NW (Young!NorthxOC), A Beautiful Present

On one's birthday, there's usually the common wish for lovely weather to make the special day even brighter. Today, however, that wish didn't come true.

As Paro tied the white bow around the red and pink box, she spared a glance out the window and only saw an overcast sky, heavy with the threat of rain. She had hoped that this trend would have ended today but she'd decided to not let it bother her. She wouldn't let a little rain dampen such a day. It was her mother's birthday and she would see all five of her sisters together in one place. She smiled at the thought of seeing all of them again.

She looked back at the box as she finished tying the final knot. Another smile spread on her face as she pictured the surprise on her mother's face as she opened the little box and saw the contents inside.

She was so lost in thought that she didn't hear Nicholas, her husband, coming up behind her until he wrapped his strong arms around her tiny waist.

"You ready to go?" He asked quietly in his Russian-accented, baritone voice. Paro looked up at him,

"Yeah." She said. She took the present and they walked out of the room together. Within minutes, they were driving down the highway.

About 20 minutes later, they parked the car nearby the quaint city house that belonged to Seraphina, Paro's mother. At least 5 other cars were parked nearby which Paro immediately recognized to be those of her sisters. Beaming with excitement, Paro had to use every inner strength to not run out of the car and knock on the door. It had been such a long time since she had seen her mother and all of her sister together in one spot.

The couple walked to the door, clearly hearing dull chatter coming from within the home. Paro knocked and the sound fell. The thuds of footsteps approached the door, quickly followed by the click of the lock and the door opening.

"Paro!" The woman cried. Immediately, Paro was embraced by the smaller woman.

"Mama." She said happily, gladly returning the hug.

"I'm so glad you could make it." She replied, pulling out of the hug to greet Nicholas.

"Happy birthday, Seraphina." He said to her after he gave her a kiss on her cheek. Seraphina smiled happily and excitedly waved them in.

Too impatient, Paro threw off her coat, kicked off her shoes and almost ran to the living room, where the voices were coming from.

All of her sisters were there: Tajeddigt, Rayen, Melati, Fleur, and Alyssa.

5 of the 6  girls had been adopted by Seraphina. Tajeddigt (or Taj, as everyone had come to call her) had been the first one. Originally from Mali, she had been with Seraphina since she was only two months old. Taj had been abandoned on the front steps of the US embassy in Bamako. She was found soon and sent to the US, where Seraphina found her and adopted her.

Rayen was the second one. She came from a destitute family from southern Argentina. Her parents had put her in a program that let people from developed countries take in children from poorer countries. Rayen was in such a program for about a year until Seraphina saw her in an ad for the program. Ever since that ad, Rayen had been with Seraphina.

After Rayen came Paro. She had lived in the slums of New Delhi for the first 5 years of her life. Because of her pretty looks and her pretty voice, she was under the constant threat of being kidnapped and sold into a brothel. Knowing this, her mother sent her to the US. After several foster homes, Paro came to live with Seraphina.

The fourth one to join the family was Melati. Of all the girls her story was perhaps the harshest. Born in Indonesia, Melati had been abandoned by her family when they discovered she had contracted cancer. Unable to pay for medicine, they left her for dead in the streets of Jakarta. She survived on her own for about a year before her cancer became too much for her and she collapsed. When she regained consciousness, she lay in a US hospital. The doctors called her a miracle as she survived stage 3 lung cancer. Slowly recovering in the hospital, the doctors went on search to find a suitable home for Melati. They searched for 3 days until they came across Seraphina.

The youngest of the 6 was the fifth one to join the family. Although Fleur was a bright and hyperactive girl, when she came to live with Seraphina and the others she was a girl broken by years of living in a family of alcoholics and drug dealers. After her family was arrested, Fleur left France to life with her grandmother in New York but the elderly woman died within a few months. She was put into foster care and the next 2 years, she went to 6 different families. She was treated so horrendously by them that she contemplated killing herself. But when she joined her 7th family, Seraphina's  family, Fleur finally found a place where she felt she belonged.

The last girl to join the family was Alyssa. Of all the girls, Alyssa was the only that knew Seraphina prior to living with her. Alyssa's father was Seraphina's brother. They didn't see each other very often but they talked to each other regularly via phone. When Alyssa was 15, she and her family were going to visit Seraphina and stay the weekend. Seraphina waited the whole day for them to come but they never showed up. It wasn't until evening that she got the devastating call. They had been in a car accident and Alyssa was the only survivor. Feeling part responsible for the death of her brother, Seraphina took in Alyssa.

And now, all of them were sitting together, lightly chatting and laughing loudly, though briefly. The next second Paro was surrounded by five other bodies, enveloping her in a large group hug. How she ever got out of it and managed to find a seat for herself and Nicholas just was a blur.

They all talked for about an hour before they decided it was time to give their presents. Seraphina's policy of gift giving was "first come, first serve". As usual, Fleur jumped up first. Her present was a box of Seraphina's favourite chocolates. After Fleur, Melati and Rayen stood up to deliver their present. They had always shared giving presents, not that anybody really cared. Their present was a large gift set filled with pampering items from conditioner and shampoo to fruit scented body wash. Taj's present was a whole box full of Seraphina's favourite scented candles: lavender and rose. Alyssa was fifth. Everyone was curious about her present because it was always something she made herself. This year she had made a pillow with all of their names sewn into it as well as an album filled with pictures of their fondest memories. Seraphina thought it was so beautiful that she shed a tear.

Then it was Paro's turn. She stood up from her spot and walked to her mother. She held out the box to her,

"Happy Birthday, mama-ji." She said with a smile. Seraphina stood up and embraced her daughter.

"Thank you, Paro." She whispered. Taking the present, she sat back down in her chair as Paro returned to her spot and hold of Nicholas's hand, trying to hide how nervous she was. Painfully slow, Seraphina undid the bow and removed the lid. She began scouring through the paper to find the item hidden in it. After a minute, she pulled out a pairs of socks that were for a baby. Seraphina stared questioningly at the sight of the cute white and pink socks until Fleur suddenly cried out.

"Oh my god!" She squealed. She stared at Paro with large eyes and a gaping mouth, "Paro," She started with a flabbergasted tone, "Are you pregnant?" There was a conjoined gasp as everyone looked at Paro. Squeezing Nicholas's hand, Paro nodded.

"I am." She said with a smile. Her hands flew up to her ears just in time to protect them from the roaring sound of her families exclaims. She half-expected all of them to pile onto her, asking a million questions, but, luckily, only Fleur did that. As Fleur chattered on about how excited she was, Paro looked at Seraphina.

The woman was staring at the little socks with a bright smile on her face and tears in her eyes. Carefully, she put the socks and the box onto the coffee table and walked to her daughter, enveloping her in a tight embrace. As Paro wrapped her arms around her, Seraphina said,

"That was the most beautiful present you've ever given me."