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Previous Challenge Entry (Level 1 – Beginner)
Topic: Cooking or Baking (01/04/07)
Anna was washing the dishes as she gazed out the old glass pane windows above the sink. The sky was a beautiful bright blue with stark white clouds perfectly placed by God’s own hand. It was the time of year when the trees are bare and the days are cold. The Christmas season was closing in but Anna was not very excited. She pulled from the dish water a ceramic mug with beautifully painted pink and white dogwood blossoms. There once was a set of two but now she holds the only one, maybe not the only one in existance but the only one that exists to her. She carefully cleaned the mug and placed it in the rack to dry. She stopped for a moment, remembering those days, a time when she would walk into the house and be met with the delicious smells of someone cooking Sunday dinner. A time when just before Christmas, she would help combine ingredients for the most wonderful cakes, pies and candies. It was on one of those days that Anna faced one of her greatest trials.

“December 1st already? We have to go shopping for supplies, Christmas will soon be here.”

“I know, I know. Let’s plan to go Saturday morning before the weekend shopping crowd gets there.”

John and Anna sat in the sunroom sipping hot cocoa while they made a list of baking supplies. Every year during the Christmas season they would volunteer to bake cakes, pies and candies for the homeless shelters in their area. Several years earlier, God placed on Anna’s heart the desire to help those who may not be able to help themselves. She came home one day and told John that they were going to start a baking ministry that would focus on assisting the area shelters with holiday meals. This was perfect because both John and Anna were wonderful cooks but John had the talent for the sweets. Anna was only the assistant, John would be the placer, spooner and baker. He had such talent that they would joke about him having his own bakery but baking was just a hobby to him. His real work was at the office putting in fifty hours a week selling lumber.

It was the Sunday before Christmas. John and Anna were finished with the goodies for the shelters and would begin delivering them on Monday. Anna woke to the alarm playing a happy Christmas tune. She hit the snooze and turned over to see if John was awake. He opened one eye and saw her smiling at him.

“Will you be joining me in church this morning?” she asked.

“I think I will rest a little today. It’s been a tough week at the office.” he said.

John didn’t always go to church with Anna but she took comfort in knowing he was saved as a child.

Anna kissed him on the cheak and jumped from the bed. “Ok, I’ll let you know later what the message was today.”

John smiled, both eyes open by now. “I know you will, honey.” He rolled over and covered his head.

Anna couldn’t wait to get home after church. She walked in the front door and was met with the familiar smells of John having a little down time. He was finishing up the bread when Anna snuck up behind him and put her arms around his waste. She stood on her tip toes and whispered in his ear, “I Love You”. He spun around to see her smiling face. Then she asked, “What’s for dinner?”

“That’s all you want me for is my cooking.” He said with a crooked grin. They sat down to dinner, blessed the food and ate.

After dinner, Anna fixed hot cocoa in the matching mugs that were given to them as a wedding gift fifteen years earlier. They retired to the sunroom so Anna could fill him in on the morning service. After some discussion, as John was sipping his cocoa, he suddenly cringed with pain. She asked what was wrong and he just shook his head. He stood and then it happened. The mug he was holding fell to the floor, breaking into several pieces. John grabbed his chest and fell to his knees. Anna jumped up from the loveseat and knelt down in front of him. He could hardly speak the pain was so severe. He looked into her eyes and whispered his final words. “I Love You”.
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This article has been read 1044 times
Member Comments
Member
Date
Joseph Breton
01/11/07
Very nice detailing and describing. The ending took me by surprise. I was not expecting that but I liked the drama.

The only thing was a couple words were misspelled. Those can be corrected easily but the plot was good
Sara Harricharan
01/12/07
A pretty good story, could have used a few more spaces for easier reading, noticed a few typos, but the surprise ending made it worth the read. :) Tip: Use more present tense, like in the beginnng instead of was, use is or describe the action. Good job.
L.M. Lee
01/12/07
the ending certainly took me by surprise.
adelina tomino
01/12/07
one nice short drama with a quiet romantic ending
Rhonda Clark
01/12/07
This was a great piece. I got a little lost with the change of time and the dialog of who was speaking, but overall it was an easy read.

You have a great talent for story telling.
Teresa Marshall
01/12/07
Unquie ending.

Teresa
Amy Jones
01/12/07
Good story. The end took me by surprise as well. But it does make us think that we shouldn't take advantage of the time we have with the ones we love.
Patty Wysong
01/15/07
The way you used the mugs to tie the story together was good.