Kylie's Birthday

Kylie sat at the table unwrapping her presents.  It was her fifteenth birthday, but she felt sad.  Her mum and dad had just separated after sixteen years together.

As she began to unwrap her last present, she thought of happier times - one stood out - it was around the time of her ninth birthday.  She and her mum and dad had spent the week in Blackpool. She remembered it all so vividly.  Even the guesthouse they stayed in.  How she wished those days would return.  Then she had an idea - to go back to the place she was once happy.

After putting her presents away, Kylie got some stuff together, then left the house and made her way into town.  First, she went to the high street to draw out some of her savings, then she made her way to the railway station.

Once in Blackpool, she took out an old street map of the town and pointed to road she wanted to go to the driver.

After getting out of the taxi, Kylie stood at the bottom of the guesthouse drive.  little had changed. Even a tear in one of the curtains looked familiar.

She made her way up the drive and knocked on the door, which was opened by a man.  Although his hair was a lot greyer, Kylie recognised him from the last time she was there.

'Have you a room for a couple of days?' she asked him

He said that he had, but he seemed more concened to why she was on her own.  She told him she was in town visiting her gran, who was in a nearby care home.

Kylie was shown to her room.  It felt strange being there on her own.  After unpacking her stuff she took off to the beach.

As she walked along the sand, her thoughts wondered back to the last time she was there, with her mum and dad.  She could even remember her mum telling her not to go too near the water on her own.  

After a while she decided to turn around and return to the guesthouse, retracing her footprints in the sand on the way.  Once back at the guesthouse, she passed an elderly lady sitting in the dining room.

'You look troubled, dear,' she said to Kylie.

A tear came to her eye as she told the lady about her mum and dad separating.

'I wouldn't too much,' the lady then said to her.  'Things have a way of sorting themselves out.'

Kylie wiped the tears from her eyes, making her way back to her room.  When she got inside, she decided to take a piece of advice the lady had offered her, and that was to phone her mum, but not only did she phone her mum to come and fetch her, she also phoned her dad, asking him to pick her up as well.  She just hoped that if they saw each other, they would end up talking, and hopefully, get back together.  But she knew the chances ould be slim.

With it getting late when her parents arrived, both thought it would be a good idea to stay the night and travel back the following day.

Next morning, Kylie got out of bed and threw back the curtains.  She knew it would her last time in Blackpool with her mum and dad, so she decided to go for one last walk to the beach.

Arriving back from her walk, she saw her mum and dad standing outside the guesthouse, her stuff already packed and lying on the ground next to her mum.

Kylie slowly walked up the drive, looking sad.

'I don't know why you're looking like that,' her mum said to her.  'Me and your dad have deided to give it another go.'

A big smile appeared on Kylie's face. She had never felt so happy, and as she bent down to pick up her stuff, she saw the elderly lady looking at her out of the window.  Kylie then remembered her words: 'Things have a way of sorting themselves out.' 

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