Frida and the miners were quite happy with each other. Everyday the miners would go to work while Frida kept the house neat and tidy and when the miners came home she would have a delicious supper waiting for them. After dinner they would play music, dance, and play and just before bed Frida would sing for them. The miners loved hearing her sing for she had such a sweet voice. Even T.J enjoyed hearing her songs but he would never admit it. For many days they were happy until one day they noticed that Frida seemed awfully sad.

"Is something wrong Frida?" Davi asked her.

"Oh no I'm fine." She said.

"You don't sound fine."

"I guess I'm just thinking about my birthday. It's was weeks ago."

"Well don't birthdays make you happy?"

"No, for as long as I could remember my birthday has always made me sad."

"Why?"

"Because when I was born my mother died. So while it was my fourteenth birthday it was also the fourteenth anniversary of my mother's death."

Frida sighed. She couldn't help but blame herself for her mother's death. Had she never been born her mother might still be here, though her father and the servant's had always told her it wasn't her fault she still felt guilt over it. When her father was still alive he wanted her to have a happy birthday and not dwell on her mother's death so every year he would throw her wonderful parties and give her special gifts to take her mind off of her guilt. One of those special gifts was the locket that carried her mother's portrait in it, when her father gave it to her she swore that she would never take it off. She got it for her seventh birthday the last one she would ever have with her father.

After he died fighting in a battle and her stepmother forced her to be a scullery maid she never celebrated her birthday again and it made her continue to think of it as nothing more than a reminder that she caused her beloved mother's death.

"You musn't feel guilty." Davi said. "Your mother wouldn't have wanted that."

"How do you know what she would have wanted?"

"We happened to have been good friends of your mother."

"Really?"

"Yes." Toshiro said. "She was a kind and good woman."

"And when she found out that she was going to have a child she was happier than she had ever been." Davi said. "Believe me she loved you before you were even born."

"She sounds wonderful. I would have given anything to have known her just once, even if it was just for a moment." Frida said.

Frida opened her locket and looked at the portrait of her beloved mother inside of it.

"You look just like her." T.J observed.

"Lots of people say that but I don't see the resemblance. She was beautiful."

"And so are you."

"T.J am I hearing things or did you just compliment someone?" Davi said.

"Oh shut up!" He scoffed. "Anyway so she died on your birthday that doesn't mean you killed her and hey at least you got a party."

"No I didn't." She said.

"What do you mean?"

"Well after my father died my stepmother made me work as a maid and my birthday wasn't celebrated anymore."

"Well in that case let's celebrate." Davi suggested.

"Davi my birthday was weeks ago."

"So it's a late party? It'll still be fun. We'll have a cake and we'll give you a few gifts."

"Oh you don't have to."

"But we want to." Toshiro said.

So the next day the miners spent the whole day preparing a birthday party for her. They made an apple and honey cake for her and had three special gifts made just for her.

"Happy Birthday!" They said to her after dinner.

"Thank you." She said. "The cake looks delicious and I can't wait to see the gifts you got me."

Davi got her a jewelry box that he had carved from wood, Toshiro made her a new pair of shoes, as for T.J he had difficulty finding her a gift. It had taken him nearly all day to find it.

"I love the jewelry box Davi and the shoes look great Toshiro." She said. "What did you get me T.J?"

"Well don't get too excited it's nothing special. It's just something I found."

He handed her a bundle of rags.

"Oh...Rags...Well I'm sure they'll be very useful to me when I clean. Thank you."

"The gift is in the rags."

"Oh silly me." She unwrappedthe rags and became amazed to find a diamond the size of strawberry inside. "Oh T.J it's beautiful."

"Wow what a rock!" Davi said surprised.

"I found it in the mines, I had been meaning to sell it but I thought it would a better gift. It's not too small is it?"

"No it's perfect. I love it, thank you."

She smiled, he blushed and nervously rubbed the back of his neck.

"You know this is getting very dreary, why don't we lighten the mood with a little music." Toshiro said.

He pulles out drums. Davi joined him on the guitar while T.J played the piano. Together the three of them put on a little concert while Frida danced and sang. In the late evening they all went to bed but not before Frida told them another story.

"I think tonight I'll tell you about my friend Manny." She said.

"Who's he?" T.J asked.

"He's the prince of another kingdom and he's best friend. One day when we were kids his father had given him a bow and arrow for hid ninth birthday and he was so excited about it that he went outside and shot it but back then he had a terrible aim and it got stuck in a tall tree. I offered to get it for him but he said I was too little so to prove him wrong I climbed up there to get it."

"How did he react?"

"He was so scared that I was going to fall and hurt myself. He kept saying over and over again, Frida please come down. In the end I got the arrow but the branch I was sitting on broke and I fell, I would've busted my head if Manny hadn't catched me, I was alright but he got a nasty bump. I felt so bad that I apologized to him twenty times but he told me that as long as I wasn't hurt it the pain was worth it. That's what I liked about him, he was always try to protect me no matter what it cost him."

"Sounds like you meant a lot to him."

"I did."

"Sounds like he's in love with you to me." Davi teased.

Frida blushed.

"No I was always just a silly little girl to him."

"Where is he anyway?" T.J asked.

"I don't know. We were supposed to go to his kingdom but then...I had to run away. I hope he's alright wherever he is."

"Sounds to me that you're in love with him as much as he is with you." Davi said.

She smiled.

"Well...Maybe just a little." She giggled. "Still I really wish I knew if he was okay or not. I'm so worried about him."

"I'm sure he's fine and I bet at this very moment he's looking everywhere for you."

"I hope so."

"You know if you'd like we could look for him." Toshiro suggested.

"Really? You would do that?"

"Sure."

"Oh thank you. Thank you all so much."

Just then the clock went off.

"Well we better get to bed." She said standing up.

She went to the bedroom upstairs while the miners slept downstairs. They insisted that she have the bedroom since she was a young lady.

"Goodnight boys." She said.

"Goodnight Frida." They said.

She went into the room and got the beds unmade. But before going to sleep she got on her knees and began to pray.

"Dear God thank you do much for the miners who have been so kind to me. Bless them all, please take care of my mother and father in heaven, and please make sure nothing happens to Manny and that we find each other soon ahmen."

When she finished her prayers she crawled into bed and fell asleep.