There I was, soundly asleep until…
"Lyra! Wake up!"
I jolted awake and tumbled off my bed.
"Good morning." My little sister Lily giggled.
"Lily, seriously!"
"Happy birthday, Lyra!"
"Thank you, Levi," I mumbled, my voice muffled against the marbled floor.
If you don't know me, my name is Lyra, I'm officially 21 years old. My little brother and sister, Lily and Levi, are 11-year-old fraternal twins. Don't get me wrong, they're unbelievably annoying. You'd think the prince and princess of a palace would act… well, princely. But nope. They act like terrible children.
My mom and dad? Annoyingly gross when they love each other but honestly, I'm glad to see them happy. Though, lately, I've been worried about my mom; I've noticed her panic attacks have gotten worse. I promised myself I'd always be there for her.
"Hurry up and get dressed!" Lily yelled, giving me a playful slap.
"Hey, Lyra… oh! What happened to you?"
I lifted my face from the floor. "Siblings happened, Angelina."
Angelina is my 16-year-old cousin. She's always been like a sister to me, whenever we could, we'd do everything together.
"Well, get dressed in this."
She held up my birthday dress. Although I hate dresses, I wore it for my family. But seriously… why can't I just wear pants for once?!
After dismissing everyone from my chamber, I changed and made my way down the dining hall. There, I saw my mom, dad, Uncle Jake, Aunt Linda, my cousins, Angelina, Amir, and Osvaldo, Grandma Lizzy, and Grandpa James.
"Happy Birthday, Lyra!!!!" Everyone cheered.
"Thank you, guys."
"My baby girl." My dad's voice was warm, the same as ever. I've been an adult for a while now, but he still sees me as his little girl.
I rolled my eyes playfully, hugged him warmly, and kissed his cheek.
"So, Lyra…"
Uh-oh. Whenever Grandma says that, it's never good.
"You're 21 now."
Please tell me she isn't talking about…
"I have some boys that might be interested in you."
She is. My dad practically spat out the rest of his breakfast, violently coughing.
"W-what?"
My Grandma cackled. "I'm just kidding, Nicholas! I get you every time with that joke."
"Ha. Ha." Dad said sarcastically.
Grandma knows well enough that I am not interested in anyone. Boys are a waste of time. All I really want is to explore or read.
"Mom, please stop trying to give me a heart attack."
"If I may, can I be excused, Daddy? I want to give big sister a present!"
"Of course, Levi."
"Yay!"
Levi ran off and returned a few minutes later, out of breath, holding a small bracelet.
"I made this for you."
I put the bracelet on. "I love it, just the way you made it. Thank you, Levi."
I hugged him and kissed his forehead. Despite the chaos, it had been a good morning.
Later in the afternoon, guests arrived.
"Happy Birthday, old lady!" Bruno shouted behind me.
"Bruno!" I hugged him tightly.
My other cousins arrived shortly after, Destiny, Elizabeth, Cooper, Sofia, Cameron, Christian, Anderson, Stella, and Quinn, the children of Uncle Kane and Aunt Vivienne. Then Matthew, Britney, Cassidy, and Valentina, the children of my Uncle Benjamin and Aunt Miriam.
I scanned the crowd for my last cousin, but couldn't find him.
"If you're looking for him, he won't be here… he's sick." Kane said, giving me a reassuring smile.
"Oh, that sucks. I hope he feels better."
Kane handed me a gift. "But I do have his present with me."
I smiled softly.
"Who wants to dance?" I asked, spotting Aunt Vivienne ready to go.
"Vivienne." Kane groaned, facepalming.
"What?" I rolled my eyes sarcastically.
I joined my aunt on the dance floor, spinning around and laughing foolishly.
"Reminds me of my wedding night," Vivienne shouted.
I glanced at my dad, who had his arm around mom. They were disgustingly adorable.
"Kane, there you are. I've been meaning to say you've really been putting in the work. Vivienne having 10 children, my word," Mom said.
Silents filled the room.
"Ew, mom! Did you seriously have to say that?" I groaned.
"Angelica…"
I saw Uncle Kane blushing under his hand.
"Mommy, what do you mean? And why is everyone looking at you weird?" Lily asked innocently.
"Nothing!" We shouted in union.
I caught my dad giving mom the stink eye.
"Sorry, Nicholas. Sorry, Kane."
Kane shrugged, still blushing. "It's fine."
"Anyways, Lyra, want to keep dancing?" Vivienne asked. I nodded, smiling.
Finally, the time has come for my favorite part… cake!
Mom brought out a cake with 21 candles. I felt like a little kid again!
"Happy birthday to you, happy birthday to you, happy birthday dear Lyra, happy birthday to you!!!"
I blew out the candles, and everyone cheered. The cake disappeared almost instantly. My family clearly has a thing for sweets.
"Hey, Lyra, want to open your presents?" Mom asked.
I nodded eagerly, feeling my inner child peeking through.
"This one's from Kane and Vivienne." Mom said.
I opened it to find a set of keys. Confused, I looked towards them.
"Use these keys to open this," Vivienne said, handing me a box.
Inside were limited edition bookmarks. My eyes sparkled.
"Yes! You have no idea how much I needed these!"
They smiled proudly.
I unwrapped the rest of my gifts to find book series, notebooks, pencils, and makeup. I couldn't stop smiling from the wonderful gifts.
"Lyra, I'm truly sorry, but your grandfather and I's gift still isn't ready yet."
"It's ok, Grandma. I don't mind."
Later, when everyone left, I waved goodbye.
It was a joy seeing them again.
"Lyra!"
I turned.
"Grandma?"
"Your gift is finally ready. It's in your room."
I opened the box and gasped. Inside was… a dress.
"I know you're not a fan of dresses, but I know you'll love this one."
I picked it up and held it against me.
"Try it on."
I forced a smile trying to hide the disappointment on my face.
It was an emerald green dress with white long sleeves. The bottom part was short but perfect. Grandma smiled.
"What do you think?"
"I… I love it," I whispered, my voice breaking.
She handed me brown boots and a pink heart-shaped necklace.
"Your grandfather added these."
I put them on. I had never felt more beautiful.
"You look stunning," Grandma said.
"Thanks, Grandma! And be sure to thank Grandpa too."
"I will." She kissed my cheek and left.
"Well… what did she think?"
"I believe she loved it," Grandma's voice echoed down the hallway.
For the first time in forever, I truly loved a dress.