Never had a happy birthday perhaps except that one.
As if All these years, all my birthdays were ruined and of course was not celebrated either one way or another, except that one time... so that today I could write this story!!!
How amazing of a coincident!
Umm...it was my 25th birthday. That's the 2nd year of my professional life working for Refugees.
You have seen those background characters in Shounen/Shoujo Anime, right?
I am sort of that type of image even in my own story.
I have celebrated the main characters' birthdays all the time from school till university life. But I was barely remembered on my birthdays. And that is also because I was never, particularly anyone's best friend or even friend. It was always like this.
I was everyone's friend and nobody was my friend.
This is why I usually intentionally hide it even when people ask.
Because if I tell them, I would develop a desire to be wished for and remembered. And from previous experience, I know people will not remember and that will still hurt my expectation even though I tell myself I expect nothing from no one.
But deep inside I can not deny to myself that I excepted!
Anyhow, not to mention my "so-called" friends never remembered or celebrated or cared enough for my birthday, precisely there was no way a colleague whom I had barely known and only came together very recently, did not even talk about birth dates would go to such lengths of surprising me!
As humanitarian worker, our works are far more different than any other ordinary job.
At that time I was working with MSF (Medicines Sans Frontieres) with the Outreach team in a Refugee camp.
I was in charge of the Middle-zone with my other team partner Samrat.
Both of us distribute the vast area amongst our huge team to operate precisely.
(N.B. Refugee camps were distributed in 3 zones to cover the working area efficiently. North, Middle & South)
And on that day both of us had a field visit. On field visit days, we spend from morning to evening whole office hours inside the camp supervising our teams, engaging with the community, and coordinating with other INGOs in various camps.
Filed visit days are always terribly hectic, exhausting, and busy.
Specifically in that high-temperature summertime, walking all day under the sun talking, watching, and advising is extremely tiresome, I even hadn't recalled that it was my birthday.
And after I reached there I found the whole team! I meant team South and North too!
And not only we Zone-supervisors but our 3 Zone-manager as well!
When I asked line manager Judith, she said "We just thought of having lunch together today!"
I hadn't recalled it was my birthday till then.
Until they finally wished me altogether!
Heaven, I still shiver and my eyes tear up even now!
It was such a splendid joyous moment that I felt like this one birthday celebration made up of my all-uncelebrated birthdays!
Because I precisely know, to which extent all of these each person went to make an effort to wrap up work and come here together from who knows how far away their field visits were!
And because we work in a very remote place, Samrat couldn't find a mere cake! He went too far away to search but still failed.
The ice-cream cake!So to makeup, he bought some ice cream and mixed it together, froze it in freeze to give it a cake shape!
"Oh dear lord, what have I done to deserve such affection from a mere colleague?! when did he planned all of these!"
I was in awe!
USwe ate lunch.
Even later, we had lot of fun as it doesn't happen that often of us 3 zones meeting and having a relax time!
Even after office, Samrat demanded to treat him. So we went on roaming around a little.
Talked, ate more even though both of us were full, and laughed a lot.And on our way, we met some of the other colleagues, and even though I forbade Samrat he kept telling everyone about the birthday.
Some of them even treat me to juice and food.
They even understood my uneasiness of acceptance so kept telling "Hey! Don't think too hard! It is your day girl! Just accept and enjoy to the fullest. It doesn't come every day!"
I end up thanking everyone only.
Even now, while writing and reminiscing, I am grinning from ear to ear!
Such a fond memory that will be engraved in my mind till I die.
Thank you #hivelearners! It felt amazing to write and reminisce about that moment.