Disclaimer: My grandma always buys these spice drops, and she doesn't like the yellow ones because they're too spicy so she gives them to my dad and me because we like them, and today he came home with a bag of them and I tried one and it tasted like sand. XP But if you drink milk before eating one it doesn't taste so spicy but they still taste like sand today. XP
A/N: I was inspired for this by a story by blues-lover, entitled "Life and Death". And my hair. OMG MY HAIR IS BLONDISH! O: It's amazing, I have these HUGE blonde bangs now.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
"Papa! Papa!" Exclamations laced with excitement rang down the corridor, causing a certain businessman to stride down the hall at an exceptionally fast pace. Reaching his secondary office, Shuuseki found a young 4-year-old son of his squealing with joy and hopping up and down on his toes. "Look, Papa!" Enzan said again, his finger stuck to a small 1x1 square of white calendar paper. This particular square was taken up completely by a single number:
5
"See?" Enzan kept pointing at the calendar, his other hand thrust out in front of him with fingers spread wide to emphasize the fiveness. "Papa, I'll be five!"
Shuuseki rubbed the boy's head affectionately. "Yes you will, Enzan! In a few days, you'll be five! Isn't that wonderful?" He took the small child by the hand and led him out of the office before picking him up under the arms and raising him up, creating more high-pitched giggles. Enzan was swooped up, placed on Shuu's shoulders, and ferried down the hallway on the Papa Express.
"So, Enzan!" the father asked after floating Enzan down onto the couch and crouching down next to him. "What kind of things do you want at your birthday party this weekend?"
Enzan threw his arms up into the air, shouting "Balloons!" and clapping his hands together once above his head. Shuuseki laughed. "Alright, first thing on the list: balloons." He wrote it on his list, slowly repeating the word as the loopy cursive letters were formed. "What else?"
After the hour was done, they had compiled a list that took up the whole paper. Among the balloons were "a big cake", "lots of presents" (underlined twice), and "everyone in town". The young boy listed off every item he thought deserved to be at a party, and Shuu wrote it down just as he said it. He was about to get up and show his (currently bedridden) wife said list when Enzan said "Nooo!" and told him to sit down. He crossed his arms indignantly and declared, "I'm not DONE!" Shuuseki gave a small laugh and resumed his sitting position, taking up the pen again. "Okay, what did we forget?"
"You and Mama!"
Shuuseki blinked and paused. Enzan looked at him expectantly. "You guys ARE gonna be there, right?" He asked, a hint of childish naivety creeping into his voice. His father sighed. "Only if Mama gets better. If she's still sick when your party gets here, I'm afraid…she won't be able to make it."
Enzan's eyes shut tight as if he were about to cry, and Shuu braced for the impact. But it turned out the dual-haired prodigy had only been thinking hard, and suddenly his eyes popped open again, shining with ideas. "Then we can bring the party to Mama! That way, I can have a party and Mama can be there too!" He said brightly. His father laughed and shook his head a little. "That's a perfect idea. We can bring the party to Mama. But first…I have to tell her what you want at your party so we can make sure it's all here for you." Then he rose slowly and left to go visit his wife, leaving Enzan on the couch contemplating the details of his party, like who would get the first slice of his cake and such.
The next day, disaster struck. Mama's condition had gone from bad to worse in hours. She had passed on before the night was over. That was the day Enzan lost his fifth birthday, and every birthday after. That was the day he became Shuuseki's corporate slave.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
OMG, 600 words exactly! Woot! I didn't even plan that. Anyway, so yeah. Review and I'll reward you by confusing you with another story that will even confuse me with its confusion!