Birthdays aren't always happy | One-shot

Today is her birthday. The day when she is a year older, a year nicer and a year wiser.

To be honest, you can't really call it her real birthday. There is no real telling, no solid confirmation, no valid evidence that she was founded on this day. In fact, it was the day that her people and her land, under the guidance of one persistent group, gained independence from larger powers. The day when she could puff up her chest and tell the whole world who she really was.

She could recall the day a little boy picked her up from the middle of the forest, smiling up at her and naming her "Temasek". However, she barely recalled anything as she was still an infant. She has no idea how she was born either. From a flower bud or a bamboo shoot, she has no clue.

But she knows that she spoke that language very well, and big brother Malaysia spoke it too. 

Next, a man found her lost in the jungle and took her in. This time, her name was changed to a different one. "I'll name you 'Singapura', that means a Lion City." She remembered. That name was the one she had kept till this day, she loved that name so much. It showed her courage, excellence and strength (that her people reflected). Then again, the man simply named her that because he thought he saw a majestic lion, even though it was her pet tiger. There was no lion found on her land. Does a Lion have stripes on its body?

They moved a couple of times, from tents to boats to brick houses. They fished for food and trading. They played with pebbles that they could find. She watched families grow in number, little children walking for the first time, learning how to catch fishes for themselves an how to survive on this tiny island. However, she saw her people fall, die due to many reasons and she wondered. 

Why didn't she age at all after all this time?

Centuries later, in 1819(1), a group of men docked on her shores. 

For the first time, she witnessed foreigners stepping on her beautiful beach. It was a jolt to her senses, to realise that other people from outside could enter. At that time, she saw a young man alight from the ship, dusting his pristine coat from dust before heading towards the group of man.

Suddenly, he froze in his steps, as if finding something out of the ordinary. One of the men said something and the man shook his head. He lifted his hands up and made a backing action before taking off somewhere. 

At that moment, she found fear. She recalled one of her earlier caregivers telling her to be aware of strangers as the highest possibility of getting kidnapped is when your guard is lowered. 

She bit her lips and began to run. Before long, she could hear the words that her current caregiver said to the foreign men before getting confused. He spoke in a different language to the one she knew by heart. Despite that, she had a nagging feeling of what was discussed by the two. She decided to pick up her speed.

For some reason, it felt like common knowledge to know that when that guy that took of comes catching her, it means that she would no longer live with Uncle, big brother Malaysia and play with all the other kids. 

Big brother Malaysia is already taken into the Dutch household and she heard that there was someone else fighting over him as well. The Dutch just managed to win him over. (2)

If that man catches her, it would mean that all is over. She won't be able to roam freely, she won't be able to dress in these comfortable clothing. She would need to learn unnecessary manners and another language. She doesn't want someone else to have a dispute over her land.

Just then, there was a rustling sound behind her. She grew alarmed. 

The jungle was her playground, her fortress. She even set up a few booby traps so that no one could catch her. 

Come to think of it, no alarms had sounded off yet. She jumped up, grabbed a tree branch and flung herself towards the higher branches. She could feel the adrenaline rushing through her veins as she continued to scale towards the canopy. Slowing was not an option, she has to get away.

["'Sup!" Is English. "'Sup!" Is Malay.]

"Hey! Wait!" Surprisingly, he sounded like a teenager, not a man. What is he saying? (3) She thought, nearly slowing at the thought and almost slipped. 

Wait, she slipped anyway.

She widened her eyes in shock as she felt the pull of the stupid gravity. "What? No, I can't die like this!" She screamed in desperation. She squeezed her eyes shut and held her fists towards herself, ready to embrace the fall. 

Maybe because her ears are sharp... She could hear the swish of a vine. "Hold on," the guy hollered. Thinking that it could be an insult, she puffed her cheeks and shook her head, curling her body more. 

"Are you suicidal?" He screamed. She understood the last word for a second and shouted back at him. "Hell no! I'm not but I can't do a thing! I'm running from you too so don't catch me. I'll survive anyway!" She has fallen from higher heights so this probably would not hurt.

Poor guy probably didn't know.

In the next moment, there was a spark that lit from his fingers that dived towards her falling form, circling her before she froze in mid-air. He sighed loudly and got her in his arms. "Gee, do you know that that was dangerous?" 

But she did not know what was said and tilted her head, her eyes still closed. 

"You can open your eyes now, kid." 

As if understanding his words, though she obviously didn't, her right eye peeked open, followed by the left before they were wide open. They revealed doe, amber orbs that had a weird blue ring around the pupils. 

Emerald irises stared right back at the molten orbs. Thick eyebrows scrunched up, scrutinising her little being. There was a small force that pulled them both together, something clicked. England shifted to look at his hands, recalling that spur of a moment. Then the full picture settled in. He coughed, getting her attention.

"Kid, your name's Singapura right?" His Malay being heavily accented.

When they ask for your name, don't give 'Singapura'. Say 'Siti', no last names, clear? 

She shook her head. "I'm Siti, not Singapura." 

There was a look of bafflement yet he did not seem to accept the idea. "Maybe that's what they called you, but I'm not buying it. The blood of a country courses through your veins and I can feel it. Your eyes are not normal either."

She pouts at him, not understanding a word he just said. Before she could speak further, the blond man carried her out of the forest, towards a familiar place called home. 

Right before he could step past the fence, the guards stationed at the gates brought their staffs down, frowns marring their faces. She looked at them with pleading eyes but they did not seem to understand. 

"You shall not trespass this place!" They bellowed. They pointed the sharp ends of the stick towards him, threatening to injure him. He, however, was confused. "What? I'm supposed to meet Raffles here, not get rejected to go inside. I've got a meeting to attend."

Honestly speaking, there is a language barrier here but no one seemed to take notice. She sighed and smacked her forehead, pulling her hand down her face. 

Just in time, her "papa" came rushing over, his hand out, gesturing to them to lower their weapons. "Men, they are our guests! And he returned with Siti. Drop your weapons now!" 

The duo lowered their sticks reluctantly and bowed to the two, sorry about their misunderstanding. She hopped out of the blond man's hold and a pat on the two guards' shoulder. "Good job, Johan, Putera." She proceeded to enter her house, followed by the confused man behind her and papa.

She went to her room and plopped down on her bed. She stared into the ceiling, noting the roses painted up there. There was a comforting feeling before she fell asleep. 

"She'll be safe with me, I promise..."

"... I'm England and I'll be taking care of you for a while."

The next moment she knew, she was already on a ship towards Mr England's place. And she knew that she was in for a wild ride. 

Throughout her stay at the European nation's estate, she learned many new things from the man, other than her name being England. He assumes a human name called "Arthur Kirkland" and gave her a new name. 

"Singapore is your name now." She recalled. "And if anyone asks for your name, tell them 'Sharmaine' because it means to be filled with joy and delight."

It certainly was a delight being under his care. He educated her in so many ways. She learned sports, English and proper etiquette between countries. She also grew to love books, her favourite being supernatural, something which her surrogate brothers dislike. She now had a clearer view of the world than her tiny little island. 

She also learned about disputes -over land, trade, borders, etcétera. Lastly, large-scaled wars that broke out all the time. Each time England tried to teach her about it, he could see her internal struggles of digestion -whether to learn from history or to block out of it. Sometimes, there were even tears from her eyes.

Many people came over to his place to introduce themselves to her, the regular few being France, America and the nearly invisible teen named Canada. 

Occasionally, she returned to her land and saw rapid changes and frequent development. At that time, her family would hold a feast for her while handing her various books of different languages since there were many foreign settlers. She sought help from Big brother India and China on the Tamil language and the Chinese language. (4)

How she learned them was a secret. After a few lessons within those short visiting days, she was nearly ready for a casual conversation, startling England the most.

Days were bright and sunny until the world war descended. England was often involved and her land was affected heavily in the trade as many things relied on him. Thus, she went the extra mile to pick up tricks on trade so that her caretaker would have an easier life.

Although that was not to be when England sent her back home as if it was "safer" there. She heard the news of the -in her opinion- unfair treaty of Versailles where all the blame for the first war was pushed to Mr Germany, the man who taught her the basics of soccer. 

By some twisted fate, the second war decided to drag her into the fray(5). Big brother Japan joined forces with the vengeful Nazi empire and decided to invade South East Asia because they had a lot of raw materials. She asked England for help but it was useless. The help he sent was destroyed by the fighting planes of Japan, even bombing the bridge connecting her island to Malaya did not help much. She was captured in a few days. It was her fall, the Fall of Singapore.

The prison was painful, especially when it was Japan that stood by watching.

"You will no longer be called 'Singapore' but 'Syonan-to', the light of the South." And damn, she loved the name that England bestowed upon her a lot. "Syonan-to" did not roll off her tongue as easily, but she knew that she would be addressed as such for a long time.

Being under Japan was torture. She had to study the Japanese language, do strenuous and ridiculous chores for him. Some of which being he could do on his own yet called for her name. When she did not do something right, the man would punish her severely. It frustrated her. Often, before she fell asleep, she would huddle to herself and weep silently, crying out a certain name painfully.

Sometimes, two other people came -one German, the other Italian. The German was burly, scary-looking and they both stood at cold terms almost too often. The Italian, however, was easy to get along with. Whenever he was around, the Japanese would be slightly easier on her. 

"But Japan, she's just a kid, not even a teenager!" He often protested.

"Still, a colony of England. A little torture is nothing to her, even if she is still a kid." The German would reply. 

Three years passed, in 1945, as she was still locked up in her prison, hands and feet still chained to the ground, her prison doors were busted open. 

She could barely make out a figure, her unruly hair blocking her vision. She could recognise a white uniform, similar to the Japanese generals. On instinct, she shifted her legs and yanked on the chains, fear reflected in her eyes(6).

["'Sup! " Is Japanese.]

"D-Don't come closer! S-stop right there! " She stammered, her lips trembling at each word. The man does not seem to listen and cautiously moved forward. 

The little girl began thrashing about, causing the other to stop. The chains rattled at each movement. "Don't touch me! Go away! " He was silent, probably contemplating on what he should say. 

"You've grown, little one, even if it was just a bit." He said, but nothing made it into her ears and tears began to leak out of her eyes. His hands were about to touch her when she slapped them away. Surprise flashed across his face. "Don't come any closer." She cried.

Still, he did not listen and proceeded to embrace her, ignoring the various punches and kicks towards him, simply to shake him off. He bumped his forehead against hers, forcing her to look at him in the eye. 

"Little one, Singapore -No, Sharmaine. It's me, Arthur. I'm here to save you." The spark that was previously lost came back, and the blue ring lit up again. He smiled gently at her.

"...Papa?"

The years after that was plain awkward. She reused(7) the name that England had given and used the name her first caregiver gave as well. Also, she realised that she could no longer rely on England for matters and wanted to break away from him. So she asked for independence. 

But he would not give her any. "There's too many communist supporters. Until there's no communism, you will not have independence!(8)"

She can feel the riots on her land, the chaos between the different races, the unhappiness of the innocents. The begging of her men to stop the havoc. England and Big brother Malaysia watched her scream in agony every night, unsure about what they could do to help her. 

Until a man decided to step up and guide her, even though he was just an ordinary man(9). 

But he had a vision. 

And he led her and her people to what they became today. 

There was a cooperation between big brother Malaysia so that Papa would be assured that she would be fine. After he left, chaos began to rise again and it was all about the trade and party issues. One year later, on her supposed birthday, the alliance broke apart with a few treaties made(10). 

1965, the year she gained her independence. Free from all control from other countries. And she was delighted, just like her name.

She had her struggles to make her name known, to catch up to the latest hype and she fought hard to keep peace within her multicultural society. She succeeded and gained many other friends, even forgiving the axis powers, especially Japan.

She stood at the highest level of her newly constructed sports hub, enjoying the different uniform groups that she knew would protect her land. She watched the little children perform on the stage together with the local celebrities. She smiled at the sight of people embracing those with special needs. 

Oblivious to whatever that was happening behind her, a blond man took big strides to her side, looking at the same thing she was looking it.

"It's been decades, hasn't it?" He asked. 

She looked to her right and jumped a few steps to the left, startled by his sudden appearance. "B-Britain! What are you doing here?"

"Are you saying that I can't visit my ex-colony's celebration of independence? I'm hurt, Singapore." Said man placed his hand on his chest, feigning a hurt expression. The girl -teen gave him a deadpanned look before smacking him on the arm. "Not funny, sir."

He grinned and ran his fingers through her hair. "It's been so long and I see that you've grown. Not a proper lady yet, but grown."

Silence ensued between them as they both were lost for words. Until Singapore recalled a simple question that she had been waiting to ask.

"Say, England, are you mad about me? About that time when I demanded independence?"

"Ya regrettin' yer decision?" She shrugged.

"What if I didn't ask for it? What would you have done about my state?" She mumbled under her breath. England quirked an eyebrow and glanced at her from the side of his eye. 

"I'd probably still let you go."

She widened her eyes and grabbed his collar, pulling him towards her eye level. There was a surge of disappointment as if wanting to return to his rule even though she does not. "Why?"

"I won't be able to handle it." He answered. Slowly and gently, he pried her fingers off his collar and straightened his shirt out. Her hands dropped to her sides, slightly surprised at what she did. She uttered an apology. 

"No worries..." 

Singapore gave him a curt nod before turning away from him. Tears threatened to flow so she looked up into the sky, blinking them away. "I'm sorry, but can you please leave for today?"

England widened his eyes before moving away as well. "As you wish, little one. But let me just say..."

She bit her lips and looked down. 

"Happy birthday, Singapura." A single tear slipped from her eye as his footsteps grew softer and softer. 

Birthdays... are supposed to be happy. But I guess a country's birthday isn't always as bright.

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Fin

A/N: Some of the facts where the story is derived from were from my memory (how I was taught in school), others from Wikipedia. Should there be any discrepancies, please inform me. I will edit them immediately.

(1) 1819 was the year Sir Stamford Raffles founded Singapore. 

(2) Malaysia was first under the Portuguese, followed by the Dutch, but ultimately, the British.

(3) Singapore was initially a Malay Island, due to being situated at the tip of the Malay peninsula. Now Malays are one of the four major races in the country. The bilingual system is also implemented and many citizens are efficient in two languages or can at least somewhat understand two or more. 

(4) Singapore became a trading port while being under Sir Stamford Raffles. Thus, many immigrants from overseas found jobs in Singapore and settled down here as well. 

(5) WW2 had involved the ASEAN countries due to their rich resources. Japan had many problems then -one of them is not enough resources, and thus decided to join hands with Germany and Italy in the war. During the war, Britain sent two navy ships to help Singapore, but they were bombed by the Japanese on their way to the island.

(6) Women were raped as well, most of them were killed later. Many Chinese men were shot as well, as they were deemed to be sending the Chinese in China help. Those who "disrespected" the Japanese soldiers were murdered too. Not to mention, there were babies killed brutally by the soldiers.

(7) Syonan-to was changed back to Singapore once the British claimed the island back from the Japanese. The country, until today, still uses the British system for many things, such as the official written language (now getting muddied) and the driving system (right-hand drive). Our examination papers were sent there for marking as well, except for mother tongue. Singapore is part of the Commonwealth nations. 

(8) Britain refused to give Singapore complete independence, until a certain day when they decide to give Singapore a bit of independence, just to see if they can keep the peace without them. (David Marshall, first Chief Minister of Singapore, had his desk under a tree!) Only when harsh actions were implemented towards the communist riots, things lightened up a little. Only when Singapore joined with Malaysia, then breaking off the "alliance" the country gained complete independence.

(9) Lee Kwan Yew stepped up later and led the country to modern-day Singapore. He was in the cabinet for more than thirty years, and politics was his life. He led the People's action party, a.k.a. PAP (a political party) and the country prospered under their governance. He died in 2015. 

(10) Singapore did not leave Malaysia without a few treaties as Singapore did not have many natural resources. Recently, one of our water agreements expired in 2011. We are also major trading partners of one another. 

FYI, if you have a little trouble envisioning the eyes of "Singapore", think of "Mikazuki Munechika" from "Touken Ranbu" -their eyes are similar. Instead of a yellow ring, Singapore's would be an orange one. 

On a lighter note, thank you all for reading this one-shot! 

PS. Someone told me that 'Ya' used here as 'You' was inappropriate. But please let me explain why she used it here. It was to poke fun at England as she knows about his pirate-ing days. I am VERY aware of how 'Ya' is used in SEA.