"Darra...happy birthday, my sweet boy" His mother was sitting next to his bed, caressing his hair as a ray of light entered the room, and with every passing minute, the ray grew brighter and brighter, his mother grew fainter and fainter. 

"Mum...mum no. Come back!" He shouted as he woke from his dream-like the dead has arisen. He was sweating from head to toe, his body quivering, and his face, stained with dried tears from his dream. He slowly turned his head around, taking in the surroundings he wasn't familiar with. Then it all hit him, like a bunch of stones falling onto his head, his mind overflowing with the memories from last night. His gaze lowered, till he was looking at his lap. 

His heart began to feel heavy, and tears slowly rolled down his face. He clenched his fists tight as he began to feel angry. 'I cried the entire night why am I still crying!' But his heart soon softened, when he saw the phone that Grace gave him, lying next to his lap on the bed. It must've fallen when he woke up, for he knew he was holding onto that phone for the whole night.

 A small, soft smile soon took over his lips. Thinking about Grace always brought him peace and happiness, now he thought was a good time to call Grace. He picked up the phone with his shaking hands, now from excitement and nervousness.

He switched it on, to see he still had some battery left. The thought of the phone's battery running out crossed his mind, thinking of what he was to do when that happened. But he didn't pay too much attention to it. He instead focused on what he was to do when he still had some battery. Call Grace! 

He scanned the phone looking for where the contacts were. Finding it, he pressed the okay button and saw the same number he saw last night when he was still in Dillow. The cold wind gushed through him while he tried to find comfort in the newspaper blanket he made himself. For a moment, he thought he was creative for coming up with that idea in a short amount of time. 

He shook his head to clear his mind of unnecessary thoughts. All he wanted to think of at that moment, was Grace. He pressed the okay button and he heard the phone ringing, his heartbeat accelerating as he began to have second thoughts about his decision. The ringing stopped, meaning she picked up on the other side. There was silence in the room, on both sides, having no idea what to say. 

"...Hello...?" He could hear her soft voice from the other side of the line. At that moment, he felt his cheeks get warmer, his heart fluttering around in his chest, ready to break out. A warmth surrounded him and he felt he couldn't speak. "Darra...is it you?" She asked, not sure if he was okay or not since he didn't hear his voice from the other side. Just when she was about to hang up, she heard his voice, breaking, as if he hadn't talked in a long time, as if he had a scratchy throat, for his voice almost sounded like that of an old man's.

"Hello..." He said,clearing his voice at the end. 

Then speaking again. "How are you?" A little clearer this time. A smile took over her lips and she joyfully said, "I'm fine! How about you? Are you still in Dillow? If not where are you right now? What is it like? Who are you with? Are your parents around with you?" 

 Her last question darkened him, he didn't want to think about his parents, he didn't want to cry anymore. His eyes were already aching from crying a lot, his face, hot from steaming tears that rolled down, yet tears threatened to fall down his face, once again. His eyes were stinging, and he thought he'd actually cry, because of all the pain he's been going through, mentally, spiritually, and physically. 

"Hey, are you still there, Darr" Her sweet, yet concerned voice woke him up, as if in a trans. "Yeah, uhm...I-I'm fine." His voice was still shaking. He really hated this feeling, because all he wanted to think about was Grace. But his parents, it was like they were right there, giving him a sense of uneasiness.

"What's wrong, Darra?" Grace asked, with full concern in her voice. That. Just that was able to snap him out of it all. The fact that she sounded so concerned for him made his heart warm up, but then shatters into a thousand pieces knowing he made her worry. "No no, nothing at all. Please don't worry." 

He said, rushing at first to spit out the words, but then calming down, at the end of the sentence. "So tell me what's going on." He noticed a hint of longing in her voice, he smiled, finally being able to hear her voice as natural as it always was. "Well, I think I was either adopted, or kidnapped and now I'm in a big mansion in America." He said, not wanting to spoil her good mood with the news of his parent's death.

 "America?!?" He heard her voice echo through both sides of the phone, and a faint, "Keep it down up there" Coming from the other side. He smiled, knowing that's exactly what her parents would say. "How did you get all the way in America?" She asked, her voice a little low, but he could imagine her curious eyes staring at the phone in excitement. "I don't know, one minute I was sleeping under the str-...I mean, on my bed, and the next moment I was inside this huge mansion, with 2 people putting me to bed. They looked like a married couple."

"Why would they take you, and where are your parents? Why are you in America?" She was asking questions that Darra prayed she wouldn't ask. He got angry at himself for speaking so carelessly. He should have picked his words before talking. "Uhh...my parents left on a business trip and left me to my aunt and uncle in America. 

Yeah...that's a believable story..." He said, murmuring the last parts in sarcasm. He never had any relatives he knew of, and anytime he'd ask his parents, they'd always try to change the subject, a slight look of agitation on their faces like they didn't want to even think about that subject. "But I've never seen any of your relatives when I visited. Darra, are you hiding something?" 

She asked, her voice growing angry. At that specific time, he hated to admit that his best friend knew him like the back of her hand. "Of course not, why would I hide anything. It's just that my aunt and uncle live in America so they aren't able to visit too often." He said, trying to sound confident.

"Okay..." She said,extending the vowel as if trying to accept his statements. "Well, I just hopeyour parents call because today is a special day for their son." Jollinessfilling her voice once again was music to his ears. Yet he had no idea whatshe was talking about. "What do you mean?"
"I can't believe you forgot your own special day Darr. HAPPY BIRTHDAY!!"