Chapter Text
Light rain tapped against my roof; a soft, repetitive noise. I pushed my chair in and stood to go peer out my window. The sun was setting under the buildings of the Vanilla Kingdom, and the streets, usually bustling with cookies, were empty and quiet. All the market stands were closed, no cookie in their right mind would be out in this weather. I closed the curtains and walked back to my desk where a large, heavy textbook sat open. I could hardly remember what was on the page that I had read. Rubbing my eye-cings I ripped a small piece of paper from my notebook to use as a bookmark. I shut the book and pushed it to the corner of the desk and put my notebook—that, in proportion to the textbook, looked a little silly—on top of it.
I blew out the candle that was on the desk, and the room darkened. The only light source came from a candle on my bed stand, which I would blow out when I got into bed. I sat at the end of my bed and changed into a night gown. It was a comfortable bed, big enough to fit two cookies, even though I lived alone. I didn’t mind, it meant more room for me to take up all the space I wanted. I flopped down on the bed without even getting under the covers, flailing my arms out to feel the soft blanket. Just as I was about to roll over to the front of the bed—
Knock, knock, knock.
Three soft knocks echoed and I sat up. I couldn’t think of any reason any cookie would be outside my door, not at this time, not with this weather. I stood and walked over to the curtain again, but I couldn’t see who was at the door, only the shadow of a cookie. Slowly I walked over to the door and unlocked it, before I opened it I heard mumbling from the other side which made me pause. The voice sounded familiar in a way I couldn’t point out. High pitched, yet soft. I opened the door to see two cookies, the first a young woman in a white dress. Her icing was long, flowing down to the floor and fizzed with nervousness. It was translucent like water but held little bubbles that rose and popped, over and over. She held herself close, looking down at the floor, her dough looked pale. The other cookie was slightly taller with short, spiky blue icing. He had his arm wrapped around the woman and his other hand on his chest. He fiddled with the collar of his shirt but still looked up at me. His glasses were broken and clothes were slightly torn in some areas. Now that I noticed, the girl's dress was also torn and dirty. They both looked disheveled and uneasy in a way that sent shivers down my spine.
“I- uh- Seltzer Cookie? I haven't seen you in ages- come in! You must be soaked!” I said hurriedly, opening the door fully and stepping to the side for them to walk in, “Oh my, I’ll grab you both a towel.” Once they were inside I shut the door and nervously walked off to find a towel. I helped them dab their clothes dry before pulling out chairs for them to sit at. I didn’t have a dining table or anything so all I could do was put extra chairs around my desk and move the books onto the floor. I did not know the name of the other cookie who was with Seltzer Cookie, but I assumed he was a friend of hers. I grabbed them both a drink and some small jelly snacks, but neither of them touched it. Seltzer Cookie sat with her hands in her lap, not looking up at me or anyone.
“So, uh, I haven't met you yet.” I spoke to the other cookie, he seemed surprised that I was talking to him. “My name’s White Osmanthus Cookie, are you a friend of Seltzer’s?” I asked, trying to seem as open as possible.
He nodded, “Menthol Cookie. I...don’t know how to say this but…we need your help.” Seltzer Cookie shifted uncomfortably, fidgeting with a tear in her dress. I looked between the two of them, this was serious.
A few months before this I had met Seltzer Cookie. She was traveling with a bunch of cookies called the “St. Pastry Order”, some kind of religious group. She only stayed maybe a week before leaving with them, but we had gotten along well. I let her stay with me for the time she spent in the Vanilla Kingdom. I might’ve met Menthol Cookie once but never talked to him. Even though I didn’t understand their beliefs, Seltzer was always nice to me and helped out a lot. She was always so bubbly and full of life, so it threw me off seeing her like this. Her icing was messy and unstyled, like she had just rolled out of bed. A tear in her dress went halfway up her leg and many smaller tears and cuts were on other parts. I wondered if I would be able to fix any of it.
“I’ll help in any way I can.” I broke the silence, “If there’s anything I can do, don't be afraid to ask.” They glanced at each other and we sat in the quiet for another moment. Both of them looked like they had something they wanted to say, but neither could bring themself to speak. The silence was deafening, and I mentally begged one of them to speak up.
“Do you think, maybe…” Seltzer Cookie mumbled, “I could stay here for a bit?” She peered up at me. “It’s fine if not, I just, I don’t know what to do or where to go and…” She trailed off and looked down at her hands again, her hair flowing down over her eye-cings. I pushed my chair out and walked over to her side, getting on my knees and grabbing her hand. A few droplets of fizzy tears landed onto her dress. I pulled her icing back and tied it into a long ponytail before going back to holding her hand.
“You’re always welcome here.” I said softly, gripping her hand a little tighter. She lifted her other arm and wiped her eye-cings. “Do you have anything with you that you need to bring over here? Like…clothes or anything?” Slowly she took a deep, shaky breath and shook her head. “What about you Menthol Cookie? Do you need a place to stay or anything?”
”No, I know some cookies here who I can stay with. I…probably shouldn’t stay too long, hopefully I can get there before it gets too dark.” He stood and pushed his chair in. As he walked over to the door I stayed near Seltzer, it wasn't until now I noticed small cuts on her face and arms, as if she had run through a thorn bush or something. I ignored them and looked back up at Menthol Cookie who was looking at us. I gave him a small smile and he nodded at me before turning around. The door shut leaving me and Seltzer Cookie alone. I stood up awkwardly and walked over to the bed for the second time that night
“I'll get the bed set up, you need to rest. We can figure everything out tomorrow.”