Sadie's Sixteenth Birthday

  "Amos?" Sadie's call echoed through the mansion, along with her combat boots clambering down the stairs. Amos sighed and hit the mute button on the remote, instantly silencing the talking the faces. Khufu let out a grunt of disappointment and dunked his hand in a box of Cheerios.

  "Sadie? What is it? I'm in the living room!" Amos called back and soon she appeared in the doorway, her chest rising and falling a little unsteadily.

  "Amos, I would like to visit Dad, today." Amos's head turned towards the young girl.

  "Why?" Sadie sighed.

  "Because it's my sixteenth birthday. Besides, I want to get out of this house before I "hi-nehm" Carter's head." She rolled her eyes and plopped next to Amos on the couch. Amos couldn't help but chuckle; ever since Sadie learned that spell, it was always a threat when it came to Carter and his annoyance of Sadie.

  "I guess you could," Amos said and Sadie nodded.

  "Okay, but how do I get there? I mean, I may be a magician, but I don't know how to get to the afterlife without killing myself." She smirked and a quick flicker of a smile dashed on Amos's lips.

  "Yes, killing yourself wouldn't be too good of an idea," Amos said and got up, "But, follow me, I think I have what you're looking for." The old magician led her to the kitchen and to a cabinet. Amos mumbled an Egyptian spell which -which there was no doubt Sadie couldn't use from time to time - and the door opened, revealing little viles of what Sadie could guess were potions. Amos's fingers scanned the different variety of viles until he found the one he was looking for.

  "Ah, here we are," He said and picked up the vile, handing it to Sadie. "Now, this is a potion that takes you anywhere you want to go, including the Afterlife. Just drink, say where you want to go, and you're there." Sadie nodded and inspected the vile; it was dark red and half full of the concoction, making the rest of the vile look black. Her eyes left the container and met up with Amos's expectant gaze. She smiled a bit and hugged her uncle.

  "Thanks so much, Amos." She pulled back from the embrace and smiled even more. Unusually, Amos smiled a genuine smile.

  "You're welcome, Sadie, just pass on my regards to my brother!" Amos waved to Sadie, who was already darting towards the hall.

  "Will do, Amos!" Sadie looked at the bottle again as she uncorked it, letting its obnoxious fumes fill her nose. She scrunched her nose in distaste but lifted the vile up to her lips and let the potion easily slide down her throat. She kept her eyes shut and whispered, "The Afterlife". She felt a gust of wind and the ground move underneath her feet, the transition of earth moving to the Afterlife and she was along for the ride. This transition was too fast and unexpected for Sadie and a scream of shock left her vocal chords as this happened. She flailed and lost her balance too, making her fall on her butt on the cold, stony floor of the Afterlife. She grumbled some Egyptian curse words—thanks to Amos—and looked around making sure that the floor wasn't going to make a sudden move again. It didn't and she got up, beginning to walk down the hall to where her father was. She saw her father in his throne, talking with her mother. She instantly smile and sprinted the rest of the way.

  "Mum! Dad!" Sadie cried and both of her parent's heads looked in her direction. Soon enough, their smiles both mirrored Sadie's. Sadie was welcomed into her mother's arms.

  "Happy Birthday, love," Ruby said and kissed her daughter's forehead. Sadie's smile saddened a little, her mother's loving kiss felt like a slight gust of bitter wind against her forehead, like a gust of wind from a stormy day in England. Sadie managed to keep a soft smile on her lips, hoping that she was able to hide the disappointment and how much she missed her mother, even with having miscellaneous scraps of memories of her when she was alive and not an apparition.

  "Thanks Mum." She replied and turned to her father, who was now standing up. He hugged her also.

  "Happy Birthday, my child," Sadie rested her head against his chest.

  "Thank you, Dad." He pulled back and looked at her daughter, tucking a crimson-streaked strand of hair behind her hair. He then looked at his wife.

  "Oh, Ruby, look how beautiful she's getting." Her mother appeared by his side, also looking at her. She nodded.

  "Yes, I know. I can't believe that my little girl is sixteen today!" Sadie laughed a little.

  "I can't believe it, either." Both of the parents chuckled.

  "And look, Ruby," Julius said, "Do you see the way her eyes just sparkle with youth and happiness?"

  "Oh yes," Ruby added, nodding her head. Sadie saw her father's face fall, a bad memory shadowing his face.

  "They look like yours when you were living." He whispered and it was full of heartache, so much that Sadie had a sudden urge to cover her eyes, just so she could see the pain go away from her father. She saw her mother's mouth twitch in what she thought was a frown, but then they returned to a neutral look, not showing a lot of emotion.

  "Come, Julius, let us leave Sadie. I think I hear Anubis coming anyway." He nodded and offered his elbow to her. She looped her almost invisible arm through his and they walked off together. Seconds ticked by and in time, Sadie heard paws clacking against the floor. Sadie turned around and he had managed to change back into a teenager. Was it her, or did he look cuter the last time they met? She shrugged that thought off and walked up to him. He was in his usual attire, however his brown eyes seemed lovelier and his hair more tousled and wild. Sadie smiled.

  "Hey, Anubis," She said. He looked at her and politely smiled.

  "Sadie, welcome back." She nodded.

  "Thank you," She replied and paused. "Do you happen to know what day today is?" Anubis tapped his chin teasingly.

  "I think Anubis told me that today was national caviar day," Sadie rolled her eyes and Anubis smirked at her reaction, typical Sadie.

  "Kidding, kidding," Anubis cooed, "It's your birthday." He pulled out a small square which was wrapped in black paper, a simple red bow tied across it. "How could I forget?" He handed the present to her and Sadie looked down at it.

  "What is it?" She asked. Anubis could hear a pinch of excitement in her question.

  "Well, why don't you open it and find out for yourself?" Sadie nodded and Anubis watched Sadie as her fingertips gently unwrapped the ribbon and paper. She continued to look down at the exposed present with a look of confusion now.

  "What is it?" She asked again. Anubis sighed and looked down from her to the present.

  "It's a CD of my favorite jazz songs," He said and Sadie looked up at him, "Straight from New Orleans, Louisiana." Sadie smiled.

  "Wow, thanks, Anubis. This is really cool!" Sadie finally saw the boy smile; it wasn't a flash or a glimpse of one, but a full smile. And what a beautiful smile it was. There was an embarrassed silence between the two and Sadie looked away uneasily while Anubis slid a hand in his pocket.

  "I'm guessing that you might want your other present?" Anubis innocently asked and Sadie raised an eyebrow.

  "Wait, what?" Anubis, you didn't have to get me two presents."

  "Shh…" His breath escaped through his teeth, "This one is free."

  "Oh, okay," Sadie responded incredulously, "Whatever you say. I just don't see where you can't get free things nowadays." Anubis smirked and leaned in close to Sadie. Sadie's eyes widened a bit but Anubis kissed her. It was barely a kiss, just a gentle touch of two inexperienced teenager's lips. But, if it was such a gentle kiss, why were Sadie's knees suddenly weak? And why was Anubis's heart fluttering around in his ribcage? Reluctantly, Anubis pulled away. Both had red cheeks and were smiling sheepishly at one another. Sadie bit her lip.

  "That was probably the best birthday present I ever got," Sadie admitted, looking at him. Anubis nodded, his blush fading.

  "I was happy I could oblige." Sadie's blush went away too.

  "Well, I guess I will be going now." Sadie turned on her heel and started to walk away. Anubis cleared his throat.

  "Sadie," He called, "You're going the wrong way." He walked up to her and took her hand. "Let me show you the right way, it's my job." Sadie half-smiled and nodded, following Anubis down another hallway. Somehow, they got to a door and they both stopped, looking at each other.

  "Thanks a lot for the gifts," Sadie said, "I really appreciate it." Anubis nodded.

  "You're welcome. I, uh, just hope you enjoy them." Sadie smiled.

  "I will." Sadie stood on her tiptoes and quickly kissed Anubis's cheek before opening the door, which took her back to the mansion. She shut the door and rested her head on the door, sighing. She decided, in seconds of silence, that this had been the best birthday by far. Her fingertips idly grazed her lips. Oh yes, definitely by far the best birthday.