Harriet's Heirloom {Inkwell Fiction Prompt #141}

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Harriet Carpenter lived in Sugar Haven, which was near the Black Sea. This coastal city was famous for its pastries. Harriet has always been fascinated by desserts made with chocolate because her mother used to make different kinds of pastries with chocolate in them. Harriet was an aspiring cook and worked in Mrs. Madeline’s bakery café. Mrs. Madeline inherited the bakery Café from her parents, who were famous chefs. She was an old woman who no longer cooked, but only managed the staff and did minor tasks around the bakery café.

Every Halloween, a pastry competition was held at the town’s culinary school for excellent cooks specialized in making pastries. Participants were asked to create a new taste, and the winner was awarded 50 thousand dollars. Harriet never went to prestigious cooking schools. She learned to make pastries with the help of her mother. She knew she had a long way to go before she could call herself a chef. Her dream was to open her bakery one day. Winning at the competition meant that she had a chance to do what she loved.

Two days were left for Harriet to think of something to make for the Halloween pastry competition. She had no idea what to make.

A part of Mrs. Madeline’s bakery was a small library filled with old books, no one paid attention. They belonged to her parents. The library looked like a decoration rather than an attempt for customers to pick up the books to read while they sat down to eat their pastry and drink their coffee.

One day, Mrs. Madeline asked Harriet to clean the library because no one had cared enough to clean it, which was dusty. Mrs. Madeline usually cleaned the library herself, but that day she didn’t have time.

Harriet was cleaning the dust off the books when she saw a strange book. It was an old pastry book. She couldn’t help it, so she started reading the recipes. They were unlike anything she ever came across. They were what the judges were looking for: They were new tastes. Harriet finished cleaning and when everyone had gone home, she was at the bakery experimenting with the recipes she found in that book.

One recipe caught her attention: a salted rosemary chocolate chip cookie. She loved the taste of rosemary, and she never made salted cookies before. The book said that she had to use a special kind of salt, which was found on Saltwater Bay, a city located near Sugar Haven. She needed to take the bus to get there.

Harriet woke up in the early morning on Halloween and took the bus to Saltwater Bay. The pastry competition started at 1 in the afternoon. She had to walk a distance to reach the salt flats. In the book, there was a map of the location where she should take the salt. She needed to take the salt from salt flats. She didn’t understand why she should take the salt from a specific place. When she reached that point on the map, she was exhausted from walking on the salt flats. There was no one around. It was just her. Suddenly, an apparition of a woman appeared before her. Her face was white, and her eyes were black. Her hair was light gray. She was wearing a white dress, and she had a white crown designed with white gemstones.

“Hello, Harriet. My name is Melusina. I’m the guardian of Saltwater Bay salt flats. You came for the magical salt?” Melusina said, holding a bag full of what looked like salt, but they shimmered with a strange light.

Harriet was surprised to see a ghostly figure before her. But, she was determined to make the salted rosemary chocolate chip cookies.

“Yes, I want the salt,” Harriet replied, anxiously.

“The way of the world is that you have to pay the price for valuable things, especially the salt that I have to offer. It is for testing your commitment and resilience. What can you give me?” Melusina said with confidence.

Harriet got upset because she didn’t bring anything of value. She didn’t expect to see a ghostly figure selling magical salt.

“How about that necklace you are wearing?” Melusina said with a smile.

“But, this necklace is a family heirloom. My mother gave it to me,” Harriet replied.

“I want something that has emotional value to you, so you know the value of the magical salt I’m giving you,” Melusina explained.

“Can I give you the necklace temporarily until I find another thing of value to give to you,” Harriet asked, impatient for Melusina’s answer.

“Yes. Of course. Your necklace is safe with me until you find another thing to offer me. Only know that I can appear to a human once a year on Halloween time when the veil is thin,” Melusina replied with kindness.

Harriet was reluctant to give the necklace to Melusina, but she imagined winning the competition. So, she took off the necklace and gave it to her. And in return, she gave her a bag of magical salt and disappeared.

Harriet got back to Sugar Haven. It was just the time for preparing for the competition. The contestants were all experienced pastry chefs and knew what they were doing. Harriet was proud of herself to compete with them.

The clock was ticking and the pastry chefs were all busy making different kinds of pastries. Harriet was busy as well. When it was time to add the salt, Harriet was nervous because she hadn’t tasted the magical salt herself. She was afraid it wouldn’t taste like actual salt. Finally, she convinced herself to add it, not knowing what to expect.

The time was up and all the chefs finished making their pastries and the judges started to examine what they made. When it was time to taste Harriet’s cookies, they experienced such joy and happiness that they all thanked Harriet for participating in the competition.

"Well done! This is unlike anything we've ever tasted. All the ingredients are perfectly mixed. I think what makes it so special is the added salt," One of the judges said, applauding Harriet's work.

"My mom would be proud to see me right now!" Harriet thought happily.

After about an hour, the judges announced the winner: Harriet Carpenter. Harriet couldn’t believe she won the 50k plus a gold medal. Harriet was very happy. The audience applauded her and congratulated her. They all partied all night and enjoyed themselves.

Mrs. Madeline was happy for Harriet and gave her some more money as a loan and helped her to open up her bakery Café. After about one year, on Halloween, she paid a visit to the salt flats of Saltwater Bay looking for Melusina at that exact spot she visited before. She bought an expensive pearl necklace with the money she earned from her bakery business to give to Melusina and get back her heirloom necklace.

“Melusina……… Melusina,” Harriet shouted, nervously. She was afraid that Melusina lied to her about the whole thing. She sensed something was wrong.

Suddenly, a ghostly figure appeared before her. “Hello dear. I was waiting for you to come back for the necklace.”

“I bought a pearl necklace just for you. Here… Now, please give me my heirloom necklace,” Harriet said, nervously.

“I have told you before. I want something that has emotional value to you. This pearl necklace doesn’t have much energy attached to it. I can’t give you the heirloom necklace,” Melusina said with a serious tone.

Harriet wasn’t shocked. She knew something would go wrong. She sensed it.

“Tell me, what can I offer you?” Harriet asked.

“How about the gold medal you won at the pastry competition using the magical salt!” Melusina suggested.

“But, that’s valuable to me! I can’t give it up!” Harriet said, annoyed.

“You have to choose: the gold medal or the family heirloom!”

“Fine! I can’t lose my heirloom. I’ll give you the medal!” Harriet said upset.

“You have to wait another year to see me! See you next year on Halloween with the gold medal!” Melusina said quickly and disappeared.

Harriet was sad to lose the gold medal, but to be fair, it was Melusina’s magical salt that made her win the competition. The heirloom mattered more to her because it was her mother who ignited her passion for cooking pastries. It was her mother who encouraged her to pursue her dream of opening a bakery. It was her mother who helped her learn to try new things and not be afraid of making difficult choices. Her mother made her who she was.

“I can win other competitions, but I can’t replace my mother’s necklace,” Harriet thought.

Another year passed, and she finally gave Melusina the gold medal and got back her family heirloom.