birthday (Levi/open)

[broadway]

Raychel was in her living room, looking out at the sparkling waters of her backyard. She loved living in Cauldron Cove. She had always wanted to live by water, and this was the best thing for her. She needed the space, the beauty in her life. Especially now. It was her eighteenth birthday. And she still looked seventeen. True, there wasn't much of a difference. But, in the world that she had grown up in, before learning about her magical abilities, this was the date she was to become an adult. Eighteen.

It was sickening. That she was an adult, by her parent's standards, and they weren't there to see their baby girl grow anymore. It hurt, knowing that they had been dead for almost a year now. Her birthday, last year, they had wrote her a lovely letter, half in her mother's beautiful calligraphy, and the other half in her father's delicate handwriting. Then, they'd both signed at the bottom. She still had that letter, folded up neatly in a box beneath her bed. Raychel had woke up that morning and re-read the letter, and the words brought her heartache back.

It was getting dark now. The day had gone by uneventfully. She hated the lonesome air, but, was glad for a little solitude. This wasn't a birthday for her, this was a day for mourning. It killed her inside, knowing that one birthday had come and gone, and her parent's weren't there. With a start, she realized that the last time she had gotten correspondence from her family, in a letter, was this day, last year. Bitterly, she groaned, closing her eyes, wishing the terrible thoughts away.

[igloogirl]

Gabriella Apparated to a short distance away from Raychel's house and then walked up the pathway to the front door. She knocked on the door and waited impatiently outside, holding Raychel's birthday present in her left hand, which was jiggling with impatience. Gabriella had come after work to wish her friend a happy birthday, but she was itching to get home and pull out her files so she could try to figure out where Isaac was. Normally, Gabriella might ask Raychel for help, but she didn't want to trouble her on her birthday. So Gabriella figured she would give Raychel the present, and then head home.

[broadway]

Raychel turned and pushed herself off of the couch. She flounced to the door, hoping to give herself the appearance of a joyful birthday girl. Throwing open the door, she smiled at Gabby. It was terrible, that she had lost Isaac. But, she probably didn't want to talk about it. Something was off on Gabby's scent, but Raychel wasn't going to inquire. Raychel pulled her friend into a hug. "It's great to see you Gabby."

[igloogirl]

Before Gabriella was even entirely sure what was happening, Raychel had pulled her into a hug. Gabriella smiled as her friend let her go, though it was a bit more forced than she had intended. "It's great to see you too," Gabriella said. "Happy birthday!" She handed the little bag to Raychel. It wasn't much, but Gabriella had gotten Raychel a pretty little silver charm bracelet with a couple of charms and a promise to give her another for every birthday.

[broadway]

Raychel smiled, giving Gabby her own forced smile, seeing Gabby's discomfort. She took the bag and rummaged through it, and uttered a genuine smile. "It's beautiful Gabby, thank you," she replied. She examined the little charms. There were three of them. One was a heart, the other a broomstick, and the final charm was a flower. She smiled. "Thank you. Truly."

[igloogirl]

Gabriella smiled softly, glad that Raychel liked the gift. "You're quite welcome," Gabriella replied. "My plan is to buy you one for every birthday from now on." The light conversation was beginning to relax Gabriella, but in the back of her mind, she was still thinking about Isaac. She had been hardly recognizable at work these days, going crazily through files to find places where Death Eaters might hide a person. She had raided more than ten such places, without success. Once she had rescued some other prisoners, though, but otherwise the places had been empty.