Something (An Older Fiction Story I Wrote)
It was all over, here and there it appeared as though a bomb had gone off: one of various ingredients. Cost was a priority....was. Now however, it didn't matter. The "hot zone" was gonna be the place of success, the kitchen would be the start of something new.
Over and over it was attempted and failed miserably. Every time the temptation to quit was there, calling loudly, shaming him for even thinking something like this could be done: the attempt at a better way to live and gain income for his family, still, he'd push them away in his thoughts.
Again and again the recipes were followed, step by step, and every one fell short......until an epiphany hit him. "These are guides only!", he thought. Excited, he started to dance around the kitchen at this answer he sought, then stopped, returning to cautious optimism about it's successfulness. He went back over the piles of recipes sitting on the counter. He reviewed them and went more with his gut instinct than with the difficulty level in choosing the right one to try. One stood out. It tasted relatively well, but something wasn't right, something he had to perfect, so he sought to improve it and cooked it again.
The kitchen started to smell better in the cooking and he wondered if the end result did too. Holding his breath he went to take it out of the oven. It was a masterpiece in appearance, but did it taste good? He tried it and every flavor greeted him warmly the same way a close friend might. It was nothing short of perfection to him. Wondering if it could be replicated he decided to attempt to make it again. He again went with his gut, allowing the recipe to guide him rather than order every step and the same result was known!
He knew it was good to him in taste, execution of the dish and appearance, but would a panel of professional chefs arrive at the same ruling? Was he just wasting his time again? It was something difficult that he was able to do, something difficult he was going to do, yet he struggled to shake the insecurities as the condemning inner critics tried to sway him. Tapping into how he hated what he did for income and how this left him unmotivated from wanting to do better he pushed those same thoughts away and went for something better once more.
It was taken to a cooking contest where he nervously yet willingly entered his dish. The judging was tough, and he didn't know if he'd even win, but he kept reminding himself, "This is for something better: a better life for you and your family.". After a gruelling several hours he won! He gained a spot as a paid apprentice to a head chef at a fancy restaurant. It was something that would change his way of earning income for his family, something better that he loved also. It took a hundred times to get the contest entry right, but it was worth it; worth something better than he'd known in a while.
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