"So do tell, why are we here?"
The man said as they walked through the bustling street. He was accompanied by a beautiful woman. Both walked side by side but the women held his arms.
"I have never participated in such events. So I thought it might be worth it to check it out?"
The woman said with a bright face.
"Do you know what event this is?"
The man asked somewhat intrigued. A distant hazy jumble of memories flashed through his chaotic mind before calming down.
The woman wrapped her arms around his hand and said,
"It's called Christmas."
"Christmas..."
The man repeated the word before trailing off. The woman looked at her companion as countless emotions flashed through his mind before all of them became clouded again. Although both of them had their motive of travelling together, she had grown to care for him. She didn't know why or when. A feeling that should have been non-existent slowly started to wiggle its way through again.
The man however didn't notice anything. He looked around the bustling street. Lights and decorations are everywhere. The air smelled sweet as many colourful and tasty looking desserts were on display in shops.
"Do you wanna try some cake?"
He suddenly asked unconsciously. The woman looked at him and said,
"What's a cake?"
The man looked at her with narrowed eyes and she mimicked him by narrowing her eyes. The man smiled and said,
"The best food you can ever have."
The woman's eyes flashed with light before nodding. The man led her towards a shop purely that was small but well decorated.
As they entered the shop, a warm feeling covered them. The cold never bothered them anyway. But the warm feeling made them comfortable. The bells made a soft jingle as they entered. Then a woman looked at them from behind the counter.
The woman was elderly. Her age would be no more than 70. She wore a baking apron and was holding a tray full of what looked like cupcakes. She at first was confused and looked around if searching. Then her eyes widen and she noticed the two customers. She quickly put down the tray and came forward and with a bright smile said,
"Hello dear. Welcome to 'Granny's Delight'."
The man smiled unconsciously. The woman was taken aback a bit. The man said,
"The air smells amazing. What's baking?"
The Granny quickly went behind the counter and said,
"We have all sorts of desserts and cookies for you. You can even order anything specific. Why don't you look around dear?"
The man smiled and nudged the woman. She was startled before looking around with round eyes. She went forward and pointed at one of the desserts.
It was square in shape and dark brown. With white sprinkled on top of it. It also had golden leaves and a few red cherries on top of it.
The granny looked at which she was pointing at before saying,
"Oh! This is a simple Chocolate Cake dear with powdered sugar sprinkled on it."
The woman nodded and then pointed at something else.
Christmas Fruit Cake, Cranberry Chocolate Cake, Biscochitos Toffee, Chocolate Bread Pudding, Almond & Orange Cake, Honey glazed Doughnuts, Sweet Gingerbread and many more. The granny named them as soon as the woman pointed at them. With each name, her eyes were getting brighter.
After learning the name of every single one the woman looked at the man with a bit of saliva on the corner of her lips. And said,
"Can I have all of them?"
She asked with hope. The man shook his head and said,
"Sure."
The woman nodded and started to talk with Granny. The man looked at the woman smiling and laughing. For a second her face overlapped with someone else. His hand unknowingly reached for the overlapping figure before stopping half raised. The man felt like falling from a high place before it vanished altogether.
The woman looked back at him as the overlapping figure disappeared. The man felt his chest stiffen but didn't react. The woman looked at him slightly confused before saying,
"We can sit over there for the food."
The man nodded and followed her to the seat.
It was a window seat. The man could see the road and the people walking by. The woman was looking at the desserts inside the shop.
"Here's a complimentary Hot Chocolate. I hope you can enjoy it."
A young boy came to them with a tray and put down two glasses of hot chocolate drink. The man noticed the boy looking at the woman for a bit longer and smiling like a fool.
The man ignored him and drank the chocolate milk quietly.
Disorganised memories flash past his mind again. But they were too chaotic to notice.
Suddenly the man asked the woman,
"Do you miss it?"
The woman looked at him bewildered. The man wanted to explain but he noticed a smudge of chocolate on the corner of her lips. He raised his hand and wiped it without thinking. The woman looked confused then smiled brightly and asked,
"What do you mean?"
The man smiled and said,
"It's nothing."
The woman wanted to ask more questions but their desserts came in.
It took a while but almost one of each food was on their table. The woman dig in while the man took a cranberry chocolate cake.
"Oh! This is so sweet."
"Mmmm...so tasty."
"This tastes the best."
The woman was delighted with each bite. The man smiled at her reactions. It was then the man realised he didn't have any money. Although they could not pay. But the man felt like it otherwise.
He looked at the Granny. And asked the woman,
"Can you help her?"
The woman glanced towards the granny and said,
"Why?"
The man shifted eyes and said,
"Just do it."
The man waited for the woman to finish her eating and left the store to wait outside.
He stepped out as snow began to fall. He could see people enjoying the environment. After a few minutes, the woman left the store and said,
"It is fruitless to extend what has already reached its end. But I did my best. At least she won't reach her end quickly."
The man nodded and headed off as the woman caught up to him and wrapped her around his and rested her head on his shoulder.