I found myself wandering Bug Rock once again, occasionally stopping to play with the bugs. The sun was setting, casting pink, purple and orange hues onto the clouds in the sky, while stars slowly began to pop out. For a few minutes, I marveled at the beauty of the open sky until I heard someone calling to me. I wandered around, searching for the voice, trying to find it's owner. It seemed it was coming from inside the tower, at the bottom, so I hopped down and looked around. Nobody was there.

"I could have sworn I heard someone calling my name..." I thought.

As soon as I finished the thought, a pair of familiar arms came up from behind and wrapped themselves around my stomach. It was Strich, and he called my name again.

I was so startled that when I spun around quickly, I fell flat on my butt. Strich looked down at me and smiled. He kneeled down in front of me, and reached out his hand to caress my face. He kept calling my name as you leaned forward, coming closer and closer, until our faces were only inches apart. He was smiling at me and blushing.

"I have a very special gift for you," he said sweetly.

He leaned in even closer, and even though my heart was beating like crazy, I closed my eyes and waited for it to come, waited for-

SCREEEEE!

The loud screech from my loftwing filled my ears and woke me up instantly. I grumbled and rolled over onto my back.

"Alright, alright, I'm up, geez... Can't I have nice dream without waking up right before the really good part?" I rubbed my eyes, hoping to wake myself better.

"What was the really good part of your dream?"

I practically screamed. I gasped, scrambling towards the edge of my bed against the wall and threw a pillow in the direction of the voice. It landed on target with a soft thud, causing it's recipient to fall backwards onto the floor.

"Geez, Strich, what are doing?! You scared the crap out of me!" I slid over to the other end of my bed and saw Strich was laughing while laying on the floor under the pillow.

He pulled the pillow off his face and sat up, apologizing a few times. "I didn't mean to startle you so bad, I'm sorry." He chuckled. "I came to wake you up because you were sleeping in much later than usual, and today is a very special day for you." He smiled joyfully at me.

My heart skipped a beat. Special? What's so special about today? My thoughts wandered back to my dream, back to the special gift Strich was going to give me. Is he going to...?

I rubbed my eyes again and tried to redirect my thoughts. There's no way he would...

"Forgive me for not remembering, but what is so special about today anyhow?" I asked.

"Goddess', she doesn't remember!" Strich tossed his arms in the air and shook his head in disbelief.

"Remember what?" I asked.

"I can't believe you. Do you seriously not remember today is your birthday?" he said.

"Oh! Oh wow, I completely forgot!" I smacked myself on the forehead. "I guess I've been absorbed in so many thoughts lately that it just slipped my mind."

Strich looked at me a little questioningly. "What thoughts could you possibly have that make you forget your own birthday? If there's anything you want to talk about, really, I'm here for you."

"A-ah... It's nothing, really. There's no need to worry about me," I said, trying to suppress the blushing.

"You've been red in the face quite often too, lately. You aren't coming down with a fever, are you?" Strich reached out his hand to feel my forehead, but I gently pushed his hand away.

"I-it's fine, really." I smiled at him reassuringly. "I'm not getting sick, I promise."

"Well good, I don't want you to have to spend all day in bed when you could be hanging out with me!" His smile was very bright again and he seemed to have given up on asking if something was wrong with me. "Anyways, I brought you a gift for your birthday, here!"

He handed me a small, dark green box. When I opened it, I let out a soft 'ooooh'. Inside the box was a glass and metal butterfly, with as many colors of the rainbow. I lifted it out of the box to examine it more closely, and saw that it was a pin.

"So, how do you like it? I made this myself, it took quite awhile, I hope it looks alright." Strich looked at me, trying to gauge how much I liked it.

"I think it's beautiful, Strich, I love it! Thank you so much!" I smiled as a wave of relief washed over Strich's face.

"I guess I was worried for nothing, then." He gave a small laugh. "I was thinking it would look best if it were pinned onto your hat. Unless you have a better idea, of course."

"No, I think that's a great idea. I'll wear it everyday!"

Strich began turning pink. "It's not that special," he said as he rubbed the back of his neck nervously.

"It is to me, thank you very much for the gift." I smiled even wider and blushed a little myself. "So, what do you have planned for the rest of the day?"

Strich stood up and brushed himself off. "Well, I was thinking that we could get some food and go over to Bug Rock as part of your birthday celebration. I even made you some of your favorite cake, with help from the cook, of course. So, what do you say, would you like to do that?"

My heart fluttered. I'll get to be alone with Strich today, on my birthday. "I would love to join you. I'll be ready in a little bit."

"Great, I'll see you in the plaza in a little while." Strich waved before leaving and closing the door with a small click.

I think today is the day. I have to tell him how I feel today or else it'll accidentally slip and it won't go so well. It felt like a thousand butterflies were in my stomach, but I knew it had to be done.