[DARROW] November 5th

My own birthday had passed without any sort of affair, though that was entirely my own doing. It just hadn't felt right to celebrate the year that I had lived beyond Tommy and Ruth and the rest of them. I wasn't even sure how many people in the city even knew when it was, save for those that might have seen my administrative files.

But I knew I couldn't let the same happen for Marius. He brought too much joy into my life – and into the lives of so many others – for the day to not be acknowledged, be celebrated. I hadn't known what to do until I realised that he wasn't the sort of person that demanded much, and that was part of the reason why I loved him. He could live simply. We both could.

So I made dinner and wrapped a selection of my favourite books up for him in bright red paper, tying it with a gold-colored bow. Most of the gifts I'd bought before had been from the Sales, it felt strange to have the whole city to search through. But I wanted to share what I loved of literature with him.

I made tea instead of buying wine, straightening the dress of my skirt when he returned from work. "Happy birthday," I said, kissing his cheek.