Under Her Cursed Scythe

"No, you can't darling. " a deeper but soft and gentle female voice resonated from behind, " It's not your birthday today. Wait until your birthday comes. Then you can have it."

"But…"the little girl coaxed, "Daddy...please. Daddy...I really really really really want that teddy bear!" Her eyebrows leaped up, showing her puppy eyes to the man in front of her. "Please…"

"Alright, alright. I will buy it for you." the man acceded to the girl's request. "We don't want to upset our precious little girl, do we?" He looked at the woman behind him and grinned. Then, he turned back to the little girl and queried in a mild tone, "So which one do you want? The purple one or the blue one?"

"Yes!" the girl screamed in agitation, "The purple one! The purple one! I like the lavender smell on it!" She held the man's hand tightly as they walked towards the cupboard where the purple bears were placed, and a pleasant woman with flowing chocolate hair, milky white skin and a pair of honey brown eyes framed with long eyelashes followed them from behind.

Alivia's face went blank as she dragged her feet inch by inch backwards. Through other's eyes, they would see a warm and lovely family passing by but through hers, this scene hit her hard and painfully. Every tinkling laugh and every word from that harmonious scene were like spears, pricking at her heart over and over again...until it "shattered" and all hope for that happy reunion in mind was gone…

Turning her back against the happy family, she dashed out of the store before her father noticed.

'Why? Why do you have to do this to me, fate? On my birthday!?' Alivia thought as she began to run unceasingly. 'Has he forgot that today is my birthday? Has he forgot about me? Does he even remember me, his other daughter?'

Angry thoughts against his father rushed into her brain as she roved.

'Why did father leave us when we, no, I needed him the most? Leaving the mess to an eight year-old child, leaving a broken family behind while he escaped to find his own happiness!? This is not fair! Not fair!' Her anger soon evolved into wrath. 'I just WISH I could reap that little girl's soul...his precious little girl's soul! Yes, REAP her soul, KILL HER in front of that man and that woman and DESTROY his family! Life will be more fair if he gets a taste of true misery as well!' She grind her teeth while her eyes alighted with laser-like fury.

Heaven knows how long she had been running. She just kept going and going and going... only to stop when her stomach started to growl again and hunger had turned into searing pain in the guts, compelling her to take a rest at the cafe shop nearby.

"Hi, do you need anything?" a friendly waitress approached her as soon as she sat down, "Our special for today is…"

"Um...wh...what kind of cakes do you have here?" Alivia gasped.

"We have blueberry cheesecake, Tiramisu, dark chocolate..."

"Blueberry cheesecake would be fine." Alivia answered hastily before the waitress had completed her sentence.

"Sure. Anything else?"

"Um…" Alivia gave a hesitating pause before she muffled, "A candle...do you have a candle?"

"Yes!" the waitress reacted with spirit, "How many do you want to put on the cake?"

"Um...one will be fine." Alivia answered weakly.

"Sure. I will be right back with your orders." the waitress denoted with an enthusiastic tone and walked away.

Alivia sat at the table, wearily looking at the people on the street while breathing laboriously. She thought her sadness and anger had passed away after that run but as happy faces passed by, each of them left a burning scar on her heart and her unpleasant memories began to swell out from the fissures of the reservoir of her mind again, urging her to fall deeper into the abyss of despair.

'Stop!' By violent effort, she snapped herself out of her depressed thoughts. 'I don't want this day to be ruined because of that man. All my other birthdays sucked. I can't ruin this day too!'

She took a deep breath and consoled herself in a twinkly tone, "I should buy something with the money left. Maybe a book or maybe a bracelet." She forced a smile on her face while searching for an anchor of happiness that could pull her out of the abyss...

"Happy birthday to you, happy birthday to you, happy..." A familiar tune abruptly sounded from behind.

Alivia whipped around at once, thinking that the song was for her, a little surprise from the witty waitress who took her order. Yet, she felt her stomach drop the moment she learned the truth.