Page 5 - My Creative Writing Portfolio

5

SPECIAL BIRTHDAY CELEBRATION

When we entered my hotel room that evening, we were startled by what we saw. On the table
stood a large cake, a bottle of wine, and a single candle placed carefully on top. On my bed lay a
card. I opened it casually—and then paused. It was a birthday card.

Only then did I realise that it was my birthday.

I had not thought about it at all. My friends gathered around and read the card with curiosity.

“Oh! You did not tell us about it,” one of them said—not angrily, but with a tone suggesting that
perhaps I had kept a secret.

I replied, quite seriously, that I myself had not been aware that my birthday was approaching.

I had come to this hotel only for three nights. It was a commercial place, unfamiliar and
impersonal—or so I had thought. I usually do not celebrate my birthday, so I had certainly not
expected such a gesture. Yet I was deeply and pleasantly surprised. The arrangement, though
simple, felt thoughtful and warm. My main curiosity, however, was this: how did the hotel
management know?

This happened in Colombo, Sri Lanka, on June 12, 2016.

It was my second visit to Sri Lanka. My first visit had left a strong and positive impression on me,
despite it being during a period of conflict—between the Government and the Tamils, though in
reality it felt like a conflict between Sinhalese and Tamils. Even during that tense time, I had
experienced kindness.

I still remember arriving at the airport on that first visit. After submitting my passport for a visa, a
lady at immigration handed it back to me with a smile. Looking at my name, she laughed gently
and said, “You are a good fit for Sri Lanka—your first name is Tamil, and your surname is
Sinhalese.”

I joked in return, “Well then, perhaps I should stay in Sri Lanka.”

That brief exchange had stayed with me.

This second visit was to attend a conference on migration and development in South Asia. Two
colleagues accompanied me—one young and energetic, the other a middle-aged woman with
quiet confidence. We stayed at the Taj Samudra Hotel, located beside the sea in one of Colombo’s
most elegant areas. It was considered one of the finest hotels in the city.

After the conference concluded, we decided to experience something beyond the comfort of a
luxury hotel. We wanted to eat in a modest, typical Sinhalese restaurant—to observe ordinary life.
We found a small place that looked simple but clean and inviting.