It was a very cold day with a pleasant breeze, the date was November 24th. It was special for me and my parents because it was my parent’s 14th wedding anniversary. Fourteen years of enduring love and care made this day joyful and I was very excited to celebrate it for them.

I wanted to make this day extraordinary, so I decided to surprise my parents in my way. In the morning when my dad left for work and my mum got busy in the kitchen, I sat in my room and brainstormed on how to make this day memorable. In just a few minutes, I got an idea.

I recalled that my mum was sending the driver for groceries, and I thought why not join him? When I expressed my desire to go, my mum was taken aback but agreed. With my saved pocket money in hand, I headed to the mall and picked out thoughtful gifts.

Biscuits and perfume for my mum, and a new wallet for my dad to replace his old, worn out one. I also grabbed balloons with the number 14 and a delicious lotus cheesecake. I had everything wrapped and even bought some stationary items for myself to avoid arousing the suspicion of my mum. Once back home, I stashed the gifts away in my room immediately.

Now, I needed to decorate the living room, which presented a challenge as my mum was in the kitchen. When she was done with cooking lunch, I asked her to go and take a nap. She was tired, so she agreed.

I quietly locked the bedroom door and got to work. With just 20 minutes on the clock before my dad’s arrival, I spruced up the room, placed the gifts on the table and sprayed some air freshener.

As my dad entered, I directed him to the bedroom to change his clothes. As he entered the room, I locked the door behind him. I quickly did the rest of things in the living room and with all the decorations complete, I counted down, ‘3, 2, 1,’ and opened the door.

When they came out, their expressions were priceless — pure delight and surprise. They hugged me tightly, overwhelmed with emotion.

They asked, “Why did you do this for us?”

I replied, “You two mean the world to me. I love you and would do anything for you.”

We celebrated by savouring the cake and unwrapping the gifts. Their happiness was palpable. I hope that my surprise made my parent’s day and this surprise remains special to them for the rest of their lives.

Published in Dawn, Young World, October 14th, 2023