Happy Birthday

         Today was Annabell Adkins birthday, and she was excited. It was a big day for the newly turned six year old, and she wanted to experience all of it. So much so, that she stayed up the entire night restlessly lying in bed. When the morning sun touched her window, she rolled out of her bed in her princess pajamas and waddled into the hallway. She yawned a tiger's yawn. Turning towards the stairwell, she was about to clomp down the stairs when one of her pant legs got caught beneath one of her feet. She tumbled, hitting the bottom of the stairs with a kerplunk. This didn't bother Annabell much; she was so tired that the fall barely registered in her mind, and merely blinked. Despite the clumsy decent, for Annabell her staying up all night was totally worth it because it was her birthday.

         The lights were still off when Annabell walked into her living room. She glanced over at the clock upon her wall. 6:30 am. She rubbed one of her eyes. Her parents won't be up until later, it was far too early. Annabell groaned, and being to lazy to walk back upstairs, snuggled into the nearest sofa and flipped on her TV. In an instant, colorful cartoons of princesses flashed and danced upon her drowsy eyes, as she stared back blankly.

         After the end of her favorite cartoon, a man flashed on her TV screen. He sported a red blazer with khaki pants. His gigantic ears framed his gregarious smile.

         "Tired of those bags beneath your eyes?"

         Annabell sat dazed.

         "Tired of the flabby fat beneath your chin? Try La Guillotine today, and it will zap your fat away! La Guillotine was and crafted by the most prestigious black smiths of France, so it will be able to handle all of your needs instantaneously! One, two, three, and thunk!"

         Behind the man, a large guillotine crashed with a satisfying chomp. His blue eyes shined.

         "Good bye wrinkles! Good bye freckles! La Guillotine is here for you! One, two, three and thunk! But wait, there's more! If you call in the next ten minutes, you will get not one, but two La Guillotines! Give one to your growing teen, it will slash away those nasty zits! Or to your kid, to rid the nasty bubble gum in your toddler's hair! Call now!"

         "Annabell, how long have you been awake?" a voice behind Annabell scolded.

         Annabell spun around, "Mommy!"

         "Sweetheart, you need to stop doing this every year. But oh well... it is your birthday after all. Happy birthday!"

         Annabell ran over to her mother and wrapped her arms around her. The mother held the child within her arms, a tendril of short blonde hair falling out of place behind her big ears.

         "Ermm... Annabell's birthday..." a deep voice grumbled. Annabell's father wandered into the living room wearing only an undershirt and boxers, "Happy birthday."

         "Mommy, can we go to the store now?" Annabell asked.

         "Is it alright?" The mother asked her husband.

         "Of course it is, we always have plenty of money."

         "But is it too early?"

         "A tad, but if you're both ready I don't really need to be there."

         "Okay!" The mother grinned, "Excited Annabell?"

         Annabell was already dressed in pink, holding the door ajar, "Oh yes, let's go!"

         The mother grabbed her purse and trotted out the door. The father murmured "Have fun," after them drowsily. The mother and daughter climbed into the car and drove to their local mall.

         Annabell was pretty sure that the mall had to be the biggest building in the world. It was about as tall as a skyscraper, and twice the width of her local Wal-Mart. It stood as an enormous, shining, metal pillar towering over her entire suburb. It was packed with people nearly every day. Annabell stared up at the tower from her car window, eagerly awaiting the anticipated tenth floor, filled with children's toys, and more importantly, Lumina the pretty princess doll.

         "Come on lets go..." Annabell whined.

         "Goodness gracious Annabell your hair isn't brushed. Come here," The mother pulled a pink hair brush out of her purse, with sequins in the shape of a crown glued upon it.

         Despite the little girl's whimpering, the mother was able to rake the brush through the girl's short brown hair. When tears began to puddle in Annabell's eyes, the mother sighed. "Okay, enough of that." Annabell bolted for the store entrance.

         When Annabell and her mother got inside, she soon forgot about the tenth floor. A large steel blade glinted in her eyes ahead of her, and surrounding it, a crowd of people cheering. It was La Guillotine, from the commercial! A man in a red shirt and khaki pants leaned against its dark wood, both upon a red platform. He was examining the crowd of women, clutching their hand bags and talking excitedly to each other. He stepped forward.

         "Hey, hey, hey! One of you lucky ladies could try La Guillotine right here, right now, for free! Be the first to look beautiful today! Who wants it?!"

         A bunch of women screamed, flapping their arms in the air. Many were on their tip-toes reaching as high as they could. Others were jumping around making any sort of noise they could. Some were even trying to push their way on to the platform, only to be held back by two security guards.

         "Mommy Mommy I want that for my birthday!" Annabell declared.

         Annabell's mother scooped up her daughter and raised her over her head. "TAKE HER! TAKE MY DAUGHTER!" she boomed, shoving other women out of her way as she marched forward.

         But it was too late for them both, for an older woman was already waltzing her way on to the stage, hand in hand with the man in the red shirt. The crowd hushed in disappointment.

         "Now, come behind here, Ms. --"

         "I will pay a thousand dollars to have my child on that stage!" Annabell's mother yelled.

         A bunch of faces turned towards the mother, mixed with shock and admiration. The lady on stage opened her mouth in protest, "But--"

         "You heard me, one thousand dollars! Take it or leave it!" Annabell's mother said.

         The man in the red shirt left the platform to talk with a co-worker off stage. After a bit of murmuring, he reappeared and declared, "Please, let us see your beautiful child up here!" A bunch of women shouted in praise.

         After the security guards tore away the old woman clinging to La Guillotine, Annabell skipped merrily on to the stage.

         "What's your name, cutie?" The man asked.

         "My name is Annabell, and I'm turning six years old today!" she sang. A bunch of women cooed.

         "Well isn't that sweet," the man said, "Are you ready to become a princess?"

         Annabell smiled in glee, "That's what I always wanted to be!"

         The man guided her to La Guillotine, and put her into position. Annabell could only see the frills at the bottom of her white dress and the polished, white shoes that accompanied them. Her eyes twinkled happily above her delicately speckled cheeks. She had been waiting for this day her entire life.

         "Ready?" The man boomed. The crowd screamed, and Annabell heard her mother scream, "I love you!"

         "Three... two... one..."

         THUNK

         Annabell's head fell with a plop and rolled to the feet of the man, the smile of a princess permanently plastered on her face. He handed it off to one of his co-workers as blood spluttered from her slumped over body.The man walked behind the guillotine and raised the little girl's body high over his head, the front of her dress stained with blood, "No freckles! No wrinkles! No zits! No mess! All zapped away!"

         All the women cheered.