4) Cookies

Anahera stared longingly into the oven, her face pressed against the glass. Time needed to go faster.

Why was time so slow?

She wanted cookies now, she didn’t want to wait! Cookies were ooey and gooey and warm and happy when they came out of the oven, and they made her mouth feel so good! It was so unfair that she couldn’t have them right now and had to wait! Why! Why! Why was time so cruel and mean!

Her breath fogged up the glass of the oven enough that it was difficult to see the cookies through it, not that her determined stare wavered one bit. She wanted to fall to the ground to scream and cry about the unfairness of the situation - but if she did that, she might miss seeing the cookies be ready. She couldn’t bear missing the moment it happened - or the steps between… As unfair and horrible as it was, it was fun to see them grow and expand and- Oh, were they bigger? Please please please be bigger, please let the chocolate chips be starting to melt… She needed to eat them, she needed them now, she needed the tasty sweet!

When the timer beeped, it startled her and made her jump in place, bonking her head into the door. Naturally, that set her off screaming for her Mommy - both because she knew she wasn’t able to take the cookies out of the oven by herself and because now her head hurt, and the only thing that could make it better was six cookies immediately…