party 4 u
an utopian diary entry: everyone is here and everything is great
With a blindfold on, I'm inside the car with my boyfriend, while I nag him incessantly to ask if we're there yet and what the surprise is. Until we got in the car, he'd been trying to distract me all day with gifts and food, but always saying there were so many more surprises to come. He then replies that we're almost there, and that although he can't tell me, he knows I'm going to love it. I remain sightless, feeling the car's turns on the bumpy traffic circle and the wind from the half-open windows while the speakers blare my playlist, with me and my boyfriend singing along because all the lyrics are memorized.
All of a sudden, I feel him park the car horizontally and open the door for me. He leads me up the stairs and I feel him lightly remove the blindfold while all the people in my life shout “surprise”. Everyone is there and everyone has taken part in this party for me.
We're in my aunt's huge backyard, full of fruit trees and a large plastic swimming pool. Several tables and chairs are distributed around the place, with all my favorite junk food and all my favorite slightly healthy food. The dogs are playing in the grass and the weather couldn't be more perfect. My boyfriend brings his speaker so we can all keep listening to my music.
The big, dark green car arrives and out come my grandparents, who are here and can walk perfectly. They hug me and congratulate me, offer me money and my favorite chocolates and I tell them that it's not necessary, that I just need them to be present. They join the rest of the family, which includes everything from their children to siblings to grandchildren. I take the opportunity to talk to my uncles and cousins, who have come from the other side of the world just to be here today. We take a family photo where everyone is included. Even the dogs, who, after getting tired of playing, go to my grandmother and mother and sit on their laps.
My other grandparents, who also live relatively far away, are here telling me all the news, as are my uncles and my cousin. They are a tireless support and never miss an important moment in my life.
My cousin asks me if I want to go to the pool. I tell her I didn't bring a bikini, but my boyfriend came prepared. He brought my favorite bikini, which fits my body perfectly, in his backpack. We went to the plastic pool where we could barely fit and my friends from high school appeared, ready to join the big party. It reminded me of the summers we used to spend together by the pool, soft drinks in hand and a thousand photos being taken on Retrica. It's incredible to think how we've all followed different paths, so far away from each other, but managed to be together on this special day.
My elementary school friends, who know the secondary school friends well, also get into the pool. There are people here I haven't spoken to in ages! Who knew they'd be here to celebrate my big day? I have so many beautiful memories with these people, and even though they're so different now, there are things about us that never change. Despite all the bickering and childhood misunderstandings, the happiest memories are the ones we remember together. It's so good to be able to reconnect with the people who have been in my life for so long.
And there are so many people here I still need to interact to and thank them for being here! Sometimes I get overwhelmed, but when I know that these people love me deeply, all the anxieties leave my body and I'm finally able to enjoy the moment.
I spot my old best friend from college in the distance, she's holding a cake with candles lit on it, and next to her are my other friends from my degree who start singing happy birthday. Everyone follows their lead and sings along in unison. I never know what to do during the song, I usually stand still and feel awkward, but at that moment I was completely relaxed and happy to receive this attention.
My friend winked at me and put the cake down on a beautifully decorated table for me to blow out the candles. One of them shouts for me to make a wish. I go under the table, close the candle and think to myself “this is my wish”.
After that, I go to talk to the friend with the cake because we have some matters to discuss together. I opened my heart, I told her I was hurt, for so many years I never understood why we drifted apart since we have so much in common and I genuinely thought it was going to be a lifelong friendship. Despite that, I couldn't be happier to see her here. She replied with an apology and that she wanted to take this opportunity to reconnect with me. We smiled and hugged, as if nothing had happened.
Out of nowhere, someone turned off the music. What the hell is going on? Then my boyfriend appeared with his guitar. The person reading this is probably thinking that it's very embarrassing when a boy tries to play guitar for you, like Ken playing guitar in the Barbie movie. However, my boyfriend plays genuinely well, and everyone falls silent as he starts strumming and my other friends with their instruments and voices join him in a real jam session. My friends in the choir harmonize perfectly and at the end they do their own rendition of Happy Birthday, as I had already done to many of the people at the party in their respective birthdays.
At the end, all my friends stayed to help tidy up, so we didn't take any time at all. It's hard to believe there were so many surprises. This day couldn't have gone better!
