Come on, Akari, we have to hurry and find her!" Yui finally said.
"Roger that, Captain!"
XXXXXXXXXXXXXX
Before anything else, I'd like to say that this is NOT my story. I'm only translating it because I thought it was a very splendid piece of fanfiction. The author of this story goes by ID: 8N1MrVgW0 in the website yuri ss. The original story is in Japanese and goes by the title 一人で誕生日会. I just thought this story was absolutely ADORABLE! At first, I thought it was boring, but after reading it in its entirety, it's probably one of the best I've read thus far! I couldn't help but want to share with the yuru yuri community here. I hope you'll enjoy it as much as I did. The next part will be up as soon as I can post it.