Arian woke up at 10am on his seventeenth birthday to the smells of fresh pastries from the bakery down the road. He’d stayed up until 4:13 in the morning, the time he’d been born – which perhaps explained the lateness of the hour, but his birthday was on a Saturday so it hadn’t mattered.

It was a tradition of sorts to watch his birthday come in, something that when he’d been younger had been done with his mother, her soft voice asking him about any plans for the year ahead. Later on, when he’d been older Catrin had joined them, his little sister curled up by his side sleeping while Arian leaned against his mother. Later on his father would find them all asleep on the saggy couch in the living room and would laugh and make boiled eggs and toast solders and put Arian’s egg into his pirate eggcup for the occasion. Then they would go and visit Nain and Arian would have his presents and there would be cake and it would be time for him to make his big wish for the year over the candles. Those days were gone now, but Arian still kept his birthday vigil – refusing to let his eyes close on sleep until the clock clicked on 4:14.

It was hard to believe that this time last year he had still been in England, still living with his grandparents – a lot had happened over the last year. From moving not just places but to a whole new country and having to get used to a new school and new classmates – there’d been the whole looking right when he should have been looking left, but Arian figured that over half a year later that he was finally getting used to the whole people driving on the other side of the road thing.

Actually the biggest thing that had happened to him was probably finding out that talking cats existed and that he now lived in a place which also doubled as a battleground and was full of monster-type things – youma. There was the whole being a senshi thing too – although Arian figured that he’d gotten used to that too – he’d even gotten a little better if the change in uniform was anything to go by. Being stuck as a cat for those few days had been weird though – really, really weird and not something that Arian ever wanted to repeat.

And now he was seventeen, although right now it was feeling very much like being sixteen. He was still short and apart from his hair growing longer – it now fell past his waist – not much had changed looks wise. The sound of a telephone ringing through the apartment distracted Arian from his thoughts, making him consider getting up.

“Hey Arian phone for you” and that was Saffy’s voice calling for him. “It’s from England.”

“I’m coming” he called back. Who was it? Saffy had said it was from England so maybe it was his father. Maybe he was calling to wish him a happy birthday, to ask how he was. Okay so his father hadn’t wished him a happy birthday in years and apart from two letters, Arian hadn’t had any contact from him – but it didn’t mean that this time wouldn’t be different.

“Hello?” faint hope meant that it didn’t take long for Arian to pick up the phone from the hallway.

“Oh Arian there you, Happy Birthday” the newly seventeen year old felt that faint spark of hope crush as Rianna Denton’s voice came from the phone. Selfish as it probably was Arian didn’t want Miss Denton to be the one telling him those words. After why was it so much to wish that once – just once that those words would come from his father?

[632 words]