Spooky Cooking
“Are you sure this is safe, Zoom?” The pink Pacapillar’s eyes narrowed in suspicion at the dusty old tome held in his friend’s hands. Looking at the book sent shivers up his spine. There was something wrong about it, yet the Pacapillar couldn’t figure out what it was. He heard a small sniff and returned his attention back to Zoom. Tears threatened to spill over his eyes and the pink Paca instantly felt a pang of guilt.
Zoom clutched the book close to his chest as if it was his most prized possession and at the moment, it was. “Chromage was the one that gave it to me! Don’t you trust me, Nyoom?” Chromage was something of a wandering merchant; they appeared around the time of festivities offering an assortment of wares like none other. Nyoom couldn’t help but feel a bit wary due to the Pacapillar’s nomadic tendencies. Despite his personal feelings, the sales-Paca had never done anything to warrant such a reaction. Having no other choice but to trust the purple Paca, Nyoom gave him a small nod, trying to ignore the uneasy feeling growing in his stomach.
A soft thud was heard as Zoom slid to the floor, placing the book down in front of him and beginning to lazily flip through the pages, searching to see if there was anything that immediately caught his attention. After reading through a few pages, he had begun to notice a common theme. “Is this…a cookbook?” He asked, turning his head to look at Nyoom, his eyes glinting with a mild confusion.
Nyoom sat down beside the Paca and pulled the book towards him. Flipping through a couple pages confirmed Zoom’s question; this was, in fact, a cookbook. A nod was the only response Zoom received. Nyoom, lost in his thoughts, slid the book back over to his companion. Why does Chromage have a cookbook? Why did he give it to Zoom...? Zoom’s shriek of joy jolted him back to reality.
“Nyoom! Look at this!” He was frantically pointing to a recipe. “I want to try this one!” The recipe looked simple enough. Haunted Cookies was what the title said; the picture underneath of the title showed cookies shaped into the form of cartoon ghost. “The cookies are a spooky treat! Each one is packed with ghostly goodness.” Well, what harm could it bring? It seems harmless enough. Nyoom made a small nod of agreement which caused Nyoom to excitedly bounce around the room.
The pink Paca shook his head in response to Zoom’s antics. “Alright, if we’re going to do this, we need to make sure we’re prepared.” He skimmed over the recipe, making a mental note of everything they needed. Flour, eggs, sugar and… His eyes narrowed at the final ingredient. A Fragaria berry? What kind of recipe needs this type of berry? The strange ingredient only served to cause Nyoom to become more suspicious. Zoom’s tug on one of his ribbons signaled that he’d been silent for too long. Making sure to mark the page, Nyoom closed the book and placed it on the counter. “Let’s go get what we need for the cookies.” The purple Paca was out of the door in seconds, causing his friend to frantically try to catch up to him.
Finding the other ingredients was easy, the Fragaria berry, however, was a different story. The pair needed to head to the Alley Shop, a shop that sold a wide variety of mysterious items in a currency different from what they were used to. Darry gave them a wave as soon as they entered the shop. “I’ve never seen the two of you before. What are you looking for?” The strange Paca gestured to his stock laid neatly out on display tables. The inside of the tent is large than the outside. Nyoom thought as he wandered around, trying to find the final ingredient.
“I found it!” Zoom’s shout caught Nyoom and Darry’s attention. The duo walked up to the counter with the Fragaria berry held firmly in Zoom’s hands. “How much do we owe you, Darry?” He asked, placing the berry on the counter.
“That’ll be 20 Golden Berries.” Darry replied without a moment’s hesitation. Nyoom could feel his friend’s eyes on him, waiting for the Paca to pay so they could return home and begin cooking. He let out a sigh as he handed over the payment, which Darry happily took. “Enjoy your purchase!” He shouted as the pair headed out of the shop.
It was hard to miss the happiness on Zoom’s face; he was clutching their purchases close to his chest as if they were some type of secret treasure while he skipped down the road. “Where are you two going?” A familiar voice rang out. Both Pacas stopped and turned around to see who it was. Chromage approached the pair, a small Red Debbil following along beside him. Nyoom felt a small pang of uneasiness arise in his stomach as the Paca came closer; he was reluctant to tell the other about their cooking plans.
Zoom, on the other hand, was all too willing to tell the mage the situation. “We’re going to make cookies! The book you gave me was a cookbook!” His comment caused a flicker of concern to briefly show on Chromage’s face, however, the expression didn’t last for long.
“Oh, that sounds like fun.” Chromage replied, giving Zoom a warm smile who offered his own beaming one in response. “I’ll have to come join you, do you mind if I tag along?” Nyoom never got the chance to answer as Zoom let out a quick “Yes!” The colorful Paca let out a chuckle and the trio were once again on their way with Chromage’s little Debbil following closely behind. Nyoom traveled in silence while he listened to Zoom chat with Chromage about anything and everything. In no time, they had arrived at the house.
The cookie recipe was simple to follow. Zoom insisted on being the one to handle cooking and the remaining two Pacas respectfully honored his request. They both sat at the kitchen table watching the purple Paca cheerfully bake the cookies; the Debbil sat at his owner’s feet, dozing off. A ding of the timer let the group know that their treats were done. Nyoom shooed Zoom aside as he went to retrieve the cookies from the hot oven.
Chromage jumped up immediately after the cookies were removed. “Wait, let me see those!” Nyoom and Zoom could only look at him in confusion until their treats began floating off of the tray. They both let out gasps, Nyoom dropping the tray and the two of them scuttling behind Chromage for protection. The colorful Paca began chanting words in a language neither of them understood as the cookies began to shake in the air. The hectic situation had caused the previously sleeping Debbil to jolt away and assume a defensive position; its pitchfork held tightly in hand.
Once Chromage had finished their chant, the cookies fell back onto the dropped tray. Silence was the only thing that filled the room before Chromage spoke up. “Well…there’s no point in letting these go to waste.” He muttered, picking up the plate and making his way back to the others who could only stare in shock. The Debbil was the first one to reach for a treat, its tail waving around in content. Chromage gently placed a cookie in its outstretched hands and it scurried off, its dessert held close to its chest.
Now with the shock wearing off, Zoom and Nyoom took cookies from the tray as well. Zoom happily dug into his while Nyoom stared at his for a minute. “Those cookies were definitely haunted, that’s for sure.” He grumbled, causing the rest of the group to laugh. The pink Paca slowly nibbled on his confectionary, grateful that Chromage was there to help him. He locked eyes with the other Paca who gave him an understanding nod.
After clearing his throat, Chromage turned to Zoom. “I’ll be taking that cookbook back. I didn’t know that something like this would happen.” Not a single objection was made by the pair. While the cookies did taste delicious, the Pacas weren’t too keen on having a repeat of the event. With the delicacies long since devoured, Chromage bid the duo a farewell and headed back to town with the book in hand and their Debbil trailing after them, who bowed its head in thanks for the snack.
“I’ve done the cooking, so you do the cleaning!” Zoom proclaimed. “It’s only fair!” Nyoom was at a loss for words and couldn’t come up with a response. Instead, he rolled his eyes and began cleaning up the mess. When all was said and done, the two Pacas settled down to relax after the previous event.
Nyoom turned to his companion and gently tapped him on the head with a hand. “That’s the last time I’m trusting you when you come home with a strange book.” Zoom snickered in response. Cookies that were actually haunted. He thought to himself. Who would have guessed?