LUNA
Sabrina popped by in around an hour, paper bags strapped around her elbows as she strut in my room. "Whoa, what's all this?l" I asked taking some of her strenuous load away and setting them on my bed.
"Oh I wanted to pick my outfit with you so I brought along all the options. The rest of it is just my make up," she said as she heaved the rest of the bags on the bed.

"O-oh, I see," I chewed the inside of my cheek with embarrassment, I had chosen my dress and jewellery without consulting her. I was about to lie, that I too, was waiting for her arrival so we could agree on my whole look but then my gaze fell on the black dress and jewellery set spread out on the bed leaving no room for such a feeble fabrication.

Her eyes followed mine and for a moment they darkened, "Oh, you've already decided," she fidgeted with her pink belt's heart shaped buckle. She blinked away her disappointment fast but I didn't miss it and neither did the twinge punishing my heart for being such an inconsiderate friend.

She circled around the bed, picking up my dress, examining it. It was a black, ruched, body con dress with delicate golden chains that flowed from the straps down the upper arms. I had opted to pair it with a black pendant enclosed in an intricate web of golden wires with long, dangling earrings. The whole ensemble was a bit too much for a simple birthday party taking place at home but I didn't care for such things. I wore what I liked whenever I wanted to. I was too young to be stressing about the appropriateness of my attire right now.

"Well, well, well," Sabrina teased, "someone's stepping into dangerous territories."
"What's that supposed to mean?" I grinned.
"Are we perhaps looking to impress someone? Are we finally sneaking out to meet someone before your birthday?" She said holding up the dress from its hem, "because honey you're lucky if this dress makes it past your ass." To others it may have sounded like she was shaming me but I knew the last part was meant to be a compliment. I mean I do have a nice ass, I guess.

I shoved her away rolling my eyes. "It's to impress myself, a girl's got to look pretty once in awhile to remind herself she's more than just a gremlin that does art."
"Touché."
We sat down as she started ridding the bags of their contents. She laid out a top adorned with golden sequins, a black velvety skirt with a slit followed by a plain body con dress that would look stunning on her slim frame. She unfolded a few more articles, each one equally flattering and reflective of Sabrina's haute wardrobe. However, Sabrina did not require all those flashy clothes to shine, she could wear a potato sack and still appear radiant. She had the body and face of a super model and I would be lying if I said I wasn't a little envious of her.

"So? Which one should I wear?" She said crossing her arms, satisfied with how neatly she had displayed them.
"I don't know, all of them are...simply ravishing," I said nibbling on my knuckle, "I honestly can't choose."
"Please, I'm losing my mind trying to decide on one," she groaned. I sunk my chin into my palms, darting my eyes back and forth over the dresses.
"This one!" I said finally slamming my hand on a black ruffled dress with a glamorously large bow to adorn her neck.
"Love it. Now I don't have to worry about matching a necklace with this one," she sighed with relief as if we had saved a whole city from a food crisis.
"I just saved your life princess, you owe me one," I intoned.
"I sure do, now tell me, what shoes should I match with these?"
I groaned audibly, shoving my face into a pillow, earning myself a series of punches from Sabrina as she forced me to select her shoes for her as well.

After being held hostage as Sabrina's personal designer for half an hour, we headed downstairs to decorate the living room. Sabrina had brought along enough matte black and golden balloons to cover a whole wall with. She had went as far as to get a whole bouquet of foil balloons with similar colours, glittering hearts and star shapes bobbed in the air, casting technicolor shadows across the walls as the sun rays hit their shiny surfaces.

"For good pictures you know," she had clarified before I could chid her for spending so much on balloons.
We sat together on the pine coloured velvet couch, blowing away our lungs into them, gifting them their short lived lives. Even Brandon joined in eventually because he had nothing else to do but left when boredom set in. Mom was busy in the kitchen cooking up dishes that would fatten me up for the rest of the week. The aroma of spices, sizzling oil and sautéed vegetables wafted into the living room, teasing my senses.

Sabrina seemed mostly unbothered. She ate only because the human body required food to survive and that implication too would often slip out of her mind. Eating was a chore for her, which, if I'm being honest is because of her mother's lacklustre cooking skills.

After we had accumulated a tiny mountain of balloons we stuck them on the bare wall behind the couch in a circle. I worked away at the bottom while Sabrina stood on the couch, effortlessly covering the top of the wall with her gifted height.

Beams of sunlight scalded our faces and arms as they poured through the expansive window that hung adjacent to the wall we were decorating. Beads of sweat tricked down my forehead from squatting up and down, sometimes standing on my tip toes with arms outstretched to reach an out of reach crevice that was required to be hidden by balloons.

We slammed our strained bodies on the couch, it's weak legs shuddering from impact. We both stared up at the arch of balloon we had created, smiling at our handiwork.
"Just needs a Happy Birthday banner and your name," Sabrina chirped.
"Oh god no, it's all the way up in the attic, I can't-"
"You're turning nineteen, not ninety."
"My body says otherwise,"I panted. "Please, it's like the cherry on top. You're going to have amazing pictures to post for months with such a backdrop," she pleaded.
"Fine," I cried with a whine, pushing my body up while my aching muscles begged me to sit back down.
"Love you," Sabrina called out as I headed upstairs. I stuck my tongue at her from the stairs but she was busy with something on her phone, typing away furiously.

I borrowed a stool from Brandon's room, so I could reach the hatch that lead to the attic in the roof. I undid the lock and slid down the ladder tucked behind the hatch, it screeched painfully, rust scratching its joints. I hoped it's feeble frame would withstand my weight.
It did, however it groaned in protest at every step I placed upon it. I clambered upwards, landing on my knees.

I scanned my surroundings, the thick musty air congesting my already exhausted lungs. It was dark in here, the only source of light was a round ancient window, slick with dust and grime. It emitted sunlight in uneven blotches. Dust floated, appearing and disappearing as it entered and left the scarce beams.

Someone really needs to clean this place sometime, I thought to myself. That someone was me, I wasn't going to shamelessly go up to my mother and ask her to clean this place and Brandon would never bother to help out. His room mirrored the state of this attic anyways. He'd probably come up and tell me the attic was perfectly fine and he couldn't find anything to clean.

I got up, dusting my hands on my skirt as I made my way towards a collection of old, battered boxes, stacked against the wall. Thankfully, they were labelled so I could fetch what I needed and get out of here as soon as possible; polluting my lungs with years of dust and mould was a very unappealing idea. I ran a finger against the labels scribbled untidily with a black marker, dad's handwriting. My finger darkened, collecting dust.

Cassettes, Luna's art project, Books, Dad's stuff, VCR, Light bulbs, Family Photo Albums, Deco...got it!
I slid out the box gingerly, careful not to topple the ones stacked over it. My attention was snagged by the box titled Family Photo Albums. I couldn't recall Mom and Dad ever showing me any physical photo albums of us. Any old photos of us I had came across were the ones they had on their laptops and phones. I didn't know they had them printed and tucked away in albums as well. I made a mental note to check them out later.

I retrieved the 'Happy Birthday' banner we used every year for everyone's birthday. The thread holding the letters together was nearing its end. It had served its purpose dutifully for the last five years. Perhaps it was time to let it go this year.

I also found the silver foil balloons that spelt my name, neatly folded and preserved in their packaging. I realised both the banner and and balloons were silver, not golden. Sabrina was going to have a fit upon discovering this. I had desperately stopped her from buying those because I assured her I already had them at home, except I forgot a minute detail that they went against the theme.
Oh for god's sake we aren't babies anymore, I grumbled to myself exiting the attic. I was glad to be greeted with abundant light and air that didn't smell like dirty laundry.

I trudged downstairs and laid out the bad news in front of Sabrina.
"Silver???" She huffed, trying to form a sentence but all that escaped her lips were chocked, gurgling noises. She paced around the living room, her hand pressed against her forehead while I followed her, half surprised, half amused. I didn't expect her to be this upset over something so fatuous. I mean she was Sabrina, nothing ever bothered her, until now.

"W-we still have time, I can go grab something in gold-"
"No, we're going to put these up, go get ready and move on from this like sane people," I said taking her by her shoulders and shaking her, like it would roll her head into sense.
"Promise me you're okay with this?" She turned to look at me, her eyes teetering at the edge of tears.
"Yes- oh my god are you crying?"
"No," she sobbed flicking away fat tears that had now begun their descent down her pale cheeks, "I'm sorry this was supposed to be a perfect day for you. You got attacked last week and now this-"
I pulled her hard into me, laughing softly at her abrupt breakdown. "Sabrina, it's just a banner, I don't care if it's silver, orange or even...mustard," I said rocking her gently. Mustard was my least favour colour and she knew. "What matters is you're here. My day would only be ruined if you weren't here to celebrate it with me," I said gently dabbing her tears away with the hem of my shirt, sincerely praying it wouldn't give her a pink eye tomorrow.

She nodded slowly, pulling herself up. She blinked away the remaining few tears and sighed.
"I don't know what got into me for a minute there," she shook her head, slipping back into her usual easy going demeanour.
"A depressed ghost from the attic might've followed me all the way down here and then decided to possess you," I poked.
"Okay comedian, help me put these up or we won't have time to doll up," she said holding up the banner. I obliged, filling the balloon arch with what it lacked.