Kinard Mythology Anthology

by Kinard Middle School

The Stunning Creation of Chocolate

  By Kylie

 

  A young goddess named Persephone once resided in the Hidden Valley, a place of peaceful agriculture. The luscious green grass set the peaceful setting. The Hidden Valley was almost off the grid. Few people knew of its existence. Fresh plants were everywhere. It smelled of fresh-cut grass and fresh fruit. All types too! Tall rock walls surrounded the Hidden Valley and isolated it from the world. Fresh plant and flower smells contaminated the air daily.

  Beautiful Persephone was a caring young woman who had never hurt a soul. She took care of the valley. Simple gowns suited Persephone. These gowns reflected nature which often meant green, yellow, and soft pink dresses for her. Her long, curly brown hair reached all the way to her waist. Hazelnut colored eyes were yet something else that made her even prettier.

  Another goddess named Hebe hung around this valley often. Hebe was not the most well-known goddess, but nonetheless she had power. She possessed the special golden cup that could turn a person from mortal to immortal. Simple clothes also suited Hebe, but usually more purple and blue dresses. Dirty blonde hair usually was pulled into low pigtails to caress Hebe’s beautiful face. Crystal clear blue eyes were a gift Hebe had been born with. Hebe was a kind woman that admired fresh plants, so she enjoyed the hidden valley just like Persephone. Living in the Hidden Valley, also allowed Hebe and Persephone to keep each other company.

  One morning, Persephone noticed that near Hebe’s favorite picnicking spot there was a new plant she had never seen before. Persephone was confused, so she consulted Hebe.

  “Hebe!” Persephone shouted.

  “What, Persephone?” Hebe replied in confusion. Persephone rarely summoned for Hebe in the mornings. That was when peaceful Persephone picked her ripe, fresh fruits and vegetables.

  “Come here,” Persephone replied as she picked a fresh strawberry, washed it with some water from her canteen, and munched on it. She really did enjoy fresh fruit. The flavorful strawberry erupted in her mouth like a volcano. Sweet taste with a tinge of sour flavor awakened Persephone’s taste buds.

  “Yes,” Hebe said as she walked up to Persephone.

  “Have you ever seen this plant,” she asked Hebe as she gestured to the strange plant.  

  “No. Why?” Hebe questioned.

  “I haven’t, so I was wondering if you had, that’s all,” Persephone said, “Have you left any seeds here recently?”

  “No, but I did leave some pastries here a day or two ago. Now they’re gone.” Hebe replied with a confused expression.

  “Who baked them?” Persephone asked.

  “One of my friends, Christopher, is a baker. He made them.”

  “Let’s go find him. I want to know more about these pastries. Why don’t we go talk to this baker?”

  “Okay.”

  So off they went. Dressed in black gowns complete with corsets and white, lacy aprons, Hebe and Persephone meandered off into the nearby village in search of the pastry bakers. Directly in the heart of the beautiful town of Larkin was the pastry shop. Hebe and Persephone walked down the small cobblestone streets with baskets full of fresh fruit. When children walked past, they graciously handed out fresh strawberries and apples. Un-wealthy children would then gleefully thank them and run back to their games. Before the children left, Hebe and Persephone would ask if they knew of any pastry shops nearby, but none of these children knew pastry shop whereabouts.

  Just when Hebe and Persephone were about to give up hope, a young woman wearing a worn down gray dress and wavy brown hair to her shoulders walked by carrying a tiny baby in one arm and grasping a little boy’s hand with the other. Hebe offered her a scarlet-colored apple and she took it gratefully.

  “Do you know of any pastry shops in the town of Larkin,” Persephone asked.

  “Well, there’s small one about a block or two ahead on the left,” the kind woman replied.

  “Thank you very much,” Persephone responded, “We’ve been looking for one for hours.”

  “Oh, it’s my pleasure. My husband and my brother run the bakery,” she said, “Do you want me to show you to it?”

  “We would love that,” Hebe replied, “Is your husband Christopher or William?”

  “Yes, Christopher is. Do you know him?”

  “Yeah, I’ve visited this bakery before. The pastries are scrumptious,” Hebe said with a smile.

  “Yes, they are good, but we can’t eat them often. The bakery isn’t doing well, so we spare every pastry possible before eating them ourselves,” the wife responded.

  “Mommy, I’m hungry,” the little brown-haired boy whined.

  “Here.” The mom sacrificed her apple for her son.

  “Do you want another one?” Hebe asked sadly.

  “That would be great,” the young woman replied with a smile, “By the way my name is Elizabeth.”

  “Nice to meet you,” Persephone said.

  Just then the three woman and two children pulled up to the pastry shop. Worn-down and old was the quaint wooden building decorated with a sign that said Christopher’s Pastries in blue paint that was fading away. Slowly they meandered onto the porch outside and the wood creaked loudly. “Aaahh,” said the baby dressed in the tiny worn white dress.

  “It’s okay Lillian,” Elizabeth murmured as she gently caressed her youngest child.

  The baby wailed again, but this time Elizabeth relentlessly tore a small piece of apple from her fruit and fed it to the screaming child. Smiling at the gift of fruit the baby and happily sucked on the chunk of smooth and roughly torn apple.

  “Let’s go in now,” Elizabeth said.

  “Okay,” Persephone replied. When they walked in a skinny man wearing a worn t-shirt, black pants, and messy apron, Christopher, ran over, scooped up the young boy, and hugged him with a grin. Loudly the little boy shrieked in delight. Freshly baked sweets awakened Hebe and Persephone’s senses.

  “Hello, Christopher,” Hebe politely said, “Is William here? He baked my last pastries and Persephone and I wanted to ask him something about the ingredients in them.”

  “Yes, William is here,” Christopher replied, “I’ll go get him for you.” Christopher then wandered back into the bakery in search of William. A minute later a younger looking baker also wearing a worn shirt made out of t-shirt fabric and messy apron stepped out from behind the rough wooden counters with food.

  “Hi,” the young man said.

  “You must be William,” Persephone added, “I’m Persephone. I’ve heard your pastries are delicious. Hebe raves about them all the time.”

  “Hi Persephone. Hi Hebe,” William said.

  “So,” Hebe started, “Persephone and I were wondering if you would come check something interesting out with us. We found a strange new plant...and were not sure what to do with it. We thought maybe you could help us find its purpose.”

  “Sure, where are we going?”

  “It’s a surprise,” Hebe said wearily.

  “Okay,” William hesitantly replied, “Can Christopher come with?”

  “Sure,” Hebe responded, “The more eyes the better.”

  So, off went Persephone, Hebe, William, and Christopher into the Hidden Valley. Before they left, Hebe and Persephone had kindly given Elizabeth and her kids the remainder of their fresh fruit before they left to go to the Hidden Valley. It was a long walk, but they got there after about 45 minutes of walking. When they got to the Hidden Valley, Christopher and William were in shock of the beauty there. Although they were stunned by the beauty of the Hidden Valley, William and Christopher headed straight to examine the strange, new plant. They were shocked. Neither of them had ever seen the plant either.

  “I’ve never seen this plant,” Persephone explained, “It was just here this morning.”

  “I left two of your pastries here yesterday, so I was wondering if maybe they somehow got planted and turned into this plant,” Hebe said.

  “Well, just so we know if th
is is a possibility we should taste the plant,” Christopher mentioned.

  “Let’s make sure there isn’t a shell on the outside,” Persephone said. So, Persephone hurried off to find a knife to slice into the plant. A minute or two later Persephone wandered back. Gently Persephone cut two of these plants off of the small tree they were growing on. Noticing the hard shell Persephone cut each of these plants in half. When they did this, they noticed there were beans inside.

  “Let’s just taste the beans for now,” Persephone advised. There was a moment of silence while they all enjoyed the sweetness of these beans.

  “Crunch!” the beans moaned as they bit into them.

  “Mmmmm,” Hebe mumbled in delight.

  “Very sweet and scrumptious,” Persephone said in agreement.

  “They are very sweet,” William agreed, “Maybe you’re right; maybe these did come from the pastries.”

  Christopher nodded in agreement. Shocked they sat there for a while admiring the beautiful brown beans inside of the plant. No one was sure what to make of the situation.

  “This could make a really good treat itself,” William humbly said.

  “It would,” Christopher excitedly added.

  “Maybe that’s what this plant is good for,” Persephone added with a hinting smile.

  “Then…why don’t we try it?” Hebe asked.

  “Sure,” Persephone agreed. William and Christopher grinned. They knew what this meant.

  “What if this is our big break,” William mentioned.

  “Then, let it be your big break. You deserve it,” Persephone said. Hebe nodded. They got what he was saying, but they didn’t need credit for the idea and these bakers deserved to have a big break.

  “Under one condition,” Hebe said with a mysterious air, “You don’t tell anyone about the Hidden Valley.”

  “Sure, that sounds good,” Christopher said grinning.

  So, they worked out the details for a little while longer before William and Christopher left. They were all meeting at the bakery at one pm tomorrow to try the new treats.

  The next day, when Persephone and Hebe arrived at the bakery, the treats were already prepared. They looked like scrumptious little brown bars of delight. Little chunks of these brown bars sat evenly cut into rectangles in the pan in front of the women. As soon as Persephone and Hebe sampled them it was like fireworks of rich, smooth sweetness were erupting in their mouths.

  “These are delicious!” Persephone exclaimed.

  “Yummy!” excited Hebe shouted.

  “You really think these are going to do well?” William asked.

  “Of course!” Hebe and Persephone exclaimed in unison.

  “This is the best pastry we have ever made,” Christopher said excitedly.

  Elizabeth and her children tried them a minute later and fell in love too. Everyone was ecstatic.

  “I do have one question though,” Persephone said grinning, “What are you going to name it?”

  “Well, Christopher and I have given it some thought and we were thinking chocolate,” William said.

  “I like it,” Hebe said.

  “So, what should we call the plant then,” Persephone asked.

  “How about,” Hebe said hesitantly, “Cocoa.”

  “Perfect,” Persephone said, “They have the same root word and everything!”

  Chocolate was a big success! Patrons from all over came to the small town of Larkin just to buy scrumptious chocolate. William and Christopher began to be successful. Their well-deserving families were now very well off.

  William married a kind young woman named Evelyn. The two of them now inhabited right near the bakery in the town of Larkin, so William could work early morning shifts now that the bakery was in high demand.

  Also, Christopher, Elizabeth, and their two children moved in to the Hidden Valley. With Hebe and Persephone’s permission they built a large home there and kept Hebe and Persephone company. Christopher harvested the now enormous section of cocoa plants in the Hidden Valley. Elizabeth and her daughter also helped out with taking care of the plants everyday by watering, picking, and planting them. Happily their creative son was now taking after his father’s footsteps of being a baker. He went with his father to work every day to serve around the bakery. At a young age, he came up with a new dessert: chocolate covered strawberries. He was playing around with some leftover melted chocolate one day and came upon a fresh basket of strawberries his mother had left for the bakers. Simply he dipped the fruit into the melted chocolate and it was amazing, but that is a whole different story. That has become yet another reason people come to the Larkin town bakery. Overall, that bakery is now thriving which makes Persephone and Hebe happy that they helped create their success.