Catherine Kos – Author

A piece of flash fiction by Catherine Kos.

Happy Birthday

I wake up to the sun shining through my window, and my radio alarm singing a pop song next to me on my nightstand. Today is my eighteenth birthday. Part of me feels like I shouldn’t be excited but there is another part of me that is jumping for joy at the idea that I’m finally going to be considered as an adult by my parents. I get up, go to my closet, and look sadly at all the garments. My mom went shopping recently and she bought me a lot of clothes… that I won’t wear. There’s lots of flowers, and bright colors, and things that I would never be seen out in public in. It’s weird to think how different she and I are, and even in the physical manners too. She’s blond and tall, whereas I’m a brunette and moderately short. Even my father has short sandy blonde hair with light blue eyes.

I dig through all the new clothes to the very back of my closet wear all my clothes linger. I pull out black skinny jeans, and a t-shirt for one of my favorite bands. After I change, I run a brush through my hair, then I brush my teeth, and then head downstairs to the kitchen.

My parents are sitting at the kitchen table talking quietly, and when I walk in they stop talking.

“Good morning,” I say. They don’t reply. Instead they just

They say the same but their hearts are not into it. I can tell somethings up. I take my bowl of cereal and sit down in front of them, while casting them a curious glance. They look at me then look at each other. “What’s up?” I ask.

My mother takes a deep breath, and then looks me dead in the eye.

“You were adopted.”

The end.