T h e B i r t h day G i f t L h a v a n y a D h a r m a l i n g a m
Bell and Octavia scrambled up the hill behind the abandoned mall. “Anneh, wait for me!” panted Octavia. The short climb was already taxing her fragile lungs. And the N95 mask was not helping. The midday sun beat down ferociously on them; temperatures well in the high 30s. But she had been waiting weeks for her birthday present. She wasn’t giving up now! Bell slowed reluctantly, nervously tugging the brim of his cap further down. Octavia had pressured him for weeks to take her to see the ‘small jungle’ that he and his friends curi-curi sometimes went to lepak at. She had never been out of the house in the short 6 years of her life apart from hospital visits in specially insulated and filtered taxis. COVID-19, TrinCov and Virus X were rampant. She caught up, huffing and panting furiously, whatever tiny bit of her face visible above the N95 mask, furrowed in determination. “It’s okay anneh, no one is around. I’ll be fine!” she promised, tugging on his sleeve. Her earnestness and puppy eyes could make even a rock melt.
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