Undeath by Chocolate

Dark Red Chocolate by Chay Avalerias (Horror/Paranormal)

Chayton Avalerias is the best-selling author of the Demon Hunter's series. Now that the Armageddon has already happened, his fiction stories about angels and demons and conceptualization of heaven as a dimensional space actually turned out to be true. Although he hasn't crossed over to the spirit world yet, he works closely with angels visiting Earth as a human-behavior consultant. "Angels think humans are irrational beings. I help them learn how interact with people. I am, after all, a people person." He still writes fiction in his free time. Chay can be found at @ChaytonAvalerias on Wattpad.

The girl knocked three times, capturing the scent of baking bread wafting through the edges of the large, wooden door. She glanced at the darkening sky and waited as the old woman fumbled with the heavy deadbolt on the other side. "One moment," she called out, unlocking a chain now. "Almost there." She tugged open yet a third lock. "Can never be too careful in these parts."

The girl thought, If Edna wanted to be cautious, shouldn't she have asked who's at the door?

Of course, the baker had been expecting her arrival. Nevertheless, Edna flinched upon seeing the girl standing in her dark cloak. "Red?"

"Yes," she replied and lowered her hood, revealing red hair.

"Oh, you scared me." The woman placed her hand over her heart. "Must you wear such a dark cloak?"

"Sorry."

Edna sighed. "You have such beautiful red hair." She moved a strand of it from the girl's face. Red didn't mind, because the baker had always treated her with such kindness, unlike everyone else in this village. "Come, come, I've got that chocolate cake ready."

Red sat at the familiar kitchen table, letting the warmth from the oven envelope her. Her mother always said, "Edna makes the best chocolate cake. You can smell its richness for miles." Red came here often at her mother's request to pick up cakes, chocolates and other treats.

Edna placed two chocolate truffles on a small dish on the table, just like countless times before. "Here you go, sweetie."

Red looked forward to these visits. She and her mother were outcasts. The villagers called them witches. The children teased her and threw things at her. Sarah Good, the pastor's eldest daughter, even threw holy on her and pressed a crucifix to her skin to see if she would burn--which she didn't. So, she avoided coming into the village, except when she had to run errands for her mother, who had become a recluse and never left the home during the day.

Edna returned back to the table. "I hear it's your birthday today. Is that true?"

Red nibbled on a truffle and smiled. "Yes, ma'am."

"That's just splendid. And how old are you?"

"Thirteen." Today would be a special day. She would finally morph into the person she was supposed to become. After the ritual, she thought.

"Oh, already?" Edna's face dropped and her tone turned sour.

Had she done something wrong? "Uh, yes, ma'am."

The woman shook her head, as if dismissing a thought, and then chuckled. "Don't mind me. It's just that you've grown up so fast."

Red wasn't sure what to say. She and her mother moved to this village about six years, after her father had been killed.

The baker nudged the plate closer. "Now, eat up before they disappear, dear. Go, ahead. Good ole' Edna always looks after you. Just remember that."

The girl savored each bite while she waited for the cake to be wrapped in linen and packed into a basket. Her mother's instructions had been, "Tell her to make that special chocolate cake, the one with the scent." Indeed, its aroma filled Red's nostrils.

"There you go," the baker said. "Now, be careful with this cake. It has a powerful richness. It's sure to attract the attraction all those who smell it."

"Thank you. It's for grandmother. I am to deliver it to her tonight." Red didn't like lying to the baker, but she could not talk about the ritual to anyone. Her mother said that villagers would not understand, that they were not the same as her people. That's why they tease me and hit me. So cruel. Of course, her mother forbade her from retaliating.

"Doesn't your grandmother live in the woods?"

"Yes."

"It's dangerous out there. The hunters say that a pack of wolves have invaded those woods." The old woman trembled. "Are you sure you must go tonight?"

"I'll stick to the trails. I'll be fine." This too was a lie. Red would go alone to prove that she was not a child anymore. "I'll be fast. I promise."

The baker nodded. "Wait, before you go. I forgot to pack some utensils, and for your birthday, you'll get my finest." From a drawer, she pulled out a cutting knife and a spatula, which reflected the fire light. "Use these in case you need to cut and serve the cake."

"Thank you."

"Well, then let's get you on your way before it gets too dark."

Red retrieved two silver coins.

"Keep it. Consider it a birthday gift." Edna escorted the girl to the door and hugged her tightly. "Be careful."

Red smiled, feeling the Baker's warmth linger on her skin. "I will."