LITMIR.BIZ

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her eyes.

      “ - My father is a fashion consultant and agent for several little girl models, including Sandy. My mom was Miss Oregon for two years and made it to the finals of the Miss America pageant twenty-seven years ago. Ava helps out my dad and is trying to make it as an advertising model. Bethany, on the other hand, is working to become the new Miss Oregon, but for now she is a beautician and has no intention of continuing her education, just like Ava. Sandy is only five years old, but she's already won four beauty pageants and her Instagram account has over a million followers, thanks to the efforts of my mom who manages my sisters' public relations. And then there's Sissi. She'll be a year old soon and my dad has already gotten her a contract in a diaper commercial," I explained, showing her the family gathered in various parts of the house, decorated and lit up for a photo shoot. “

       I saw the bewildered expressions of my friends, while my sisters and mother ran from place to place looking for the perfect shot and pretending to eat a piece of chocolate cake or toast with champagne. There was even an area set aside for changing from long evening gowns to tight-fitting sheaths adorned with sparkles and sequins.

      “ Everything is beautiful, but when is it your turn to blow out the candles or have your picture taken? asked Alice, noticing how focused the photographer was on Sandy in front of the most lavish cake ever.

       - There is no turn for me.

       - But your party...

       - This is my party.

       - But you're not there, Kira murmured apologetically.

       - And that's how it works. Here, parties are only for shootings. The fun party with friends has already happened and that was for Sandy. This on the other hand, is not a party but a real modeling shoot, which involves all my sisters and my mother.” I said, pointing to my family sitting in front of the fireplace.

       My mother had a cascade of golden brown hair that fell gracefully over one of her bare shoulders. She held Sissi in her arms, dressed like a princess in peach, like my mother's shimmering dress. Ava was a carbon copy of my mother, and they could be mistaken for sisters given the facial and skin treatments my mother underwent every day. Their only difference was their eyes: my mother's were blue and Ava's were light brown, almost golden, thanks to special lenses she always wore. Bethany stood next to my mother, strapped into a silver dress that left little to the imagination. She, too, was beautiful with her straight blonde hair and blue eyes highlighted by perfect, bright makeup. Next to them was Sandy, with her blonde curls, hazel eyes like mine, skin treated with a pearly self-tanning cream, little mermaid dress and gold heeled sandals.

       Despite my beautiful dress, I was not among them. Not by chance, nobody had come to compliment me or ask me to pose with them. They couldn't risk losing followers and showing that in the middle of so much beauty was hiding an ugly duckling who, growing up, hadn't metamorphosed into a beautiful swan.

       I didn't even take offense when my mother insisted on including Kira and Alice in the shots. I knew it would happen, but I had to hold back my laughter as I watched them run away. Alice looked like someone just out of a cockfight and Kira was so shocked by all the pretensions of perfection that she finally retreated.

      “ I promise not to get offended if you don't invite me to your birthday party with your family next year, Kira blurted out as she cleaned her clothes of a shower of glitter thrown in the air for a photo.

       - I don't want to either. I feel exhausted. In ten minutes, I was asked to do all kinds of poses and smile at the camera, but I didn't even get a piece of cake, Alice added tiredly.

       - At my house, the cake is only for pictures, not for eating. No one wants to get fat or get pimples.

       - They don't even eat your desserts? exclaimed a shocked Alice, who loved my cooking.

       - They don't eat anything I make. They say they're afraid of getting fat like me and that if I want to get people to try my food, I should set a good example by losing at least ten pounds.

       - This is a crazy family! exploded Alice.

       - Well said, young lady!” thundered a voice behind our back.

       We turned around and saw my grandmother, with her perpetual perfect bun taming her now gray hair, her inseparable pearl necklace and a beautiful canary yellow suit. She looked like the Queen of England.

      “ Grandma, at last! I greeted her with a hug. She was the only one who never made me feel alone.

       - Are those geese done with their stupid shots?

       - No, they have another hour or so. But come here. I want you to meet my friends: Alice and Kira.”

       I saw her bright blue eyes focus on the girls, who greeted her kindly.

      “ - I can feel a change in the air, she sighed in the same bewitching voice she used when she read the future to her friends.

       - Grandma, don't start.

       - And you, stop being afraid of change!” she replied as she walked to the old kitchen table, which was not part of the shooting set. She motioned for us to follow her.

       We sat down at the table and my grandmother took out of her bag a small coconut and chocolate muffin and a red candle. She lit it with a lighter.

      “ - I didn't know you were bringing friends, so I only have a muffin to celebrate your birthday, she said.

       - It doesn't matter, Kira and Alice said quickly, moved by the gesture.

       - Fine. In that case, my darling, happy birthday and may this year you be able to realize all those dreams you keep jealously hidden in the drawer of your heart, my grandmother said, handing me the cake and the candle. Now close your eyes, make a wish and blow out the candle.

       - Careful, Felicity. A better wish than the one from a few hours ago, Alice warned me before turning to my grandmother to explain. Today she asked for a boyfriend like ours.

       - If she asked, that means that's what she wants, my grandmother justified.

       - I'll change then, I offered.

       - It's too late. An expressed wish is a wish that has already come true,” my grandmother said in a cryptic voice.

       I seriously doubted that my wish would be granted, but I remained silent.

       I closed my eyes and, in my heart, vowed to remain friends with Kira and Alice forever. And if possible, to have the beauty of Kira and the boldness of Alice.

       I opened my eyes and blew out the candle.

       Kira and Alice clapped happily.

      “ Yes... There is definitely change in the air. I hope you're prepared, because this time fate isn't going to play fast and loose with your wish, my grandmother muttered with a frown.

       - Are you a clairvoyant? asked Alice amused before I could stop her.

       - I'm a fortune teller, my grandmother replied haughtily, pulling out of her bag a deck of custom cards she had created herself, based on symbols like runes and Egyptian hieroglyphics, which only she understood.

       - Really? challenged Alice.

       - Pick three cards and I'll tell you something about yourself and your future,” my grandmother invited her, determined to be taken seriously.

       Although she looked skeptical, Alice agreed.

       She chose three cards with incomprehensible designs.

      “ I see a difficult past, without a mother figure to refer to,” my grandmother murmured, stroking the cards as if she could grasp the meaning of the drawings by their physical contact.

       Alice remained unmoved and looked at me suspiciously, silently asking if she had learned this information from me, but I shook my head. I had never talked about my friends with my grandmother.

      “ Now I see a great love... A rose full of thorns, impossible to pick, but able to love only the person

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