Picturing Different by Nikki Kwiatkowski

Author:Nikki Kwiatkowski [Kwiatkowski, Nikki]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Published: 2020-11-19T05:00:00+00:00

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Ashlyn sat down in a chair her mother had placed near the table of gifts as others stood around, some solely focused on her, others drinking soda and stuffing their faces.

“Alright,” Poppy began. “Your father and I want to go first, because I know this is going to be your best gift, and I simply can’t hold it in any longer!”

Ashlyn smiled. Her mother’s excitement was contagious. She didn’t know what she was expecting. Her parents hadn’t asked her what she wanted for her birthday, nor had she mentioned anything. She only hoped this wouldn’t be one of those gifts where she’d have to pretend that it was the best thing ever.

She was a little surprised and slightly underwhelmed when her father handed her mother the envelope which she then received. Knowing the practicality of her parents, it was probably a trust or maybe something set up for college.

“Thank you,” she told her mom once she received it.

“Hurry up, open it,” Poppy exclaimed. Daniel placed his hands on her shoulders and whispered in her ear.

Ashlyn put her finger under one of the corners of the envelope and began tearing it open. When she looked inside, she saw something colorful, and as she carefully withdrew it, realized that it was a pamphlet full of picturesque nature scenes. She opened it. There were more pictures, ones of animals, with descriptions and statistics that she didn’t have time to read as she sat there.

She looked up to see her parents smiling from ear to ear. “I don’t under–”

“We’re taking you to Africa this summer,” Poppy screamed. Several people gasped and clapping ensued. “There’s a reserve that we’ll be staying at. You’ll get to see so much! We know how much you love to take pictures and we thought this would be a wonderful experience!”

Ashlyn looked back down at the pamphlet. The next page talked about excursions and activities.

Tears came to her eyes, and the only thing she could think of was to tell herself not to cry. As happy as she was, she knew that there was going to be an uncomfortable talk in the future, one where she had to tell her parents what happened to her camera.

She jumped up from her seat and ran into her parents’ arms. “Thank you, so much! This is like a dream come true.” It was. She’d be able to see things that she had never seen in her life.

“We love you,” her father said, and gave her a quick kiss on her forehead, not wanting to embarrass her.

Ashlyn went back to opening the rest of her gifts. She wanted to be quick about it, fully knowing that her friends and family didn’t want to stand around quietly watching something so uneventful. Most of her friends got her gift cards. She was grateful for that. They were something that she could either definitely use for herself, or absolutely regift at a later point in time.

She was rather surprised when she opened the gift from the aunt and uncle who were horrible when it came to presents and knowing anything about her.

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