Charred Cake

Unlike most girls, I lack sweetness. Or that’s what was said of me.

To prove otherwise, I hurriedly went to the grocery store, bought all the ingredients that I need in baking his favorite mocha cake.

It’s his birthday, so the cake has to be perfect. It has to be smooth and sweet, just the way he likes it.

I must admit, though I love to cook, the oven and I are not exactly good friends. So to make sure the cake would be edible, I had to look at the recipe time and time again. To my delight, the aroma was so delicious.

While the cake was still in the oven, I started mixing the frosting. In my mind, I’m already planning the whole look of it, how much icing I shall put, what colors would look good on it… etc… I can just imagine his reaction when I finally give him this perfectly sweet cake. It would certainly surprise him. I smiled at the thought.

“Ay! Sunog na yata, anak!” My mom’s voice interrupted my daydreaming.

I quickly ran to the kitchen and took the cake out. But mom was right, it was already charred. With my heart sinking, I tried to think of remedies and came up with a quick fix. I smoothed everything over by liberally putting the icing on the charred cake.

“Maybe the frosting’s sweetness would cover up the bitterness,” I heard myself saying out loud while taking a small portion to taste.

Surprisingly, it actually did. A little hint of bitterness but still, the sweetness won over.

My mom laughed saying I’m a genius. He would never know that the cake was charred. I laughed too. I laughed so hard… so hard… because it hurts. And laughing is the only way I know how to make it stop hurting.

I hurt because it just hit me. Maybe I’m not really designed for sweetness. Maybe he had been right all along.