October 7th. This is going to be an important chapter.

Mirra point of view

"Percy!" I whined as Percy carried me down the stairs while covering my eyes. "Where are we going!"

Percy had woken me up at around eight o'clock in the morning. Well, actually he just snatched me out of bed and told me to shut my eyes and not to peak.

"Just wait." He told me. "Keep your eyes closed".

I obliged. I inhaled the scent of something sweet, like I just walked into a bakery. There was shuffling going throughout the living room like people were rushing to put things in place with only a minute to spare.

"Okay," Percy whispered. "Open your eyes."

I did. The living room was decorated with blue balloons and purple streamers. On the coffee table was a giant blue cake. It was decorated with every candy known to man. The frosting was swirled in a fancy kind of way, like something you would see on tv. On the top there were eight candles. Beside the cake was a bowl of punch, probably raspberry. That's my favorite. Mommy and daddy were sitting in the two arm chairs, mommy had a large rectangular present with glittery blue paper.

"Happy birthday, sis."

My mouth fell into an 'O' shape. It hadn't even occurred to me that my birthday was coming up. So much had happened in the last month, I had completely forgotten about it. But apparently they hadn't.

Percy and I sat down on the couch in front of that amazing cake. My mouth watered at the sight of it. Just by the smell of it, I could tell it was chocolate. I licked my lips, wanting so bad to just dive in. Percy had the same look on his face that I did.

Mommy chuckled as she lit the candles. "Make a wish, sweetie."

I did, the same one I wished for on the shooting star. Then I blew out the candles...then the lit themselves again.

I blinked a few times, wondering why they didn't go out. I figured I just didn't blow hard enough. I blew again. They went out, then came back on again. I blew even harder. Same thing happened the third time. I took a deep breath and blew even harder. And they came back on again.

"What the heck!" I yelled in frustration. "These candles are stubborn!"

Mommy and daddy suddenly burst out laughing. I was extremely confused

"Sorry Mirra" mommy said. "We decided to play a little joke and use permanent candles. They only go out if you put them in water."

Percy, apparently, wasn't in on the joke because his eyes widened in understanding, as did mine. Percy then snapped his fingers. Tiny drops of water, probably pulled from the air, gathered into eight goofball sized orbs. They each swirled around a candle till the flame went out.

I laughed and clapped at Percy's trick.

Daddy took out a big silver knife and cut the cake. I was right. It was chocolate. In the very center was filled with whipped cream. I took a bit. It was still warm, like it just came out of the oven. The frosting was a heavenly butter cream. The cake was very spongy and moist. Mommy was defiantly the best cook I knew.

I was also right about the punch. It was raspberry, but had a twist of pomegranate that gave it a slightly sour, yet still really sweet taste.

After we ate, mommy wanted me to open my present. The card said it was from all three of them. I giggled a bit when I saw Percy's name scribbled out once because he wrote it in Greek.

I opened it. Inside was a really big art set with markers, paints, crayons, colored pencils, and pretty much anything else you could dream of.

"Whoa..." I starred in awe.

"Do you like it?" Daddy asked.

"Do I like it?" I repeated. "I absolutely LOVE it!" I practically flew over to hug him. He was a bit surprised.

I didn't waste any time trying it out. I got out a piece of paper and started to draw. I don't think I've ever drawn a picture so fast that looked so pretty.

Mommy laughed as she watched me.

"You know, Mirra." Mommy said. "If you want, you can invite one of your friends over. There plenty of cake left."

I decided to invite Ellie over. I quickly called her on the phone to make sure she wasn't too busy. I was relieved that she wasn't and was able to come over.

While I was waiting for Ellie to come over, Percy told me to come into he kitchen.

When he entered the kitchen, Percy closed the door behind him. He bent down to my level.

"Hey, Mirra," he stated. "I have something for you."

He reached into his pocket and pulled out a small box wrapped in green wrapping paper. I looked at it, realizing it was another birthday present. I opened it.

Inside was the most beautiful necklace I've ever seen. It had a glimmering silver chain with small green diamonds carved into it. I could tell the chain was real silver. The charm was of two mermaids. There tails her intertwined. One tail was red while the other was purple. The way they were posed, where there tails joined with there waist, they separated. Their arms were positioned like a basketball player about to shoot, only they were holding up a shimmering sea-green orb.

I was too awe struck to say anything held the necklace in my hands very gently, being extra careful not to harm it in any way. I jaw hung open. I kept opening and closing it like a fish trying to say something, till finally, one word came out.

"T-t-hankyou-ou."

Percy smiled and ruffled up my hair like he often does.

"Your welcome" he said, taking the necklace from my hands so he could put it on me. "Just promise me something, okay."

I moved my hair out of the way so he could put the necklace on. "What?"

"Promise me that you'll never take it off." He clasped the necklace around my neck. "Because this necklace will protect you if I'm not around."

I gripped into the necklace. It felt warm in my hands, though jewelry is usually cold.

"Okay." I said, grinning. "I promise!"