(Today's prompt was something that is missing - more like flash fiction but
that's what came out!)
Anniversary
I put the X on the anniversary of your last day but it seems wrong to sully
it. It makes it seem so final. The day speeds by as I bake to fill freezers
and counter spaces. I start with Valentine Orange Cookies in misshapen
cupids, heads snapping easily off into crumbles. Peanut brittle next. The
recipe we perfected over long winters as children, a time of big sister
bonding I never got in other seasons. The advent of the microwave reduced
waiting times and the hourly process is now over in minutes.
It's a blur of breads and muffins, cakes and hard sweets, crowding for space
on the fridge and table. Some trays are even creeping into the lounge. That
night he finds me on the floor. The last batch in your favourite. Cinnamon
piercing the air in exotic arrows as I curl by the stove, flour covered
dough hands pressed to the oven window. Eyes closed. Pretending the warmth
is you.
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