- mark, me and verseo!
♥♥♥♥♥The weathered pages of the book seemed to barely hold together
as the spine of the book creaked with each turn of the page. In front of
Coco were carefully dried vanilla beans that had been prepared days in
advance. A bowl full of dry ingredients sat nearby as they pored over the
book, a soft sigh leaving them.
♥♥♥♥♥“What?” They mumbled under their breath, clenching their
fists slightly as they struggled to translate the slightly faded pages. Some
of the writing was illegible in its entirety, so some improvisation was
required but nothing could replace the words, 'chauchas de vainilla'.
It had to be vanilla bean.
♥♥♥♥♥Months of sowing, watering, and sunlight before it was ready to be
harvested. It was a labour of love on its own entirely.
♥♥♥♥♥Coco picked up the pen and began to scribble down the recipe for
what felt like the hundredth time. This one had to be correct.
♥♥♥♥♥“Just like mom used to make…” They spoke aloud to themself
again as they set the pen down, looking at the improvised recipe, “At
least.. I really hope so.”
♥♥♥♥♥A sharp inhale and they set to work, mixing the dry ingredients
first. Each portion was carefully measured, and they were grateful that
numbers translated over easily enough.
♥♥♥♥♥Learning an entirely new language to help her feel more at ease
in her new home. “I couldn’t imagine moving so far away from
everything I knew…” They spoke aloud, stopping for a moment to think.
“Oh heavens. I’m daydreaming again.” Coco chuckled and added the
wet ingredients now, mixing it until smooth.
♥♥♥♥♥“Now that it’s mixed how it’s supposed to be…” They took
a small spoon and tried the batter itself, tail wagging. “Home.” Coco
spoke, a newfound spark igniting in their chest. Carefully the batter
was poured into a pan and set into the oven. A sigh of relief left their
chest before they relaxed but only for a moment as the mess of the
kitchen and the evidence of the cakes before caught their eye.
♥♥♥♥♥“I should definitely clean up before she gets back…”
♥♥♥♥♥They began to work in the kitchen, sweeping up loose flour and
other dry ingredients that got left behind. The counters came next,
taking care to get every nook and cranny while they waited for the cake
to bake. Carefully they picked up the book, a small photo sliding out
from between the pages.
♥♥♥♥♥Quickly, Coco caught it and sighed in relief, flipping it around to
look at it. ‘Salma y Mama’ the backside of the photo read. One more
turn and it was a photo of their friend who looked much younger, their
hair frizzing nearly every direction with a wide toothy grin. Next to
them stood an older woman with soft eyes and a warm smile, wrapping
an arm around Salma who held a cake very proudly.
♥♥♥♥♥A ding brought them back to their current task, “The cake!”
They quickly walked over to the oven, carefully pulling it from the rack.
“Perfect.” Coco inhaled the scent of fresh cake, setting it by the
window to cool. They carefully returned the cookbook to where it used
to rest, using a magnet to hang the picture on the fridge.
♥♥♥♥♥They got the ingredients once again to make a whipped icing,
mixing everything together to have it ready. The cake was cooled and
now it was decorated lovingly with the icing and sprinkles.
♥♥♥♥♥Click!
♥♥♥♥♥The front door opened and shut, Coco nearly dropping the
sprinkles. It was only halfway decorated and she was there early!
♥♥♥♥♥“Salma!” They exclaimed, standing in front of the cake to
hide it from their view.
♥♥♥♥♥“Coco!” She smiled and set down her bag, sighing softly.
“I’m glad to be with a friend today… I miss my home especially.”
♥♥♥♥♥Salma’s eyes catch the window and she notices the plant
sitting there. “Have you always had that? I can’t say I’ve seen
any grown around here but…”
♥♥♥♥♥“Actually! The plant isn’t from around here…” They slowly
step aside and reveal the cake they were hiding behind their back to
her, now held in her hands. Salma freezes entirely and she looks from
the cake to Coco, carefully approaching it.
♥♥♥♥♥“Do my eyes lie?” She spoke softly, coming closer to smell
it. “May I?” Salma looked at Coco and was met with an
enthusiastic nod.
♥♥♥♥♥“It’s for you!” Coco grabbed a knife to cut her a piece,
giving it to her on a cheap plate with the design, “Happy Birthday!”
in rainbow lettering.
♥♥♥♥♥One bite and Salma’s worries seemed to melt away. “Home.”
She spoke softly, her face lighting up with happiness. “How did you
bring my home here?”
♥♥♥♥♥“Well… I found the small plant in a nursery… and I brought
it here to take care of it. I had to learn some of a new language so that
way I could read the book. But… It took so many tries.” They chuckled
nervously, looking away briefly before they looked back to Salma.
♥♥♥♥♥Her eyes were watering and full of tears, looking down at the cake.
“You did this for me?” Salma spoke softly, soft sniffles all that
could leave her at the moment. Coco embraced their friend and she
laughed between happy sobs, holding onto her friend. “You could
have just got me some chocolate…”
♥♥♥♥♥“Seeing you happy is worth more than any chocolate
money could buy.”
♥♥♥♥♥The two embraced for a moment longer before Salma
spoke up, “Thank you, this means so much to me…”
♥♥♥♥♥“I hope so… It’s the only present I got you…”
♥♥♥♥♥The two laughed and Salma talked about her family
with the same soft eyes her mother had.
♥♥♥♥♥The vanilla plant stayed comfortable by the windowsill, growing
in the many months to come of their friendship. Different recipes but
the same heart and friend.
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