Birthday What was the unforgettable thing that happened during your birthday? Well, until recently, I've never celebrate my birthday normally with my friends. Even during boarding school it was just like singing a birthday song at twelve and wishing me "Happy Birthday!". But yesterday it was a little different than before. Coincidentally, I got a phone call from my friend who is studying in another college. I went out of the room to talk with him. During the call, my friend, Nazurah, called me back to my room. I had a feeling that she was up to something. My room was dark and when I went into the room my other friends sang a birthday for me. They even bought a cake for me. I really appreciated it. As for the presents, I got two teddy bears, a small one and a big one, and some snacks from my friends. It was the first time I got a bear doll as during child, my parents often gave me other kind of animals' dolls such ad elephant and turtle. A teddy bear sure gave a different feeling to me as it was unexpectedly 'normal'. Maybe I am the one who did not grow up normally? Anyway, I just want to thanks all of my friends or remembering my birthday which I also had forgotten that night. Thanks to the phone call I remember my birthday. And to those who gave me the presents, thank you so much! I really appreciate it. Thank you.

Sleepy Lately I had been very sleepy during classes. It is not that I wasn’t sleepy before though. Anyway, even during my favourite lesson which is Japanese Language, I almost fell asleep. I don’t know what I have done that made me this sleepy. Maybe it is cause by fatigue? Stress? Well, to be honest, I’m not the type to stay up late just to study. Unless if I had homework that need to be hand in by the next day. I can't even remember how much sweets I had been eating during classes to keep me from falling asleep but most of the time they didn't work. I still feel sleepy and cannot concentrate properly. I ought to have diabetes if this still keep going on. So, what is the cause of my sleepiness? How do I get rid of this problem? Even now I'm trying to have a proper sleep schedule and my teacher also suggested that I take supplement for my body. Keeping a healthy and energetic body takes a lot a work, right?

Short stories3. The next day, I went to the town to do some sight-seeing. On my way back, I saw one of the girls from the house sitting alone near a flower field. I went to her and tried to start a conversation. At first she looked a bit afraid but then she started to open up to me. Maybe it was because I was a girl. She was the youngest girl among the others and looked quite sensitive. She told me that she had lost her money when she took a nap there. As a boy, I did not know how to comfort a girl but I just calmed her down by saying that it was not her fault. I just acted the way they did in the movies. I felt guilty but as long as it calmed the girl I had to bear with it. From there I knew why girls are better at comforting others than boys. Even though they faked it but everyone would feel comfortable when being with a girl. It was late in the evening when I finally got home. The girl also went home with me. At the front door the whole family was waiting for our arrival. They had worried looks on their faces. It is dangerous for a girl to be outside late. Their mother gave us a lecture but I knew that deep in her heart she was really worried about us. I was really touched by how great a woman only when I had been turned into a woman myself. I missed my sister and I hoped I would be given a chance to apologize to her.

Short stories2. I went downstairs and saw an astonishing design for a house interior. The pictures were hanged upside down and the doors to each room were different in shapes and colours. I just depended on my sense of smell and intuition to find the kitchen as the hallway was very long. Luckily I found the right room. The table was set for ten people. I guessed the woman had a big family. The woman came out from another door bringing a jug of red water. I offered to help but she declined and insisted that I just sat down and wait for the food to be prepared. A few minutes later, the door was opened a row of seven to eight teens around my age walked in. As I watched, they smiled at me. The lunch started without any of them asking about my sudden appearance. I took a walk around the garden outside the house and saw a wide field not far from it. One of the teens before was riding a white horse at the field. He came at me and smiled. “Care to have a ride with me?” he asked with a charming smile on his face. I was startled to hear that. A man saying those words to another man? It was a total bizarre. Then I remembered that I was a girl at that time. I refused his offer and headed back to the house. I accidentally went into the wrong room and there was a girl there reading a book. She grabbed me by my hand and started talking to me like we were best friends. She talked a lot about stuff that I did not understand and unbelievably it lasted for almost two hours. I wondered how she managed to talk non-stop without feeling exhausted. I excused myself politely and searched for my room but unfortunately I went into the wrong room again. This time there was a girl sitting in front of a mirror. She was very beautiful and her golden hair was long down to her waist. As she saw me, she called me to come to her. I could not refuse as I was astonished by her appearance. She abruptly hugged me and pushed me on the chair. I was surprised by her sudden brute strength. She told me how disappointed she was to see a girl like me wearing dirty dress and having my hair messy. I bet the dirt got onto me when I was walking at the field before. She changed my dress and combed my hair neatly. I was a bit embarrassed when she undressed me but I tried to think about other things. She put ornaments on my hair. I could feel her brute hand before had became gentler as she touched my hair. “A woman could not be judged by her appearance,” I thought. To be continued...

Short stories. When I first opened my eyes, I saw a weird looking sky above me. The last thing that I remembered was having a fight with my sister when she complained about my hair and I rushed out of the house filled with anger. At that time, I just hope that all the women in this world would vanish as they were very annoying. I tried to get up but my whole body hurt a lot. I could just lay there hoping for the people to notice me and give some help. My body suddenly felt heavy and I fell asleep. “Aaron, wake up,” I could hear my mother’s voice waking me up. “5 minutes more,” I replied. I felt something soft under my nose and I could not stop myself from sneezing. I woke up just to see myself being in a very weird room with strange furniture. The cupboard was very tall but the upper part was oddly bigger than the lower part. So did the drawer next to my bed, it was made of a trunk of tree and some mystifying blue weed grew on it. But suddenly I realized something funny about my body; it did not feel like my own body at all! I ran towards the mirror on the cupboard and the figure that I saw was something unbelievable. It is definitely a girl’s body! I was sure I grew up as a boy for almost 18 years of my life. Tok! Tok! The door was knocked from the outside. A short woman came in bringing a bowl of water and a piece of towel. She was about 4 feet tall and she had a very kind look in her eyes. “Good morning.. or should I say afternoon? The sun is already getting high. What’s your name, my dear?” she asked. “I’m Aar.. I mean, Alice,” I replied. Obviously ‘Aaron’ was not a suitable name for a girl. “I see. If you are okay now, come join us for lunch downstairs,” she said. I just nodded my head and watch her leaving the room. I tried to grasp the situation that I got myself into. I changed into a proper cloth and I realized that it was hard to be a girl. The dress was suffocating and it was also hard to tie my long hair. I wonder how the girls in my class get used to these kind of things. To be continued...

Best friend Do you have someone, except your family, who influenced your life greatly? What do you think about him/her? Do you feel grateful to them as you are what you are now because of them? Or do you hate them for what you have become now? As for me, I have someone who greatly influenced my life up until now. She is my best friend, Majidah. I first met her when we were six years old. Back then, we still didn't know that fate would bring us together again 4 years later and we became best friends. We always hang out together after school while waiting for our parents to pick us up. She always told me about her big brother who collected comics and sometimes she brought it to school for me to read. At first, I didn't really interested to read such comics but then watch the cartoon in Japanese or commonly known as anime. Then I realised that Japanese language was very interesting. Not to mention the beautiful character in the anime. From that point on, I had always dream of going to Japan. Although it is such a childish dream but I had given a big sacrifice in order to achieve this dream of mine.