Mom, I am a cake

The bee buzzed around my head, so noisy like it wanted to wake me up. It flew up into the jasmine tree and pushed one flower loose. The flower fell on my face, tickling me until I opened my eyes. “Oh… where have I slept?” I mumbled. It was the center of our house again, the roofless space where summer nights were the best for sleeping.

I turned my head and saw my favorite people in the world sleeping next to me. My sister was calm, only her teeth grinding sometimes. My brothers and my dad were in the middle of a snoring contest, one louder than the other. Only Mama was awake, moving in the kitchen, baking for us. The smell was so delicious it almost lifted me up by the nose.

I stood carefully so no one would wake, then ran as fast as I could to Mama and hugged her leg. “Good morning, Mama!” I said, even though it was not morning at all. She bent down, kissed the top of my head, and smiled.

On the table was a big, beautiful cake. My eyes went wide. Mama looked at me and said, “That is for your birthday, Samsoum. For tonight. You can’t eat it now.” My hands had already started reaching, but she caught them and pressed them down. “I will go out to buy bread. Do not eat the cake, or I will be mad.”

As the door closed behind her, I turned back to the cake and grinned. “One bite harms no one,” I whispered to myself. “I will cover it after, and she will never know.” The chocolate smell was too strong, like love floating in the air. “Just one bite. Just one bite,” I repeated.

I leaned in and bit. Ohhh. It was the most delicious cake I ever had. My mama was the best chef in the world, no one could compete. One bite became two, then three. Suddenly, ouch! My tooth hurt so bad it felt like someone had punched me in the mouth. Tears filled my eyes. I covered the part I ate, but before I could stop myself, I licked my chocolate fingers. Ouch again! My tooth burned with pain.

I closed my eyes, holding my cheek, rocking back and forth. The pain was too much. Then I heard the bee buzzing above me again. I waved it away angrily, but this time a sweet voice came with it. “Sami, Sami, Sami… your mama told you not to eat the cake. Now the pain will not go away, and she will be mad at you.”

I looked around. No one was there. “Who’s talking?” I whispered.

“Uhm, uhm, I am here,” the voice said.

“Where? Who are you?”

“I am your tooth fairy, Samsoum,” the voice answered. “But I hide as a bee so I can stay with you, and no one else sees me.”

The bee landed gently on my nose. I crossed my eyes to look at it. “My tooth fairy? My bee?” My face was still hurting, but I started to smile through my tears.

“Yes,” the bee said kindly. “I am here to make sure you take care of your teeth. When you are in pain, I try to help you.”

“Please,” I begged, holding my cheek, “help me. It hurts so much.”

Poof! The bee turned into a glowing fairy, beautiful and shining, her wings spreading golden light and glitter as she flew.

“Follow me,” she said. “We will go to my world and find someone who can ease your pain.”

She flew toward the jasmine tree, her wings flapping fast. She opened her mouth and sang, and her song was so beautiful that the tree itself opened a secret door, pouring light so bright I had to close my eyes.

“Come on, Samsoum. Let’s go,” she called.

I followed, stepping inside. When the light softened, I gasped. I was in the most magical place ever. The ground was soft gingerbread cookies. Hills rose high, made of giant scoops of colorful ice cream with glittering sprinkles. Trees weren’t trees, they were giant lollipops. The clouds were fluffy cotton candy in pink, blue, and purple. Rivers of warm melted chocolate flowed across the land. Houses were built of cake, with frosting roofs and candy stuck all over. Wafer cookies made the doors. Sugar panes made the windows.

My mouth fell open. I almost ran to eat everything. But the fairy’s voice stopped me. “Sami! Your tooth might feel okay here, but back in your world it will hurt worse. Don’t eat anything. We must find the Master Tooth Fairy.”

“But… but all the chocolate, all the candy…” I whispered, my heart breaking worse than my tooth. “You have to wait and listen,” she said firmly.

She flew ahead and I followed, my eyes wide at the beauty everywhere. Soon we reached a giant castle made from layers of cake, guarded by two sugar candy bears with spears of peppermint.

“We are here to meet the Master Fairy,” my tooth fairy said.

One guard blocked us. “Only fairies may enter. The boy must wait outside.” My fairy nodded. “Sami, wait here. Don’t eat anything. I will be back in five minutes.” She floated inside.

I waited. One minute. Two. My stomach growled. I lay down on the grass, which was bubblegum. A butterfly made of peanut butter landed on my face, tickling me, then hopped away. I laughed and chased it. It led me to the biggest, most beautiful cake I had ever seen, rivers of chocolate, mountains of cream, shining sugar on top.

I could not resist. I bit. Then again. Then again. Bite after bite until my stomach was full. Suddenly I felt strange. My body wobbled. Something was moving inside me. My hands turned into cake. My feet too. My belly swelled and frosted over. In seconds, I wasn’t me anymore I was cake. A big, round cake.

The sky darkened. Lemonade rain poured down. From far away, voices chanted. Candy people marched toward me, their eyes glowing. “We got him! We got him!”

I tried to run, but my cake legs couldn’t move. They grabbed me, lifted me into a bucket, and carried me, chanting louder. My eyes filled with tears. “Fairy! Where are you? Help me!”

They marched into a dark, stormy land. Trees twisted, the sky rumbled. At the center stood a huge black castle. A terrible laugh echoed from inside. Out she came, her face half-hidden by a pale mask, her white coat glowing faint in the storm-light. She moved like she owned the place, slow and certain, and in her hand buzzed the terrible tool, vrrrrnnnn! The sound was sharp as lightning, the sound I knew from the dentist’s chair..

I cried hard, tears streaming. “Please, no!”

She knelt down, peering at me with hungry eyes. “He looks like a good cake,” she growled. Then she opened her mouth wide, grabbed me, and shoved me in.

I slid down her tongue, screaming. Her stomach glowed green with bubbling liquid, smoke rising from it. It was so dark, so scary. “Mama!” I screamed. “I’m sorry for not listening to you! Please help me! I will always listen from now on!”

Suddenly a light appeared above me. My fairy came, shining, smiling. “Do you promise?” she asked gently.

“Yes!” I cried, wiping tears. “Yes, I will always listen, I swear!”

She flapped her golden wings, and poof we were back in my house. She was a bee again. I was hugging Mama’s leg tight, crying into her dress. “I love you, Mama. I will always listen to you.”

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