"Naminé, when is your birthday?" Kairi asked over breakfast one day, scones with jam and clotted cream, served with a hot cup of tea for both of them. They liked to visit this cafe together at least once a month. It had outdoor seating, and the weather was finally warm enough again for them to sit outside with light jackets.
Naminé stopped buttering her scone for a moment and frowned. It was a simple enough question, and yet she found herself unsure of what to say.
"Well, I suppose it was the day Sora released his heart to save you," she said at last. "But as glad as I am to be alive, it feels strange to celebrate that day, considering what happened."
"I understand," Kairi said softly. "Are there any other days you can think of?"
Naminé paused once more and thought as Kairi sipped some more of her tea. The only other day she could really think of was…
"The day of my rebirth. It was spring on Radiant Garden. The sun was shining, the flowers were blooming, and the weather was perfect." She sighed happily at the memory. "I'll never forget what it felt like to walk outside for the first time in a body of my own."
"Then why don't we make that your birthday? I know we technically missed it last year, when we were all searching for Sora, but it's coming up here soon."
"Sure, that sounds nice." Naminé put one more cube of sugar in her tea to get it to just the right sweetness, then added a little more cream and stirred. "I've never really thought about having a birthday of my own before."
"Well, you deserve to have one," Kairi said with a determined glint in her eye. "You're your own person. Always have been, always will be."
The two girls chatted some more as they finished their breakfast, and the subject soon slipped away from Naminé's mind. It wasn't until she and Xion were gathering shells together on Destiny Islands a few days later when the topic of birthdays came up again.
"See," Xion said as she picked up a thalassa shell, "I like these ones the most, with the pink centers and yellow edges."
"I like them too. Yellow's one of my favorite colors."
Yellow was the color of the sun. A hopeful color for a girl that had begun her life in a cage, longing to see the outdoors for herself. For that reason alone it was precious to her.
"You like blue too, right?" Xion said. She placed another thalassa shell in Naminé's palm, this one with a blue center and yellow edges.
Naminé nodded. "Yes. Blue is the color of the sky… of the waves… all the things I longed to see when I was imprisoned in Castle Oblivion."
"It suits you, and so does yellow," Xion said with a smile. "Born from the waves, and reborn during the spring."
"Xion, when is your birthday?" Naminé suddenly asked. She realized she hadn't really gotten to celebrate it with her before.
"Oh, my birthday? I figured it should be during the fall. I don't know why, but I've always been drawn to falling leaves, the seasons changing, that kind of thing." She smiled ruefully. "I suppose because I felt like my time was limited, just like those leaves. Kairi actually asked me about it recently, I think because she wants to—"
Her eyes went wide, then she coughed and craned her neck. "Look, I see some more shells over there!"
Naminé found Xion's startled reaction rather curious, but she didn't press her friend. It was just nice to spend time together sharing a hobby they both enjoyed. For a girl who had started life with no friends of her own, Naminé was lucky to have so many now.
The next time she met with her friends, it was for a picnic on Rapunzel's world, in a clearing in the woods near a small pool. The weather was perfect, sunny with a breeze blowing dandelions and flower petals through the air, and she and Sora and Rapunzel were all cloud gazing after a delicious lunch of sandwiches and cookies and lemonade.
"See that one right there?" Rapunzel said, pointing up at the sky. "It looks like Maximus."
"It sure does!" Sora put his hand behind his neck and grinned. "The sky's full of all sorts of interesting clouds today."
"I wish I had my sketchbook with me," Naminé said with a sigh. "I'd love to draw all of them."
"Take a picture with your Gummiphone then," Sora suggested. "You can always draw it later based off of that."
"I'd like to, but I've run out of room in my sketchbook. I could really use some new pencils, too."
Sora and Rapunzel exchanged glances, and Sora grinned.
"Naminé, you should come to the castle," Rapunzel said. "I'd love to show you some of my art supplies. Have you ever tried painting before?"
Naminé shook her head. "No, I haven't, but I'd love to. Thank you for the invitation."
"What are we waiting for? Let's go now!" Sora sat up and sprang to his feet.
The three of them spent the rest of the afternoon trying out Rapunzel's art supplies. Well, more like Rapunzel showed Naminé her things and let her try them out while Sora kept typing away at his Gummiphone. Naminé giggled at how he still typed with one finger, like a bird pecking at grains of rice.
"There we go," he said all of a sudden, then put his phone in his pocket. "What'd I miss?"
Naminé and Rapunzel both giggled and showed him what they'd made: a painting to hang on the walls of Naminé's room in Twilight Town. It was of the beautiful woods where they'd had the picnic with dandelions flower petals floating through the air. As soon as she got home, she put it up and gave it a satisfied nod.
The days flew by until at last it was the anniversary of her rebirth. There was a knock on the door late in the afternoon, and when she went to get it, she was surprised to see Riku and Roxas waiting there for her.
"Hey Naminé," Roxas greeted with a grin. His eyes were playful, like he had a big secret he couldn't wait to share.
"Come with us, there's something we'd like to show you," Riku added, and she ducked back inside to grab a few things before following them through the woods and to the Old Mansion.
"Why are we here?" she asked.
"You'll see," was all Roxas and Riku said, and she followed them inside. She was shocked by how nice the entrance looked, like someone had been in here and cleaned things up—
"Surprise!"
She gasped as she entered the foyer. A huge banner hanging from the stairs read Happy Birthday Naminé, and all her friends were gathered around a large table in the center of the room. The evening light shone through the window behind them, pink and purple and blue, another gorgeous twilight on this world she called home now.
"Happy Birthday Naminé!" her friends all cheered, and she couldn't help the smile that spread across her face. So this was what they had been plotting and planning all this time. Roxas grinned and grabbed a camera to take a few shots, and Sora and Riku had some of those confetti poppers that they popped with loud crackling noises.
The seashell decorations were yellow and the star candles were blue on the cake Xion held. Axel lit the candles, and they cast flickering lights and shadows over everyone's faces.
Kairi leaned close and murmured, "Make a wish, but keep it secret."
"A secret?" Naminé asked, tilting her head.
"It won't come true if you tell us," Ven explained, and Terra nodded.
As Naminé looked at the faces of her friends, what she should wish for became clear. She knew, deep in her heart, what she wanted more than anything.
With that, she blew out the candles, and everyone cheered loudly. Aqua swept the cake out of Xion's hands so she could cut it properly, and then everyone sat around the table. The cake was delicious, vanilla and lemon, and after everyone was done eating, it was time for Naminé to open her presents.
"Here!" Sora said, his eyes shining as he handed her the first one. "It's from all of us."
Naminé's hands shook as she removed the wrapping paper. She wasn't used to getting gifts, and it took her some time to free the box. But once she did, she couldn't have stopped the smile on her face even if she'd wanted to.
"They're like the paints Rapunzel has! And in all the colors I like too." She hugged the box to her chest. "Oh, thank you so much everyone, I can't wait to use these."
When she was finished unwrapping the rest of her presents, more art supplies and nice jewelry and cute clothes, she thanked her friends for making this such a wonderful birthday night. But there was one last thing that would make it truly perfect.
"If you wouldn't mind," Naminé said, "let's make a painting together. So we have something to help us remember tonight."
Naminé loved drawing on her own, but drawing with her friends was truly wonderful. Everyone brought their own unique spark to the table. And when the painting was finished, it was one huge flowing mosaic of color and life and creativity. Sure, it wasn't a masterpiece, but it was something truly unique that only they could have made. And that was why it was a work of art. Not because it was perfect or technically skilled, but because it had their hearts poured into it.
Naminé couldn't have asked for a better way to commemorate her birthday.
A/N: Thank you so much to the mods for making this project possible and for being so caring and supportive! And thank you to the other contributors, this zine was such a joy and I enjoyed talking to you all. A big thank you too to SomniumArs for drawing the banner that accompanied this piece! I really enjoyed working with you!
And thank you for reading!