Part 1 — The Birthday Nobody Remembered

At exactly midnight, Emma opened her eyes.

For a few seconds, she lay completely still in the darkness.

Then she smiled.

“Happy birthday to me,” she whispered.

She reached for her phone on the nightstand.

Normally, she didn’t care much about birthdays.

But this year was different.

This year, she had secretly hoped someone would remember.

Maybe her mother.

Maybe her best friend from college.

Maybe one of the people she had spent years helping whenever they needed something.

She unlocked her phone.

Nothing.

No messages.

No missed calls.

No notifications.

She refreshed the screen.

Still nothing.

She laughed softly.

“Maybe they’re waiting until morning.”

She placed the phone beside her pillow and tried to sleep.

At 7:00 a.m., she checked again.

Nothing.

At 8:30.

Nothing.

At 10:00.

Still nothing.

By noon, Emma finally stopped checking.

She made herself coffee.

She stood in front of the mirror.

“Happy birthday,” she whispered again.

This time, she didn’t smile.

Part 2 — The People She Always Remembered

Emma had always remembered other people’s birthdays.

She remembered her mother’s birthday every year.

She ordered flowers.

She called her brothers.

She sent cards to friends.

She remembered coworkers’ birthdays.

Even the birthday of the woman who lived next door.

When people needed help, Emma was usually the first person they called.

“Can you help me?”

“Can you come with me?”

“Can you watch the kids?”

“Can you lend me some money?”

“Can you listen?”

And Emma almost always said yes.

But somewhere along the way, she had become the person everyone depended on…

and nobody checked on.

She opened her contacts.

She stared at the names.

Her finger hovered over her mother’s number.

She almost called.

Then she stopped.

“No.”

She didn’t want to remind anyone.

If someone remembered her birthday, she wanted it to be because they cared.

Not because she had reminded them.

So she put her phone down.

She changed into a simple purple top.

Then she left her apartment.

She decided to spend her birthday alone.

Part 3 — The Restaurant

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