Memories with you from the total eclipse:
Looking at the paper box in my hand I sincerely doubted that it would give us the power to stare straight into the Sun without reproach. But, she had told me that it would be fine and so I decided to give it a go. This was a total eclipse after all and she had never been wrong before.
“The science adds up,” she said to me on the drive back from the grocery store. Her eyes gleaming with that classic gleam of joy she always wore when she saw a teachable moment. That drive was a rough one. But thanks to it I now know that a pinhole projector forces every point emitting light in a scene into a small point on the film, which makes the image crisp and I’ll probably never forget that. She was a truly great teacher.
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When we got the shopping back home, she was so excited to get in and start making the mooncakes that she tripped over her own feet and the milk bottle burst. When I laughed at her she had the audacity to drop her bags, turn around and shout back “that’s why you have to carry the rest of the shopping in,” and then sprinted off. I am proud to say that I took all 7 bags up in only a single trip. Multiple trips are for losers.
After she had showered and got rid of the evidence of her little tumble we got started on the mooncakes. Golden syrup, lye water, vegetable oil and some cake flour for the dough, mixed together and left to refrigerate for half an hour to let the dough relax. Whilst we let the dough settle in to its cool new apartment, we made the filling using egg yolk and wrapping it in some lotus paste. Whilst we were rather fortunate that she had fallen with the milk and not the eggs, I couldn’t help but ponder which would have been more amusing to see.
Now it is around this point I should mention that anyone who has baked with her before, knows that she is a stickler. She will follow the instructions as they come and To The Letter. No reading ahead for her, that would be like reading the final chapter in a novel before starting the journey its words intend to take you on.
She had treated recipes this way for as long as I can remember. She liked the surprise of what would be the final result. Seeing as she never shared the recipes with anyone else when she was cooking anyone else around was drafted in to be the grunt labour who would make our dictator’s dreams a reality.
Her luck had run out this time though.
Ensure your favorite authors get the support they deserve. Read this novel on the original website.
As we had got the mooncake out the oven to cool she realised that there was one final step and she left out a groan. Hurling her phone and the recipe on it into the sofa. Curious, I lunged at it before she could think better of her actions and prevent this grunt from taking a glimpse at the knowledge of the ancients.
9. Transfer the mooncake to an airtight container and keep for three days before serve.
Ah. It was truly unachievable.
Suddenly the phone was yanked from my hands and I was ordered to follow out the ninth instruction alone whilst she lounged on the couch. Grumbling about worker’s rights I got to it.
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We sat on the balcony and took turns glancing at the sky contained within the box.
As it finally came around to the eclipse itself she saw was the first to see the Moon creeping over the Sun. I remember seeing that classic gleam of joy as she placed the box over my head even as the sky began to darken. Half of the Moon had already covered it leaving a bite out of our local star.
“Look at that sight of the moon creeping across the image of the Sun and remember it well, for there is a lesson to be taught here. The Sun shines so bright and radiant, doing its best to bring light upon as much of the world as it can. But all it takes is a tiny rock to block its rays from reaching us. Does that mean the Sun is gone?”
I gave a muffled reply of no from within the box. The moon had continued on it’s path, leaving just a thin arc of sun left before total eclipse
“Correct. The Sun leaves us every night and yet we are fine. The Moon reigns during that darkness. Occasionally on days when it is full, reminding us of the Sun in its reflection. Not a true representation, but close enough.”
The Moon had almost fully covered the Sun now. We had agreed to switch after each quarter of the cycle, my time was almost up.
“The eclipse scared people in the past for during those bright days, full of light, the sudden plunge into darkness was a terrifying concept. But over time we learnt that it would be alright. For after the darkness, after the empty skies, the Sun always returns. Remember that lesson.”
The eclipse reached its climax. The moon fully covering the sun with a thin halo of sunlight surrounding it’s edges as if aflame. I took off the box to give it to her, my turn over. Carefully placing the box over her urn, I paused the recording on her phone.
You never did get to try those mooncakes.