The Gift of Food

I love food.

I don't necessarily mean the act of eating food, although that can be quite enjoyable as well. I mean food as a form of nourishment, as a ritual, as a creative outlet, and as way to show you care. Food as a symbol in movies and books interests me as well. And the act of cooking is like magic to me.

I love cooking.

And baking. For a while I felt that there did not exist a more sincere way to show my appreciation for someone than baking a cake for said person. For me, the act of making a cake was not only the mixing of certain ingredients in a certain way to achieve a desired result, but a way to give some of my own time to someone else.

I think it all comes back to the ideas of warm and nourishment. The point of gift giving is to give something the other person might find useful and/or enjoyable, taking into account the person's likes and dislikes. To give food as a gift may seem to go against the idea of a durable gift, but by eating your gift that person is receiving nourishment from what you give them. It stays with them. It goes with them.

I don't feel the same way about cooking and baking as I did when I began baking. I can make stuff for myself now, without having the thought of someone else to give to. I can let myself experiment and allow myself to make mistakes. But food retains its magic for me. It's a wondrous thing that you may take unchanged from nature or transformed through heat and it goes into you and allows you to live on.

And this is why I love food, and thinking about food. It's magic.

Fairytale, First Part: Birth

Since not many people know of the fairy blessings and curses meant to aid or harm the Kings and Queens of old, it's not odd to find these peculiar spells working in odd ways nowadays.

So this King and Queen, who had no idea of their ancestry or fairy spells that came with it, received their children happily.

The firstborn was granted the Gifts of the Firstborn, being inherited from both his mother and father. This spell made sure he would be born a male, and grant him bravery, as well as strength of mind, body and heart.

But besides the importance of a male heir, ancient Kings and Queens could not decide what was the second most important thing to have. The King's ancestors had decided to ask for a Spell of the Shield Bearer, to make sure the Firstborn would have a strong, loyal brother. The Queen's ancestors, with an eye on expanding their borders, instead asked for the Damsel Princess Charm, hoping that a beautiful daughter would aid them in their plans.

But as the spells quarreled between them, arguing for what would be better for the family, they failed to notice that the without their choosing, the second child was born, and he happened to be a boy.

The Damsel Princess Charm, would have none of this, and without allowing the Queen or King a say in the matter, it made sure they had a daughter for it to bless. And so the King and Queen were surprised to know that the Queen was with child, and were pleased to see in their daughter such beauty.

And so, the Spell of the Shield Bearer was free to cast itself upon the other boy. And it would have done so, but as he approached him, it noticed that this boy was different.

He had the King's face, yes, but he was quick to smile and had a gentle voice. He looked for amity instead of war, and was quiet instead of rowdy. And so, having only barely touched the boy, the Spell of the Shield Bearer decided that he would not be subjected to this Prince, and instead flew away. Its magic slowly vanished as it did so, and it turned into a bird.

And so it appeared as if the Second Prince would remain unblessed, were not by the spell that was awakened by the absence of the others.

It was a lesser spell, one to modify one of the others rather than the do the whole of the blessing itself. But as it was, the touch of the Spell of the Shield Bearer had given the boy something, and this spell thought the boy deserved better. Even if it only was a little bit. So the spell lightly fell upon the boy, granting him the gifts it had.

As it lay upon the boy, the spell found it comforting, natural, easy. There was something different about him, the spell could perceive. Glowing a slight pink, the spell expanded its paper like wings to completely cover the boy. As it kissed his face, letting its magic envelop his body, the spell realized that this boy was no prince, but a princess.

Smiling slightly, the Charm of Charm set itself upon the boy princess, hoping this small blessing would be enough help for him.