The Magical Land of Birthdays stretched all around her, as far as she could see. But as Amirah looked around, her smile began to fade. She was in the Magical Land of Birthdays again—there was no doubt about that—but it wasn’t quite as enchanting as she remembered.
In fact, it wasn’t very enchanting at all.
Amirah’s nose wrinkled as she caught the scent of burned birthday cake drifting by on the breeze. She’d only smelled it once before, when an unexpected visitor prevented Mama from taking a cake out of the oven in time, but the harsh, charred smell was one she’d never forget.
A heavy mist—mixed with a tinge of smoke—hung over the land, making the once-brilliant colors appear washed out and faded. The colorful cake pops lining the path made a sorry sight as their frosting oozed to the ground in fat, greasy droplets. Helium balloons in the sky began to droop, as if each one had sprung a leak at the exact same time. The streamers that decorated each tree had lost all their festiveness, flopping from the branches as if they’d been caught in a bad storm.
A storm.
Just as the word popped into Amirah’s head, a gust of smoky wind picked up. It whipped her hair around her face, and she quickly twisted it into a messy bun at the back of her head—just in time to see something: a faded scrap of paper carried on the wind.
Instinctively, Amirah wanted to know what it was.
It fluttered to the ground a few feet away, so Amirah left the path to pick it up. The soft green grass that she remembered growing in the Magical Land of Birthdays was dry and brittle now. It crunched under her feet and turned to powder with every step she took.
She approached the piece of paper cautiously.
Don’t be so silly, Amirah told herself. It’s just a piece of paper. It can’t hurt you.
Soon she was close enough to see that there was something written on it. Could it be a message—a message for her? This wouldn’t be the first time the Magical Land of Birthdays had tried to tell her something.
Something told Amirah that it was important. But still, for some reason, she hesitated. Just as Amirah reached out her hand—
Whoosh!
Another sudden gust of wind picked up the paper and carried it farther away!
Amirah frowned. Now she was determined—completely and utterly determined—to read whatever was written on the paper. She didn’t dawdle this time. Instead, Amirah scrambled over the rocky hillside. Soon she was close enough to see the word BIRTHDAY written on the paper in bold, blocky handwriting. She reached out again and—
Whoosh!
This is getting ridiculous, Amirah thought as, once again, the paper fluttered just out of reach, landing in the crook of a wizened old tree. She raced the wind to reach it, hoping against hope that the tree’s rough bark would somehow keep it there until she could reach it. The wind was blowing harder now. It almost seemed to be pushing her forward, faster, faster, faster—until suddenly, there she was, standing in the shadow of the gnarled tree.
The snippet of paper, still stuck in the tree, was just out of her reach.
Amirah took a deep breath, crouched down low, and leaped into the air. Her fingers brushed the edge of the paper. She grabbed and grasped and closed her hand around it in a tight fist. Amirah didn’t trust that wind, with its eerie mist and stench of smoke. She wouldn’t let it take the paper away from her again.
Amirah was so eager to see what the paper had to say that her hands trembled a little as she unfolded it.
“An invitation!” she exclaimed, speaking aloud even though there was no one to hear her. It was in pretty bad shape, though. The bottom half of the birthday party invitation was missing, and it almost looked like it had been clawed or shredded. The color was faded to a muted, splotchy grayish red. She couldn’t tell whose party it was, or where it was supposed to be held. Besides the heading, which read YOU’RE INVITED TO A BIRTHDAY PARTY!, the only other part Amirah could read was the date—July 8, almost exactly one year ago.
Maybe that was why the invitation was in such bad shape. The party had happened a long time ago.
Or, Amirah thought, maybe there was another reason.
Just like that, the invitation—or what was left of it—crumbled into sparkly dust in her hands.
“No!” Amirah cried. But it was too late.
The invitation was gone.
She sighed heavily and looked around the empty landscape. That was when she realized the most unusual thing about the Magical Land of Birthdays: the silence. There was no laughter, no music, no happy birthday song. Just empty, hollow silence that blanketed the land as thoroughly as the mist.
Amirah decided to climb the rest of the way up the hillside. It wasn’t very far. She hoped, at the top of the hill, she might be able to see more of her favorite place. Maybe she’d even be able to figure out where that burned smell was coming from.
At the top of the hill, Amirah finally realized where she was. It was an area of the Magical Land of Birthdays that she’d never visited before—but she’d seen it on a map, and knew she’d never forget it.
Sparkle City.
With the smoky mist growing thicker by the minute, Amirah didn’t want to venture into that unfamiliar city all alone. She wished—and not for the first time—that her B-Buds were with her.
Then, in a flash of inspiration, she suddenly realized that she wouldn’t have to go alone. Cara the Unicorn lived in the Magical Land of Birthdays! Amirah and Cara had shared a special bond from the moment they met, when Cara was stuck in piñata form and Amirah had freed her. They’d traveled the length of the Magical Land of Birthdays and back again. No matter what, Amirah knew,
