Volume Three - WordPress.com — Get a Free Blog Here

“What did you get for your birthday?” Tommy asked dropping his hands in his pockets.
I brushed the hair out of my face, “I got some toys, a doll that I already had, a locket from Mommy – don’t
laugh – and a baby brother or sister, but I don’t get that until August. At least, that’s what Daddy told me.”
“A baby brother or sister for your birthday? That’s no birthday gift, that’s more like a curse. You don’t want
a sibling for your birthday; all they do is cry and poop and sleep, and poop, and cry. They take up all of your
parent’s time, and you won’t get what you want all of the time because babies cost a lot of money.”
“Mommy and Daddy have a lot of money,” I said holding my head high.
“Your ‘mommy and daddy’ have a lot of money for you now, but do they have a lot of money for you, them,
and another sibling?”
I grunted in response while we reached the edge of the woods.
“Babies take up a lot of money, diapers, butt paste, food, bottles, toys, clothes, and more. Babies grow fast;
they need new clothes often, and babies use very many diapers every day. They’re not fun, they are annoying.”
Tommy frowned; I knew that he wouldn’t tell me something if it wasn’t true. Of all people, he would know
about babies and siblings, since he had three younger siblings.
“Well, Mommy and Daddy say that they will always have time for me no matter what,” I said crossing my
arms standing in front of the tree house.
“They all say that; but the truth is, the time that they have for you will be cut short,” Tommy said climbing
the ladder.
“But, my parents are different.”
“Okay, but don’t say I didn’t warn you.”
“Don’t worry, I won’t.”
Tommy placed his hands on either side of the doorway, “Are you coming up or not?”
“I’m coming,” I said beginning to climb, being careful not to fall like I did the last time. I didn’t get hurt or
anything, it was just scary.
Tommy moved out of the doorway so that I could enter the tree house. Everything remained exactly how I
left it last time. A few pictures of Tommy and me hung on the redwood walls, posters of some of our favorite
things hung there too. The red rug that Mommy bought, lie in the middle of the floor. Other random things
were scattered around, including many different board games that Tommy and I used when we found ourselves
especially bored. However, something seemed out of place, something was there that wasn’t before. A light blue
cloth lay over the top of something square.
“What’s this?” I asked pulling away the cloth to reveal a white wooden box.
“Happy Birthday, Celia,” Tommy said picking up the box and handing it to me, “My dad helped me build it.
You have to put things in it, like hopes, dreams, and stuff and then you have to bury it. They say that your
dreams will come true if you bury them.”
“You have to put your hopes and dreams in it too, and then we’ll bury it at the bottom of the ladder. That
way, every time we climb the ladder, we’ll think about it.”
He smiled timidly, “Okay, after all, it is your birthday.”
I laughed flattening my shirt with a free hand, “How are you supposed to put your hopes and dreams in a
box?” I asked quite perplexed.
“You write them down on paper and then put them inside of the box.”
I smiled, sat the box down on the floor, and then I climbed down the tree house ladder with great speed.
Tommy’s head popped out of the tree house, “Where are you going?” He asked.
“I’ll be right back, stay there!” I yelled behind me as I ran back to my house. I ran past all of the other houses
on my street and reached my house in record timing. I flew through the door and ran to Daddy’s office where I
found Daddy doing paper work at his desk just as he usually did.
“Hi, baby doll, what’s up?”
“I need paper,” I said snapping my hand onto my hip.
Daddy shuffled through his desk drawers wearing his big funky smile, “Color, or plain?”
I smiled, “Definitely color.”
Daddy handed me a big stack of color paper, “Bring back what you don’t use!”