Maria's Cake
By Krissie
“This is going to haunt me,” Shadow thought as he stared at the burnt yet still somehow soupy mess Maria had placed before him. His ears were still ringing from the fire alarms that the scientists struggled to turn off for 20 minutes. He offered to help, but he wasn’t allowed access to any of the security systems. He was, however, allowed, to be presented with what looked like a monster from one of Maria’s video games.
Maria beamed nervously. “It’s a cake.” Her confidence was faulting and Shadow felt a tug at his heart strings.
“It looks great!” He gave her a thumbs up. Maria beamed brightly with job. Shadow had no clue what a cake was. But if Maria was pleased, he would be too. “So what do you do with it?” Shadow asked as Maria was pulling plates down from the small cabinet.
Maria froze as she stared at Shadow in disbelief. Shadow might look like a teenager, but he was only 3 years old.
“You eat it!” Maria told him with a sweet smile. “Cake is a treat you make for special occasions and holidays.”
Shadow nodded as Maria cut a slice of the cake. “What’s the occasion?” There was nothing listed on his calendar when he woke up this morning.
“It’s your birthday, silly!” Maria ruffled his quills. Shadow leaning back, fighting the urge to hiss. Maria knew he hated having his quills messed with. She giggled as she sat him down at the kitchen table and placed the slice in front of him. She sang loudly as she gripped him by the shoulders and swayed him with her. Shadow chuckled at this. He still wasn’t sure what was going on, but if Maria was happy, he didn’t mind.
“Normally you blow out candles, but since we don’t have those, just close your eyes and make a wish.”
Shadow’s only wish was for Maria to be happy and healthy. He didn’t need anything else. He turned to Maria with a smile. “Now what?”
“Now you eat it!” Maria took a spoonful and held it up to him. “Say Ah…”
Shadow took the spoon from her gently. He stared at the bite of cake. It looked gross. Smelt awful. He didn’t want it anywhere inside his body. But Maria would be sad if he didn’t. A few bites wouldn’t hurt, right?
Welp.
It tasted worse than it looked and smelt combined. Shadow chewed and forced himself to swallow.
“Is it good?” Maria’s blue eyes were bright and hopeful.
Shadow could only nod. He felt if he opened his mouth, he would ruin her hopes. So a fib wouldn’t hurt, right?
Maria clapped her hands together. “Oh thank goodness! I’ve never made a cake before, so I was so nervous.” She rambled on happily as she cut a slide. Shadow’s eyes went wide. He couldn’t let her eat it. He grabbed the plate from her hand as he put on his best big round eye look. “May I eat the whole thing? Please Maria?”
Maria looked confused but that was soon overtaken by a smile of joy and pride.
Shadow sat quietly eating the cake as Maria yammered on and on. Shadow was just happy that she was happy. Nothing else really mattered.
A few hours later, Shadow had never regurgitated anything before. It burned his throat and he felt awful. His stomach roared in protest as his body tried to forcefully remove his insides.
“You have food poisoning,” Professor Gerald Robotnik stated with confusion. “What did you eat today, Shadow?” He rubbed the hedgehog’s back.
“Maria made me a cake,” Shadow whimpered.
Gerald hissed to himself. “I’ll call Doctor Rosaline. She’ll take care of you. Okay?”
Shadow could only give a weak nod and a whimper. He was sick for two days as Professor Gerald informed everyone no to let Maria in the kitchen areas unsupervised every again.
