The Cookbook Diary

Prologue

It was four o’clock and the sun has already begun to set. Yet, it was still sunny with a touch of chill in the breeze.

I closed “Emma” and kept it on the nearby table, giving the book a gentle pat on its warned out cover. A sudden smile swept across my face as I remembered it was the fifth time I read it.

The evening sun’s frail light kept oozing through the old window. I took a deep breath and stared out of it and saw how the gentle breeze made tiny ripples on the pond, which lied somberly in the corner of the garden. The sky kept changing its hue dramatically. Every second it grew evermore richer, merging from deep pink to azure and then to a sinister purple.

I felt so peaceful, lying there, in my cozy wooden chair which gently rocked with the ticking of the clock. My eyes were closed in contentment, and so was my mind. Another evening of my life had made its gentle departure.

“Grandma wake up!”

My eyes flew open.

Julie was standing beside me, with two freshly brewed steaming hot cups of coffee. It took me another couple of minutes to recall where I exactly was.

“Don’t worry gran, it’s not the middle of the night. You’re quite safe this time”

I blushed as I remembered how I fell asleep on my chair the evening before, snoring the wits out of me, till midnight.

“Oh, sorry……old habits die hard you know” I told while straightening up on the chair and taking the cup from her.

Julie was already sipping her coffee, sitting in front of me on the terracotta floor. Her low laugh gave the perfect explanation of what my behavior must’ve been when I was suddenly woken up out of the blues.

Suddenly I found both of us laughing. It must’ve been so loud as to drag my poor maid, dear Martha all the way up the old staircase.

“S...

... middle of paper ...

...it my dear”. I leaned back on the old wooden chair while handing over the little brown book to her.

She took it tentatively and wiped off the dust on the front cover to read the title in gold, more clearly.

“The Cookbook Diary?” she read out loud, rather amazed and raised her head to reveal two perfectly sparkling eyes which demanded an explanation.

“Well…..I started. I told you it was my journal before. And if you’d have some time to spare, I could even tell you one or two stories from it.”

Julie’s face was lit up with eagerness and excitement. She looked down for a moment and nodded her head “Grandma….” her lips formed a crooked smile “I’ve got all the time in the world.”

She handed me the book, leaning closer to me.

I smiled with gladness, and took it gently into my hands and opened the first page.

The hands; which tightly clutched it--- didn’t look old anymore.