Finding his sister a birthday gift had been quite tricky, not to say stupidly hard. It wasn’t that difficult before her accident, but now, Misha had to use all of his brain cells to think of something she would genuinely love. And considering the terrible headache that came to haunt him whenever he overworked his brain, it hadn’t been easy for his poor head these past few weeks.
Masha had always loved to go out, whether for a walk in the city or a hike deep into the forest. Sports were her favorite pastime; she would feel satisfied as long as she could move her body about. Knowing this, their mother would always bring her outside for her birthday, going to the beach, the amusement park, the water park, etc. Anywhere that allowed her to spend her energy to her heart’s content was good, really.
However, it wasn’t possible anymore. Not only because Masha didn’t like exposing herself to the public eye, but also because she was in the middle of her rehabilitation program, reinforcing her legs and trying to learn how to walk around with crutches. In the long run, she should regain a bit of her mobility, though she would need to use elbow crutches to get by.
Needless to say, Masha wasn’t in the mood to visit any place, especially crowded ones.
Thus, Misha had to think of something else. His sister didn’t like books, always saying that reading made her feel sleepy. Movies were good, but they wouldn’t keep her busy very long. As for board games, she couldn’t play alone. After some brainstorming with his father and Gabriel, they finally had a stroke of genius a few days ago. Of course, Gabriel was then tasked with probing Masha, ensuring that their idea would please her before buying it.
Still, Masha was left dumbfounded after opening her present, not expecting its content. She never realized that Gabriel was testing the waters when he brought up the subject of video games not too long ago. The PlayStation console before her eyes was thus a real surprise, and she foolishly stared at it, seemingly not knowing how to react. But soon, the look of surprise left her face, and a broad smile took its place.
“You’ll let me play with you, right?” Misha asked, the corners of his mouth curling up high.
Although the console looked like a dinosaur to him, it didn’t rebuke him in the slightest; on the contrary, he was excited! He didn’t own one in his previous life as he was too poor to afford it, so it did appear somewhat novel in his eyes. He still played with Dereck at his house once in a while, but not much. As for Masha, she probably never touched a game console in her past life; she had been too busy to relax and enjoy a bit of free time. However, Misha just knew she would love playing video games.
“Why wouldn’t I let you play with me?” Masha chuckled, lovingly looking at her little brother before hugging him. “Frankly, no matter the game, I’m sure I will need a helper.”
“Great! ‘Cause, you know, we bought a lot of video games too,” Misha replied with a grin, escaping from her arms to run to the tiny mountain of gifts left.
They had wrapped each game individually in big and small boxes, just so Masha would have to unwrap a ton of presents. Some even had a few extra layers, looking very much like Russian dolls. Because of this, it was hard to guess what was inside. Would it indeed be video games? Or something else like a plush toy or a cute keychain?
As Masha continued to unwrap the gifts one after another, she realized that the quality of the wrapping varied, letting her know that three people had done it; it hadn’t been the work of a single person.
She couldn’t help but imagine Gabriel, her brother, and her father sitting on the living room floor, busying themselves with wrapping the different-sized boxes while she was at the hospital with Yuki, going through a physical therapy session. She could very well visualize her father’s frown as he slowly wrapped a box, trying to do something that wasn’t too bad looking. He had never been good with his ten fingers, unlike his wife and children, and it was easy to pinpoint which presents he had wrapped. It was the ones that were slightly crooked.
This discovery made her chest well up with warmth. Her father had been overly busy these past few months, often working overtime to earn more money, and he thus wasn’t very present at home. Even if Gabriel could pay for her medical expenses, it didn’t settle well with Alexey. He might be his daughter’s boyfriend, but he was her one and only father. With that in mind, he shouldn’t rely on the young man for everything. Alexey naturally wanted to pay for what he could, which also meant he had to work more. His salary wasn’t small, but he had been sending money to his parents back in Russia for the past few years, and he didn’t have much savings.
Yet, that ever-busy father of hers took the time to wrap a few gifts, and he also attended her birthday this year. He wasn’t away on a business trip and sat next to her, quietly watching over her. That thought made Masha happier than any gift ever could.
“Yuki, it’s your turn!” Misha giggled, snapping Masha out of her thoughts.
“I know,” the nurse replied in a flat tone, pulling a small box out of her pocket. “It’s a bit cliché, but I hope you will like it.”
Cocking an eyebrow, Masha extended a hand to take it. The box was just big enough to fit in her palm.
“You didn’t have to buy me something, you know?”
“Well, I wanted to. Is it bad?”
“No, of course not,” Masha stuttered, scratching her slightly flushed cheek with her free hand.
On the side, Misha intently observed their every interaction, a smirk soon curling up the corner of his mouth. Those two were so obvious! Except for someone as clueless and dense as his father, everyone could tell they held feelings for each other! Thinking this, he couldn’t help but nudge Gabriel with his elbow, silently pointing to the two love birds with his chin. Misha wanted to share his excitement with someone, hoping to see the same smirk on their face.
However, Gabriel didn’t smirk and bent over instead, whispering in the child’s ear so that no one else would hear him, “Didn’t I tell you to stop staring at them? You’re going to make them feel self-conscious one of these days.”
Misha swiftly covered his ear with his hand as though it had been burned, glancing at Gabriel with resentful eyes. The man’s warm breath had made his ear feel uncomfortably itchy, sending a shiver crawling down his spine, and he sure as hell didn’t like that feeling. He couldn’t pinpoint why, so he decided to ignore it for the time being, and instead, his mouth twisted into a pout, letting Gabriel know that he wasn’t very happy with his “words of advice”.
What was wrong with watching over his sister and her soon-to-be girlfriend, making sure their relationship evolves into something more? He wanted to play cupid! What was wrong with that?!
While Misha was busy brooding, Masha opened the box, and the content softened her heart. It was a pair of beautiful silvery earrings that looked like tiny angel wings.
A few months ago, Masha told Yuki that she loved to wear earrings, but the ones she had were mostly gifts from her mother. Whenever she saw them, her chest felt stuffy and her throat tightened. She couldn’t bring herself to put them on. They were a memento of her mother, and whenever her eyes landed on the jewelry, it reminded her of that fateful night when she lost her. She thus left her ears unadorned all this time.
“Thank you, I love them very much,” Masha smiled, gently stroking the jewelry. “Can you help me put them on?”
“Sure,” Yuki nodded, doing so right away.
In silence, the nurse bent over before introducing the thin hooks in her ears, having to pierce through the earring holes that had started to close up after being left empty for so long. It made Masha flinch, but she didn’t ask her to slow down; therefore, Yuki didn’t stop, only becoming gentler and asking if she was fine afterward.
“Yes, don’t worry,” Masha mumbled, ignoring the slight discomfort tingling in her ears.
The tiny angel wings were the perfect size, following the curves of her earlobes as if they had been tailor-made for her ears. Masha couldn’t help but fiddle with one of them for a second, the cold touch filling her heart with warmth. Today’s birthday wasn’t like last year, yet she felt fulfilled, genuinely happy. She had lost many things this year, whether it was her mother, grandmother, girlfriend, or the ability to walk on her own, but she had also gained many other things.
Her eyes became tender as she looked around the living room, taking in the image of her loved ones laughing and discussing together. Yes, she went through hell, but now, she could catch a glimpse of what heaven looked like. That fleeting thought almost brought her to tears, and deep down, she felt glad to be alive, glad that her mother saved her.
Mini theater
Author: Well, now we know from whom you inherited your denseness, Misha.
MC: What are you talking about? My father is dense, but I’m not!
Author: Says the guy who can’t even recognize his own feelings.
MC: What feelings?
ML: …
Author: …Never mind.
MC: ???!!!
Edited by Clozed! ♥
