The Cookies

"Hey, wait a moment," Aria said, glancing at María, who was about to leave through the door.

"What's up?" asked María, visibly tired after spending the entire day satisfying Aria's whims, following her supervisor's orders. 

Now, all María could think about was:

Resting! 

She had tirelessly worked to attend to Aria, but it seemed the girl had no intention of stopping.

Now that night had fallen, María thought Aria wouldn't ask for anything else, but apparently, she was mistaken. 

This girl just kept asking for things!

"Could you bring me a container full of cookies?"

Do you still want to eat more!?

That's what María wanted to shout at Aria, but she restrained herself.

"Aria… Eating sweets at this hour might be harmful to your health. Also, at this time, I don't think there will be..."

"I didn't ask for your opinion, just get it," Aria said in an indifferent tone, wrapping herself in her sheets.

In the room, Aria had a large bed along with a table stacked with books she found interesting. 

María sighed and left the room, muttering under her breath.

"Selfish stupid girl, can't you think about others for a second? Why do you always like to be..."

María stopped upon noticing Rita's presence in front of her. Both looked at each other. Rita seemed firm, while María reflected weariness.

"Well, speaking ill of the hand that feeds you, huh? Your position has really gone to your head," reproached Rita, to which María shook her head.

"Rita, don't you see? We're spoiling her! At this rate, she'll soon hit a wall and..."

"No one cares about your opinions, María. Your job is to listen to her, obey her, and get paid. Do you think she'll thank you for everything in the future? Wake up. She'll grow up, live her life, forget about you, and move on," explained Rita, her words striking María's heart.

"Be careful what you say aloud. Luck won't always be on your side," Rita said before continuing on her way. 

María let out a long, heavy sigh as she resumed her walk to the kitchen. 

She checked every corner and found no cookies. With a pang of sadness, she headed to the chef's room and called out.

"Who is it?" came the gruff and annoyed voice of the man on the other side of the door.

"It's me, María, Aria's maid. She wants cookies, so..."

"I got it! Give me 5 minutes," the man replied.

Maria waited by the chef's door, and after 29 minutes, he emerged.

"Huh?" he exclaimed, surprised to see the maid sitting on the floor with her eyes closed. She seemed to be asleep.

"Seriously... who falls asleep in a place like this?" he muttered through clenched teeth. He bent down to pick up María, but upon touching her, she immediately woke up.

"Huh!? Hi! I... what are you doing?" Maria exclaimed instinctively, covering her mouth at the noise.

"I was going to take you to your room, but since you're awake..." the chef casually explained, but she shook her head.

"I can't, Aria asked me to bring her the cookies."

"Eh? That girl wants cookies at this hour? Doesn't she know it can harm her?" the chef was surprised.

"It's orders," María murmured.

"Orders... I see. Find a comfortable spot in the kitchen and sit down while I prepare them. It'll take... 15 minutes," said the chef, noticing María's tiredness.

Maria sat down as the chef prepared the cookies. Less than ten minutes passed, and...

"Hey, wake up."

A sweet aroma and a male voice woke her from her sleep.

"Huh? Hi! Thank you!" María said, taking the container with the cookies to bring them to Aria. 

The chef chuckled at the scene.

"Well... it's my turn to rest too..." he said, yawning.

Maria entered Aria's room and saw her reading a book, flipping through the pages carelessly.

"Aria, I'm back with..."

"You took too long," Aria said, intentionally interrupting María.

Maria lowered her head and left the container with the cookies on the table next to Aria's bed.

"See you tomorrow..." she said as she quickly left the room.

"Oh, could you bring me..." Aria began to say but stopped upon noticing María had already left. With annoyance, she opened the cookie container and started eating one after another. 

Although the book she was reading was interesting, something didn't fit. 

Why couldn't she use magic? 

What was missing?

Hours passed, and Aria began to doze off, but suddenly, a sudden stomachache bothered her.

What was happening?

For some reason, María's words echoed in her head.