Pastries, Pages, People - A Short Story
Growing up her dream was to open a bakery which would also be a bookshop. Set up beautifully at a hill station - where people would sip coffee and flip pages. But life is unpredictable, not every dream turns out to be as planned. This is the story of Elise, a 20-year-old bookworm who is currently working at a bakery.
Elise, ever since she was a kid, just like most of us, was very close to her grandmother. She was her best friend, probably the only family member she loved the most after her parents. Elise’s grandmother was a peculiar lady, wise and weird. Her belief system evolved around energies. She always used to tell Elise how energies shape up our lives. Elise could never understand it and always thought her grandmother was losing her mind as time passed. On her 10th birthday, her grandmother passed away. That’s when Elise’s life turned upside down. From being a social bee, she became reserved, immersed herself in books, and saw nothing beyond it.
The name “Elise” means “God’s promise.” This name was given to her by her grandmother, as she truly believed that her granddaughter would shape the world into something incredible and was convinced that names carry destinies.
Growing up Elise’s life was simple as she tackled all the mysteries of existence with a cup of coffee in one hand and a book in another. Instead of pursuing college, she decided she would work towards her dream of opening up a bakery/bookshop. She loved to write. As reading made her knowledgeable, pouring her heart out on a piece of paper made her simplistic. With a lot of courage, she went up to her parents, convinced them, and ventured to a different state to pursue her dreams. And, that’s how she landed at ‘The Buttercup Bakery’ - a small bakery in the remote town of Pine Grove. Amidst the hustle of serving muffins and pancakes, she held onto a glimmer of hope – imagining a future where her own bakery would be filled with avid readers.
However, working at a bakery was as exhausting as she anticipated it to be. Instead of enjoying leisurely moments lost in books, her days were consumed with serving customers and fulfilling orders. Amidst the grind, she started questioning her life choices and thought of her grandmother – that’s when she found herself grappling with a profound truth: her dream was more than just a dream; it was her true calling. So she decided, to begin with, she will write short fictional stories, about the people who visited the bakery regularly. She thought it would be an easy task, to begin with since she is at the bakery all day long and spends time with all her regular customers.
The next day onwards, her journey began. She started observing people - what they wore, the way they spoke, their outfits, book choices - everything. Her goal was to capture the essence of people and write beautiful stories about their lives exploring the idea of “what if.”
The entire week passes by. On Sunday, she sits down to write her first-ever short story. She beautifully depicted a lady who graced the bakery each day: from her luscious eyelashes to her gracious demeanor, impeccable taste in books, and fondness for matcha lattes. Blending facts with fiction, Elise wrote a story she was immensely proud of and published it on her blog space.
The next week, she wrote about a nerdy guy. He seemed quiet, always read sci-fi books, wore glasses that were too big for his tiny pumpkin-shaped face, and was a regular customer at The Buttercup Bakery. She observed him, served him plain coffee with extra ice cubes, and by the end of the week, penned down a little fictional something about him. Real characters, fictional narratives - Elise found herself enjoying the blend, too much.
An entire month passed by. She decided to meet up with her parents, so she flew back home for a couple of days. She couldn’t wait to go back to Pine Grove and get back to writing.
Days passed. When she came back something had changed.
At work, she saw Mia - the lady with luscious eyelashes, the lady she wrote her first short story about. While ordering, Mia told Elise about her new job at the Pine Grove Public School. Within seconds, she noticed Max, the nerdy guy with a pumpkin face. He being an introvert, was socializing with other customers about the recent sci-fi book he was reading. He didn’t wear his huge glasses anymore, and got a refreshing haircut - it seemed within a couple of days his entire personality had changed. Something felt off. Soon she realized, that her fictional stories turned real. Mia and Max looked exactly how she wrote them in her stories.
A while later, Beth walks in. Beth who used to come in alone, whose daughter passed away in a car crash - walks into the bakery with her daughter. Elise was baffled to see her daughter alive and found out she was alive all along and there was no car crash - just like her story. The old man, Chester with a walking stick, doesn’t walk with a stick anymore. He looks much younger and is sitting with a lady, ordering butter croissants and sipping coffee.
Elise couldn’t believe her eyes. She’s surprised to see how the lives of the four characters of her short stories changed overnight and aligned exactly how she wrote on her blog.
It was as if they had stepped back in time. But everything was the same as before, except for the lives of these four individuals. People around the bakery started noticing these minor changes. Some attributed it to coincidence, others to a stroke of luck, but Elise knew the truth lay within her stories.
To seek answers, Elise read books on Metaphysics, surfing through theories of reality and fiction interlinking. She couldn't find a logical explanation for what had occurred. Could her words possess a mystical power? Or was this a bizarre coincidence that defied all rationality?
That’s when she thought of her grandmother and her theories about energies, destinies, etc. Despite everything, Elise continued to write. She was confused and petrified. But deep down knew, the only way was to write. Writing brought calm to her mind. But, she wrote cautiously, with a newfound awareness of the consequences her words could carry. She kept crafting stories and the lives of the people continued to change as per her words.
As she sat one evening at the bakery, sipping her coffee and observing people, Elise realized something. Perhaps her dream of blending a bakery with a bookshop wasn't just about physical spaces. It was more about creating narratives that connected with the lives of others. She had found her unique way of making a difference in ways she had never imagined.
And so, amidst the aroma of freshly baked pastries and the rustle of turning pages, Elise kept on writing.
She wrote stories that celebrated the complexities of human existence, stories that resonated with her readers, and stories that shaped destinies and stories that made her feel connected to her grandmother.
