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A Surprise Birthday Party Leads to Unexpected News |
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My family consists of my parents, my elder brother Gerald, my younger brother
Kenny, and my younger sister Rita. Gerald works as a seaman and is away from
home most of the time. He often shares his fascinating stories about his voyages
around the world with us.
As Gerald's twenty-first birthday approached, my parents decided to organize a
surprise party for him, despite our limited budget. We all kept the party a
secret from him until the last minute. While Rita and my mother baked a cake,
Kenny cleaned the house and arranged the furniture. My mother promised to give
me some money to add to my savings so that I could buy a worthwhile gift for
Gerald, and Rita kept her gift plans to herself.
On the day of the party, we convinced Gerald to go see a movie, while we dressed
up and prepared for his arrival. When we heard a knock on the door, we all
shouted "Happy Birthday, Gerry" in unison, but to our surprise, it was a
stranger at the door. The man was looking for a certain Gerald D'Souza, and we
invited him in after verifying that he meant no harm.
As we were offering the stranger a glass of orange, Gerald arrived, and we all
wished him a happy birthday again. He was surprised to see the stranger but then
remembered that he had met him two years ago in Sydney when he had rescued a
miner named James Levin from kidnappers. The stranger, a solicitor from Perth
named John Snewin, had come to settle Gerald's claim as Levin had recently
passed away and bequeathed a hundred thousand Australian dollars to him in his
will.
Our simple birthday celebration had turned into an unexpected windfall for
Gerald, and we were all overjoyed for him. We celebrated the occasion with
renewed enthusiasm and happiness, with Gerald's unexpected good fortune making
it a birthday he would never forget. |
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