A Slice of Healing

A quiet man dreads birthdays until a surprise party helps him reclaim joy and healing.

Duncan never liked birthdays. Especially not his own. Every year, the date brought back the memory of a hospital room, sterile and quiet, where he held his father’s hand for the last time; right before the nurse brought in a slice of store-bought cake with a plastic flag stuck in it that read Happy Birthday. Since then, birthdays had felt more like funerals.

So, when the calendar rolled around to August 3rd, Duncan turned off his phone, buried himself in work, and hoped the day would pass unnoticed.

Rachel had other plans.

She had watched Duncan quietly excuse himself every year. No mentions of cake, no celebration. This year, she was determined to change that.

At precisely 3:00 p.m., Rachel dimmed the lights in the break room. The moment Duncan walked in; lured by a fake spreadsheet emergency, everyone shouted, “Surprise!”

Confetti. Balloons. A cake with blue frosting that read: You Matter, Duncan in neat cursive. And no plastic flags.

Duncan froze. A lump formed in his throat, too large to swallow. But when he saw Rachel, beaming nervously, holding a sparkler candle like a tiny torch of hope, something shifted.

“You remembered I hate flags,” he said softly.

“I remembered a lot,” Rachel replied. “But I also remembered that even hard days deserve a little light.”

The room went quiet for a second, until Duncan let out a breath he didn’t realize he was holding. Then, he laughed.

It wasn’t loud. But it was real.

He picked up a fork, took a piece of cake, and raised it like a toast.

“To new memories.”

That night, he turned his phone back on and saw a message from his mom.

Happy birthday, honey. I love you


Word Count: 286
Prompt: Write a story that includes the words: cake, flag, phone
Written for:

Daily Flash Fiction Challenge  (13+) Enter your story of 300 words or less. #896794 by Buffy in 2343485