Eri

Eri sat alone in her cramped, dim apartment on her birthday, staring at the invitations she’d carefully made for her classmates. No one came. Fighting tears, she talked to her old teddy bear beside a small cake, pretending she wasn’t alone. When noises outside gave her hope, it was only girls from school mocking her and taking pictures. After they left, Eri sat in silence until, twenty minutes later, someone knocked at her door. It was you.