chocolaterie by Zeynep

I Should Be The 1st Person You Contact
Missed Connections in Athens, GA

….if you find the Golden Ticket. Or my sanity. The ticket would be better. We can split it, and after we both leave the chocolate factory , we blame losing my insanity on the tour. We then sue Willy Wonka, he settles out of court, we split the cash, you give me a hug ( I deserve at least that, it was my idea.) and we go our separate ways.

Who knows? Maybe something magical will happen. Maybe, as we cross the bridge over the Cocoa River, the horse stumbles on a stray peppermint the size of stone. The animal panics, rearing up, and the open carriage we are riding in tumbles over, throwing you into the churning waters of the Cocoa. For a few seconds I am stunned, as I hear the Umpa Lumpas screaming to save you. One of them tugs at my pants and yells “You have to save her. We can’t swim, our round bodies are too buoyant. We cannot dive. YOU must save her!” Immediately, I jump over the rail and into the chocolate. After an eternity of searching, my chest burning hot and my final breath molten like a planet’s core, are hands finally meet amidst the rolling waves. We frantically grasp at each others fingers, locking them like desperate lovers. I start dragging our bodies back up through the thickness, refusing to let go no matter how much you weigh after eating all that chocolate. Breaking the surface, I tow us to shore, and we both collapse on the green frosting under a big candy apple tree. I ask you if want mouth to mouth, but you say you’re fine. I really don’t want to believe you because I think you’re cute, but I say nothing and blame it on shock to make myself feel better.

After the police finish interrogating us and all the insurance reports have been signed, they release us into the evening air. We stand outside the factory, and the cool wind causes you to shudder. I take off my jacket and wrap it around your shoulders, rubbing them softly before I release you. You look up at me, then, you smile. A real smile. Usually you give me the one where your mouth twists up like you just licked a mentholated lollipop you thought was root beer. This was different – electric. And your eyes, that ocean of color suddenly became more vibrant than ever, as the slivered silver flecks rolled and frothed like boiling moonlight in a churning deep blue sky. A smile suddenly breaks across my own face. “I just saved her life,” I think to myself. “Oh, yeah. She wants me.”
……..And they lived happy ever after.
 

Her Two Cents

Who doesn’t love a fantastical rescue scenario that involves our hero plunging into an ocean of hot molten chocolate? My favorite part of this entire story comes at the end, with this line, “A real smile. Usually you give me the one where your mouth twists up like you just licked a mentholated lollipop you thought was root beer. This was different – electric.”  I’ll take root beer over menthol and chocolate over both any day!