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A cake was placed before the 3D God’s twin.
“Happy birthday.”
The words came out hollow, lacking any positive sense. Oh, that’s right, it was Bandu’s birthday (his twentieth, in fact, the numbers placed atop the cake serving to remind), and he’d nearly forgotten to celebrate. What a wonder, how he almost forgot to commemorate his own day of birth. He was unsure how it even slipped his mind.
But surely not his sister’s. No, his sibling knew and remembered it was his birthday, and although the words were empty, they were the right words to fill Bandu’s heart with warmth nonetheless. Maybe Expunged had just forgotten her emotions somewhere along the road, whatever that meant.
Bandu didn’t mind.
He wanted to get up and hug his sibling, transparent tears pricking at his eyes as he exclaims how happy he is that Expunged remembered such an important and joyous occasion in his own sibling’s life, but he could not (for reasons that did not involve Bandu possibly getting flung to the other side of the room if he were to do so). There were questions lingering in Bandu’s mind.
They were twins. It was Expunged’s birthday, too.
Bandu questioned this. Expunged rolled their eyes.
“It doesn’t matter. I don’t celebrate it.”
Eyes going wide, Bandu would have practically slammed his hands on the table in the sudden tidal wave of surprise that hit him at this reveal. What! You don’t celebrate your own birthday?! But he knew better, and his fingers merely pinched the tablecloth idly. He proceeded to speak calmly, although the hint of disbelief in his voice still lingered.
Bandu questioned why Expunged didn’t celebrate it.
“I told you already. It doesn’t matter.”
Bandu went silent.
The light produced by the candles would have served to make the room brighter had it been dark in the first place. Somehow, the room felt as though it was getting darker, but that was a silly thought, as the room was fully lit.
Some of the wax was probably getting onto the cake. That was disgusting, Bandu thought, and he ought to make his wish now if he wanted it to stop.
But there were still questions rattling in his brain, questions that he didn’t have the answers to.
Bandu questioned why Expunged was celebrating his brother’s birthday, then, if it supposedly didn’t matter.
“It still doesn’t matter.”
Bandu questioned what that meant.
Expunged remained silent for a beat.
“Obligation.”
Bandu had run out of questions.
“Happy birthday, Bandu.”
With that, Expunged left the room, Bandu silently watching as the last bit of red in his vision disappeared. The words were still empty, but it didn’t matter.
Bandu didn’t know what ‘obligation’ meant. Expunged knew this. Maybe he’d look up the definition later. He assumed it meant something like, “because I love you enough to give you somewhat of a birthday party”. After all, they’d cared enough to manifest the pastry sitting in front of Bandu at this moment. Maybe they were just busy again, too busy to spend time talking to their sibling.
Maybe Bandu would save some cake for Expunged to eat later, and they could talk about where the years had gone and reminisce on old times together.
Bandu smiled warmly. He’d like that.
He blew out his candles with a smile, set them aside the cake, and started eating by his lonesome.