Good evening, welcome to another entry in my new series of using a writing prompt to spend 10-15 minutes getting in some writing practice (started this on 11/13 and didn’t get around to posting it until 11/14, hence the discrepancy there). Please leave your feedback and your own responses to the prompt. In honor of my sibling’s birthday today, I am using a prompt around parties.
Prompt: Explain how to keep a surprise birthday party a secret.
Genre: Celebration/Birthday/Science Fiction
Source: 41 Birthday Writing Prompts: Fun Ideas to Write About
Time Spent: 25 minutes
Word Count: 747
Always up for a challenge me, but even I have to admit, this one is a doozy. Tomorrow happens to be my sibling’s birthday and I have volunteered to plan their surprise party for tonight. You are probably thinking ‘well, that doesn’t sound too hard’ and normally you would be right, except for the fact that they can read minds.
Let me tell you, that was NOT fun to grow up with. Can you even imagine having a sibling that you could never keep a secret from? Or that instantly knew the very best/worst thing to say to you when you got into an argument. It’s not that they abused it. . .too much. . .at least as they got older and had better control but they were also an intensely curious person. That is my second problem. Ever since I went away to college, years ago, our relationship has been pretty solid and with time, and training, they no longer read the minds of those around them on the drop of a hat, but they have NEVER been able to resist a mystery. They’ve described it to me like an impulse, they feel like someone is keeping a secret, and they just HAVE to dig into it. Same thing if others are feeling excited or anxious around them
So, how do you plan a Birthday Party for someone who can read minds and likes to dig into secrets? Well, the ever-increasing availability of online ordering definitely helps, as that reduces the number of people around that actually know what is going on that they can read. Having the party a day or two early also helps and telling guests as little as possible and coming up with another excuse for us all to be in the same place helps too. That part is a little tricky given their birthday is in November, and it is cold and rainy so a lot of convenient ‘let’s meet outside’ solutions are unlikely if not impossible. Lastly, and most importantly, is my invention.
It took years of work and planning, but I have managed to come up with a way to selectively erase certain memories, all in one convenient pill. I won’t bore you with the details of how it actually works, both because I am working on getting a patent for it, and also I can start to feel myself getting fuzzy, getting fuzzy. . fuz. I toookk on righ efore I start thi an I thi is kic. . .
Update: That worked perfectly, I drifted off into a little thirty minute nap, and when I woke up, I had a calendar reminder on the phone telling me to pick up my sibling and we would go to a local bookstore, and then on to the Grand Tower Restaurant. I then got a text that said to come to the restaurant to talk about the booking, so I made my purchases and headed across the street with a promise they would catch up with me. Knowing my sibling, it was going to be at least 45 minutes (turned out to be an hour and ten, which is honestly commendable speed for a bibliophile). Packages had been delivered to the restaurant all day, at their agreement, and they handed me a letter I had mailed to them detailing my own plan. By the time my sibling arrived with, frankly, more books than I thought they’d be able to carry or that they have room for, and dozens of friends and family members jumped out with a ‘surprise’.
Was that a lot of hassle? Yes. Does my memory eraser give me a horrendous headache (note to self, maybe pair with some acetaminophen in future to get a jump on the pain)? Also, yes. Was all the effort worth it to see the look of genuine surprise (accompanied by a small shriek and several flying books) on their face? Absolutely! Did they immediately read everyone’s mind to find out what they were being given? Also yes, but they are trying, the excitement was just too much for their self control.
Hopefully, it was an enjoyable birthday for them. Hopefully, I can get the formula worked out to help with the lingering pain afterward. Hopefully, I can come up with someone fun next year that can surprise them just as much. Stay tuned and if you have any other suggestions for how to keep a secret from a telepath, believe me, I would LOVE to hear them.
I hope that you enjoyed! I would love to read your response to this prompt as well and also what you think of what I wrote!
I hope you all have a wonderful day, get the chance to do or experience something creative, and I’ll catch you on the next one.
-Jon
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