Birthday Girl

Lillian blinked a couple of times and yawned. She sat upright in her bed and rubbed her eyes. Today wasn't any ordinary day, however. It was Spring 25, her birthday! The young farmer was turning 21 today. She quickly took a shower and got dressed, wanting to get her chores done early.

She ran out of her house and headed towards her barn. Upon arrival, the brunette found her animals already fed and groomed. All the sheep were shaved and the cows were milked. The goods were boxed in her cart, ready to be shipped.

"That's strange, but whatever, less work for me!" she said to herself as she pet her happy cows and sheep.

She hooked her horse to the cart and looked through the items, also finding harvested crops and eggs. "This is weird, it's like someone did all my work for me..." Lillian said, but she couldn't complain. She mounted whirlwind and as she was ready to leave, she saw Mayor Rutger walking onto her property.

Lillian got off the pony and headed towards the old man. "Happy Birthday Lillian!" he said happily. "Ah, thank you mayor!" she exclaimed. Rutger then handed her a package. It contained many different cookies, all probably baked by his wife, Rose. "Thank you Rutger!" Lillian said politely. "Aw, it's nothing, just something to snack on. Honestly, Rose made all of them. The batch I made burned to a crisp!" he chuckled and scratched his head with embarrassment.

She giggled along with the old man, and straddled her horse once more. "Well, I'll see you around Mayor. Thank Rose for me as well."

Whirlwind neighed and galloped to the shipping box. After shipping some goods, Lillian rode the mare into town. The brunette stopped off at some houses, giving in requested items and even earned a couple of "Happy Birthdays" along the way.

She then made her way to Ash's house. The girl giggled with excitement, hoping her best friend would remember her birthday. However, Jessica opened the door. Lillian tried hiding her disappointment. "Ms. Jessica! Hi, good afternoon. Can you get Ash for me?" The older woman sighed and shook her head. "I actually thought he was with you! Where has my foolish son gone off to now?" Jessica asked herself with exasperation in her tone. "Well, I'm sorry to bother you." Lillian said politely and bowed. "Oh, happy birthday dear!" Jessica smiled and handed her a tiny wrapped gift and a card. It was obviously drawn by Ash's younger sister. "Cheryl made it just for you, so I couldn't forget about your birthday!" The woman smiled happily.

Lillian made a mental note to check the gift for bugs. Cheryl often played pranks on girls close to Ash, and the young rancher was definitely not an exception!

Lillian thanked Jessica and made her way to the mountains. She finished her requests and made her way home early. There was supposed to be a storm tonight.

She sighed and put her animals inside. Lillian wanted to see Ash on her birthday, and was kind of disappointed that she didn't get to.

The young girl made her way to her doorstep and slowly opened the door.

"SURPRISE!" She heard many voices yell all at once.