A Little Secret Something

The First Step

This story was requested by ValkyrieCentral. I hope you like it. Thank you for reading.

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Your fingers tighten around the neck of your favorite stuffed giraffe as you work up the courage to sneak down the unfamiliar hallway. It shouldn't have been this scary, but to your two year old mind it might as well be a foreign country.

You were at your grandparents house and would be staying for the whole weekend while your parents were on a 'grownups only' vacation. The problem with this was that to your tiny baby brain your grandparents were almost total strangers. You had vague recollections of holiday visits, but nothing past the living room. Additionally, this would be the first time you wouldn't be sleeping in your own bed and your safety blanket (parents) wouldn't be around if you got scared.

And right now, you were scared. The hallway looked dark and one of the doors was ever so slightly open. But you could only see worse darkness inside, inviting thoughts of monsters waiting to snatch you if you got too close.

Beyond that was your destination: a room with soft light spilling out. You'd seen your grandma walk into that room and she was still there, as far as you knew. Your grandpa had gone to work, so she was the only one around who could save you.

You took a breath and ran, past the scary door and down the hallway only to skid to a stop at the bright room as a loud clatter sent the heebie-jeebies up your spine.

Giving another determination squeeze on your giraffe, you peek around the door frame.

It was the kitchen. Your grandma was at one of the counters, humming as she... you weren't sure what she was doing; you couldn't see. But your curiosity momentarily eclipsed your previous terror.

She caught sight of you within a few seconds and smiled warmly, "Hello, little darling."

You shrank away, trying to hide even though you'd been caught. Your grandma chuckled and held out a hand. "Do you wanna see what I'm doing?"

You hesitated, but ultimately nodded, seeing as this was way better than the scary hallway and being alone. You scooted across to where she was and clutched at her leg.

She only smiled and pulled one of the stools over to where she was working and hoisted you up and into it.

From your new vantage point, you could see some vegetables, one particular carrot cut into small slices, and a bowl of light brown paste. On the other side was a bright blue package, but you were too young to read the label.

Your curious looks earned another chuckle and one of the carrot slices to munch on. "I'm making dumplings for dinner," your grandma explained as she picked up her knife and started cutting the carrot into smaller chunks.

"Dumping?" you managed to ask.

"Heh, yes, dumplings," she grinned, moving on to a bit of onion. "We chop up the vegetables and mix it with the meat." She pointed to the paste, which on closer inspection was only shredded meat.

She quickly finished up a bit of the onion and carrot, then scooped out some meat, which she rolled all together into a ball.

Then she reached into the package and pulled out a flat bit of dough. "Then we fold it in one of these and cook it."

She demonstrated the folding part as you watched. You were mesmerized, your carrot stick forgotten in your fingers.

You spent the better half of the afternoon watching your grandma cook. When your grandpa came home, you were still right by your grandma's side.