Estrianna

“Good Morning Estrianna, Happy Birthday!!!” Three voices say in unison. I am woken up to kisses, tickles and my bonnet being taken off. My eyes start adjusting to the light as I groan them all the way open to see six eyes staring back at me. I smile as my twin sisters give me an extra dose of kisses. While my little brother eagerly tries to pull me out of bed. I let my body go limp to make it harder for him to pull me off. What can I say?….. I like to make them work for it. A giggle fit erupts from my belly as my feet and sides are then attacked in a tickle ambush from the trio. Shariah and Symphony, my 5 year old sisters are very gorgeous little girls with chestnut skin, and 3c/4a hair just like mine but a little tighter. With their big dark brown eyes and cute spacey smiles they can get away with almost anything. They are not identical but can definitely fool the eye upon meeting them or….. not paying attention. They love that part. Zion, my seven year old brother is already bigger than most boys his age. With his deep chocolate skin, dark brown almond eyes, and long locs that sink almost to the middle of his back. He towers over them at 4ft and 3inches…. and a half. He used to be very insecure about his height at first. Constantly trying to shrink himself in his class pictures. I do understand why though, being the tallest in the class kinda makes you a spectacle, I know from experience. We had a few talks about it and I told him if they are going to stare at you give them something to stare at. With that he joined the football team and became a menace on the field. I’ll just say you don’t wanna be tackled by him when he’s mad especially when I’m running late to one of his games. “Ok ok, I give, you win I’m up now” I chuckled “Yayyyyyyy” Shariah shrieks landing another kiss on my cheek I get up from my bed slipping on my lavender bear slippers. Letting my siblings guide me towards the kitchen so I can start breakfast. I grabbed the pancake mix, eggs, corn beef hash, green onions and some tomatoes. The Twins help me with the pancakes, mixing around the flour with their spoons as I slowly pour in the water. Zion starts cracking the eggs into a bowl while I chop up the onions and tomatoes. I add it to the bowl of eggs with a splash of milk, pepper, salt, paprika and garlic powder. I let Zion mixed the concoction up while I took the pancake bowl from the twins. Handing wet paper towels to clean their hands and the mess they made on the floor. I grabbed the food coloring, taking out the blue and red bottles and some pretty pink edible glitter and started to make Pixie Dust Pancakes. I learned this recipe from my auntie Amira. She made them for my birthday each year before she passed. I soon started making them for my siblings' birthdays to be closer to her but also help her legacy stay alive in my own way. I let them pick their own colors for their pancakes, but I always make mine the same way as my auntie did for my birthday.Slowly I drop one drop each of red and blue food coloring until I achieve the desired lavender color I’m looking for. Then I add the edible pink glitter to mix. I turned on the fire with butter and started to add the mixture to the pan. Setting two other pans on the stove for the eggs and corned beef hash. I set the plates on the table for the kids. They smiled brightly at me as I set down their orange juice. “Thank you Estrianna” they said in unison “It’s sooooo yummy” Symphony says as she smiles jamming a piece of pancake in her mouth “And pretty, it’s sparkling in the sunlight” Shariah said as she turned the plate towards the sun. “Your welcome mamas” I beam. “ I could eat this for the rest of my life, can you make this everyday.” Zion says basically inhaling his food, Goddess where does he put it all. “You know these are for special occasions, if we had them everyday they wouldn’t be so special now would they” I say giving him a smirk. He smirks back at me. “Oh fine I guess you're right” he sighs as he sneaks a piece of pancake off of Symphony’s plate. She doesn’t notice and thank goddess neither does Shariah. The last thing I need is the twins going WWE on Zion right now. I make another plate and a cup of tea and walk towards the back of the house where my mother's room is. I opened up the door to her room to see she’s half asleep. The sound of door creaking annoys her, opening one of her eyes to look at me. She was a beautiful woman with copper skin and beautiful 3c dark brown curly hair that just passed her shoulders, about 5”7 in height and honey eyes like that of my grandmother. And a perfect smile that leaves you uneasy when she’d flash it towards you. You would absolutely think she was my sister, which she loved you to believe. “Just leave the plate over there Estrianna” my mother grumbled “And make sure the kids don’t make up too much noise, their father is coming back today and expects the house to be neat as a button” my mother blankly states. “Yes mommy” I said nodding as I placed the plate and tea on the nightstand. I went to close the door knowing I won’t get a “happy birthday'' much less a thank you for the food.The door barely clicks before she yells. “And don’t slam my f*****g door!” “I’m sorry mommy” I whispered knowing if I said “ I wasn’t” she would get out of bed and that’s the last thing I wanted on my birthday. I head back to the kitchen to catch my siblings cleaning their plate. I tell them to go wash up and brush their teeth while I start to wash the dishes and clean the kitchen before making my own birthday meal. I platted my food and washed the pots and pans I used and cleaned the stove. Finally I sit down, taking a bite of my now barely lukewarm food. I don’t mind it though I just concentrated on the flavor and memories of my former birthdays. Back when everyone used to come for my birthday. When my dad used to wake me up at dusk to watch the sunrise at the lake where we used to live.