Perplexed

Later that evening, we’d had a small, thrown together birthday party for me. It was nice of my family to do something. I had thought, perhaps, they’d forgotten about my birthday, in all of the hustle of moving. My mom gave me a new case for my phone that I’d been looking at online, which seemed a little useless out here in the woods when there wasn’t much of a signal most of the time, but I’d still been happy to see it. Max had picked out a new hoodie for me, which I thought would be a good thing to have. It was red, my favorite color, and oversized, which made it super comfortable. My sister gave me a drawing she’d done of the two of us together. I cherished it. Grayson is such a good artist. I wished I’d had a frame to put around it, but I’d used some tape to stick it on the wall in my new room, for now. Grandma had baked me her famous German chocolate cake. It isn’t necessarily my favorite, but I did appreciate her thoughtfulness. Overall, it was a nice birthday, though small, a few days late, and none of my friends were there.

That night, as I sat on the edge of my mattress staring at the drawing of me and Grayson at the park that hung on the wall above my bed, there was a knock on my door. “Come in!” I said quietly.

When the door pushed open, it was Grandma. She shuffled in, holding a large, flat box in her arms. “Hello, door,” she said in a quiet voice. I wasn’t sure why she was whispering. I knew my parents had gone to bed about an hour ago, and Gray had been in her room for the last three or four hours. Part of that time, she had been attempting to get a signal on her phone so she could talk to her friends, and part of that time she’d been crying, cursing ever moving to this, “Horrible, horrible place!” So I didn’t think there was much chance of her waking any of them, even though our rooms were small and close together. The walls seemed to be made of the same thick logs the exterior of the house was made of. Occasionally, I could hear something from Grayson’s room next door, but not much. 

Nevertheless, Grandma was being quiet as she closed the door and came over to sit next to me on the bed, patting the box. “How are you, dear?” she asked, lovingly tapping the palm of her hand on top of the box as if it was the most precious gift she’d ever held.

That is, if it happened to be a gift. I wasn’t sure what it was. The box was black, and while it appeared to be made of cardboard, it was sturdy and just large enough to hang over Grandma’s lap on either side, about six or eight inches high.

“I’m okay,” I said, not wanting to complain. It wouldn’t do me any good anyway. “How are you?”

I nodded. We’d already sort of spoken about that, when she’d told me about the forest being alive. I didn’t want to talk about it again. I honestly just wanted to go to sleep, to maybe dream about being back in California. But I also wanted to know what was in that box. I figured she’d tell me eventually, and I didn’t want to be rude, so I smiled and said nothing.

“I won’t keep you up, dear,” Grandma said, apparently reading my mind. “Here you go. This is your birthday present. I wanted to give it to you earlier, but I didn’t think your mother would approve.”

I raised an eyebrow. Why would Mom not approve of the gift? And, if that was the case, why was Grandma giving it to me now anyway? 

I didn’t ask those two questions aloud, just accepted the box as Grandma slid it over onto my lap. “Thank you.”

“Oh, I hope you like it,” Grandma said, interlacing her fingers.

Whether I did or not, I’d be sure to pretend as if it were the best present I’d ever received. The lid wasn’t taped, there was no paper, and no ribbon held it closed, so I simply lifted the lid. 

I was puzzled as I took in the gift. It seemed… odd to me. I knew Grandma wanted me to love it, and I wanted to love it as well, or at least pretend to, but when I saw what it was, I didn’t know exactly what to say or do. 

Reaching into the box, I pulled the garment out and lifted it to get a better look, to be sure it was what I thought it was. As I pulled the soft, red fabric out of the box, I saw that it was indeed what I thought it was.

“Do you like it?” Grandma asked, her voice soft, light, and a little airy.

“Oh, yes. It’s beautiful,” I said, still puzzled.

“I was thinking, now that you’re here, you’ll need it.”

Raising an eyebrow, I stared at her for a moment, not exactly sure why she would think such a thing, but she didn’t further elaborate. Now, confused and not certain how to respond, I folded the garment and put it back inside of the box, patting it lovingly, the way I’d seen my grandma do the outside of the box. “Thank you so much, Grandma.”

“You’re welcome dear. Just… don’t mention it to your mother. Not yet. Hang it in the back of your closet, won’t you?”

“Sure.” I wouldn’t have a problem doing that. I couldn’t imagine why I would need this. My stepdad had just bought me a nice hoodie. It was so strange. 

Grandma got up, kissed my cheek, and headed out the door, leaving me perplexed.

Why in the world had Grandma thought I needed this--a red, hooded cape?