Chapter 21: A Big Surprise

The little girl felt herself being shaken in her sleep, and she stood up with her hand on her head, a little awake by it. When she looked at who had woken her up abruptly, she found the little cyclops smiling at her.

"Good afternoon, Anya." - Niffty announced excitedly. After fully regaining her senses, Anya's closed expression changed to confusion. - "Ah, it's you, Niffty. Good afternoon, too."

As soon as she got up and stretched, Anya looked around her room and realized that everything was already tidy. Of course, there was still a pillow left on the floor, which Niffty quickly picked up and placed on her bed quickly.

"Wow, you got all this sorted out pretty quickly, Niffty. How did you do it while Anya was still asleep?" - she asked, surprised.

The girl in red crossed her arms behind her back and replied. - "Ah, you were sleeping so soundly that you didn't even feel me pulling the sheets off you." - She finished with a giggle.

Anya was even more surprised, and before she could ask anything else, she was pulled into her room's bathroom by an excited looked at the little cyclops in confusion, until she answered.

"Before we go downstairs, we have to give you a good bath, Anya. And don't worry, I'll help you wash your hair, okay?"

The child was confused, but nodded in response to her. After a while, she was in her bathtub with plenty of foam, while Niffty scrubbed her hair. She tried to read her thoughts, but all she saw was a song that the girl in red was now humming.

Once her hair was fully combed, Anya was in her usual black outfit, and her hair ornaments were in place was still confused by the little cyclops' behavior when she saw her take a black scarf from one of her commode drawers and approach.

"Hey, listen, Anya. I need you to let me put this on your face, okay?" - she explained.

The little girl was confused, but something told her that it was to hide something from her. And since there was no malice in her thoughts, she decided to trust Niffty and allow her to bandage her eyes.

With that, she couldn't see anything, but she could still hear some of Niffty's thoughts. - "Now, hold my hand and follow me. Be careful not to trip on the path, okay?" - she asked, and Anya nodded in response.

She followed the entire path carefully, being guided by the girl in red. As soon as they stopped walking, she heard a sound that indicated that they were inside the hotel elevator.

Seconds later, she heard the doors open and they both started walking again. Anya tried her best to listen to their thoughts, but nothing could be heard. Either everyone was trying hard not to think about anything or she was Eclipsing at that very moment.

Before she could continue thinking about the odds, she felt Niffty stop walking and then she spoke. - "There, you can take off the blindfold now, Anya." - the tone of her voice seemed to be lowering, indicating that Niffty had moved away from her.

With that, the child began to slowly remove the black handkerchief from her eyes, and as soon as she let it fall to the ground, she looked forward and came across something that made her stunned.

"SURPRISE!"

Party horn sounds rang out, along with confetti, as the hotel group stood with their arms outstretched and wide smiles on their faces.

Anya was a little confused by that, until Charlie approached and bent down. - "What did you think of the surprise, Anya? We heard you've never had a birthday before. So we decided to throw one for you. Did you like it?"

Hearing this, the little girl looked at the princess and everyone in the hotel. She felt tears well up in her eyes, and felt her lips trembling.

"Hey, you didn't like the surprise, Anya?" - Charlie asked, worried about her child then looked at the princess and replied with tears streaming down her face. - "Anya... never expected this. Anya... loved the surprise... Miss Charlie."

And then, she threw herself at Charlie, hugging her with a tearful smile. Anya then felt the princess wrap her arms around her, returning the hug.

She then felt Charlie stand up, still carrying her, and walk among the others. It was then that Anya saw that behind the group, there was a two-tier cake, with the icing signed "Happy First Birthday". On it, there were also 5 lit candles, possibly representing her age. Yes, Anya had assumed that she would be around 4 years old for them, days before.

The princess then placed her on a stool behind the table, allowing her to stand in front of the cake.

The little girl looked at everyone in front of her, and in a moment, their thoughts were read by her again. They were probably trying hard not to think about anything, which frightened her briefly, as it could imply that they knew she could read lenses. But then, a presence appeared behind the group, it being the Radio Demon.

She saw his thoughts that he had learned a spell that would prevent her from reading everyone's thoughts, temporarily, to prevent her from discovering the surprise.

She then came to her senses when she heard Charlie, Niffty and Angel encouraging her to blow out the candles and make a wish.

With that, Anya looked back at the cake, and closed her eyes and clasped her hands together. After seconds of silence, she opened her eyes, puffed out her chest and puffed out her cheeks, and then blew out the 5 candles.

Then she looked back at everyone there, and heard Charlie mainly asking what she had wished for. The little child smiled, with some tears starting to appear in her eyes and answered. - "What Anya wished for is already right here." - and gave a light giggle.

The others didn't quite understand what she meant, but they smiled anyway at Anya, who continued to look at all of them.

03/06/2025: Geez, I had to split this chapter into two parts because it was too long. So the second part will come soon. Just wait a few days, okay?