I was sitting at the airport’s boarding gate with Dad, waiting for boarding. I was excited, not only because it’s my first time to Singapore, but also because we were upgraded to first class at the check-in. I had always wanted to try first class seats when passing by them on an airplane before. Passengers there seemed to get big and comfy seats. And I heard they even got better food and drinks.

Just before boarding, I saw a lady carrying a crying baby, with a toddler girl beside her. They had two carry-on suitcases with a few extra bags. The little girl was very helpful. She helped her mom with the suitcases and tried her best to make her baby brother laugh.

I looked at them, thinking if I could do anything to help them. I took out my flight ticket and my eyes fell on the seat number again. Then I looked up. The baby was still crying. The little girl was busy with the suitcases that were almost her height.

I made up my mind and talked to Dad.

“You sure? It’s the first class you’ve always wanted.”

“Yes, Dad.”

“I’m so proud of you sweetheart. Go ahead.”

“Thanks so much Dad for being supportive. I know you like first class too.”

I walked towards the lady and handed out the tickets, “Excuse me, would you like to swap tickets?” The lady took a look at them and looked surprised. “Are you sure? My seats are at the very back of the plane!”

I replied without hesitation, ”Don’t worry! I think you need these seats more than we do. Besides, the back seats are closer to the kitchen. I can always get a cup of juice whenever I want.”

“Thank you so much! You’re such a nice young lady.”

On the plane, I was sitting at the back seat with Dad, holding a cup of apple juice. The apple juice was really sweet, but my heart felt even sweeter.

On the 8^thof April, I got up at 5:35 a.m. and started countdown to 6:00a.m.—-the time I was born eleven years ago. “Fifty-nine, sixty! Happy birthday to me……” I sang softly to myself, trying not to wake my little sister Anna beside me. However, I couldn’t hide the happiness inside. I had been looking forward to this day since my last birthday.                                                                                              
After breakfast, Mum, Anna and I went to the bus stop excitedly. I was thrilled, not just because we were going hiking, also because we were meeting my friends Mulan and her little sister Tinglan. We hadn’t met them since the pandemic.

When we got off the bus, Mulan, Tinglan and their mum, Aunt April were already waiting for us. We set off to the mountain near Mulan and Tinglan’s house. At first, we walked the paths which were people-built. Later, we found a ladder leading to “nowhere”. Aunt April recommended wisely, “Maybe an adventurer left this ladder. Let’s climb up and have a REAL adventure!” Everyone liked this idea. Therefore, one by one, we climbed up the ladder.

On top of the ladder, the roads were “wild”—-there were no people-built roads. First, I thought it was easy, but the “wild” roads were slippery. We need to be very careful and held tightly to the branches beside us and stepped on the rocks below us cautiously. Luckily, on the roads which were most difficult to hike, there were ropes attaching to the trees. We held on to the ropes nervously. I was afraid that I would fall. Mum was always the unlucky one. At the end of the “wild” path which was steep, Aunt April carried Anna down. But no one carried Mum. She slipped and slid down the path to the ground! 

We finally got back to the people-built roads safely. I was so relieved. Next, we went to Mulan and Tinglan’s house to have lunch. Mulan’s domestic helper cooked delicious food! I liked the chicken wings best.

After playing with Mulan and Tinglan for a while, Aunt April brought out a homemade lemon cheesecake with a little teddy bear on it. Everyone sang “happy birthday” to me. Anna couldn’t wait to taste the cake. But after the first bite, she cried out,” I don’t like it!” It was so embarrassing! I loved the cake. So I said, “I love it.” But the more embarrassing moment was still waiting for me. “Sis, do you really like it? Are you lying?”

After that, Mulan and Tinglan even gave me a pretty little mirror as a gift.

What a memorable birthday! On the coming twelfth birthday, I want to visit an old cave with Mulan’s and my family!

「哇！」經過玩具店的櫥窗時，我不禁驚嘆。那是一個精巧的玩具房子。廚房的桌子擺放著誘人的食物；客廳的沙發看上去十分鬆軟，茶桌上還擺放著棋盤；睡房裡的窗簾印著精細的條紋⋯⋯我看得呆了。

「媽媽，你不是說在商場會給我買些玩具的嗎？我好想要這個⋯⋯」

媽媽看了看價格，說：「這個玩具屋太貴了，你真的想要的話，得用自己的零花錢買。」說完，媽媽拉了我便走。

我每個月只能拿二十五元零花錢，那要等到一年後我才能夠錢買那個玩具房子！可我好想現在就擁有它。看著在廚房忙碌的媽媽，我想起，我可以幫媽媽做家務賺錢！

暑假中，我每天都幫媽媽做家務。早上，我一起床就去做早餐、洗衣服；家人吃完飯後，我負責洗碗筷；傍晚，我把垃圾扔在垃圾箱裡⋯⋯每天，看著手中自己辛苦賺回來的錢，我很有成功感。

一個月後，我數了數錢，剛好賺了三百元。我興沖沖地到商場買玩具房子。路上，鳥兒輕快地唱著歌，樹木隨風輕舞，好像整個世界都在為我慶祝。想到不久後，我就會跟妹妹一起玩那個玩具房子，我的心像開了一朵花。

途中，一個「奧比斯」慈善機構的義工招呼我去看一些關於患有眼疾人士的影片。我不好推辭，只好跟著義工走過去。影片中，一個從小患有眼疾卻因為貧窮而得不到醫治的小孩讓我的心揪緊了。我從小因為遺傳而要戴眼鏡。沒了眼鏡，我的生活會很艱難。看東西時，我得使盡全力，眯起雙眼，還不一定看得清楚。若我像她一樣幾乎失去全部視力，我簡直不敢想像。

看完影片，我輕輕摸了摸口袋裡的錢。想著這一個月賺錢的辛勞，又想到唾手可得的玩具房子，我把手從口袋裡拿出來。我不敢看那個孩子的臉，艱難地站起身，向玩具店走去。

邁著沈重的步子走到玩具店，我再次望著那個讓我辛苦了一個月的玩具房子。一個月前，我也是這樣望著它，可是這次，我眼前浮動著的，卻是那個患有眼疾的小孩無神的目光，揮之不去。我終於作出了決定。

幾個星期後，我收到了奧比斯寄給我的信和刊物，多謝我成為他們的每月捐款者。看著刊物上重見光明的孩子的笑臉，我的心像開滿鮮花的山谷。我終於體會到“助人為快樂之本”的真正含義。得到玩具帶來的快樂是短暫的，幫助孩子重見光明帶給我的，是持久的、無與倫比的幸福。