Midnight Rendezvous with Chocolate cake

This was written based on a word prompt given by my group. The word was night and the first thing that came to my mind was this incident that occurred many years ago...

It was sometime during my final exams in school. I’d usually be up burning the midnight oil, pouring over my lessons and listening to the sounds of nocturnal creatures. The nights were still and an occasional breeze would cause a rustling sound of the trees outside. Sometimes I’d hear an owl or two. Working diligently over my lessons would often evoke those hunger pangs which would make me raid the refrigerator. It would be either be a fruit or a jam sandwich that I usually fixed for myself. Sugar treats were a great way to keep those droopy eyes of mine open. 

One such night, I stumbled upon a piece of chocolate cake. My eyes widened and I pinched myself to see if I was dreaming. It wasn’t anyone’s birthday or anniversary. Usually chocolate cakes were reserved for special celebrations like my good grades. It wasn’t encouraged otherwise given my constant battle with the weighing scale. My sweet tooth couldn’t resist digging into that gooey chocolate pyramid. Solving all those problems and tallying balance sheets made me hungrier than usual. 

I took a bite and felt the stream of cocoa, sugar and cream melt into my mouth. I chewed on it for a long time, not wanting to let go of that heavenly feeling of the cake. Somehow food tasted even better at the bewitching hour.  Instantly I was transported back to the midnight feasts that Author Enid Blyton often described in her boarding school series. For a minute, I drifted away to a world of my favorite characters, lacrosse matches, friendly banters, swims and classroom tricks. Far from the insipid world of shares and debentures. That phase of my childhood filled with Enid Blyton series were the best days of my life. Especially when there weren't any exams that determined the course of your life. Every bite of the chocolate felt like I had fallen deeper into the rabbit hole. 

Just then the clock struck one. I was instantly jolted back to reality, with the piece of cake still in my hand. My fingers were smeared with chocolate icing. I hurriedly gobbled the rest of the cake and turned my attention to the profit and loss statements that I was solving before this fantasy trip of mine.

That sugar rush kept me awake till wee hours of the morning. Late enough to hear my mother exclaim about the missing piece of chocolate cake that she had bought for a friend’s kid whom she had invited over for lunch that day. Late enough to see her walk into my room and give a disapproving stare at my chocolate smeared fingers and face, shaking her head in despair about my childish antics at the age of seventeen. Several such nights went by. The only other time I had chocolate cake at midnight was on my birthday.