username; Diamond pet
name; Ainsley
gender; Female
story;
The dark closet was briefly flooded with light as the door opened, but was obscured by the long shadow of a kalon.
“Where is it?” The kalon muttered to herself. She plunged into the depths of the cramped and tiny room, pushing aside stacks of boxes in order to find her quarry. After rooting in the dark for a few minutes, her search was rewarded.
“Aha!” Ainsley cried as she hefted a large cardboard box labeled “winter decor” off the ground into her arms. She backed out of the closet and set out down the hallway. Ainsley navigated down the stairs, and entered into the back room of her cafe. At the foot of the stairs, her daughter Miya was perched on another box. She looked up at Ainsley as she descended the stairs and smiled.
“Ready kiddo?” Ainsley asked.
“Yep!” Chirped Miya, jumping off her perch and heaving the second box into her arms.
“Let’s get started then.”
~
For the entire morning, Ainsley and Miya decorated. Every year, on the first weekend of December, it was the pair’s tradition to pull out all their winter things and bedazzle Ainsley’s cafe-bookstore with every crazy wintry decoration they could think of.
This year was no exception. Snowflakes were hung in the windows, fake snow was piled on top of shelves and cabinets, and mini trees and snowmen were placed in various positions on the floor. The cafe’s tables were covered with lavish centerpieces and the chalkboard menu was redrawn to include the seasonal treats of winter.
After decking out the shop from top to bottom, the two took a brief lunch break, and then dived into their next activity; baking.
Ainsley assisted by Miya, whipped up dozens of batches of cookies, from chocolate chip to ginger snap, molded into various shapes including snowmen, snowflakes, and pine trees. After the baking and cooling, it was time for the decoration. The cookies were slathered in icing and drenched in sprinkles, and though Ainsley’s creations came out looking professional and neat, Miya’s looked as if they had gone through a sugar tornado.
Following the decorating, of course, came the “taste testing” as Miya referred to it. The most chaotic cookies were selected, (the nice ones were to be sold in the following days) and Ainsley and Miya retired to a pair of chairs in the cafe’s sitting area, with a platter of cookies, hot chocolate, and marshmallows.
“Amazing.” Declared Miya after one bite. “These are certainly the best cookies we’ve made yet.” (Which was what she said every year). She took a sip of her hot chocolate and wriggled with pleasure. Ainsley smiled at her daughter and took a bite of her own cookie (hers was significantly less sprinkled than Miya’s).
“They are indeed delicious.” Ainsley agreed.
“I bet it’s my amazing topping skills that make it so good.” Remarked Miya with a sly grin. Ainsley laughed.
“On the contrary, I prefer not to go into a sugar coma after eating a single cookie. One would certainly think that your cookie might induce just that.” The two continued to exchange friendly teasing banter and they whiled the afternoon away with much hilarity. Finally, when they had worn out their witty remarks, Ainsley pulled out a stack of books and she and Miya were soon swept up in the mystical lands contained in the pages they read.
After a while, Ainsley glanced up at Miya, who was engrossed in a thick fiction novel. She savored these moments spent with Miya. And this particular tradition of theirs was one of the thing she loved most about winter. Smiling, Ainsley returned to her book.
~608 words~