"Miracles Around" - a collection about feelings, instincts and dreams

CHOCOLATE

Prologue

Alla (let's call her that) was born in Switzerland in the spring. From the moment she was born, she knew that she was special and that life would not be easy for her. But she was eager to fulfill her undoubtedly important mission. What was it? Alla wanted to be... eaten. No, no, don't be scared. We are not talking about cannibals. The fact is that Alla is just a chocolate bar, one of millions of chocolates that were brought to our country from the country of banks, watches, cheese, and, of course, chocolate. Ironically, it was she who became the main character of this story.

I

So, Alla appeared in our area exactly two months after she left the assembly line with her other "colleagues" and got into a huge cardboard box, wrapped in copper foil and a bright, thick white wrapper. After traveling several thousand kilometers in it, the Chocolate bar arrived at a warehouse in one of the cities of Ukraine, where it immediately felt special and therefore alien.

Since the chocolates had talked a lot about the latest news in the world of chocolate, quarreled with the Supreme Chocolate Council and discussed their favorite TV series Cocoa-Bob Chocolate Pants during the move, they hardly spoke to each other after arriving, so Alla had a lot of time to think "high", as they say.

Chocolates lack almost all the instincts that are characteristic of humans: they don't want to eat, they don't need to think about procreation, they don't feel pain, and therefore they lack the instinct of self-preservation. However, the main task - to please people - is embedded in them very, very deeply. And, of course, we cannot but mention excessive pride and self-love.

You are probably wondering what kind of chocolate bar our heroine was? Alla was a porous chocolate bar, and I was lucky enough to see the moment of her birth! It was an unforgettable experience! You know how porous chocolate is made, right? The dessert chocolate mass is poured into molds to 3/4 of the volume, then loaded into a vacuum boiler and kept in a liquid state at a temperature of 40 degrees for four hours. Thanks to the vacuum, air bubbles expand and the tiles become porous, as we see them in the end.

What made Alla stand out from the rest? It boasted the largest bubble on its "body" almost in the center of the tile. It had a clear heart shape. Chocolates are not characterized by the feeling of love, so Alla considered this feature to be a unique trait that set her apart from the "crowd" and further boosted her already high self-esteem.

Our heroine knew for sure that when her time came, she would fall into the hands of one of the richest and most beautiful people in the world. She will be eaten by someone who is unique just like her. Alla imagined the day when she would give joy to a child of a millionaire or a beautiful princess, or finally to the daughter of a president of a country. Alla thought about this around the clock. This constantly encouraged Shokoladka and kept her in a positive mood.

II

But not everything happened the way our heroine wanted it to. On World Chocolate Day, which was invented by the French back in 1995, Chocolatka suddenly left the box and went in an unknown direction.

July 11. This day, Alla thought, would be the last day of her life. Our heroine was already anticipating the moment when she would be able to see the light, not the dark foil, and give unforgettable joy to the one who would eat it. But her dreams were shattered by a hoarse, smoky voice that sounded quite rude and very unpleasant:

- "Here, take this chocolate bar. Put it in that box in my office where the others are!

"Others? What others? I don't want to be "one of the many"... Alla thought nervously.

"I am unique! I can't just keep company with other sweets!" she added to herself angrily.

IMAGE: Irina Yarkova

But as it turned out, no one ate the chocolate bar on July 11. No one ate it on July 12, 13, or even July 15. And this upset Alla. In addition, it was lying in an awkward position in a big beautiful basket with other chocolates collected from different parts of the world. But when she heard that the basket was to be given to someone in high places, she smiled again.

- "Take the basket and take it to the place where the guy waiting for you downstairs will tell you," the phrase, apparently spoken by someone from the bosses, encouraged our heroine even more, and she began to dream about the upcoming "happy ending." "Just don't forget that the birthday celebration of our main sponsor's son starts at 4 p.m. If you are even a minute late, consider yourself fired!

III

It was a long way to our destination. The chocolate bar was carefully turned over, and she was finally able to meet the others. But for some reason, the basket's "inhabitants" didn't like Alla right away. They started to insult her:

- "Look how huge she is!

- Ew, how chubby she is!

- Girls, look at her... She has advanced gynoid lipodystrophy!

- What does she have?

- Cellulite!

- Ha-ha-ha! That's right! It's terrible! And her face is covered in pimples! Listen, what are you doing here with us, "beauty"?

Alla didn't understand why the other chocolates were treating her so negatively and was extremely upset. She thought that she was the perfect one, and that the other bars were just a collection of sweet parallelepipeds with manufacturers' logos. But, as it turned out, it was she who was "not like that". Although you and I know for sure that it was just a matter of female envy - Porista was definitely the most delicious of all. But it was us...

"I wish we could get there sooner..." - with this thought, Alla tried to keep a smile on her face and think about the good things despite the mockery of her neighbors.

- "Shit! We're late!" our heroine heard through the laughter of the "chocolate herd". The nervous cry of the boy who grabbed the basket and ran down the pavement moistened by the summer rain made her chocolate heart skip a beat. She had never felt anything like it before. Chocolates don't actually have hearts. But this one had one, remember? Almost in the center... A neat heart-shaped bubble

And just as the guy was running up the stairs to an expensive restaurant, Alla jumped up and, with the help of the other chocolates, flew out of the basket and onto the asphalt.

Since cocoa bean sweets do not feel pain, our heroine did not immediately realize what had happened. But a few minutes later she felt someone's hand on her.

"Now I will be returned to the basket, and in the evening I will fulfill my destiny!" Alla rejoiced. But she never returned to the basket...

IV

...Judging by the smell of the shorts pocket of the man who picked Alla up from the wet asphalt, her new owner was clearly not a member of the elite. The mixture of grease, burnt rubber, and paint was so strong that even through the high-quality wrapping and foil, Shokoladka could smell it right away. Even though she had never smelled anything before. Alla was instantly upset and even coughed. It was also the first time this had happened to her. She definitely did not expect all this.

"Am I going to be eaten by some car service worker? No! I don't want that!" Alla thought in despair.

But she had no choice...

V

When Shokoladka finally saw the light, she was greeted by a dirty boy of about four years old with wheaten hair and gray-blue eyes. His rosy cheeks and tousled bangs immediately charmed Alla.

For a moment, she forgot about the smell, her disappointment, and even her ambitious dreams of becoming part of the elite life.

Despite the modesty of the room she found herself in and the unpleasant smell of old things, her bubbly heart beat faster. She felt something new - warmth and unearthly joy.

- "Bon appetit, baby!" Alla said and closed her eyes.

- "Mommy," the little girl said to me: "Bon appetit, mommy!" and the boy exclaimed joyfully and jumped around the room with delight.

- "My dear, chocolates don't talk," his mother replied tenderly and ran her hand over his little head.

- "But this one does! It's the most delicious and tasty in the world!" the boy exclaimed proudly.

"And yet I am unique! I am the best for him! I gave him happiness! So, my mission is fulfilled! And the president's spoiled daughter? Let her eat those arrogant "sores" from the basket! Perhaps they deserve each other!" - with this thought and a dreamy smile, Alla seemed to slowly fall asleep, and her bubble heart melted, leaving only sincere happiness in the eyes of the child.