Birthday

Featuring: one-sided Hong Kong - England, the East Asian family

*******

"HAPPY BIRTHDAY HONG KONG!!!"
With confettis and streamers and hugs and congrats, that was how Hong Kong was greeted when he got home.

Ah. He remembered. It was his birthday.
It was his birthday.
It was his birth…

*******

"What is birthday, England?"
He used to ask, all out of the blue when they were taking care of the garden.
"It's the day when you are born.", England answered with a troubled face.
"Do you like birthdays, England?"
Drop.
Spill.
Dripping.
"England?"
"Ah, I'm sorry, Hong Kong."

No one mentioned about the topic again.

"…and they lived happily ever after, with unicorns and fairies and flying scones and magical Brittania and…"
Yawn.
"Your stories're lame, England. I don't get any of them!"
"Why, you're saying that even though you ask me to read them to you every night?"
Flap flap flap of the curtain.
"I'm sorry…"
Pat pat pat on the head.
"It's ok."

"Lights off now, all right?"
"Can you sleep with me tonight?"
"Why? You've always been all right, sleeping alone."
"I am, but are you?"
"Of course I am, I'm an adult, and I've always been sleeping on my own."
"Exactly."

Rustled rustled rustled of the sheet.
"You're not very cute, Hong Kong!"

Flap flap flap of the curtain.
"You know Hong Kong, I hate birthdays. They always remind me of the day people leave me. It's scary that even though I've loved them so much, in the end, they all choose to go away. It's even scarier that they didn't feel at all sad about my departure, about mine never to return again."
"I used to have those that I loved with all of my heart, I used to think that it was all right for us to be together forever, I used to think that we would never be apart. I really treasured them, they were even more than families to me."
"I guess being with me wasn't fun after all, because eventually, when I woke up in one of the mornings, I found them gone. The day they sneaked out the bed and never to return, they call that "Independence Day" and "birthday"."
"Hey, Hong Kong, why are those days their birthdays?"
"Do they really want to get away from me that much?"
"Was it wrong for me to find them, to grow them, to take care of them, to be fond of them? What did I do wrong? Didn't I love them?"
"It's pretty funny, but you know, I wonder what I'll do if one day, you find it restraining to be with me too, when you finally realize how unfun, how tiresome, how wrong it is to stay with me. I wonder what I'll do if you decide to run away, I wonder if I should chase after and force you home, or I should just let you go."
"I wonder what I should do if you decide to call that your birthday too…"

Squeal.
"Huh…"
"I won't England. I won't call that day my birthday."
Squeal.
"My birthday, to me, is August 29th."

"You're going to regret that, kid."
"Stupid England. Don't scold me what you're crying."

Flap flap flap of the curtain.
Pat pat pat on the head.
"They all said the same thing when they were younger…"

*******

"How was your birthday, Hong Kong?"
Dripping.
"Hmm?"
"July 1st, wasn't it? Did you have a party?"
"Yeah…"
Dripping.
"..stupid China and Korea and Taiwan decided that all on their own. They messed up the whole living room with banners and balloons and disco balls…"
Dripping.
"…Japan gave me new games even though he's just sent me a ton last month…"
Dripping dripping dripping.
"…it was kinda fun I guess, they really had it big this time, I guess it was one perfect borthday party…"
Dripping dripping dripping dripping dripping.
"Only for one little flaw."
"Wha…What is it?"
"They got the wrong date."
Freeze.
Huh?
"My birthday doesn't come in two months. And they're already celebrating it firsthanded, geez!"
"Wait, Hong Kong?"
"Don't tell you forgot it. It's August 29th."

"You're an idiot, Hong Kong."
Chuckled.
"Told you before, don't lecture me when you're crying, England!"