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Within the confines of his room, Solomon held a medium-sized parcel in his hands. It was wrapped in shiny blue paper and tied with a white ribbon, a small card tucked under the bow. His name was written in gold calligraphy on the top of the card, indicating the gift was for him.
The sorcerer opened the card to read its contents, but not without admiring the handwriting first.
“Solomon,
After our previous conversation about your cooking, I decided to gift this to you in hopes it may prove useful. You’re incredibly tenacious, and I know that if bettering your cooking skills is something you desire, you’ll find a way to achieve it. Still, I would also be more than happy to help you again, should you request it.
Simeon”
Solomon let out a soft sigh, reflecting back on the conversation he had with the angel a few days ago.
He had gone to Simeon after a drunken Asmodeus commented on his poor cooking skills. Solomon had then asked Simeon’s opinion about his cooking, who reiterated that Asmo’s words were true. The sorcerer then grew insistent on bettering his skills, so the two of them had tried to prepare a few dishes together. Much to both of their dismay, they struggled to produce even one ‘normal’ dish.
Solomon was still determined to be a decent cook though. He loved preparing food and he loved seeing people’s reactions whenever they had a meal they enjoyed. He hoped to bring his friends that joy through something he created with his own hands.
He just never imagined that his efforts had the opposite effect, and it left him extremely discouraged when he realized his cooking was doing more harm than good.
But, the fact that Simeon was willing to help him provided much-needed confidence. Surely it meant there was hope!
Solomon placed the card aside and began to gently unwrap the gift.
Inside the beautifully wrapped parcel was a large book titled “100 Recipes for Beginners.”
The sorcerer couldn’t help but chuckle to himself as he skimmed through the pages of the book, his hazel gaze sweeping over its contents. There was a wide array of recipes, including but not limited to: breakfast, appetizers, soups, salads, sandwiches, snacks, entrees, and desserts. It was more than enough for one person to practice and perfect. And since the recipes were labeled for beginners, they should be fairly doable and difficult to mess up...right?
In the spirit of giving, Solomon figured that he could make a thank you gift for his friend. It was also the perfect means to try out the book and get some cooking practice!
He decided to try the chocolate chip cookie recipe in the back of the book. The recipe seemed simple enough, and he knew Simeon was a fan of sweets and baking. He hoped his skills would be enough to impress!
Solomon made his way out of his room, the book tucked under his arm, and headed to his kitchen.
To say that his kitchen was odd was putting it mildly. It was a huge kitchen and had almost every appliance you could think of. Yet, it appeared to be lacking any clear organization system, and appliances both large and small seemed to be located near each other whilst having nothing to do with each other. It was unclear if the person who owned the kitchen either had no clue what they were doing when they cooked, or if they loved cooking so much they had an array of tools to allow for cooking any kind of dish. In Solomon's case, however, it was probably both.
His pantry was even more of a jumbled mess. The ingredients that filled his cabinet again proved to be just as confusing as the utensils and appliances. Some of the ingredients seemed normal enough and likely to be found in any household, but other items didn’t appear to be normal at all. Weird fruits and vegetables, every seasoning imaginable, and other strange, indescribable products lined the cabinets, some of them labeled in other languages. And to top it off, it seemed even more disorganized than the appliances.
Despite this cluttered mess, Solomon seemed to know exactly where everything was. He located all the ingredients with ease, gathering the flour, sugars, butter, salt, baking soda, eggs, vanilla, and chocolate chips and piling them on his countertop. He preheated the oven and mixed everything exactly how the recipe told him to. Everything seemed to be going to plan!
But before he scooped the dough into balls and placed them on the baking sheet, he tasted the batter. He recalled reading somewhere that it was always important to taste the food you make regularly throughout the process. The taste was just what he expected; it was good and perfectly normal.
But to him, that was the issue. Solomon couldn’t help but feel like the recipe was missing something. He stared at that bowl for a long while though, recalling what happened last time he messed with a recipe and how concerned it had made Simeon. He played with the Ring of Wisdom on his finger, twisting it with his thumb while his hazel eyes fixated themselves on that poor bowl of cookie batter.
His gut was telling him that he couldn’t just let it sit there. And if Solomon had learned one thing over the years, it was to trust his gut. He would only add one new ingredient, maybe two, and if Simeon inquired he would simply explain that he was adding his own twist on the recipe.
And so, the perfectly normal cookie mix was changed.
After backing the first batch, he tasted them. And, Solomon being Solomon, was very pleased with the result! It didn’t matter if it didn’t taste like a normal chocolate chip cookie anymore. To him, that was the point!
Feeling satisfied with his treats, Solomon continued the remaining batches before placing them into a box that he wrapped with a golden ribbon. He figured that he could bring them over to Simeon’s cafe to catch his reaction, never mind that he was there this morning.
---
Solomon strolled through the street towards The Angel’s Halo, a happy grin on his face. He was trying to imagine his friend’s reaction as he walked the familiar path. He really hoped Simeon would like them, or at the very least, think that his cooking skills had improved.
Upon entering the Cafe, Simeon was a bit surprised to see his friend for the second time today. Nevertheless, The angel greeted the sorcerer with a warm smile.
Solomon proceeded to thank Simeon for the cookbook and offered the box of treats he had made to his friend.
Simeon accepted the cookies with a smile, despite being very wary internally. He opened the box slowly, Solomon hovering nearby. Much to his astonishment, the treats looked completely normal. Oftentimes when Solomon cooked something the result would have transformed into a weird color or shape. But these appeared to be your average, everyday chocolate chip cookies.
Simeon was in such a state of shock at how normal these cookies looked he couldn’t hide his emotions. His eyes grew wide and his lips parted as his jaw seemingly dropped. He saw Solomon grin out of the corner of his eye, his hand holding his chin as he assumed that the angel’s surprise was a good sign.
But, Simeon knew better. Even if the food looked normal, there was usually some kind of catch. He plucked a cookie from the box, and again, felt perfectly normal against his fingers. It was becoming increasingly difficult not to be hopeful that Solomon had done the impossible and created a normal dish.
That hope was quickly dashed as Simeon cautiously raised the cookie to his lips. He bit down and was immediately met with an overwhelmingly sour taste. He didn’t understand it! How could such a normal-looking cookie be so devious!
The angel wasn’t sure if he wanted to laugh or cry. So he did both.
Simeon’s lips puckered and his eyes watered at the sensation the cookie produced in his mouth; it was impossible to fight. His tastebuds were pleading for mercy as Simeon continued to devour the cookie, tears rolling down his face. At the same time, his shoulders seemed to convulse as he munched, a weird sound emanating from his throat.
It was such an odd sight for Solomon to watch. Simeon was both laughing and crying while eating the cookie, a weird expression plastered on his face. The sorcerer didn’t know if his friend liked the cookie or not, and he wasn’t sure if he should ask. All he could do was watch and wait.
Simeon told himself he had to at least finish the cookie despite how it was making his body react, especially seeing how much effort Solomon put into them. He couldn’t just take one bite and be rude to his friend! He had to eat at least one whole one, despite how much his body was suffering.
Just as he was taking his last few bites, the angel was shocked even more.
Maybe his tastebuds had finally surrendered and gone numb from the sensation, but the cookie actually tasted like a normal cookie! Its texture was almost perfect, soft on the inside with a nice crumb, and a slightly crispy exterior. It was sweet, and the chocolate was soothing to his now decimated tastebuds.
Simeon finished off the treat and turned to his friend. He wiped the tears from his face, and huffed a heavy sigh before a weak smile spread across his lips. Solomon still had a long way to go in terms of cooking, but this poor cookie was probably the best thing Solomon had ever made. Or at least, it was the first thing he had made in a long time that didn’t make someone want to keel over and die after eating it.
Simeon first apologized for his reaction, but then gave his friend honest feedback. He explained that it was a decent cookie, but could tell Solomon had added something that wasn’t a part of the recipe. He praised his friend for making progress though, and it made Solomon beam! Simply knowing that he had made progress was delightful.
However, neither of them was aware that Simeon wouldn’t only suffer from stomach pains the next few days, but his tastebuds would still be broken for weeks. After that single cookie, the only thing Simeon could taste for two weeks was sweet food. No other food had any flavor, which made his job running a cafe extremely difficult.
Solomon’s cooking struck again.