Chapter 9

It was a half hour later when Chan stared with disbelief at the cupcake that looked very much like a cup of hot chocolate in front of her. It was beautifully made with white fondant as the cup and handle and the chocolate meringue as the hot chocolate. On top of this sat a pretty little candle.

“What is it for?” she asked, pointing chopsticks at it.

“It’s your birthday cake,” replied Dara proudly. “Since you made it quite clear you don’t want a party or fancy birthday cake with the number twenty-five on top of it, Soriya and I made an executive decision we’d just go with the cupcake.”

Chan sighed. They had to do it, didn’t they? These sisters of hers had to remind her today was her birthday. Of course, they’d never thought much about birthdays, since their mom had passed on, in fact. There was no joy without her, so they never did anything to celebrate when that time of year came around for them.

“Twenty-five is a quarter of a century,” Dara said. “I think it’s special, so even if we’