Amirah lightly traced her hand across the cover of the book. Suddenly, words began to appear where her fingers had been.
She gasped, then read: “The Story of the Magical Land of Birthdays.”
Amirah looked up at the B-Buds. “I think this is it,” she said. “The clue we’ve been searching for. I think we’re going to find out everything we need to know.”
“What are we waiting for?” Elvis asked eagerly. “Let’s read it!”
Amirah and the B-Buds sat on the ground in a circle. Then Amirah opened the book.
The page was blank.
She quickly turned to the next page, only to discover it was blank too.
“They’re blank,” she said as she flipped from one page to the next. She looked up at her B-Buds in dismay. “It’s a blank book!”
Everyone started talking at once.
“Is it a fake?”
“Is it someone else’s present?”
“Maybe you’re supposed to write the story of the Magical Land of Birthdays!”
“Maybe the story starts now!”
Amirah tried to focus. In her heart, she knew it was the right present. But she couldn’t figure out why the pages were blank. There had to be a reason—
Turn the page.
The voice inside Amirah was louder than ever. She nodded, almost to herself. She would turn every page in this thick book, each and every one of hundreds of pages, until she reached the very end.
“Amirah?”
She glanced up.
“It’s blank. Why do you keep turning the pages?” Mei asked.
“I don’t know,” Amirah said simply. “I just want to see every page—just to make sure—”
Then, suddenly, she gasped. Halfway through the book, words began to appear like magic the moment Amirah touched the page.
The Birthday Basher
She read the words aloud, her voice trembling with excitement.
“Whoa,” Elvis said. “What—where—how—”
“The words?” Amirah asked, keeping her fingers pressed against the page. “I don’t know, honestly. It’s like . . .”
Amirah’s voice trailed off as she tried to find the words. “It’s like the book is only going to tell us what we need to know,” she finished.
“Hurry, then,” Lacey urged her. “Hurry before the words disappear!”
As if on cue, all the B-Buds inched forward, eager to hear what the book would reveal.
Amirah took a deep breath and began to read.
The Birthday Basher
There came to pass that a boy was born with more birthday magic than anyone before him. This boy, destined to become the prince of the Magical Land of Birthdays, was filled with so much birthday magic that he brought joy to everyone around him—no matter if it was their birthday or not.
As such, he found a previously unidentified route to the Magical Land of Birthdays at an early age and became the youngest human to venture into the land. His B-Buds soon followed, one after another, as the boy’s powerful birthday magic drew them forth. They forged an unbreakable birthday bond. Everyone in the land rejoiced when he was crowned the prince, for under his guidance and leadership, it was certain that birthday joy would continue to grow until each and every person was filled with it!
Then it all came crashing down. Some terrible deed, some deep disappointment, befell the prince. No longer did he love birthdays. Now he hated them, despised them, and the birthday magic within him curdled into something bitter and ugly. Though his powers continued to grow, they transformed into unhappy birthday magic, and—unbeknownst to him—unleashed a curse across all the land. It was a contagion that, left unchecked, would sap the joy and love of birthdays from all until birthdays themselves were forgotten.
There is but one who can stop the Birthday Basher from continuing his reign of misery, an individual who was blessed with birthday magic to rival his own. But until this individual is revealed, the Birthday Basher’s ceaseless quest will continue to destroy the Magical Land of Birthdays and all birthday magic, day . . . by day . . . by day.
When Amirah finished reading, the B-Buds were quiet. The seriousness of the story weighed heavily on them. No one knew what to say—or do.
“It wasn’t just our imaginations, then,” Amirah finally said. “There really is something wrong in the Magical Land of Birthdays.”
“Turn the page,” Lacey urged her. “See if the book says anything else.”
No one spoke as Amirah turned the pages, one by one, until she reached the very end of the book. There weren’t any other words. That single chapter about the Birthday Basher was all the book wanted them to know.
“I wish we had more information,” Olivia said. “Who is this guy, anyway? How can we find him?”
“I wish we knew more about what happened to him,” Amirah said. “I can’t imagine anything that could make me hate birthdays.”
“Did you ever think that maybe the book is trying to tell us that we can’t stop him?” Lacey spoke up.
Everyone turned to look at her.
“I mean, it sounds like the only person who can stop the Birthday Basher is some kind of birthday-loving superhero with super birthday magic,” she continued. “And if that’s not one of us, then maybe it’s saying we should go home.”
“Go home?” Amirah repeated in surprise. “You mean give up? No. I could never do that.”
Lacey looked uncomfortable. “I just mean, what if this is all pointless? What if we can’t do anything to fix what’s happening?”
Amirah took a deep breath. Lacey was entitled to her opinion, and Amirah respected it, but she completely disagreed with what her newest B-Bud was saying.
“You don’t have to stay if you don’t want to,” Amirah said firmly. “But I can’t leave. Not now. I have to find a way to stop what’s happening.”
There was a long silence.
“I’m not going anywhere,” Lacey said finally.
“We’re your B-Buds,” Mei added, and the rest of the group nodded. “We’re with you all the way.”
Amirah flashed her a grateful smile. “Thanks,” she said. Then she absentmindedly pulled out the vial of sprinkles from her pocket. She shook a few into
