The cookie thief

The festival was feathers and sparkles, smiles and laughter. It was a very outrageous thing and it brought such life to our souls. It was the grand party of the year, the one everyone was invited to. 

My mind is buzzing. My fingers are electric. Every normal thought and worry is banished, there's simply no room for it with all the excitement in my mind. Today is my day. It's the annual summer holiday festival in Colombo and I've been the winner of the baking championship for four consecutive years. So it's my sole responsibility to secure the championship for the fifth tstopped

I was busy eating the air as the cookies baked that I didn't notice the boy who was standing in front of me, staring at me as if I'm some sort of an interesting painting.

The boy was perfection in coffee hues; his hair and eyes were the color of dark roasted beans but his skin was all latte.

"I'm here to steal your cookies," he said, crossing his arms across his broad chest.

"What?" I asked in disbelief.

"I want to win this," he paused and took a step toward me. "So, I'm going to steal your cookies."

I grinned. "I've never heard of a thief who speaks his actions before proceeding."

"I'm a good thief who just want to win this competition." His hair, dark and lustrous had a sheen like fire hardwood. But that comparison isn't entirely fair. Hardwood doesn't swish gently like his hair does, swaying with the words he speaks.

I laughed like a little kid. "Then you'll have to wait for them to be baked."

He nodded and seated himself in front of my stall.

"Do you really think I'll give you my cookies?" I asked him.

He smiled. "Yes."

"I've won this competition for four consecutive years," I told him. "Don't underestimate me."

"I'm not underestimating you," he remarked.

My nose had acclimatized to the smell of cookies as they baked, but once I opened the oven I was hit by a brick wall of cookie-smell. Momentarily stunned, I neglected to take an oven glove and proceeded to burn my hand on the oven. By the time I was done running my hand under cold water, the cookies had burned.

I turned to face the boy. "Do you still want them?"

He shook his head and stood up. "Do you wanna steal something else?" 

"Like what?" I asked.

He smiled and pushed a burned cookie into his mouth. "A car. A house. Anything you want." He said, chewing the burned cookie in his mouth.

I removed my apron and loosed my tied hair. "Can I trust you?" I asked.

He nodded, smiling. "Of course, I'm a professional thief."

I grinned and walked out of my stall. "What's your name?" I asked him.

"Alex," he answered. "Let me guess," he slowly took a glimpse of my name board in my stall. "You're Jade."

I nodded, smiling. 

He took hold of my hand and whispered, "I think I'm in love with you." 

"But you just met me," I argued, chuckling.

"Ever heard of first sight love."

"Don't you wanna win the competition?" I asked, trying to ignore his touchy bwords.

He shook his head. "All I wanna do right now is to steal your heart."

It seems like I can't escape myself from his sweet words and focus on winning the competition.

"Then let's go and steal each other's hearts," I said and we both ran out of the festival, holding each other's hands, our hearts filled with love and happiness.

"I own a bakery," he said as we passed the crowded market.

"I too own one," I said, trying to stop staring at the beautiful boy who's holding my hand.

"I know," he said and pulled me closer to him. "I've been to your bakery a couple of times."

"Really," I said. "I'm surprised that I didn't notice you. I don't usually forget people."

He smiled and stopped by the old bridge of the town. "Well, you've forgetten me."

I looked at him. His deep brown eyes were like two coffee drops smiling in happiness. "I know boys aren't supposed to be beautiful but you are beautiful," I confessed my true feelings for him.

"Then, are you in love with me?" He asked, placing his hands on my waist.

Is it true that love happens at first sight? Many people do not believe in love at first sight. On the other hand, some individual feels that they fell in love the moment they had a chance to look deep into each other’s eyes. That first sight, that first moment, that first silent exchange of feelings through the eyes changed their entire life.

Perhaps it is possible to fall in love across a crowded room as the old song says. However, again, it is the eyes that hold the primary attraction. This has been shown over the ages. Romeo and Juliet also gazed into each other’s eyes while making their plans. There are many such cases, real and imagined, which are written about. Studies of the eyes when they see someone they either feel very fond of or are in love with show that the pupils widen significantly.

I nodded, shly.

"Then what are we waiting for," he paused and placed a light kiss on my cheek. "Let's not be late to steal our hearts."

Leaving behind my desire for winning the baking contest, my desire for fame and money, I ran with him toward happiness. It was lovely. The only thing I saw was his brown hued eyes, the only sound I heard was his charming smile, the only thing I touched was his latte skin.

I slowly placed a kiss of love on his lips and let him steal his heart while I steal his heart.

Some may call it a rubbish and claim love can only be gained through getting to know each other. In order to be for someone in love you got to know all about their interests, morals and characters. On the other side, men and women love to share their stories how they met someone somewhere, and all it took was one moment, one stare, and they fell in love.

In the end, I fell in love with the cookie thief.