Cakes

 

 Shambhavi Mishra ,22

 Arshi, Abbu's favorite child, was born after 2 sons. 

Abbu, who was the toughest man in police, had the softest of the hearts too. Also, he knew how to bake spongy chocolate cakes, which he said Arshi should learn because he felt that baking a cake is symbolism to always look forward for sweeter times to come. No matter how much he tried Arshi just wouldn't learn how to bake them.

Arshi turned 19 on the first day of lockdown. Now abbu is always on duty and she remembers her college projects and how her abbu and she would stay up all night to finish them, and if something would go terribly wrong with her project, the first thing abbu would do is to give her a piece of his freshly baked cake, and that way, all her projects always came out to be best os the best amongst her peers, but abbu always made sure to remind Arshi of his own little analogy of how baking a cake symbolizes for looking forward in life for sweeter times. 

Abbu believed that with great art come greater responsibility, Arshi obviously loved his cake but he wouldn't just make them anytime Arshi asked for it, he used to say "Cake is always sweeter when it balances the sourness of life". Arshi never used to understand a single word when her abbu used to say such philosophical things.

It's been 1 week since lockdown now, and Abbu visits home seldom. 

He doesn't even enter the house much now. 

Arshi stands in the balcony and displays her artwork praising the front line Corona warriors. 

She pleads abbu to bake a cake for being so responsible and aware in these times. He simply smiles at her and says "the time is yet to come my princess, and when it comes, I know in my heart, you'll have your cake"

A month later she gets the call, "abbu has been admitted in the hospital due to COVID, his condition is serious"

She washes and irons abbu's kitchen apron and wears it. It feels like hugging abbu, after a long time. 

She wipes the tears rolling down her cheeks and steps in the kitchen. 

To make the best piece of art known to her, she brings a framed photo of her dad and bakes the same spongy chocolate cake. 

Arshi bakes the cake and WhatsApps the picture to abbu with the bright red beating heart she could find.

His phone beeps twice. 

The Corona warrior, smiles at the sight of the cake and savors it for as long as he can.

Two hearts were beeping for a moment in that room, abbu smiles and closes his eyes, for he knows that no matter what happens, his princess, his little angel, his darling, finally knows "when" to bake a cake.

He closes his eyes, sends a blast of love and blessings towards his daughter, Arshi at homes feels a quite chilling breeze of wind, strong enough to give her goosebumps all over. And at that moment, she took a piece of the cake and ate it by herself, because she knew that's what her abbu would have wanted.