Chocolate Covered Prophecy

On the small island of Maple, there is a very specific tradition. This tradition states that on the first full moon of the new year, all the children on the island are invited to the local witch's house to be handpicked by the witch, to share a piece of her magical chocolate cake. It was an incredibly important tradition dating back to the beginning of the island's history! Sharing a piece of chocolate cake with the witch was more important than birthdays, or weddings. Even more important than when a child loses their first tooth! Anyone would wonder why eating a slice of chocolate cake would be so important; along with wondering why it had to be a slice of chocolate cake.

Well, the story begins when the island was first inhabited by the Maple people. These people weren't always called 'Maple people' however, they got their name from saving the last maple tree seed. They took this maple seed and planted it in the center of their island where it grew and grew and grew. Now, it provides the Maple people with, lumber, sap for syrup, shade when it is too hot outside, and is home to the witch. The witch was so grateful to the inhabitants of the island for growing her, her home that she decided to bake everyone on the island a giant chocolate cake, as a thank you. Little did she know, that when she baked her chocolate cake using magic, as one does of course, she left a little bit of magic in the cake that the Maple People would eat, making them magical.

There were five types of magical gifts that these people received. One was the ability to grow and revive dead plants spontaneously. The second was the ability to heal wounds and be a comforting presence in times of conflict. Another was the gift of understanding and talking to animals, and the fourth was being able to breathe underwater. The fifth gift however was extremely rare and only one other person on the island had received it. It was the gift of prophecy. Even the witch didn't have that gift! So now every year on the first full moon, the witch celebrates the anniversary of her home by inviting one child for a slice of chocolate cake, and thus bestowing upon them a magical gift.

It is always the biggest celebration of the year, with everyone getting dressed up in their finest clothes. Of course, the Maple People bake their own chocolate cakes and have a contest on who has the best one. This year marked the 100th chocolate cake celebration making it an extra special occasion. The center of the island was lit up with strings of lights that ran all the way up the trunk of the maple tree, along with banners and ribbons for even more color. Vendors from all over the island set up their booths in a ring around the tree selling their wares for all those who participate in the festivities.

In one little booth, was a cod fish stand that sold cod jerky, smoked cod, cod filets, whole cod, candied cod, frozen cod, maple wood statues of cod fish, necklaces made from cod fish scales and bones, and fishing gear...to fish for cod. This booth was coordinated by a grandmother, her son, and her daughter-in-law. None of them were ever picked by the witch before they got too old, so none of them had any magical abilities. There was just one child between them. This child was turning twelve on this day, that just so happened to fall on the first full moon. His name was Bruce.

Bruce had never been a lucky child and was an average fisherman, like his father. He always dreaded the first full moon because, Bruce didn't want to get picked and receive the gift to speak and understand animals. It would have put a damper on his fishing career. Today, on his birthday, however, he felt lucky and good about the festivities. He even snuck an extra slice of chocolate cake that evening before setting up the booth.

Finally, with the sun setting and the full moon totally and completely illuminating the sky, it was time for the witch to come out of the maple tree. Everyone left their booths to stand in front of the maple tree with their children in tow, hoping to get picked by the witch. Bruce and his family hurried to the front. There was a large crowd of people, pushing to get the closest to the tree. Bruce being small in stature, had yet to hit his growth spurt and was lost in the sea of people. Lost that is until he felt a strong hand push him to the front of the crowd. Bruce turned around to see who it was but could not get a glimpse of the mysterious pusher. As soon as he got to the front the whole crowd went silent. It was as if everything was moving in slow motion. Everyone was fixated on a small door in the maple tree.

A small ornate door with a single bell to alert the witch of visitors was all any of the islanders could look at. The witch, however, did not need to be alerted of the massive crowd that had developed outside her door. Bruce was nervous, he had been to this festival for the past seven years and had seen the witch seven times. Which meant that the witch had passed over sharing a piece of cake with him seven years in a row. It was a long shot he would be picked this time. Surprisingly, he couldn't remember details of the witch, almost as if he tried to remember the details of a dream. Bruce's train of thought was interrupted when the small door in the tree began to creak open.

Everyone held their breath as this door opened, and out came an elderly woman. This woman had the roundest face with the longest silver hair fashioned into a braid that was entwined with flowers and other herbs. She wore butterflies as earrings, and she a long-woven shawl around her shoulders. She walked with a cane but did not slouch like normal elderly women. There was a brown rabbit that followed her every step. Her dress seemed to be made of the finest silk because it did not cling to her like regular fabric; instead, it flowed behind her as she made her way from child to child.

She was moving through the crowd, without anyone making a sound. Then she stopped right in front of Bruce. Bruce felt all the color drain from his face. He looked right into the witch's face. He noticed she had one purple eye, and one black eye, and not as many wrinkles as you would expect a witch of her age to have. She was looking right back into his eyes, never wavering. After what seemed like a lifetime, she smiled a toothless smile at him and beckoned him back to the tree.

The whole crowd went wild, cheering and celebrating the witch's decision. Some parents did have to console their crying child because they weren't picked, but that is nothing a good piece of chocolate cake couldn’t fix. Bruce turned back into the dispersing crowd and saw his little family looking back at him beaming that their boy got picked by the witch this year. He waved them goodbye and followed the witch back to her home. They entered through the little door and was immediately transported to this giant great room, that looked like it should have been a part of a large mansion, and not in the center of a maple tree. In the center of this room was a fireplace, two chairs, and a table in the middle. On the table was two plates with a slice of chocolate cake on each.

"Go on and make yourself comfy sweetheart." This was the first time Bruce heard the witch's voice! It was so soothing and sweet to hear for the first time. It reminded him, of his own grandmother and how comforting her voice was. Bruce did as he was told and selected the chair that sat across from the plate with the piece of chocolate cake that he thought looked the smallest. He didn't want to appear greedy in front of the witch. As he sat, he could hear the witch humming a small tune, and saying words of endearment to her pet rabbit. Finally, she shuffled over and took the seat across from Bruce. She gave him one more toothless grin, and then picked up her fork. Bruce followed her lead, picking up his fork as well. The witch took a piece of cake on her fork and waited for Bruce to do the same. Once he did, she looked at him and smiled making her eyes twinkle.

"Happy Birthday Bruce! Cheers!" The witch explained happily. Bruce was surprised and caught off guard. It wasn't until the witch clinked their forks together that he snapped back to reality and started to dig into his chocolate cake.