December 19th, 2019

📰Weekly Spotlight's Breaking news: Catwoman Actress Kate Aurum posts pictures of herself with the cast enjoying the sun on a private beach in La-Luna.

December 19th, 2019

Nith checked the timer for the fifth time. His fingers danced over his arm, feet tapping along the tic of the clock.  

He took the cake tin out of the oven the moment the timer dinged, placing it on the cooling rack. "How does Nick do this so well?"

The cake was wet on the sides though rock solid in the middle. "Am I adding too much baking powder again? But Julie said 2 tablespoons." He chopped the cake in half. "Or was it 2 teaspoons? But 2 teaspoons is too little …" Nith sighed.

"Let’s try this one more time." He nodded to himself, hand moving his copper hair over his eyes. Nith readjusted the timer and temperature of the oven as he placed the diced carrot tray inside. "Fifteen minutes - " Nith turned around to see the mess he had made of the kitchen counter: the numerous bowls caked in cake batter, hundred different spoons for mixing. "How can Nick find this comforting?" he mumbled, taking the rag. "Let's clean up so that we dirty them up again!" 

The clock ticked behind him in a rhythm. As he worked around the kitchen he could picture his mother working in the same place years ago. Teaching Nick how to knead sourdough, helping him with his science homework in middle school, or braiding Lia’s hair as she sat on the island.

Every corner of his childhood house reminded him of years, peoples, and relations that had been lost in time. Maybe that’s why he’s always reluctant to stay more than a day here.

"What are you making?" Lia walked into the kitchen. Nith glanced at her, red hair scrunched up on top of her head. She was still in her pajamas even though it was 11 in the morning. "The whole place smells like roasted carrots and ginger."

Nith went back to pureeing his roasted carrots.

"What are you making?" she asked again.

"Carrot cake."

"Why are you baking? You suck at baking." Nith clicked his tongue at her as if he didn’t know that. "Nick is so much better at it." He brushed her words aside, rolling his eyes as she took a stool on the other side of the island. She watched as Nith mixed the pureed carrot with the cake batter. "You grate the carrots into the mix, not blend them."

"Mom made it like this once. So I'm trying it this way." He measured the baking powder, 2 teaspoons to the curve. “Please work,” he prayed.

"Yeah, that's not gonna work. Mom's recipe didn't say anything like that."

"No one knows what her recipe says, Lia. You threw it out, remember?"

Lia pouted, turning away. "I was a baby."

"You were 11," Nith breathed out, deciding to ignore his kid sister. He added some grated carrot bits into the batter before transferring the mix to a cake tin. The kitchen smelled like his mother's new-year roast.

"But that doesn't look right though," she continued. "Wait!" Lia sat straight, brow arched. "Why are you making carrot cake anyway? You don't even like cakes." Nith continued to pretend he couldn't hear her as he placed the tin into the oven, checking the temperature once more to be sure. "What if it tastes gross?" She pointed at the rock cake on the other side. "If you are experimenting, then make another one. Then we can vote on which one tastes better!" his sister said from behind.

"It's gonna taste good."

"Yeah, but what if it doesn't? How can you be so sure?" Her reasoning was unmatched as ever.

"Fine ..." Nith groaned, walking toward the fridge. "I will make another one as if I haven’t been making carrot cake for the last two weeks. You happy?" he yelled over his shoulder.

Lia grabbed one of the oranges from the fruit basket, peeling it. "You are gonna thank me later."

Nith ignored her.

It had been weeks, and he had already tried every available carrot cake recipe online. None taste similar to his mom's. He couldn't tell if it was him or the recipe that was the problem. It would have been better if Nick was here. His older brother had inherited their mother's talent for baking. He could whip up some eggs and flour mixed with sugar and it would still taste better than whenever monstrosity Nith was forging in the oven.

But Nick wasn't coming home this time. And Nith already promised Kate - though she probably didn't remember, still ... The only option that was left was for Nith to try to recreate his mom's old recipe himself. With just a day left, he didn't have time to listen to Lia's nonsense.

"Lia?"

"What up?" she spun the orange around.

"Where are all the carrots I brought last night?" He looked at the redhead.

Lia sighed, "Nith, I know you are getting old. But you just made six batches of carrot cakes with carrots," she motioned at the failed cake attempts on the side. "So ..." She threw an orange segment in her mouth, shrugging. "Oh, it's sweet." She blinked at the orange in her hand. "You have to try this."

"There were more carrots. I left some in the fridge in a red bag. They are all gone."

"Oh, those ..." Lia chewed slowly, waving her hand in the air. "I used it."

"All 9?"

She shrugged again. "I juiced them. Drank some and used the rest to make sheet masks. Don't you think my skin is glowing right now?" Her fingers drummed across her cheeks. "It's really good for your skin. You should try it. It might get rid of those dark circles under your eyes."

Nith could hear his veins pop as he groaned again, closing the fridge with a thud. He pinched the bridge of his nose as he sighed. He couldn't believe he actually missed her sometimes.

"Stop being so dramatic. There are more carrots at the market. Go buy some."

He might as well. "Fine," Nith said, placing all the dirty dishes in the sink. He wiped his hand on the butterfly apron he had on before checking the timer on his phone and the temperature of the oven one more time. "Fine!" He walked out of the kitchen.

"Where are you going?" She spun her stool around, jumping off to follow Nith as he walked toward the door.

"To get more carrots from the store like you said." He brought out his coat from the closet.

"Why are you so obsessed with making carrot cakes? You have been going on about it ever since you came home."

"Take out the cake when the alarm on my phone goes off," he continued on. "Put it on the rake to cool."

"I know that much. Geez." Lia rolled her eyes.

Nith ignored her tone. "There is the frosting in the fridge that I made earlier. Do not eat it! Or put it on the cake when it's hot." He pointed his finger at her.

"But you will be back by the time the cake cools down."

"Exactly." He narrowed his green eyes at her one more time, trying to emphasize. "Don't touch it until I come back." Even as said it, ‌he knew his younger sister would do whatever she wanted. But at least he could say to himself that he tried. "I mean it, Lia."

"Whatever." She closed the door behind him.

The drive to the grocery store was short, lasting fifteen minutes. Vlomot was the third largest city in Troy. But the eastern suburb of the city always felt more like a small town on its own separated by the river Serpens.

Nith parked his car next to a rust-covered red truck in front of the mart. There weren't any other cars parked there, apart from another van across the lot. The store was just as empty. Even the last-minute shoppers weren't here to get the place crowded.

The AC hummed as Nith steered past the cashier playing games on his phone. He grabs a basket from the side, walking toward the vegetable section.

The distinctive smell of chlorine lingered in the air. It made him remember the summer he worked here. Kate would come every day to hang out while he restocked the shelves. And every time his manager would come out of his room, she would hide behind the small gap between the wall and the vegetable shelf.

He laughed to himself as he recalled the time she got caught and was banned from coming. Though Kate didn’t agree. She hardly ever did anything she didn’t wanted to.

It was hard to believe sometimes how far away those days were now.

Nith grabbed a bag of carrots.

Now he was given a chance to make new memories.

He picked some potatoes, cauliflower - Kate loved cauliflower - some asparagus, and a few more veggies. Just recreating the cake with his downright horrible baking skills won’t be enough to stop her from teasing him. He needed to show her something he was good at, to balance out. And if there was one thing Nith was confident about, apart from his writing, was his cooking skills.

As they say, food was the fastest way to one's heart.

Ten minutes later, his basket was full and Nith was ready to leave. He had already left Lia alone with the cake and he couldn’t risk it by giving her more time to make a disaster. He walked out of the meat section, coming back into the vegetable aisle. From his place, he could see the cashier talking with a woman in a jeans jacket. Her mouse brown hair was in a bob. The left side had an undercut.

Nith stopped on his track.

The woman waved her hands as she continued to talk with the cashier. The cashier - a 17-year-old boy - looked annoyed as he kept on indicating for her to move on. She turned just as Nith hid behind the racks; his back bumped into the shelves in panic. 

He knew who that was. He could recognize that hairstyle anywhere.

Rina Coral from Weekly Spotlight.

"Fuck," Nith cursed under his breath. Why was she here? The question seemed pointless to ask. "I need to leave." He peeked, and she was still standing there with her phone in her ear. She was waiting for him. "How the hell did she knew?" He walked back inside the aisle, away from her view. "I need to call Lia." He placed the basket on the floor and his hand inside his coat's pocket to fish out his phone. It wasn’t there. "I left it in the kitchen ..." 

Nith slid between the aisles, hands mopping his face in frustration. He overlooked every second to see if Rina was still there or not. But no, the girl was still there, waiting for him like a cat. He was stuck, trapped as a mouse.

He rubbed his face with the palm of his hand. This was not in his plan. He was supposed to get in and get out.

"This is just great," he muttered under his breath. "You idiot." Nith poked his head out again.

The girl was gone. He didn't hear the door open, but he could see the old silver Chevy she drove still parked outside. So he knew she didn't leave. He stretched his head a bit more, scanning the area.

"Should I run?"

Someone tapped him on the shoulder.

Nith froze. Did he got caught?

"Found you!"