A Secret Gift

In the pouring rain, we made out way through the alley. Somewhere on his leg, my wolf pup had given him a bite mark while tearing that his pant. The wound which didn't appear to be a great one had started to bleed with the rain. It stung him enough that we had to stop for him.

We had to get the limping lad to sit on a crate of boxes that had been arranged in the form of boxes. It appeared to be made for him as it held his weight properly although it looked frail enough to break.

I took out my small handkerchief and wound it around his leg. He hissed and heaved as the damp kerchief touched his wet skin. Now I was annoyed that the pup had done such damage to him which I hadn't noticed earlier.

"Your arm," I demanded with anger glistening my in dark eyes as I saw through his.

I had him show it to me when he tried to refuse by grabbing his hand and pulling it in front of me. The wound on the arm was a little rough for a bit of the flesh came out. As horrifying as the sight was, I tried to hold in my fear and get out the extra scarf I kept with me in my pocket to tie it around his forearm.

Then I carried the limping boy to his house, by when he was totally out of breath and on the verge of losing his consciousness. His face had become so pale that it looked like he was soon going to turn into a ghost.

The door was opened by his shocked mother. And I couldn't say anything to her except, "Allergy."

Before she could ask another question, I stepped into the house and had him sit on the chair. The lady had, of course, shut the pup out. It looked at me with guilt in its eyes as I stared at it dolefully.

"The inhaler?" I asked, with my hands on my back as the weight of the boy was somehow heavy for me along with the shopping bag I carried.

"First drawer in the cabinet next to the study table," responded the wheezing boy and his mother in unison.

I ran up the stairs two at a time at a speed faster than I usually run. I ignored the creaks of the wooden stairs and barged open the door to his room. After rummaging through the indicated drawer, where all the medical supplies were kept, I brought it out and rushed to give it to him.

But by that time he had already passed out and he was on the floor with his mother trying to revive him with tears in her eyes. I picked up his neck so that his head hung backwards and quickly inserted the inhaler into his mouth.

His chest heaved up and within minutes, his breathing had become stable instead of ragged. I removed the hoodie from his head to touch his forehead. Where one problem left, another one arose. His body temperature was now rising as he wasn't sheltered very well against in heavy downpour because of his thin clothes.

I carried him up the stairs of his bungalow along with his mother to his bed. When we set him down on the bed, thunder shook the house and ground below my feet, and lightning struck the sky.

I looked at Sam and then at the mother. It seemed like I couldn't go home, even if I had an umbrella.

"Don't go, child," said his mother to me, kindly. "The lightning shall kill you. I shall tell your mother about you so that she doesn't have to worry."

'That sounds so easy,' I thought in my mind. 'But what about the little pup? And where and how am I to stay here being idle?'

"Would you like to help me with my baking?" she asked seeing the empty look on my face. "The ones that were baked in your house were brilliant. I should order in from your house than from the local stores."

That brought a small smile to my face, but I couldn't stop myself from looking between Sam and the thundering sky. As much as I wanted to punish the little pup for harming the wrong person though it wanted to protect me, I didn't want to leave it out in the rain so that it would die from the cold weather.

I got up to leave with the lady when I heard a tap on the window. The blurry window had two very small paws that were pressed against it. I sighed in disbelief as I looked around and found the soaked shopping bag right next to the window.

"Even through the rain you come sniffing for food," I said glaring at it in anger. "You don't get any for harming my friend."

I was positive that it had heard me through the rain as its face turned more sorrowful. Its ear fell down and it looked at me with pitiful eyes. I sighed again, looked out at the doorway to see if the lady was coming and then snuck the pup in a corner.

I glowered at it, telling it very clearly that it shouldn't follow me nor cause a ruckus. One was more than enough to deal with and another one would be the death of me. I would either be thrown out in the rain or be grounded at home. That was surely the last thing I needed.

"Asmah!" called out the lady, nearly making my heart pop out of my ribcage. "Where are you? Are you not coming?"

"I am coming, Aunty!" I shouted back through the sound of the thundering sky. "I will just place a blanket on him and come down."

"That was a close one," I muttered under my breath at the unfortunate events I ended up in with this pup. "I was surely dead if she caught you in here or if the sleeping person awoke. You had better keep quiet and not get me in more trouble than now."

Then I sprinted down the stairs to catch up with the lady. I was screwed anyway as the one who had baked the cakes wasn't me but my brother and my mother. I was only good with making and doing the toppings.

I stared at the already prepared dough and wondered what else needed to be done except baking them. Even the colouring had been done, though the flavour depended on whether she had added the essences.

I happily set to work with her with the decorations while she set the dough into the oven for it to be baked. I made found the fondant, the pearly sparkles and the coloured whipped cream.

After setting everything ready, I asked, "Why are you preparing all this, Aunty? I thought the party was already over."

"Oh, this for a little home business that I was starting," she said with a big smile forming on her lips. "I got inspired to try this kind of work and see how it works. But I will need a lot of your help with it. Maybe your mum and I could do such a business together and make it a success. What do you think?"

I gave her a large smile and nodded my head to show her my approval. At the back of my mind, I started to wonder if the two of them joining was a good idea at all. Seeing Sam often would make it awkward for me since we might end up working side by side. And after today, I was too embarrassed to face him, not only because he had caught a very high allergic reaction but also because Layla had bitten him quite harshly.

That was the thing I had forgotten to mention to his mother. Now I didn't know how to bring it up since she had even forgotten to ask me about the cause of the allergy.

"Was Sameer near the flowers today before it started raining?" she asked and I cursed at myself for jinxing it for myself. "I told him not to buy anything for me today."

My face lost colour. I had forgotten that it was her birthday and that's why she was doing this little thing as a satisfaction for herself. She wanted to feed people out of her own hands, which seemed like a very wonderful idea to me rather than celebrating birthdays. I was not a fan of proclaiming my age to the others.

"A stray got him in trouble," I said with an awkward laugh, still withholding the knowledge of his injuries as I wanted to get that fixed by myself without getting in trouble.

"The same one that followed you to our doorstep?" she asked again, making me swallowing the building tension in my throat painfully. "It seems to have some great affection for you."

"You know how animals are, Aunty. A little affection by feeding them can get you their loyalty."

"I was thinking of getting a small pet for myself if Sam wasn't so allergic to animal fur."

"Oh, really? Then you can try water creatures, birds and turtles. They make peaceful pets and are easier to handle, at least the fishes and turtles are."

From one thing to another, we talked about various things. My mind was wondering how to surprise the lady without telling her that I had forgotten her birthday or that I wanted to cover my mistake of not wishing her.

My brain got a sudden brainwave and I decided to use it to my advantage. I only hoped that the trick would work and that it would be successful enough.

"Aunty, you should leave so that I prepare this one in a wonderful way," I suggested.

Then she started to object with, "But I want to see how —"

"I will show it to you another time. I am afraid the kitchen might become messy or that I shall lose my concentration for now. You may not agree to it now, so I want to create it as a surprise for you. I am sure you will love it."

I looked towards her to see if she would give in. It made me a little impatient as I totally wanted to try out this idea.

"Okay," she said in a skeptical manner as she took out the hot baked cupcakes from the oven. "Just be careful. If you need anything, you know where to find me."

"In the greenhouse," I answered with a click of my tongue and a salute with my finger.

As soon as she left the kitchen, I hurried to the door and closed it softly. After sighing heavily, I tried to take off the cakes from the trays with my bare hands. I hissed at my idiotic self for forgetting to put on the gloves.

I arranged the cupcakes in a a circle so that it formed a whole cake from the top. Then I used a large amount of white whipping cream on it flat on it. I used the fodant to make mini flowers. Then used the other coloured whipping creams to create small flower decors and to write "Happy Birthday" on a piece of fixed pink fondant on the front of the cake rather than on top of the cake itself.

After putting up the finishing touch, I rummaged the place to find a few candles and fixed them on the cake. On hearing footsteps, approaching the kitchen, I quickly hid the cake in the freezer and stood there cleaning the messy kitchen like I hadn't done any mysterious thing at all.

"Did you call for me?" I asked, turning around to find the trash to drop the used plastics away. Then I froze seeing the person at the door. Who had sent him and for what errand in that condition while I was trying to create a surprise?