An Old Oak-tree Secret Chapret 8. AN UNUSUAL BIRTHDAY. Part 1.

This morning was supposed to be one of the best days in Rostik’s life.

It was his birthday.

But the boy woke up in a gloomy mood.

All because something unpleasant had happened the day before.

Something that felt almost like a disaster of cosmic scale.

Rostislav found out that he would not receive the gift he had asked his parents for.

The thing was, Rostik had wanted a dog for a long time, but Mom and Dad were against it.

The boy believed life at home would be much more fun with a dog, especially since he had no brothers or sisters to play with.

His parents tried to explain that pets were not just about fun, but also about big responsibility.

“Rostik, sweetheart, you need to understand that a dog needs care.

It has to be walked regularly and fed on time.

Your dad and I don’t always have the time because of work.

And you’re still too young to walk a dog alone and clean up after it,” Mom explained.

“And we’re often sent on business trips,” Dad added.

“You know that when that happens, we leave town as a family for several days.

Who would we leave the pet with?

Who would take care of it while we’re gone?”

So yesterday, on the eve of Rostislav’s birthday, the topic came up again.

His parents were firm.

Rostik strongly disagreed with their decision and openly expressed his frustration.

He got so angry that at the end of the unpleasant conversation he blurted out:

“If I don’t get a dog, then I won’t have a birthday either.

I cancel it!”

With that, Rostik frowned angrily and stomped off to his room.

A storm of emotions raged inside him.

The desire for everything to be his way burned painfully in his chest.

Disagreement with his parents felt like a lump stuck in his throat.

And he didn’t know what to do with it.

At first, he paced back and forth across the room, scolding himself out loud.

Then he wanted to hit something, but immediately got scared that he might break something.

Not finding a better solution, he went to his bed, stomping loudly so his parents could hear how upset he was.

He sat down sharply, then lay back.

But in his distress, he didn’t notice the wooden headboard and hit it.

That was the last straw in a sea of unfairness.

Rostik felt terribly sorry for himself.

First, he was left without the gift he dreamed of.

Then he argued with his parents.

They didn’t agree with him and didn’t even come to comfort him.

And now he had hurt himself too.

It was so unfair.

Overcome with frustration, Rostik burst into tears.

He would have cried all night if exhaustion hadn’t taken over.

He fell asleep without even changing into his pajamas.

After such an emotional evening, the boy woke up feeling down.

Instead of jumping out of bed and running to the living room to his parents, as he usually did, Rostislav lay there thinking:

“This is the saddest birthday ever.

Before, they always gave me what I wanted.

And this year they flat-out refused.

So what are they even going to give me?

What if it’s something more valuable than a pet?”

For a moment, Rostik lit up and almost sat up in bed.

But the next thought darkened his mood again.

He turned toward the wall, crossed his arms over his chest, and pulled his knees up.

“No.

No gift in the world can replace a dog.

No cool toys.

Not even those balloons…

Wait.

Where are the balloons?”

Only then did Rostislav notice that there were no balloons anywhere.

His parents always decorated his room with balloons for his birthday.

Every year, when he woke up, the room was full of them.

They hung from the ceiling, lay on the floor, on the furniture, even in his bed.

It was always bright and cheerful.

Rostik loved this tradition.

But now there wasn’t a single balloon.

This seemed strange to him.

He sat up, frowned even more, and continued thinking:

“So what does this mean?

Are Mom and Dad offended too?

Did my words yesterday upset them so much that they decided to punish me?

Are they really going to take away all my presents?

Or maybe…”

A frightening thought flashed through his mind.

What if his parents had stopped loving him?

Rostik didn’t know if that was even possible.

But the thought unsettled him so much that he couldn’t sit still anymore.

He gathered his courage and decided to leave his room to talk to his parents.

With hesitant steps, Rostislav headed toward the kitchen, where his mom usually greeted him with a tasty breakfast.

But this time, he was met only by emptiness.

“Mom? Dad? Are you still sleeping?” he called out and went into their bedroom.

No one was there either.

He ran through the entire house, but didn’t find anyone.

Not even in the bathroom.

“Maybe they were called into work?

But they usually take the day off on my birthday…” Rostik thought.

Then he remembered that yesterday he himself had canceled his birthday with that angry sentence.

Realizing that he was left without gifts and without a celebration, Rostik felt completely crushed.

He sat down on a nearby chair at the dining table.

He was about to cry again when he suddenly noticed an envelope on the table.

He picked it up, wiping tears from his eyes, and opened it.

Inside was a note:

“The answers you need are hidden in a secret place.

To get there, answer five questions.

Each answer is one word.

The first letter of each word will show you where to go.

Solve the riddles in order so you don’t get confused.”

“What did you find when you arrived in the village?” Rostik read the first question aloud and thought.

(We invite our dear readers to think along with Rostislav.

If you’ve read all parts of the story, it won’t be hard.)

“Well, I wasn’t really looking for anything.

I arrived and immediately went to visit Aunt Sveta.

And the girls were there…

Ah!

That’s it!

I found friends!” the boy exclaimed happily.

He wrote down the first word and moved on to the next question:

“What almost destroyed your friendship with the girls?”

This one was harder.

Rostik tended to forget unpleasant things.

And he usually got along peacefully with Mila and Rada.

Except for that time at the construction site…

“I blamed the girls for losing the tools, and they got upset with me,” he reasoned aloud.

“But what’s the correct answer?

Judgment?

Offense?

Or maybe anger?”

“I’ll write down all the options for now and see what comes next.”

After writing his guesses, Rostislav read the next question:

“What is the name of the kindest Gnome in the world?”

“Mudrets!” he answered instantly, without hesitation.

There could be no other answer.

Every time they met, the Gnome helped them and gave wise advice.

Rostik especially remembered how Mudrets supported him when everything went wrong and Dad was called into work at the worst possible moment.

“But how did my parents know about the Gnome?

Maybe they meant a character from a book?

Or maybe this letter isn’t from them at all?” the boy wondered seriously.

Then he remembered that the answers were waiting in the secret place and continued.

“What tradition does your family have on Sundays?” Rostik read and sank into memories.

Sunday was his favorite day of the week.

He always spent it with his parents.

They cooked together, went for walks, and played board games in the evening.

But which of these could be called a tradition?

Mom once explained that a tradition had to be something regular and special.

Walks and cooking didn’t quite fit.

But games did.

Their family didn’t just play ready-made games.

They invented their own games and quizzes.

Rostik loved this.

He had even created a couple of games himself.

These memories completely washed away his resentment toward his parents.

He felt how much he loved them.

And realized how much he already missed them.

End of Part One.

The story continues in the next part of the chapter.