Author's Note: Please bear with it if you think it is too long. And please review. I need you to tell me if they like this story and what is wrong with it and which part you like best. Thank You.

Dusk approached. Streaks of glowing orange emblazoned the sky while the sun veiled itself slowly and the air was filled with a sense of serenity. A flock of skylarks flew over the green pasture, and the call of a jackdaw broke the golden silence. I watched all these silently as I stared out of the window.

It was my sixteenth birthday and I wondered about the gift Mother would give me this year. Every year, I would be given a dress, or a cloak, or a quilt that Mother had made for me. Mother put a lot of work into these gifts. She usually started on these gifts months before my birthday. Often, I caught her in her room, hands pulling the needle and thread in and out of the cloth so fast, that they became a blur. As the months passed, ordinary scraps of cloth were patched together, forming a lovely stitched quilt with riots of colours. Beautiful dresses and cloaks were turned out from ordinary looking cloth. However, I did not get to see the changing process, for Mother always caught me looking at her, working on these and she would quickly shoo me away.

On my thirteenth birthday, Mother sewed a dress of shimmering gold for me. It had embroidery of gold flowers at the hems. The following year, a cloak of grey was given to me. It was not as lovely as the other gifts were, but I felt that she had other ideas in mind. So I never asked her about the meaning of her gifts. I only waited for her to tell me. But she never did.

I heard Mother calling for me from downstairs. The time had come. I ran down the wooden stairs lightly, wondering what this birthday would hold for me. Arriving at the sitting room, I stopped a few metres away from Mother who had something on her lap, in amazement. On her lap, sat a dress of pale blue with silver lining. It was quite long as the ends spilled over the floor. Mother only sat there, watching my face.

She beckoned over to me and I walked over slowly, hardly believing this dress was going to be in my possession. Mother stood up and held the dress to my front, examining me from head to toe. I then realised that a cloak of silver accompanied it. There was also a small train at the end.

"Fits you to a T." She smiled and her face glowed with pride. I thanked her profusely and brushed my fingers over the soft material. Mother watched me silently again with satisfaction and ordered me to take out all those gifts she had given me over the years. I lingered there for a moment, eyes still on that dress and went off to get those gifts that had been too precious to be thrown away.

Mother's calloused hands ran through her handiwork. Her eyes held a certain something which I could not tell. Then, she spoke.

"I'm sure you have wondered why I gave you all these without telling you what they mean... All these represent things I want you to possess. This...” Mother held up the golden dress. "Represents fillial piety." She went on.

The quilt of different patches of orange cloth: Kindness. The white dress: Truth. The yellow cloak with beads at the ends: Loyalty. The sky-blue coloured dress: Hope. The pink dress: Faith. The silver cloak with swirling lines as patterns: Peace. The list went on.

"I wanted you to have love in your heart and to express it to others Kindness to them, including your enemies. Faith in yourself and others. Steadfastness in your chores. Endurance goes along with steadfastness. Diligence you must have, to achieve good results. Do not abandon hope. Always go along with truth, not with lies. Righteousness to stand up for the injustice you witness. Courage to stand up for your principals and to help others, a friend of righteousness. Loyalty to people whom you have work and play with. Fillial piety to those who have taken care and supported you throughout your life. Peace in your mind and heart. Duty to yourself and others. Contentment, is represented by this grey cloak. You do not have to possess many wonderful and pretty things to have contentment. It will be in your heart if you allow it to be. That is why this grey cloak is not as pretty as the others are. Be content with what you have, for there are many who are less fortunate than you are." Mother paused.

I was listening patiently. This is the sixteenth year. So, what of the sixteenth birthday? Mother sensing my thoughts, continued.

"Sixteen years, sixteen virtues I want you to have. This is the last year I am giving you these gifts for you have achieved the sixteenth virtue by waiting for so many years. And that is patience." She held out the pale blue dress to me.

I realised what Mother was trying to teach me all these years and I embraced her tightly, thanking her again. She whispered something back in my ear.

"Happy birthday, my daughter."

Author's Note: Please review! I need you to tell me if they like this story and what is wrong with it and which part you like best. Thank You.