Sunny closed her eyes, her hands folded, and she muttered, "I wish I could see daddy again."
The children giggled gleefully, Chuckles came over, and he gave Sunny a hug around her waist, his face accidentally buried in her lap.
"We love you so much, Sunny!" Chuckles exclaimed, his voice muffled.
However, Mrs Starling could only look at them with a blank, yet shocked look on her face. She knew that what she was about to tell Sunny wasn't going to be great, and it was secretly breaking her heart that she must deliver such heartbreaking news about her father, but everyone else didn't even seem to notice Mrs Starling's blurry eyes and quivering lips, they all had their focuses on Sunny's bright smile and twinkling eyes of enthusiasm.
"Sunny." Mrs Starling called.
"Yes?" Sunny replied.
Jumping a little, Mrs Starling shook her head, "Nothing. Let's just eat the cake and have a party, alright?"
***
In the lobby, everyone was already full from the cake, especially Sunny. Some of them lied on the couch, some of them had gone to sleep, but Sunny was leaning against the wall, wiping her creamy cheeks with a napkin. Suddenly, the doorbell rang, and Sunny's heart dropped. She rushed to the doorstep, and she opened the door, expecting it to be her father, but to her surprise, it was Mr Boomer.
"Hello, my dear." he said. "Happy birthday."
"Thank you, but what are you doing here? And why did Mrs Starling kick you out?" Sunny questioned when all of the sudden, Mrs Starling stormed over and gently pushed Sunny out of the way.
"I told you to GET AWAY!" She screamed at Mr Boomer. "Whatever you want to do with us, we don't need you! We just want you to go away now!"
Mr Boomer stepped back, a little taken aback by Mrs Starling's explosive outburst, but he muttered in dismay.
"I don't understand why you won't let her hear me out!"
Mrs Starling grabbed the rusty doorknob, ready to slam it in his face.
"I don't want you here! I know who you are, and I won't let you take any of my children without my permission, you pompous, greedy man!" she exclaimed, her voice already becoming hoarse from all the furious screaming. "How many times do I have to shoo you away myself! You're like some stupid dog who wouldn't stop eating from a stranger's place, even though you had enough!"
Mr Boomer's presence turned menacing, and he had a dark look on his face, he spoke in a clearly loud voice.
"You can't keep it a secret forever, Agatha. You may keep secrets from children, but you can't hide from me. Can't you see that her father's already dead?"
Sunny's heart suddenly dropped to her stomach upon hearing those words, but out of nowhere, she burst out laughing.
"And I'm the first girl who walked on the moon!" she said, snarkily.
Mr Boomer shook his head, and he tossed something out of his pocket. It hit the floor, catching her attention.
"You want proof? You have it." he sighed.
Sunny tilted her head to the side, curiously kneeling down and picking the object up. Her eyes widened upon feeling its smooth texture. It was paper. She began to unwrap it until she received a thousand yard stare the moment her eyes hit the text, her lips quivering.
Deus Tournesol
Birth – August 12, 1933
Death – September 14th, 1969
Sunny's whole world fell apart. Her father was dead the whole time, and nobody even told her, not even her own caretaker. Mrs Starling gasped lightly at her silent breakdown, but she slammed the door on Mr Boomer's face, grumbling furiously.
"Sunny, Sunny.." she called as she knelt down, lightly patting Sunny's cheek.
Sunny stared at her with tearless eyes of horror, she couldn't believe what she just heard.
"What did he mean?" she questioned, her voice cracking. "What did he mean he's already dead?!"
Mrs Starling growled with annoyance towards Mr Boomer's antics, but she took a deep breath, her only motive was to keep calm and take care of the frightened Sunny.
"Darling.." she spoke in a low and calm voice, her hand resting on her shoulder. "I want you to listen to what I'm about to tell you…In fact, I wanted to tell you this for so long."
Sunny's breathing sharpened, and she clutched her chest, preparing to hear the worst news she had ever heard of, especially on her birthday.
Mrs Starling took a deep breath, and she spoke quietly, "Sunny, your father…he won't be coming for you, not on your birthday."
Sunny, despite her panic, smiled in disbelief, giggling as her anxiety filled her mind, "You're joking."
Mrs Starling couldn't help but tear up, she could only see the same clueless little girl who was dropped off to an unfamiliar place with an unfamiliar woman as herself. It was at this moment she knew that she must remain her mother forever, and unlike with the other orphans, she had a desire to look after Sunny herself.
"Sunny, I'm sorry." she whimpered as tears of regret streamed down her face. "Please, forgive me for keeping this a secret from you, but your father isn't going to come for you. That's why Mr Boomer is so interested in collecting you as his child."
Sunny shook her head, her dry eyes watering in agony, her entire body shook with fear, her mind racing with thoughts.
"H-how could you k-keep this a secret from me!" she exclaimed, her voice crackling. "You lied about everything!"
Mrs Starling let out a tearful gasp, "No, I had no choice! I didn't want to break your heart when you were a child, I wanted to tell you when you're mature enough to understand!"
"But you still lied!" Sunny yelled as if her heart was being torn off. She stood up from where she fell, and she began to walk out the door, her legs trembling.
"No!" Mrs Starling cried. "Honey, where are you going!?"
She then burst out the door, slamming it into Mr Boomer's face, but she ran deep into the forest, unaware of the damage she caused to the elderly as a golden tooth fell from his mouth.
"Ouch!" he yelled, picking up the tooth, its gold color illuminating because of the moonlight. "That little brat!"