Bond over Chocolates

**

"What do you want to be when you grow up?" Little Jasmine paused before answering. "I don't know. I just want to talk to the people inside my head"

"You're weird", said another girl while pointing a finger at her. It was the 12th year of the foundation of the orphanage and the staff hosted a small gathering for the children.

The kids looked at her and nodded in unison. "Let's not talk to her. The windyness will rub off", said a boy of around 8 years old. A little older than Jasmine.

"What windyness? Do you mean werdness? That's what she said right?" a round and plump kid now pointing at the kid who started it all.

Emily was observing from a distance but she heard everything. She was itching to shoo away these kids from her beloved Jasmine. They were clearly bullying her.

Another hospital staff named Stephen was watching the kids beside her. Emily was about to scare away the other kids when a hand pulled her arm and motioned for her to stay at her work station and let the kids handle the situation.

She pulled her arm back and told him off instead.

"No!"

The kids who were arguing on a word they were not sure about, stiffened after hearing that loud voice. Even the other hospital staff stopped in their tracks. All eyes now on the source of the commotion.

The female nurse turned red upon realizing that she unintentionally caught everyone's attention. She cleared her throat and muttered a broken "Sorry" before straightening her uniform and walking towards the kids.

She grabbed little Jasmine's hand and took the kid with her to a spot where no one can see them. Jasmine's little hands felt soft and fluffy to the touch. The thought made her smile. In the last few weeks, she has been feeding her with a huge amount of chocolates.

She would never forget the first time this cute little kid was introduced to sweets. Her sparkling eyes and wide smile made her want to feed the kid more.

In the past couple of years since the infant was brought to the orphanage, she has been constantly but secretly looking after Jasmine. She was a special person in her life as she witnessed the last seconds of the lives of both her parents.

At first, she felt a sense of guilt because she was burdened by the death of the couple. But as she watched Jasmine growing up, she realized that she was drawn to her. She wanted to be part of her life. She wanted to give the time that her parents dreamed of spending with her.

She felt that she carried the couple's will and strong feelings for their daughter. Immediately, that feeling of guilt turned into a special kind of love similar to a mother for her daughter.

A few days before Jasmine's 4th birthday, she decided to make her presence known. And since that day, they've developed a bond and spent her days off from work together.

A lot of times she would visit and bring her as many boxes of chocolates she could buy. But the little girl seemed to never get satisfied.

Three years after and today, she's finally seeing the effects of her feeding spree.

It's going to be Christmas soon and she's thinking of surprising the little kid with her very own recipe of homemade chocolate cake. It's going to be a late celebration of Jasmine's 7th birthday.

A little tug at her fingers made her remember that they were standing at the middle of the orphanage's empty garden. Jasmine has been waiting for her to say something or do anything, but her mind immediately wandered after feeling the kid's rounded hands.

Jasmine finally shook her hand out of impatience and Emily was now completely brought back to reality.

The little kid has recently been telling her about her dreams. She told her that she's been being very sleepy all the time. And every night, she would dream of winter nights and a warm fireplace. A cup of hot chocolate shared by an old couple wearing knitted sweaters.

Emily thought to herself, "Am I giving her too much chocolate already?".