A Sweet Present

Chapter 1- The Birthday

"Eva!"

The voice startled Eva, who was staring into space. She looked up into the face of her father, Don Wei.

"Its time to leave, are you ready?" He looked at her, obviously wondering what she had been thinking about.

"Yeah, dad. I'm ready." Her voice had a curious tone. It wasn't tired or excited, but rather thoughtful, as if she wasn't quite focusing on the words that came out of her mouth.

She stood up from her seat on the front stairs of her public school. Eva's school had just gotten out for the summer and, since she was a senior, she didn't have to go back in the fall, or ever again. She walked to the car and opened the door. Sitting down she turned to her father. He was looking at her inquisitively and it was starting to freak her out.

"Ummm…hi?" Eva wasn't exactly sure what he wanted her to say.

Don Wei shook his head as if he was coming out of a trance.

"Sorry, I was just wondering what you were thinking about when I pulled up."

"Oh, it was nothing. I was just thinking about Oban. You know that it has been over three years since we left?" Eva paused, "Well, most of us left."

Her father stared at her sympathetically.

"Eva, I know you miss Jordan, but he is better off in his new position."

"I know, dad. I just wish that he didn't have to sacrifice himself that way; I wish he could have stayed human and come back to earth with us. Yet, at the same time, I know that would never have worked. He liked me, more than I liked him. That would have made our friendship awkward and I don't know what would have happened. Maybe its better off this way, when we can just remember each other as friends."

Don Wei just nodded. He knew that Eva was explaining things to herself more than him. The rest of the ride home was in silence. Eva was reminiscing about her races on Oban, Jordan, and her other friends from the races, specifically Aikka. Don Wei was contemplating something he had heard recently, that silence is the loudest noise in the universe.

There is some truth in this, he thought. He could hear every sigh Eva made, every deep breath. It was hard on him to know that his daughter was suffering and, even though he was only a few feet away, he could not help her. This was something she had to get over on her own, without his assistance.

They pulled up to the house, or rather the mansion, and Don Wei parked the car in front. They both got out of the car and walked in the front door.

"SURPRISE!!!!!"

Eva jumped about ten feet into the air. The lights turned on the reveal Rick Thunderbolt, Stan, and Koji. The earth team. Eva started to laugh as she overcame the shock. Everyone was smiling as Eva realized that today was her 18th birthday. She had completely forgotten. Eva still wasn't used to spending her birthdays with her father. All the years she spent alone in the boarding school had caused her to not want to even remember her birthday. Not having a birthday was always better than celebrating it alone.

The team ushered Eva over to a table, delicately covered in a pale green tablecloth that Eva recognized as her mothers. On the table was an envelope. Next to this was a large single layered cake with a picture of the Arrow II. The cake wasn't perfect; in fact it was far from it. The frosting was all but slopped on, and the picture was a very simple one. Eva didn't care. After all, it is the thought that counts, right?

She opened the envelope with care, trying not to rip the edges. When she opened it all she found was a card. Trying not to show her disappointment, Eva hid her face behind the card and read the contents. Blah, Blah, Happy Birthday, Blah…wait…what?! Her face suddenly appeared above the card, this time showing obvious joy. She flung herself at Stan and Koji, who were the closest. Hugging them she started yelling over and over again, "Thank you, thank you, thank you!" The mechanics blushed with pleasure. Eva then ran over to Rick, still yelling. After she finished hugging him she turned to her father. The yelling stopped, but the smile remained.

"Thank you so much, dad," Eva said as she buried her face in his shoulder.

The card had fallen to the floor in Eva's rush of excitement. As it fluttered to the ground, the words were clearly visible:

My Dearest Eva,

Happy Birthday! I know that I haven't been around to celebrate with you much in the past, but I want to make it up to you. So, just for you, Rick, Stan, Koji, and I all pitched in and bought you a round trip to Nourasia, the home of your friend Prince Aikka. I have already spoken with him and he has made the arrangements for your stay at his palace. He was very excited to see you after all these years. And now he can keep his promise to you. You will be there for a year, and although I am happy that you will be having fun, I will miss you. Your flight leaves in two days.

With all the love a father can give, plus more,

Don Wei

The cake sat forgotten as Eva danced around the room. The guests and her father laughed at her attempts to do cartwheels and flips. Eva was certainly no gymnast.

Two days later, Eva was running around the house, flinging last minute items into her already over packed suitcases.

"Eva! If we don't leave now we will miss your flight!"

"I know! Ok, I'm ready! Let's go! Slowpoke!" Eva was obviously very excited.

The car zoomed to the airport and they barely made it there on time. Eva ran through the gates, after a hasty goodbye to her father, just as the flight was almost done boarding. She sat down in her seat and spread her feet out along the row. She was lucky, the plane was hardly crowded and she had a whole row to herself. The pilot came on:

"Ladies and gentlemen! We are now leaving for a straight flight to Nourasia. The plane will land at the Nourasian National Airport in 24 hours. Enjoy the flight."

The seatbelt lights flashed on and Eva buckled up. The flight was long which was pure torture for Eva. Although she loved to fly, 24 hours was plenty of time to get nervous. She tried to sleep, but was only able to do so for six hours. Finally she gave up and began to think about Prince Aikka. How much has he changed? Will he recognize me? Was he really excited to have me, or was he just being nice? What does Nourasia even look like? Will anyone like me? The thoughts raced through her head. The more she tried not to think about it, the more she thought about it. It was a losing battle.

Finally the pilot's voice was heard again:

"We are now arriving at the Nourasian National Airport, please buckle up and feel free to look out the windows."

Eva moved to the window seat and put her seatbelt on. The clouds restricted her from seeing anything at first, but they soon cleared up. The sight took Eva's breath away. Only one thought was on her mind now.

Nourasia.