Ghosts Broken Mask

60 - birthday girl

"I want to do it" you speak up. "It'd be the best gift ever." you add with a smile. Ghost narrows his eyes for a moment before tossing it across to you. "Maybe my birthday isn't that bad" you say with a smug tone. 

***

The day was going by rather quickly and you hadn't been cornered or tricked into anything else birthday related much to your relief. However, you had grown suspicious of the team's disappearances from time to time.  

Other than that, and the balloon on your back, the day was average. You did a quick patrol, volunteering to do so after having a cleared schedule. The week had been busy, Ghost being annoyed for most of it. 

Making you feel on edge around him, but he had seemed to escape the moody persona. You'd done a lot, training and work, picking up extra patrols and completing small missions. 

You hadn't even had a drink in a while so tonight, drinking with the team would be like a reward. The day was hot, the sun relentless and torturing you while your gear absorbed the heat. 

You walked back to your dorm, singling out the key for your dorm to open your door, only pausing to find it unlocked already. You stepped into the room, opening the windows a bit to allow some air flow around the room, hopefully overtake the humid heat that hovered. 

You did a lap of the dorm, checking behind doors but finding nothing out of place and no one hidden about. Although, if you were to get robbed you most likely wouldn't notice anything missing, there was barely anything to take. 

You pulled your vest off; it was clear you wouldn't be given work unless you asked for it, so you decided to lose some layers. You took off your jacket, sliding over a plain shirt. It was lighter, keeping you cool. 

You tucked it in around your tactical belt, standing there as you looked at yourself in the mirror, wondering if it was better tucked in or out. You noticed something in the mirror, turning around and narrowing your eyes. 

A box, plain white with a pale pink ribbon wrapped around it. It sat on your bedside table, a bow on top, its presentation simple and neat. You picked it up, tracing a finger over its edge with a sigh. 

Your father had got you a gift once, a pair of headphones that you loved. Other than that, celebrations weren't a thing around. He'd acknowledge your birthday, maybe cook your favorite dinner that night. 

But that was it. The box didn't have a sticker, addressing who it was from, and you thought about putting it back down, but you knew your curiosity would gnaw at you until you opened it. Another feeling came in to play. 

A childlike excitement, a warm feeling that made you smile even if you were alone. Like part of you had felt completed, that odd feeling of never knowing you needed it until you had it. Words of encouragement or small things that filled a void. 

An empty space that had never been fulfilled, like there was still a figment of your younger self who finally got to experience something you desperately longed for at nights. 

Like your body was a photo album, empty pockets that were supposed to be captured life events. Your childhood remained empty. Nothing to record and nothing to show. Your teenage years, empty. Transitioning into adulthood, empty.  

It was empty, but moments being captured. Adding color to your bland life, sprinkling hue onto the greyscale lens of your eyes. A revived child inside, finally feeling appreciated. 

You grinned, sitting down on the bed and tugging at the ribbon. It slipped off effortlessly, you put it on your nightstand before lifting the box open.