Kiku woke with a smile on his face. The day is February 11, Kiku's 11th birthday. Naturally nothing really did happen on his birthday, he had no friends to celebrate with and his parents were hardly home anymore. But every night on his birthdays, the night sky was always clear. And the cherry tree just below his bedroom window would just start to blossom at around 11:00. Of course this birthday was even more special, his parents promised to be home earlier just for him, so they could celebrate together. Hopping out of bed, Kiku slipped on his favorite shirt and loose black pants. Brushing his teeth and giving his short hair a quick comb through. He slipped on his jacket, grabbed his bag and was out the door before the clock struck 8:00. The school day was normal, nothing out of the ordinary happened and no one remembered that today is Kiku's birthday. At recess he stayed by himself again, and at the end of the day no one noticed him when he slipped into the forest behind the school grounds. Kiku loved being in the forest, the sounds, sights and smells of nature all around him made him feel safe and grounded. In the city you are always in a crowd of people, where you're constantly thrown about and put off balance, noises so loud they hurt your ears, too many smells to tell apart, smoke stinging your eyes and nose. But here? In the forest? No one bothers you, nothing hurts your ears or nose, and the air is so fresh here! Soon it's time to go home, it's already past 4:00, school ended 2 hours ago, Kiku quickly runs to the subway, it's not too far from the school actually. In the station many people were bustling about, one man doing parlor tricks for money in a corner and a woman buying cigars in a store. Spotting a closing car door I made a run for it and managed to squeeze into a packed compartment. It was a very uncomfortable ride home. When the train stopped at his designated stop, Kiku was the first to hop out of the train. While walking home, Kiku accidentally dropped his lunch box into a bush, startling a few pigeons into a frenzied flight up into the trees that lined the sidewalk. Suddenly a startled hoot sounded from the orange leaves, and an owl flew down! Surprised, Kiku took a step back to asses the owl. It had orange brown feathers, perfect camouflage in the autumn trees. The two studied each other for a bit before the owl took a step towards him. Kiku held perfectly still as the owl approached him. It came very close before sticking out its leg and shaking it in front of his face. Glancing down Kiku noticed the letter tied to its leg! Reaching to untie it, slowly as to not disturb the animal, Kiku grabbed the letter. Soon after he had got the letter in his hands, the owl hooted and took off flying into the now darkening sky. Still confused as to what had just happened, Kiku entered his apartment. Both his parents weren't home yet, and the phone had 1 new voice mail. Setting the letter down on the table stand, he grabbed the phone and put in onto autoplay.

"Hi sweety!"
Flinching at his mums honey sweet voice, Kiku began to open the letter.
"I'm so sorry, but I can't make it home in time, I did try to get off early, but the boss won't allow it. Your father can't make it either, more work keeps popping up and we do need the extra money. Have a very happy birthday dear!"
The loud beep indicated that the call was over. Sighing Kiku held the opened letter in his hands. This happened every year, of course he knew that his parents were busy, but was it too much to ask for them to come home early on his birthday? Shaking away the melancholy that had washed over him, Kiku started to read the letter.